Today's game and the PG position

[Spaceman213J]

If one game was going to be an example of what we have at PG, it was today's game.

Cole is a nice spot up shooter and a nice complimentary piece on a good team. However, he can be beat off the dribble and is prone to making silly/dumb mistakes with the ball. When he tries to do too much, he just absolutely kills the team. And he can by Jeckyll and Hyde on defense. Sometimes he's tough on the ball and other times he should be waving a red cape out there.

I'm still high on Gaff, but he is perplexing. He's a pretty good passer. He'll be quiet and frankly, forgettable at times, and then will have a play where you just wonder where it came from, (like the reverse layup last year). Is it confidence with him. Sometimes I wish they would run sets with both bigs flashing to the top and opening up the key for him. We'd all like to see more from him.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I like Gaff as well, but I assume they both will be recruited over. Which is pretty much all I have to say on the subject.

 

[HHusky]

I would prefer to say that Bouk's injury exposed our lack of depth in the backcourt. We sure could use some more quickness and a distributors mindset. Hopefully Rashool will provide what we need.

 

[BGesus4]

I honestly think the biggest issue with Gaff is he’s playing out of position as a PG. Yes, he’s a good passer but he’s not efficient with the ball in the way you want someone running your offense. I think he can be effective as a scoring guard. If when he gets the ball he’s using his dribble to attack his defender as oppose to set up a play, I think he’d look like a new man. He’s a plus athlete and a good finisher but is not skilled at running an offense.

 

[UconnU]

Teams will continue to go small against us as long as we have major guard depth problems. Most teams in our conference carry 6 guards, we have 3.

 

[auggie22]

I honestly think the biggest issue with Gaff is he’s playing out of position as a PG. Yes, he’s a good passer but he’s not efficient with the ball in the way you want someone running your offense. I think he can be effective as a scoring guard. If when he gets the ball he’s using his dribble to attack his defender as oppose to set up a play, I think he’d look like a new man. He’s a plus athlete and a good finisher but is not skilled at running an offense.

I don’t disagree but there is so little evidence of his athleticism on the court that it begs the question why. Is he thinking too much, too concerned about making mistakes or too constrained by coaching that his natural abilities are not on full display. If not for all of the reports of his plus athleticism you would not know of it by just watching him.

 

[HungryHuskies]

Does Diggins have the potential to be the next great UConn guard? Haven't looked into him much.

I know it's a lot to ask but get us another undersized PG like Boatright with speed, ankle breaking handles, and up in your face defense.

I used to salivate over his ability to get past defenders with ease and follow up with an and-one reverse layup.

 

[UofCT]

I like Gaff as well, but I assume they both will be recruited over. Which is pretty much all I have to say on the subject.

They already have been

 

[BGesus4]

I don’t disagree but there is so little evidence of his athleticism on the court that it begs the question why. Is he thinking too much, too concerned about making mistakes or too constrained by coaching that his natural abilities are not on full display. If not for all of the reports of his plus athleticism you would not know of it by just watching him.

Yeah that’s a fair point. I’m judging based on the discrepancy between what we hear from coaches and practices (ie early entrant talent) vs the court. And in all fairness, as you say, we’ve seen very little of anything on the court. When I watch him, he looks uncomfortable and unsure of himself trying to run the offense. He over dribbles and is focused on keeping his handle alive rather than getting where he wants to get and looking for opportunities to probe the defense. My gut and eyes tell me it’s because he’s not really a PG. His handle is best suited for a couple hard attacking dribbles and finishing or finding someone else. He’s a good passer but not like a pg, as in regularly setting ppl up in position to make a play. He’s more a guy that can a couple times a game find someone with a great dime.

 

[rip7774]

I've literally said to my kids, we need a Boatright like 1,000,000 x this season. I can't believe these coaches - who have been so spectacular and resurrected us from the throws of despair, couldn't see this wasn't enough at the point guard position. Basically have one guy on the roster that can get his shot and he's out now (I guess Martin can in spots). Just unreal at UConn, a program built on great guards.

Surely he doesn't hate quick guards, he had dowtin and esp fatts is quick. Just doesn't make sense. How did they want to go into the season with just Cole and Gaff?

 

[raf46]

If one game was going to be an example of what we have at PG, it was today's game.

Cole is a nice spot up shooter and a nice complimentary piece on a good team. However, he can be beat off the dribble and is prone to making silly/dumb mistakes with the ball. When he tries to do too much, he just absolutely kills the team. And he can by Jeckyll and Hyde on defense. Sometimes he's tough on the ball and other times he should be waving a red cape out there.

I'm still high on Gaff, but he is perplexing. He's a pretty good passer. He'll be quiet and frankly, forgettable at times, and then will have a play where you just wonder where it came from, (like the reverse layup last year). Is it confidence with him. Sometimes I wish they would run sets with both bigs flashing to the top and opening up the key for him. We'd all like to see more from him.

Cant not play gaffney. then complain about him.

 

[freescooter]

I would prefer to say that Bouk's injury exposed our lack of depth in the backcourt. We sure could use some more quickness and a distributors mindset. Hopefully Rashool will provide what we need.

I’d prefer to say that too. Unfortunately it isn’t accurate. Our backcourt is just not that good. We have 2 backup point guards playing the point.

 

[freescooter]

I've literally said to my kids, we need a Boatright like 1,000,000 x this season. I can't believe these coaches - who have been so spectacular and resurrected us from the throws of despair, couldn't see this wasn't enough at the point guard position. Basically have one guy on the roster that can get his shot and he's out now (I guess Martin can in spots). Just unreal at UConn, a program built on great guards.

