Who will be our “Robin” this year? | The Boneyard

Who will be our “Robin” this year?

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With Bouk clearly the go-to guy (aka Batman), who will emerge as our #2 scoring option? We have several players who could be that guy:

Will it be Cole that becomes a consistent scorer like he was at Howard?

Will Polley continue where he left off pre-injury and be a lights out shooter, maybe good for 12-15 ppg?

Will Carlton regain his Sophomore year form?

Will Akok come back from injury and show a new offensive game?

Will Gaffney make a big leap?

Will A-Jax follow in Bouk’s footsteps as our next lights out Freshman phenom?

Will Tyrese Martin show why he was a highly sought after transfer?

Will Whaley continue his tremendous progression with a monster Senior year?

Maybe it’s someone else on the team that I didn’t mention?

Either way it’s exciting to have so much talent and a lot of options this year.

Interested to hear everyone’s opinions.
 

the Q

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I would bet on Cole. He’s been a high volume scorer before.

We should have a lot of guys contributing beyond those 2 though.
 
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With Bouk clearly the go-to guy (aka Batman), who will emerge as our #2 scoring option? We have several players who could be that guy:

Will it be Cole that becomes a consistent scorer like he was at Howard?

Will Polley continue where he left off pre-injury and be a lights out shooter, maybe good for 12-15 ppg?

Will Carlton regain his Sophomore year form?

Will Akok come back from injury and show a new offensive game?

Will Gaffney make a big leap?

Will A-Jax follow in Bouk’s footsteps as our next lights out Freshman phenom?

Will Tyrese Martin show why he was a highly sought after transfer?

Will Whaley continue his tremendous progression with a monster Senior year?

Maybe it’s someone else on the team that I didn’t mention?

Either way it’s exciting to have so much talent and a lot of options this year.

Interested to hear everyone’s opinions.

I don't think we need a "Robin" for this team to be great. Particularly because our identity is going to be defense. Bouk is obviously #1on offense. If we are at our best

Gaffney will run the offense and everyone will play better when he is organizing the offense.

Cole is going to be a 3PT sniper and running the point when Gaff sits.

Adams will be a tough bench piece thriving off the attention the other guys are getting. He'll likely have the worst perimeter defender on him, and should use that to his advantage. He's deceptively fast.

Jackson will be a blur in transition. I expect him to struggle in the half court. What I don't know is how we utilize his elite passing when Cole/Gaffney are already on the floor. Does Cole go play more of a 2 guard, spot up shooter role?

Martin will be a tough defender. Hopefully shooting open catch and shoot 3s, and getting transition buckets.

Polley will be a sniper good for 40% or more from deep. We already know that.

Akok will be the Akok from last year on offense, realistically. He hasn't had a chance to develop. I hope he can at least getting his shooting up to 30% or better and show some signs of improvement.

Carlton if he doesn't turn the ball over (huge if), can be a fantastic post up threat. A completely different look than Whaley which will throw teams off.

Whaley is going to be Whaley. I'm sure he'll be effecient at the rim and getting easy bucket. Has that jump shot developed. If it has--that's a game changer.

Sanogo COULD be an offensive threat. He's a great post up guy, moves the ball well on the perimeter. Judging by Hurley's recent comments he may be more of a 5-10 minute guy. We'll see.
 

Huskyforlife

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I don't think we need a "Robin" for this team to be great. Particularly because our identity is going to be defense. Bouk is obviously #1on offense. If we are at our best

Gaffney will run the offense and everyone will play better when he is organizing the offense.

Cole is going to be a 3PT sniper and running the point when Gaff sits.

Adams will be a tough bench piece thriving off the attention the other guys are getting. He'll likely have the worst perimeter defender on him, and should use that to his advantage. He's deceptively fast.

Jackson will be a blur in transition. I expect him to struggle in the half court. What I don't know is how we utilize his elite passing when Cole/Gaffney are already on the floor. Does Cole go play more of a 2 guard, spot up shooter role?

