The Ross Enigma

[mauconnfan]

It’s pick your poison at the 3/4 right now.

If Ross played defense I’d be all for him finding it on the offensive end. But he doesn’t play defense. He is a huge negative right now.

Stewart has forgot how to play defense, but we know he is more than capable offensively. You have to think he can unlock both facets.

Stewie cut off his man twice yesterday and did a nice job also got beat bad once too but in little time for both I’ll take the guy that gets 5 and 5 all day.

 

[dennismenace]

It’s make or break time for him with Liam out. He has to be aggressive and at least fail forward though. He didn’t take many shot attempts on Saturday.

Seems like a confidence and mental thing at the moment.

I would have to agree with you because Danny and probably the staff as well has seen enough (which we have not) in practice to give him the upside on playing time. He is long, aggressive and athletic. We need someone to shutdown the three point line of opponents. Perhaps defensively he sees him as the lockdown defender against the opponents best 1-4 offensive player as with Andre Jackson or Stephon Castle.

We do not know what DH and the staff has seen of Jaylin Stewart in practice but his strengths do not appear to match what the staff is looking for in terms of lockdown defender 1-4 which I think (opinion) is what they are looking for. Stewart is more of a forward/big to me.

I'm not going to second anyone on that staff. I have mentioned elsewhere that I hoping to see IA get more minutes as a possible defensive stopgap in the lockdown 1-4 defender role but again I don't know what the staff knows from practice and how they are putting the whole pie together. I can live with that and just trust them. We have to remember that we have the best coaching staff in college bb.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I would have to agree with you because Danny and probably the staff as well has seen enough (which we have not) in practice to give him the upside on playing time. He is long, aggressive and athletic. We need someone to shutdown the three point line of opponents. Perhaps defensively he sees him as the lockdown defender against the opponents best 1-4 offensive player as with Andre Jackson or Stephon Castle.

We do not know what DH and the staff has seen of Jaylin Stewart in practice but his strengths do not appear to match what the staff is looking for in terms of lockdown defender 1-4 which I think (opinion) is what they are looking for. Stewart is more of a forward/big to me.

I'm not going to second anyone on that staff. I have mentioned elsewhere that I hoping to see IA get more minutes as a possible defensive stopgap in the lockdown 1-4 defender role but again I don't know what the staff knows from practice and how they are putting the whole pie together. I can live with that and just trust them. We have to remember that we have the best coaching staff in college bb.

I agree with that assessment. Ross moves the best out there and IA seems like he’s up next after that. From the very little we’ve seen from IA though it seems like he’s more confident, comfortable, and refined.

Hopefully he looks ready when his time comes.

 

[alphasigko]

This offense moves the ball slower and has less movement overall than last years, and I think that hurts JStew’s game most.

This! The offensive movement this year, when compared to last year, could be considered as non-existant. And the movement when there is any, is slow motion in comparison.

 

[dennismenace]

I think at some point (with the caveat that I'm not a national championship winning coach) DH needs to just pick one or the other and give them the lion's share of the minutes with Liam out. At this point Ross hasn't really shown anything beyond a few above average defensive plays and almost nothing on the offensive end, so I think you have to go with Stewart, who has at least shown in flashes that he can contribute offensively.

The inability of the sophomore class to make the leap this year from bench pieces to top-25 level starters is what's separating us, in my opinion, from a sweet 16 and a national championship level team. Stewart, Ross and to a lesser extent Solo are not anywhere near what DH billed them as over the summer. That really trickles down in a lot of negative ways - forcing more offensive burden onto Karaban (game not suited for it) and a freshman Liam, increased defensive responsibilities of the bigs, etc.

I tend to agree with you but my initial response had been IA who may be potentially better than either but I am now resigned to accepting what the staff has chosen to go with and seems to be the consensus of a lot of respected opinions on the BY as well. We shall see; trust in the staff (which is the best in college bb) is all we can do.

 

[RuffRuff]

I tend to agree with you but my initial response had been IA who may be potentially better than either but I am now resigned to accepting what the staff has chosen to go with and seems to be the consensus of a lot of respected opinions on the BY as well. We shall see; trust in the staff (which is the best in college bb) is all we can do.

Staff may see similar things but how they are different is that they are not nearly as knee jerk as posters and see the full 360 of the situation. There may be plenty of details we don’t see that are important to overall team health. Can trust it and question it at the same time.

What fun would this place be if all we recited was “in staff we trust” ?

