2021-2022 Season ( + Full Schedule )
- Thread starter the Blades
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My guess is these top 5, because if you look at 3 point shooting they need another guard that can space the floor, and Gaffney was 2nd on the team last year. If Jackson could get something done over the summer with his shooting and scoring I'd probably swap those 2 out. TP as the 6th man, I see as the same.
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I agree. You like that starting 5 in terms of having experience. But they lack guys who can create offense off the dribble. Sanogo is really the only potential main man player. Everyone else is a complimentary guy.
Well this could be a huge help if it works:
“I wake up around 7 or 8, go to gym,” Jackson said. “Eat, shoot, probably get 300, 400, 500 makes in, then study hall. Then go back and shoot, more of a live, full speed shooting drill, get another 300 makes up. I try to get as close to 1,000 makes a day as I can, just developing that touch, developing that feel for the basketball. I always have the basketball in my hand, even if I’m not in the gym. I always have it around me. Like Pistol Pete [Maravich] said, the ball has to be an extension of your hand.”
Alt link: https://outline.com/U4ZP53
The "I am glad I didn't get replaced by some guy in the portal" comment is interesting. AJ is obviously aware that his freshman season was a bit disappointing. There is no question that he has the athletic ability, body and passing ability to be playing at this level. As Blades noted, the jury is really out in his shooting ability and becoming some semblance of a scoring threat, which he wasn't last year. Hopefully his work will pay off, but we shall see.
The jury is not out
Until proven otherwise he has no shooting ability.
A shame because with any semblance of shooting ability, he is the best player on the team and gets drafted.
He has Lonzo/LaMelo Ball potential if he can just get to respectable shooting and shows a major boost in overall playmaking confidence.
I am judging DH purely on his development.
This team is low ceiling without an AJ bust out and that is the sad truth.
“I just wanted feedback,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t gonna get drafted. I knew I could probably play overseas somewhere, but I really wasn’t ready. I needed to show more and improve more what I can do on the court in college. Going pro, I knew wasn’t an option this year..........Neither was transferring to another school, though he had some suitors. Florida, Texas A&M and some other SEC schools were interested in the Miramar, Fla. product.”
I think we all identified what the issue is with Polley that needs to improve. It is getting open so he can unleash his lethal barrages of 3 pointers. There seemed to be some board disagreement over whether Polley struggled to get open and shake his man, or whether the UConn coaching staff did not do enough in terms of setting picks and screens for him. I thought it may have been a little of both, but that was only in halfcourt offenses. In fact I believe that most of Polley's more explosive bursts of 3 pointers actually happened when UConn got into transition, and he came down and drained 3s on the initial or secondary break. So with more transition/better defense, he will get more open looks as well.
Also, the 2 rebounds per game average has to get better, even playing the minutes he does. This is an anemic total for a 6'8"-6'9" player. He had 3.2 his junior year in 25 mpg and 2.0 his senior year in 20 mpg. Not good even if he is hanging on the perimeter. Just by comparison RJ Cole had 3 boards a game from the guard position.
Also, the 2 rebounds per game average has to get better, even playing the minutes he does. This is an anemic total for a 6'8"-6'9" player. He had 3.2 his junior year in 25 mpg and 2.0 his senior year in 20 mpg. Not good even if he is hanging on the perimeter. Just by comparison RJ Cole had 3 boards a game from the guard position.
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PS.....I never said that...I said " If Jackson could get something done over the summer with his shooting and scoring I'd probably swap.....(him and Gaf in the starting 5 )" Right now he's shown no shooting ability ( except when he's stationary, at the FT line) and I also hope while he's taking all those shots, the coaches are helping him work on his form, which was terrible.
Regarding Polley I hope an extra year off the ACL injury helps his mobility because again Uconn has a bunch of bigger 3's and 4's who will have all kinds of trouble defensively, matching up vs. these small ball line-ups ( 4 guard and wings) some teams use. Regarding his rebounding he's the anti- Tyrese Martin who goes after everything. That's the only plus for DH, to be able to have a 3 who can board when a guy like TP is out there with him.
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This may come as a surprise to you but Jackson shot 69% FGs his senior year in high school. Which was a record of some kind. While a lot of those baskets were probably lobs and dunks he can't do on the college level, I can't believe all of them were. I could not find his high school stats on 3s. His UConn freshman stats were 2-17, 11.8%, small sample size. Yes his form looked atrocious but it does happen that guys who have injury plagued freshman seasons sometimes come out as sophomores and look like a different player. Clearly though he does have a lot to work on as far as his shooting goes.