Surely he doesn't hate quick guards, he had dowtin and esp fatts is quick. Just doesn't make sense. How did they want to go into the season with just Cole and Gaff?

I’d take a Boatright now but I’d rather have a Napier or even a Talik Brown. I still think Hurley seriously overrated Coles based on Daddy’s advice. It was a dumb decision seeing that the kid was basically ignored by every high mid/major program. Could he be a fine guard at LaSalle? Maybe. But he isn’t close at this level.

 

[Hoophound]

Gaff just isn’t a natural PG. He’s a combo guard. He was known as a combo guard in high school until someone slapped the PG label on him one day and people ran with it. It was all about recruiting that he was pushed as a pg.

Neither of our “point guards” is a natural penetrator and distributor, and neither ever will be. I believed Cole would be much more effective but clearly, the competition at this level is too much for him to be a star player.

I have hopes that we can figure out a way to make a decent tourney run, but the future is in the hands of Diggins, a true natural pg. Hopefully, the staff can find a post grad or JUCO pg to work in with Diggins next year. This team isn’t going too far this year unless Andre Jackson or Bouk can provide the creativity and passing needed to make our offense hum.

 

[UCfor3]

Hurley and Ollie are VERY clearly different in almost every way. That's a good thing. One way in which they are similar though is that when the rubber meets the road, in tough in-game situations, they both have the tendency to favor smaller more guard-centric lineups. It's like their default setting. Moreso Ollie, but Hurley does it sometimes to matchup defensively. Which is why it is always so puzzling why we always seem to be a guard short the last bunch of years. If you have a tendency, balance the roster to reflect that. We always seem one injury away being shorthanded at guard going back several years.

 

[Sportsfan71]

I’d take a Boatright now but I’d rather have a Napier or even a Talik Brown. I still think Hurley seriously overrated Coles based on Daddy’s advice. It was a dumb decision seeing that the kid was basically ignored by every high mid/major program. Could he be a fine guard at LaSalle? Maybe. But he isn’t close at this level.

Agree 100! He’s a nice comp player off the bench but from what I’ve seen so far, the Big East level seems a step too fast to be a starting PG.

 

[freescooter]

I hate to say it hoophound but I can’t see this team making much of a run in the tournament. It is pretty unusual for teams to get far without very good guard play and that is our biggest weakness. Bouknight is really our only good one and he is more of a scorer/ wing than a point guard. I had hopes for Gaffney after last year, but he has seemed to regress in the backup role over what he did last year once he got the starting job. Cole is what he is, a backup who is starting. Not the makeup of a team that gets very far in the NCAA Tournament unless someone has a unexpected rebirth.

 

[freescooter]

Agree 100! He’s a nice comp player off the bench but from what I’ve seen so far, the Big East level seems a step too fast to be a starting PG.

I think it isn’t just speed, but all around size and athleticism. Honestly the difference between the Big East and the MEAC is huge. And he was a star on a pretty bad team in the MEAC. He scored a lot of points but his team didn’t have many options, at least in his first season. I think they improved his second season but still weren’t great.

 

[Marat]

Its hard to believe but Boatright was the last good PG we had and that was 5 years ago. Gibbs wasn't a true PG and AG had the unfortunate luck of injuries that stunted his play. Right now Cole is what he is and that may be adequate after Bouk returns. He just needs to be steady , and defend. The next good PG is coming soon.

 

[Sportsfan71]

I think it isn’t just speed, but all around size and athleticism. Honestly the difference between the Big East and the MEAC is huge. And he was a star on a pretty bad team in the MEAC. He scored a lot of points but his team didn’t have many options, at least in his first season. I think they improved his second season but still weren’t great.

I know. We speak the same language. He’s not the answer, I think Hurley thought he could bridge the gap until they could upgrade further.

 

[Slick]

I honestly think the biggest issue with Gaff is he’s playing out of position as a PG. Yes, he’s a good passer but he’s not efficient with the ball in the way you want someone running your offense. I think he can be effective as a scoring guard. If when he gets the ball he’s using his dribble to attack his defender as oppose to set up a play, I think he’d look like a new man. He’s a plus athlete and a good finisher but is not skilled at running an offense.

Disagree he’s scared to shoot. Passes up wide open shots.

 

[Jumpman62114]

I hope Hurley sets up RJ for some open 3 pt looks the way he does Polley. He’s a better shooter than he is a distributor.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Teams will continue to go small against us as long as we have major guard depth problems. Most teams in our conference carry 6 guards, we have 3.

Most of the best UConn teams of all time had 3, max 4 guards. With a healthy Bouk we have 4, plus two guys, Martin and Jackson, who are capable ball handlers.

The problem has been that we aren't using our bigs. So we play guys like Adams too many minutes. If our opponents are going to play small, fine. We can devastate them on the boards, kill them inside on offense, and eliminate their ability to score at the rim. Let them shoot 3s.

 

[boog204]

I imagine Diggins being the PG from day one. As is usually the case when we have someone sitting out ferrari style, they are vastly overrated. And with Cole, he's legit the same player he was at Howard against vastly better comp. So his mediocre 40% shooting there was going to drop here and there's a reason he was a PG on a terrible, low D1 team. We are seeing that. He can be a useful player, but he's not a PG that leads a team into a deep tourney run.

 

[Marat]

I hope Hurley sets up RJ for some open 3 pt looks the way he does Polley. He’s a better shooter than he is a distributor.

I know all the preseason talk was he's such a great passer and teammates were saying that also. But it looks like you are right.