Whaley

[Waquoit]

He still doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from the refs that he should. He takes on guys straight up on D and busts them.

 

[Mooch82]

I’m not sure, I think Cole-Bouk-Jackson-Whaley-Carlton will do some damage. That team 1-4 is rock solid and let’s just hope Carlton as a senior will be halfway serviceable. Then off the bench Gaffney-Adams-Wilson-Springs-Ferguson. Something tells me Springs will surprise us. If we somehow land Sanogo we’re top 20 easily.

Funny thing about Springs is every thing I've read about him sort of reminds me of how Whaley plays. Long, athletic, plays hard, maybe not the most offensively gifted but will get some garbage buckets, etc. Bigger than Whaley too. If he can be Whaley-lite off the bench next year and then be similar to what Whaley is this year as a sophomore, we'll be in really good shape.

 

[Jluc]

I see Gaffney, Cole, and Bouknight all starting next year.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

the j&j backcourt - the quiet General and the Truth. and as far as his 'voice,' watch the dynamic when he is in, and there is a break in the action (foul shot, etc.). Gaffney doesn't yell, but man o man do they listen to that freshman. now, when he finally gets rid of that thumb brace ...

 

[UconnU]

I see Gaffney, Cole, and Bouknight all starting next year.

Definitely. I also see Whaley starting he has earned it. His play has been spectacular. I can see us going small with Cole, Gaff, Bouk, Jackson, Whaley.

 

[jibsey]

1

How good is Cole? Is there a guard we know who he compares to?

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Maybe have some intellectual humility next time you spend an off-season bitching about why our coach won't force a player to transfer. This is not pointed at anyone in particular. More like half the board in general. I think theQ or whatever was the only poster optimistic about Whaley. And me of course.

You can check my timeline and add me to the list

 

[Storrs South]

How good is Cole? Is there a guard we know who he compares to?

I have not seen RJ play much, but I was looking through some numbers and found this interesting:

• Points Over Replacement Per Adjusted Game At That Usage (PORPAGATU) estimates how many more points per game a player creates than a hypothetical "replacement player" at their usage level. I think of this as similar to WAR in baseball.
• RJ Cole in his final year at Howard had a PORPAGATU of 4.3 (the next closest on his team was 2.5)
• For context on how good 4.3 is, that would be about top 75 in the country this season, top 85 last season of all the players in D-1 basketball
• For even better context to the UConn fan, the last time we saw a player with a PORPAGATU better than 4.3 was Ryan Boatright in 2015 (5.2). Shabazz was 5.6 in 2014, Kemba was 7.5 in 2011 for some other UConn notables.
• I am not expecting RJ to play at a Kemba/Shabazz level (if he does, fantastic), but factoring in that he was really the only threat at Howard, has already shown he can be a top performer against high major teams, and has a year to sit and learn Hurley's system that he could be a very nice player in Storrs
• From purely looking at the numbers, he does not appear to be a three level scorer like Jalen Adams was (at the rim, midrange, three point), but seems to shoot well from deep, a pest on defense (2.7 stl/game), and gets to the foul line a ton (Free Throw Rate of 48.9, which accompanied an 81% FT%). He was #9 in the country in made free throws in 2019. That's probably the most underrated part of his game.

 

[JB75]

I wanna believe, I really do. My fear is more about the step up in competition. I know UConn’s played tough this season against everyone, but there’s no cupcakes. They won’t have a stretch in conference play like they will these next 4 games. If Carlton is starting at the 5, I’m concerned. SW is such a wild card, never know what to expect there. Ferguson, if they can get anything out of him, that’s huge. He’s so young and raw, feel like it’s unfair to expect too much from him so early on. Springs seems to be the key here, if he can just play solid defense, finish around the rim, and rebound, while also giving minutes at the 5 that’d be huge. Still think adding an experienced guy who has some positional flexibility at the 3-5 is key, gotta try to replace some of what Akok brought.

