Terry Larrier Potential | The Boneyard

Terry Larrier Potential

EBonz30

EBonz30

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I believe one of the biggest challenges this year for Kevin Ollie is to maximize Terry Larrier’s potential. Terry shows a NBA skill set, but he also shows a lot of poor habits;

- Defensive end, not understanding defensive concepts
- Doesn’t play with 100% energy every min
- Poor shot selection at times

These are just a few things of the poor habits that I have seen Terry struggle with at VCU & Uconn.

If Ollie can refine these poor habits of Larrier and really digs into him, Larrier could become a first round pick and the Huskies will have a successful season.

I believe a lot of our season depends on Larrier’s development, it’s hard for me to see the Huskies having a strong year if Larrier doesn’t have a huge impact on the season.

Hopefully Ollie has identified this challenge and is eager to really help this kid become what he can be.
 
Larrier is not an NBA player he's had over 2 years to get bigger and has gained minimal amounts of muscle. He gets swallowed up in the lane vs teams like providence
 
I do remember seeing him as a 20-25ish first round pick in some '17 mocks at this time last year before he got hurt. It will be interesting to see if the lost year of competitive ball really has such an adverse effect on his pro prospects. I sure hope not.
 
If he works on his defensive and his inside game everything else will come. He just can’t jack up contested shots all the time
 
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His biggest upside is Moe Harkless. At 20 years old, Harkless weighed 205 pounds. Larrier at 22 weighs 185.

Has a lot of work to do, BUT--you can't say he hasn't spent a lot of time in the weight room.

Just found this:

"Shaka Smart saw Terry Larrier, gave him a hug and commented on how big he looks.

Asked to guess his new weight, Smart looked Larrier up and down, and said, "207."

"I wish he was 207," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said, moving over to join the reunion."
 
If he can just be a more disciplined player on both ends , I’ll be happy. Less over dribbling into long twos, and more drive +kicks. He is still too jumpy on defense too.
 
He's a stick. Last night they stretched him out before each half, just hope he holds up. he mentioned post game that he purposely took closer shots, I think he gets it. He chucked a 3 that wasn't close. He can make that shot but will it be high enough %?
 
James said:
If he can just be a more disciplined player on both ends , I’ll be happy. Less over dribbling into long twos, and more drive +kicks. He is still too jumpy on defense too.
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Agreed on both ends...

He definitely needs to be coached up, similar to how Mr. Goff & the Rams have been coached up by 31 year old Sean McVay...
 
EBonz30 said:
I believe one of the biggest challenges this year for Kevin Ollie is to maximize Terry Larrier’s potential. Terry shows a NBA skill set, but he also shows a lot of poor habits;

- Defensive end, not understanding defensive concepts
- Doesn’t play with 100% energy every min
- Poor shot selection at times

These are just a few things of the poor habits that I have seen Terry struggle with at VCU & Uconn.

If Ollie can refine these poor habits of Larrier and really digs into him, Larrier could become a first round pick and the Huskies will have a successful season.

I believe a lot of our season depends on Larrier’s development, it’s hard for me to see the Huskies having a strong year if Larrier doesn’t have a huge impact on the season.

Hopefully Ollie has identified this challenge and is eager to really help this kid become what he can be.
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Quite frankly, I don’t see the 1st round thing, but I hope you are right. He needs to get much stronger, particularly lower body. His long legs are often seemingly going in different directions in the half court - he needs to tighten up his moves so he can explode with more authority and power. Part of why his shooting is less than stellar is not so much his touch but his body balance. His elbow moves too far away from his body on his shots too.
I hope this isn’t too technical or detailed for the casual fans out there - if so just ignore it - and think we are just 11 months away from First Night!
 
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It’s bizarre to write off his NBA potential off of an exhibition game.

I don’t know if he’s an NBA player; we’ve only seen him play about 150 minutes since 2015.

The Providence game made him look like a player who didn’t know what his strengths were. Against Merrimack, he knew exactly what kind of player he should be.

No, he’s not a great defensive player - but he’s not a bad defender either. (We’re trying to play UConn-style defense right now with players who look like they were specifically-designed for Syracuse’s zone.) He’s long, he gets into passing lanes, etc.

But his game 15’ and in could be a life-saver this season. We don’t have any shooters and the interior guys are not ready to do much of anything short of putbacks, etc., so a guy who can score between the 2 and the 3 of the 2-3 zones we’ll see all season will make a huge difference.
 
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Fishy said:
It’s bizarre to write off his NBA potential off of an exhibition game.

