UConn still has four open scholarships for next season but likely won’t fill all of them.

[HuskyHawk]

Jackson, Johnson, and Karaban are all expected to stretch the floor while playing the 4.

Yep. We can debate how much.

Serious question for anyone who wants to chime in. If you are playing 4 out, wouldn't that infer that you have a stretch 4? Is Jackson truly a stretch 4?

That's the question, isn't it. Not really. He needs to shoot well enough that they need to guard him. The problem is that the stretch 4 is usually going to be on the wing/corner area of the court (the right side typically) and Jackson probably won't, because he's a facilitator on offense and we want him up to. So no, he won't be a stretch 4 on offense, but he'd guard the 4 on defense.

This is one of the reasons I think he will play less at the 4 than some people. I think we will find out it isn't really working, because Alleyne would actually need to play the stretch 4 on offense. Johnson and Karaban can be stretch 4s. They can both shoot and play that corner/wing position on offense.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's a very traditional lineup when Samson is on the floor at PF. which is half the time, and four-out style only when he's off the court.

Overall it looks very good, but a third guard would give a little more versatility to the roster and help them throw different looks.

Why would you say Johnson isn't still a 4 out offense? He can shoot 3s better than Jackson can.

 

[CTBasketball]

I think the starting lineup will be:
G - Newton
G - Hawkins
G - Jackson
F - Karaban
C - Sanogo

Alleyne first guard off the bench, Johnson sees significant minutes at the 4/5. Obviously that changes if Castle reclasses or we get another competent guard worthy of starting, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[auror]

That's a very traditional lineup when Samson is on the floor at PF. which is half the time, and four-out style only when he's off the court.

Overall it looks very good, but a third guard would give a little more versatility to the roster and help them throw different looks.

Johnson had a reputation as a guy who was going to be a shooter coming out of high school, and then (small sample size alert) took 4.4 3s/100 pos he was in last year, which was higher than Jackson or Whaley and around the same as Akok (and Martin a year earlier). He'll likely shoot it even more frequently this year.

 

[Rico444]

Serious question for anyone who wants to chime in. If you are playing 4 out, wouldn't that infer that you have a stretch 4? Is Jackson truly a stretch 4?

All it means is that you're playing 4 players on offense outside of the 3-point line. It doesn't mean anything other than that. There's no rule that says you have to play a Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, and Center at all times.

 

[pj]

Why would you say Johnson isn't still a 4 out offense? He can shoot 3s better than Jackson can.

Johnson had a reputation as a guy who was going to be a shooter coming out of high school, and then (small sample size alert) took 4.4 3s/100 pos he was in last year, which was higher than Jackson or Whaley and around the same as Akok (and Martin a year earlier). He'll likely shoot it even more frequently this year.

I hope you guys are right. Last year he attempted 5 3's and made 1, for 20%.

 

[UCSouth]

All it means is that you're playing 4 players on offense outside of the 3-point line. It doesn't mean anything other than that. There's no rule that says you have to play a Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, and Center at all times.

You missed my point. The point is that Jackson in that offense is never going to be a stretch 4. He'd have a hard time getting a decent shot off if someone was even in the vicinity. Karaban and Johnson would, potentially, be better options. As a true stretch 4.

 

[Rico444]

You missed my point. The point is that Jackson in that offense is never going to be a stretch 4. He'd have a hard time getting a decent shot off if someone was even in the vicinity. Karaban and Johnson would, potentially, be better options. As a true stretch 4.

They are only better fits if you think a stretch 4 is required to play a 4 out offense. I don't believe that to be the case.

 

[BlueMAB]

Johnson and Karaban can be stretch 4s. They can both shoot and play that corner/wing position on offense.

No, it doesn't look like that at all. We have no idea how good these guys are or how good Johnson and Karaban will be. We certainly don't know who else is coming or how good they are, but I doubt they will be better than anybody on the roster now other than Springs. I can't even confidently say that Hawkins is better than Johnson or Karaban, just that he got minutes because we had nobody else and has nice potential.

Better? No. He played more, so I have greater information. Until a guy plays significant minutes I don't know if he's good or not. Johnson could be the best player on the team. Karaban might be. Who the hell knows? And no, I don't buy "if he was that good he'd play", because Hurley has pretty consistently misjudged players so far.

Why would you say Johnson isn't still a 4 out offense? He can shoot 3s better than Jackson can.

