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it's just necessary for his overall growth as a prospect, at his size he projects as a wing at the next level, gotta get that handle tight.
dennismenace
ONE MORE CAST
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He is supposed to be a 6-7 lockdown defender. Hurley likes those kind of players for openers. If he can handle the ball reasonably well he may be great in transition and looking over the smaller defender guards. I expect a real deep bench this year. I think they will be very exciting but will be learning the intricacies of the offense will take some time. These kind of guys are very disruptive (AJ, SC etc.) Coming in at say the 10 min mark in the first half fully energized.
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If they combine last years motion offense with a relentless full court press on defense, I don't know how opposing players will survive a full 40 minutes. That type of pace will also naturally allow more player to be rotated in.
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Wouldn’t be the first time this hour that I was wrong about something
But in a multi-million business operation I would assume key personnel to ply their trade according to company rules for their and the company’s protection.
I would also assume you want yout players to play in an area where there is qualified medical help readily available in the case of injury and are playing in a proper facility.
But I’m old, what do I know except we now have 3 key players out with injuries not sufffered at the campus.
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I know we sucked for a few years, but putting Larrier in that group is a real “which doesn’t belong and why” moment.
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Horatio
Recovering Madden addict 17 years
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Exactly. We’re loaded enough to press most of the game
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I mean those were our lineups so not sure what to tell you
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D
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During the 5 on 5 at the end it was him, AK, AM, and Stew on offense. Liam, Abraham, Reed, and Diarra on defense. Ross on the sideline.
So Solo at starting point confirmed.
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Or it's Aidan Mahaney at PG like everyone on the Boneyard has been predictingDuring the 5 on 5 at the end it was him, AK, AM, and Stew on offense. Liam, Abraham, Reed, and Diarra on defense. Ross on the sideline.
So Solo at starting point confirmed.
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D
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Yes, the guy who has been in school two years and averaged 2.6 assists is going to play PG for us and not the guy who it’s in his best interest for his future to do so.
I’m not sure why this board is so down on Solo to really push anybody but the obvious guy into the role.
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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I think Solos best NBA future bet is to develop his off ball skills and defense. Guys with elite athleticism and jump shots get drafted in the first round all the time. But he’s never shown point guard skills.
The reason why Solo wasn't on the floor more last year and will dictate how much he'll be on the floor this year is missing defensive assignments-Drives Danny crazy-If he can get that figured out- He'll get plenty of PT and scouts from the NBA will get interested due to his offensive skills and athleticism.
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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Id argue it’s more to do with having 2 elite wings and a more talented and physically gifted wing at his positions. He wasn’t that bad defensively.
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I'm not down on Solo at all, he's going to start at his best position, 2 guard. That's his best college position and it's his best NBA position. Citing Mahaney's stats is a weird flex in defense of the guy who averaged 3x less assists per 40 minutes
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D
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Those guys are not 6’3 that you’re talking about. Being a 6’3 SG is not what’s best for him in the NBA. That puts him at a disadvantage and makes him small for the position.
Teaching him how to be a 6’3 elite athlete point guard raises his ceiling immensely. That’s what’s best for him. That’s the frustrating thing for me is this board is rooting for something to hamper his ceiling.
Most of this board was also confused on why Castle was adamant to want to force his way to play PG at the next level. The fact of the matter is we rightly prioritized the vets on the team last year to where our talented freshman had to play roles outside of their actual skillsets. That’s why guys did not look as good and didn’t show skills that they should’ve and had. Castle is the prime example and he actually had playing time. Everyone (especially outside of our fanbase) is so surprised by how good his PG skills are.
Solo was always a predominantly on ball player. Last year he had to be a catch and shoot guy. That’s why he didn’t look like he had PG skills. He will look much different this year I fully expect that. It’s as simple as him having opportunity in the right role.
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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I mean, I wish he was built like Lebron James, but that's not the reality of his situation. He's a 6'3 off guard, he'd be a better prospect if he was 6'5, but he's not.
But i'm gonna need some sourcing on this. He always played with a point guard at Brewster, and didn't play one minute of point his freshman season.
But like Hawkins and Spencer before him, he'll have opportunities to attack off the dribble in our offense. So I wouldn't worry about him being the table setter.
D
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He didn’t play point for the same reason that people questioned if Castle could be a PG in the NBA. There was a logjam at the position.