Martin will be a tough defender. Hopefully shooting open catch and shoot 3s, and getting transition buckets.

Polley will be a sniper good for 40% or more from deep. We already know that.

Akok will be the Akok from last year on offense, realistically. He hasn't had a chance to develop. I hope he can at least getting his shooting up to 30% or better and show some signs of improvement.

Carlton if he doesn't turn the ball over (huge if), can be a fantastic post up threat. A completely different look than Whaley which will throw teams off.

Whaley is going to be Whaley. I'm sure he'll be effecient at the rim and getting easy bucket. Has that jump shot developed. If it has--that's a game changer.

Sanogo COULD be an offensive threat. He's a great post up guy, moves the ball well on the perimeter. Judging by Hurley's recent comments he may be more of a 5-10 minute guy. We'll see.
At the risk of derailing this thread, I cannot see how Sanogo doesn't immediately play big minutes, I'd argue he's leagues more skilled and instinctual with the ball than Josh already, has great touch around the rim with both hands. He really just needs to not be a doormat defensively. This all ignoring he's probably the best rebounder on the team already.
 

Chin Diesel

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I don't think we need a "Robin" for this team to be great. Particularly because our identity is going to be defense. Bouk is obviously #1on offense. If we are at our best

Gaffney will run the offense and everyone will play better when he is organizing the offense.

Cole is going to be a 3PT sniper and running the point when Gaff sits.

Adams will be a tough bench piece thriving off the attention the other guys are getting. He'll likely have the worst perimeter defender on him, and should use that to his advantage. He's deceptively fast.

Jackson will be a blur in transition. I expect him to struggle in the half court. What I don't know is how we utilize his elite passing when Cole/Gaffney are already on the floor. Does Cole go play more of a 2 guard, spot up shooter role?

Martin will be a tough defender. Hopefully shooting open catch and shoot 3s, and getting transition buckets.

Polley will be a sniper good for 40% or more from deep. We already know that.

Akok will be the Akok from last year on offense, realistically. He hasn't had a chance to develop. I hope he can at least getting his shooting up to 30% or better and show some signs of improvement.

Carlton if he doesn't turn the ball over (huge if), can be a fantastic post up threat. A completely different look than Whaley which will throw teams off.

Whaley is going to be Whaley. I'm sure he'll be effecient at the rim and getting easy bucket. Has that jump shot developed. If it has--that's a game changer.

Sanogo COULD be an offensive threat. He's a great post up guy, moves the ball well on the perimeter. Judging by Hurley's recent comments he may be more of a 5-10 minute guy. We'll see.

I think this may be right. Bouk averages 18-20 ppg and you then have a group of 5-6 around 8-10 ppg. On any given night 2-3 others score double digits.
 
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At the risk of derailing this thread, I cannot see how Sanogo doesn't immediately play big minutes, I'd argue he's leagues more skilled and instinctual with the ball than Josh already, has great touch around the rim with both hands. He really just needs to not be a doormat defensively. This all ignoring he's probably the best rebounder on the team already.

I would've agreed until Hurley's comments in the article that came out earlier this week. He seemed to lump Javonte Brown and him together. But that could've just been a "yeah, these are the freshman bigs" kind of thing.

If I were to guess, Sanogo finds his way to 15mpg or more by January. He has the ability to play some minutes at the 4 (similar to Whaley), which makes him just a little more versatile than JC or JB. I think Martin/Polley/Akok play a lot more at the 4, but in certain matchups we could go big.
 

Chin Diesel

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I was thinking Dream Season and a quick stats check confirms what I think happens. Bouk is Smitty and everyone else rotates through.

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In the genre of Daniel Hamilton and Jeremy Lamb, who brought key differentiating.(and sometimes unstoppable) skillsets in certain tournament games...I think Andre Jackson or T Martin, by the end of the year, may be finding some magical mojo.

That is, of course if we follow the '11 and '14. Danny's model may be different given the depth we have and the talent that may emerge.
 
