Wolf's upside?

[Palatine]

It's always intriguing when you have a seven-footer who can move fairly well. The big guy gets up and down the court pretty easily. He performs okay defensively in the post. He takes up space. He rebounds aggressively at times. He knocked down a twelve-foot jumper (set shot?) last night.

He is going to play. Minutes are available in the post. Ollie has chosen him over Nolan to get the back up minutes. Playing usually improves a guy.

So how do we project him going forward? Is he a ten minute, two point, two rebound sub? Is there more there? What's the upside?

He doesn't look like he will ever be a scorer. Ten points would constitute an explosion. But five or six rebounds and a couple of blocks in his fifteen minutes seems doable. It will be interesting to see him develop.

 

[UConnSwag11]

we do need points, but i would rather him play hard, not foul, jump and grab rebounds, and block shots when he comes in

 

[mauconnfan]

I think he will score in some games and depending on the opposition will see more minutes in some and maybe 8-10 in others.....but I thought his minutes were very good last night. He's not a bad player at all and has a nice IQ.......

 

[Chin Diesel]

Definitely looked like he can handle 10-15 minutes most nights. He's still gonna look lost some games.
As others have noticed, he looks comfortable and his court awareness is plenty good for a back up center.

Upside? Souley or Chuck O by the time he's done here.

 

[Palatine]

Definitely looked like he can handle 10-15 minutes most nights. He's still gonna look lost some games.
As others have noticed, he looks comfortable and his court awareness is plenty good for a back up center.

Upside? Souley or Chuck O by the time he's done here.

Both Souley and Chuck have NC rings, so that would be good. I think Wane might be a good comparison, Chuck was a lot more athletic and had nice hops for such a big man.

 

[TheRogers]

Concentrate on rebounding Wolfe. Only good things will follow.

 

[mauconnfan]

In the first half he actually had a great hedge on the top of the key vs Appling, showed great footwork for a big, but then reached. Need him and all the bigs to keep away from silly fouls like reaching.......not enough bench to have people in foul trouble.

TO, while not having great numbers, was vital yesterday and the numbers actually don't tell the story. He fought hard, moved some people inside, didn't turn it over when they ran the offense through the post and played a solid game. Good news is we know he can make that foul line jumper so there will be games if that falls he'll get his 12-14............imagine running the offense through AO?

 

[msgordon]

had a great quick outlet pass that led to a hoop(i think by bazz) last night

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

had a great quick outlet pass that led to a hoop(i think by bazz) last night

more than 1 actually. this, and rebounding could be a bit of a niche for him.

 

[huskiesnyc]

He is a big body and an intelligent player. His main problem has been lack of confidence, and KO is the perfect coach to bring that out of him. It's tough to get out of Calhoun's doghouse especially when you're number 4 on the depth chart. KO will give him the positive reinforcement he needs. Uconn needs him this year, and I expect that confidence to grow after a couple breakout games. I also can't say enough about his great attitude. #fearthebeard

 

[ctchamps]

He was tentative on the first play on the defensive end. After that he was comfortable and showed he can be counted to play minutes to spell TO if he gets tired or into foul trouble. Big concern is no more concussions.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

had a great quick outlet pass that led to a hoop(i think by bazz) last night

Yes, he also made another good outlet as well, IIRC. Quick release, up the court, creating fast break opportunities. This could be a significant weapon. He seemed to play pretty good position defense and I did not see him get beat down the court to where we were hurt by it. I bet he could be a good interior passer and might have a soft shooting touch. I'm not sure he will be able to move laterally well enough to play defense on a portion of the players he will face, but time will tell. Good sign that both he and TO did not foul out despite 2 fouls in first half.

 

[Hoophound]

I think he will become a consistent threat to score some points over the years. Guys that big can't generally shoot as well as he can. If he is allowed to shoot the ball 18' feet and in, we'll see him score double digits now and then. Maybe more often in year 4. It is hard to guard a 7 foot perimeter shooter.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Justin Brown?

 

[Hoophound]

Justin Brown?

Lol. Could be but I think he seems several notches better. I never thought Justin showed promise.

 

[dapriest]

I suppose I'm in the minority - I think Wolf is much better than I had hoped he would be, and I think he will be a nice role player on this team, and a Chuck Okwandu type player in his senior year. Last night he had a block, got some boards, look good hitting the J, was mobile. I'd like to see him get PT.