The New Roster -- Where is the Athleticism?

[Sphinx]

If you posit a starting lineup of Castle, Newton, Karaban & Clingan -- and plug, say, Cam Spencer into the 3, a question arises. Where is the athleticism in this lineup? Where is the quickness? Where is the transitional speed?

Indeed, is it an exaggeration to say that this would be the least athletic starting lineup in the modern era of UConn basketball? There is no Jackson, no Hawkins, no Sanogo and no near facsimiles..

Is this a concern?

On offense at least, we might see a compensation in the passing ability of this lineup which seems to be considerable. We'll see a lot of smart ball movement, quite probably. The challenge is more apt to come on defense, and even there the rim protection we'll get from Clingan may offset the lack of quickness on the perimeter.

But important help may come from the freshmen. Ball, Stewart, Ross and Singare are all athletes. Ross, imo, is the full package at the 3, and I'd love to see him start there. Instead of a Spencer to start, I rather have Ross start and a Calcaterra-type to back him up. Ball and Stewart are the wildcards. Each is positioned behind a 30-minute starter, but the surprise of the season may be how their athleticism earns them additional minutes. I'm also among the few here who do not write-off Singare, who looks, to my eye, quick and agile.. In short, I like the freshmen to be important contributors, for the very reason that our "best" players this year are not world-class athletes and there are times when we will need athletes on the floor.

 

[UofCT]

If you posit a starting lineup of Castle, Newton, Karaban & Clingan -- and plug, say, Cam Spencer into the 3, a question arises. Where is the athleticism in this lineup? Where is the quickness? Where is the transitional speed?

Indeed, is it an exaggeration to say that this would be the least athletic starting lineup in the modern era of UConn basketball? There is no Jackson, no Hawkins, no Sanogo and no near facsimiles..

Is this a concern?

On offense at least, we might see a compensation in the passing ability of this lineup which seems to be considerable. We'll see a lot of smart ball movement, quite probably. The challenge is more apt to come on defense, and even there the rim protection we'll get from Clingan may offset the lack of quickness on the perimeter.

But important help may come from the freshmen. Ball, Stewart, Ross and Singare are all athletes. Ross, imo, is the full package at the 3, and I'd love to see him start there. Instead of a Spencer to start, I rather have Ross start and a Calcaterra-type to back him up. Ball and Stewart are the wildcards. Each is positioned behind a 30-minute starter, but the surprise of the season may be how their athleticism earns them additional minutes. I'm also among the few here who do not write-off Singare, who looks, to my eye, quick and agile.. In short, I like the freshmen to be important contributors, for the very reason that our "best" players this year are not world-class athletes and there are times when we will need athletes on the floor.

Define athletic?

 

[TheHorde]

Clingan, Newton, and Castle Are very good athletes. I feel that Ball and Ross are too. Hawkins and Sanogo are all time great Huskies but I’m not sure I would categorize either as elite athletes.

 

[Mike Honcho]

If you posit a starting lineup of Castle, Newton, Karaban & Clingan -- and plug, say, Cam Spencer into the 3, a question arises. Where is the athleticism in this lineup? Where is the quickness? Where is the transitional speed?

Indeed, is it an exaggeration to say that this would be the least athletic starting lineup in the modern era of UConn basketball? There is no Jackson, no Hawkins, no Sanogo and no near facsimiles..

Is this a concern?

On offense at least, we might see a compensation in the passing ability of this lineup which seems to be considerable. We'll see a lot of smart ball movement, quite probably. The challenge is more apt to come on defense, and even there the rim protection we'll get from Clingan may offset the lack of quickness on the perimeter.

But important help may come from the freshmen. Ball, Stewart, Ross and Singare are all athletes. Ross, imo, is the full package at the 3, and I'd love to see him start there. Instead of a Spencer to start, I rather have Ross start and a Calcaterra-type to back him up. Ball and Stewart are the wildcards. Each is positioned behind a 30-minute starter, but the surprise of the season may be how their athleticism earns them additional minutes. I'm also among the few here who do not write-off Singare, who looks, to my eye, quick and agile.. In short, I like the freshmen to be important contributors, for the very reason that our "best" players this year are not world-class athletes and there are times when we will need athletes on the floor.

