Whaley/Polley/Carlton Watch

[Chief00]

Sure, but guys who can score off motion or off the dribble. Not set shooters like Polley. In short, dynamic players. I think Gaffney can be that.

I would like a pure shooter and a scorer type. I like Gaffney too but next year will be his opportunity to produce consistently over a season. His 83% FT is something I like to see. I think it can go higher too.

 

[UconnU]

Give me Whaley back. He feeds off the fans more than any player I’ve ever seen. He needs one more shot with fans.

 

[uconnbill]

I love me some Whaley, but UConn needs another shooter or two. After watching the NCAA tourney you need a couple of players who can shoot the 3. Athletes are good but you need shooters too

 

[DICKG]

From Borges’ latest article:

Expect a slow trickle of announcements over the coming days/weeks on what UConn players may return for next season. It’s not out of the realm that a senior or two could return under the NCAA’s COVID-influenced guidelines that give them one extra year of eligibility.

Is there a date when they have to decide?

 

[Salty Dog]

Having any of the three back would be fine. It wouldn't take up any scholarships and could make our team much deeper / insulated from injury. It could also make practices more intense. As long as they earn their minutes and aren't given any kind of special treatment for returning, I can't see how it would hurt.

 

[AdamaNation]

Well, if Hurley asks any of them back, he essentially is admitting there is a role for them in his system. They can officially transition over to being a Hurley guy. If he doesn’t see a fit, he won’t be sentimental.

Guys they are all Hurley guys at this point anyways. They played one season for ollie for the love of all that is holy. Dan has coached them for 3 years now. No one knows the culture more than them.

 

[UCfor3]

Whaley: Yes if he is ok playing backup Center to Sanogo and not starting PF. We need defensive versatility in our backup Center against the 5 out teams. He offers that. With that said, we need a stretch 4 type to start at PF(hopefully Akok). Our offense is too paltry in the shooting dept for another year of both Sanogo and Whaley starting
Polley: While we need shooting, I would prefer multiple transfers for that role that offer more than just the occassional hot game. A shooter that can perhaps also help in other areas like defense, rebounding, passing, ability to break a guy down, etc...also someone that consistently has better shooting games. I'm not saying I wouldn't be happy to have him back. Just think we can and need to do better in this area. What will we do without HuskyMagic asking for a Polley takeover every 3rd comment in the chat? I think Gaffney is his new Huckleberry
Carlton: Only if Whaley doesn't return and he is willing to accept a pure backup role to Adama.

 

[metsfan2323]

I love me some Whaley, but UConn needs another shooter or two. After watching the NCAA tourney you need a couple of players who can shoot the 3. Athletes are good but you need shooters too

Maybe Whaley comes back next year with a better 3 point shot / mid range game. His shot has definitely improved each season he has been here.

 

[Chief00]

Maybe Whaley comes back next year with a better 3 point shot / mid range game. His shot has definitely improved each season he has been here.

I am all for IW coming back but not to be our 3 guy. I know with a couple of bank shots added in his 3 percentage with low volume is surprisingly good - but with a higher volume, IW would revert back to the mean.

 

[Kenny11]

Give me Whaley back. He feeds off the fans more than any player I’ve ever seen. He needs one more shot with fans.

Hell yeah. Whaley + fans + females on campus = all conference player

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Hope for those who want multiple players back. First example reported so far. Two of those guys are starters.



But I get it, who wouldn't want another year of college in Burlington?

 

[8893]

If you are designing a Whaley/Polley/Carlton watch, do you put Polley at the 12 for his number, or at the 3 for his expected contribution of shooting 3s?

Once you decide that, then you figure out where to put Whaley and Carlton.

 

[BrysonDeMan]

Hope for those who want multiple players back. First example reported so far. Two of those guys are starters.



But I get it, who wouldn't want another year of college in Burlington?

the level of talent in college hoops next year is going to be unbelievable .... both mid-majors and P5 teams

 

[dennismenace]

I wonder if they all have enough credits to graduate. If not, why not play while finishing up. If so, there's grad school. I'm not overly confident about next year's roster having these three bigs leave at the same time. I understand it's time to move on but having just one stay could be a big boost with experience.