He’s not a pure point like Castle or Newton. He’s more in the mold of a Maxey, Quickley, Murray.
His ceiling is Russell Westbrook. Here’s a scouting report from his HS days that says that and says he’s a primary ball handler too.
UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Four-Star G Solomon Ball
What type of impact will Ball have next year?
On offense, Ball first excels as a slasher. Although he’s not big, his quickness allows him to leak out in transition and also blow by defenders to get easy looks at the rim. His fastbreak opportunities will naturally diminish at the college level, as it’s harder to cherry pick buckets in the same way. However, he should still find success as a cutter or attacking the rim as the primary ball handler. Ball also creates opportunities for himself through solid offensive rebounding, which leads to putbacks.
It’s tough to place Ball into a box or give him a comparison, but one good one is a
Russell Westbrook, with better shooting.
FWIW, his profile says PG at the top of the article too.
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Bradley Beal, Donovan Mitchell, Immanuel Quickley, Donte DiVincenzo, Anfernee Simons, Gary Payton II, Grayson Allen, Lonnie Walker, Bruce Brown, Terry Rozier, Seth Curry, CJ McCollum, Luguentz Dort, Cam Spencer, Norman Powell. The idea Ball can't play shooting guard in the NBA is absurd. He has a 6'10 wingspan and is supreme athlete.
Castle always was a point guard on the ball in high school and has always shown he has outstanding point guard skills, Solo Ball has never shown that. He's going to be great and maybe he'll develop those skills down the road and turn into an NBA point guard someday but he doesn't really have those skills now and there are three guys on the team who have those skills currently. Ball can play on the ball some but he's a straight line driver. I watched a lot of him before Uconn and he scored on straight line drives, catch and shoot threes, some pull ups, and out on the break. Passing is not a strength and he needs more change of pace.
There is no question that our guard/wing rotation last year would have made it difficult for any freshman (except Castle) to get a lot of PT. After Solo's UNC breakthrough game-I was anticipating more PT for him. Did not happen in a significant way. I would pay particular attention to him when he was inserted into games and it was clear that he was/is a gifted offensive player. I also saw he got beat multiple times on defensive rotations and/or getting picked off on back door cuts for easy buckets. I also observed his HC's body language when the camera zoomed into him after those plays.
I expect Solo to be a valuable player this year and show everyone why his teammates and coaches are optimistic about his impact on our success this year. He has the potential to be a disruptive defender based on his substantial physical talents. Being a two way player is part of Dan's criteria for PT. I believe Solo will be much more impactful on D this year. He's too talented.
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Seriously though, half this list isn’t even 6’3 and another half played PG at one point or another in their career. Like the whole list besides a few who are marginal role players.
It’s not about him not being able to play SG, of course he can. His ceiling is just significantly higher if our coaching staff who are suppose to be great developers can coach and develop him to be a PG.
What 3 guys on the roster? I know of only Diarra and Ahmad. I would not go out my way to avoid Solo’s development for a guy who hasn’t played there his whole career with Aidan. That’s just ridiculous and would be a disservice to both of them. Aidan should be focused on doing what we brought him in to do. Not playing him out of position.
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Also fwiw, this was a joke lolDuring the 5 on 5 at the end it was him, AK, AM, and Stew on offense. Liam, Abraham, Reed, and Diarra on defense. Ross on the sideline.
So Solo at starting point confirmed.
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Newton was our PG. However, he often played off the ball while others brought the ball up the court and ran the team as the PG. So my guess is that Hurley will play Mahaney at the point. And Solo at the point. And Diarra at the point. And Nowell at the point.
Solo looks like a classic PG. How they play will determine who gets minutes there.
Solo looks like a classic PG. How they play will determine who gets minutes there.
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Solo HIMSELF literally hasn’t played PG his whole career. Aidan played on the ball a LOT more than Solo has. Idk what you’re all hung up about here. Solo hasn’t displayed PG skills at all yet. He may in the future! That doesn’t mean the staff should play him in an uncomfortable position from the jump.
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Not sure why it’s this board’s prerogative to act like him being 2nd on the team in assists never happened in Europe. The one time he was asked to play that role.
He looked pretty comfortable then.
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That is the reach of all reaches. I lay down my arms here.
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Did anyone else do anything during that trip that they didn’t do during the season? Genuine question. If so can you point that out.
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