Team Needs a Star....

[dollarbill44]

Donnie was without a walking boot yesterday

Yeah, but his body language didn't thrill me.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I wouldnt advise anybody to hold their breath. Doesnt really accomplish anything.

unless underwater. that helps.

 

[Timonen]

I don’t disagree and that void stood out over the last week…but I also see some similarities between our makeup and the Villanova teams that just had a bunch of guys who played great d and really well together. Who knows what we can accomplish but that’s the style and different folks can come through on different nights. Guys like Brunson, divencenzo, hart, bridges etc could co exist and work well without one of them being the “guy.” It’s why most are over indexing expectations in the pros because they didn’t need to take over in college.

 

[tbonezone]

already seen the J.J. show. want to see less this year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It’s not s e x y one on one moves, but I would say William Kyle is definitely a star in the role he plays. He’s been our best and most consistent player sans Donnie.

 

[CuseIn282xx]

I did not get to see the first few W's against the cupcakes.

So, I have seen the last 4 games in which we went 1 & 3. We were right there against Houston and then folded in the next two outings. Great gutsy win against the Vols.

I think our core group is pretty solid. Problem is that who gets it done varies not only from game to game., but also from half to half. No real go to guy.

IMHO, this team needs a legit star - a go to guy who can make the big play at the right time, whether it is to stop an opponent's run or make a critical bucket in crunchtime. Maybe Freeman can be that guy when he returns. Kiyan might be that guy next year, but certainly not this season.

Right now I would have to say that Kyle is our best player, but clearly he does not have the skillset I am talking about. Man, SIX blocks - just awesome !!!

The other big issue I see is that I expected George and Kingz to be better than they are. Each has their moments, but both can disappear for stretches. Need them to get it done with consistency if not stardom.

More accurately, IMHO, is that we need a guy, who, after any set play or pattern yields nothing on that possession, you can give him the ball with 8 or 10 seconds on the shot clock, and can get off a good shot or get fouled. JJ probably has the skill set closest to that, but he just hasn't shot well enough yet to be reliable.

By the end of the season, that guy just might be Sadiq White. He's got some handles, and he can shoot OVER the defender, including the three.

 

[Starman]

I wouldnt advise anybody to hold their breath. Doesnt really accomplish anything.

TBF, I've heard that if you hold your breath long enough, you'll see stars.

 

[hoopsupstate]

It seemed George was playing a lot better when Donnie was healthy. Granted, we were also playing easier teams.

 

[dollarbill44]

TBF, I've heard that if you hold your breath long enough, you'll see stars.

Well played

 

[PeteCalvin]

This team needs Andy Rautins. Andy as a senior would fit in great with this defensive scheme, and he would open up the lane with his shooting prowess. That kid had all the intangibles you could want in a player. The chutzpah, the range, the handle, the passing, and the IQ. Kiyan will be that guy and more, but he needs time.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

I’m not saying we are or aren’t good, but UCONN has no star this yr. I don’t think they are a great UCONN team, but you don’t necessarily need a star to win. They’ll still be top 10 all yr…

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’m not saying we are or aren’t good, but UCONN has no star this yr. I don’t think they are a great UCONN team, but you don’t necessarily need a star to win. They’ll still be top 10 all yr…

Agreed. UConn runs elite offensive sets. Fans here have ISO ball engrained in their minds.

 

[Trueblue25]

Donnie’s our best player but it’s hilarious how far out of the way, otherwise reasonable, people on this board go to bash the player who makes the big baskets in our close big wins (JJ).

 

[Cusefan0307]

Donnie’s our best player but it’s hilarious how far out of the way, otherwise reasonable, people on this board go to bash the player who makes the big baskets in our close big wins (JJ).

He had one good half where he closed and I give him credit for that, but after the debacle his February was last year let’s not make some broad proclamation he’s going to carry the team.

 

[Trueblue25]

He had one good half where he closed and I give him credit for that, but after the debacle his February was last year let’s not make some broad proclamation he’s going to carry the team.

