Through first 4….

[August_West]

Up close…..


Biggest surprises :

Akok, gaffney.

Undewheliming : Cole , Whaley.


I don’t like our starting lineup. I like our whole lineup and all our players. All of them. I think ( and its been proven the last couple games against cupcakes) that our starting lineup is one of our most ineffective mix of players of all possible mix and match lineups.

1st half today the bench outscored starters 25-12.

We cannot have a slow to start offense starting against Auburn ( as the next game for example) . It does us no good to be down 8 at the first TV timeout. I love Whaley, he will be a vital cog in our team the whole season , but Akok should start at 4 . It allows both Isaiah and Akok to be better than they have been. Akok is recovered.

Cole? He’s a vet and equally important, so I expect him to start. But there is no doubt that through 4 games gaff is better. In this case I don’t mind gaff coming off bench, but RJ really needs to pick it up. He’s not been more than serviceable. That’s not good enough for our aspirations.

The rest of team pretty much gets “ as expected”

 

[Ricker]

I'm not down on Cole. He has taken a bunch of charges in addition to running the team adequately. He's made shots and protected the ball sufficiently. All the guys make a mistake here and there and miss a few shots. He took the ball too deep a couple of times but has used a floater and kicked out on other occasions. Whaley and Martin just have to make their bunnies off of offensive rebounds, that is my only annoyance so far. Missing a significant percentage of those put backs is crazy. I'm ok with the whole team and the sub pattern at this point. Akok and Jackson making just enough threes, Sanogo reliable, Gaffney being assertive, Hurley getting them to push the ball, no weave at the top of the key, good ball movement, Hawkins on the horizon, Polley trying to do more than spot up... Looking forward to Atlantis

 

[Palatine]

Cole 11 PPG 4.5 APG. Those numbers are consistent with his play last year. Not spectacular but good.

 

[August_West]

Cole 11 PPG 4.5 APG. Those numbers are consistent with his play last year. Not spectacular but good.

Hurley himself says he needs and expects 16/5 out of him

 

[WestHartHusk]

Hurley himself says he needs and expects 16/5 out of him

That is hit air. Hurley doesn't need 16 from Cole.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Cole has been ok. But Gaff has finally….finally, made that leap. He’s bigger, more athletic and is playing fast instead of slowing down. He needs to play a lot. As I said and people whined, I don’t want Cole back next year. Sometimes you need to turn the page. Diggins needs to play and Gaff needs a turn as the lead PG.

Akok, I feel like we forgot that as a freshman he was better than Junior Whaley. As a Junior? Yeah. I know people have feelings of loyalty but I never thought Whaley was one of the 5 best players on this roster. Love what he does but let’s be real.

Hawkins is going to push and push. He’s going to be hard to keep down.

Jackson is still doing enough all over to earn the minutes. Martin has been great. So where do the minutes come from? Cole perhaps and Whaley.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I think Hawkins will take pressure off of Cole and he'll have less pressure on him

 

[navery12]

Gaffney has been great, but I'd guess at least 75% of those minutes have been with Cole on the court too. I don't think this is an either or situation where Cole's minutes need to be or should be cut. They've been great when on the court together

 

[SubbaBub]

Gaff and Akok are the focus of the 2nd unit so of course they are going to look good. Our problem has been simply missing shots, either that will fix itself or it won't bur this team will win by out rebounding and wearing out their opponents. I don't expect any of them to be reliable scorers. We just need someone to step up (testiculos?) each game. Since these were all cupckes you can't take away too much other than beating them by 25+ is meeting expectations.

No complaints so far and excited to see where they go.

 

[Candyman]

I'm not down on Cole. He has taken a bunch of charges in addition to running the team adequately. He's made shots and protected the ball sufficiently. All the guys make a mistake here and there and miss a few shots. He took the ball too deep a couple of times but has used a floater and kicked out on other occasions. Whaley and Martin just have to make their bunnies off of offensive rebounds, that is my only annoyance so far. Missing a significant percentage of those put backs is crazy. I'm ok with the whole team and the sub pattern at this point. Akok and Jackson making just enough threes, Sanogo reliable, Gaffney being assertive, Hurley getting them to push the ball, no weave at the top of the key, good ball movement, Hawkins on the horizon, Polley trying to do more than spot up... Looking forward to Atlantis

Last theee games he hasn’t hit much of anything. Last three games shooting 32 percent from the floor and 18 percent from 3. This against bad teams.

I expect him to step it up against better competition. As others pointed out he’s a shooter and just in a mini slump. Auburn should bring the best out in him.

 

[RichZ]

Hurley himself says he needs and expects 16/5 out of him

He came in today at 13.3 pts, 2.7 boards, 5 assists, shooting at a 45% clip. I'd say he's been fine so far, save for today's out of character clunker.

 

[LIuconn]

We'll get a true read when we play Auburn and other top 50 teams

 

[shizzle787]

Optimistic but realistic. We haven't played anyone yet. I do think we beat Auburn but we'll see from there.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

Hurley himself says he needs and expects 16/5 out of him

i can’t imagine danny honestly believes that. that is the last thing this team needs.

there is so much talent here. cole just needs to manage the offense and hit open 3s when he gets them. nothing more.

he cannot penetrate or create of the dribble. it will be a fool’s errand for that to be a substantial part of our offense.

cole just needs to be the straw that stirs the drink, not one of the main ingredients.

 

[Rumrunner]

I was hoping we'd see Cole finally throw a two handed snap angle pass, or a right handed shovel pass in traffic.

But it just hasn't in him. Now I'm not saying he has to become El-Amin, but short, stocky point guards without elite court vision are not elite point guards.

 

[David 76]

That is hit air. Hurley doesn't need 16 from Cole.

 

[David 76]

Good to see Gaffney and Akok playing well.
But we don't know anything yet.

 

[SeattleHoop]

We have to see how everyone plays against higher competition first. Whaley and Cole, they both have this chip on their shoulder that seems to come out in bigger games. They take it to another level. Let’s see if they do that, if they don’t then I’d be happy to see less time for them and more time for Gaff and Akok.

Plus, as someone mentioned earlier, it’s not always an either or situation. Our team is versatile and we can throw in many different lineups.

 

[jibsey]

Slow starts against bad teams are a worry and Hurley has to figure that out. He’s not likely to change the starting lineup until we lay an egg against a better team though.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Didn’t Whaley used to throw it down every chance he got? This year he’s laying it up softly (and missing) or shootng a soft two footer (and missing). Where are the thunderous dunks? What’s happened here????