I don’t know if he’s an NBA player; we’ve only seen him play about 150 minutes since 2015.

The Providence game made him look like a player who didn’t know what his strengths were. Against Merrimack, he knew exactly what kind of player he should be.

No, he’s not a great defensive player - but he’s not a bad defender either. (We’re trying to play UConn-style defense right now with players who look like they were specifically-designed for Syracuse’s zone.) He’s long, he gets into passing lanes, etc.

But his game 15’ and in could be a life-saver this season. We don’t have any shooters and the interior guys are not ready to do much of anything short of putbacks, etc., so a guy who can score between the 2 and the 3 of the 2-3 zones we’ll see all season will make a huge difference.
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I agree with many things in your post. I just hope Terry is strong enough to operated in that congested area against better teams who will try to strip the ball away or knock him off balance.

True just practice and exhibition games up to this point but quite frankly I have not seen Adams or Vital improve from last season as I had hoped and that’s a concern.

I do like Cobb and Whaley is starting to grow on me.
 
I'll be thrilled if Larrier just embraces being efficient.

He can make 1 three pointer every 3 games for all I care, just average 15ppg, shoot 50% from the floor, and get to the free throw line (and make them at 75% or better) and that would be perfect.

Edit: And don't turn the ball over.
 
UConNick said:
I do remember seeing him as a 20-25ish first round pick in some '17 mocks at this time last year before he got hurt. It will be interesting to see if the lost year of competitive ball really has such an adverse effect on his pro prospects. I sure hope not.
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Him and Jalen are both mocked as 2nd rounders in the 2019 draft as of right now.
 
What scares me is that he's been here for over two years and doesn't look like he's gained a single pound on his scrawny frame. I think he has the skinniest legs I've ever seen on an adult male.
 
Terry is listed as 42nd in 2019 draft and Jalen as the 48th pick. Obviously scouts and NBA guys see the potential there. He needs to focus on his mid rage game and improve his catch and shoot 3 point ability and he can be a first round pick. If Jalen steps up his game this year that will help Larrier as well.

2019 Mock Draft | NBADraft.net
 
The summer before last season he was tearing it up against good competition. I agree with Fishy - I wouldn't judge anything at this point in the preseason.

Now he is thin, but has an athletic build that probably isn't the type of frame to add a lot of mass. Heck, doesn't he weigh more than Donyell did while in college? I'd swear Yell was something like 6' 8 1/2" and 185 coming out of high school and didn't look like he put on too much more weight until the NBA.

I do like this kid - he was a classy guy when I met him.
 
.-.
Thirty Three said:
What scares me is that he's been here for over two years and doesn't look like he's gained a single pound on his scrawny frame. I think he has the skinniest legs I've ever seen on an adult male.
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Well to be fair, Larrier couldn’t gain much muscle in his lower body for a year. If anything he’s playing catch up to his old skinny legs. He seems like a hard worker though, and nobody stays that rail thin forever.

Jalen’s body is actually a concern for me as well. He isnt as cut as he could have been by his junior year. Compare him to our other guards, and he’s in the worst shape of the 4. Hopefully his jumper has improved too, because so far, it hasn’t looked any better to say the least.

Still, these 2 present a lot of upside even if it isn’t all there yet. Glad to see them starting to get mocked in the second round, hopefully it’s only improvement from here.
 
Mr. Wonderful said:
I'll be thrilled if Larrier just embraces being efficient.

He can make 1 three pointer every 3 games for all I care, just average 15ppg, shoot 50% from the floor, and get to the free throw line (and make them at 75% or better) and that would be perfect.

Edit: And don't turn the ball over.
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This is how i feel. And how can he accomplish this? 1. by not shooting a bunch of jump shots. He needs to work on that before he goes out there and shoots us out of games. He should be doing 2 things, slashing to the hoop on cuts and screens for easy layups and dunks created by Jalen and AG (or whoever is a good passer even if its a good passing big man).. He should also be down there getting boards. IF he can handle the ball and not turn it over alot, then he could also be on the perimiter and drive in and dish to someone else for easy buckets. He should be efficient and not neccessarily putting up big scoring numbers BUT filling up the stat sheet. He should have 10 ppg at least, and boards and steals and assists.. If he can fill up the stat sheet in those categories on efficient shooting, i think thats when he brings the most value to our team and shows NBA teams what he can bring to the table.
 