Part of me thinks nexts years squad will be tourney, part of me feels bottom half of big East. Truly don’t know what to think for next year. I do know one thing - that lineup you posted doesn’t even include Polly akok and AG -that lineup could be crazy deep and talented

 

[glastonbury50]

The question with Whaley is really can he play well consistently. If he can he will really be a big time contributer to this team. Even so he's proven he has the athleticism and knowledge. Let's hope he keeps it up.

 

[jibsey]

If AG did return would Cole get PT because that’s 5 guards.

 

[CTBasketball]

Hurley and the staff has helped this kid develop so nicely. We haven’t had front court development like this is a long time.

 

[Huskybass]

I don't think there is a person on this site who would have predicted (prior to the season)games like 18 and 14 from Whaley. One of the great successes of an up and down season.

Amazing transformation by a kid who busted his ass. Well done.

 

[Fatroony5]

If AG did return would Cole get PT because that’s 5 guards.

Cole was not recruited to ride the bench. He’s gonna play and prolly play a lot of minutes. Dan Hurley moved off a promising recruit in Hyland to snag RJ instead. He’s playing.

Part of me thinks nexts years squad will be tourney, part of me feels bottom half of big East. Truly don’t know what to think for next year. I do know one thing - that lineup you posted doesn’t even include Polly akok and AG -that lineup could be crazy deep and talented

Let’s revisit this once we know what the final roster looks like into the season. Lot of uncertainty with that and with the injured players you’ve listed in terms of how they bounce back and if they even play next year (especially AA).

 

[joober jones]

Hard to believe he was behind Jump in the rotation.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Do I see most improved player in the league?

Hopefully not the Carlton curse.

 

[bendm]

I hope Gaffney spends time working on his handle this summer. That's a somewhat of weakness for him.

is it just you who keeps saying this or is that the consensus here? he doesnt have the tightest handle but he's only a freshmen and he doesnt get himself into trouble by over dribbling like rique. most of his TOs come from bad passes not because of his handling. i just dont get worried watching him handle the ball or running the offense.

 

[sledog]

is it just you who keeps saying this or is that the consensus here? he doesnt have the tightest handle but he's only a freshmen and he doesnt get himself into trouble by over dribbling like rique. most of his TOs come from bad passes not because of his handling. i just dont get worried watching him handle the ball or running the offense.

So just don't pass it?

 

[CL82]

is it just you who keeps saying this or is that the consensus here? he doesnt have the tightest handle but he's only a freshmen and he doesnt get himself into trouble by over dribbling like rique. most of his TOs come from bad passes not because of his handling. i just dont get worried watching him handle the ball or running the offense.

I've seen other posters and at least one color guy make the same observation and it sounds like you've noted it as well. I think he's improving, it is just something he needs to work on.

 

[JimHurley]

Gaffney is, and will be for a long time to come, our starting point guard. for good reason.

Cole, Bouknight, and Whaley (would’ve been Akok) are my 3 locks to start. And I’m pretty sure Cole is a pure PG. Unless Gaffney plays SG while Cole is in I don’t think he starts. That’s not to say I don’t think he’ll be good. I agree with many of the other posters - once Gaffney’s shots start falling it’s game over. It’s a good problem to have. I do suppose I could see Cole, Gaffney, and Bouk all starting.

 

[JimHurley]

I see Gaffney, Cole, and Bouknight all starting next year.

This is definitely possible. Gaffney is 6’2 and Bouk is 6’4 which could pass in college as a 2 and 3, respectively.

 

[uconnfan68]

You must have missed the note about 14 minutes.

 

[Huskyforlife]

This is definitely possible. Gaffney is 6’2 and Bouk is 6’4 which could pass in college as a 2 and 3, respectively.

I think it's more likely than Jackson starting day 1, Gaffney will have a leg up on him now, and the idea of having 3 creators in the lineup is enticing. But it would help a lot if he could start knocking down those 3s consistently.

 

[glastonbury50]

Cole, Bouknight, and Whaley (would’ve been Akok) are my 3 locks to start. And I’m pretty sure Cole is a pure PG. Unless Gaffney plays SG while Cole is in I don’t think he starts. That’s not to say I don’t think he’ll be good. I agree with many of the other posters - once Gaffney’s shots start falling it’s game over. It’s a good problem to have. I do suppose I could see Cole, Gaffney, and Bouk all starting.

