Transfer Portal

[KingAG]

What? I’m seriously confused by the takes here. I went back and looked at old UConn teams. Most had two PG on the roster. Some had 3. Maybe 4 if you count someone like Andrew Hurley.

Without Cole, this team needs 1 more. There is no room to bring in two guards and keep the guys we have. Floyd is going to play a lot. Hawkins is going to start and play even more. Diggins will play. Gaff, if here, will play.

Now, people can look at our SG and say they don’t have the ball handling skills of say, Ben Gordon, and that’s true. But the issue is at SG. Hawkins has to step up and be the ball handler we need. if he does and AJax is a 3 the team is very strong with ball handlers. Not sure how Karajan is, but expect he’d be a major upgrade on Polley. Expect Floyd to be Martin like, which is fine.

Floyd is not a pg. And not bringing in a guard so Gaffney can play is idiotic. Idk you all think Gaffney deserves minutes. He was legitimately the worst rotation player on our team. UConn hasnt won a championship since 2014 before the 2011 and the game has changed since then. BUT even then we had 2 high level pg's. We have one who is 5'10. We need more. If we rely on Gaffney and Diggins next season we may not have to worry about the second weekend and rather the bubble

 

[Hurleyman216]

Ideally the role for Cole (if he comes back) would be as a backup PG. That’s the type of UConn team that wins games in March.

Yeah, we should convince our 1st Team All Big East point guard he’s only good enough to be a backup next year…that should convince him to stay one more year!

 

[KingAG]

There's nothing wrong with going that route if you're Hurley, but if Diggins didn't play as a Freshman and then his coach goes and brings in two point guards to play over him then why would he stay?

Who cares? If he isn't good enough, he isnt good enough. Bringing in more talent is bringing in someone to play "over" him. Prove you are better and you'll play. It's simple.

 

[Rico444]

Who cares? If he isn't good enough, he isnt good enough. Bringing in more talent is bringing in someone to play "over" him. Prove you are better and you'll play. It's simple.

If that's your argument then I have no objection, we didn't see much of Diggins so it's hard to speculate on whether or not he'll be a good UConn guard. My only issue is there are people that think Diggins will willingly be the 3rd point guard next year if Hurley brings in two others. If that happens there isn't a scenario where Diggins plays major minutes in this program.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yeah, we should convince our 1st Team All Big East point guard he’s only good enough to be a backup next year…that should convince him to stay one more year!

I hope he meant RJ would be a 2, but that would make him a defensive liability in this system.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I’m optimistic that we’ll be a better offensive team next year. I expect Hawkins to take a big step forward as well as AJax and Sanogo improving. I think if Johnson plays significant time at the 4 we can expect more offense from him than Whaley gave us. Hawkins and Karaban will take up Polley’s minutes and they are both more well-rounded and can drive and shoot. Not sure what we’ll get from Akok/Diggins/Gaffney. Hoping Floyd can step in and provide some of Tyrese’s toughness. I expect we’ll be getting close to 50 point per game out of the Sanogo/Jackson/Hawkins trio. We have some major holes to fill on defense to replace Tyrese and Whaley, but I trust Hurley to have that covered as he’s a great defensive coach.

I think a lot of people thought we’d be worse this year once Bouknight went to the NBA, and we were actually a much better team. I do think we could use one more high end transfer and if we want a chance to make some noise we need Cole to return. If Cole doesn’t come back and we don’t pick up an elite PG I’m all in for having AJax run the point with Diggins backing him up.

 

[KingAG]

If that's your argument then I have no objection, we didn't see much of Diggins so it's hard to speculate on whether or not he'll be a good UConn guard. My only issue is there are people that think Diggins will willingly be the 3rd point guard next year if Hurley brings in two others. If that happens there isn't a scenario where Diggins plays major minutes in this program.

