Which players do you think fans are sleeping on for this season?

[intlzncster]

The other factor, which applies to both his 3FG % and his FT% is simple fatigue. 1) I expect him to be in better shape, 2) I don't expect him to have to handle the ball every single possession, and 3) I don't think he'll play 37 minutes a night again. Less fatigue means better shooting percentages for just about any player.

And 4) I don't expect him to be guarded by 2-3 opposing players on every possession, as hopefully there are more options this year, due to development and better run/executed offensive sets.

 

[dennismenace]

Vital. Kid has been our second best player for 2 years and I think he really takes the next step

Agreed. Consistently underestimated as well. Looked to me as the best conditioned player. I think he will thrive under the demands of a Hurley system. Less minutes but that includes the return of AG. What I think will be really enjoyable watching this team in the beginning of games (for a change) and the end of games (superior conditioning)
and the wearing down of opponents.

 

[gtcam]

CV and Polley
CV needed some discipline to his game and I think DH will take care of that and it will help him channel his aggressive personality to better decisions on the court
I saw some glimpses of good things from Polley last year but he was way to tentative. In an opposite action from CV, DH will hopefully instill some needed confidence and the kid will become more aggresive
The other thing I want to see is when Mamadou does return, his knees are strong enough to allow him to bring the physical ability to complement his desire and toughness

 

[Mr. French]

Here's my rationale: KO's "offense," such as it were, generated a lot of low-percentage, off-the-dribble, out-of-rhythm 3s that nobody except Steph Curry hits at a great clip. Jalen, as the primary ball-handler, had to shoot a lot of those.

Just by eliminating those kinds of shots from his diet – by virtue of playing in a real offense – he should see an uptick in his % by 2 or 3%.

The other factor, which applies to both his 3FG % and his FT% is simple fatigue. 1) I expect him to be in better shape, 2) I don't expect him to have to handle the ball every single possession, and 3) I don't think he'll play 37 minutes a night again. Less fatigue means better shooting percentages for just about any player.

It's a stretch, and like you said it would be a pleasant surprise. But there are underlying factors that should improve a ton this season, and the talent's there, so...

Agree with all of that.

I’ve always thought he had that potential, so it’s been frustrating not seeing it fully come together.

I’m with you, honestly. I think he’s that got that in him. That would be a monster year to finish his career.

 

[husky429]

CV. He's got more hustle and guts than anyone in the conference. If Hirley and co can reign in his poor shot selection, I think he's good for an effecient 14/4/3 with solid D

 

[InKembaITrust]

Just starting to peel back the layers of his potential

Lost a lot of weight too so he's probably literally hungry also[/QUOTE]

 

[jibsey]

We know what Jalen and Vital can give but we have a lot of faces we just haven’t seen in games like Wilson and Smith. Gilbert is a facilitator and will make the team better. His shoulder is fixed, I have zero worry on that so he is the difference maker.

 

[Ewekon]

If it is Sid, as I hope, we will all be really happy. AG is going to be really good if healthy. We know that. I will leave the rest to chalking up as optimism.

 

[Castlevania]

Definitely Sid Wilson for me, I haven't seen much of anything from him in a UConn jersey, so I'm sleeping hard. Hope he wakes me up aggressively

 

[Vancat]

Great thread. Thanks AfgHusky15!

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Brendan Adams. At 6'4 195, he has the size, handle, willingness to dime and outside shooting ability to allow Hurley to be creative with lineups.

The front-court depth is spotty, so I wouldn't be surprised if Adams gets decent minutes as the matchup 3rd guard in small ball lineups, especially against teams like Houston (Brooks), UCF (Griffin), and Cincy (Cumberland) who have guards who will play a lot of minutes at the 3.

In the long term, I'm also excited for Adams/Bouknight/Polley revitalizing the team's formerly dreadful three-point shooting.

