Top Dogs Discusses the Roster

[navery12]

I know we're all itching for practice insights but Rob and @gwhuskyfan did a nice job breaking down the roster

 

[Huskyforlife]

“I think he’s gonna start”
“He’s gonna be a chucker”
“I think he’s gonna shoot 42% from 3 at 6’8”

-Rob Dauster on Karaban

Wonder if this is his opinion or stuff a staff member has expressed to him?

 

[husky429]

“I think he’s gonna start”
“He’s gonna be a chucker”
“I think he’s gonna shoot 42% from 3 at 6’8”

-Rob Dauster on Karaban

Wonder if this is his opinion or stuff a staff member has expressed to him?

42% is a stretch but the kid is gonna play. He can ball.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Paraphrasing on Samson Johnson, if my quote is way off please correct it.

“The staff has told me he’s the kind of guy who makes a lottery pick type play every 20 minutes in practice, but disappears for long stretches of time.”

My read on his take is the staff might not be as high on Johnson as we previously thought. Guys who disappear in practice don’t tend to be starters.

 

[Storrs South]

Paraphrasing on Samson Johnson, if my quote is way off please correct it.

“The staff has told me he’s the kind of guy who makes a lottery pick type play every 20 minutes in practice, but disappears for long stretches of time.”

My read on his take is the staff might not be as high on Johnson as we previously thought. Guys who disappear in practice don’t tend to be starters.

I read it as he's going to make mistakes, but the upside is present as Hurley has noted many times so nothing different than what we've heard imo.

The question will just be if through playing he is able to learn from mistakes quickly and be a better player in March than in November.

If not, Karaban or even Andre will eat his time. That's the benefit of a deeper roster. Plenty of competition at every position 1 through 5.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I read it as he's going to make mistakes, but the upside is present as Hurley has noted many times so nothing different than what we've heard imo.

The question will just be if through playing he is able to learn from mistakes quickly and be a better player in March than in November.

If not, Karaban or even Andre will eat his time. That's the benefit of a deeper roster. Plenty of competition at every position 1 through 5.

I read it as disappearing is worse than anything. To me, disappearing is a huge problem because if you are active and make mistakes that are assumably correctable and then you begin to reduce said mistakes, then you are moving your personal game forward.

I'll wait to pass judgement until we see game action (against non-cupcakes), but this would be concerning if true for SJ.

 

[Ricker]

Hopefully @Son of Robert and others, will get an additional player by player rundown tomorrow morning to help satisfy our preseason thirst. It sounds like @coachn & Dauster have been getting similar cautionary expectation vibes re Newton stepping in for RJ without missing a beat. That is a bit sobering. Dauster made it clear his impressions include direct conversations with Hurley AND 'the staff', not just projecting from what he has seen. I do love that I'm not alone on the Karaban bandwagon. Where I am alone is not jumping on the Hawkins bandwagon. I'm happy with Hawkins having a few spectacular games and just playing a limited role in other games where other guys are hot. If he hasn't truly improved his handle, then I doubt the breakout results to average 17pts as has been proffered. The clip from the Paul camp showed him shaking and baking a couple times and putting up 3's without actually going any place with the dribble. I'll take 4-8 games with 25 and not worry about a bunch of others under 10 pts if other guys are picking up the slack. IMO the roster without injuries should result in a top 3-4 finish in the Big East and at least a sweet 16. There are a lot of good teams this year, but after the sweet 16 I think we can go toe to toe with anybody and anything is possible, including the big one.

 

[Storrs South]

I read it as disappearing is worse than anything. To me, disappearing is a huge problem because if you are active and make mistakes that are assumably correctable and then you begin to reduce said mistakes, then you are moving your personal game forward.

I'll wait to pass judgement until we see game action (against non-cupcakes), but this would be concerning if true for SJ.

Fair point. Then again, I recall Jeremy Lamb disappearing during his sophomore campaign for large swaths of games and it worked out alright for him (maybe not that season, but in general).

 

[Huskyforlife]

Fair point. Then again, I recall Jeremy Lamb disappearing during his sophomore campaign for large swaths of games and it worked out alright for him (maybe not that season, but in general).

But Jeremey was clearly an nba talent going into that season. SJ is coming off a season where he couldn’t find the court.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Hopefully @Son of Robert and others, will get an additional player by player rundown tomorrow morning to help satisfy our preseason thirst. It sounds like @coachn & Dauster have been getting similar cautionary expectation vibes re Newton stepping in for RJ without missing a beat. That is a bit sobering. Dauster made it clear his impressions include direct conversations with Hurley AND 'the staff', not just projecting from what he has seen. I do love that I'm not alone on the Karaban bandwagon. Where I am alone is not jumping on the Hawkins bandwagon. I'm happy with Hawkins having a few spectacular games and just playing a limited role in other games where other guys are hot. If he hasn't truly improved his handle, then I doubt the breakout results to average 17pts as has been proffered. The clip from the Paul camp showed him shaking and baking a couple times and putting up 3's without actually going any place with the dribble. I'll take 4-8 games with 25 and not worry about a bunch of others under 10 pts if other guys are picking up the slack. IMO the roster without injuries should result in a top 3-4 finish in the Big East and at least a sweet 16. There are a lot of good teams this year, but after the sweet 16 I think we can go toe to toe with anybody and anything is possible, including the big one.

