Who gets the minutes now?

[Griggs]

Great to see Akok Akok back in rotation. With Jackson looking more comfortable on the court and , hopefully Bouknight coming back soon, who looses their
minutes? Zero playing time for Carlton and Adams against Xavier. More healthy players available, Dan Hurley needs to find right mix. Will be interesting.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

We will see VERY little of BA and JC. Polley will get cut down. Martin will be able to rest

 

[navery12]

It'll change game to game, especially with Bouknight back, but sure looked like Hurley found a good rotation yesterday. Luckily the fringe rotation guys are upperclassmen so I'm not worried about Carlton and Adams being ready when we need them to step up

 

[Rico444]

Akok played 12 minutes yesterday, and they're easing him back in so he's not going to relegate anyone to the bench by himself for at least a little while.

 

[elmcityboy]

i think that, with bouk back, we will see a lot of small lineups with him, jackson, and martin together along with a big (whaley or sanogo) and a point guard (cole or gaff).

take those 7 guys and sprinkle in polley and akok when they are hitting shots. adams and carlton playing spot minutes with foul trouble, etc.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think making plans about this team is silly. Martin is the only thing close to a consistent offensive player that we have. Guys are going to play. If they make shots, they’ll stay in. If they don’t, they won’t.

Yes, we looked great yesterday, but that was with Cole hitting a majority of his 3s. That won’t happen a lot. If we were missing the shots we usually miss, we may not have won despite everything else.

 

[8893]

I think making plans about this team is silly. Martin is the only thing close to a consistent offensive player that we have. Guys are going to play. If they make shots, they’ll stay in. If they don’t, they won’t.

Yes, we looked great yesterday, but that was with Cole hitting a majority of his 3s. That won’t happen a lot. If we were missing the shots we usually miss, we may not have won despite everything else.

I think the point is that with Bouk likely coming back on Tuesday a lot more of our players will become consistent offensively because the defensive focus on Bouk should free them up more.

 

[businesslawyer]

I think the point is that with Bouk likely coming back on Tuesday a lot more of our players will become consistent offensively because the defensive focus on Bouk should free them up more.

We’ll see. Bouk being back will obviously make the team a lot better. But is it going to make Gaffney, or Polley, or Sanogo, or RJ, consistent?

I think the most important thing I learned yesterday is that our best lineup has Whalley at the 5. Sanogo will be the horse next year. But for now, I see Josh being nailed to the bench, Sanogo getting backup minutes (though he may keep starting) and IW playing more and more 5. That is going to open up more minutes for Akok as he gets conditioning, and Polley at the 4 as Bouk’s return forces teams to not allow Polley’s man to never leave Tyler.

 

[8893]

We’ll see. Bouk being back will obviously make the team a lot better. But is it going to make Gaffney, or Polley, or Sanogo, or RJ, consistent?

I think the most important thing I learned yesterday is that our best lineup has Whalley at the 5. Sanogo will be the horse next year. But for now, I see Josh being nailed to the bench, Sanogo getting backup minutes (though he may keep starting) and IW playing more and more 5. That is going to open up more minutes for Akok as he gets conditioning, and Polley at the 4 as Bouk’s return forces teams to not allow Polley’s man to never leave Tyler.

To the extent that he gets minutes, I think Polley probably will benefit the most from Bouk’s return, but I also expect RJ and Gaff to get better looks than they’ve been getting—especially Gaff. Even without Bouk, RJ’s shot selection was better yesterday, so with RJ it may be more a question of judgment, i.e., less driving into the trees and more taking threes and pull-up jumpers in the flow of the game.

Obviously if we have Bouk and others hitting from the outside, that should free up the inside for whichever frontcourt players we have in. That’s where I see your “whoever is making shots stays in” coming into play...as long as they are also playing good D.

 

[Sphinx]

We’ll see. Bouk being back will obviously make the team a lot better. But is it going to make Gaffney, or Polley, or Sanogo, or RJ, consistent?

I think the most important thing I learned yesterday is that our best lineup has Whalley at the 5. Sanogo will be the horse next year. But for now, I see Josh being nailed to the bench, Sanogo getting backup minutes (though he may keep starting) and IW playing more and more 5. That is going to open up more minutes for Akok as he gets conditioning, and Polley at the 4 as Bouk’s return forces teams to not allow Polley’s man to never leave Tyler.

Your usual, helpful injection of sobriety -- but an assessment that doesn't mention the Jackson-Martin nexus that developed on the floor yesterday and, briefly, the Jackson-Akok connection, is missing the story of the game, I submit. Jackson is the great potential difference maker in this team's offense. He is, at any point in time, the fastest route to the open man, and while the return of Bouk can be nothing but a net plus, the challenge for Hurley is to meld a individual super-star back into the lineup (a rusty one at that) without nipping in the bud the dynamic Jackson brings to the floor.