I disagree. A third guard can get 15min a game here. My pushback is you thinking Cole +1 means no Diggins. If he can't earn minutes then he just isnt good enough. I'm not in favor of wasting A Hawkins, Sanogo, Jackson, and Cole season with a what if at the guard spots. We need to hit the ground running next season. We could be REALLY special with that one more dynamic piece. Like contender top 10 special. Why waste that? Because of feelings? Diggins will play. We'll be a much more versatile team. 3 guard lineups, small ball fours, etc. If Hurley digs in and gets creative there are plenty of minutes for Diggins.....if he deserves them.

 

[6xChamps]

Ideally the role for Cole (if he comes back) would be as a backup PG. That’s the type of UConn team that wins games in March.

haha what?? If Cole comes back he'll probably be preseason POY in the Big East.

 

[Rico444]

I disagree. A third guard can get 15min a game here. My pushback is you thinking Cole +1 means no Diggins. If he can't earn minutes then he just isnt good enough. I'm not in favor of wasting A Hawkins, Sanogo, Jackson, and Cole season with a what if at the guard spots. We need to hit the ground running next season. We could be REALLY special with that one more dynamic piece. Like contender top 10 special. Why waste that? Because of feelings? Diggins will play. We'll be a much more versatile team. 3 guard lineups, small ball fours, etc. If Hurley digs in and gets creative there are plenty of minutes for Diggins.....if he deserves them.

I'll just say that I trust Hurley's judgment. If he thinks Diggins can play, then I don't see the harm in having him be the backup PG. 10 years ago we probably had people on this board that wanted to recruit over DeAndre Daniel's. I'll bet 4 years ago there were people on the Nova board that wanted to recruit over Collin Gillespie. I'm not advocating that we throw Diggins out there to play 30+ minutes a game, but if Hurley, the guy that seems him more than any of us, see the development in his game and thinks he's a talented player, then I have zero issue with him backing up RJ or another good PG next year.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Floyd is not a pg. And not bringing in a guard so Gaffney can play is idiotic. Idk you all think Gaffney deserves minutes. He was legitimately the worst rotation player on our team. UConn hasnt won a championship since 2014 before the 2011 and the game has changed since then. BUT even then we had 2 high level pg's. We have one who is 5'10. We need more. If we rely on Gaffney and Diggins next season we may not have to worry about the second weekend and rather the bubble

I’m fine with adding a PG if Cole doesn’t return. But if he does it isn’t needed. My point was we will have Hawk and Floyd at off guard next year. both need minutes. There is no room to play dual PGs on this roster. So you have Cole/transfer + Diggins + Gaffney all splitting minutes at PG only.

We do not need two guards as transfers. It would wreck the roster and possibly our future recruiting.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Ideally the role for Cole (if he comes back) would be as a backup PG. That’s the type of UConn team that wins games in March.

If we’re benching the pre season POY in conference, we better be number 1 overall first week.

 

[gtcam]

Transfer portal for any position but PG.
Need to play those you recruited and instill the direction the team should be taking - hard to do with a 5th year xfer and a rather inexperienced squad
If every other position had seniors/2 year starters then you would consider but this team has to grow together.
Its time for Dan Hurley to place faith in the kids he brought aboard

 

[Hi-Low]

Generally speaking - and this might sound crazy - I tend to think that people within the program are more plugged in than a bunch of armchair quarterbacks on a message board.

I agree but they misread our 2nd ball handler situation this year for whatever reason and it cost team big time.

Can't repeat that mistake...no maybe's need 2 no doubt PG from day 1.

 

[KingAG]

Transfer portal for any position but PG.
Need to play those you recruited and instill the direction the team should be taking - hard to do with a 5th year xfer and a rather inexperienced squad
If every other position had seniors/2 year starters then you would consider but this team has to grow together.
Its time for Dan Hurley to place faith in the kids he brought aboard

Cole (Assuming he comes back) - Super Senior
Hawkins - Sophmore
Jackson - Junior
Akok - Senior
Sanogo - Junior

We'd have one of our main guys who is younger than a junior. Next year isn't an inexperienced squad. Maybe our bench is. But our top guys will be very experienced. Cole, Sanogo, Hawkins, and Jackson are all LEGITIMATE all conference players. With another dynamic guard we are scary

 

[Improviser]

Who cares? If he isn't good enough, he isnt good enough. Bringing in more talent is bringing in someone to play "over" him. Prove you are better and you'll play. It's simple.