 

[dennismenace]

Just trying to defend the honor of Rodney Purvis, that's all

You'd think then as an ex PG he'd exhibit some PG skills. Yes on time needed, but then you have a number of freshman difference makers around the country who are instant impact. Duke has a few of those guys, we have one and every good team has some young guys that will also get better with time, so it's all relative unless we are banking on Danny's development being exponentially better. I'm not sure I buy it for this year, but I will definitely stay tuned.

You reminded me that Andre Jackson was a point guard until he shot up in HS. It hasn't translated to pg at the next level but he has so many other attributes he can play at the next level but not as pg.

 

[NJHusky]

I have three thoughts on this team:
1. We are going to be a poor defensive team no matter what.
2. We need a backup PG for March when Hass is fasting.
3. Given #1, our optimal offensive players should be the only ones in the rotation.

I totally forgot about the fasting! That makes getting Nowell up to speed an even bigger issue, since DH admitted Aiden isn’t a pg.

 

[gsmooth]

I have three thoughts on this team:
1. We are going to be a poor defensive team no matter what.
2. We need a backup PG for March when Hass is fasting.
3. Given #1, our optimal offensive players should be the only ones in the rotation.

The rotation I hope we get:
Diarra 30/Nowell 10
Ball 15/Mahaney 25
McNeeley 25/Ball 15
Karaban 35/McNeeley 5
Johnson 20/Reed 20

That will be the rotation we need in March. Ross and Stewart are too inconsistent. Hass will need blows. If we want to beat good teams we will have to out score and out shoot them. Embrace that we can’t defend and that Mahaney isn’t a PG and go out and score points.

2. We need a backup PG for March when Hass is fasting.

You beat me to it, Brochacho. I got back from the game yesterday and was tired and I worked all day today so I have not posted, but this was one of the points I was going to make.

Even without fasting, I would like to see someone play some PG so Hass can get rest as it's tough enough playing 35 minutes/game. When it comes to Ramadan, that is going to cover the last few games of the regular season and almost all of March Madness depending on how far UConn goes, that will make it that much tougher and demanding on Hass. I know Hass is disciplined with his diet and times, just like Sanogo was, but a backup PG is a must, not a luxury.

1. We are going to be a poor defensive team no matter what.

I am not sure the staff agrees and I agree, but one thing is for sure: UConn won't be nearly as good defensively as they were the last 2 years. If you are assumption is correct though, yes UConn will have to resort to shoot outs and outscoring with sparse minutes for Stewart and/or Ross.

 

[Dove]

Can't be. I made it to the end of the OP's post without losing interest.

I always chuckle when "OP" is used. Just scroll up and find their name.

 

[UCTitleTown]

There are plenty of practice all-stars in this world. I was one of them. But at the end of the day, you've gotta produce in games or see the bench.

The problem, IMO, is that none of the 3 really deserve to start. Every one of them is a decent bench option with not enough skill on either end to start for a final-4 team right now. That's why we recruited McNeeley in the first place.

Why couldn't you do it in games? Bottle it and start a sports consulting business on what not to do to succeed.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

What fun would this place be if all we recited was “in staff we trust” ?

I'm not so certain that it would be less fun if posters questioned less, prescribed less, and competed less for offering the right answer sooner than everybody else.

In Sunday's haiku thread, the top question was who would step up without Liam playing. The top answers were Jayden and Jaylin. Aidan and Tarris had more to do with the double digit deficit turning into a double digit lead than the two Jays did.

After the DePaul game, posters correctly noted that Solo went at the basket more than before, and that some efforts were stopped and some converted. Some noted improvement in defensive footwork. Nobody has made much mention of Solo going to the basket on Sunday, but he continued.

Aidan's offensive moves were also a continuation, and I expect more. And Tarris is clearly projecting greater confidence during periods when hecassertes himself eith strength and skill.

This thread reads as though it's not still the first week in January. Both of the last two years included complaints in January that the roster was closed, and that the rotations had seemingly settled without more opportunity to learn about and adjust the pieces. Much is still in play with this team.

Some posters here are already contradicting the hopeful posts that Liam's injury presents unexpected opportunities for more player development.

This team has played 10 games against major competition, and has a 7-3 record, having scored only 25 more combined points than the opposition. 2 games in Maui were close at the end.

Since December, 5 of the 7 wins were close victories; 2 were against teams ranked higher at the time; and 1 was DH's highest-ranked true road game win against a P4 opponent ever. These are all growth markers for the coaching staff.

Never lose sight that the games will be played one at a time. They'll be prepared for one game at a time.

