Next Season’s Rotation

[jibsey]

This of course is subject to change but Spencer is going to start right, so that’s Clingan, Castle, Karaban, Newton and Spencer? Can our second unit be as impactful as last year’s was? How does Hurley use the roster and how many potential minutes do each of these players get? Understand it’s all speculative but when did that ever stop us?

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

My predication.

Starters:
Castle, Newton, Spencer, Karaban, and Clingan

Bench to start the season:
Diarra, Ball, Ross, Stewart, Johnson

3 man bench end of season rotation:
Ball, Ross, Johnson

Going with Ross over Stewart based on his defensive highlights and ability to play off ball.

We have A LOT of options to go in for the direction want to play with Samson being the wildcard. If he can start tapping in on that NBA potential he gives lineups a lot of versatility.

 

[husky429]

Offensively or defensively? Unique thing about Spencer is we'll probably have him guarding the 1, but playing more off-ball. Castle will guard the 3 and play the 1 primarily. Makes a team really hard to defend sometimes... your 6'7 players aren't usually very comfortable guarding the primary playmaker. Can help you get a couple extra buckets a game.

Big question right now is backup at the 4/5. Singare could back up the 5, but might be too raw. Johnson could back up both the 4/5. Considering we aren't recruiting any transfer bigs at all, you've gotta think that the staff is comfortable in one of those 2 stepping up. Stewart is also a potential capable backup at the 4, and even has the strength to guard the 5 if we're really desperate.

 

[Psolo12]

Think Diarra gets more run than people think he will. Got a decent amount last year and Hurley said he only scratched his surface. Also Hurley obviously loves his defensive capabilities. One or more of the freshman won't get much playing time at all, because that's just how it always goes.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I agree, Castle, Newton, Spencer, AK and DC is the starting five. So now the rest of the incoming class will be battling for PT. It seems Ball has a good chance but he will compete with Diara for first guard off the bench. Samson because of his size will also be in the mix, but he is going to have to show the ability to score. If not Singare who looks like an immediate defensive presence will eat into those minutes. Stewart and Ross are different players so that will be interesting to watch. Since our OOC is a little bit tougher this year, Hurley may not get as many chances to try different rotations in games. So that will put a premium on how well the freshman practice as they may have to earn more minutes based on that rather than game performance. But we won with getting Spencer he is a much better player on tape from what I saw with Timberlake.

 

[Umami Zen]

IMO..DH and staff do an excellent job of roster construction.. Agree with @husky429 on all of his points. I will say that there is a delicate balance between delivering on PT and team efficiency.. Esp. in this age of transfer/portal availability. Fab 5 didn't come here to spend a ton of time on the bench. I can think of a portal 4/5 that I believe is still available but would be seeking/wanting Samson's minutes. Looks to me like DH is comfortable rolling with who he's got and betting on improved performance through the off-season and European tour. We will have tremendous lineup flexibility with a healthy and improved Samson.

We were very fortunate last year re: injuries to key players. Kudos to SnC/conditioning staff.. FWIW.. The only reason I can see DH occupying the 13th spot would be for "injury insurance" for the Bigs.. Don't think he'll do it though.

 

[TheHorde]

It’s terrific to have this amount of depth, since we are painfully aware (other than last season) how injuries can derail the best laid plans.

 

[NCHuskie919]

Health is wealth for this squad. . The pieces are in place for another memorable season

 

[REB1094]

It's a super interesting scenario. We have a stacked starting 5 (Castle/Newton/Spencer/Karaban/Clingan), but the bench is either freshmen or guys who didn't play to their potential

Castle/Newton/Spencer will play some combination of PG - SF, and are super flexible/switchable on who guards which position on defense. My guess is that Spencer is the starting SF offensively and will guard PG-SG defensively.

