Your 2017-2018 UConn Huskies

[CL82]

Pict from Borges.

Starting 5: Adams, Gilbert, Vital, Larrier and Diarra?

 

[husky429]

Pleasantly surprised by Whaley and Carlton.

I'm worried about Larrier, I didn't expect any weight gain in rehab really, but damn is he light

Cobb is going to be a lane clogger. Hoping for the best as fasr as endurance is concerned

 

[UConnNick]

That's a small roster, realistically nobody over 6-8, considering that heights are usually inflated. We need an "aircraft carrier" as Al McGuire used to say. Anybody with a decent 7 footer in their lineup is going to pose problems for us.

 

[CL82]

That's a small roster, realistically nobody over 6-8, considering that heights are usually inflated. We need an "aircraft carrier" as Al McGuire used to say. Anybody with a decent 7 footer in their lineup is going to pose problems for us.

I don't disagree. The key is going to be pressure on the opposing teams' guards. Making getting that pass off into the paint as difficult as possible. Make sure that their bigs always have a man on them in keep them out of the paint as much as possible. We really are going to need good outside shooting, because offense of rebounds may be challenging to come by.

 

[UConnStats]

Note: Alterique listed as an Redshirt Freshman. I believe this is the first time we've seen confirmation that he did indeed redshirt.

 

[champs99and04]

I wonder what Cobb will clock in the Husky run, insofar as anybody can glean anything from that. Can he be more than a 10-15 minute guy?

 

[3rdbass]

Pict from Borges.

Starting 5: Adams, Gilbert, Vital, Larrier and Diarra?

At this point that is the most desirable line-up. Wondering if we still might pick up another guard or forward before the summer is over so we can more effectively play the small line-up.

 

[CL82]

I wonder what Cobb will clock in the Husky run, insofar as anybody can glean anything from that. Can he be more than a 10-15 minute guy?

Given his size they may be timing him with a calendar.

 

[HooperScooper]

Given his size they may be timing him with a calendar.

I don't know, the kid is pretty nimble on his feet for someone that big. Who knows if he can keep that up for about 3 miles though.

 

[MSGSeven]

Starting 5: Adams, Gilbert, Vital, Larrier and Diarra?

Possibly starting 5 but Onourah, Cobb or Carlton might surprise and be able to start which would be great to have both Anderson and Vital coming off the bench to provide scoring, experience and toughness.

 

[CL82]

I like seeing Cobb on both ends of outlet passes. We'll need the easy points this year.

 

[Tenspro2002]

That's a small roster, realistically nobody over 6-8, considering that heights are usually inflated. We need an "aircraft carrier" as Al McGuire used to say. Anybody with a decent 7 footer in their lineup is going to pose problems for us.

This is college basketball in 2017. Who has a stud 7-footer anymore?

 

[TopDogs]

 

[champs99and04]

This is college basketball in 2017. Who has a stud 7-footer anymore?

Problem is we're small at every position. When you have a seven footer, that goes a long way towards mitigating that.

It's worked before, though, so we'll see.

Edit: does anybody know what the wingspans of our front court players are? That tends to be more important than height.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I don't know, the kid is pretty nimble on his feet for someone that big. Who knows if he can keep that up for about 3 miles though.

I say let the big man run point forward!

 

[ConnZag3]

Will be interesting watching us match up with Tacko during the season...

 

[tcf15]

Problem is we're small at every position. When you have a seven footer, that goes a long way towards mitigating that.

It's worked before, though, so we'll see.

Edit: does anybody know what the wingspans of our front court players are? That tends to be more important than height.

Diarra and Whaley both have a 7'2" wingspan.

 

[the Q]

Diarra and Whaley both have a 7'2" wingspan.

The sooner those 2 earn serious PT, the better things will be for the program.

I'm excited for these 2.

 

[champs99and04]

Diarra and Whaley both have a 7'2" wingspan.

Interesting. That would be better than a lot of the front court prospects in this years draft - Rabb, Collins, Lydon, Leaf, Bell, etc. Assuming his actual height is closer to 6'6 than 6'8, the discrepancy between his height and wingspan would be almost twice as large as your average prospect.