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Cole is going to be a 3PT sniper and running the point when Gaff sits.
so do you have cole starting or coming off the bench? personally i'd like to see bouk playing his natural position at SG alongside a traditional SF i.e. polley/martin/jackson. starting both PGs also compouds the logjam we already have at the forward spots.
 
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I don’t mind a Bouk at the 3 cause the college game seems to be more strictly backhanders, bigs & wings. Idk if there’s really a difference in college between a 2 & a 3 on most teams. Leonard, Tatum, PG, KD, Ingram, Parker (before the knee injuries & such) and more played primarily or significant minutes as 4’s in college and became 3’s in the NBA
 
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I would've agreed until Hurley's comments in the article that came out earlier this week. He seemed to lump Javonte Brown and him together. But that could've just been a "yeah, these are the freshman bigs" kind of thing.

If I were to guess, Sanogo finds his way to 15mpg or more by January. He has the ability to play some minutes at the 4 (similar to Whaley), which makes him just a little more versatile than JC or JB. I think Martin/Polley/Akok play a lot more at the 4, but in certain matchups we could go big.

Has it been mentioned that JB might redshirt? Or did I make that up in my own head? Considering this sudden depth that we have, and JB's youth.. Does that make sense? I think it does for his development.
 
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so do you have cole starting or coming off the bench? personally i'd like to see bouk playing his natural position at SG alongside a traditional SF i.e. polley/martin/jackson. starting both PGs also compouds the logjam we already have at the forward spots.

I think we start both PGs early on with Bouk, Martin/Polley, and Whaley. If Akok comes back ready to go in January, Gaffney will move to the bench.

It's pretty exciting that we don't have an obvious 5 this year. Could be any number of 9 or 10 guys depending on health, matchups, etc. I think the only really obvious one is Bouk.
 
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Has it been mentioned that JB might redshirt? Or did I make that up in my own head? Considering this sudden depth that we have, and JB's youth.. Does that make sense? I think it does for his development.
Only been talked about on here as a possibility. Nobody associated with the team has said anything about that.
 

UChusky916

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The fact that OP lists so many options only bodes well for us. I don't think there will be a consistent Robin. Matchups will dictate who becomes a "second fiddle" and we're deep enough that we can see who's "feeling it" any given night.

Can't wait to see this team out there.
 
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This year I foresee a "Robin-by-committee". Instead of Batman and Robin, we get to see Batman, Robin and the whole Justice League fighting evil!

I gave you a like even for committing the heresy of calling Robin part of the Justice League. Unless my 50 year old recollection of comic books is failing me.
 
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We should have a betting pool on the lineup.

Cole, Gaffney, Bouknight, Polley, Carlton

Assume you mean on opening day? One can only guess, as you have Gaffney and and Whalley on the bench, not to mention Akok if he's healthy.

Gun to my head, opening day is Cole, Bouknight, Polley, Whalley and Carlton. But I'm not at all sure, and I know it doesn't matter. A bunch of guys are going to get a chance to be finishing games as we move into January.
 
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I gave you a like even for committing the heresy of calling Robin part of the Justice League. Unless my 50 year old recollection of comic books is failing me.
I believe your memory is fine. If you read my post carefully, you would notice I say "Batman, Robin AND the whole Justice League". Nowhere do I state or even imply that Robin is part of the Justice League. I am no heretic when it comes to important things like comic books and UConn basketball! I gave you a like also!
 

CL82

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I would bet on Cole. He’s been a high volume scorer before.

We should have a lot of guys contributing beyond those 2 though.
I think Cole will score less than his last year playing because he'll be in a target rich environment. Look for him to be dropping dimes left and right and scoring just enough to keep people from laying off of him.
 

crazyUCfan23

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It will be interesting to see who steps up behind back with so much depth. I'd say the opening day lineup is Cole, Bouk, Martin, Polley, Whaley. Also wouldn't be surprised if polley, whaley, and carlton all started.
 

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