Realistically the rotation will be 8-9 guys. So there's 3-4 spots for Diarra, Ball, Stewart, Ross, Samson, Singare, Roumoglou. I can guess, but even our own staff probably won't have a feel for the full rotation until a month or 2 from now

• I think Diarra and Ball are defaulted into minutes as the backup Gs
• I imagine Samson will start the season as the backup C. It also helps to have a 7ft athletic insurance policy in Singare, but I feel like a year of practice and development will do him wonders for year 2
• I really like Stewart, but Ross provides some shooting ability. I assume they will situationally share the SF/PF minutes kind of like how Diarra/Joey were situational last year. Sometimes Stewart will play a lot, other times Ross will

So my final rotation is Castle, Newton, Spencer, Karaban, Clingan, Diarra, Ball, Samson, and one of Stewart/Ross depending on the game

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think the starters are set, as everyone has said. Agree with @husky429 that Castle probably draws the 3 on defense. Newton could take 1 or 2. I think that's matchup driven, the PG or SG could be the more athletic player. Diarra would usually have the quickest guard when he's in.

Bench, I think Johnson gets the most minutes overall at 4-5. I don't see Donovan logging as many minutes as Sanogo did. I think it's a battle on the wings between Ball, Ross & Stewart. One of them will emerge to be the primary backup 2-3. Diarra the main backup PG, but Castle could play there too, with Cam & a freshman. Roumoglou is a big question mark, but I wouldn't rule him out at the SF spot. I expect Singare to play sparingly, mostly early in the season.

 

[Kenny11]

Think Diarra gets more run than people think he will. Got a decent amount last year and Hurley said he only scratched his surface. Also Hurley obviously loves his defensive capabilities. One or more of the freshman won't get much playing time at all, because that's just how it always goes.

I do too. It was interesting that Diarra got quietly removed from the rotation at the end of the season though. And it worked.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Offensively or defensively? Unique thing about Spencer is we'll probably have him guarding the 1, but playing more off-ball. Castle will guard the 3 and play the 1 primarily. Makes a team really hard to defend sometimes... your 6'7 players aren't usually very comfortable guarding the primary playmaker. Can help you get a couple extra buckets a game.

Big question right now is backup at the 4/5. Singare could back up the 5, but might be too raw. Johnson could back up both the 4/5. Considering we aren't recruiting any transfer bigs at all, you've gotta think that the staff is comfortable in one of those 2 stepping up. Stewart is also a potential capable backup at the 4, and even has the strength to guard the 5 if we're really desperate.

And I’m sure in a pinch Karaban can guard the 5 as well now, at least hopefully with another S+C program in the offseason under his belt.

 

[superjohn]

I think the starters are set, as everyone has said. Agree with @husky429 that Castle probably draws the 3 on defense. Newton could take 1 or 2. I think that's matchup driven, the PG or SG could be the more athletic player. Diarra would usually have the quickest guard when he's in.

Bench, I think Johnson gets the most minutes overall at 4-5. I don't see Donovan logging as many minutes as Sanogo did. I think it's a battle on the wings between Ball, Ross & Stewart. One of them will emerge to be the primary backup 2-3. Diarra the main backup PG, but Castle could play there too, with Cam & a freshman. Roumoglou is a big question mark, but I wouldn't rule him out at the SF spot. I expect Singare to play sparingly, mostly early in the season.

You don't see Clingan logging as many minutes as Sanogo?

How many minutes do you expect Clingan gets?

 

[UConnSwag11]

I do too. It was interesting that Diarra got quietly removed from the rotation at the end of the season though. And it worked.

He got injured allowing more minutes to go to Joe. When Diarra came back he wasn’t good and Joey was playing out of his mind. Diarra has to improve this off-season

 

[imno1]

I’m really interested in Samson’s progress and role next season. In the few minutes he’s played during his first 2 years I haven’t seen much that warranted Hurley’s “wall potential“ comments but the staff must see enough to keep him here and not go after a big in the portal.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I think the starters are set, as everyone has said. Agree with @husky429 that Castle probably draws the 3 on defense. Newton could take 1 or 2. I think that's matchup driven, the PG or SG could be the more athletic player. Diarra would usually have the quickest guard when he's in.

Bench, I think Johnson gets the most minutes overall at 4-5. I don't see Donovan logging as many minutes as Sanogo did. I think it's a battle on the wings between Ball, Ross & Stewart. One of them will emerge to be the primary backup 2-3. Diarra the main backup PG, but Castle could play there too, with Cam & a freshman. Roumoglou is a big question mark, but I wouldn't rule him out at the SF spot. I Singare to play sparingly, mostly early in the season.

