The Carlton watch | Page 4 | The Boneyard

The Carlton watch

Hey Adrien! said:
A lot of people have the "well, I wish Carlton could put up these numbers against better teams" argument, but I'd rather see consistency against weaker opponents and difficulty against stronger opponents than just all-around consistency, no matter who we play. Plus, those people forget that Carlton played very well against Cincy too.

If I'm a coach, at the end of the year I'm telling Carlton "remember those games you played great against ECU, Tulane and Wichita State? You keep this up, and you'll play like that against UCF, Houston and Cincy next season."

No, he's not our ideal starting center, but he's a good piece for this year and the next two.
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Oh he's valuable for sure, and we are all encouraged, but he needs help pretty badly and only Hurley can get him that because it is not on the roster currently.
 
I know the bar has been pretty low but;
Who was the last UConn big that was as good as Carlton?
Brimah probably defensively, but his lack of hands limited his rebounding and offense.
Certainly no one else in the AAC era. or the great desertion of 2012.
If he stays healthy he will be the first UConn big to average a double since Emeka.
 
AZHuskiePop said:
If he stays healthy he will be the first UConn big to average a double since Emeka.
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This is quite a stretch...he just posted his first career double-double yesterday, almost two years into his college career. Now he's going to average a double double?
 
Rico444 said:
This is quite a stretch...he just posted his first career double-double yesterday, almost two years into his college career. Now he's going to average a double double?
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Trend line!
 
AZHuskiePop said:
I know the bar has been pretty low but;
Who was the last UConn big that was as good as Carlton?
Brimah probably defensively, but his lack of hands limited his rebounding and offense.
Certainly no one else in the AAC era. or the great desertion of 2012.
If he stays healthy he will be the first UConn big to average a double since Emeka.
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Brimah didn't have a deep reserve of post moves, Carlton already has him edged there. But Brimah's ability to serve as a recipient of alley oops was super valuable - just watch @tcf_15's dunk compilations. That's not something Josh is capable of doing.
 
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the Q said:
You are preaching to the choir.

It’s laughbale how much wiggle guards get.

They are allowed 2 and even 3 steps at times. Even though the rule book doesn’t allow either
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The game has shifted to be entirely focused on guards just like the NFL is entirely designed for the quarterback.
 
superjohn said:
The game has shifted to be entirely focused on guards just like the NFL is entirely designed for the quarterback.
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That doesn’t mean you let them break the rules.

The rule book clearly says you can lift your pivot foot to only pass or shoot. Once it comes down, without that, that 2nd step is a travel.
 
the Q said:
That doesn’t mean you let them break the rules.

The rule book clearly says you can lift your pivot foot to only pass or shoot. Once it comes down, without that, that 2nd step is a travel.
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That's part of the way it's entirely shifted for the guards. They aren't going to change the travel rules because it would give an advantage to everyone they just let travels slide way more with guards than bigs. The NFL has actually chqnged the rules so the quarterbacks are nothing like every other player on the field.
 
superjohn said:
That's part of the way it's entirely shifted for the guards. They aren't going to change the travel rules because it would give an advantage to everyone they just let travels slide way more with guards than bigs. The NFL has actually chqnged the rules so the quarterbacks are nothing like every other player on the field.
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Which is, of course, terrible.

Call the rules as is, or change them. It’s ridiculous.
 
One thing Carlton has that many(nearly all) of our bigs the last 13 years lacked is + hands and a few solid low post moves. He also has about average ‘touch’ which is an improvement over the total lack of touch our bigs have had. He seems to have overcome the motivational problems he had which is great(credit to Hurley!). His athleticism still needs work he will probably never be a + athlete but with another year under Coach Sal, hopefully a bunch of plyometrics, if he can become an average athlete he can be one of the best bigs in conference. His improvement has given me a lot of hope for the next couple years.
 
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goskis2018 said:
This thread has takes ranging from Josh is a bum to Josh is our best big since Emeka and I love it
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Different individual takes on the same player is normal. The truth is somewhere in between but there is no denying that Josh is getting better.
 
Edward Sargent said:
Al, CV, Sid, Polley and Josh are our starting 5 next year. I think Danny liked what he saw out of those 5 in the second half yesterday
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Substitute Akok for Polley and Bouknight for Sid and that is probably our starting lineup. Sid has a chance but he will have to develop a more consistent outside shot and better handle to be a 3 in Hurley's system. I can't see Polley sticking with a very talented Akok. He has Polley's game plus more athletic, taller and a shot blocker.
 
3rdbass said:
Substitute Akok for Polley and Bouknight for Sid and that is probably our starting lineup. Sid has a chance but he will have to develop a more consistent outside shot and better handle to be a 3 in Hurley's system. I can't see Polley sticking with a very talented Akok. He has Polley's game plus more athletic, taller and a shot blocker.
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We'll see. Polley will be a Junior and Sid will be a Sophomore thus I am anticipating starting the year with those two as the starting 3 and 4. I have never seen Akok play but assume that Danny is like other D1 coaches who prefer upper classmen. That is not to say that Akok, Pouknight and Gaffney don't get starters minutes or are starters as the season goes on.
 
