We will be a top 25 team next year - Lock it in

[AntG168]

Well, a lot of people on this board are making the argument that Juwan Durham is going to be much better at his next stop because his recovery from torn ACL was holding him back

I'll give you this one. Thats an interesting point. I guess the counter argument would be juwan tore 2 ACLs in back to back seasons

 

[superjohn]

There is a huge range where this team can fall. There is a lot of high end talent and we need them to be as advertised, and we need a big to pop. It wouldn't take a ton to make the team a disaster either. Anyone who is confident in any prediction for next year is clueless.

I see three high end talents, two of them have a bit of a question mark.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well, a lot of people on this board are making the argument that Juwan Durham is going to be much better at his next stop because his recovery from torn ACL was holding him back

What was holding him back is that he hasn't really played in 3 years. I think he will be darned good eventually. Larrier may not be as good early, as he was last year, but he'll be fine.

 

[upstater]

What was holding him back is that he hasn't really played in 3 years. I think he will be darned good eventually. Larrier may not be as good early, as he was last year, but he'll be fine.

It will be interesting to see that now Durham will not have played in 4 years at his next stop.

 

[Walker11]

I see three high end talents, two of them have a bit of a question mark.

Me too. I think that should be a great starting point in the AAC.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

Question: do you think rique can be the bazz to jalen's kemba? Not a 'star' per se but VERY good

If he had played his freshman year and had one year under his belt then I would say yes. Unfortunately, even our greatest guards throughout Uconn history were never VERY GOOD (in the vein of a junior year Boatright) in their freshman years.

 

[King Husky]

Tyler Polley and Josh Carlton are being overlooked. Polley is around 20 slots lower than Sidney Wilson in composite rankings. Different players, but what I'm trying to say is that he's no slouch! We beat out good teams for him. Josh Carlton was a beast when I saw him in person. The pieces COULD be there. We won't know until the season.

The one part I disagreed with in OPs post is that Whaley and Cobb are underrated. Carlton and Polley I have more hope for.

 

[InKembaITrust]

Barring any injuries Alterique is going to be an absolute STUD this upcoming season. Unlike Larrier he'll have his legs underneath him and a major chip on his shoulder (pun intended).

He, Larrier and Diarra are going to be some extremely hungry huskies with a dark cloud of doubt-filled fans over their heads every game, only giving them more motivation to leave it all out on the floor.

The only thing I worry about is the chemistry between Alterique & Jalen. I wasn't crazy about what I saw early on this past season with Jalen playing off the ball. Jalen's a ball dominate guard who needs it in his hand as much as possible creating for himself and others. Will however be refreshing to have 2 ball handlers on the court together and they have all summer to figure it out.

Al, Larrier and Diarra need this mentality:

 

[Austin316]

Josh Carlton is a sleeper...

 

[gtcam]

I'll give you that the surgery and rehab are a lot better. Gilbert will likely be 100% functionally, in my educated opinion, but with a small risk of re-injury. But ACL recovery is a little different, particularly for a sport like basketball. Larrier is more likely to lack a little explosiveness and lateral quickness the first year, but will get more of it the more he plays. Adrian Peterson style recoveries are rare.

I've coached dozens of soccer players (male and female) coming off ACL injuries, including my daughter who went on to become an All American, and with the exception of two I can think of, all performed extremely well at higher levels of play.

 

[JMick]

I've coached dozens of soccer players (male and female) coming off ACL injuries, including my daughter who went on to become an All American, and with the exception of two I can think of, all performed extremely well at higher levels of play.

you realize you're talking to an actual doctor, right?

 

[4in16]

I just want to see the team stay healthy and go from there.

 

[willie99]

I'm with the OP, time will tell

Can't wait

 

[David 76]

I've coached dozens of soccer players (male and female) coming off ACL injuries, including my daughter who went on to become an All American, and with the exception of two I can think of, all performed extremely well at higher levels of play.

Congratulations to your daughter and you!

 

[SouthBayHusky]

I've coached dozens of soccer players (male and female) coming off ACL injuries, including my daughter who went on to become an All American, and with the exception of two I can think of, all performed extremely well at higher levels of play.

Wow – so now players coming off of ACL injuries rarely have set backs ( can only think of 2), but they actually come back at higher levels. Whatever you're smoking I want some of it !!!

