Yakwe Commits

[intlzncster]

Our offense was supernaturally bad last year.

Of course, the coaching was lousy, but so was the talent and that has not been significantly improved.

We are bad. It will take time to stop being bad.

Yep. 11 to 16 win turnarounds don't happen without significant talent infusion.

 

[Danzz]

None of the 3 recruits look to be stars at least not next year. Adams could be the exception. They are more to fit a need and give us recruiting flexibility the following season.
The key for us is the improvement of our returning players which is usually the case. This is where Hurley has to shine.
I find it hard to believe that Yakwe won't be a huge improvement over Onorah. It is a pretty low bar.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Yep. 11 to 16 win turnarounds don't happen without significant talent infusion.

With good health, good coaching and hard work this can be a tourney team. Zhaire Smith signed with an agent today because he was coached up (one and done/he was on no ones radar pre season). If Hurley can find the Chris Beard in him this year we make the tourney.

I started to feel more bullish tonight. Hurley works hard. He does live for the game. That will be refreshing.

 

[AntG168]

I think you're just setting yourself up for disappointment lol

Nah not really because I don’t really know what to expect. I’m going in with an open mind lol. I just don’t think we’re that far away from being a tournament team

 

[auror]

We're a team of penetrators and our bigs are anchored in the paint. We have 0 spacing. We actually have less spacing than last year (assuming Wilson doesn't shoot better from 3 than Larrier did).

We need all our guards to make 5+% better from 3 this year to even have a shot to have a top 100 offense, let alone a tournament caliber one.

And that's before considering that none of our bigs have shown anything at all on defense, we have no consistent rim protector, and we lost our best perimeter defender.

If Gilbert stays healthy we'll be better than last year, but we finished 4 games below .500 in the American last year. Tulsa went 12-6 and didn't really sniff the Dance. We're going to need 6 or 7 more wins in conference to even get on the bubble (aka double our win total).

 

[AntG168]

We're a team of penetrators and our bigs are anchored in the paint. We have 0 spacing. We actually have less spacing than last year (assuming Wilson doesn't shoot better from 3 than TL did).

We need all our guards to make 5+% better from 3 this year to even have a shot to have a top 100 offense, let alone a tournament caliber one.

And that's before considering that none of our bigs have shown anything at all on defense, we have no consistent rim protector, and we lost our best perimeter defender.

If Gilbert stays healthy we'll be better than last year, but we finished 4 games below .500 in the American last year. Tulsa went 12-6 and didn't really sniff the Dance. We're going to need 6 or 7 more wins in conference to even get on the bubble.

If Yakwe is anything he’s a consistent rim protector

 

[3rdbass]

The one player who I think could change the dynamics of the team is Sid Wilson. If he can add a consistent outside shot to the repertoire of moves like he has slashing and going inside we might have another scoring option next year. The problem with Larrier is who could only score on people setting him him up. From what I have seen of Sid is he can create his own shot and dribble the ball better than TL. I think he can be x-factor or maybe I'm just trying to find something to hang my hope on for next year. LOL!

 

[auror]

If Yakwe is anything he’s a consistent rim protector

I don't think he's anything, but we'll see.

 

[3rdbass]

I don't think he's anything, but we'll see.

I agree. I rather have gotten a shooter but like I said in another post maybe he is actually over recruiting for some other big on the roster and plans to bring in a shooter.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I don't think he's anything, but we'll see.

He has potential to help quite a bit. The national scene will become clearer soon. Basically until you realize what other teams have it is hard to gauge where we stand.

I had Tech at 400/1 last year and if WV beat Nova I think Tech wins it all playing in Texas.

 

[selles]

We're a team of penetrators and our bigs are anchored in the paint. We have 0 spacing. We actually have less spacing than last year (assuming Wilson doesn't shoot better from 3 than TL did).

We need all our guards to make 5+% better from 3 this year to even have a shot to have a top 100 offense, let alone a tournament caliber one.

And that's before considering that none of our bigs have shown anything at all on defense, we have no consistent rim protector, and we lost our best perimeter defender.

If Gilbert stays healthy we'll be better than last year, but we finished 4 games below .500 in the American last year. Tulsa went 12-6 and didn't really sniff the Dance. We're going to need 6 or 7 more wins in conference to even get on the bubble (aka double our win total).

Coaching matters. I thought our coaching was terrible last year. I think our coaching will be good this year. Good coaching can change a whole lot of elements all at once.

Also, if you're referring to Anderson as our best perimeter defender, I don't think he was all that great. He was a lot of kinetic motion on defense, so it looked like he should be good...but when the rubber met the road I didn't think he was. Certainly replaceable.

 

[Towney007]

He's big. He's a proven defensive presence. The team lacks both, honestly. I don't see how people are trying to poke holes in this.