 

[Palatine]

Diarra won't play until the second half of the season. To step forward he has to finish around the rim.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Seeing everyone on the team listed more or less. Interesting.

I think Alterique will be an adsolute star
I think Carlton will have much improved numbers
I think Cobb will contribute quite a bit

I think CV is most overrated player by some here. Not sure he gets more minutes than Smith. Wouldn’t mind him proving me wrong.

Wilson, Polley and Whaley are wildcards. Yawke too really. Not sure what to expect from any of them. Polley came on shooting the 3 late last year, but can he defend on a Hurley team?

 

[Kitaman]

I really think people (not UConn per se) are sleeping on Jalen. He was Isiah Briscoe's equal before he got to UConn. Ollie just didn't develop him and he was playing damn near all game last year.

If he gets under Hurley and commits to excellence he is capable of 1st team AA. He's a Senior and people aren't expecting him to carry this team. I think he is capable in a Kemba type of way. He's a baller who is confident in his skills and knows he can be the best player on the court.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I really think people (not UConn per se) are sleeping on Jalen. He was Isiah Briscoe's equal before he got to UConn. Ollie just didn't develop him and he was playing damn near all game last year.

If he gets under Hurley and commits to excellence he is capable of 1st team AA. He's a Senior and people aren't expecting him to carry this team. I think he is capable in a Kemba type of way. He's a baller who is confident in his skills and knows he can be the best player on the court.

He didn’t work on his long range shooting enough. Whether we can fault KO or not, he didn’t. He didn’t work on getting stronger and finishing through contact. So he doesn’t draw enough fouls. Watching Rob Gray and Jalen dual in our game last year, that was the difference. Gray got “and one” baskets and Jalen didn’t. He also didn’t defend with intensity, which I blame on playing too many minutes and having no backup.

Hurley seems to have made sure Jalen knows this. He clearly got stronger. It will be exciting to see what he can be at his best.

 

[Matrim55]

I really think people (not UConn per se) are sleeping on Jalen. He was Isiah Briscoe's equal before he got to UConn. Ollie just didn't develop him and he was playing damn near all game last year.

He was better than Donovan Mitchell before he got to UConn.

 

[intlzncster]

He didn’t work on his long range shooting enough. Whether we can fault KO or not, he didn’t. He didn’t work on getting stronger and finishing through contact. So he doesn’t draw enough fouls. Watching Rob Gray and Jalen dual in our game last year, that was the difference. Gray got “and one” baskets and Jalen didn’t. He also didn’t defend with intensity, which I blame on playing too many minutes and having no backup.

Hurley seems to have made sure Jalen knows this. He clearly got stronger. It will be exciting to see what he can be at his best.

I don't think that's accurate tbh. @Matrim55 effectively outlined the problems with his shooting here: Which players do you think fans are sleeping on for this season? I will not be surprised to see JA as a 40% 3pt shooter this year if he does what Hurley tells him.

 

[intlzncster]

He was better than Donovan Mitchell before he got to UConn.

Was gonna say the same thing.

 

[jibsey]

I really think people (not UConn per se) are sleeping on Jalen. He was Isiah Briscoe's equal before he got to UConn. Ollie just didn't develop him and he was playing damn near all game last year.

If he gets under Hurley and commits to excellence he is capable of 1st team AA. He's a Senior and people aren't expecting him to carry this team. I think he is capable in a Kemba type of way. He's a baller who is confident in his skills and knows he can be the best player on the court.

One question on Jalen. Overall he is a very good player but can he shoot 40% from 3 his senior year? That’s what he needs to get to that next level complete his game and get an NBA career shot. It’s not been a strength for him so far, so we’ll see. And if he is that threat along with everything else he brings then other players benefit too.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Assuming health-
-We pretty much know what we have in the backcourt. Jalen+Al is a stud backcourt that can go toe-to-toe with any backcourt in the nation. Vital, Smith and B. Adams provide great depth and rotational options.
- I expect the entirety of the front court to naturally take somewhat of a step forward from last year, given the advanced maturity, strength and coaching. It'll take patience, and it won't be pretty at times. But they should be better.

