Whaley vs Akok

[UCFan1513]

Horrible what happened to Akok, and absolutely devastating for him and a huge blow to the team. That being said, it looks like Whaley is going to be taking most of, or all of, his minutes going forward.

He looked great on defense (6 blocks!) and the boards today. While he’s been developing nicely all season, do we think that we see a Bouknight-like jump from him with increased minutes and responsibility? Where may Whaley play better than Akok in his increased role, and where do we think he will struggle? After that performance, feeling encouraged that we can still make something of this season.

Wondering if he will be a better or worse on-ball defender specifically.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Horrible what happened to Akok, and absolutely devastating for him and a huge blow to the team. That being said, it looks like Whaley is going to be taking most of, or all of, his minutes going forward.

He looked great on defense (6 blocks!) and the boards today. While he’s been developing nicely all season, do we think that we see a Bouknight-like jump from him with increased minutes and responsibility? Where may Whaley play better than Akok in his increased role, and where do we think he will struggle?

i mean, this is easy, offense. He's a terrific defender, but offensively, he still hasnt figured it out. He's good for some tips ins and put backs but.

 

[Matrim55]

Dislike.

 

[husky429]

Horrible what happened to Akok, and absolutely devastating for him and a huge blow to the team. That being said, it looks like Whaley is going to be taking most of, or all of, his minutes going forward.

He looked great on defense (6 blocks!) and the boards today. While he’s been developing nicely all season, do we think that we see a Bouknight-like jump from him with increased minutes and responsibility? Where may Whaley play better than Akok in his increased role, and where do we think he will struggle?

Wondering if he will be a better or worse on-ball defender specifically.

Sid/whaley wi play some 4. I expect we juast go small a lot. Without Polley and Akok we have no 4. And carlton isn't good enough to play the 5 most nights for more than 20mins

 

[UCFan1513]

i mean, this is easy, offense. He's a terrific defender, but offensively, he still hasnt figured it out. He's good for some tips ins and put backs but.

I think the two may be a wash on offense. With Whaley’s occasional mid range jumper cancelling out Akok’s occasional three.

 

[husky429]

Precious was 7/22 from the field. And I believe whaley blocked him 2x. 16 pts on 22 shots is a TERRIBLE game. Whaley took that ish personally

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Sid better WAKE UP

 

[Psolo12]

Sid better WAKE UP

He's coming off an injury. Once he gets back in the flow he'll be fine.

 

[UCFan1513]

Sid better WAKE UP

Wondering if he’s still getting back in the rhythm. For an athlete like him it could be psychological after the injury. Hope he gets it going soon, though.

 

[Hi-Low]

Sid better WAKE UP

Let's just finish the season with no more devastating injuries. Sid will get some minutes and play fine, just don't push it.

 

[UConnSwag11]

The difference between this years team and last years team is that we have Akok as a shot blocking presence. Without him our record is much worse

 

[UCFan1513]

The difference between this years team and last years team is that we have Akok as a shot blocking presence. Without him our record is much worse

Akok has 3.7 blocks per 40 minutes while Whaley is right behind him (second on the team) with 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes (and probably more after today). While this stat may be biased by Whaley’s increased energy in limited minutes compared to Akok, hopefully he’s able to pick up some of the slack. That’s still quite a few blocks and altered shots to lose, however.

 

[HooperScooper]

i mean, this is easy, offense. He's a terrific defender, but offensively, he still hasnt figured it out. He's good for some tips ins and put backs but.

Hey, he did hit that one jumper today. After the first game of the season I figured we were going to see more of that. He does play with great energy.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Lock this thread. Let’s talk about this a few days after maybe the worst day of a young mans life.

 

[Shine33]

Sid better WAKE UP

He is hurt dude. You wake up

 

[GHSWolverines]

Whaley deserves the unsung hero award.

 

[4in16]

Whaley deserves the unsung hero award.

Or at least the most improved player award. Seen huge jumps from him, B Adams and Sid this year. Can only imagine if they take another step forward next season.

 

[gtcam]

Whaley is a much better on ball defender and surprisingly has quicker hands
Akok has quicker leaps and a longer reach
Offensively they both have issues
I wish nothing but the best for Akok but that type of injury usually means a long term recovery and he has already sat out one season. I've had a few really good players the same type of injury and none came back the same player.
It was such a freak thing - it looked like he slipped on a banana peel under the hoop with nobody around him and reacted like his sneaker was half off
My prayers go out for a full recovery

 

[Rewster]

Sid better WAKE UP

Sid got yanked today after he didn’t know what to do on an offensive set.
DH was very pissed and put in Carlton.
Looks like DH has a very short leash on Sid.

 

[Hoophound]

I love Akok, but I think Whaley, Springs and Wilson can give us plenty next season. Whaley is getting better and better, Springs is underrated and Sid should get things going. He looked good before getting hurt. While I’d love to have a healthy Akok next year, we are starting to have a real program again, we can work through this. I’m more interested in how Coach chooses to manage the roster given the injury bug we’ve had.