UConn, top 30 team next year. | The Boneyard

UConn, top 30 team next year.

Travelman6

Travelman6

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College Basketball Preseason Top 25

The only top 25 you need to read.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com

Under "FIVE THAT JUST MISSED THE CUT"

Not that it means much considering Dayton and Illinois are missing from the Top 25 as I think they belong, but good to see UConn getting some (positive) press just the same.

Thoughts?
 
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uconNYC said:
Made me curious - when was the last time we were ranked?
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16-17 we topped out at 18th.

I'm stoked and I think the expectations are not only fair, but better than I expected before reading these "too early" rankings. Overall, we seem to be mostly placed in the top-5 of the conference and there are some clear tiers to how some people see the conference will look next year.

Tier 1 (top 5-10 in nation)
Villanova
Creighton

Tier 2 (top 25-40 in the nation, teams looking to improve)
UConn, Xavier, Providence

Tier 3 (projected years looking worse than 19/20, but still solid teams)
Marquette, Butler, Seton Hall

Tier 4 (might surprise us, but low expectations)
Georgetown, St. John's

Tier 5 (a down 20/21, but should be better in 21/22)
DePaul
 
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Travelman32 said:
www.yahoo.com

College Basketball Preseason Top 25

The only top 25 you need to read.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com

Under "FIVE THAT JUST MISSED THE CUT"

Not that it means much considering Dayton and Illinois are missing from the Top 25 as I think they belong, but good to see UConn getting some (positive) press just the same.

Thoughts?
Expand ...
When a guy starts his article with references to a "handful" of players who will obviously be leaving early and names only Anthony, Edwards, and Wiseman, you know the article is suspect.

Even the Simpsons have 4 fingers.
 
Top 30 if we get no more pieces for next season. Add a grad transfer or freshman and we’re top 20.
 
Providence is under ranked by this service
They will definitely be top 20
The transfer ins are really good and what they have coming back is strong

DePaul has a young team but a really good PG to lead them
 
Travelman32 said:
Dayton and Illinois are missing from the Top 25
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With Obi gone, can’t see Dayton in the top 25, not even the top of the A10.

I agree that Illinois could be a top 25 team so long as Kofi stays. Ayo is gone so the 2 freshman guards (I forget their names, I think a 5 star, and then a 4 star) will be expected to carry a big load. However if Kofi leaves I don’t see them close to the top 25
 
We're a top 25 team once the roster is filled out. How high we go depends on the caliber of player that we add, but I think that's where we end up once all the NBA stuff shakes out.
 
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I think we are underestimating how much we relied on Vital. He was instrumental to our end of season success. I don't see us anywhere near the top 25, at least early on, until multiple players prove they can play at a high level consistently.
 
UofCT2009 said:
I think we are underestimating how much we relied on Vital. He was instrumental to our end of season success. I don't see us anywhere near the top 25, at least early on, until multiple players prove they can play at a high level consistently.
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I totally agree with you, he put the team on his back through the final stretch.
 
UofCT2009 said:
I think we are underestimating how much we relied on Vital. He was instrumental to our end of season success. I don't see us anywhere near the top 25, at least early on, until multiple players prove they can play at a high level consistently.
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I love Vital, top 3 favorite Husky of all time. But I’m very confident RJ Cole and an improved Bouknight can offset his production.
 
JimHurley said:
I love Vital, top 3 favorite Husky of all time. But I’m very confident RJ Cole and an improved Bouknight can offset his production.
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Not on the boards nor on D. Bouk ain't great on D yet, and it's apparently Cole's weakness.

Also missing that emotional heart and soul
 
intlzncster said:
Not on the boards nor on D. Bouk ain't great on D yet, and it's apparently Cole's weakness.

Also missing that emotional heart and soul
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We witnessed the same thing when Kemba left. We looked GREAT on paper but we lost the emotional heart and soul. The same can be said for other heart & soul departures

1) Post AJ/Adrien = NIT
2) Post Kemba = Bubble
3) Post Shabazz = NIT
4) Post Boatright = Bubble

I hope the same thing does not happen with Vital but we are losing a lot more than his statistics.
 
intlzncster said:
Not on the boards nor on D. Bouk ain't great on D yet, and it's apparently Cole's weakness.

Also missing that emotional heart and soul
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I agree defense could be an issue next year losing Vital and Akok likely out as well. This is where someone like Jackson could earn minutes.
 
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UofCT2009 said:
I think we are underestimating how much we relied on Vital. He was instrumental to our end of season success. I don't see us anywhere near the top 25, at least early on, until multiple players prove they can play at a high level consistently.
Expand ...
Vital was great the last 3 weeks of the season but I think you're underestimating how good Bouknight is going to be, how much Gaffney is going to improve, how much better all our additions and having a full roster instead of 8 players is going to make us.
 