This can be a great team with Hawkins third or fourth in scoring average. I’m not sure why everyone is acting like he must become baby Bouknight or it’ll be disappointing. That’s not his game

 

[Huskyforlife]

I read it as he's going to make mistakes, but the upside is present as Hurley has noted many times so nothing different than what we've heard imo.

The question will just be if through playing he is able to learn from mistakes quickly and be a better player in March than in November.

If not, Karaban or even Andre will eat his time. That's the benefit of a deeper roster. Plenty of competition at every position 1 through 5.

I’m just afraid at this point he might not get the opportunity to make mistakes. We have quality options to take his minutes.

 

[Storrs South]

I’m just afraid at this point he might not get the opportunity to make mistakes. We have quality options to take his minutes.

They have 6 cupcakes to figure it out. If doesn't happen in those venues, it was never meant to be.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

They have 6 cupcakes to figure it out. If doesn't happen in those venues, it was never meant to be.

 

[superjohn]

This can be a great team with Hawkins third or fourth in scoring average. I’m not sure why everyone is acting like he must become baby Bouknight or it’ll be disappointing. That’s not his game

I haven't seen anyone acting like he must become baby Bouknight, they have completely different games but he's our second best scoring option.

 

[HooperScooper]

I’m just afraid at this point he might not get the opportunity to make mistakes. We have quality options to take his minutes.

Hurley said he's going to do that. We'll see.

Hurley said Johnson will be allowed to play through mistakes, particularly in early-season non-conference games. The hope is that, come New Year’s and the thick of Big East play, the Huskies will have a fluid and consistent player in Johnson, who is intriguing for skills both near the basket and on the perimeter. He has a 7-5 wingspan and a variety of tools.

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[karstenkibbe]

Hopefully @Son of Robert and others, will get an additional player by player rundown tomorrow morning to help satisfy our preseason thirst. It sounds like @coachn & Dauster have been getting similar cautionary expectation vibes re Newton stepping in for RJ without missing a beat. That is a bit sobering. Dauster made it clear his impressions include direct conversations with Hurley AND 'the staff', not just projecting from what he has seen. I do love that I'm not alone on the Karaban bandwagon. Where I am alone is not jumping on the Hawkins bandwagon. I'm happy with Hawkins having a few spectacular games and just playing a limited role in other games where other guys are hot. If he hasn't truly improved his handle, then I doubt the breakout results to average 17pts as has been proffered. The clip from the Paul camp showed him shaking and baking a couple times and putting up 3's without actually going any place with the dribble. I'll take 4-8 games with 25 and not worry about a bunch of others under 10 pts if other guys are picking up the slack. IMO the roster without injuries should result in a top 3-4 finish in the Big East and at least a sweet 16. There are a lot of good teams this year, but after the sweet 16 I think we can go toe to toe with anybody and anything is possible, including the big one.

I am squarely with @Ricker on Hawkins. The kid has beautiful form on his shot, but there were a number of games where his shot was way off… and after a few misses, he looked like he was in his head and it affected the rest of his game - especially that shaky dribble. I so want him to make that jump to the next level, but I believe we need to temper expectations.

Also, like @Ricker I am all in on Karaban. I think many here are bullish on Alex re a reliable three-point shot. But he is so much more than a perimeter shooter. This kid isn’t afraid to go to the basket, and proved in 2021 EYBL play that he could get to the line and make the opposition pay. What has been overlooked is that Karaban finished ‘21 EYBL play in the top 10 in defensive impact - a part of his game that hasn’t gotten much love.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

Something I’ve found interesting, which Rob alluded to on the episode, is that there really hasn’t been a ton said about Newton this offseason from the staff/beat writers (unless I’ve missed it, which is entirely possible). To paraphrase Rob’s comments, Newton has yet to “blow anyone away” in practices which is to be expected to an extent as a newcomer who is stepping up a level in competition, but we really need him to be a guy that is around that 12-14 ppg mark.

The Karaban stuff was interesting as well as it seems like the consensus through the summer was that either Samson would be in that 4 spot or we’d be rolling Andre there with Alleyne at the 2. I can definitely see Alleyne in the lineup in game one but I’m convinced that our best lineup will eventually feature Newton, Hawk, Andre, Karaban, Sanogo due to the versatility that provides.