 

[OkaForPrez]

We’ll see. Bouk being back will obviously make the team a lot better. But is it going to make Gaffney, or Polley, or Sanogo, or RJ, consistent?

I think the most important thing I learned yesterday is that our best lineup has Whalley at the 5. Sanogo will be the horse next year. But for now, I see Josh being nailed to the bench, Sanogo getting backup minutes (though he may keep starting) and IW playing more and more 5. That is going to open up more minutes for Akok as he gets conditioning, and Polley at the 4 as Bouk’s return forces teams to not allow Polley’s man to never leave Tyler.

The consistency comes in the aggregate. When you replace 30 min a game of whoever is off that day with a guy averaging 20 who can punch to 40 you become more consistent. You rotate through the guys you mention above then play hot hand after the initial pass through.

 

[Uconn10922]

Great to see Akok Akok back in rotation. With Jackson looking more comfortable on the court and , hopefully Bouknight coming back soon, who looses their
minutes? Zero playing time for Carlton and Adams against Xavier. More healthy players available, Dan Hurley needs to find right mix. Will be interesting.

One way for Akok to be a true weapon for us is with his ability to hit the 3. Lately teams have been leaving Whaley wide open for 3s in order to help out down low on Sanogo. If Akok or even Whaley can just hit the open 3 for us within the natural flow of the offense that makes it so much harder to defend us and opens up driving lanes for Martin and Gaffney when teams are forced to defend our 4 man.

 

[uconnever]

I think making plans about this team is silly. Martin is the only thing close to a consistent offensive player that we have. Guys are going to play. If they make shots, they’ll stay in. If they don’t, they won’t.

Yes, we looked great yesterday, but that was with Cole hitting a majority of his 3s. That won’t happen a lot. If we were missing the shots we usually miss, we may not have won despite everything else.

You know, I’ve been thinking. Cole did sit a year and he comes back in this crazy stop and go year. Maybe this is the real Cole. His teammates has praised his play in practice and he scored a lot at Howard even when they played decent out of conference teams. I do believe he may be a bit streaky, but I’m willing to bet that this is more like the player he is. Just needed time to adjust.

 

[bendm]

if we get bouk back and akok can average 15 mpg we'll go 9 deep. further tough choices will have to be made re PT and we'll be all the better for it

 

[OkaForPrez]

One way for Akok to be a true weapon for us is with his ability to hit the 3. Lately teams have been leaving Whaley wide open for 3s in order to help out down low on Sanogo. If Akok or even Whaley can just hit the open 3 for us within the natural flow of the offense that makes it so much harder to defend us and opens up driving lanes for Martin and Gaffney when teams are forced to defend our 4 man.

Some have attributed this passed game’s success to Hurley taking the handcuffs off the offense. Whether it was that or a confidence issue with Whaley, a big difference was him looking to shoot first instead of pass first on the wing. He didn’t hesitate and it led to a few makes. Needs to continue to think shot first until teams come out on it.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

You know, I’ve been thinking. Cole did sit a year and he comes back in this crazy stop and go year. Maybe this is the real Cole. His teammates has praised his play in practice and he scored a lot at Howard even when they played decent out of conference teams. I do believe he may be a bit streaky, but I’m willing to bet that this is more like the player he is. Just needed time to adjust.

i don't think rj is streaky. based upon his game shown thus far, it seems like:
a shot with 2 feet on the floor? good chance it's a bucket.
a shot with 1 or less feet on the floor? a lot less likely to go in.
signed 'a formerly skeptical observer of mr rj, now firmly in the 'he can help us plenty' group, especially when he's doing the 2 feet on floor jacks.'

 

[UofCT]

I would think everyone loses minutes once Bouk returns.

 

[ucawn]

For next game I would think we could see
Gaffney
Bouk
Jackson
Martin
Whaley

This just makes the most sense. Though Cole has played reallly well the past 2 games, it’s been off the bench so don’t change that.

Bynum is back, he’s 5’10” but a pretty good guard. Gaffney and Cole should have no problem with him.

I would but Bouknight on Reeves, and Jackson on Duke. Jackson impressed me with his defense on Scruggs. But if he can’t slow Duke, you can always try Martin or Bouk if they aren’t in foul trouble.

I would prefer Martin on Noah. Horchler has been playing very solid the past few games on the boards, and getting into the scoring column. Although Martin would be surrendering height(-2 inches) Martin is athletic and strong enough to stop him.

I would put Whaley on Watson. Watson really struggled last game, but he’s obviously a 1st or 2nd team all conference player. I was throughly impressed with Whaley’s post defense and Watson is more paint oriented than Freemantle.

Also in putting Whaley on Watson, and Martin or Horchler, you put yourself at a big advantage on the glass. Also the guards are better rebounders than their opposition.

I’m hoping we see a lot of Cole, and Sanogo off the bench and as much Akok as possible. Tyler had a tough shooting night last time but he got very clean looks.