Yes, the margin for error seems quite slim, as the team maneuvers for a good NCAA seeding while the league opponents may not present as many opportunities to shine as we'd like. And yes, the team is not yet consistent in areas that arouse insecurities in all fans.

The coaches and the players are well worth watching, and we don't know where things are going. There are many moving pieces, many questions, and many possibilities, and the only thing we know with confidence is that it's not going to be a smooth and certain path to ultimate success. And we are unavoidably considering ultimate success once again.

There's only one other college basketball team that I see similarly, and I'm following them with comparable interest. Both teams have the same name on their uniforms. Both teams have a lot to work with and a lot of work to do. I'm watching.

 

[ctchamps]

This…..if he’s great in practice, good for him. But if he can’t do it with the lights on, he doesn’t deserve the minutes he’s getting. This is a black and white business unfortunately. He was useless yesterday.

He wasn’t useless in the last six minutes of the DePaul game. He and Samson were excellent on defense and interfered with a run that could have resulted in a loss. So perhaps it was one of the reasons they chose to start Ross in the Providence game.

Agree his first go as a starter was a failure. The coaches were on top of it. He played 11 minutes versus Stewart’s 17.

It’s seems obvious to me that at the same time the coaches are trying to win games they’re trying to get Stewart and Ross minutes to develop them. I’m not arguing against the statement that some players can do well in practice but fail when the lights come on. I’m arguing that Ross has not played enough minutes for me to put him in this category. I’m unclear if it’s a lack of experience versus an inability to perform.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm not so certain that it would be less fun if posters questioned less, prescribed less, and competed less for offering the right answer sooner than everybody else.

In Sunday's haiku thread, the top question was who would step up without Liam playing. The top answers were Jayden and Jaylin. Aidan and Tarris had more to do with the double digit deficit turning into a double digit lead than the two Jays did.

After the DePaul game, posters correctly noted that Solo went at the basket more than before, and that some efforts were stopped and some converted. Some noted improvement in defensive footwork. Nobody has made much mention of Solo going to the basket on Sunday, but he continued.

Aidan's offensive moves were also a continuation, and I expect more. And Tarris is clearly projecting greater confidence during periods when hecassertes himself eith strength and skill.

This thread reads as though it's not still the first week in January. Both of the last two years included complaints in January that the roster was closed, and that the rotations had seemingly settled without more opportunity to learn about and adjust the pieces. Much is still in play with this team.

Some posters here are already contradicting the hopeful posts that Liam's injury presents unexpected opportunities for more player development.

This team has played 10 games against major competition, and has a 7-3 record, having scored only 25 more combined points than the opposition. 2 games in Maui were close at the end.

Since December, 5 of the 7 wins were close victories; 2 were against teams ranked higher at the time; and 1 was DH's highest-ranked true road game win against a P4 opponent ever. These are all growth markers for the coaching staff.

Never lose sight that the games will be played one at a time. They'll be prepared for one game at a time.

Yes, the margin for error seems quite slim, as the team maneuvers for a good NCAA seeding while the league opponents may not present as many opportunities to shine as we'd like. And yes, the team is not yet consistent in areas that arouse insecurities in all fans.

The coaches and the players are well worth watching, and we don't know where things are going. There are many moving pieces, many questions, and many possibilities, and the only thing we know with confidence is that it's not going to be a smooth and certain path to ultimate success. And we are unavoidably considering ultimate success once again.

There's only one other college basketball team that I see similarly, and I'm following them with comparable interest. Both teams have the same name on their uniforms. Both teams have a lot to work with and a lot of work to do. I'm watching.

When I created this thread I expected a lot more pushback against Ross and Hurley’s usage of Ross. I’m pleasantly surprised that many posts have been thoughtful and reflective of what might be happening instead of outright dismissive.

My OP (@Dove ) was intended to get posters to consider what could be the underlying reasons the coaching staff are utilizing players the way they are as opposed to the more frequent statements stating our opinions about what they are doing wrong and should be doing instead.

There are many posts that make me glad I chose to start this thread. But your post tops them all because it reflects everything I feel about this season for both the men’s and women’s teams. Thank you.

 

[Seamus84]

This! The offensive movement this year, when compared to last year, could be considered as non-existant. And the movement when there is any, is slow motion in comparison.

Both JS and JR are reasons for the slower ball movement. Other than dribble hand-offs and catch & shoot, they struggle to contribute to the flow of the offense. I’d settle for Ajax-lite at this point and then hope one develops into Ajax 2023 next year.

