Would we be playing like this or have as much optimism if

[UConnSwag11]

Polley getting injured had not forced Hurley to start Bouknight?

Gaff starting and Gilbert off the bench has helped a lot too

 

[LIuconn]

I say no. Bouk needed 25+ mins to play into what he's become. Not sure if he gets that with polley in there

 

[bmayuc]

They key was not polley, although it certainly added to JB minutes. It was when we had like 2,341 close games in a row with Alterique and Vital couldn't make a shot in the last 4 minutes and Hurley realized we were playing for NEXT year and not THIS year. The decision to bench AG and get JB and JG at least 20+ per game changed the season.

 

[JB75]

Yup. Ironically ,
-Polley injury has forced bouk into his prominence lately
- akoks injury has put whalley on another planet
- Ag having a tuff year has pushed up GaffneyS timeline for minutes by at least half a season.
-just thinking glass half full)
I’ll say it again. Imagine if AG and josh were playing how we thought they wud coming into year? We’d be top 20 fir sure

 

[CTrefugee]

AG is an equal opportunity point guard, but he only gets credit for assists on UCONN buckets.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Didn't we just beat USF at home after losing to Temple? Am I missing something or did we suddenly become a dominant team? What if Polley continued to play like he did his last game? What if Bouk didn't disappear for the 4 or 5 games we lost in a row? What if a few bounces went our way in the plethora of close games we lost? What if things finally clicked with AG still running the show? Sure, this all bodes well for next year, except Akok & Tyler Phommachanh, but who knows how things could've played out. Whats the point of speculating?

 

[gtcam]

AG is an equal opportunity point guard, but he only gets credit for assists on UCONN buckets.

JSMH

 

[husky429]

Hurley making the right team decision and benching is the difference IMO. Bouk had the green light before, but wasn't taking it. His mentality changed when Hurley made the change. Not easy, but the right decision.

 

[JB75]

Didn't we just beat USF at home after losing to Temple? Am I missing something or did we suddenly become a dominant team? What if Polley continued to play like he did his last game? What if Bouk didn't disappear for the 4 or 5 games we lost in a row? What if a few bounces went our way in the plethora of close games we lost? What if things finally clicked with AG still running the show? Sure, this all bodes well for next year, except Akok & Tyler Phommachanh, but who knows how things could've played out. Whats the point of speculating?

True but just to show how close we really cud be this year. It’s really quite amazing

 

[RichZ]

Whats the point of speculating?

Isn't that a big chunk of what fan boards are for?

 

[auror]

People were calling for Bouk to start anyways. He would've made the switch eventually either way.

 

[jdb50]

We are moving the ball better on offense with the lineup having the two freshman starting. Josh is putting himself on the bench as Whaley is able to play at the faster pace of the 4 guard lineup. Josh will still be important to help solidify the defense against teams that play 2 bigs and to rest Whaley. Looking for the better shot and not forcing things as much has helped the team get wins more often.

 

[Watchdog]

Didn't we just beat USF at home after losing to Temple? Am I missing something or did we suddenly become a dominant team? What if Polley continued to play like he did his last game? What if Bouk didn't disappear for the 4 or 5 games we lost in a row? What if a few bounces went our way in the plethora of close games we lost? What if things finally clicked with AG still running the show? Sure, this all bodes well for next year, except Akok & Tyler Phommachanh, but who knows how things could've played out. Whats the point of speculating?

What's the point of speculating? It's a requirement of the Boneyard Constitution.

 

[glastonbury50]

Things would have fallen into place eventually. That was just the way the cards came out.

 

[Towney007]

I mean it's kind of a fungible conversation.

Would certain guys be this good without the injuries? For sure - no. Could we have been better had we not been so snake bitten? Yeah, probably.

At the end of the day with the injuries we're waaaaay too short handed and our margin for error is zilch. But even without them - we're just a fundamentally flawed team given our roster constitution. We are too thin up front. Gaffney has really helped stabilize things at the point, but we don't have a significant difference maker at the point. Gilbert is built like one and *can* run the point, but like Jalen Adams last year - he's more comfortable off the ball. And we lack consistency from guys like Adams to make our back court a real difference maker. That - and getting back to the talk we've been having all year - we have a lot of guys who've been asked to play outsized roles who have to impact games in ways that they're not really built to fill.

It's not me saying 'they suck' so much as we don't have the pieces to be able to leverage what we have in the best possible way. Next year with the additions to the roster? Well now we don't need Polley to be running guys off screens to be open - he can be more of what he is - which is a spot shooter. Carlton can be used more selectively - but more specifically with his back to the basket and hitting bunnies rather that being the dude who has to set high screens and crash the basket. Wilson doesn't have to play the 4 constantly. Like all those guys will be able to play and do the things they do well - and only do those.

Given what we've got this year though - we've done remarkably well in a lot of ways - and aside from a few dirt nap performances - we could easily have won 20 games this year.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Isn't that a big chunk of what fan boards are for?

Sorry, whats the point of speculating this. Speculate what could've been if Marcus didn't steal laptops. We're still a team that lost to Temple. Are we celebrating losing Akok and Tyler Phommachanh or something? Cause I'm not.

I think my confusion lies in the OP saying "we" instead of just saying "Bouk & Gaff", then it starts to make a little more sense to me. Certainly for Gaff, but Bouk had a few pretty big games early in the season though, so I don't see anything hugely revolutionary on his front. Except for being more assertive at end of games and more consistency. OP probably should've just said Gaff, but then, isn't that obvious? In fact, the OP didn't even mention Whaley. Now that's who the thread should've been about.

 

[NJHoops]

Hurley has a specific way of bringing along most of his freshmen, which you can agree or disagree with. Bouknight would have started with or without an injury. He also had things he needed to get better at wrt game prep that he’s done. Maybe he’s not so receptive to that if he’s tossed in the starting line-up too early. He still has trouble earning full starters’ minutes because of fouls. With Gaffney, sitting Gilbert for him early would have thrown him into a situation he wasn’t yet ready for. Those are the kinds of things that can ruin whole freshmen seasons if a player cannot recover. The roster isn’t up to speed, with talent or potential, from 1-13 (or, 12, I guess), but this is how you develop it to have this season mean something and to look to the future.

 

[my2cents]

I think there is little doubt that JP's injury opened the door for more minutes for Bouknight. Based on JB's talent those minutes should have been there anyway.
Gilberts poor play down the stretch opened the door for Gaffney's minutes. A good decision by the coach.
Overall though, the injuries have not made us a better team because we lost a lot on offense and defense, but the possibilities moving forward are something a fan can get excited about.