Starting 5 next year?

[champs99and04]

The great thing about our roster is that we now have a far greater margin for error in regards to constructing effective five-man units. @fleudslipcon made this point earlier and I completely agree with him. Think about the various lineup combinations we can toss out at the end of games - not only does it allow for some cushion with regards to player expectations, but we're also far more equipped to handle variables that are unique to a particular match-up (if we're getting beaten with the press, we can slide Hamilton to the four and essentially play four guards, if Cincinnati or SMU is hurting us on the boards we can go with ultra-big lineups with Hamilton, Facey, and Miller in the front court, etc.)

If Brimah isn't as far along as we had hoped, Miller is capable of logging minutes at the five like Giffey did in 2014. A Gibbs-Adams-Purvis-Hamilton-Miller lineup is devastating.

If Purvis reverts back to some of his bad habits, or if, for whatever reason, he doesn't mesh with Gibbs, we can play Gibbs with Adams.

If Adams hits the freshman wall...well, he's probably not starting anyway.

 

[FartMan69]

You go with whatever works. We have 6 legitimate starters, all of whom are going to get big minutes. Wouldn't surprise me if any of those 6 guys (except Hamilton) comes off the bench at some point.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Or Shabazz to the 2011 team. Or Boatright to the 2014 team.

one can only hope

 

[UCFan1513]

Is he on crack?

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Is he on crack?

Yes. Is he still under the impression that Gibbs is visiting NC State, too?

 

[UCFan1513]

Yes. Is he still under the impression that Gibbs is visiting NC State, too?

He claims that Gibbs "told" him, but changed his mind an hour later...

 

[Stainmaster]

Yes. Is he still under the impression that Gibbs is visiting NC State, too?

Probably too much veal marsala...

 

[Rocktheworld]

He claims that Gibbs "told" him, but changed his mind an hour later...

So.... plans changed....?

Is Chief Rothstein? It would explain a lot actually

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

RP had a lot of good games against some of our toughest opponents at the end of last year. I'm with @Fishy , and have been since the end of the year, in thinking that, scoring-wise, RP is going to be our leader. I think something clicked with him, especially as March rolled around. Expecting big things from him.

I agree. It especially "clicked" when Boat was out for some stretches of those last games and Purvis knew he was "the guy" to carry the offense (ie: SMU). I believe it was psychological for Purvis and the only thing that could be a temporary set back is Rodney deferring to Gibbs more than he should. I suspect KO gives Purvis the green light to be the scoring lead (or co-lead) .. So no psychological set-backs!!

 

[Palatine]

We absolutely need Gibbs to spend minutes at shooting guard. That means we need Adams to play significant minutes at PG.

I agree we start Gibbs, Purvis, DHam, Miller and Brimah.

But we should also see a lot Adams, Gibbs, Purvis, DHam and Miller as the "small" line up. Both Miller and DHam are very good rebounders and this should be a fun line up to watch.

 

[mauconnfan]

Jalen seems like a great kid and I'm guessing he will do whatever it takes as a freshman for UConn to be great. I also hope everyone else is on that same page because this will be the chemistry they will require. And as far as a "starting lineup" I doubt Jalen has thrown in the towel just because he's a freshman on if he can break the starting lineup or not as well as we should hope Kentan and others are thinking along the same lines. The more people improving and looking for minutes the better this team will be and the deeper it will be.

I don't have a prediction yet on starters, it all depends on how people improved and how the frosh/grads are fitting. Good news is the guys coming off the bench will be talented.

 

[Kitaman]

Ollie with his NBA background now has the luxury of working Adams to his highest potential. In other words Adams does not have to do it all, run the team and bail the team out of close situations.

Adams can learn the Div 1 pace, similar to Bazz' NBA situation in Miami. The overall benefit is the confidence Adams will accumulate with little pressure. Had Gibbs not signed then the pressure on Adams would have been humongous, especially with the fan base.

Imagine now that Adams can 'freestyle' (positive way) and make freshman mistakes with impunity. Also Purvis and Gibbs are there to mentor the young star. I envision when the oppenents guards are gassed, our new and improved 'John Gywnn' will overwhelm other teams.

All of this is to say Adams does not need to start, and he may be better off coming in off the bench. On the bench, Boat and Kemba used to study the flow, opponents and tendencies giving them a ready advantage when their number is called. This is a very positive situation we have.

 

[CL82]

I think it makes most sense to start a traditional team

PG - Gibbs
SG - Purvis
SF - Hamilton
PF - Miller
C - Brimah

And treat Adams the way UConn has traditionally treated some of its more talented scorers; Allen, Gordon, Villaneuva, Walker, Napier, Boatright all came in as change of pace guys, and got key minutes throughout the year.

I'd be happiest with that.

Just looking at that gives me chills. That is a whole lot of fire power, especially if Hamilton makes the typical frosh, to soph jump and if Brimah benefits from his first big man camp, both of which I think are likely.

We're doomed.

 

[RayRay19]

This team is going to get up and down the floor......can't wait!!!!

 

[TasteofUConn]

The thing I'm most excited about next year is seeing how Brimah does when he's surrounded with more talent that can score and defend. I think it's going to free him up quite a bit. That, combined with his very high end work ethic and passion, and a summer of development, will result, IMO, in him having a huge year.

 

[HuskyFich]

RP is going to do BIG things this year. KO didn't call him a Ferrari for no reason.... IMO, the problems that RP went through last year were almost completely due the fact that he hadn't played in a game for 18 months! Getting back into the flow of things takes quite some time and with that time comes confidence.