 

[BUConn10]

Question: do you think rique can be the bazz to jalen's kemba? Not a 'star' per se but VERY good

Yes I think ALterique can definitely be the Bazz to Kemba, the only problem is I don't think Jalen will be nearly as dominant as Kemba had to be on a much better roster. Jalen's jump shot is far from the level we need for Kemba/Bazz heroics.

 

[AntG168]

Yes I think ALterique can definitely be the Bazz to Kemba, the only problem is I don't think Jalen will be nearly as dominant as Kemba had to be on a much better roster. Jalen's jump shot is far from the level we need for Kemba/Bazz heroics.

But its a much better roster in retrospect. Going into that season ppl were as down on that team as this one. I believe the pre season polls had Quinnipiac ahead of us that yr. We dont know how this roster will shake out. Can larrier be lamb? Polley = roscoe? Im not saying they will but its hard to deem that roster better when this one hasnt played yet, given that that one wasnt considered special until they played

 

[Huskyforlife]

Adams-Anderson
Gilbert-Anderson
Vital-Polley
Larrier-Diarra
Carlton-Cobb

This is basically what we're looking at for next year. I think this team makes the NIT if Adams marginally improves, and has a chance of being a low seed if Adams has a Kemba/Shabazz type year. But this is assuming one of our many new front court players surprises us. If not, we're in for a long, painful year.

 

[BUConn10]

But its a much better roster in retrospect. Going into that season ppl were as down on that team as this one. I believe the pre season polls had Quinnipiac ahead of us that yr. We dont know how this roster will shake out. Can larrier be lamb? Polley = roscoe? Im not saying they will but its hard to deem that roster better when this one hasnt played yet, given that that one wasnt considered special until they played

Retrospect yes, but within 1 game of watching that squad of freshman you knew they could all play. No missed layups, no stepping out of bounds, only full court heaves with 11 seconds to go and a national championship level roster when the post season hit. Outside of KO's signature studs in each class, his incoming role players have been raw and frankly bad.

 

[AntG168]

Retrospect yes, but within 1 game of watching that squad of freshman you knew they could all play. No missed layups, no stepping out of bounds, only full court heaves with 11 seconds to go and a national championship level roster when the post season hit. Outside of KO's signature studs in each class, his incoming role players have been raw and frankly bad.

Good point. Hopefully in game 1 they suprise us as well

 

[NowInStorrs]

Good point. Hopefully in game 1 they suprise us as well

And not in last year's game 1 surprise kind of way.

 

[temery]

I hope not. At least not until February.

 

[upstater]

But its a much better roster in retrospect. Going into that season ppl were as down on that team as this one. I believe the pre season polls had Quinnipiac ahead of us that yr. We dont know how this roster will shake out. Can larrier be lamb? Polley = roscoe? Im not saying they will but its hard to deem that roster better when this one hasnt played yet, given that that one wasnt considered special until they played

I agree with you in the sense that next year's roster may be more talented.

The 2014 roster has one NBA guy on it.

Next year's roster has 2 potentially (Larrier and Adams).

Maybe Alterique.

But the problem of course is that they are all mostly new, and all the glue guys and role players are new, new to the defense and offense.

So, despite the talent, it will be hard to believe that the experience and savvy of, say, Niels Giffey and Lasan Kromah will be replaced by Polley/Diarra and Anderson. Too much to ask.

Adams could improve his game though and make the kind of transformative leap that Kemba and Shabazz did.

 

[JMick]

I agree with you in the sense that next year's roster may be more talented.

The 2014 roster has one NBA guy on it.

Next year's roster has 2 potentially (Larrier and Adams).

Maybe Alterique.

But the problem of course is that they are all mostly new, and all the glue guys and role players are new, new to the defense and offense.

So, despite the talent, it will be hard to believe that the experience and savvy of, say, Niels Giffey and Lasan Kromah will be replaced by Polley/Diarra and Anderson. Too much to ask.

Adams could improve his game though and make the kind of transformative leap that Kemba and Shabazz did.

#hottake of the century. This team may be more talented than 2014? Is this for real?

Not to mention they were talking about the 2011 NC team.

 

[Burnsbros23]

need a grad transfer