Whaley

[bmayuc]

Hi All, I'm sure I've been wrong about a lot of stuff over the years but I feel like this is the right time to just post my history of Whaley comments going back about 2 years and soak in the pure correctness of my takes.

 

[elmcityboy]

Offensive rebound over the 7 footer followed by the kick out to CV for a wide open three was beautiful in the second half. Thought he was going back up with it, but he made the absolute right play.

it was a no-look pass too, if i am not mistaken! that one got me loud

 

[bmayuc]

Hi All, I'm sure I've been wrong about a lot of stuff over the years but I feel like this is the right time to just post my history of Whaley comments going back about 2 years and soak in the pure correctness of my takes.

View attachment 51138

and another

thanks for acknowledging in advance

 

[awfuldan]

If I am not mistaken, that Euro kid Josh's lunch and dinner last game.

Nah, he was scoreless last time. 2 points today. It was Durr that dominated when we played last. Had 12 and 9.

 

[biggieb1950]

I think this my ideal lineup. Cole-Gaffney-Bouk-Jackson/Sid-Whaley gives us a great versatility. We can adjust for bigger teams in game if necessary, but they may need to adjust to our spacing and athleticism. Either way im excited.

don't know about Sid, we need more

 

[gtcam]

Young man has certainly put his man pants on and has come up with some really nice performances in last few weeks.
I am particularly impressed with his offense - we have seen his unreal quick hands on D
He has come alive when UConn needs him the most
Keep it up Mr. Pork Chop

 

[joober jones]

Whaley is one of the few guys I've ever been right about. For his height, he's the best natural shot blocker we've had.

 

[mauconnfan]

Whaley is one of the few guys I've ever been right about. For his height, he's the best natural shot blocker we've had.

I was on him early also no bragging because I did lose faith in my judgement now and then during the first 2 years. But his feet always made me think there was something there, and now he hedges better than most we've ever had. He continues to get his hands on the ball too not just hedge and retreat. Anyway he is for real there's no doubt about that now.

But don't you have to wonder one thing, what if Polley didn't get hurt? Was the staff missing on him until Polley's knee? Think we have a couple other winds earlier if he had more significant minutes early on.

Tremendous improvement just a great story so happy for him!!

 

[Sportsfan71]

To be fair, most of us were wrong on Whaley.

Credit the coaches... Whaley was lost without this new staff. Kudos to him for sticking it out, definitely a factor now

 

[tentoes4rings]

I was on him early also no bragging because I did lose faith in my judgement now and then during the first 2 years. But his feet always made me think there was something there, and now he hedges better than most we've ever had. He continues to get his hands on the ball too not just hedge and retreat. Anyway he is for real there's no doubt about that now.

But don't you have to wonder one thing, what if Polley didn't get hurt? Was the staff missing on him until Polley's knee? Think we have a couple other winds earlier if he had more significant minutes early on.

Tremendous improvement just a great story so happy for him!!

I’m with you on this Mau. I was fairly high on him two years ago and couldn’t understand why after playing well, Ollie would then bury him. Then I realized Ollie had no clue how to run a team or program. By the end of his career he could be one of the 3 most improved players we’ve ever had, along with Hilton and Thabeet. I love everything about this kid.

 

[uconnfan68]

I think he plays the 5 again. We need a 4 who can shoot. *cough Bruner *cough

I’m ok with him at 5. He’ll be quicker than anyone he gets matched with, and they will need to be NBA level to be stronger. Not many of those in college.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

To me Whaley has been our MVP.
Great motor and will.
Plays every play like his minutes depend on it.

 

[uconnfan68]

Whaley is one of the few guys I've ever been right about. For his height, he's the best natural shot blocker we've had.

Akok is the same height (at least listed). He’s pretty good too, and Emeka was only listed as an inch taller. We’ve been blessed.

 

[joober jones]

Akok is the same height (at least listed). He’s pretty good too, and Emeka was only listed as an inch taller. We’ve been blessed.

I thought we had Akok listed at 6'9''. If not, my mistake.

 

[superjohn]

I was on him early also no bragging because I did lose faith in my judgement now and then during the first 2 years. But his feet always made me think there was something there, and now he hedges better than most we've ever had. He continues to get his hands on the ball too not just hedge and retreat. Anyway he is for real there's no doubt about that now.

But don't you have to wonder one thing, what if Polley didn't get hurt? Was the staff missing on him until Polley's knee? Think we have a couple other winds earlier if he had more significant minutes early on.

Tremendous improvement just a great story so happy for him!!

He's clearly improved a lot but it's also seems like there was a lot of really positive things that likely would've come out had he gotten more playing time earlier. I'm just happy this is near the end of his junior year and not his senior.year.

