Whaley | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Whaley

uconntoatl said:
Whaley only person who consistently played good basketball tonight. I thought it was impressive how well he still played with 4 fouls for so long. Carlton getting two fouls early was a blessing
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Carlton had his way with them during the 14 minutes he was in... only missed 1 bunny. At least one of the fouls was just a no call.
 
MervthePurvis said:
Do I see most improved player in the league?
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He has been tremendous particularly in conference play, but even without knowing who's up against for the award I'd think it would be unlikely just because of how many games he saw very few minutes.

Currently averaging 6.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in conference, but those stats do a disservice to how good he has been. With 30 min a game he's probably a 9 point, 8 rebound, 2.5 block guy on average which is great! In conference play he's been averaging 21 minutes per game and that's including today going to 2OT.
 
auror said:
The way he snatches the ball is reminiscent. And his height is similar.

It's a bit terrifying because he often contests a shot and then is out of position for the rebound. But quite frequently he either snatches it or gets a hand on it, which is enough for the ball to deflect and the team to rebound it (usually there's 3-4 good guys around it on defensive rebounds and maybe only 1 or 2 opponents, so changing the direction is very beneficial).

Obviously he's not as athletic or strong as Rodman. But he's been quite good for a while now in a bunch of different ways.
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Also with how he tips the ball in the air to keep it alive. He's been very effective volley-balling the rock if he's not able to snatch it.
 
Might be of the best breakthrough seasons that I can remember. This is a guy who many thought would transfer after hardly playing last year and now here we are. He’s our best big and there’s excitement for what he can bring as a senior. Great kid who works his butt of in the classroom and on the court.
 
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JimHurley said:
Might be of the best breakthrough seasons that I can remember. This is a guy who many thought would transfer after hardly playing last year and now here we are. He’s our best big and there’s excitement for what he can bring as a senior. Great kid who works his butt of in the classroom and on the court.
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Isaiah has become my favorite Husky. Could not be prouder of this young man. He really does embody everything that we believe is the best of UConn basketball. An underdog no-name who through hard work, perserverance and a positive mental attitude has blossomed into our best front court player right before our eyes.

Yes, this year has been painful with all of the close loses - but for anyone not paying attention, you can see how this year's pain foretells of the coming renaissance. The pieces are coming together. Get us one more decent or better big for next year (yes, a consistent outside shooter would help, as well), and we will be an NCAA tournament team.

Hey, even Jeff Jacobs is noticing:

www.ctinsider.com

Another excruciating UConn loss, but Hurley finds another fighter

As UConn experienced another tough loss, falling to Temple in overtime, junior Isaiah...
www.ctinsider.com www.ctinsider.com
 
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.
 
JimHurley said:
Might be of the best breakthrough seasons that I can remember. This is a guy who many thought would transfer after hardly playing last year and now here we are. He’s our best big and there’s excitement for what he can bring as a senior. Great kid who works his butt of in the classroom and on the court.
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Absolutely. It’s wild how much things can change in a season, I have a lot of confidence in him moving forward. His offensive rebounding and shot blocking has been impressive, he’s a guy whose so easy to root for. UConn’s gonna need a leap like that from an unexpected player into next season if they want to compete with the rest of the league. Still think this team is at least another player or two away from being legit, it’s such a huge blow to lose Akok. Two more guys who are ready to step in and play winning basketball. And hopefully Springs is ready, because if one of the new players ain’t a center, we’ll be seeing some of him there.
 
Fatroony5 said:
Absolutely. It’s wild how much things can change in a season, I have a lot of confidence in him moving forward. His offensive rebounding and shot blocking has been impressive, he’s a guy whose so easy to root for. UConn’s gonna need a leap like that from an unexpected player into next season if they want to compete with the rest of the league. Still think this team is at least another player or two away from being legit, it’s such a huge blow to lose Akok. Two more guys who are ready to step in and play winning basketball. And hopefully Springs is ready, because if one of the new players ain’t a center, we’ll be seeing some of him there.
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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.
 
JimHurley said:
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.
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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.
 
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superjohn said:
Love eating crow on this one. He was an absolute beast tonight. 18/14/3, played 20 minutes or so with 4 fouls, showed great hands in the lane and great touch/finishing. He has made major contributions in all these games with the increased workload.
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I will join you in pulling feathers out of my mouth. Never did I ever think I would see Pork Chop play a game like that. Good for him and I'm thrilled to have been wrong..
 
I will eat crow too. I never saw this coming. Props to IW. Congrats and keep up the good work.
 