Absolutely. Prove you are better and you'll play. It's simple.

If Diggins proves he can play, he won't be relegated to the 3rd point guard. But, If the other two beat him out, then they do. At any rate, we need at a minimum, another seasoned PG. With only one other one, we are relying on the hope of Diggins' developing and of Gaffney somehow rising.

If Cole leaves, the pitch can be we have an opening at PG, and at times we have played two PG's together so our two best PG's will see a lot of time. And, plenty of other PG's to practice against.

And, with increased depth, maybe we press a lot more, and play 10 or 11 players like some other BE teams have.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Absolutely. Prove you are better and you'll play. It's simple.

If Diggins proves he can play, he won't be relegated to the 3rd point guard. But, If the other two beat him out, then they do. At any rate, we need at a minimum, another seasoned PG. With only one other one, we are relying on the hope of Diggins' developing and of Gaffney somehow rising.

If Cole leaves, the pitch can be we have an opening at PG, and at times we have played two PG's together so our two best PG's will see a lot of time. And, plenty of other PG's to practice against.

And, with increased depth, maybe we press a lot more, and play 10 or 11 players like some other BE teams have.

We are not playing two PG for more than very a very small amount of minutes. Hawkins is probably our second best player next year and should get near 30 at SG. Floyd will need 15-20 between SG and SF. The years we played two PG we had weak SG. This year SG should be possibly the strongest spot on the team.

 

[Hi-Low]

Transfer portal for any position but PG.
Need to play those you recruited and instill the direction the team should be taking - hard to do with a 5th year xfer and a rather inexperienced squad
If every other position had seniors/2 year starters then you would consider but this team has to grow together.
Its time for Dan Hurley to place faith in the kids he brought aboard

We have Castle coming to play PG in 2023 for 1 year is the expectation. The 22-23 portal if Cole comes back needs to be about giving him a real 2nd ball handler. If Cole doesnt come back then we really need a PG in the portal...either way we need a PG transfer. We can't have 22-23 PG rest on Diggins and Gaff with the rest of roster in good shape.

 

[Storrs South]

Cole (Assuming he comes back) - Super Senior
Hawkins - Sophmore
Jackson - Junior
Akok - Senior
Sanogo - Junior

We'd have one of our main guys who is younger than a junior. Next year isn't an inexperienced squad. Maybe our bench is. But our top guys will be very experienced. Cole, Sanogo, Hawkins, and Jackson are all LEGITIMATE all conference players. With another dynamic guard we are scary

Add the fact that every team in the conference is losing everyone except Creighton and Seton Hall, baseline we should be talking about another top 3 finish in conference and looking to win the whole thing.

 

[Jbirdp5]

Yes I think Dan Hurley is going to replace the 2 open scholarships we have from transfers graduating with 2 new transfers. We're not even connected to a single 2022 recruit right now

You also have to factor in roster construction. Hurley likes balanced classes so he wouldn’t want a 5 man freshman class anyway, so even before the portal was this big thing he’d probably be looking for a transfer to balance out the classes.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You can’t trust him until you see him play well. For now, we need someone we know can do the job on the roster.

See this is the mistake you make. It’s nonsense. Hurley has seen him play. What we’ve seen is irrelevant. Freshmen come in and contribute all the time and coaches expect them to.

Diggins is going to play. He may not start, maybe we bring in a PG, but I don’t think we want a multi-year player with Castle coming in. Johnson is going to play a lot. I think Floyd is going to play quite a bit and so is Karaban. Both guys got time in practice last year, like Akok did his first year.

 

[aburks41]

See this is the mistake you make. It’s nonsense. Hurley has seen him play. What we’ve seen is irrelevant. Freshmen come in and contribute all the time and coaches expect them to.