I was thinking about this just yesterday. I think it's a valid concern, though don't forget Samson Johnson. He's a plus athlete for sure.

 

[navery12]

Is this a concern?

No

 

[Matt1010]

The only major difference in athleticism will be attributed to the loss of Jackson, and what he brought to the table will be hard (if not impossible) to replicate next season. Fortunately that doesn't mean we can't still be really good.

 

[3rdbass]

Clingan, Newton, and Castle Are very good athletes. I feel that Ball and Ross are too. Hawkins and Sanogo are all time great Huskies but I’m not sure I would categorize either as elite athletes.

Hawkins was a good athlethe and definitely could run and had a crazy high vertical jump. He couldn't always show his athletic ability offensively due to his lack of handle.

 

[3rdbass]

If you posit a starting lineup of Castle, Newton, Karaban & Clingan -- and plug, say, Cam Spencer into the 3, a question arises. Where is the athleticism in this lineup? Where is the quickness? Where is the transitional speed?

Indeed, is it an exaggeration to say that this would be the least athletic starting lineup in the modern era of UConn basketball? There is no Jackson, no Hawkins, no Sanogo and no near facsimiles..

Is this a concern?

On offense at least, we might see a compensation in the passing ability of this lineup which seems to be considerable. We'll see a lot of smart ball movement, quite probably. The challenge is more apt to come on defense, and even there the rim protection we'll get from Clingan may offset the lack of quickness on the perimeter.

But important help may come from the freshmen. Ball, Stewart, Ross and Singare are all athletes. Ross, imo, is the full package at the 3, and I'd love to see him start there. Instead of a Spencer to start, I rather have Ross start and a Calcaterra-type to back him up. Ball and Stewart are the wildcards. Each is positioned behind a 30-minute starter, but the surprise of the season may be how their athleticism earns them additional minutes. I'm also among the few here who do not write-off Singare, who looks, to my eye, quick and agile.. In short, I like the freshmen to be important contributors, for the very reason that our "best" players this year are not world-class athletes and there are times when we will need athletes on the floor.

It might be a little concern if we are dealing with real quick guards but we can bring in Ball and Diara if needed to help out there. Plus, now we will have Clingan playing more minutes to stop any inside penetration which we didn't really have with Sanogo. I wouldn't worry too much about this as we have options. On offense we still have good passers in Newton, Castle and Karaban that will help keep the offense moving and start fast breaks. Either way we have options with the guys on the bench including Sampson to help speed up the game there too if necessary.

 

[Kenny11]

It seems like our most explosive runners and leapers will come off the bench. Solo is an elite athlete. Samson is a very good and long athlete. Our starters will make up for lack of explosion with overwhelming length. Clingan will draw fouls and get dunks like a Blake Griffin-type even without the athleticism. Interesting, though. You aren't wrong.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Yes! Let’s get this Ross to start train rolling. All aboard!

 

[husky429]

We are replacing Andre and Hawkins with less athletic players, but it's not like we're rolling out a church league team.

Castle is plenty athletic, just not a freak like Dre. All of the SGs we've recruited are not as athletic as Hawkins, but are also bigger/stronger.

Solo off the bench (Or if we don't land a transfer) is an absolute freak athlete. Johnson if he plays is another freak. Ross, Stewart And Singare are all good athletes.

We will have our athleticism coming off the bench more than this season.

 

[TheHorde]

Hawkins was a good athlethe and definitely could run and had a crazy high vertical jump. He couldn't always show his athletic ability offensively due to his lack of handle.

Agreed I’d say he’s a good to very good athlete, but not elite. Hawkins is the only true elite athlete to depart off the roster. Newton tested out surprisingly well, often in the top 10, in many athletic categories, at the combine. The tape on Castle, Ball, and Ross show at least a level of athleticism that’s roughly on par, if not better than, Hawkins. With that said, there’s much more to production than athleticism. This is in no way a slight to Hawkins or Sanogo. They’re all time great clutch players. I like our roster, particularly if we can bring in one more shooter through the portal.

 

[Umami Zen]

SnC and conditioning should help this team this summer.. Hard to replace Jackson's athleticism.. Although Solo might be closer than many think.. Samson is a wild card.. Gotta get some PT and stay on the floor.. BBIQ can speed up the game and we will have a smart team next year.. Should be an interesting ride..