 

[bendm]

Newton 30- Transfer 10
Alleyne 25- Hawk 10- Transfer 5
Hawk 15- Jackson 20- Karaban 5
Jackson 10- Samson 20- Karaban 10
Sanogo 30- Clingan 10

30- Newton, AJ, Sanogo
25- Alleyne, Hawkins
20- Samson
15- Karaban, Transfer
10- Clingan

everyone has their own opinions on the rotations but how can anyone be bummed about this roster overall? the pieces fit together so much better than last year. preseason top 20-25 but w/ a top 10-15 ceiling. can get past the sweet 16 with the right matchups. guess i didnt get the championship or bust memo.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are you suggesting he can’t shoot 3s? I think you’d be alone in that. Here is his HS coach.

"He has the ability to play four positions," David said. "He'll also bring in 3-point shooting from he four spot. He shot close to 40 percent from three this season."

 

[Rico444]

Are you suggesting he can’t shoot 3s? I think you’d be alone in that. Here is his HS coach.

"He has the ability to play four positions," David said. "He'll also bring in 3-point shooting from he four spot. He shot close to 40 percent from three this season."

No, you said in two previous posts that you have no idea how good a player can be until they play significant minutes then decide to say that Samson is a better 3 point shooter than Jackson with nothing to back it up. Andre shot 45% from 3 in his senior season of high school btw.

 

[superjohn]

Are you suggesting he can’t shoot 3s? I think you’d be alone in that. Here is his HS coach.

"He has the ability to play four positions," David said. "He'll also bring in 3-point shooting from he four spot. He shot close to 40 percent from three this season."

That's his high school coach talking nonsense. You think Samson has the ability to play four positions?

 

[superjohn]

No, you said in two previous posts that you have no idea how good a player can be until they play significant minutes then decide to say that Samson is a better 3 point shooter than Jackson with nothing to back it up. Andre shot 45% from 3 in his senior season of high school btw.

And Jackson shot 36% from three last season, 39% in Big East play.

 

[HuskyHawk]

No, you said in two previous posts that you have no idea how good a player can be until they play significant minutes then decide to say that Samson is a better 3 point shooter than Jackson with nothing to back it up. Andre shot 45% from 3 in his senior season of high school btw.

Dear God. Are we having that argument? We have all seen Andre's set/push shot. Hit hits some when wide open, but couldn't even get it off if guarded, given his release. Being an overall player is different than evaluating a known skill. I don't have any doubts Johnson can shoot, just as I didn't with Hawkins, who missed everything early on. I don't doubt he can run, jump, dunk and block shots at a high level. The real question is his strength, man defense and lateral quickness. But the length makes up for some of that.

"Johnson, 6 feet 10 with a 7-5 wingspan, showed some flashes of his versatility in the scrimmage: coming out of nowhere to block a shot, hitting a couple of 3s and making an impressive baseline move." “You’ve got a 6-10 guy, he’s like a pterodactyl,” Hurley said. “The guys playing in front of him have got to keep him off the court, they’ll have to produce. He has days when he looks like that, and he has some days when he’s overwhelmed. He’s a special talent.”

Dan Hurley, UConn men developing ‘perimeter firepower’ as season nears

The UConn men know what they have in Adana Sanogo in the post. A point of emphasis is opening up the middle for him to do his thing. “We have enough depth where you’ve got to be giving …

www.courant.com

 

[NotADime89]

Dear God. Are we having that argument? We have all seen Andre's set/push shot. Hit hits some when wide open, but couldn't even get it off if guarded, given his release. Being an overall player is different than evaluating a known skill. I don't have any doubts Johnson can shoot, just as I didn't with Hawkins, who missed everything early on. I don't doubt he can run, jump, dunk and block shots at a high level. The real question is his strength, man defense and lateral quickness. But the length makes up for some of that.

"Johnson, 6 feet 10 with a 7-5 wingspan, showed some flashes of his versatility in the scrimmage: coming out of nowhere to block a shot, hitting a couple of 3s and making an impressive baseline move." “You’ve got a 6-10 guy, he’s like a pterodactyl,” Hurley said. “The guys playing in front of him have got to keep him off the court, they’ll have to produce. He has days when he looks like that, and he has some days when he’s overwhelmed. He’s a special talent.”