He finished the season on the highest of highs, we've heard he's working extremely hard in the offseason (hopefully on his handle) and has been tweeting left and right about his excitement for the upcoming season. This kid is going to be unreal.

 

[JimHurley]

RP is going to do BIG things this year. KO didn't call him a Ferrari for no reason.... IMO, the problems that RP went through last year were almost completely due the fact that he hadn't played in a game for 18 months! Getting back into the flow of things takes quite some time and with that time comes confidence.

He finished the season on the highest of highs, we've heard he's working extremely hard in the offseason (hopefully on his handle) and has been tweeting left and right about his excitement for the upcoming season. This kid is going to be unreal.

Could not agree with you more. I think he leads the team in scoring next season.

 

[tjhusky]

This lineup seems tailor made for the 30 sec shot clock. Fast scoring and harassing defense.

I alway like to see who is on the floor at the end of the games (close ones).
Gibbs, Adams, DHam, Miller and Brimah or Facey.

 

[SubbaBub]

PG: Gibbs/Adams/Purvis
SG: Purvis/Gibbs/Calhoun/Cassell
SF: Hamilton/Calhoun/Cassell
PF: Miller/Hamilton/Facey/Enoch
C: Brimah/Nolan/Enoch

There is your 11 man rotation subject to change as guys performances demand. This season will hinge of everyone buying in and playing together for the name on the front of the jersey. Bringing in two top recruits and two top transfers has change to spoil the locker room. I am quite comfortable with the depth here and the guys abilities to fill the minutes they will be asked to contribute. The lack of quality depth last season forced too many guys into roles they weren't capable of fulfilling for stretches that were too long. If a couple guys shoot better and everyone rebounds a little better the addition of Miller to the post fixes a lot of what went wrong last season.

 

[RipCity]

It makes no sense to start a lineup with Gibbs, Adams and Purvis. You need a good guard off the bench that you can actually trust. I'm sure we can play small for small stretches, but the lineup is pretty obviously going to be what most of you are suggesting.

 

[Confident Carl]

With all said about the great players Ollie has put together, let's not forget about Kenton Facey. He will become a critical player to spell AB and Miller. Nolan will also be a key Big but I think we will all see a significant improvement from Facey next season. Enoch is a tremendous upside. It will be interesting to see how KO utilizes his skills as well.

 

[tzznandrew]

This lineup seems tailor made for the 30 sec shot clock. Fast scoring and harassing defense.

I alway like to see who is on the floor at the end of the games (close ones).
Gibbs, Adams, DHam, Miller and Brimah or Facey.

KO has been saying he's wanted to play fast for a while, but we really haven't been able to. Even when we won our title, we weren't especially strong or deep: Napier, Boat, Giffey, Daniels, Brimah, Nolan, Kromah (7 players, really) got the bulk of the minutes, with Calhoun and Olander falling out of the rotation early, and Samuel only making more than spot appearances in the NCAAs. It's hard to run an up-tempo offense when you have to worry that much about fouls and exhaustion.

Now, maybe KO has merely been paying lip-service to that style of ball, but if not, he really does have a number of players who can give more than spot minutes off the bench if given the right role.

 

[DogMania]

The starting line-up is often a moving target throughout the season, though I think the rotations will settle in sooner rather than later. Starting out, the following is the most likely:

Gibbs, Purvis, Hamilton, Miller and Brimah

I could see that changing once Adams settles in if he's as good as most think. I could see KO going with Adams at the point, Gibbs the 2, along with Ham, Miller and Brimah. And bring Purvis off the bench as an instant offense type of impact.

The nice thing about either line-up, is that KO can go small with a 3-G set if Ham, Miller or Brimah get into foul trouble and not necessarily have to go deeper into the bench where the talent drops off quite a bit. Now match-ups and need at the time in the game will likely dictate the personnel. If we need to go big, KO will counter with Nolan, Facey or Enoch, depending which of them is coming along the best and giving the team what it needs. DHam has shown he can man the boards, though has been prone to being moved off the blocks or driven by more physical players. It would be a huge boost to this team if Enoch develops into a 4 or spot-5 that KO can trust when Miller and/or Brimah need a rest or are in foul trouble. Maybe Nolan and Facey have good summers, and come next fall give us a lot more than they did last season.

As the saying goes, it's not who's on the floor at the start of the game, but who's there during winning time. I have a strong feeling, as most of you do, that the 6 players we're all talking about are the ones that will be on the floor in various combinations depending on what is needed and who's still available. What is most exciting is that I think we'll have a few that KO can count on taking the last shot, while last season Boat was the only one we all felt a tad optimistic with in that situation. I have a feeling that Gibbs, Adams, Miller and DHam will all knock down some big winning time shots, sending Husky Nation home in celebration...maybe you can add Purvis to that, though he scares me a bit. I'd like to see him work hard on his mid-range game. He's so strong that it's hard to prevent him from getting a good shot off if he can continue to learn to use that strong body of his to create space and square up for good shots and floaters.

 

[Matrim55]

It's hard to run an up-tempo offense when you have to worry that much about fouls and exhaustion.

It's less that than it is rebounding. Each of our last three teams have had to rebound with all 5 guys on the court, which basically means you can't run.

With Miller & Hamilton as our forwards, we should be a dominant defensive rebounding team. And that means at least one of our guards can get down court early.

 

[Rocktheworld]

It's less that than it is rebounding. Each of our last three teams have had to rebound with all 5 guys on the court, which basically means you can't run.

With Miller & Hamilton as our forwards, we should be a dominant defensive rebounding team. And that means at least one of our guards can get down court early.

Not to mention we will (finally) be playing 5 guys who are no shorter than 6'2".