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Tyler Polley

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I've watched him do it. Not by beating a defender but by taking advantage of an opening and going straight to the hoop.
Unfortunately we don't play ECU every game. LOL!
 
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I've watched him do it. Not by beating a defender but by taking advantage of an opening and going straight to the hoop.
Are you talking about the physical capacity to dunk a basketball? Yes, he has the capability to dunk a basketball. Dunking in a game time situation with any defender within 10 feet? No.
 
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Polley can dunk!!! It almost sounds made up that a 6'8 D1 basketball player can dunk but I've seen it with my own eyes.
 

HuskyHawk

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The guy has shut down the leading scorer for each of our previous games. He isn't built to play PF against any physical team. His rebounding is better and his shot is at least inconsistent right now rather than consistently bad. He is making more plays than he was.

Sid has to be a 3. Once Akok is available (and maybe Diarra), Sid should never see another minute at the 4. He's even more physically overmatched at the PF spot than Polley. He needs to dribble and shoot better, but he's a pure 3. I think he will become a good one.

Guys like Tyler Polley used to come to UConn, ride the bench for two years and then start to meaningfully contribute by their junior and senior seasons. Same with Brendan Adams. That's my expectation for him as well. Instead, with Diarra's injuries and the lack of depth, Polley is thrust into a starting role he's not ready for at this level of basketball. It's sad that so many here are bad-mouthing him. He is playing hard and improving. Let's see how you'd do in his shoes.
 

CL82

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Polley put on a lot of bulk since last year. Another year of Sal's off season training will do wonders for the kid. He is what it is though. I think he'd be more productive next year but he's not turning into Niels.

Carlton may be the guy who will benefit most from some quality Sal time. He has flashes and getting stronger is the biggest missing component for him.

Jury is still out for Sid for me. He needs size as well, but mostly needs to work on his handle. He seems so full of potential.

Brendan? I'm just not sure what Hurley saw in him. There's hope for a sophomore jump, but he really needs to make a case that he's a D-I player.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Akok all have the glow of highlight videos. I have a healthy skepticism about them until we see them play.

Yesterday's minutes tell us all we need to know about Whaley.

Alterique, assuming he's healthy, which I believe he will be, and CV are going to the engine that drives us.

In short, it's going to be another long season of development next year.
 
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Polley put on a lot of bulk since last year. Another year of Sal's off season training will do wonders for the kid. He is what it is though. I think he'd be more productive next year but he's not turning into Niels.

Carlton may be the guy who will benefit most from some quality Sal time. He has flashes and getting stronger is the biggest missing component for him.

Jury is still out for Sid for me. He needs size as well, but mostly needs to work on his handle. He seems so full of potential.

Brendan? I'm just not sure what Hurley saw in him. There's hope for a sophomore jump, but he really needs to make a case that he's a D-I player.

Gaffney, Bouknight and Akok all have the glow of highlight videos. I have a healthy skepticism about them until we see them play.

Yesterday's minutes tell us all we need to know about Whaley.

Alterique, assuming he's healthy, which I believe he will be, and CV are going to the engine that drives us.

In short, it's going to be another long season of development next year.
The three recruits are all much more talented than Polley.
 

CL82

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The three recruits are all much more talented than Polley.
One would hope. Still Polley will be in his third year of D-I ball. That experience matters.

In the end SJ, I try to fight the urge to believe that the new guys will solve all of our problems. Don't get me wrong. They are each good additions. It is just tough for freshman to be a difference maker for us. If one of them clicked and had a major impact, I'd be pleased. I don't expect all three of them to do that. I'd be glad to be wrong.
 
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I don't see Sid playing much 3 unless he improves his handle. He will play some now due to the injuries but I think Bouknight will see time there and he is 6-5 so would be perfect fit in Hurley's system.

The 3 is the only position he can really play in college. He doesn’t have the handles or defense to play either guard position and is not even close to big enough to play the 4 at 6’5 180lbs. We get punked a lot down low and that will continue if guys like Sid start at the 4 for us.
 