Is Gaff not a pure pg? If so feel like he would play well off the ball. But was under the impression he was a pure pg.

 

[Bulldog]

Is Gaff not a pure pg? If so feel like he would play well off the ball. But was under the impression he was a pure pg.

While we try to determine next years line up missing some key pieces I thought I’d throw in my two cents worth. My assumption we recruit a quality big who will start from the get go And Akko is not ready to play for the first semester. My ideal lineup is the following:
1 Cole, is as good as we believe
2 Bouknight, continues his growth and is BE ready.
3 Jackson, prototypical 3; slashes, rebounds, Bouknight level skill, don’t sit him
4 Whalley, he’s shown how valuable he is, contagious hard worker
5 Talented big, front court presence along with Whalley jams up driving lanes and can score from point blank

1-3; Gaffney & Adams.
3-4; Polly , Sid
4-5; JC, JF, RS
4-5; AA If he is somehow available during the year he likely would not get starters minutes and would have to be brought along slowly. Maybe missing the whole year would be what’s best for him.
So we would still need this quality big under any circumstances. I think everyone knows this. The BE will be a gun fight and we don’t want to show up with a pistol.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

While we try to determine next years line up missing some key pieces I thought I’d throw in my two cents worth. My assumption we recruit a quality big who will start from the get go And Akko is not ready to play for the first semester. My ideal lineup is the following:
1 Cole, is as good as we believe
2 Bouknight, continues his growth and is BE ready.
3 Jackson, prototypical 3; slashes, rebounds, Bouknight level skill, don’t sit him
4 Whalley, he’s shown how valuable he is, contagious hard worker
5 Talented big, front court presence along with Whalley jams up driving lanes and can score from point blank

1-3; Gaffney & Adams.
3-4; Polly , Sid
4-5; JC, JF, RS
4-5; AA If he is somehow available during the year he likely would not get starters minutes and would have to be brought along slowly. Maybe missing the whole year would be what’s best for him.
So we would still need this quality big under any circumstances. I think everyone knows this. The BE will be a gun fight and we don’t want to show up with a pistol.

Polley, if he's ready, may start at the 3 as a senior. And I can see a quick strong lineup at times with Jackson, Polley, Whaley at the 3-4-5 being very effective. I do agree that Cole- Bouknight look like the 1-2, backed up by Gaffney and Adams. Figure Akok will be working in more gradually but probably off the bench all year.

 

[JimHurley]

Is Gaff not a pure pg? If so feel like he would play well off the ball. But was under the impression he was a pure pg.

Gaffney is too. Point being unless Gaffney can slide into the 2 spot I don’t think he starts. Cole is the second best player on the roster at worst. There’s absolutely no chance he’s not the starting PG next season.

 

[glastonbury50]

Gaffney is too. Point being unless Gaffney can slide into the 2 spot I don’t think he starts. Cole is the second best player on the roster at worst. There’s absolutely no chance he’s not the starting PG next season.

I hope he is great, but I really have to see him produce in the big east to believe it. Jalen Gaffney has shown something recently and he is continuing to get better. How many years of eligibility does Cole have, 2 right?

 

[glastonbury50]

Funny thing about Springs is every thing I've read about him sort of reminds me of how Whaley plays. Long, athletic, plays hard, maybe not the most offensively gifted but will get some garbage buckets, etc. Bigger than Whaley too. If he can be Whaley-lite off the bench next year and then be similar to what Whaley is this year as a sophomore, we'll be in really good shape.

Would be SO pleased with another Isaiah.

 

[JimHurley]

I hope he is great, but I really have to see him produce in the big east to believe it. Jalen Gaffney has shown something recently and he is continuing to get better. How many years of eligibility does Cole have, 2 right?

And he will do just that. Hurley would not have recruited a guy that he didn’t think would produce in the Big East. He has 2 years of eligibility