Another possibility you guys are discounting is that Hurley starts AJ at point guard and moves Cole to shooting guard, making Gaffney come off the bench at both spots. All AJ has to do is shoot as well as Tate George did as a point guard. Which should not be hard, Tate didn't exactly blister the nets from the 3 line. 32.2% career 3 point shooter, which is subpar and certainly a number AJ can shoot for. But AJ at point enables potential better ball movement, better rebounding, better defense and he can possibly develop a mid range game as well as post up guys like that annoying Villanova PG Gillespie did to Cole last year. Perhaps if Gillespie is back AJ can give him a little taste of his own medicine.
When I look at Andre Jackson, what I see is Jason Kidd trapped in a much bigger, more athletic body. And if you have on your hands Jason Kidd trapped in a bigger and more athletic body, what do you do? You figure out a way to let him out, unleash him. By the way, Kidd was a terrible shooter in college and for most of his NBA career, although at the end of his NBA career he developed himself into a very good 3 point shooter and went over 40% on 3s 3 straight years when he played in Dallas and then won a title there feeding the ball to Dirk Nowitzki. This is what enabled Kidd to last in the NBA well into his late 30s.
I'm not discounting that at all since Andre handled the ball alot last year and since DH actually used that starting line-up ( vs. Providence) when James was coming back. Only problem is both AJ (mostly) by at least becoming a somewhat reliable shooter/ scorer (not 2.7 pg) and Gaf who's not that far off (if his shooting and driving ability become more consistent) have to make a huge leap no mater who starts without Bouk on the team.. The other X-factor shooting wise seems to be how well Hawkins transfers as a FR and defensivly to the college game, especially vs. the small ball teams to give DH more options. Unlike AJ, Jordan looks to have a sweet stroke from 3.
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Wrong again his HS %'s don't surprise me ( I've probably actually posted them in the past). It obviously didn't translate to college ball, so it doesn't matter. So again... no need to personalize your opinion on what I think or know. Just give me yours, in a rational discussion. That's all speculation about next year anyway.
As I posted in another thread here's another kids HS numbers, will they translate ?
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I think it can be expected that both guys will improve but not sure if the improvement will be dramatic.
On another note Tyrese Martin's shooting did not improve, he was a 32% 3 point shooter at URI and that's what he was last year for UConn. He did snare an impressive 7.5 boards a game, an increase in less minutes, and reduced his TOs, but his assists also remained the same (1 per game, something else he needs to improve).
Hawkins and the other 2 freshman can't really be expected to be difference making players.
Another unknown is Akok, whose recovery from the Achilles injury was painfully slow. It's not clear what he will give the team either.
The only good news is it's a pretty experienced team, and they should be very good defensively.
On another note Tyrese Martin's shooting did not improve, he was a 32% 3 point shooter at URI and that's what he was last year for UConn. He did snare an impressive 7.5 boards a game, an increase in less minutes, and reduced his TOs, but his assists also remained the same (1 per game, something else he needs to improve).
Hawkins and the other 2 freshman can't really be expected to be difference making players.
Another unknown is Akok, whose recovery from the Achilles injury was painfully slow. It's not clear what he will give the team either.
The only good news is it's a pretty experienced team, and they should be very good defensively.
Yeah I'd like to hope Akok can get his mobility back to what it was B4. Seen some talk about him as a starter if he does. Even still which guy would you pick as a starter of these 2 ?
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Player B. But what Akok would give the team is shot blocking and if produced at freshman year levels, he and Sanogo would combine to give them really great athleticism and shot blocking inside. Hurley can put some really great defensive lineups out on the floor.
Yeah player B is Whaley, A is Akok, and if you look at the numbers, Whaley does everything better than Akok did in the same amount of mins, except FT's last year ( but IW did shoot 73% with almost double the FT attempts, the year B4) and shot blocking( that they were even in). I'd also say Whaley was a much better defender away from the basket vs. small ball teams.
But a rotation with 2 of the 3 of Sanogo, Whaley and healthy Akok (on the court) gives DH a world of difference defensively, than say a few years ago when guys like Eric Cobb were part of the rotation.
But a rotation with 2 of the 3 of Sanogo, Whaley and healthy Akok (on the court) gives DH a world of difference defensively, than say a few years ago when guys like Eric Cobb were part of the rotation.
