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UConn Players in NBA

The two attributes Tyrese Martin showed while he was at UConn (apart from a strong body with NBA potential), and which have likely served him very well in his difficult pro basketball journey, were toughness and confidence in himself. For guys trying to make it in the NBA while being yo-yoed from organization to organization and G League/European team to team, it can be very discouraging. The guys who rise from that are the guys who are the toughest mentally and have the strongest belief in themselves, even when nobody else does. From that standpoint it doesn't surprise me to see Tyrese now getting more than the proverbial cup of coffee in the NBA. He is at the table and eating breakfast.
 
The two attributes Tyrese Martin showed while he was at UConn....... were toughness and confidence in himself
TM is another example of what DH somehow missed with the Mahaney add on this years roster. A bigger stronger guard/ wing that could D up, rebound and play a similar role like AJ (without much offense) and Castle did. Even next years 5 star'ish guards Adams and Mullins will need time to add to their 175-185lb lean bodies. In this era of College/NIL hoops dominated by older players a Tyrese type wing would've been a huge add for this years team. Toughness was a big miss while DH got fixated on offense IMHO.
 
Toughness was a big miss while DH got fixated on offense IMHO.
I think Hurley thought he could get these guys to play good D but it's just not that easy. We saw rebounding issues and interior defensive issues right off the bat in the Rhode Island exhibition. With the loss of the big guards and Clingan it was very easy to predict that this team wasn't going to be as strong on D and rebounding as last year or the year before. But we drank the Kool Aid and believed that shortcomings could and would be hidden through coaching.

I don't believe UConn is as bad defensively as what they showed in Maui, however, nor are they anywhere near as good as they were last year defensively. I think Nowell is going to take a lot of Mahaney's minutes and eventually start, because he is obviously better defensively, and it looks like he can run the offense. We will have to live with some mistakes/TOs from him. I also think Mahaney could be a valuable bench piece if placed in a Joey C role. He can be as good or better than Joey C- if that is all you ask him to be. Don't ask him to be more, at least not yet.
 
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Congrats to Tyrese Martin, who got a 2 way contract from the New Jersey Nets!
Shout out to T-Mart, moving up from a two-way deal !

 
Clingan has steadily improved and has minutes and production are on the uptick. He has started 22 of 52 games and is averaging 17 minutes, but had 32 last night, and is starting lately more and more as the coaches begin to trust him. He is rewarding their trust.

Every time I watch Clingan highlights like the one posted just above I am reminded of what UConn is missing this year, and why the rim attacks are bit more prevalent than they were the last 2 years. Although the 2 UConn centers have played well of late and given UConn combined very solid production at the 5. It's just that Clingan completely discouraged so much around the rim because of his massive size and ability to use it. One of the reasons Duke is ranked #1 is they have a similar, although very athletic 7'2" rim protector in Maluach, who is a beast.
 
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