Whaley and Carlton are bigs. Polley is a catch and shoot wing or guard who is abnormally tall. He has never been a rebounder; our guards put him to shame in rebounding.

 

[Improviser]

No offense but that’s crazy. You’re basically hoping Polley reverts to his pre-injury form from three, because I think we can agree that the huge majority the time, Polley does very little besides make threes or be a threat to make threes.

He shot 35% this year, and that number is propped up by the Marquette/Butler/DePaul stretch when he was on complete fire. He shot 30% in the other 20 games. That‘s just straight up poor.

Obviously all the shots count, and he basically won us those 3 road games which was beyond huge for our tournament resume, so I don‘t discount the value. I‘d just rather have a Brendan Adams if he’s going to shoot threes like Brendan Adams 85-90% of the time.

I think people are going to be very surprised how much our defense suffers from losing Whaley.

(One efficient new 3 point shooter)-(Polley and Adams) = net gain

Addition by subtraction

 

[Improviser]

Whaley and Carlton are bigs. Polley is a catch and shoot wing or guard who is abnormally tall. He has never been a rebounder; our guards put him to shame in rebounding.

Vital was a guard who did the same

 

[tzznandrew]

Polley is a 40% 3 shooter. Yeah we don’t need that.

He's not though. The two years he got up over 100 attempts he shot 38% and 35%.

 

[KembaStepback]

Whaley would come back and start. Akok would have to earn the spit IMO. Obv Sanogo will start as well.

 

[auggie22]

the level of talent in college hoops next year is going to be unbelievable .... both mid-majors and P5 teams

Great point. One of several reasons why we should be hoping for IW and Tyler Phommachanh to return. Going into next year with less depth and experience than most of the teams we will face is not a recipe for success.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

They could all leave and make money playing or even coaching basketball somewhere. I've seen much worse players have nice careers playing overseas.

A big part of me wants to cut the chord on Ollie era players but part of me looks at next year's roster and thinks we could use one or all of them in some capacity.

 

[polycom]

So long Brendan Adams

 

[UCbcm]

The only guy I would like to see back is Whaley. The combination of his rim protection and his pick and roll defense (particularly on hedges) is going to be sorely missed next year if he doesn't come back.

Plug and play transfers are the answers to find a general scorer and ringer from 3. I don't think Polley is the answer, even though I'd like the continuity for team chemistry purposes. He's been a streaky shooter at best, and like other posters have noted, he does nothing else. He and Carlton will both have opportunities to play overseas.

 

[Kemba15]

The only guy I would like to see back is Whaley. The combination of his rim protection and his pick and roll defense (particularly on hedges) is going to be sorely missed next year if he doesn't come back.

Plug and play transfers are the answers to find a general scorer and ringer from 3. I don't think Polley is the answer, even though I'd like the continuity for team chemistry purposes. He's been a streaky shooter at best, and like other posters have noted, he does nothing else. He and Carlton will both have opportunities to play overseas.

I continue to be befuddled by some of the lack of love on here for Whaley. His defensive versatility was huge for us this year and would be next year too. I also think his shot has the potential to become decent if he keeps working on it.

 

[7774]

I continue to be befuddled by some of the lack of love on here for Whaley. His defensive versatility was huge for us this year and would be next year too. I also think his shot has the potential to become decent if he keeps working on it.

If he's not on the team next year people are going to figure out real quick how valuable he was on defense.

 

[UCbcm]

I continue to be befuddled by some of the lack of love on here for Whaley. His defensive versatility was huge for us this year and would be next year too. I also think his shot has the potential to become decent if he keeps working on it.

If you have the opportunity to bring the (co-) Big East DPOY back, you do it.

The only argument against it is the potential detriment to the development of younger players. I'd argue they're going to get better by facing Whaley everyday in practice. Hope he comes back.