bluegray79
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,100
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Post by bluegray79 on May 26, 2022 8:39:26 GMT -5
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Post by footahh on May 26, 2022 8:47:05 GMT -5
Spears does certain things better than Dante - he's better at creating something out of nothing, he's bigger, and he has the potential to be the better jump shooter given an improvement in shot selection.
But at the moment, my expectations aren't very high. Let's compare the two of them - who were both high usage players on bad teams that pretty much had no chance in their respective conferences (albeit Dante played at a higher level).
They were similar shooters, with Dante actually having the slightest edge in FG%, TS%, and even effective FG% despite being the worse 3 point shooter. Free throw shooting was pretty much identical as well even though Dante showed the ability to shoot near 90% his freshman year.
Dante's assist rate was far better (7.1 assists per 100 possessions compared to Primo's 5.6). Dante's turnover rate was worse, although improved from his freshmen numbers.
Dante's the better rebounder despite the size.
Dante's the far better defender, despite the size difference. And that's not a credit to Dante who was an average to below average defender on the 333rd ranked defense in the country. Primo had the worst DBPM of any Duquesne rotation player on an equally bad defense (326th in the country, playinf worse competition). Dante does need to return to Freshmen form on this side of the ball though.
I'm not saying Primo doesn't have the talent to be a good Big East player - he does. But right now, it isn't a point guard profile and he shares every attribute that has this board griping with Dante. Dante needs to accept a reduced offensive workload but he's far more likely to have the framework of a quality Big East lead guard than Primo, who for me, profiles more as an underclassmen version of Jahvon Blair. It's just that what he does better than Dante isn't necessarily important in a lead guard. He's a bucket getter but not much more right now.
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hoyaboya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 12,487
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Post by hoyaboya on May 26, 2022 8:54:57 GMT -5
My take is that counting on Akok is a fool's errand. He's a huge gamble physically who was willingly let go by a team within our own conference. There is no way he's going to be able to give you 30+ minutes a night the way Ewing likes to play those he perceives to be his best players.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,358
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Post by prhoya on May 26, 2022 9:43:45 GMT -5
Is he that good? If so, fantastic! The more, the merrier for the rotation.
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Post by footahh on May 26, 2022 10:05:05 GMT -5
My take is that counting on Akok is a fool's errand. He's a huge gamble physically who was willingly let go by a team within our own conference. There is no way he's going to be able to give you 30+ minutes a night the way Ewing likes to play those he perceives to be his best players. He may not have carved out a role on that team within the conference but Hurley sounded surprised when he departed. They were not showing him the door.
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Post by professorhoya on May 26, 2022 10:12:25 GMT -5
Akok started last season with fairly consistent playing time, starting a handful of games. But it became clear in the final six weeks of the season that the staff simply did not trust him to play major minutes or in big spots. Down the line, Akok could appear midway through the first half, block a shot, hit a jumper, miss a defensive mission and/or get beaten for a rebound. He would come back to the bench after maybe five or six minutes, often only to not come back at all. And that is if he played at all. Akok did not play in any of UConn’s Big East Tournament games and saw only three minutes of action in the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament loss to New Mexico State. “I think in his mind he loved school, he loved his teammates a lot, had good relationships and was optimistic,” Pastore added. “But at the end of the day he wasn’t sure what his role would be. It’s a matter of opportunity. www.friendplans.com/akok-akoks-uconn-mens-basketball-career-started-early-and-will-end-early-its-all-about-opportunity/Wouldn’t this be an indictment of Hurley for recruiting over Akok and forcing him out and taking away his scholarship? Why do you people never mention this when it comes to other coaches and schools.
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Post by professorhoya on May 26, 2022 10:14:50 GMT -5
My take is that counting on Akok is a fool's errand. He's a huge gamble physically who was willingly let go by a team within our own conference. There is no way he's going to be able to give you 30+ minutes a night the way Ewing likes to play those he perceives to be his best players. So to confirm, you believe Hurley recruited over Akok and forced him out and took away his scholarship?
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on May 26, 2022 10:22:35 GMT -5
For context on Akok Akok, his season high was 12 last year. He did that twice on highly efficient shooting. The opponents were Coppin St. & St. Bonaventure. UConn had plenty of offensive weapons last year. He didn't shoot a lot of FT's but was only 33% on those. He shot 44% from three but on really low volume. His high attempts was 4. HIs last five games with UConn, his high minutes was 6.
We are getting the definition of an unknown commodity. THe potential is there, but the kid came to Uconn early, got hurt, and probably is just hitting his stride. He needed the change of scenery and hopefully that comes with a change in confidence as well. There is no way we can rely on him. Frankly, if he plays to his potential, I could see us as a solid tourney team. If he doesn't, we are probably going to see more Mozone then we expected.