 

[CTBasketball]

“I think he’s gonna start”
“He’s gonna be a chucker”
“I think he’s gonna shoot 42% from 3 at 6’8”

-Rob Dauster on Karaban

Wonder if this is his opinion or stuff a staff member has expressed to him?

Again, Karaban is a stud and we are lucky to have him.

 

[Umami Zen]

This roster has shooters and scorers.. Pressure on Hawk to be "the man" and take over games is not necessary.. Feed the hot hand. So far.. Hawk has not shown a reliable handle off the dribble.. If he can/does add that to his floor game-he's onto the next level as a first rounder with his stroke.. This year or next? Up to him.

AK has a high BBIQ/work ethic. Can fill it up.. Not as athletic as some of his teammates but sneaky good on efficient scoring and sharing the ball. A glue player as a frosh.

Alleyne will provide mature leadership and timely buckets.. Looking forward to his impact in games.

 

[HuskyHawk]

My Take: we need the season to start to end all the ridiculous speculation.

 

[NJHoops]

Paraphrasing on Samson Johnson, if my quote is way off please correct it.

“The staff has told me he’s the kind of guy who makes a lottery pick type play every 20 minutes in practice, but disappears for long stretches of time.”

My read on his take is the staff might not be as high on Johnson as we previously thought. Guys who disappear in practice don’t tend to be starters.

This is about the toughness they want to see. Know what you can do and what you want to do on both ends of the court and impose your will on the game. Don’t just wait for what’s handed to you and then make yourself a highlight reel play (do that, just don’t ONLY do that).

I don’t know if the skill level is there for Richie, but that’s what they’re seeing him do in practice. He’s coming into his role and making an impact more often than not. That’s where the positive comments on him are coming from.

 

[HooperScooper]

Something I’ve found interesting, which Rob alluded to on the episode, is that there really hasn’t been a ton said about Newton this offseason from the staff/beat writers (unless I’ve missed it, which is entirely possible).

This is a recent article. I'm not sure what else you're expecting by early October. He hasn't played a game in a UConn uniform yet.

Hurley wants Newton to “get lower” with his dribble, for better ball control. “The gaps and windows in this league that you can drive through are a lot smaller, a lot slimmer than other conferences,” Hurley said, “because the games are so physical. Getting his leverage better, lower with the dribble. He has a good court IQ, he’s a real natural basketball player. He has to just get adjusted to a new style of doing things. We do things in a unique way here, we practice in a unique way. He’s adjusting.”

Dom Amore: Dan Hurley, UConn men looking to fill big shoes at point guard with Tristen Newton, Hassan Diarra

Tristen Newton, a transfer from East Carolina, will get a chance to run the show for UConn’s offense, and he’s taking inspiration from the man he’s replacing, R.J. Cole. (AP Photo…

www.courant.com

Alternate free link:

Dan Hurley, UConn men looking to fill big shoes at point guard with Tristen Newton, Hassan Diarra​

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

But Jeremey was clearly an nba talent going into that season. SJ is coming off a season where he couldn’t find the court.

Jeremy played in large part because there was no options (which ended up being okay because Kemba Walker). Samson had to fight for minutes with a lot of upperclassmen. Hard to see him getting time over Whaley, Sanogo, Polley, and even Akok at the beginning of the year.

The lane is clear to show what he’s got now though. It’s good to hear Hurley saying he’ll let him play through mistakes.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I haven't seen anyone acting like he must become baby Bouknight, they have completely different games but he's our second best scoring option.

There’s absolutely been plenty of comparisons. But I don’t care enough to go find some examples.

 

[NJHoops]

This is a recent article. I'm not sure what else you're expecting by early October. He hasn't played a game in a UConn uniform yet.

Hurley wants Newton to “get lower” with his dribble, for better ball control. “The gaps and windows in this league that you can drive through are a lot smaller, a lot slimmer than other conferences,” Hurley said, “because the games are so physical. Getting his leverage better, lower with the dribble. He has a good court IQ, he’s a real natural basketball player. He has to just get adjusted to a new style of doing things. We do things in a unique way here, we practice in a unique way. He’s adjusting.”

Dom Amore: Dan Hurley, UConn men looking to fill big shoes at point guard with Tristen Newton, Hassan Diarra

Tristen Newton, a transfer from East Carolina, will get a chance to run the show for UConn’s offense, and he’s taking inspiration from the man he’s replacing, R.J. Cole. (AP Photo…

www.courant.com

Alternate free link:

Dan Hurley, UConn men looking to fill big shoes at point guard with Tristen Newton, Hassan Diarra​

Thanks for sharing this again. The staff has noted things they want him to do in pre-season practice, to which the player has been very receptive, and that has somehow been turned into, by a few, well that dude’s a bust.

“Tristen’s playing great, Hassan’s playing great,” Hawkins said. “Hassan’s a very high energy guy, Tristen’s a little more of a chill guy, but he gets the job done, for sure. Both those guys get it done in different ways.”