 

[gtcam]

I think what it boils down to is that some of these kids are afraid to make mistakes and when that happens, they just don't produce. Some are very good practice players (I was one!!!) but during games their minds put these protective shells in place which sometimes inhibits their natural abilities to take over. Star players do get nervous, but they overcome it by playing their game within the system and shut out the noise. It's like those who puke their guts out when about to give a speech vs those who relish the microphone. You have it or you don't. That's where you see who has game and who doesn't.
When I see Ross and Stewie play, I usually see deer in the headlights and a lot of looking over at the bench.
These two are gifted athletes and I hope the best for them.

 

[giddyup]

1. Our guards are foot slow other than Hass and can’t stay in front of quick guards. No amount of bear down, work harder fixes that.

2. We are super thin at point and good guard play is essential to make deep runs in CBB. We have what we have, so the best to hope for is we get marginally better with floor time.

Asking this team to 3peat is an extraordinarily tall order. If Danny get his team to that outcome, we have the singularly greatest basketball coach to ever grace the hardwood floor, bar none. Need to enjoy the team for what it is and see what unfolds.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I think what it boils down to is that some of these kids are afraid to make mistakes and when that happens, they just don't produce. Some are very good practice players (I was one!!!) but during games their minds put these protective shells in place which sometimes inhibits their natural abilities to take over. Star players do get nervous, but they overcome it by playing their game within the system and shut out the noise. It's like those who puke their guts out when about to give a speech vs those who relish the microphone. You have it or you don't. That's where you see who has game and who doesn't.
When I see Ross and Stewie play, I usually see deer in the headlights and a lot of looking over at the bench.
These two are gifted athletes and I hope the best for them.

It’s just a lot different to be able to perform in a two hour practice when you’re playing the whole time and there’s no consequences.

Then compare that to in a game with very real consequences and the chance what you do can lead you to being on the bench and not playing.

Just two completely different environments. I, too, played a lot better in practice than in games (practice is what made me a starter over one of the best players in New England at the time). It took me half a season to figure out my place in a very loaded offense (figure out meaning how to get 10 points ).

It’s also why playing in general is important. Because after that experience I knew where my place was in real games and was able to work on that over the summer and work on improving what I needed to be better at to do more. Practice cant help you with that.

 

[doglover69]

Exactly why (have a source ) - he's an all star in practice and hustles his butt off, sets the bar on effort.

when you can provide that kind of energy it can make a difference and deserves time. Andre Jackson is still doing it for the Bucs

 

[RuffRuff]

1. Our guards are foot slow other than Hass and can’t stay in front of quick guards. No amount of bear down, work harder fixes that.

2. We are super thin at point and good guard play is essential to make deep runs in CBB. We have what we have, so the best to hope for is we get marginally better with floor time.

Asking this team to 3peat is an extraordinarily tall order. If Danny get his team to that outcome, we have the singularly greatest basketball coach to ever grace the hardwood floor, bar none. Need to enjoy the team for what it is and see what unfolds.

Well said, particularly point 1. What the perimeter defense lacks can’t be fixed mechanically, only strategically. Our upside there is only so high and can only be addressed with immaculate defensive rotations and team defense. There’s not a lot of room for error. Solo, Ross, AM just don’t move their feet particular fast. Unless they get foot transplants it’s unlikely to change.

The one ace up the sleeve remains Ahmad, both for PG depth and defense. It’s why so many here are calling out for him, to see if he can be a solution. I know I’m curious to see if he provides that option we don’t have otherwise. If we had that guy that could be Hassan pest 2.0 we could disrupt backcourts rather than being taken advantage of. We had Hassan defending Tre Johnson against Texas, so I’m sure there are ways to mix him into the fold that could work, if he’s ready.

As of right now this feels like second weekend team in upside given inability to get stops. Having watched the top 6-8 teams to date, there is a discernible gap between their product and UConn. That’s not to say matchups can’t fall our way, or this team can’t make incremental improvements to close gaps, but as of right now not holding out for Threepeat or bust. Like you said, just soaking it in and enjoying.

 

[ctchamps]

I think what it boils down to is that some of these kids are afraid to make mistakes and when that happens, they just don't produce. Some are very good practice players (I was one!!!) but during games their minds put these protective shells in place which sometimes inhibits their natural abilities to take over. Star players do get nervous, but they overcome it by playing their game within the system and shut out the noise. It's like those who puke their guts out when about to give a speech vs those who relish the microphone. You have it or you don't. That's where you see who has game and who doesn't.
When I see Ross and Stewie play, I usually see deer in the headlights and a lot of looking over at the bench.
These two are gifted athletes and I hope the best for them.

