Three Man Weave Twitter Preview Thread - #8

[husky429]

Interesting observation. I would have guessed that for Castle the keys would be defensive intensity and his decision-making on offense, since he'll have the ball in his hands a lot. What makes you think his rebounding may be the difference-maker?

Castle needs to shoot well. Gonna be hard to find PT if he's shooting 25% from 3. He's been inconsistent historically.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I agree on Spencer having talent but the big thing with Hawkins was his ability to come off a screen, at high speed, turn, and make a shot when we really needed to make one. And they were most often deep three's.

That’s why he’s a #1 perimeter option. He was a difficult shot maker and even while shooting just (haha at just) 39% from 3, defenses were terrified to leave him open and went out their way to game plan for it.

Spencer isn’t going to have that effect and wouldn’t be fit for that role. But he can kill in the one he may have here to make him productive and efficient.

 

[August_West]

Castle needs to shoot well. Gonna be hard to find PT if he's shooting 25% from 3. He's been inconsistent historically.

Historically, historical changes have come out of war.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Castle needs to shoot well. Gonna be hard to find PT if he's shooting 25% from 3. He's been inconsistent historically.

He looked like one of the best players in Europe shooting 28% from 3. It’s not that big of a deal.

Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

 

[HuskyHawk]

Interesting observation. I would have guessed that for Castle the keys would be defensive intensity and his decision-making on offense, since he'll have the ball in his hands a lot. What makes you think his rebounding may be the difference-maker?

Not directed to me, but he's effectively replacing Andre in the lineup. It's going to matter. I know we call him a PG, but defensively he's a SF. He needs to board.

 

[dennismenace]

Not arguably, but definitively. And that is talking about backing up the potential BE POY ( if we came higher than 4th). His minutes off the bench and efficiency and especially change of look behind Sanogo were priceless. No one salivated sending Sanogo to bench, in fact it hurt other teams in certain spots. Now obviously Donovan is a stud and is going to kill people this year, but our 5 spot minutes were a unicorn last year and absolutely scary. Nobody on our roster is backing up the 5 the way Clingan did last year. Not even close.

In some matchups Clingan was perhaps a better matchup than Sanogo but DH stayed with the process and the 40 minute version of the duo proved too much for just about everyone; especially down the stretch in the tournament. LOL it was pretty terrifying for a fresh Clingan to come on after having to work against the very physical and tireless Sanogo. Ray Allen said "they didn't have an answer for Sanogo" and that was true and what made that even more devastating was having DC lurking in the background just waiting to get in and go on a rampage.

 

[pj]

Not directed to me, but he's effectively replacing Andre in the lineup. It's going to matter. I know we call him a PG, but defensively he's a SF. He needs to board.

Andre got 6.8 rebounds per game last year, Tristen Newton got 4.5. If Castle rebounds like Newton last year, and Newton increases his rebounds, do we need Castle to rebound as well as Andre?

We have a long team and our coaches are good at teaching rebounding. Somehow I doubt rebounding will be a problem.

I can see us losing 2 rebounds per game by trading Andre for Castle, but gaining >2 points per game from Castle's better shooting, and overall seeing an even trade.

 

[dennismenace]

Not arguably, but definitively. And that is talking about backing up the potential BE POY ( if we came higher than 4th). His minutes off the bench and efficiency and especially change of look behind Sanogo were priceless. No one salivated sending Sanogo to bench, in fact it hurt other teams in certain spots. Now obviously Donovan is a stud and is going to kill people this year, but our 5 spot minutes were a unicorn last year and absolutely scary. Nobody on our roster is backing up the 5 the way Clingan did last year. Not even close.

It's possible though that he may be better than Sanogo as the starting 5.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Andre got 6.8 rebounds per game last year, Tristen Newton got 4.5. If Castle rebounds like Newton last year, and Newton increases his rebounds, do we need Castle to rebound as well as Andre?

We have a long team and our coaches are good at teaching rebounding. Somehow I doubt rebounding will be a problem.

I can see us losing 2 rebounds per game by trading Andre for Castle, but gaining >2 points per game from Castle's better shooting, and overall seeing an even trade.

He isn't going to rebound like Andre. I don't expect it. Nobody should. But he can't rebound like a 5* PG either. I'm hoping he gets some on the offensive end too, if they guard him with small guys. I'm not sure Newton can do much more than 4.5. Alex can step up and do more. than his 4.5. Clingan will be in drop way more than Sanogo was, so he'll likely be a machine on the boards. Andre had outsized rebounding responsibilities with Sanogo hedging.

 

[Waquoit]

The goal isn't to shoehorn these guys into what worked last year. It's to find what works with the new crew and build from there.

 

[BlueMAB]

He looked like one of the best players in Europe shooting 28% from 3. It’s not that big of a deal.

Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

Andre Jackson shot 28% from 3 last year. Not that big of a deal?

There was a lot of discussion on this board about that.

I know Castle can create his own shot and get to the rim far better than Andre. But 28% from 3 doesn't make his efforts to get to the rim any easier.

 

[Ricker]

The Almanac preseason bracketology

2 Seeds UConn & Creighton & Marquette (We are matched with Duke as the #1)
5 Seed Nova
8 Seed St Johns
10 Seed PC
11 Seed Xavier

7 teams in, but I think Xavier with recent multiple injuries will be hard pressed to get in now.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Andre Jackson shot 28% from 3 last year. Not that big of a deal?

There was a lot of discussion on this board about that.

I know Castle can create his own shot and get to the rim far better than Andre. But 28% from 3 doesn't make his efforts to get to the rim any easier.

Andre didn’t have a three point shooting issue. He had an overall scoring issue.

It was actually when we stopped asking him to be a 3 point shooter is when he started to thrive. You just have to play to guys strengths.

Castle has more than enough scoring ability to not have to be a consistent three point shooter to be effective. The fix for it if he’s struggling is simply not settle for many and get easier shots.

 

[BlueMAB]

Andre didn’t have a three point shooting issue. He had an overall scoring issue.

It was actually when we stopped asking him to be a 3 point shooter is when he started to thrive. You just have to play to guys strengths.

Castle has more than enough scoring ability to not have to be a consistent three point shooter to be effective. The fix for it if he’s struggling is simply not settle for many and get easier shots.

eehhhhh okay, not worth debating about. but it's not an either/or situation. part of his scoring issue was his inability to consistently make wide open shots from 3. you can't say one didn't impact the other. his poor shooting from deep is why we had to move him to the baseline in the offense. he thrived because we didn't ask him to do the thing that was an issue for him.

Castle brings a much more polished offensive game to the court, if Andre had his ability to get to the lane and finish he'd have been a top 5 pick. But 28% needs to improve for him and the team to reach their potential. I can't see Hurley parking him on the baseline the way we did with AJ

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

eehhhhh okay, not worth debating about. but it's not an either/or situation. part of his scoring issue was his inability to consistently make wide open shots from 3. you can't say one didn't impact the other. his poor shooting from deep is why we had to move him to the baseline in the offense. he thrived because we didn't ask him to do the thing that was an issue for him.

Castle brings a much more polished offensive game to the court, if Andre had his ability to get to the lane and finish he'd have been a top 5 pick. But 28% needs to improve for him and the team to reach their potential. I can't see Hurley parking him on the baseline the way we did with AJ

I don’t think Andre’s 3 point shooting effected his finishing at the rim. He was just never a good finisher through traffic. He didn’t have any mid range game either. Neither of those are going to be a problem for Castle and he won’t have to lean on 3 point shooting to be successful.

We won a championship too with Andre as one of the most impactful players on the team. Bad shooting and all.

It’s absolutely blasphemous to attribute Castle’s playing time to how well he shoots from 3 when there’s so many other things he does at a high level.

 

[BlueMAB]

I don’t think Andre’s 3 point shooting effected his finishing at the rim.

Didn't say it did. His 3 point shooting impacted his overall shooting.

He was just never a good finisher through traffic. He didn’t have any mid range game either. Neither of those are going to be a problem for Castle and he won’t have to lean on 3 point shooting to be successful.

I didn't argue against any of that.

We won a championship too with Andre as one of the most impactful players on the team. Bad shooting and all.

Agreed. But Castle can't necessarily do what Andre can, and vice versa.

It’s absolutely blasphemous to attribute Castle’s playing time to how well he shoots from 3 when there’s so many other things he does at a high level.

I didn't do that.

You're just Debating with yourself at this point.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Didn't say it did. His 3 point shooting impacted his overall shooting.

I didn't argue against any of that.

Agreed. But Castle can't necessarily do what Andre can, and vice versa.

I didn't do that.

You're just Debating with yourself at this point.

I guess I’m confused and don’t understand because if it doesn’t impact that what other forms of shooting did it impact?

Also, that was 429s original point.

Castle needs to shoot well. Gonna be hard to find PT if he's shooting 25% from 3. He's been inconsistent historically.

 

[BlueMAB]

I guess I’m confused and don’t understand because if it doesn’t impact that what other forms of shooting did it impact?

Maybe we're saying the same thing i'm confused now as well. LOL. His inconsistent three-point shooting impacted his overall shooting in that it resulted in teams giving him wide open threes and daring him to shoot, forcing us to move him in the offense. That space takes away opportunities to drive. He never had a mid-range game to begin with, but once we moved him to the baseline he got better looks (alley-oops and dump-offs for dunks). So the poor shooting necessitated an adjustment in the offense, resulting in better looks for him.