 

[Waquoit]

I saw a movie where the characters were riffing on "authenticity". Like "what good is food being authentic if it doesn't taste good." I feel the same way here. Athleticism in a vacuum is meaningless, can the player play basketball? Any player on a D-1 schollie is athletic. Do we really need to replace Jackson's athleticism or his passing and decision making?

 

[superjohn]

We get more athletic at the rim next year.

 

[Rico444]

I saw a movie where the characters were riffing on "authenticity". Like "what good is food being authentic if it doesn't taste good." I feel the same way here. Athleticism in a vacuum is meaningless, can the player play basketball? Any player on a D-1 schollie is athletic. Do we really need to replace Jackson's athleticism or his passing and decision making?

It's not the end all, be all, but it is important. Andre was also a terrific defender, thanks to his incredible athleticism.

 

[3rdbass]

It's not the end all, be all, but it is important. Andre was also a terrific defender, thanks to his incredible athleticism.

Terrific defender? I would call him good. He didn't have the greatest lateral quickness and got beat off the dribble a lot and tried to make up for that by trying to block someone from behind. He will definitely have to improve this in the next level where the court is even more open.

 

[Chosen]

Personally I would like to see the starting lineup

Tristen Newton
Stephon Castle
Samson Johnson
Alex Karaban
Donovan Clingan

 

[BuffaloHusky]

One thing the combine showed was how fast Newton was. We didn’t see much of Newtons raw speed last year because he was often rebounding and pushing the ball from the baseline or Andre was the doing the same. He also didn’t play significant minutes with Donovan so we didn’t see many true outlet passes where he had a chance to push and create. That changes next year and I think will be exciting to see.

 

[tuvent08]

I hadn't realized I had PTSD from all of the wacky Sticks discussions until I saw this thread title.

Basically, you just have to be athletic enough, and we're going to be plenty athletic enough.

 

[Horatio]

We have a top recruiting class that’s on campus right now. Their athleticism will be mixed in with the existing athleticism. And all five look pretty athletic to me. Also, you can’t really replace a once in a decade ATHLETE like Ajax anyway. Kid could’ve played and got drafted in another sport while still playing basketball. The last Andre Jackson level athlete we had was Sticks (RIP) and that was almost 15 years ago. We’ll be fine.

 

[TheHorde]

One thing the combine showed was how fast Newton was. We didn’t see much of Newtons raw speed last year because he was often rebounding and pushing the ball from the baseline or Andre was the doing the same. He also didn’t play significant minutes with Donovan so we didn’t see many true outlet passes where he had a chance to push and create. That changes next year and I think will be exciting to see.

He also had a vertical leap that was nothing to be ashamed of. It showed up in his rebounding and when he contested the layup vs SDSU in the championship game that led to a 3 from Joey on the other end. Sanogo’s vertical wasn’t awful but it was only 1/2 inch more than Edey and Kalkebrenner. Adama more than made up for it with his strength, positioning, wingspan, and basketball IQ imo.

 

[gtcam]

Terrific defender? I would call him good. He didn't have the greatest lateral quickness and got beat off the dribble a lot and tried to make up for that by trying to block someone from behind. He will definitely have to improve this in the next level where the court is even more open.

Im assuming you are speaking about Hawk. I cant see Rico's comment. The court may appear more open but the bodies are a lot bigger in the NBA and that is a huge difference.
Hawk will improve his D by just listening and observing the players on the court and hopefully will have a coach who has a defensive acumen for the pro game.
I agree he is a "good" defender as is.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I was thinking about this just yesterday. I think it's a valid concern, though don't forget Samson Johnson. He's a plus athlete for sure.

He might be the wildest “ Wild Card “ in my memory,for a gut with 2 years under his belt.
He is even more unknown than :
Giffey who aside from Maui , was so far off the rotation he needed his passport to get in a game his first 2 years.
Whaley was another who came apparently from nowhere . However he lead the team in blocks as a freshman playing only 12 minutes a game.
Hopefully Sampson could contribute what those guys did as juniors and seniors .
That contribution could change a season .

 

[Devland]

Where was Larry Bird's athleticism?