It’s just a lot different to be able to perform in a two hour practice when you’re playing the whole time and there’s no consequences.

Then compare that to in a game with very real consequences and the chance what you do can lead you to being on the bench and not playing.

Just two completely different environments. I, too, played a lot better in practice than in games (practice is what made me a starter over one of the best players in New England at the time). It took me half a season to figure out my place in a very loaded offense (figure out meaning how to get 10 points ).

It’s also why playing in general is important. Because after that experience I knew where my place was in real games and was able to work on that over the summer and work on improving what I needed to be better at to do more. Practice cant help you with that.

And this is the salient point imo of what is happening with Ross and Stewart and why the coaches are choosing to give them minutes. The coaches are picking and choosing the minutes they receive because they need them to develop and that development can't happen unless they are given game experience opportunities. But it can't be at the expense of a win. It can only be at the expense of the victories spread. Naturally this will increase fans angst. I'm hopeful that fans will understand that some immediate sacrifice taken by the coaches might have long term positive outcomes.

The enigma of why Ross is getting more minutes than Stewart is a guess on my part but if I have to make an educated guess it's because Ross has the foot speed to guard the 2 and 3 positions and the one in a pinch. In my educated guess the coaches believe Stewart is able to back up the 4 and occasionally the 5. So the minutes are based on need and not who is currently the better player at this moment. Because that certainly is Stewart. There is more need for a defensive back up at the 1, 2 and 3 positions currently than the 4, 5.

Hopefully Ross can break out in a game and not be just an excellent practice player.

 

[Gurleyman]

I think it’s also worth mentioning that realistically Ross wasn’t thought of as a rotation guy coming into this year. He did a lot of positive things in the off-season to put himself in the conversation and earn a role. Getting it to translate to games may be a gradual process, but he put in some solid work in the practice facility and is more of a factor than most of us would have thought. if the “leap” is more of an incremental step, it’s still good progress.

 

[yungdowork]

The biggest issue is that Ross isn't shooting the 3 well and that's affecting his confidence heavily. If my math is right, he's shooting about 58% from 2, but only 20% from 3. In the Providence game, he airballed a floater that I think he probably wouldn't have taken at all if he'd had more faith in his jumpshot right now. If he can get his perimeter shooting dialed in, I think a lot of the mental stuff is going to work itself out. You can clearly see has all the tools.

The issue with Stewart, especially as it relates to Ross/McNeeley, is that Hurley seems to see him more as a 4/5 than a 3/4. He had a couple good passing games vs the cupcakes (LeMoyne, UMES) but it hasn't really translated against higher level competition. I think if we could have more faith in him as a ballhandler and creator, like we can with Liam, he'd be getting a lot more of these minutes.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

The biggest issue is that Ross isn't shooting the 3 well and that's affecting his confidence heavily. If my math is right, he's shooting about 58% from 2, but only 20% from 3. In the Providence game, he airballed a floater that I think he probably wouldn't have taken at all if he'd had more faith in his jumpshot right now. If he can get his perimeter shooting dialed in, I think a lot of the mental stuff is going to work itself out. You can clearly see has all the tools.

sigh basketball is played inside out. Not the other way around. This is just a fact.

Him getting some things going through layups or shots closer to the rim can actually help his shooting from 3. I’m sure that 58% is coming mostly from uncontested shots at the rim or cuts similar to Ball.

I hope he takes more of those floaters and starts getting them to go to help him shoot the 3s more comfortably without him feeling like that’s the only thing he can do. Which just puts more pressure on shooting the hardest shot in basketball.

 

[boog204]

The Jaylin Stewart 2023-24 body of work has magically become something it never was in part due to how awesome that team was and a few highlight moments. It amplified spontaneously in the minds and souls of all Huskymaniacs.

JStew Memphis - 17 minutes, 16 pts (7-9 shooting), 5 rebounds
JStew Gonzaga - 19 minutes, 10 pts (4-5 shooting), 3 rebounds, 1 block

Now those are games to build off of and the JStew we need.

I said this over the summer and people went nuts. Can't remember who it was that thought he'd be a 13-14ppg scorer and be gone to the NBA. I think Jaylin has talent. But the amount of people who speak of what really amounts to 4-5 good games here in his career is nuts. I do think he should start over Jayden, but the Stew love here is over the top.

On another thread I posted Stewarts +/- for the year. They are not good. He is consistently in the minus column. How a player can be a minus in a 30+ win is beyond my understanding.