Also, that was 429s original point.

But not one that I cosigned. I just think it's crazy to argue that a guard who shoots 28% from the 3pt "isn't a big deal" considering the handwringing we read with respect to AJ. For a player as talented and diverse offensively as Castle is, picking that up over 33% has the potential to make things much easier for him, and UConn.

I agree, he's going to get his minutes regardless.

 

[Waquoit]

We won a title with a PG shooting 20%. The year before he shot 6%.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Maybe we're saying the same thing i'm confused now as well. LOL. His inconsistent three-point shooting impacted his overall shooting in that it resulted in teams giving him wide open threes and daring him to shoot, forcing us to move him in the offense. That space takes away opportunities to drive. He never had a mid-range game to begin with, but once we moved him to the baseline he got better looks (alley-oops and dump-offs for dunks). So the poor shooting necessitated an adjustment in the offense, resulting in better looks for him.


But not one that I cosigned. I just think it's crazy to argue that a guard who shoots 28% from the 3pt "isn't a big deal" considering the handwringing we read with respect to AJ. For a player as talented and diverse offensively as Castle is, picking that up over 33% has the potential to make things much easier for him, and UConn.

I agree, he's going to get his minutes regardless.

I guess where I disagree is that it caused him to be an issue. The issue was never Andre, it was always how we used him.

If a guy can’t shoot and you keep asking him to be a 3 point shooter… yeah he’s going to look horrible. Once we used him correctly he and the offense looked so much better. He never needed to be a shooter just put in positions of strength. Hurley himself admitted it was his fault for Andre’s struggles.

It’s going to be the same thing for Castle. If he can shoot it well then great. Just makes him even better, but if he’s not then just don’t gameplan around him being a shooter. He’s talented enough already. Don’t try and put square pegs in round holes.

 

[Chief00]

Interesting observation. I would have guessed that for Castle the keys would be defensive intensity and his decision-making on offense, since he'll have the ball in his hands a lot. What makes you think his rebounding may be the difference-maker?

My comment wasn’t to under value those other attributes - however I think he will surprise people how well he rebounds from the guard position as does Tristen.

 

[Chief00]

I guess where I disagree is that it caused him to be an issue. The issue was never Andre, it was always how we used him.

If a guy can’t shoot and you keep asking him to be a 3 point shooter… yeah he’s going to look horrible. Once we used him correctly he and the offense looked so much better. He never needed to be a shooter just put in positions of strength. Hurley himself admitted it was his fault for Andre’s struggles.

It’s going to be the same thing for Castle. If he can shoot it well then great. Just makes him even better, but if he’s not then just don’t gameplan around him being a shooter. He’s talented enough already. Don’t try and put square pegs in round holes.

The only real basketball people who have a problem with Andre is his opponent’s coaching staff. He just finds a way to win.

 

[rip7774]

Just found this Twitter account (3 man weave) thanks to this thread & purchased the Almanac pdf that came out yday.

My son loves pouring through the Lindy’s basketball guide we get each year but this pdf is unbelievably informative & I’d recommend if u love reading about college hoops. They purport to talk to each coach across America and have quotes and tons of analysis. Was a little wary of getting a pdf since I’m used to magazines (still have the iverson, Allen, Kittles cover propped up in my office), but couldn’t be more impressed, so much detail!

 

[BlueMAB]

I guess where I disagree is that it caused him to be an issue. The issue was never Andre, it was always how we used him.

If a guy can’t shoot and you keep asking him to be a 3 point shooter… yeah he’s going to look horrible. Once we used him correctly he and the offense looked so much better. He never needed to be a shooter just put in positions of strength. Hurley himself admitted it was his fault for Andre’s struggles.

He shot 36% his Sophomore year. Had he been able to continue or even slightly improve that percentage (especially because he was taking more threes than the year before) we would have been even more dangerous. Ironically, he regressed, necessitating a move that really improved the offense.

It’s going to be the same thing for Castle. If he can shoot it well then great. Just makes him even better, but if he’s not then just don’t gameplan around him being a shooter. He’s talented enough already. Don’t try and put square pegs in round holes.

They're so different as players. They won't be game planning to get Castle threes as if he was Hawkins.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I just think it's a fool's errand to try to compare Andre's offensive output to anyone. In all my years of watching UConn basketball he was unique as a complete donut offensively. I loved the kid and you can put me in the camp that thinks his absence will be a bigger issue than some are conceding, but he made Taliek look like a polished scorer. Getting 28% from Castle is going to be different than 28% from Andre because I assume it would be on a higher volume of shots, he'll be shooting contested shots, shots off of curls, off the bounce, and, beyond that, Castle can still beat guys off the dribble and pull up from the mid-range, can score at the rim, basically has an offensive package that bears no resemblance to what Andre brought to the table.