Whaley NBA

[glastonbury50]

I haven't really heard much talk about this, but I wouldn't be shocked if Whaley has a shot to play at the next level. If he continues to improve next year he is certainly athletic enough. That would be such a great story.

 

[InKembaITrust]

Not happening.

 

[tuvent08]

I love this story as much as anyone, but let’s pump the brakes.

 

[Austin316]

Let’s see how he closes out next year in the big east before we start throwing out NBA chatter. Has he exceeded all of our expectations? YES!!!!! But he needs to explode next year. These last few games have been special. Let’s keep it going Pop!

 

[joober jones]

30 years ago he'd have a fighting chance. I do see him getting a summer league invite after next season though, should the improvement continue.

 

[Austin316]

Let’s delete this before we jinx the kid lol

 

[glastonbury50]

30 years ago he'd have a fighting chance. I do see him getting a summer league invite after next season though, should the improvement continue.

That's along the lines of what I'm thinking. I think he's better than Larrier. (Same size) in my defense someone started a Carlton NBA thread not long ago.

 

[Kitaman]

What's the sample size,6 or so games in 3 years of college ball?

 

[caw]

The way the NBA is going he is stuck in Freeman hell of being undersized for his position and not a good enough shooter. Yes I know he is taller than Freeman and he would probably have a better shot at the NBA if it were 2000 but nowadays he’s an NBA 5 and he would need to show he can make the 3 to make the NBA. Who knows though he could be like Siakam and a super late bloomer.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

It’s the shooting. He has to be able to shoot much better, preferably out to the three point line, if this were to have a chance of happening. His stroke isn’t awful, though, as you can tell from his free-throws.

 

[awfuldan]

Would probably need to become an above average three point shooter to even have a real chance.

Montrezl Harrell for the Clippers is the only real example I can think of, as far as undersized big men who can’t shoot succeeding in today’s NBA. And Whaley is a looooong way from being Montrezl Harrell.

 

[Goatmeat]

I love the guy...but not even close.

 

[MexicoHusky]

He would need to improve a lot.

Too small to be an nba big. And not skilled enough for much else.

 

[djct1999]

Jesus H Calhoun.

 

[Leebo]

Gavin Edwards plays in Japan. Whaley competing at that level would be a nice result for him, I think. Of course he still has another year, so I'm not going to say he won't improve even more, but eh.

 

[bigknight3]

Gavin Edwards plays in Japan. Whaley competing at that level would be a nice result for him, I think. Of course he still has another year, so I'm not going to say he won't improve even more, but eh.

My exact thought today was Hurley should be in Whaley's ear at the end of the year to say keep putting in the work and he could have a good run playing pro ball (internationally) some where if he really loved the sport and envisioned making a career out of it.

Not once did I jump to thinking the NBA was realistic.

 

[dennismenace]

He's fired up and becoming confident. Hurley will keep him motivated and Whaley will see in him what others saw in JC; that they can trust him when it comes to bringing out the best in them in basketball as well as character. And those attributes are portable. I can see him playing out a career in Europe or other international places and as long he continues to keep working. There is no telling how well he might do because he has just begun to awaken and he has a lot of athleticism that could be tapped. This is a great story because it transcends basketball and brings hope to everyone about the lessons of life. Hope it motivates other players and recruits on the team. We will need leaders next year as Uconn is reborn into the NBE. You can see that Husky hunger again. He is starting to remind me of Jared Dudley of BC who I used to dread (but actually admired!) when we played them. Relentless energy. Heavy duty motor. Go Isaiah!! We believe in you!

 

[tykurez]

Jeff Adrien? Undersized volume rebounders and proficient at finishing inside. He had a couple good little cameos in the NBA but Whaley’s size/style combination really has no place of fit in the present day NBA.

The fact that this is even a thread is quite something though. This kid is such a joy to watch I can’t remember someone arising this suddenly and so late in the year.

He’s certainly playing himself into a professional role somewhere.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

His goal last summer was to put on 20 lbs and be able to physically compete. He accomplished that. I would not be all that shocked to see him come back with 3 point range

 

[DayDayTFS]

While we need to pump the brakes, let’s see what he can do this offseason. Nobody, and I always saw a role for him, saw this coming.

 

[JB75]

Let’s see what happens the rest of this year as the competition will get tougher. I’ll tell u this, his improvement has been amazing. Even just how he finishes around the rim(the triple head fakes) his passing, he quick springs, etc. amazing. Softens the damage of losing akok. What a nice surprise. Let’s see what happens against Houston. We re gonna need to win out and have Memphis or smu or whichita st lose their next 2 game to get that enticing 6 seed. Memphis the most logical to lose out

 

[polycom]

You have clearly never watched an nba game in the last 60 months. And if you have you don’t know what you were watching.

 

[Brochacho]

This one is almost as good as the Carlton NBA thread. If it was 2009 and he made a massive leap next year, maybe he could lock down a Leon Powe or Jason Maxiell type role.

 

[cohenzone]

What's the sample size,6 or so games in 3 years of college ball?

True. But Hilton didn’t exactly look like he’d get a sniff until pretty late in his college career. I think Whaley’s area of improvement has to be in shooting out to 15-17 feet. The way he shoots foul shots, it seems doable.

 

[nomar]

I love that the kid’s playing so well he’s inspiring people to let their imaginations run wild

 

[Rocktheworld]

I love this story as much as anyone, but let’s pump the brakes.

Pull the e-break I say. Five good games in the AAC against bad teams (Memphis is at best mediocre) and we are talking about Whaley in the NBA. Why do people do this? Don’t he have a seasoned fan base that should know better?

 

[imno1]

Pull the e-break I say. Five good games in the AAC against bad teams (Memphis is at best mediocre) and we are talking about Whaley in the NBA. Why do people do this? Don’t he have a seasoned fan base that should know better?

They just do it to aggravate you. When Whaley comes back with an expanded offensive game next year there will be more talk

 

[Waquoit]

What's the sample size,6 or so games in 3 years of college ball?

The thing is nothing in his game right now that isn't repeatable. It's not like he's hitting 60% from 3. He should keep doing what he's doing and continue to build his game organically. He can make that mid-range jumper. Keep practicing it and shoot it with more confidence.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If he hits the three at about 40% then its possible he could play the 4 .If he had Carlton’s size and strength while retaining his quickness and elevation. Then he could play the 5.
Since he probably isn’t going to grow working on his shot would be a priority.
He really has a very simple offensive strategy and pretty much stays with the things he can do well. He has learned to get the most out of his strengths.

 

[Okafour rings]

When it got out last year that Hurley had told Whaley to work hard in the offseason, both in the weight room and on his moves on the court, which would result in more playing time, I thought he was being a bit disingenuous to Isaiah. I mean Isaiah scored only 19 points in 23 games last year, and the path to playing time looked blocked and he frankly didn't look good enough to warrant more minutes.

The transition has been shocking and amazing. And Hurley was true to his word as IW has earned his playing time this year. For as much grief as Sal Alosi has received on the Boneyard for Carlton's regression (being TOO heavy and plodding), Whaley's hops and his quick reactions have made him a talented starter and a strong defensive presence - he has averaged 2.4 blocks in his last 10 games which would place him 24th in the country, even though he's not gotten starter's minutes in all those games. He's become an excellent rebounder as well.

Forget the NBA talk, I just want to revel in Isaiah's play for our Huskies...that's what we should be enjoying.