Thank You Jalen Adams

[biggieb1950]

Give Jalen a break, he had no complimentary players, injuries and bad luck followed the team. He never quit. You can't teach someone to be a leader, it's in them. He cared and he supported his team, school and coaches. I think he learned a lot and can get somewhere in the future.

 

[BigEastLuva]

I've met people who insist that UConn doesn't have the worst fans in all of college sports (outside the southeast and the sandy sates, which honestly are not part of modern civilization), but then you see a post like this on the day a four year player plays his last game, in a thread clearly titled so people can appreciate his effort, and what can you do but laugh.

Amen to all this!!! Jalen will play in the NBA. Two-way contract or 10-days until he’s signed for the rest of the year. With talent around him, he’s lethal. Kid is a winner! His supporting cast didn’t nearly have the talent. When he had a nowhere near talented as he is now Donovan Mitchell and the current Big East Defensive Player of the Year(but can’t shoot a kick) Justin Simon on his squad they lost one game out of 30 against D-1 level high school kids. Anyone remember that behind-the-back half-court alley oop he threw to Simon just for fun? He stayed locally to rep his region, for duped into thinking he would get a squad, and didn’t complain once about the lack of talent and never heard a hint of him transferring. Jalen is a true Husky!

 

[businesslawyer]

I did.

Honestly it was about the same as when we had him. We played Houston pretty much down to the end and played everyone down to the wire except for the SMU debacle. The record wasn't good but it was pretty bad with him and we didn't suffer the kind of beat downs we did with him.

When you say it was about the same, I assume that you mean other than the fact that we won some games when he played for us?

 

[superjohn]

Amen to all this!!! Jalen will play in the NBA. Two-way contract or 10-days until he’s signed for the rest of the year. With talent around him, he’s lethal. Kid is a winner! His supporting cast didn’t nearly have the talent. When he had a nowhere near talented Donovan Mitchell and the current Big East Defensive Player of the Year(but can’t shoot a kick) Justin Simon on his squad they lost one game out of 30 against D-1 level high school kids. Anyone remember that behind-the-back half-court alley oop he threw to Simon just for fun? He stayed locally to rep his region, for duped into thinking he would get a squad, and didn’t complain once about the lack of talent and never heard a hint of him transferring. Jalen is a true Husky!

Donovan Mitchell is nowhere near as talented as Jalen Adams!!! This board is wonderful for lolz.

 

[superjohn]

When you say it was about the same, I assume that you mean other than the fact that we won some games when he played for us?

We played more cr@ppy teams. Actually kept it just as close or closer against the good teams without him, and suffered our worst blowouts with him (outside of SMU.) He was probably only good for 1 more win in the stretch he was out.

Basically we looked similar with and without him. Against the better teams we usually got down fought hard but came up short at the end with an occasional blowout mixed in.

 

[Lynyrd]

Thank you Jalen

 

[intlzncster]

We played more cr@ppy teams. Actually kept it just as close or closer against the good teams without him, and suffered our worst blowouts with him (outside of SMU.) He was probably only good for 1 more win in the stretch he was out.

Basically we looked similar with and without him. Against the better teams we usually got down fought hard but came up short at the end with an occasional blowout mixed in.

You've got to give credit to some other guys getting better as well though. Specifically Carlton.

 

[BigEastLuva]

Donovan Mitchell is nowhere near as talented as Jalen Adams!!! This board is wonderful for lolz.

Nowhere near talented as he was in high school that is. Check the rankings smart guy. None of the recruiting networks had Donovan over Jalen.

 

[BuckleyNerd]

Yo, how can anyone look at Jalen's tenure here and not see it for what it was: Yet another example of Kevin Ollie's utter incompetence. Jalen was a victim of time and circumstance: he committed to Ollie before his coaching weaknesses really became glaring, and then had to slowly deal with, and ultimately become conditioned to, a toxically non-competitive top-down culture.

How does a player become a "killer" when their coach is too soft to really want one on his team?

 

[superjohn]

You've got to give credit to some other guys getting better as well though. Specifically Carlton.

Sure but which games were we winning with him, maybe the last two at home (USF & Temple?) The only other home game was Cincy and we never beat Cincy.

 

[jayteeman]

He was targeted and doubled practically every game he was here because of lack of support. If there was a stat for blown assist attempts, he would have been off the charts. He will be in the NBA for sure because of his size, vision, durability and being a leader.
Kudos Jalen, your stay had bad timing, and we'll see how long it takes to fill the hole you are leaving.

 

[superjohn]

Nowhere near talented as he was in high school that is. Check the rankings smart guy. None of the recruiting networks had Donovan over Jalen.

They were basically ranked the same. Mitchell was always more talented long term because he's the way better athlete and a lot stronger. Their shooting might have been close at one time but Mitchell became the much better shooter.

 

[deedougie]

Thanks JA for your career. During a tough 3 year period you were the only constant ray of hope. Looking forward to following your professional career as well! #RESPECT

 

[mauconnfan]

Jalen had a very good career although short of expectations. Wish he was the guy that played the prior 2 games more of his career but nonetheless a really good basketball player and a great kid by all reports. We were lucky to have him, hope he now understands what it will take to get to the level I am sure he's dreamt about. Good luck to him and thank you.

 

[CL82]

"Saved the team" is a broad term, I guess. Would they make the team better? Of course.
But does replacing Jalen with Kemba make Tarin Smith become as good as Shabazz? Or Vital become as good as Jeremy Lamb? Or Sid Wilson become Roscoe? Or Polley become Giffey? Or Carlton become as good as Oriakhi?
Does it even make us an NCAA tournament team? Idk, I'm guessing not.

