Hartford Courant article on Aidan Mahaney by Dom Amore | The Boneyard

Hartford Courant article on Aidan Mahaney by Dom Amore

damn, I guess The Courant figured out how to block the sites that workaround the paywall
 
The Sleepers pointed out Mahaney ran the point when he and Hass played together. Solo has the 2 locked down.
Seems like Danny really wants to evaluate Mahaney at point. Or is that what A more said?
 
Chin Diesel said:
When the hot take has "may" in it, it can't ever be wrong.

There is a simple math substitution game. Mahaney starts. Who goes to the bench- Diarra, Ball or McNeeley?
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McNeeley karaban and reed should be only guaranteed starters.
 
Chin Diesel said:
When the hot take has "may" in it, it can't ever be wrong.

There is a simple math substitution game. Mahaney starts. Who goes to the bench- Diarra, Ball or McNeeley?
Expand ...
Diarra. It depends on what Hurley is looking for. Hass is a bulldog and he's shown over and over he changes games as the 6th man. He's clearly good enough to be the starting point guard but I think the question is who would be better starting for this team, Hass or Mahaney? I think we become impossible to guard with Mahaney, Ball, McNeeley, and Karaban on the court together but would it be good enough defensively considering we no longer have the human eraser at center to clean everything up defensively at the rim?
 
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It's the beginning of the year.. Lineups will change. Danny is a loyal person/coach. He will give his captains and two time Champs the respect of being starters . Performance in practice and in games will ultimately dictate PT. If Samson and Hass don't out-perform Aidan and Tarris. He might rethink things. But they are the leaders of the team-designated by Dan- and he will give them every opportunity he can as long as it doesn't impede the progress of the team's goal of a three-peat. Way too early to make that call.
 
I'll stake my claim as a Mahaney over Diarra guy for now. Diarra is a valuable rotation piece, but Mahaney raises our ceiling considerably higher. Diarra can play more in games where his defense is needed, like last year.
 
Nick2005 said:
McNeeley karaban and reed should be only guaranteed starters.
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If we’re going on body of work so far, Karaban is the only one of your 3 that’s a guaranteed starter. Add Solo as a guaranteed.

The rest of the positions are still very much in flux. Heck, McNeeley’s D was so porous vs. URI that his offense was completely offset.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I'll stake my claim as a Mahaney over Diarra guy for now. Diarra is a valuable rotation piece, but Mahaney raises our ceiling considerably higher. Diarra can play more in games where his defense is needed, like last year.
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And as others have said, I'll paraphrase as "I'll stake my claim as a 'Dan Hurley is starting Hassan Diarra' guy." And not "for now". The only caveat to that will be a January 2022-esque slide that necessitates a change. Then all bets are off. Outside of that ? Hass is the starting PG in every game this year.
 
I liked what I saw in Mahaney. It's tough to make lot of judgements after 1 pre-season game, but he showed some hints of a complete game.... and I suppose he should have a complete game. Being a starter for a tournament team last year. He arguably showed a more complete game than Ball. But as I said, it was one pre-season game. We will see.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I'll stake my claim as a Mahaney over Diarra guy for now. Diarra is a valuable rotation piece, but Mahaney raises our ceiling considerably higher. Diarra can play more in games where his defense is needed, like last year.
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Based on first impressions, can’t blame you for thinking that way
 
superjohn said:
Diarra. It depends on what Hurley is looking for. Hass is a bulldog and he's shown over and over he changes games as the 6th man. He's clearly good enough to be the starting point guard but I think the question is who would be better starting for this team, Hass or Mahaney? I think we become impossible to guard with Mahaney, Ball, McNeeley, and Karaban on the court together but would it be good enough defensively considering we no longer have the human eraser at center to clean everything up defensively at the rim?
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Agreed. We will need defensive dynamos at time to turn games around at times I believe. They are also offensive threats so the best offense is at times a good defense. I wouldn't want to be on the floor when Dan Hurley lets loose Hass, Nowell, Abraham, Ross et al just as the opponent starts sucking wind and patting themselves on the back for how well they (think) they are doing.

I think this season is going to be a wild ride and these guys and staff have built something like one of those enormous wheat threshers you see on Midwest farms. Not something you want to see coming at you.
 
dennismenace said:
Agreed. We will need defensive dynamos at time to turn games around at times I believe. They are also offensive threats so the best offense is at times a good defense. I wouldn't want to be on the floor when Dan Hurley lets loose Hass, Nowell, Abraham, Ross et al just as the opponent starts sucking wind and patting themselves on the back for how well they (think) they are doing.

I think this season is going to be a wild ride and these guys and staff have built something like one of those enormous wheat threshers you see on Midwest farms. Not something you want to see coming at you.
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This year will actually be the biggest test for Hurley and the coaching staff in regard to flexibility and versatility.

The last few years we could largely run the same stuff with whoever was on the floor and had generally interchangeable pieces (except maybe at center with Sanogo/Clingan and Clingan/Johnson). Last year in particular we went 6'5 across the back line and our starters dominated, with little dropoff when Diarra was in. This year we have the opportunity, and maybe the necessity, to tailor our offense to the lineup.

We can run a patient, probing, perimeter-focused, Euro-style offense with Diarra/Mahaney/McNeeley/Karaban/Johnson, or we can run an athletic, fast, aggressive offense with Nowell/Ball/Ross/Stewart/Reed. (I don't expect all of those guys to get major minutes, but you get the idea.)
 
Can see Diarra sliding back into the 6 man role, along with Samson. It worked last year obviously and could be a change of pace up tempo unit that looks to push the ball up the court after the opposition is a little gassed. Both of them tend to play better in transition and could bring that burst that jets the opposition.
 
Yea, but I shoot the messenger b/c it sends a message... :)
Lambeau said:
Danny said he didn't start Mahaney to send him a message. That implies....
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5. UConn​

Who's the best option at the 1?

Hassan Diarra is a career backup. He's started just 13 of his 133 career games. That's fixin' to change this season. Diarra is slated to get the nod at point guard, but he'll have to hold off numerous studs for the job. There's a real world where Saint Mary's transfer Aidan Mahaney just has to be on the floor next to much-improved sophomore Solo Ball. Mahaney's positional flexibility -- he played both the 1 and the 2 at Saint Mary's -- makes it feasible.

Mahaney is by far the better shooter, but Diarra is a point-of-attack defender who might be endearingly best described as a cockroach. There's room at the inn for all three of those guards (Diarra, Mahaney and Ball) to split 80 minutes nearly evenly, but it's a battle, nonetheless. Consider it a first-world problem for Dan Hurley and the UConn staff.

www.cbssports.com

College basketball rankings: Rotation questions for the Top 25 and 1 teams

The best teams in America have to sort some things out quickly with the season opener rapidly approaching.
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
CL82 said:
Alternative access
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Thanks. Great article with in depth on the program and demands every day. I hope Mahaney can put on some muscle in preparation of the Big East.

The Uconn style of play wears out opponents by either making them run all over the place in the half court offenses and then pressuring them and getting them in race horse transition.

The important thing is for our recruits to accept the rigorous demands of the staff. Training wins battles. It's a thing of beauty to watch.

I met a young lady working at a NAPA store yesterday and noticed she had a USMC sweatshirt on. She had been in the marines but had to leave on a medical condition. I asked her about her experience in the marines and her eyes immediately opened very wide and she said "I'll neve forget THAT experience!"
 
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