Wilson is back

[August_West]

 

[Chief00]

It's remarkable how Sid Wilson has gone from a national top 75 player and #19 small forward to a Tyler Polley wannabe without ever playing a college game. I submit that the proper Sid Wilson comparison is not to Tyler Polley but to a freshman Ray Allen. He is a smooth-as-silk frontcourt operator with major hops, an effortless stride and a smooth stroke. He has been a key starter on one championship team after another -- and in the toughest of big-city and prep school venues. I think you will find that the "playing down" of Sid Wilson has been a Hurley masterstroke, providing incentive to the kid and an-about-to-be-realized electro-juicing of the program.

Like Sid but he still is awful skinny.

 

[jibsey]

Saw
Saw SiD W in open practice 2 times and was not impressed. Hope you are correct in your high expectations.

Do tell us what you weren’t impressed with.

 

[Dove]

Do tell us what you weren’t impressed with.

Probably was a KO practice.

 

[Walker11]

Do tell us what you weren’t impressed with.

Hurley said that some practices Sid looks like the best player on the team and some practices he looks like a walkon. I imagine coach saw him at one of the latter.

 

[ToolzieFan]

I don’t know that all of Wilson’s minutes come at the expense of Polley. We have played plenty of four-guard sets. It’s quite possible Wilson’s availability cuts into the guards’ minutes. Based on reputation, I expect Wilson to eventually outplay Polley, but Polley has obviously played well enough to have a significant role going forward.

 

[Bonk]

Hurley said that some practices Sid looks like the best player on the team and some practices he looks like a walkon. I imagine coach saw him at one of the latter.

From watching footage of a few of Sid’s Brewster academy games he definitely has upside but can disappear on offense and not move around much. Also at times could get lazy at the defensive end of the floor especially with closing out shooters. Hopefully Hurley’s uptempo style will whip Sid into shape because he definitely has a high ceiling

 

[ToolzieFan]

From watching footage of a few of Sid’s Brewster academy games he definitely has upside but can disappear on offense and not move around much. Also at times could get lazy at the defensive end of the floor especially with closing out shooters. Hopefully Hurley’s uptempo style will whip Sid into shape because he definitely has a high ceiling

Nobody on our team was able to do much against Tyler Cook. I worry about our ability to defend athletic forwards and obviously post scorers. I hope Sid can provide some help there.

 

[jkfer98]

Saw
Saw SiD W in open practice 2 times and was not impressed. Hope you are correct in your high expectations.

I got the opposite impression from Sid in the open practice TBH. Thought he looked smooth, jumper from mid-range looked nice.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Everyone said Sid is super talented and was pissed when he got suspended. Now when he is coming back everyone says he sucks.

 

[UChusky916]

Everyone said Sid is super talented and was pissed when he got suspended. Now when he is coming back everyone says he sucks.

No one said that. And actually someone compared his game to Ray Allen...

Sid will make Whaley and Brendan Adams the odd guys out... hard to see them getting many meaningful minutes moving forward with everyone healthy plus Wilson now in the mix.

I think we'll see more 4 guard lineups as another poster mentioned... Would love to see a small lineup of AG, Jalen, CV, Wilson, and Carlton/Cobb. That's a lot of fast, athletic guards to handle.

I don't see Wilson taking Polleys or CVs minutes because both of those guys have been great defensively which is what Hurley cares about most. Sid will need to bring defensive energy every possession if he wants to see the floor consistently.

 

[HawkHusky]

No one said that. And actually someone compared his game to Ray Allen...

Sid will make Whaley and Brendan Adams the odd guys out... hard to see them getting many meaningful minutes moving forward with everyone healthy plus Wilson now in the mix.

I think we'll see more 4 guard lineups as another poster mentioned... Would love to see a small lineup of AG, Jalen, CV, Wilson, and Carlton/Cobb. That's a lot of fast, athletic guards to handle.

I don't see Wilson taking Polleys or CVs minutes because both of those guys have been great defensively which is what Hurley cares about most. Sid will need to bring defensive energy every possession if he wants to see the floor consistently.

Hurley loves B Adams. He'll still get meaningful minutes. We'll just see even more subbing.

 

[Son of Robert]

I think we'll see both Polley and Wilson on the floor at the same time quite a bit with either 3 guards or two guards and a legit 4/5 like Carlton, Cobb, Whaley, Yakwe, Diarra.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wilson will take minutes from everybody not named Carlton, Cobb, Diarra and Yawke. He'll peel off 2-3 minutes here and there from Polley, CV, Gilbert, Jalen, Smith, all of them. I expect him to play the 3 and the 4 against overmatched small squads like UNH. I don't expect to see him get time at the 4 against bigger, more physical teams. He'd be a huge defensive liability.

Ideally, Wilson is a wing, even in Hurley's system. Maybe even a SG. I think we will see Dan recruit bigger guards on average. You can play small ball, but not very effectively with smaller guards. That stretch 4 everybody talks about should look more like Shonn Miller with a slightly better outside shot, not a guy who is 6'7" and 180. Put 40 pounds on Sid and maybe he'd be that. Not happening.