I do want to try a Bouk, Andre, Martin, Akok, Whaley lineup tomorrow. There aren’t many ways to guard this lineup if you’re PC. They might try to zone this lineup, but I think flashing Andre, Bouk, Martin to the foul line could shred this zone easily. Obviously the focal point is guarding Bouknight, so they might but Duke on Bouk, but then they can’t play with Bynum because you’d have Martin or Jackson against a 5’10” guy. If you play this lineup you force PCs hand and they will get very uncomfortable with the guys they have on the court.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Dan Hurley's time to shine. He's the coach and current team leader.

He now knows that he has 10 puzzle pieces to go up against higher level competition than he's ever faced on a sustained basis. It's what he has aimed for and what he was hired for.

A few days ago, he had 9 pieces. A little more than a week ago it was 8. Soon, we hope, it will be 11. The competition will grow stronger, and the stakes will be ever higher.

And there are more known unknowns than ever before.

We can imagine his first Sweet 16; days ago, predominantly doom. Neither is out of line. Of course, we're always doomed. This is our time to shine too.

Let the mojo rise
Hot sauce, haiku, Husky togs
We all are growing

 

[Jbirdp5]

When bouk has no restriction
Gaff-20 Cole-20
Bouk-30 Cole-5 Jackson-5
Jackson-20 Martin-20
Whaley-10 Martin-5 Akok-15 polley-10
Sanogo-20 Whaley-20

 

[businesslawyer]

Your usual, helpful injection of sobriety -- but an assessment that doesn't mention the Jackson-Martin nexus that developed on the floor yesterday and, briefly, the Jackson-Akok connection, is missing the story of the game, I submit. Jackson is the great potential difference maker in this team's offense. He is, at any point in time, the fastest route to the open man, and while the return of Bouk can be nothing but a net plus, the challenge for Hurley is to meld a individual super-star back into the lineup (a rusty one at that) without nipping in the bud the dynamic Jackson brings to the floor.

Jackson does some things really well. But he can't shoot and he in many ways plays like a freshman. If getting Bouk back meant we didn't see Jackson again this year, I wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over it. That's not going to happen, but I just think the net positives with Jackson this year are not that great. Although the positives over time may be.

 

[bendm]

When bouk has no restriction
Gaff-20 Cole-20
Bouk-30 Cole-5 Jackson-5
Jackson-20 Martin-20
Whaley-10 Martin-5 Akok-15 polley-10
Sanogo-20 Whaley-20

gosh that's tough but that's a good thing. i dont see how martin gets benched tho he's still our 2nd or 3rd best player any given night, best one on one defender, and leading rebounder. we also need to keep playing fast once bouk gets back.

i think martin at the 4 and whaley at the 5 but would understand if sanogo keeps starting and whaley comes off the bench:

Gaff-20 Cole-20
Bouk-30 Cole-5 Jackson-5
Jackson-20 Martin-15 Polley- 5
Martin-15 Akok-15 Whaley-10
Sanogo-20 Whaley-20

totals:
30- bouk, martin, whaley
25- jackson, cole
20- gaff, sanogo
15- akok
5- polley (more if he's hitting 3s)

gonna win the BE tourney and make the sweet 16 with this rotation

 

[OkaForPrez]

When bouk has no restriction
Gaff-20 Cole-20
Bouk-30 Cole-5 Jackson-5
Jackson-20 Martin-20
Whaley-10 Martin-5 Akok-15 polley-10
Sanogo-20 Whaley-20

RJ 30 Gaff 10
Bouk 35 Martin 5
Jackson 25 Martin 15
Whaley 10 Martin 10 Akok 20
Whaley 20 Sanogo 20

Bouk 35
RJ, Martin, Whaley 30
Jackson 25
Akok Sanogo 20
Gaff 10

That’s my 8 man rotation

 

[Sphinx]

Jackson does some thinks really well. But he can't shoot and he in many ways plays like a freshman. If getting Bouk back meant we didn't see Jackson again this year, I wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over it. That's not going to happen, but I just think the net positives with Jackson this year are not that great. Although the positives over time may be.

Is it possible that two forum members disagree? I would gnash my teeth over the loss of Jackson, and if Bouk were not to return, I would be entirely engaged watching this team meld around Jackson and Akok. Bouk can be great, but Jackson can be Larry Bird great (if you can picture an athletic Larry Bird.). The words, "He can't shoot" have more than once described an unorthodox style that had only to find its rhythm.

 

[Jbirdp5]

RJ 30 Gaff 10
Bouk 35 Martin 5
Jackson 25 Martin 15
Whaley 10 Martin 10 Akok 20
Whaley 20 Sanogo 20

Bouk 35
RJ, Martin, Whaley 30
Jackson 25
Akok Sanogo 20
Gaff 10

That’s my 8 man rotation

I had a tough time cutting polley all the way out, I figure he’s got to see the court. I do think 8 is more ideal, but I think gaff will end up with more than 10 minutes most nights.