No ones made that proclamation. Another big win I looked at where he showed up in a big moment is 2024 vs #7 UNC. We’ve got a player or two who are better than him but he’s the guy who’s showed up in big wins on more than one occasion. No need to continuously pile on the gratuitous negativity.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I'd like to see him play out the season.

 

[upperdeck]

The team needs a post presence. Tenn got 20 pts on simple dump downs. Other than occasional lobs we get none.

If we could get 3-5 of those a game from that it would be huge, it opens up shooting and its all about making 1-3 ft shots. Does Freeman have enough in his game to post up and not just jack up jump shots or hope ge gets fouled driving into the lane?

 

[JoeSU]

This team needs Andy Rautins. Andy as a senior would fit in great with this defensive scheme, and he would open up the lane with his shooting prowess. That kid had all the intangibles you could want in a player. The chutzpah, the range, the handle, the passing, and the IQ. Kiyan will be that guy and more, but he needs time.

One of the things I remember about Rautins was after the opposing team hit a big 3-pointer, on our ensuing possession he would immediately answer with 3 of his own, taking back any momentum swing.

 

[Sherman20]

This team needs Andy Rautins. Andy as a senior would fit in great with this defensive scheme, and he would open up the lane with his shooting prowess. That kid had all the intangibles you could want in a player. The chutzpah, the range, the handle, the passing, and the IQ. Kiyan will be that guy and more, but he needs time.

Yeah, think about how far Andy came from his freshman year to his fifth year senior season. He was given alot of time to develop before he became the guy.

 

[shandeezy7]

It always reverts to ISO ball.

Yeah, I was going to say that it's not necessarily this team in particular that needs a star, it's the offense that Autry runs (that is really just an extension of the Boeheim offense) that needs a star. It's heavily dependent on having at least one but preferably a couple of highly skilled guards/wings that are able to beat their man off the dribble and create for themselves or others.

We don't really have guys with that consistent skill on this team right now (the closest is probably Starling, but he can be pretty inefficient and is not a great passer). And unfortunately, Donnie is not really that type of player either, so even if he does come back and even if I do think that he's the best player on the team right now, he's not the "star" that's going to make this offense hum exponentially better against good opponents.

 

[Hopkins16]

Agreed. UConn runs elite offensive sets. Fans here have ISO ball engrained in There have been many college teams that win

We don’t need a star just a group of scorers with Freeman being the leading scorer. What we need is 2 to 3 guys who can deliver in crunch time. Those guys should be the veterans - JJ, George and Kingz. Whether they can deliver is another question.

 

[baggerbob]

Yeah, I was going to say that it's not necessarily this team in particular that needs a star, it's the offense that Autry runs (that is really just an extension of the Boeheim offense) that needs a star. It's heavily dependent on having at least one but preferably a couple of highly skilled guards/wings that are able to beat their man off the dribble and create for themselves or others.

We don't really have guys with that consistent skill on this team right now (the closest is probably Starling, but he can be pretty inefficient and is not a great passer). And unfortunately, Donnie is not really that type of player either, so even if he does come back and even if I do think that he's the best player on the team right now, he's not the "star" that's going to make this offense hum exponentially better against good opponents.

Still remember the Flynn to Devendorf to Rautins 3. Where all Eric did was redirect the
Pass to Andy for the 3. A great passing backcourt that could also shoot. And had 2 guys who co I know drive and score.

 

[MikeSU02]

According to sports reference we are 320th in 3PT% and 365th in FT%.

Assuming Donnie can come back, he was our FTA leader per game by a country mile and was making a very good clip of those. He can help with the FT%.

Kingz has to do better from three to help with the 3PT%.

The rest of the perimeter guys have to be smart with their 3PTAs. For example, Kiyan gets a little YOLO-y in his shot selection sometimes.

I think we have the means to elevate even more without conceding our defense, but we need Donnie back and we need our guys to be a bit more judicious shooting threes. Or for Kingz, he has to bury them, end of story.

 

[RF2044]

It’s not s e x y one on one moves, but I would say William Kyle is definitely a star in the role he plays. He’s been our best and most consistent player sans Donnie.

Early MIP, for sure.

 

[orangefog]

If we need a star, I know a guy...