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78HOYA78
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 398
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Post by 78HOYA78 on May 26, 2022 12:57:39 GMT -5
Wow did not know he entered the draft - I must have fell asleep. Well anyway it's good news.
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TC
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 9,459
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Post by TC on May 26, 2022 14:46:20 GMT -5
Akok started last season with fairly consistent playing time, starting a handful of games. But it became clear in the final six weeks of the season that the staff simply did not trust him to play major minutes or in big spots. Down the line, Akok could appear midway through the first half, block a shot, hit a jumper, miss a defensive mission and/or get beaten for a rebound. He would come back to the bench after maybe five or six minutes, often only to not come back at all. And that is if he played at all. Akok did not play in any of UConn’s Big East Tournament games and saw only three minutes of action in the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament loss to New Mexico State. “I think in his mind he loved school, he loved his teammates a lot, had good relationships and was optimistic,” Pastore added. “But at the end of the day he wasn’t sure what his role would be. It’s a matter of opportunity. www.friendplans.com/akok-akoks-uconn-mens-basketball-career-started-early-and-will-end-early-its-all-about-opportunity/Wouldn’t this be an indictment of Hurley for recruiting over Akok and forcing him out and taking away his scholarship? Why do you people never mention this when it comes to other coaches and schools. So your argument here is that Georgetown's standards should be UCONN's, and why are people picking on Patrick Ewing when he is behaving like a UCONN coach? People do mention this with other coaches. They literally rewrote the waiver rules because of how Chris Collins ran kids off.
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wsdhoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 466
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Post by wsdhoya on May 26, 2022 15:04:16 GMT -5
I really don't want to pile on Dante because I'm not in the business of personal attacks on a player, so please note that he's a great Hoya these are strictly basketball observations.
In this magical 4 game run that so many of you are saying is more important than two entire seasons, it's worth noting that he didn't even play that well across each game. In the championship game, Dante was 0-5 from 3, shooting 4-14 overall for 10 points. He did grab an impressive 8 boards and a solid 5 assists. He played a great game against Seton Hall shooting 5-6 and dropping 15, but had only 1 assist and 2 turnovers. He also played very solidly against a shellshocked Villanova team missing its starting PG and leader. In the first round, though he was 2-10 from the field, scoring just 4 points and having only 2 assists.
This four game stretch everyone obsesses over wasn't even four good games. It was two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one.
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miracles87
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,150
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Post by miracles87 on May 26, 2022 15:53:25 GMT -5
This is an excellent take on the Hoyas from Hilltop Hoops Totally agree that Ewing's usage of depth will be key. I always felt that the best Pop's teams used subs in a positive way, waves upon waves of demented avengers, and I hope that Ewing uses what seems to be an excellent opportunity this year to do the same. Plenty of minutes to go around when you play that style
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wsdhoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 466
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Post by wsdhoya on May 26, 2022 15:54:50 GMT -5
Is he that good? If so, fantastic! The more, the merrier for the rotation. Entering the draft has little to do with how good you are now with the way it works. Almost everybody that is either a senior with an extra covid year or an underclassman in the transfer portal enters it now. The NBA invites about 60 players to the combine every year and obviously Mozone was never a candidate to even be considered for that. Any player who wishes to enter can enter and you can return to school as long as you withdraw your name by June 1st.
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miracles87
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,150
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Post by miracles87 on May 26, 2022 16:01:20 GMT -5
I really don't want to pile on Dante because I'm not in the business of personal attacks on a player, so please note that he's a great Hoya these are strictly basketball observations. In this magical 4 game run that so many of you are saying is more important than two entire seasons, it's worth noting that he didn't even play that well across each game. In the championship game, Dante was 0-5 from 3, shooting 4-14 overall for 10 points. He did grab an impressive 8 boards and a solid 5 assists. He played a great game against Seton Hall shooting 5-6 and dropping 15, but had only 1 assist and 2 turnovers. He also played very solidly against a shellshocked Villanova team missing its starting PG and leader. In the first round, though he was 2-10 from the field, scoring just 4 points and having only 2 assists. This four game stretch everyone obsesses over wasn't even four good games. It was two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one. Nice analysis! Really holds up, especially when you consider that "awful" first game against Marquette, when the Hoyas were up 32-14 at half on their way to winning by 19, never once being challenged.