He's a low risk, duct tape guy, but again - should be a useful one. Just the way this roster is put together - they should be better.

 

[Mokum]

Not much information on the St John's board. That place seems like it has a real toxic vibe.

Yakwe Transferring

Happy to have this kid! It's nice to have some experience up front. Hopefully he does more than DO.

Bigfoot could have done more than DO. Yakwe was a 4* recruited to the big east. DO played at Cornell.

 

[Stinger92860]

With a healthy AG and the addition of Wilson we are immediately better at 2 spots. With Hurley’s tougher practices I expect everyone to be stronger, in better shape. This and a focus on D should result in better defensive efforts. Add coaching up what we have, I think the all 5 spots will be better. We still need outside shooting and I’m not sure where that comes from. Maybe Polley who showed a nice stroke, but that’s one guy. Can this translate into 5-6 more wins is the question.

 

[MattMang23]

Bigfoot could have done more than DO. Yakwe was a 4* recruited to the big east. DO played at Cornell.

So did Shonn Miller. You can't always tell by the school, player has to be evaluated on his own. Ollie failed when evaluating DO, but they're both gone so thanks for choosing UConn DO and good luck KO.

 

[HawkHusky]

3 years under Mullin would negatively impact anyone's game. Give him a chance with a real coach.

 

[Paesano]

If everyone stays healthy, this team could be pretty good by the end of the season. I expect a rough start but gradual improvement. Unlike last year where the team took 2 steps forward and 3 back, I hope to see 2 forward and 1 back.

 

[Mokum]

So did Shonn Miller. You can't always tell by the school, player has to be evaluated on his own. Ollie failed when evaluating DO, but they're both gone so thanks for choosing UConn DO and good luck KO.

Yeah your correct. Miller was a good player.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Two grad transfers who don’t eat up schollies for next year and come in to be service players and people are complaining. Idk why we take their bait

because the expectation was Hurley would bring in Jordan, Kareem, and a guy who goes by Shaq.
didn't happen, so people are up in arms at Hurley's incompetence.
that's how it is here.

 

[lange10]

Our offense was supernaturally bad last year.

Of course, the coaching was lousy, but so was the talent and that has not been significantly improved.

We are bad. It will take time to stop being bad.

Disagree. Jalen, CV, Sid, Mamadou, Carlton, Alterique is a very talented core.

If all 6 of them stay healthy I’d be pretty surprised if we’re not a top 3 AAC team.

 

[TopDogs]

Honest question: Does this team have more talent than last year's Rhode Island team? Disregard how the perceived UConn talent appeared on court last season and just look at the individual pieces and what we've seen them able to do. Is it a more talented core group than URI's?

If it is, I would think that with the addition of better coaching, there should be no reason why this team couldn't reach the tournament.

(Fun aside, my autocorrect changed "better" to "beer." So , with the addition of beer, this team should be watchable as well.)

 

[boog204]

While I do not think we are a super talented team, I think the coaching change will get guys to buy in once again. There seemed to be such a disconnect between the players and KO the last two years and they echoed that in both sides comments. I'm not sure if the players truly respected KO as a coach anymore. We saw the effort wane, we watched the absolutely horrendous execution in terms of sets (if there were some), spacing, and basic fundamentals (screening, player/ball movement.) I think if nothing else, Hurley will get them to play hard and be able to at least execute to an average level. I'm not expecting us to be a 25 win team, but I think we could win 20 games and be a bubble team. If Gilbert is 100% (huge if, I know), we could be pretty dangerous.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's crazy to think anyone who has seen him in the past or just watched the video would even think of comparing him to DO. With all due respect to David, this guy is athletic, strong, blocks shots at a high rate and is lefty which always is a good thing because defenses forget to play his strong side. I really like this piece if he can get back to being the player for 10-15 minutes (maybe more when playing well) a game for us. Seems to fit Hurley's type as stated too, can play smaller at times and run a bit more. This is a nice addition.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

because the expectation was Hurley would bring in Jordan, Kareem, and a guy who goes by Shaq.
didn't happen, so people are up in arms at Hurley's incompetence.
that's how it is here.

Not really seeing that, and I've just added a couple dozen folks I didn't used to see.
I think expectations and performance are, on balance, pretty aligned.
I'm seeing evidence of hard work and prioritized needs met.
Next year will show us what coaching can do.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

At best, I wouldn't want Yakwe to be any more than the 4th big man. Carlton HAS to have major minutes next year, and then Diarra and Whaley are the next two. Yakwe profiles a lot like Diarra and Whaley: not a lot of skill or height, but a lot of effort.

Unfortunately, the team this year is direly missing skilled big men, but with guys like Yakwe, Diarra, Whaley and Williams, there's a lot of energy in this group, so I fully expect the defensive intensity to increase this year.