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The 3 is the only position he can really play in college. He doesn’t have the handles or defense to play either guard position and is not even close to big enough to play the 4 at 6’5 180lbs. We get punked a lot down low and that will continue if guys like Sid start at the 4 for us.
Sid I think is closer to 6-6 or 6-7. Either way he has been playing the PF spot all year as a reserve for us except for part of this past game due to injuries and could do the same next year. He has the athletic talent to play PF and with another off season of bulking up could easily stay there. Unless his handle and basketball instincts improve I don't see him starting at SF for us.
 
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We have all seen Polley do things we like. He can hit the three. He can drive and dunk. He can compete and win on the boards. We know he can do these things.

So I think we are tougher on him when he doesn't do the things we know is capable of. It is more frustrating to watch him miss consecutive open threes. Or stand around on the outside or have the ball taken out of his hands.

I expect he will get better. The question is how much better, how fast, will it be enough make an impact? Or will he stay right where he is Right now, it's just impossible to tell.
I respectively disagree with everything you just said and don't put down "We have all seen", I see something completely different. He stinks.
 
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I respectively disagree with everything you just said and don't put down "We have all seen", I see something completely different. He stinks.
Well unless we are playing ECU. LOL!
 
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I looked Polley’s stats and I was shocked to see he is shooting 3s at 33%. I was expecting something around 25. Last year was 41, but on many less attempts. He does have a clean stroke, hopefully it clicks for him real soon.
 

Doctor Hoop

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Are you talking about the physical capacity to dunk a basketball? Yes, he has the capability to dunk a basketball. Dunking in a game time situation with any defender within 10 feet? No.
I hate to bring facts into it, but he finished two fast breaks in the ECU game, 1 with a layup, 1 with a dunk.
 
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He is what he is.

He’s a top-125 type player who lost his freshman year with the rest of these guys.

Don’t know what his ceiling is, but I’d like to see him next year with a full year under Hurley and another offseason in the improved strengthening program.

I agree. We don't know what his upside is as of yet. In a game last night where we were short due to injuries, he had an opportunity to take more of a lead role on offense. He did drive to the hoop a couple of times, but he could get nothing to go down. He is one of those kids that looks very uncomfortable driving to the hoop but very comfortable as a catch and shoot guy. Although I think that Sid will develop into a better player, I think that Coach Hurley has become fond of Tyler's defensive skills. That may keep him on the floor. We shall see.
 
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Sid I think is closer to 6-6 or 6-7. Either way he has been playing the PF spot all year as a reserve for us except for part of this past game due to injuries and could do the same next year. He has the athletic talent to play PF and with another off season of bulking up could easily stay there. Unless his handle and basketball instincts improve I don't see him starting at SF for us.

Yeah he’s definitely been playing mainly the 4. One big problem I have is that you can just tell we don’t match up physically with high level teams. Teams like Villanova (Paschall), Syracuse (Brissett), and Iowa (Cook) have big bodies at the 4. Sid simply cannot matchup with those guys, neither can Polley. It’s like watching grown men feast on high schoolers.
 
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Yeah he’s definitely been playing mainly the 4. One big problem I have is that you can just tell we don’t match up physically with high level teams. Teams like Villanova (Paschall), Syracuse (Brissett), and Iowa (Cook) have big bodies at the 4. Sid simply cannot matchup with those guys, neither can Polley. It’s like watching grown men feast on high schoolers.
Polley is never going to be a guy who you want to throw against those type of players, but the problem is that there was nobody on our roster who could stop them. A good/deep roster hides the weaknesses of its players instead of forcing them to play at a disadvantage. Polley does some things well, and has some pronounced weaknesses too. The issue is that we've had no choice but to play him for close to 30 minutes each game.
 

gtcam

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You’re coming completely out of left field. What on earth does this have to do with Ollie? Hurley realizes that Polley is an important time of this program’s future, and even if Akok ends up starting at the 4, Polley will be a contributor and bring good things to the table for the next two years. The fact that he’s giving him so many minutes this year and starting to give him the other team’s top defensive assignment says as much. Hurley doesn’t care that Ollie recruited Polley, he sees that Polley has skill and potential and will be a part of the future of UConn basketball.