If Clingan doesn’t get as many minutes the fans would lose their minds

 

[husky429]

You don't see Clingan logging as many minutes as Sanogo?

How many minutes do you expect Clingan gets?

Adama played 26mpg last year. No reason why Clingan won't get the same.

At 1000 feet tall, he may not have the conditioning to play 35 in a close game, but every ball player on our team should be capable of 25mpg.

 

[navery12]

PG - Castle (25), Newton (10), Diarra (5)

SG - Newton (15), Ball (20), Diarra (5)

SF - Spencer (25) Ross (10) Stewart (5)

PF - Karaban (25) Stewart (10) Johnson (5)

C - Clingan (28) Johnson (12)

 

[Ricker]

I think Ball and Ross will be impactful and find their way onto the court in solid roles. My concern is at center against the best teams when Clingan is out. I think both Johnson and Singare have it in them to succeed, but the coaches are going to earn their money making it happen. They each can be huge rim protectors and rim runners as strengths, but holding position in the post, not fouling, being in the right spots, and basketball IQ, I suspect not so much. They don't need to score other than finish at the rim. Johnson may be able to open the lane as an outside threat, Singare was an awful foul shooter which needs to be addressed, (missed 11 or 13 in a row at one point in EYBL). Whatever the number, it wasn't a strength. If the coaches can get one of these guys to hold the fort, we will be in the mix for #6.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Think Diarra gets more run than people think he will. Got a decent amount last year and Hurley said he only scratched his surface. Also Hurley obviously loves his defensive capabilities. One or more of the freshman won't get much playing time at all, because that's just how it always goes.

Good news for Diarra is he knows exactly what he needs to do to get more minutes- shoot from outside at a higher efficiency. And make FT's if he wants in the last five minutes of a game.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

PG - Castle (25), Newton (10), Diarra (5)

SG - Newton (15), Ball (15), Diarra (5)

SF - Spencer (25) Ross (10) Ball (5) Stewart (5)

PF - Karaban (25) Stewart (10) Johnson (5)

C - Clingan (28) Johnson (12)

20 mins seems like a lot for Ball. Also Karaban is probably closer to 30 along with Newton

 

[Chin Diesel]

PG - Castle (25), Newton (10), Diarra (5)

SG - Newton (15), Ball (15), Diarra (5)

SF - Spencer (25) Ross (10) Ball (5) Stewart (5)

PF - Karaban (25) Stewart (10) Johnson (5)

C - Clingan (28) Johnson (12)

Either my math is off or you still have 10 minutes to fill.

I'll go with

Karaban- 32 mpg
Newton- 30
Clingan- 27
Castle- 25
Spencer- 22
Diarra- 16
Ball-14
Ross- 10
Johnson- 14
Hurley- 2
Stewart/Romagalu- 6

 

[navery12]

20 mins seems like a lot for Ball. Also Karaban is probably closer to 30 along with Newton

Karaban and Newton were both close to 30 last year so it's possible, and when the rotation gets cut come tournament time I can see it. I just think they played a lot of minutes last year because we didn't have a reliable backup PG or PF to give them much rest.

I don't see any way Ball gets less than 20 minutes though, he's getting overshadowed by Castle but he's one of the best recruits we've ever gotten. He's going to a really good player

 

[businesslawyer]

Good news for Diarra is he knows exactly what he needs to do to get more minutes- shoot from outside at a higher efficiency. And make FT's if he wants in the last five minutes of a game.

Maybe. Diarra will play because I'm not sure any of our 3 perimeter starters will be able to adequately contain certain PGs, and you can't play good team defense if you can't contain the opponents point. There will be games where Diarra will play more than many would like to see in order to do this. Frankly, while it would be great if he shoots better, I'd be just as happy if he shot less. But I think we will need him more than some think.

 

[navery12]

Either my math is off or you still have 10 minutes to fill.

I'll go with

Karaban- 32 mpg
Newton- 30
Clingan- 27
Castle- 25
Spencer- 22
Diarra- 16
Ball-14
Ross- 10
Johnson- 14
Hurley- 2
Stewart/Romagalu- 6

I did have 35 minutes at the SG spot and 45 at the SF spot. But it does add up to the full 200