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bigskyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,095
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Post by bigskyhoya on May 26, 2022 16:18:53 GMT -5
I confess I know very little about our many new faces (except Q), so I appreciate the insights in this thread. Although it is a tall task for any coach to succeed under these circumstances, there is also something exciting about seeing an almost entirely new team, especially after last year.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,358
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Post by prhoya on May 26, 2022 16:27:24 GMT -5
Is he that good? If so, fantastic! The more, the merrier for the rotation. Entering the draft has little to do with how good you are now with the way it works. Almost everybody that is either a senior with an extra covid year or an underclassman in the transfer portal enters it now. The NBA invites about 60 players to the combine every year and obviously Mozone was never a candidate to even be considered for that. Any player who wishes to enter can enter and you can return to school as long as you withdraw your name by June 1st. I know how it works to enter the process. I haven’t looked at the actual numbers, but I don’t think it’s as big a group as you’re pointing out. I’m just saying that hopefully he’s as good as he thinks he is (and not like the Beards). It will be fantastic. There are plenty of questions surrounding next year’s team, and hopefully this one is a pleasant surprise and a good enough player to be a future pro.
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bills
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 236
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Post by bills on May 26, 2022 16:29:18 GMT -5
I really don't want to pile on Dante because I'm not in the business of personal attacks on a player, so please note that he's a great Hoya these are strictly basketball observations. In this magical 4 game run that so many of you are saying is more important than two entire seasons, it's worth noting that he didn't even play that well across each game. In the championship game, Dante was 0-5 from 3, shooting 4-14 overall for 10 points. He did grab an impressive 8 boards and a solid 5 assists. He played a great game against Seton Hall shooting 5-6 and dropping 15, but had only 1 assist and 2 turnovers. He also played very solidly against a shellshocked Villanova team missing its starting PG and leader. In the first round, though he was 2-10 from the field, scoring just 4 points and having only 2 assists. This four game stretch everyone obsesses over wasn't even four good games. It was two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one. And it was a group of total incompetents who awarded him the MOP trophy for two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one. If you bring this terrific analysis to their attention, they will likely strip him of that award and have you designate future winners of the MOP.
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wsdhoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 466
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Post by wsdhoya on May 26, 2022 16:38:21 GMT -5
Entering the draft has little to do with how good you are now with the way it works. Almost everybody that is either a senior with an extra covid year or an underclassman in the transfer portal enters it now. The NBA invites about 60 players to the combine every year and obviously Mozone was never a candidate to even be considered for that. Any player who wishes to enter can enter and you can return to school as long as you withdraw your name by June 1st. I know how it works to enter the process. I haven’t looked at the actual numbers, but I don’t think it’s as big a group as you’re pointing out. I’m just saying that hopefully he’s as good as he thinks he is (and not like the Beards). It will be fantastic. There are plenty of questions surrounding next year’s team, and hopefully this one is a pleasant surprise and a good enough player to be a future pro. I like his game a lot and think he fits in a lot better than your average low major transfer because his game appears to bring more than just scoring. With that said, I’m pretty sure well over 300 athletes have entered the draft and the vast majority know they have no chance but wisely use it to get feedback from pro scouts.
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wsdhoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 466
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Post by wsdhoya on May 26, 2022 16:40:24 GMT -5
I really don't want to pile on Dante because I'm not in the business of personal attacks on a player, so please note that he's a great Hoya these are strictly basketball observations. In this magical 4 game run that so many of you are saying is more important than two entire seasons, it's worth noting that he didn't even play that well across each game. In the championship game, Dante was 0-5 from 3, shooting 4-14 overall for 10 points. He did grab an impressive 8 boards and a solid 5 assists. He played a great game against Seton Hall shooting 5-6 and dropping 15, but had only 1 assist and 2 turnovers. He also played very solidly against a shellshocked Villanova team missing its starting PG and leader. In the first round, though he was 2-10 from the field, scoring just 4 points and having only 2 assists. This four game stretch everyone obsesses over wasn't even four good games. It was two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one. And it was a group of total incompetents who awarded him the MOP trophy for two good games, one subpar one, and one awful one. If you bring this terrific analysis to their attention, they will likely strip him of that award and have you designate future winners of the MOP. Tournament MOPs often understandably go to the guy who had the best championship game. It’s also an entirely subjective award that had to go to somebody on Georgetown in the whackiest conference tournament win in a lifetime. I just seriously struggle to see how knowledgeable, or even casual college basketball fans put more stock in that than actual statistical and visual evaluation over a two year period. Mind boggling.
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hoya9797
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,207
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Post by hoya9797 on May 26, 2022 17:22:37 GMT -5
I just seriously struggle to see how knowledgeable, or even casual college basketball fans put more stock in that than actual statistical and visual evaluation over a two year period. Mind boggling. You are making some very poor assumptions
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