UConn offers 2016 DeAndre Hunter
- Thread starter tcf_15
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Dom... It is just as simple as we are grinding and recruiting as I mentioned in the other thread. Plus these type guys are good players and glue guys on a team. Can't have a lot of me first or alphas wanting to get there's all the time....
You can win a championship with 2 or 3 1st round NBA talents and the rest role players. It's been proven many times. So far I like the recruiting model UConn is building and following.
That's exactly what it seems like. KO has his core of Jalen Adams, Alterique Gilbert and Terry Larrier. Time to build around those guys.
Let's also remember there are only 5 starters on a basketball team, and 15 players max including walk ons, Managing a basketball roster isn't like managing a baseball or football roster. When you hvae a talented basketball team a lot of times you are one guy away from being a championship quality team. In baseball GMs really have to grind. Look at Brian Cashman, he was forced to send down the very talented 2b prospect Rob Refsnyder because the alternative was to designate for assignment one of Stephen Drew or Brendan Ryan, both of whom suck, but you don't DFA a guy who sucks and potentially leave yourself no coverage at two positions if someone suddenly offers you the world for Refsnyder. Ozzie is correct to use the word grinding but it's really just a pure numbers game and the coaches basically know who is going to be getting big minutes and who the role players are. It's not like baseball where you have more personnel, more rules and injury issues that can really screw your team if you leave it short in any one area. In hoops you just need 7 guys who can ball and if they are healthy it will be fine.
A core around Adams, Gilbert and Larrier should be easy to build. You already got one guy who looks like a beast on the boards in AAU, now get a shot blocking center and you are all set.
A core around Adams, Gilbert and Larrier should be easy to build. You already got one guy who looks like a beast on the boards in AAU, now get a shot blocking center and you are all set.
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Right, let's not act like the 105th best basketball player in the country (according to Rivals) would be a bad addition to the UConn roster. Especially in what is going to be a big recruiting class.
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Very true, this is the oldest concept in hoops.....gotta have a balanced roster....There's only one ball and this goes all the way back to the 76'ers and the Dr. J era....they had 3 guys who were elite scorers, the Doc, George McGinnis and World B. Free but the saying was that you had to have 3 balls for them all to play together. Philly dumped McGinnis (for an all-defensive team superstar named Bobby Jones) and Free who were good for 25-30 pts a game in their prime. Then drafted Maurice Cheeks who D'ed up and could feed the scorers... then signed HOF'er Moses Malone who could make a living down low or on other peoples misses as he dominated the boards. With this new balance they finally won the NBA title. They also got some kid named Charles Barkley a year after the title with the 1st round pick they got in the Lloyd Free trade. But enough of the NBA history lesson.
Because even in Uconn's recent past you can see that the right team balance and chemistry can win it all. Even with a couple of centers and FR back-up PG who were only 3 stars that weren't even close to being in the top 100 . An unranked transfer from George Washington plus throw in a F from Germany that no one ever heard of.....all lead by a senior PG who was ranked 98th...as they made up 6/8th's of the 8 man rotation that won the National Championship.
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Yeah I remember that 76ers team with Lloyd later World B. Free. He was just a scorer. The 76ers later got a similar type player in Andrew Toney who was kind of like Ben Gordon but could really score. They also had the colorful Darryl Dawkins whom Andre Drummond spawned comparisons too. The team turned around and got better when they acquired team players like Cheeks and Jones.
You always need glue guys and defensive/rebounding specialists to go with a couple of primary scorers.
In baseball building a team is a lot more difficult in my opinion.
You always need glue guys and defensive/rebounding specialists to go with a couple of primary scorers.
In baseball building a team is a lot more difficult in my opinion.
Good interview. Way better than the Gilbert interview that was posted a few weeks back. Looks like a good/smart player who can shoot. Great role player material. Sign him up.