 

[willie99]

He'll play, we can use a little size with offense in the front court.

I think he'll help with our press defense too

The team is playing well, but we need more production up front when playing better competition

 

[Rico444]

Sid is way too skinny to play the 4 against any real competition we play this year. Maybe he can fill in for a couple of minutes here or there, but he is going to have to show that he's much stronger than his frame suggests before I'm gonna worry about Polley losing minutes at the 4.

 

[Sphinx]

The following may be an old man's fancy, but I think if Wilson plays to his pedigree, he will inexorably take over the 3. Between Polley and Diarra, the 4 will be covered, moving the 3-guard, 4-guard options well back on the shelf. This is going to require some serious adjustment.

Initially, I expect CV will become the first option off the bench at the 2 and 3 with Tarin the backup point. As the competition toughens, I think Tarin will begin to fade from the picture (His weak 3pt and FT shooting becoming too much of a liability.) Jalen, I think, will become the option at the point when AG goes out. I think we will see a lot of Jalen and CV together in the backcourt.

When I picture UConn as a tournament-class team, I see Wilson and Polley/Diarra at the frontcourt corners, with Jalen, CV and AG in the backcourt. Add Carlton and Cobb in the middle, and that is the team that might hold its own with the big boys.

 

[superjohn]

No one said that. And actually someone compared his game to Ray Allen...

Sid will make Whaley and Brendan Adams the odd guys out... hard to see them getting many meaningful minutes moving forward with everyone healthy plus Wilson now in the mix.

I think we'll see more 4 guard lineups as another poster mentioned... Would love to see a small lineup of AG, Jalen, CV, Wilson, and Carlton/Cobb. That's a lot of fast, athletic guards to handle.

I don't see Wilson taking Polleys or CVs minutes because both of those guys have been great defensively which is what Hurley cares about most. Sid will need to bring defensive energy every possession if he wants to see the floor consistently.

Polley has been great defensively???

 

[3rdbass]

The following may be an old man's fancy, but I think if Wilson plays to his pedigree, he will inexorably take over the 3. Between Polley and Diarra, the 4 will be covered, moving the 3-guard, 4-guard options well back on the shelf. This is going to require some serious adjustment.

Initially, I expect CV will become the first option off the bench at the 2 and 3 with Tarin the backup point. As the competition toughens, I think Tarin will begin to fade from the picture (His weak 3pt and FT shooting becoming too much of a liability.) Jalen, I think, will become the option at the point when AG goes out. I think we will see a lot of Jalen and CV together in the backcourt.

When I picture UConn as a tournament-class team, I see Wilson and Polley/Diarra at the frontcourt corners, with Jalen, CV and AG in the backcourt. Add Carlton and Cobb in the middle, and that is the team that might hold its own with the big boys.

I don’t see Hurley abandoning the 3 guard lineup at all based on where our talent currently resides. With the guards and wings. You might see some traditional lineups at time with Wilson or Polley at the 3 but I don’t think we will stay with that consistently since Hurley wants to push the pace and not get into a half court game. If we had better bigs I could see staying with that but I think the 3 guard lineup is here to stay this year and Sid just adds to that another player to rotate in there.

 

[Husky25]

I don’t see Hurley abandoning the 3 guard lineup at all based on where our talent currently resides. With the guards and wings. You might see some traditional lineups at time with Wilson or Polley at the 3 but I don’t think we will stay with that consistently since Hurley wants to push the pace and not get into a half court game. If we had better bigs I could see staying with that but I think the 3 guard lineup is here to stay this year and Sid just adds to that another player to rotate in there.

With no player over 6'-9" IRL, the 3 guard line-up is a Moneyball approach of sorts, and takes advantage of an inefficiency on the court.

 

[Jimdish255]

Counterpoint: You are severely overrating what a 70ish ranked bball recruit is.

Hopefully the kind of guy who can force other teams to adjust to his skills on both ends.

He really missed some important time here so his role is totally undeveloped. We're not going to see the real Sid for 5 games minimum. The good news is we have a spot for him and a few games where he'll have time to make the adjustment. Arizona may be too soon to expect more than 5-10 minutes. Anything more would be a bonus.

 

[AtlHusky]

View attachment 36714

You've inspired me to change up my avatar/tag line, it's been a while.

 

[August_West]

You've inspired me to change up my avatar/tag line, it's been a while.

Inasfar as fiefdom, I think you bad crook

 

[dennismenace]

Nobody on our team was able to do much against Tyler Cook. I worry about our ability to defend athletic forwards and obviously post scorers. I hope Sid can provide some help there.

Definitely a concern but Tyler Cook is listed as 6-9 250 lbs., had fire in his eyes and I don't think there are too many PF's in the country who can stop him. He gives new meaning to the word aggression. I think he will have a great career if he stays healthy.

 

[August_West]

Polley has been great defensively???

He gets used like a dishrag.

I like Tyler and its probably not fair for him to guard the 4 slot at this stage of his development but he has a long way to go there.
Still our best option there right now.