As for Brendan Adams...he was 100% a Hurley recruit who wasn’t even on UConn’s radar until Hurley took the helm, so I have no idea why you think my claim that BA will be a long-term contributor reflects a “love affair” with Ollie.

There is nothing in my post that is negative about the program. As has been the case consistently ever since Hurley was hired, I have complete confidence in his player development and evaluation abilities. He knows a lot more about basketball than you do, and I’m glad he’s making our player personnel decisions instead of you.

Seriously, what a nonsensical response.

"It goes with your history" !!!!!! He says
Unreal Stain, that's all I have to say
When he has Tens agreeing with him - that tells me all I need to know
 
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Save this thread for next year and substitute the word "Polley" for "Akok". Without additional bigs to help Carlton things won't be much different at the PF position. I believe Akok to be a slight upgrade but too much praise being heaped upon a kid that has not played one minute of college ball and wasn't even the best player on his prep team.
 
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Save this thread for next year and substitute the word "Polley" for "Akok". Without additional bigs to help Carlton things won't be much different at the PF position. I believe Akok to be a slight upgrade but too much praise being heaped upon a kid that has not played one minute of college ball and wasn't even the best player on his prep team.
Akok is top 50 recruit while polley is top 175 so of course Akok is going to come with higher expectations. He is also known as a shot blocker which won’t hurt inside. Teams don’t play 2 traditional bigs that much anymore. I didn’t see it last night for Temple who spanked us or Villanova who won it all. We do need more talent at the 4 and that is what Akok is suppose to provide. Expectations for Polley coming in was a bench player but unfortunately due to no healthy talent at the 4 he is needed to start there.
 
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Like Carlton, it’s too early to quit on him. He needs time to develop but I believe he’ll be a solid contributor before he leaves.

We need more talent, we need to develop the guys we have. The way this place quits on guys after one game is embarrassing
 
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We need better talent...if we can somehow get it. Otherwise we go with Polley, it’s that simple.
 
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True.

But that is not incompatable with our current players developing into better players capable of help our squad. In fact, that is the nature of college basketball.
Everyone right now has seen playing time way before they were ready. Vital has so far shown he has been up for the challenge. Carlton showing signs, all the others have a ways to go.
 

Fishy

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I agree. We don't know what his upside is as of yet. In a game last night where we were short due to injuries, he had an opportunity to take more of a lead role on offense. He did drive to the hoop a couple of times, but he could get nothing to go down. He is one of those kids that looks very uncomfortable driving to the hoop but very comfortable as a catch and shoot guy. Although I think that Sid will develop into a better player, I think that Coach Hurley has become fond of Tyler's defensive skills. That may keep him on the floor. We shall see.

I think he can become a useful player.

I’m pleasantly surprised by his defense and we know he can shoot.

I’d like to see him go the hoop more often - he does seem reticent to do it. He’s also prone to rushing threes - during that recent slump, a lot of his shots were taken when he wasn’t set. No one outside of Stephen Curry can consistently hit threes while he’s drifting towards the basket, but Tyler seemed determined to try.

I agree on Wilson....I think he’s the better prospect.
 
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I think Polley will be a very solid player over the next couple of years. He could be that bridge type player the program needs. We are all hoping akok is a force next year. Last year Sid was going to be the man. Doesn't always happen. For all the marshalls, hamiltons, and Freeman's, we've also had some dengs, Leblanc and Rudy johnsons.

Polley comes from great pedigree and seems to work hard. Have to love the excitement he showed for Josh's success this weekend.

Would not be surprised if it clicks and finishes his career as a 3 year starter averaging 10-12 ppl his last couple.

I would not count him out...
 

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