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Here's a little talk from Jordan (a little optimistic ?) on what he expects to bring to the team..... “I think I can make a big impact on this team, offensive and defensive end,” Hawkins said. “I can provide scoring. I shoot the ball at a high clip. I’ll just do whatever I can do to make this team better.”
(also some words from Samson)
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I like confidence- Khalid El Amin had it from Day One- but it needs to be backed up on the court, as in Khalid's case. Once it is backed up, as in this series of highlights, it is great:
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Speaking of healthy, I guess Tyler's feelin' a little healthier too ! ( and nice pass from AJ)
Despite a few explosive games last year including the memorable 23 point performance against Marquette which propelled UConn to a huge comeback victory on the road, I felt Tyler had a very uneven and inconsistent season last year, and perhaps this should have been expected coming off the knee injury he had. His overall shooting stats were not up to his normal standards, he struggled to get open in halfcourt offenses, and his rebounding was even more sub-par than normal. I felt that although he won BE 6th Man of the Year, we did not see the best version of Tyler. Coming back for another season was a wise decision. He now is fully recovered from the knee injury and I think his shooting % on 3s will rocket back over 40%, where it belongs, he will do a better job getting open for 3s, and the team will do a better job getting him open looks. I view him as a potential 3 point specialist in the NBA like Steve Novak was for the NY Knicks and a few other teams. Novak once dropped 40 on UConn when he was at Marquette. Tyler is exactly the same kind of player and roughly the same size and body type as Novak, and he can hold down the same jobs that Novak did for 10 or so years in the NBA. 10-15 minute per game 3 point specialist off the bench. When healthy and open, he can shoot 3s with anyone.
I love Akok and am really pulling for a big comeback from him. He would seem to be a classic stretch 4 on this team, but when combined with Whaley and/or Sanogo inside defensively, there is explosive rim protection potential. UConn figures to be outstanding defensively inside with these 3, and will return to being a outstanding shot blocking team rotating these guys inside. I also think they will get more than enough offense from these players. How good this team will be will depend on the guard play, and how much it steps up from last year.
So there are 4 cupcake games in the 2 weeks before heading to the Bahamas for the real competition. I like the idea of sprinkling in some cupcakes because it will give Hurley some time to figure out a workable rotation. He can play the whole roster, liberally, and not worry about losing any of those first 4 games. So he will do so and then figure out what the minutes distribution will be for Atlantis.
Here is an in depth preview from the New Haven Register. It is considered "Premium Content", so I can't open it without paying up to the Register, so maybe one of you guys who pays can copy and paste the article here:
www.nhregister.com
Dan Hurley’s deep UConn roster will have players competing for minutes: ‘The way it should be’
The UConn men’s basketball team has four legitimate contenders for significant playing...
No problem reading it and I have no NHR acct...try clearing your cookies...article is about the bigs in frountcourt.Here is an in depth preview from the New Haven Register. It is considered "Premium Content", so I can't open it without paying up to the Register, so maybe one of you guys who pays can copy and paste the article here:
Dan Hurley’s deep UConn roster will have players competing for minutes: ‘The way it should be’
The UConn men’s basketball team has four legitimate contenders for significant playing...
excerpts:
The UConn men’s basketball team’s frontcourt is crowded, and that’s encouraging.
“We look good,” Hurley said. “Deep team. The question is, can our key three players play at a near all-conference level?” Hurley was referring to point guard R.J. Cole, wing Tyrese Martin and power forward Adama Sanogo.
“And I’d throw Isaiah [Whaley] in there, too,” he said. “And how much can Akok [Akok] help us? You know who’s really talented is Samson Johnson. I don’t know when the light switch comes on. Does it come on sometime this year? Beginning of sophomore year? Middle of sophomore year? That guy has enormous, NBA-level, athletic talent. When stuff slows down for him, he’s special.”.....Of Johnson, Hurley said, “To get minutes in the frontcourt, ......he’s probably competing with Akok to get on the court. It’s hard to play four frontcourt players, especially when you may go small at [power forward] in games where you’re having a hard time matching up.
Akok has looked markedly better....“He’s back,” Hurley said. “He shouldn’t have played last year but it was all him and his stubbornness. He should have just taken the year and just practiced and worked on his stuff. But [his will] is awesome. But the program is so different than the one he last played in. We’re so much more talented.”
Isiah is the reigning Big East defensively player of the year. This kind of speaks for itself. I would bet Cole and Sanogo will both perform at an all- Big East level. Tyrese Martin needs to shoot a little better, if he does he will be as well.
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