 

[the Q]

I was on him early also no bragging because I did lose faith in my judgement now and then during the first 2 years. But his feet always made me think there was something there, and now he hedges better than most we've ever had. He continues to get his hands on the ball too not just hedge and retreat. Anyway he is for real there's no doubt about that now.

But don't you have to wonder one thing, what if Polley didn't get hurt? Was the staff missing on him until Polley's knee? Think we have a couple other winds earlier if he had more significant minutes early on.

Tremendous improvement just a great story so happy for him!!

yes! I talked about his feet too. Guy could guard multiple positions as a freshman and was the best shot blocker on the team. His problems were finding a fit on offense, fouling and getting out muscled. He solved one this summer with great weightroom work, and it helped solve a second one.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

To me Whaley has been our MVP.
Great motor and will.
Plays every play like his minutes depend on it.

To me Whaley has been our MVP.
Great motor and will.
Plays every play like his minutes depend on it.

Well within that very contentious "Who's the best player so far?" thread a couple weeks as go, I lightly buried a side comment because I wanted to make a point, but I didn't want to add to the pig pile of bad energy.

I speculated that it would be a far bigger controversy if someone created a, "Who's our smartest player?" thread, because it would be filled with angry posts about this team having no nominees, let alone a winner. Into that void, I started watch Whaley reveal himself as the surprise correct answer. Now that his mermorable moments and stat lines show him more clearly, this becomes a happy recognition rather than a sad fact.

I am very grateful for my whale emoji when I'm txting w/my sister during the games. She adds a "-y," and I don't. We've both settled on the whale with the spout.

I also like that he's joined "Rashard," "Boatwright," "Samuels," and others in the Boneyard misspelling Hall of Fame, with some giving him the New Haven treatment and calling him "Whalley."

 

[UChusky916]

Whaley has been a revelation.

He's not just filling up the stat sheet with points, rebounds, and blocks, but also doing so many of the little things well that really enables the team to execute better as a whole:

• Hard defensive hedges on perimeter helps our guards recover, trap, and get steals.
• High motor - quickly recovers to his position on defensive rotations and for rebounds.
• Great screens on offense frees guards, he opens up the lane for drives.
• Hitting those short bunnies in the paint that Carlton can't seem to make.
• Offensive rebounding high and having the IQ to know when to go back up for a bucket or kick it out.
• Defensive rebounding well and getting the ball to guards quick on outlet passes.

Really impressed by his improvement. Good stuff PorkChop

 

[auror]

Some people last year pointed out that he had great DTRG/win shares in limited minutes, and I didn't buy it. We needed a 4 and Hurley kept him buried. I figured there were good reasons.

And maybe there were. He seems so much more comfortable in the offense now. And he certainly filled out his frame. He's a great role playing big.

 

[RichZ]

Whaley gets more rebounds one handed with his arm outstretched than just about anyone I can remember. He also sends an inordinate number of his blocks almost straight down. And his 2nd jump is very quick. I hope Sal doesn't try to add too much muscle to him like he did with Josh. So much of his game is related to him being so springy and (I hate to use this word on a 6-8 guy) nimble.

 

[spudzj6]

Remember how bad we wished senior year facey Made his improvement early and had more eligibility? Love that’s he’s only a junior. Regardless of whose on the roster next year, we should have a reliable guy down low.

 

[Watchdog]

It seems we're recruiting for 2 spots for next year, and for the life of me I can't figure out where the 2nd is coming from

From an article in yesterday's Courant:
What the Huskies need, with home games against South Florida, Central Florida and Houston and road games at East Carolina and Tulane, is a contribution at the wing from Sid Wilson, who is coming back from a knee injury and is continually challenged by Hurley to give more.

“Sid’s got to do things to get himself on the court," Hurley said. "If you’re not playing on this team, with eight scholarship players, there’s something you’re obviously not doing.”

In contrast, Whaley, who barely played as a sophomore last season, has become the Huskies indispensable man, with career highs of 18 points and 14 rebounds in the double-OT loss at Temple on Thursday.

“Isaiah has battled and worked to play in a manner that we needed him to play,” Hurley said, “that brings the most value to the court. Now, all of a sudden, we can't take him off the court. Sid’s got to find a way to do that."

 

[jibsey]

Young man has certainly put his man pants on and has come up with some really nice performances in last few weeks.
I am particularly impressed with his offense - we have seen his unreal quick hands on D
He has come alive when UConn needs him the most
Keep it up Mr. Pork Chop

Those quick hands and his reach are causing problems for our opponents. Plus he’s just a battler.

 

[RichZ]

So would this be in good taste on a T-Shirt?

 

[uconnfan68]

I thought we had Akok listed at 6'9''. If not, my mistake.

I thought both were listed as 6’9”. I apologize for not looking it up.