Along with both Stew and Ross needing to make a summer transformation I am also interested to see what AK has done to get better. His three-point shooting has regressed since his sophomore year and his defense has never been outstanding. I really think he needs to step up his game if he expects to be drafted to the NBA
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- Thread starter jibsey
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here are 2 summer hot takes
Ross will attempt to do the AJax transition, will see some quasi-PG a few possessions (not claiming its gonna be successful, or that he can get us into an offense, or that we need to do this...)
Stewart got bigger, which means he will be more of a 4, since he has shown he cant cover a wing. Will lead to smaller lineups with AK at 5 when both centers get 2 fouls 8 minutes in or if Reibe takes time to develop
Ross will attempt to do the AJax transition, will see some quasi-PG a few possessions (not claiming its gonna be successful, or that he can get us into an offense, or that we need to do this...)
Stewart got bigger, which means he will be more of a 4, since he has shown he cant cover a wing. Will lead to smaller lineups with AK at 5 when both centers get 2 fouls 8 minutes in or if Reibe takes time to develop
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Having a great handle and confidence in it would go a long way toward Stewart breaking out this coming season. Reminds me a little of Andre Jackson in that regard. Andre could have really punished defenders if his handle was better. I see the same thing for Stewart.
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I believe they asked the same thing about Cam Spencer and the 2. Sometimes it’s not all about athletic ability. I know Ross had the athletic ability but he didn’t have the fundamentals, passing and ball handling skills so maybe just being a good basketball player still means something too. We will see.
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Yeah im talking about Stewart who has has shown a lot more basketball skills than Ross. Ross and Stewart shouldn't be compared. I dont see Ross having much of an impact on the team as we have seen nothing from him even in flashes on both sides of the ball. I wish him the best but was surprised he came back. I thought he would drop down a level of play. I hope Ross proves me wrong but I don't see it. If Stewart fails to step up at the 3 we will be seeing alot more of Mullins and Smith in a 3 guard lineups.
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I can picture Andre in the open floor pushing a controlled aggressive transition, with his long strides and tight handle. This was a point of emphasis for us and definitely contributed to how good we were that season.
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Sorry had that as a Furphy comment my bad. Agree on Stewie he’s a lot better than Ross but needs to make the jump to consistent threat in both ends rather than occasional. I think he can as well and that impact would be huge.
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Forget the shooting. The mid-season slump won't happen again. He needs to learn one move and one counter to create a shot at the rim for himself. He has no counter right now
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Your point is belayed by the FACT that he played a USA team filled with NBA talent and was among the better players on the court. And then several games in row later played a Germany team that was keying in on him and still handled himself well. Furphy can play brother. Stewart and J. Ross better be ready to compete, otherwise Furphy will be taking their minutes.
Agree that Ross may be in trouble, but I doubt he is going to go quietly, nor do I believe "Taz" will dominate him.. The players in the FIBA tourney are basically freshmen. My point is, that while the USA talent is off the charts, there are many older players throughout the NCAA that will give the top FIBA tourney players fits, some of them on the UConn roster.
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While I agree with many of you that Ross needs to level up this summer to find minutes, I disagree with the many of you who think he won’t.
The fact that he’s still here (and wasnt gently “persuaded” to look for greener pastures by our elite coaching staff) speaks volumes.
The off-season hyperbole from posters that he “showed nothing” last season is pure rubbish.
The fact that he’s still here (and wasnt gently “persuaded” to look for greener pastures by our elite coaching staff) speaks volumes.
The off-season hyperbole from posters that he “showed nothing” last season is pure rubbish.
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I think those posters are talking about him "showing nothing" in games. Supposedly he's awesome in practices but outside of the New Hampshire and Maryland Eastern Shore game it's fair to say he didn't show anything in the games.
I hope he makes that leap from practice to the games this season.
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I don't have the stat on hand, but Soph to Junior skill upgrades are the usual. Frosh to Soph (Solo) are rarer.
I'm inclined to think we get a better Stewart and Ross but time will tell.
Now in any given game, if Stewart, Ross, or Furphy is playing a wing, and we have seen Stewart and Ross improve, then we have first class problems if we discuss which when.
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I’m not sure what he showed but enlighten me? I don’t go to practice so if he was good there then I didn’t see it. But minus a couple nice dunks I’m not sure what I missed but if my opinion on him is rubbish then so be it. He has to show immense improvement to get time this year over a couple freshman even.
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I felt like there was a very noticeable improvement in his (AK) defense last year. I also believe him being drafted at the end of next year is effectively a given barring unforeseen injury.
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I know I’m a big time optimist for long-term UConn players, but I have no doubt that Stewart will emerge this year. It is hard to picture how everyone fits in with who we have, but my (purely intuition-based) guess is that the upcoming season from Stewart is being generally underestimated on here while those of Mullins and Furphy are both being generally overestimated on here at their respective projection levels.
Ross is a wildcard to me because I can fully picture him breaking out or getting stuck behind others again. I hope it is the former and I’m rooting for him as I assume we all are.
I think Silas and Tarris will shine and AK will be our absolute rock of a leader.
Oh, and Solo will be the best shooter in the country.
Ross is a wildcard to me because I can fully picture him breaking out or getting stuck behind others again. I hope it is the former and I’m rooting for him as I assume we all are.
I think Silas and Tarris will shine and AK will be our absolute rock of a leader.
Oh, and Solo will be the best shooter in the country.
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It's mainly about him getting his mindset straight during in-game minutes against real comp to "slow down". He clearly has all the physical tools.
He already has a real good looking 3-ball and is not afraid to go to the hoop, had some nice dunks, reverse layups. Made some nice mid-range paint shots. Shot 23/34 from inside the arc. Has the tools to play good D, just needs to reduce the spazz factor.
If you recall, Solo only shot 31% his freshman year. Last year was basically Ross' equivalent of a freshman year getting some real minutes.
Look, he may never get the game to slow down to how he practices. If he can't, of course he'll be on the bench all year. But it's not like he has horrible shooting skills, horrible handle, no quickness,
We'll know fairly soon into the season with our early pre-BE gauntlet whether he's figured it out. As a fan, I'm rooting for it to happen as he seems like a great kid and it will make our team better.
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6'7" 205# is skinny?
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More like shredded!
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This. Great post man.
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Ross ain’t skinny. He looks exactly how a basketball player should look, long, lean and muscular.
We should all root for the kid. I think he plays awkward. He’s athletic but in way it seems he’s still figuring out how to use his body. I know he’s a late bloomer physically so I hinge any hope with him as possibly his brain catching up with his body. Like him jumping out of his shoes on every pump is him too excited to use his newfound body.
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The more competition the better. We're playing the best 8-9 guys. If it's Ross, that means he's outworked Stewart/Mullins/Furphy... that can only be a good thing for the team.
Inyatkin
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The key is to let him play through mistakes and never take him out or hurt his confidence. Or something.