Edward Sargent said:
We'll see. Polley will be a Junior and Sid will be a Sophomore thus I am anticipating starting the year with those two as the starting 3 and 4. I have never seen Akok play but assume that Danny is like other D1 coaches who prefer upper classmen. That is not to say that Akok, Pouknight and Gaffney don't get starters minutes or are starters as the season goes on.
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The book is still open on Polley and Sid. I think Polley starting past the mid-season mark next year is doubtful. He is a great kid but is better off the bench as a spot up shooter. He is still limited and once we play more physcial and athletic teams starting with Temple he will not look as good. Now Sid has the athletic talent to start but still have to see more from him and since Hurley likes 3 guys to handle on the floor at once I think there is a better chance we see Bouknight start.
 
Just a plug here for whichever coach is in charge of the big men. Someone has had a very positive influence on Carlton, with his post moves and maybe even as far as getting him to show some fire, as he has suddenly shown the last several games. Never recall him showing any emotion until this past month. Great to see, along with how happy his teammates seemed to be for him when he came out of the ECU game.

Can anyone name a big man for UConn with an effective "up and under" move? Not just Brimah, but anyone? Seems I recall Villanueva making some nice moves inside, but I can't remember anyone else.
Curley at BC was a master at it and it's fun to see one of our guys making it look easy.
 
Watched last night's replay after SB up until 39-33, and now watching the balance. In addition to all of yesterday's successes, Carlton's game included tipped rebounds that he didn't control, tap-ins that didn't fall, a missed dunk, breaking from screens & calling for the ball, missed free throws, being blocked from behind, even lost the fight for a rebound w/Vital.

I bring these up, because they were instances where he was active & fully involved all over the court. I agree that more will be revealed against better competition, but I don't think this was his peak.
 
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ToolzieFan said:
Carlton is 59th in the country in offensive rebound %, 57th in block %, and 125th in 2-point %. I’m not saying he’s Emeka Okafor, but he’s a solid player who has improved a lot. He looked great today. ECU was very physical with him, but it wasn’t successful.
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He did WORK on their euro big guy. He was working to get into position early in the shot clock and got where he wanted to be.
 
When I attended the open practice way back when, Dan was yelling at Josh more than anyone. I kind of felt bad for him. Guess what? It's working.
 
Has Carlton had any success against a quality (i.e NBA potential) big man? Or even a quality team (both hard to find I know in our Conference)? Against ECU he looked like Kareem, and its evident he is improving. I don't remember how he even fared against Taco (perhaps he was in foul trouble).

Just curious to know if we have actually gauged him against serious talent. Any opponents coming up with a quality big?
 
Vancat said:
When I attended the open practice way back when, Dan was yelling at Josh more than anyone. I kind of felt bad for him. Guess what? It's working.
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A coach who yells at you, cares about it.

You gotta be worried when they stop yelling at you and let you just do whatever.
 
3rdbass said:
Substitute Akok for Polley and Bouknight for Sid and that is probably our starting lineup. Sid has a chance but he will have to develop a more consistent outside shot and better handle to be a 3 in Hurley's system. I can't see Polley sticking with a very talented Akok. He has Polley's game plus more athletic, taller and a shot blocker.
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Why is it that a lot of fans assume that what is coming in is better than a player who is already here? I think too many times the unknown seems better than the deficient known. How many people on here kept saying Sid will start from day one this season just because he was a top 100 recruit?
 
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HooperScooper said:
Why is it that a lot of fans assume that what is coming in is better than a player who is already here? I think too many times the unknown seems better than the deficient known. How many people on here kept saying Sid will start from day one this season just because he was a top 100 recruit?
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People thought Sid could have played over Larrier last year. Most popular player is alway the second string QB
 
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If Akok starts over Polley that’s a good thing because it means we got much better at that position and I’m assuming Tyler will be improved going into next season

Kitaman said:
Has Carlton had any success against a quality (i.e NBA potential) big man? Or even a quality team (both hard to find I know in our Conference)? Against ECU he looked like Kareem, and its evident he is improving. I don't remember how he even fared against Taco (perhaps he was in foul trouble).

Just curious to know if we have actually gauged him against serious talent. Any opponents coming up with a quality big?
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Josh outrebounded Tako and Smith combined last game.
 
HooperScooper said:
Why is it that a lot of fans assume that what is coming in is better than a player who is already here? I think too many times the unknown seems better than the deficient known. How many people on here kept saying Sid will start from day one this season just because he was a top 100 recruit?
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Because most people assume that high school/prep success translates perfectly to the college game. In best cases its immediate....sometimes it takes a couple years to develop...sometimes it doesn't happen....
 
imno1 said:
If Akok starts over Polley that’s a good thing because it means we got much better at that position and I’m assuming Tyler will be improved going into next season


Josh outrebounded Tako and Smith combined last game.
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Keep working hard big fella!!! Like his progress. Might not be second coming of Emeka but could anchor the front line for the next couple of years
 
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