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.
