What’s up with Whaley?

[UconnU]

4 points with a favorable matchup? No where near as much energy as last year, not competing as hard, looks to me like he’s not in shape seems to get winded quicker. There’s obviously been a substantial regression. What’re your thoughts on what’s going on here?

 

[ucawn]

Used to get rebounds but now he just gets fouls and chucks up bricks. Weird.

 

[navery12]

Too many minutes where he's playing out of position at the 4 this year. His strengths are really masked when that happens

 

[auror]

He needs to play the 5. Teams don't put his guy in a PnR when he plays the 4, which is his best contribution. And often he's dragged away from the rim as a 4 and can't defend the rim. And he stopped "poppers"-ing all together so he's not stretching the floor on offense and we're not really using him as a roll man, but when he was the 5 we did and he got a dunk.

 

[huskyfan224]

He’s still having a decent year overall, just is on a bad 3 game stretch. Players have ups and downs

 

[Tiamat7]

Fair point about playing the 4 vs the 5. He doesn't look as dynamic or bouncy. And he's simply too small to cover 5's like Watson or Obiogu.

 

[bendm]

He’s still having a decent year overall, just is on a bad 3 game stretch. Players have ups and downs

4 games. he was averaging 6 ppg on 30% shooting over the last 3. 4 games is over a quarter of the season at this point

 

[ucawn]

Anyone have the stat for consecutive games with an Isaiah Whaley illegal screen?

 

[ucp990411]

He needs to play the 5. Teams don't put his guy in a PnR when he plays the 4, which is his best contribution. And often he's dragged away from the rim as a 4 and can't defend the rim. And he stopped "poppers"-ing all together so he's not stretching the floor on offense and we're not really using him as a roll man, but when he was the 5 we did and he got a dunk.

You can combat that by simply having him guard whichever big is setting the screen. If teams were to go small we would then have to decide whather to go small or not.

 

[Milo65]

Maybe he’s dejected because all he is asked to do on offense is set screens or pass the ball back to a guard 25 feet from the basket. His only offensive opportunities come when he is able to get an offensive rebound or he may get the ball with 3 seconds left on the shot clock.

 

[polycom]

Maybe he’s dejected because all he is asked to do on offense is set screens or pass the ball back to a guard 25 feet from the basket. His only offensive opportunities come when he is able to get an offensive rebound or he may get the ball with 3 seconds left on the shot clock.

Wait what? He gets at least 3 open looks a game and takes 1 of them...Hurley has said he wants IW to shoot the ball at least he said that at the beginning of the season. What are you talking about/ watching?

 

[August_West]

Too many minutes where he's playing out of position at the 4 this year. His strengths are really masked when that happens

I mean thats it in a nutshell, he is playing the 4 much of the time. You have to play Sanogo though, the kid has IT. But that puts Whaley in a position/role that hes not comfortable with offensively. He still plays nice D though.

 

[Psolo12]

His poor play is a big reason why we're losing these close games. Love IW but its his senior year and he has to start leading now before its too late.

 

[Kenny11]

He’s getting called for more fouls. Last year he was very fortunate not to get called for them. Also, he’s still flashing very well to the hoop but guys arent delivering him the ball at the right time. Offensive spacing is much worse this year which hurts a player like Whaley who thrives on finishing. Lastly, his size is a little more of a disadvantage In the big East than it was in the aac.

 

[bendm]

Also, he’s still flashing very well to the hoop but guys arent delivering him the ball at the right time.

AJ gave him 2 great passes yesterday as he was flashing and IW bobbled the first out of bounds cause he's got mittens on his hands. he was able to dunk the second because the lane was wide open

 

[auror]

You can combat that by simply having him guard whichever big is setting the screen. If teams were to go small we would then have to decide whather to go small or not.

Sanogo or Carlton can't really guard any 4's, small ones or not. So it's not really an option when Whaley is at the 4.

 

[Kenny11]

AJ gave him 2 great passes yesterday as he was flashing and IW bobbled the first out of bounds cause he's got mittens on his hands. he was able to dunk the second because the lane was wide open

True. AJ is our best passer.

 

[UconnU]

Give Richie some run. Let’s see what we have with him. Season is shot anyway.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

His season has been a disappointment, considering how productive he was the final third of last season. He is blocking shots, rebounding OK, and continues to harass guards when he doubles, but offensively I thought we'd see much more.

 

[Palatine]

It's no mystery. As Sanogo's productivity goes up IW goes down. The two have no chemistry.

 

[jibsey]

Remember when Carlton made that big breakthrough? Didn’t take did it? We all thought Whaley had done that, but he’s a decent not dominant player. It’s what he is.

 

[DayDayTFS]

Nobody here gets it... with no Bouk EVERYTHING is affected. We have no shooters, what do we think that does to the interior guys?!?

 

[superjohn]

Too many minutes where he's playing out of position at the 4 this year. His strengths are really masked when that happens

I agree but that's the only way for him to get on the court unless he just wants to back up Sanogo for 10 minutes. It doesn't excuse why he can no longer make a layup or catch a pass.

 

[SubbaBub]

He is playing defense and Sanogo is getting a bunch of his paint touches. Playing faster would solve a lot of problems. Team is starting to let pressure stall the offense. Many of the rotation guys lapse on defense, especially the guards.

 

[Chief00]

4 points with a favorable matchup? No where near as much energy as last year, not competing as hard, looks to me like he’s not in shape seems to get winded quicker. There’s obviously been a substantial regression. What’re your thoughts on what’s going on here?

Whaley’s man doesn’t have to help out on Bouknight. Therefore, Whaley has not been left open like he was with James on the court.