If the reports from the team manager are accurate about him beasting in scrimmages/workouts, then I think we have a lot to be encouraged about. College basketball is a fickle game and all it takes is one player being much better than expected to change the fortunes of a season. If he can give us what Jordan Bell gave Oregon his freshman year, my confidence in this team would grow immensely.

 

[husky429]

Interesting. That would be better than a lot of the front court prospects in this years draft - Rabb, Collins, Lydon, Leaf, Bell, etc. Assuming his actual height is closer to 6'6 than 6'8, the discrepancy between his height and wingspan would be almost twice as large as your average prospect.

If the reports from the team manager are accurate about him beasting in scrimmages/workouts, then I think we have a lot to be encouraged about. College basketball is a fickle game and all it takes is one player being much better than expected to change the fortunes of a season. If he can give us what Jordan Bell gave Oregon his freshman year, my confidence in this team would grow immensely.

I missed that post. Team managers have talked about who practicing well? Diarra I assume?

Honestly if he does nothing but board 7x a game and defend the opposing 4 well enough well be solid at the position. He's a strong body, which is something we've been lacking.

We still just won't have an offensive threat in the front court, which is killing me. Theres just only so much jalen CV, and hopefully rique and TL can do if the interior defenders can say off their man

 

[RichZ]

Cobb will be fine if he takes a page from Wes Unseld's book, and works on his defensive rebounding and the ability to see and execute the full court outlet pass. Wes said that he concentrated on defensive rebounding so he could throw the outlet instead of having to run up and down the court all night. I saw a game once where he went like 4 possessions in a row without ever getting past the foul line. Get position, grab the rebound, turn, pass to a breaking teammate for a layup. Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

 

[tcf15]

Interesting. That would be better than a lot of the front court prospects in this years draft - Rabb, Collins, Lydon, Leaf, Bell, etc. Assuming his actual height is closer to 6'6 than 6'8, the discrepancy between his height and wingspan would be almost twice as large as your average prospect.

If the reports from the team manager are accurate about him beasting in scrimmages/workouts, then I think we have a lot to be encouraged about. College basketball is a fickle game and all it takes is one player being much better than expected to change the fortunes of a season. If he can give us what Jordan Bell gave Oregon his freshman year, my confidence in this team would grow immensely.

Yeah, his measurements are very similar to Jeff Adrien's.

Also, from earlier today...
The New Haven Register Blogs: UConn Men's Basketball Blog: Kevin Ollie talks about a number of topics
"Mamadou’s been going full strength, getting up at 6:30 a.m., working out with Carlos Daniels, coming back to practice center doing individual work. No swelling in the knee, no bad feedback, every day he's recovering and coming back stronger."

 

[nyhuskies13]

Strongly disagree with assertion teams with more height will give us problems

Length is key in the NBA, but its often mitigated in college by skill/effort.

We started a 6'10 PF and 7'0 C last year... no one on the planet would have mistaken us for a powerhouse inside

We asked for more build and girth, we got it. All the off-season recruiting and departures don't matter now. This is our squad. Hopefully the spirit of Calhoun is still alive in Storrs, and we start to do our best work when we're backed into a corner and forced to fight back

 

[tcf15]

Yeah, his measurements are very similar to Jeff Adrien's.

Also, from earlier today...
The New Haven Register Blogs: UConn Men's Basketball Blog: Kevin Ollie talks about a number of topics
"Mamadou’s been going full strength, getting up at 6:30 a.m., working out with Carlos Daniels, coming back to practice center doing individual work. No swelling in the knee, no bad feedback, every day he's recovering and coming back stronger."

Also, what's interesting about the Mamadou and Adrien comp above is that Mamadou's measurements were the summer before his senior year of high school. Jeff Adrien's measurements were after 4 years at UConn.

Really excited to see what Carlos Daniels can do with Diarra.

 

[awfuldan]

Yeah, his measurements are very similar to Jeff Adrien's.

Also, from earlier today...
The New Haven Register Blogs: UConn Men's Basketball Blog: Kevin Ollie talks about a number of topics
"Mamadou’s been going full strength, getting up at 6:30 a.m., working out with Carlos Daniels, coming back to practice center doing individual work. No swelling in the knee, no bad feedback, every day he's recovering and coming back stronger."

Wow, there is some really exciting stuff in that article from Ollie. The way he talks about Larrier, in particular, is getting me fired up for next season. Just gotta stay healthy!