UofCT2009 said:
We witnessed the same thing when Kemba left. We looked GREAT on paper but we lost the emotional heart and soul. The same can be said for other heart & soul departures

1) Post AJ/Adrien = NIT
2) Post Kemba = Bubble
3) Post Shabazz = NIT
4) Post Boatright = Bubble

I hope the same thing does not happen with Vital but we are losing a lot more than his statistics.
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We all love CV and how he closed out his career but please don't compare his departure to Kemba's.
 
JimHurley said:
I love Vital, top 3 favorite Husky of all time. But I’m very confident RJ Cole and an improved Bouknight can offset his production.
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It will def be hard to match CV's heart and soul that's for sure. I do think that Jackson will bring that swagger that we'll also miss from CV. He seems to be a fiery type player.
 
intlzncster said:
Not on the boards nor on D. Bouk ain't great on D yet, and it's apparently Cole's weakness.

Also missing that emotional heart and soul
Expand ...

You are right on the defense. Bouk will surprise you on the boards. But D is my biggest concern next year. If we start Cole, Gaffney, and Bouk that will be nasty offense but weak defense. That’s a big reason I was pulling for AG to return.
 
PROJECTED STARTERS: R.J. Cole, James Bouknight, Andre Jackson, Akok Akok, Josh Carlton

Bouk, definitely.
Cole, probably. I'm looking forward to see if he's as good as advertised, consistently.
Josh maybe, at least to start but other people especially Whaley will be making their case to start. If Josh gets back to end of soph year form, he stays a starter all year. That would be a good news.
Akok, I have a healthy skepticism that he'll be back next year, given that it would likely be January at the earliest before he is cleared.
Jackson? It's a lot to ask of him out of the gate. I fully expect him to be a major contributor by March.
 
The more I think, I say the starters will be Cole, Gaffney, Bouknight, Jackson, and Whaley. They’re small but that lineup allows us to play the way Hurley likes to play. If Nolley comes swap him for Jackson with Jackson as a 6th man.
 
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I’m going to go with Cole, Gaffney, Bouk, Springs, Whaley starting. Jackson, Carlton, Adams, Polley off the bench. Javonte Brown Ferguson and Akok red shirting. Still feels like this team is missing a guard and maybe a little scoring, toughness.
 
JimHurley said:
I love Vital, top 3 favorite Husky of all time. But I’m very confident RJ Cole and an improved Bouknight can offset his production.
Expand ...
Not even close
CV did so many of the intangibles plus will they have the toughness and heart?
Not to reply to your statement but I do not see UConn as a top 25 team next year. The NBE is a tougher basketball league top to bottom vs the AAC and UConn struggled in the AAC. Every NBE team will not want to be the one to lose to the "newcomer". It's like being a returning champion - the target will be on UConn
I also read that Cole is not even an average defensive player - a PG who is an open door is not good anywhere never mind the NBE.
 
gtcam said:
Not even close
CV did so many of the intangibles plus will they have the toughness and heart?
Not to reply to your statement but I do not see UConn as a top 25 team next year. The NBE is a tougher basketball league top to bottom vs the AAC and UConn struggled in the AAC. Every NBE team will not want to be the one to lose to the "newcomer". It's like being a returning champion - the target will be on UConn
I also read that Cole is not even an average defensive player - a PG who is an open door is not good anywhere never mind the NBE.
Expand ...
That’s not what Hurley said about Cole btw.
 
gtcam said:
Not even close
CV did so many of the intangibles plus will they have the toughness and heart?
Not to reply to your statement but I do not see UConn as a top 25 team next year. The NBE is a tougher basketball league top to bottom vs the AAC and UConn struggled in the AAC. Every NBE team will not want to be the one to lose to the "newcomer". It's like being a returning champion - the target will be on UConn
I also read that Cole is not even an average defensive player - a PG who is an open door is not good anywhere never mind the NBE.
Expand ...

Cole better be a good defender and Gaffney better improve dramatically or it won't be fun on that side of the court. I mean AG and CV were really solid down that end and many here don't watch that all that much. Despite the turnovers they committed even during the tough phase of the year they were the reason we were all IN the games due to their impact on that end. Adams was good, Gaffney improved a little but still got beat off the dribble by quicker guards fairly easy and I did see improvement in Bouk on that end, like what I hear on Jackson but I wold love to get a guard who can defend a little too. I have no problem with the guards and 3's making up for the Vital rebounding but not sure about the on man of those 2 hoping Cole is better than you're hearing after his year working with these guys.
 
UcannUconn said:
I’m going to go with Cole, Gaffney, Bouk, Springs, Whaley starting. Jackson, Carlton, Adams, Polley off the bench. Javonte Brown Ferguson and Akok red shirting. Still feels like this team is missing a guard and maybe a little scoring, toughness.
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I can’t see Javonte redshirting, especially with our injury issues and carlton’s fouling issues
 
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