You underestimate the outstanding job Kemba did in building the 2011 team. Maybe one of the best captain jobs we've seen here. You also underestimate Kemba's ability to get the basket or make threes. I'm confident that the guys we have would be better with a year of playing with Walker.

 

[NatiHuskiFan]

The fans who bad mouth about Jalen need to bring it down a notch. Winning as often as UConn has in the 2+ decades has led to unreasonable expectations from some folks. I think we will see him in the NBA, not necessarily drafted but he will wear an NBA uniform at some point. I can’t speak to UConn basketball prior to the mid 80s, but I put Jalen right up there with Ray Allen and Kemba Walker in terms of how much I was excited to watch him play when I was able to see him live. He isn’t going to have that level of career but that’s what it sounds like some folks expected to walk through the door every night. Can’t wait to watch him prove himself at the next level!

 

[NatiHuskiFan]

-2nd most points in AAC history
-2016 AAC Tournament Champion
-One of the greatest shots ever
-Top 10 all-time UConn scorer

I remember when he first committed to UConn, right after I decided to attend UConn and enroll in the same class.
I thought he was the next great Husky guard. Even though things didn't turn out the way we wanted, he was fun to watch and produced spectacular plays every game. Without him, this program would be in a much worse position. With a proper UConn team around Jalen, from staff down to players, he could've gone down as one of the greatest Huskies ever.

Thank you for sticking with us for 4 years, Jalen. You have a successful professional career ahead of you. The real fans are rooting hard for you.

View attachment 40963

Love this picture! I use it as my Facebook background during b-ball season to troll all my UC friends lol.

 

[Mazhude]

Adams on Hurley: “He pushed me to limits I haven’t been pushed before,” Adams said, “and that’s why I had my best season...” JA, thank you for being a member of the UConn family and for carrying us when everyone else bailed.

 

[AntG168]

We played more cr@ppy teams. Actually kept it just as close or closer against the good teams without him, and suffered our worst blowouts with him (outside of SMU.) He was probably only good for 1 more win in the stretch he was out.

Basically we looked similar with and without him. Against the better teams we usually got down fought hard but came up short at the end with an occasional blowout mixed in.

No way we only win 1 more game with him and rique healthy together all yr

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

You underestimate the outstanding job Kemba did in building the 2011 team. Maybe one of the best captain jobs we've seen here. You also underestimate Kemba's ability to get the basket or make threes. I'm confident that the guys we have would be better with a year of playing with Walker.

I am not underestimating that at all. I totally agree, it was one of the best captain jobs ever.

I think you are underestimating how much better the rest of that roster was compared to the roster we have now around Jalen. We are starting a Duquesne 6th man grad transfer, a combo guard at the 3, and a wing at the 4 who can't rebound.
That 2011 team had 3 NBA 1st rounders and the 2nd best rebounder in the old Big East.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Thank you Jalen!

Did not realize how high he was up on the all time scoring list. Hope you have a great pro career and you will always be remembered as a great UConn player. Loved watching you through the good and the bad, you will be remembered

 

[CL82]

I am not underestimating that at all. I totally agree, it was one of the best captain jobs ever.

I think you are underestimating how much better the rest of that roster was compared to the roster we have now around Jalen. We are starting a Duquesne 6th man grad transfer and a wing at the 4 who can't rebound.
That 2011 team had 3 NBA 1st rounders and the 2nd best rebounder in the old Big East.

Nope. We just disagree on the value of Kemba. On and off the court he had a huge impact. He was a role model for hard work and took the time to personally connect with every player. I think we would make the dance.

 

[AdamaNation]

Ass

Just wait with that thought. No key scorer next year. Who thinks we come close to 5 wins better or worse?

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Nope. We just disagree on the value of Kemba. On and off the court he had a huge impact. He was a role model for hard work and took the time to personally connect with every player. I think we would make the dance.

We don't disagree on the value of Kemba. That 2011 team goes nowhere without Kemba, might not even make the NCAA tournament.
I'm saying this roster is so sorely lacking talent and the right people at the right positions, that even Kemba prob wouldn't carry them to the NCAA tournament, especially with the injuries we had. Maybe a full healthy roster and it's a different story (Gilbert, Diarra and Yakwe at full go for a full season of development under Hurley). I think you are underestimating the importance of having another competent ball handler next to Kemba (Shabazz instead of Tarin Smith), scorer (Jeremy Lamb is far better offensively than anyone on this current roster), and rebounder who is consistent and can stay on the floor (Oriakhi over Carlton).
We can agree to disagree though.

 

[intlzncster]

You underestimate the outstanding job Kemba did in building the 2011 team. Maybe one of the best captain jobs we've seen here. You also underestimate Kemba's ability to get the basket or make threes. I'm confident that the guys we have would be better with a year of playing with Walker.

Shooting threes was not exactly his forte in college. He did get better tho. Only shot 33% his Jr year. Compared to Jalen's 36%.

Agreed on the captaincy thing. Kemba's athleticism, defense, fitness, leadership, etc were light years ahead of JA. Knowing when and how to take over. And big time shot making.

But I agree with Ray above. This group wasn't getting to the NCAAs with Kemba. NIT probably tho. The difference in talent between the two teams was night and day, even tho 2011 wasn't one of our most talented rosters.

This year's team vies for least talented roster since JC came aboard.