Diggins is going to play. He may not start, maybe we bring in a PG, but I don’t think we want a multi-year player with Castle coming in. Johnson is going to play a lot. I think Floyd is going to play quite a bit and so is Karaban. Both guys got time in practice last year, like Akok did his first year.

Why would we not want a multi-year guy? If Jackson has a huge season next year and goes to the NBA, that leaves our PG depth in 2023 with just Diggins and Castle so either way we will need a 3rd PG. Might as well get one now because it's a huge hole on the roster for this upcoming season anyways.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Why would we not want a multi-year guy? If Jackson has a huge season next year and goes to the NBA, that leaves our PG depth in 2023 with just Diggins and Castle so either way we will need a 3rd PG. Might as well get one now because it's a huge hole on the roster for this upcoming season anyways.

Why would you need more than Diggins and Castle? You bring in a freshman in 2024. People are delusional about how many PGs you keep on a roster. 3 is the max, and that's with one who is a desperation backup (T Sam, Donnell Beverly etc.). Go look at UConn history and see how many PG we rostered. 2014-15 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com I'm being generous and counting guys like Craig Austrie as PG and even *Antonio Kellogg. Two of the 1s featured Ben Gordon at SG and all had Tony Robinson as a combo.
From 2014-15 back: 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2*, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2

Tony Robinson was a Combo and that allowed UConn to carry fewer PG. I believe Floyd is also considered a PG. There are also years where Ben had a high assiste rate, and Caron had a high assist rate. Jackson also allows us flexibility with his high assist rate.

 

[navery12]

Why would you need more than Diggins and Castle? You bring in a freshman in 2024. People are delusional about how many PGs you keep on a roster. 3 is the max, and that's with one who is a desperation backup (T Sam, Donnell Beverly etc.). Go look at UConn history and see how many PG we rostered. 2014-15 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com I'm being generous and counting guys like Craig Austrie as PG and even *Antonio Kellogg. Two of the 1s featured Ben Gordon at SG and all had Tony Robinson as a combo.
From 2014-15 back: 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2*, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2

Tony Robinson was a Combo and that allowed UConn to carry fewer PG. I believe Floyd is also considered a PG. There are also years where Ben had a high assiste rate, and Caron had a high assist rate. Jackson also allows us flexibility with his high assist rate.

Floyd is not a PG, not even close. This narrative needs to die

 

[HuskyHawk]

Floyd is not a PG, not even close. This narrative needs to die

Who said he was. The point is, if you have a versatile combo G, you need less dept at PG.

 

[navery12]

Who said he was. The point is, if you have a versatile combo G, you need less dept at PG.

You did, literally in the post I just quoted

I believe Floyd is also considered a PG.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

New guard on the portal who might be of interest:

Jamel Horton from Albany. 6'4 190 guard from Queens with one year of eligibility remaining.

12.8p, 3.4r, 3.9a, 2.3 TO, 1.1s, career 44.1 2p%, 35.8 3p%, 73.4 ft%. Played all his minutes at the point guard spot at Albany.

IMO, possible depth option if Cole returns.

 

[MJ1]

Add the fact that every team in the conference is losing everyone except Creighton and Seton Hall, baseline we should be talking about another top 3 finish in conference and looking to win the whole thing.

You mean Creighton and Marquette, Seton Hall losses 5 senior’s. Cale, Ike, Rhoden, Harris, and Aiken are all gone from the Hall.

 

[aburks41]

You mean Creighton and Marquette, Seton Hall losses 5 senior’s. Cale, Ike, Rhoden, Harris, and Aiken are all gone from the Hall.

They have an extra covid year

 

[Hey Adrien!]

They have an extra covid year

According to Verbal Commits, Harris/Rhoden/Ike have extra years. Cale/Aiken do not.

Verbal Commits

www.verbalcommits.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

You did, literally in the post I just quoted

Ugh. I meant to type "combo guard'. I was comparing him to Tony Robinson.