Dan Hurley, UConn men developing ‘perimeter firepower’ as season nears

The UConn men know what they have in Adana Sanogo in the post. A point of emphasis is opening up the middle for him to do his thing. “We have enough depth where you’ve got to be giving …

www.courant.com

 

[MrSec224]

Serious question for anyone who wants to chime in. If you are playing 4 out, wouldn't that infer that you have a stretch 4? Is Jackson truly a stretch 4?

No 4 out with just strictly mean that 4 can shoot with one on the inside. College hoops is mostly positionless at this point so I would get caught up on the numbers. Stretch 4 would be mostly defined as a guy who can guard the paint on defense and shoot the 3 on the other end.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's his high school coach talking nonsense. You think Samson has the ability to play four positions?

No. Maybe 3 at some point. But this all started because PJ said we wouldn't be playing 4 out with Johnson at the 4. Merely pointed out that that makes no sense at all. He can shoot. In fact, with that length, from the corner, he's a very tough matchup for small ball teams. Karaban too. Springs is the only guy who can't do that (as far as we know).

 

[CL82]

All it means is that you're playing 4 players on offense outside of the 3-point line. It doesn't mean anything other than that. There's no rule that says you have to play a Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, and Center at all times.

True, but whoever you put out there still has to defend on the other end.

 

[bendm]

even though AJ isn't a traditional stretch 4 there is still plenty of benefit to starting games with a small ball lineup with him playing at the "4." no more slow starts on offense and digging ourselves into an early hole for one.

it would be nothing like last year when we had to play two Cs together because AJ is an infinitely better passer and ball handler than whaley. if a defender is sagging off AJ on the perimeter he can either take the open shot or beat them with his passing e.g. dump it into sanogo, hit cutters in the lane, or just swing the ball around the arc. we've seen him throw skip passes to the opposite corner to shift the D. either way, with four Gs the passing around the perimeter will be crispy and the ball wont stop moving until sanogo gets it under the basket.

when AJ gets a defensive rebound he can either bring the ball up the floor himself with a slower defender trying to stay in front him or hit guys with an outlet. we will really be able to speed things up compared to last year.

 

[bendm]

The problem is that the stretch 4 is usually going to be on the wing/corner area of the court (the right side typically)

this is such an old fashioned rule of thumb. akok just stood in the right corner b/c it's all he could do.

 

[HuskyHawk]

this is such an old fashioned rule of thumb. akok just stood in the right corner b/c it's all he could do.

Absolute nonsense. It's what Hurley runs.

 

[bendm]

Absolute nonsense. It's what Hurley runs.

so that's why you're so anti small ball...if you think AJ is going to just stand in the corner on offense you're nuts. I’d have a hard time thinking up a worse way to use him.

the personnel dictates the scheme not the other way around. the offense is going to look very different.

 

[Rico444]

True, but whoever you put out there still has to defend on the other end.

That's true, but I think Andre should be able to handle most assignments at the 4 this year assuming that's what he's asked to do.

 

[HuskyHawk]

if you think AJ is going to stand in the corner on offense you're nuts

Did you even read? AJ will not stand in the corner. He's a facilitator and will play more like a second PG on offense. I expect AJ and Newton to play more like a big Boat/Bazz or Kemba/Bazz combination. Here is what I said.

Yep. We can debate how much.

That's the question, isn't it. Not really. He needs to shoot well enough that they need to guard him. The problem is that the stretch 4 is usually going to be on the wing/corner area of the court (the right side typically) and Jackson probably won't, because he's a facilitator on offense and we want him up to. So no, he won't be a stretch 4 on offense, but he'd guard the 4 on defense.

This is one of the reasons I think he will play less at the 4 than some people. I think we will find out it isn't really working, because Alleyne would actually need to play the stretch 4 on offense. Johnson and Karaban can be stretch 4s. They can both shoot and play that corner/wing position on offense.

Someone else will play the right wing position on offense that the 4 would normally play, because AJ will be up top, with Newton. Those two will either (a) get it to Sanogo; (b) shoot; (c) pass to the wings if open outside or on cuts; or (d) penetrate to either pass or score. We should see a lot less ball screening and an end to handoffs, and more passing and player movement. Akok was also a screener in our offense. Sanogo can come up for PicknR.

I think Hurley has a lot to figure out here. Lots of pieces and he has to fit them together. People getting super excited about the offense, and it will be different. My point is, those two wings (who shouldn't just stand around obviously) need to be good outside shooters. They also need to be able to cut backdoor and catch and score at the rim.