That leaves two players who need to be the players that we are sleeping on, and those are Sid and Polley.
These two players being consistent, reliable contributors on both ends of the floor are the difference between us being a middle/upper pack AAC team, and a solid NCAA bid. At the moment, I think Jalen and Al are good enough to win us a handful of games alone, but we need the DeAndre Daniels type wing player to complement our backcourt and take us to another level.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I'll say Cobb.

He clearly has skill, he needs toughness and discipline, something KO was completely unable to impart, but which Hurley should do much better.

 

[intlzncster]

I'll say Cobb.

He clearly has skill, he needs toughness and discipline, something KO was completely unable to impart, but which Hurley should do much better.

I think he's plenty tough. He needs discipline, like you said, and to know his role in the system.

If he can follow directions, he's getting minutes.

 

[businesslawyer]

Assuming health-
-We pretty much know what we have in the backcourt. Jalen+Al is a stud backcourt that can go toe-to-toe with any backcourt in the nation. Vital, Smith and B. Adams provide great depth and rotational options.
- I expect the entirety of the front court to naturally take somewhat of a step forward from last year, given the advanced maturity, strength and coaching. It'll take patience, and it won't be pretty at times. But they should be better.

That leaves two players who need to be the players that we are sleeping on, and those are Sid and Polley.
These two players being consistent, reliable contributors on both ends of the floor are the difference between us being a middle/upper pack AAC team, and a solid NCAA bid. At the moment, I think Jalen and Al are good enough to win us a handful of games alone, but we need the DeAndre Daniels type wing player to complement our backcourt and take us to another level.

I'm not predicting where either Wilson or Polley may finish their careers. But any thought of them this year playing like Daniels did even his Sophomore year strike me as absurd. We'll see.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I'm not predicting where either Wilson or Polley may finish their careers. But any thought of them this year playing like Daniels did even his Sophomore year strike me as absurd. We'll see.

That's not what I'm saying, because that is absurd. Hence why I said DeAndre Daniels TYPE player.

I'm saying we need a wing player to step up (Wilson or Polley) in order for this team to have a shot to get into the NCAA tournament. We know what we have at guard, and our frontcourt is pretty limited. Therefore, the wildcard is the wing position.

It is similar to 2014 in that we knew what we had in Shabazz and Boatright, the frontcourt was fairly limited, and the wing players were the X factor (Giffey and Daniels). Obviously I am talking relative to talent, as the 2014 team was miles better than this team will be.

 

[AfgHusky15]

He didn’t work on his long range shooting enough. Whether we can fault KO or not, he didn’t. He didn’t work on getting stronger and finishing through contact. So he doesn’t draw enough fouls. Watching Rob Gray and Jalen dual in our game last year, that was the difference. Gray got “and one” baskets and Jalen didn’t. He also didn’t defend with intensity, which I blame on playing too many minutes and having no backup.

Hurley seems to have made sure Jalen knows this. He clearly got stronger. It will be exciting to see what he can be at his best.

Jalen's biggest weakness has always been his inability/unwillingness to attack the rim and seek contact. The UConn greats, and college bball greats in general always used their star power to get favorable calls and establish early in a game that the defender would have to give extra space than usual or else the defender would risk getting called for a lot of fouls.

Jalen has actually done the opposite. He uses his incredible athleticism and balance to avoid contact in the air, this ends up making his shot more difficult and reassures the defender that they can defend him really tight near the rim because they know Jalen well use his amazing acrobatics to avoid contact.

His 3 point shot off the dribble is serviceable and his 3 point shot when he is set is actually pretty good. If he can start playing physical on the offensive end and get to the line, then there is no doubt in my mind he will not only be the AAC player of the year but an All-American.