UconnFanNVa said:
This is how i feel. And how can he accomplish this? 1. by not shooting a bunch of jump shots. He needs to work on that before he goes out there and shoots us out of games. He should be doing 2 things, slashing to the hoop on cuts and screens for easy layups and dunks created by Jalen and AG (or whoever is a good passer even if its a good passing big man).. He should also be down there getting boards. IF he can handle the ball and not turn it over alot, then he could also be on the perimiter and drive in and dish to someone else for easy buckets. He should be efficient and not neccessarily putting up big scoring numbers BUT filling up the stat sheet. He should have 10 ppg at least, and boards and steals and assists.. If he can fill up the stat sheet in those categories on efficient shooting, i think thats when he brings the most value to our team and shows NBA teams what he can bring to the table.
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Larrier took this approach after Ollie took him out the first time and he was very effective. College 4's won't be able to guard him on the perimeter or off the dribble. He also guards 4's better. I like the lineup Ollie put out there with JA, AG, Polley, Larrier, and whatever big of your choice. They we're very effective and they ran!
 
Hope Polley works on his point blank laups because he missed a few unguarded ones the other day.
 
AntG168 said:
Larrier took this approach after Ollie took him out the first time and he was very effective. College 4's won't be able to guard him on the perimeter or off the dribble. He also guards 4's better. I like the lineup Ollie put out there with JA, AG, Polley, Larrier, and whatever big of your choice. They we're very effective and they ran!
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This was a good lineup. There are others also, but this one, for however many minutes they played together, ran well, rebounded, and scored.
 
AntG168 said:
Larrier took this approach after Ollie took him out the first time and he was very effective. College 4's won't be able to guard him on the perimeter or off the dribble. He also guards 4's better. I like the lineup Ollie put out there with JA, AG, Polley, Larrier, and whatever big of your choice. They we're very effective and they ran!
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I havent even seen the game! But i'm glad we are figuring that out sooner rather than later.
 
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EBonz30 said:
I believe one of the biggest challenges this year for Kevin Ollie is to maximize Terry Larrier’s potential. Terry shows a NBA skill set, but he also shows a lot of poor habits;

- Defensive end, not understanding defensive concepts
- Doesn’t play with 100% energy every min
- Poor shot selection at times

These are just a few things of the poor habits that I have seen Terry struggle with at VCU & Uconn.

If Ollie can refine these poor habits of Larrier and really digs into him, Larrier could become a first round pick and the Huskies will have a successful season.

I believe a lot of our season depends on Larrier’s development, it’s hard for me to see the Huskies having a strong year if Larrier doesn’t have a huge impact on the season.

Hopefully Ollie has identified this challenge and is eager to really help this kid become what he can be.
Expand ...
A first round pick? Not sure why so many people on this site have this guy pinned as a NBA player and a one and done. Becoming an NBA 1st round pick is very, very difficult. He is so far from that right now. Let's just hope he gets stronger and doesn't get hurt. I cringe when I see him jump and land. I'm afraid his legs will break like a pretzel rod.
 
Terry can be a very good player for uconn but only if he’s put in the right position to succeed. If we rely on him to handle the ball, create off iso plays or distribute to shooters off penetration I don’t believe he will be able to do those things without turning the ball over, taking bad shots, etc.

He needs to be used to flash for open shots against zones, get in passing lanes and score in transition and get to the line when he has a size advantage.

We have all only seen a very small sample size from him so I hope I’m wrong but I just don’t see a player with any court vision and doesn’t have a great feel for the game and decides to force shots, not because he’s a selfish player, but because he doesn’t see the right pass or play.

Use him the right way and don’t give him the complete green light and I think he will be a good player that helps uconn make the tournament.
 
I know it’s only 1 game, but like I said a few weeks ago, I really feel Uconn goes where Larrier takes us...
 
EBonz30 said:
I know it’s only 1 game, but like I said a few weeks ago, I really feel Uconn goes where Larrier takes us...
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I agree and like I said in another thread he will be the best player by the end of the year. Better than Jalen.
 
Kenny11 said:
Terry can be a very good player for uconn but only if he’s put in the right position to succeed. If we rely on him to handle the ball, create off iso plays or distribute to shooters off penetration I don’t believe he will be able to do those things without turning the ball over, taking bad shots, etc.

He needs to be used to flash for open shots against zones, get in passing lanes and score in transition and get to the line when he has a size advantage.

We have all only seen a very small sample size from him so I hope I’m wrong but I just don’t see a player with any court vision and doesn’t have a great feel for the game and decides to force shots, not because he’s a selfish player, but because he doesn’t see the right pass or play.

Use him the right way and don’t give him the complete green light and I think he will be a good player that helps uconn make the tournament.
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Another reason why I like he can play the 4 when Polley is in there. I love the small lineup.
 
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