Fatroony5 said:
gotta try to replace some of what Akok brought
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whaley's 18-14-2 proved he could do that and then some. not saying he's more skilled than akok, and who knows how good akok would have been next year, but this was the most dominant game we've gotten out of a big man all season. i'd be even more optimistic if i knew he could do it playing alongside another traditional big like springs, brown, or sonogo/grad transfer.
 
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In the past years he never was given significant PT. I would say that he's set up for a great season next year but didn't I say that about Carlton last year?
 
bendm said:
whaley's 18-14-2 proved he could do that and then some. i'd be even more optimistic if i knew he could do it playing alongside another traditional big like springs, brown, or sonogo/grad transfer.
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He was a beast last night, I’m optimistic with what he brings night in night out. They did have him playing a lot of 5 last night and he has been predominantly that minus Memphis game and some this game. I like his flexibility and his improvement has been huge for the team. Guess I’m more worried about who plays next to him, whether that means they play him big minutes at the 5 or slide him over with a “traditional big.” Can springs provide some good minutes there is the question. Or do they target a grad transfer. Lots of questions, but Whaley has proven himself to be an impact player.
 
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I doubt anyone can say they saw this coming. He seemed lost offensively last year. I did see the block shots coming as they were evident in his small minutes, but can't say I saw the rest of his defense and the overall package. Amazing transformation.
 
Fatroony5 said:
Guess I’m more worried about who plays next to him, whether that means they play him big minutes at the 5 or slide him over with a “traditional big.” Can springs provide some good minutes there is the question. Or do they target a grad transfer. Lots of questions
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yeah the bottom line is we need more help down low. until Hurley fills the last scholly (or 2) this summer, it's impossible to comprehend all the potential permutations and combinations.
 
bendm said:
whaley's 18-14-2 proved he could do that and then some. not saying he's more skilled than akok, and who knows how good akok would have been next year, but this was the most dominant game we've gotten out of a big man all season. i'd be even more optimistic if i knew he could do it playing alongside another traditional big like springs, brown, or sonogo/grad transfer.
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This is the most dominant game we've gotten out of a big man in at least THREE seasons. Glad it was him he seems like a good dude.
 
bendm said:
yeah the bottom line is we need more help down low. until Hurley fills the last scholly (or 2) this summer, it's impossible to comprehend all the potential permutations and combinations.
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Jordan Bruner from Yale makes some sense. He fits the mold I touched on earlier. Him and Whaley would be a nice 1/2 punch in the front court.
 
jibsey said:
In the past years he never was given significant PT. I would say that he's set up for a great season next year but didn't I say that about Carlton last year?
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I was surprised to see when I looked up the starts that Carlton averages 8 and 6. This is actually comparable to last year. Feel like a lot of the things he has trouble with are hard things to teach like having soft hands. He may have hit his ceiling, not to say he isn't a big part of the team and isn't capable of producing. I always like Carlton and feel like some of the expectations he was given were unfair.
 
His conference only numbers are awesome.
  • He has the team's best ORTG (bearing in mind that he's not using a ton of possessions, so skill curve adjustments have to be considered).
  • He's been possibly the best rebounder in the conference (top 5 in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate, a cursory look through shows he'd be the only one).
  • 2nd in the conference in block %, behind Houston's Chris Harris. Yes, above Akok.
  • Quite good steal rate. He leads the conference in "stocks" (aka steals and blocks added together) per 40 minutes.
  • Small sample size, but 76% on FTs is a career high for him. He doesn't draw a ton of fouls, but they're often shooting fouls when he does.
  • He is still fouling a lot, but it's down from the non-conf portion of the season and you kinda have to live with it considering his activity level.
  • He's been our best finisher in the paint by a mile.
  • Turnovers are still a weakness (that one where he lifted his foot yesterday while pivoting before passing was a groaner). But he's average on our team in that regard, since our whole team stinks at this.
 
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JimHurley said:
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.
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Gaffney is, and will be for a long time to come, our starting point guard. for good reason.
 
Did Cole play the 1 or the 2 at Howard?
 
CL82 said:
Did Cole play the 1 or the 2 at Howard?
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He was the PG. But in fairness, he was basically their whole team, his usage rates reflect that. UConn’s played AG and JG at the same time, so I think we’ll see lineups with JG and RJ together. Might allow JG to play a bit more off the ball; crucial offseason for him to improve his jump shot and increase his strength so he can attack the basket more. Maybe they flip that and have RJ play some off the ball. Who knows... but they have some versatility between the two.
 
I love having two points on the court at the same time. We've had a lot of success on that in the past. On a somewhat related topic, I hope Gaffney spends time working on his handle this summer. That's a somewhat of weakness for him.
 
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