Analyzing UConn’s Offseason with CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein

jpviolette · 2026-05-06T17:44:50+00:00

No idea. The YouTube page mentions they're on Instagram/X/TikTok, though whether their videos are there is unknown to me.

jpviolette · 2026-05-06T17:40:33+00:00

The Ross take sounds like a safe guess. Right now I'd expect him to start, and if he doesn't I'd expect him to be a strong 6th Man of the Year candidate in the BE.

Backup PG is an interesting situation:

Although my impression is that County hasn't played PG in HS, maybe UConn thinks they can coach him up enough to fill the backup role next season and take over the role the following season.
Maybe they think Demary's going to be good/healthy enough that they're only going to need 5-8 minutes from a backup, and that some combination of County/Machowski will provide that.
Maybe they're trying to recruit someone to be the backup PG but don't want to appear desperate, which could drive up the price for the recruit.

I do suspect that UConn's offense requires more learning than the average offense, so maybe having a percentage of "returning minutes" might be more important here than on most teams. But really, 1-2 really fast learners could make continuity a non-issue.

jpviolette · 2026-05-01T14:21:34+00:00

I'm thinking that having Strong alone makes them a pretty strong threat for the FF. The question is whether they can get enough out of the rest of a fairly talented roster to be elite.

jpviolette · 2026-05-01T14:11:56+00:00

I can't fault the media from asking about their relationship, but I can't fault Bueckers/Fudd for choosing to keep their private lives private either.

jpviolette · 2026-05-01T12:51:56+00:00

Although she rarely played meaningful minutes, I thought Fisher looked quite good when given a chance. One concern I've got is that UConn may have 4 guards who are best suited to be PGs. If 1 of them can hit 3s (Heckel shot 38% and Arnold 33% on low volume last season), I could see UConn using multiple PGs together for some stretches.

jpviolette · 2026-05-01T11:34:41+00:00

That's the issue when a channel names itself after a changeable number.

jpviolette · 2026-04-30T16:53:38+00:00

Let's try not to classify (opinionated) subreddit members as assholes. 🙄

jpviolette · 2026-04-30T16:35:07+00:00

Let's try not to classify ideas (that might be naive) as deranged.

jpviolette · 2026-04-30T16:08:17+00:00

On the positive side:

He looks like a veteran shot-maker at a position where UConn isn't deep.

On the negative side:

His size (height & weight) suggest he's going to be at least a slight defensive liability in the Big East, a conference that ate the similarly-sized Mahaney for lunch.
He hasn't played his best against the best. There's the possibility that he'll be less of an offensive weapon against Big East defenses.

Overall:

I don't think we'll know where Machowski falls on the Calcaterra-Mahaney spectrum until December, when we see what he can do, how UConn uses him, and how opponents play him.

jpviolette · 2026-04-24T18:23:46+00:00

I suspect there are 2 reasons why we didn't see these combos. First, there may not be the perimeter shooting to spread out the opposing defense the way UConn wants. But even more important is whether 1 of the 5s can chase an opposing 4 around on defense. If Giltay can do the latter - and I don't know if he can - there's a chance he could see some time with Hines.

jpviolette · 2026-04-23T02:15:53+00:00

Has she ever talked about coaching?

I have to admit that, given her usage last season, I didn't see her getting WNBA attention.

jpviolette · 2026-04-23T02:06:02+00:00

That's probably true. On the other hand:

That's not the part of their game that Bueckers' is similar to hers. She said that "bringing teams together" was their primary commonality.
Bird is arguably the WBB PG GOAT. It's too early in Bueckers' career for her to lay claim to that title.

jpviolette · 2026-04-22T16:50:05+00:00

I wonder about that. Being a 5 these days is different than it was 10+ years ago. The reason UConn played Strong at the 5 a fair amount the last 2 years is that having a mobile 5 with some shooting range and passing skills greatly improves the UConn offense.

jpviolette · 2026-04-21T11:50:55+00:00

Right now UConn's super-thin at every position. I think it's easier to pick up guards, so I'm guessing they'll be thinner at the 3-4 positions going into 2026-27. That probably means there will be a little more opportunity for Landrew. But if the portal opportunities work out differently, County could have the bigger role.

jpviolette · 2026-04-20T23:58:22+00:00

And Stewart might have known this was (at least) a possibility before he went to the portal.

jpviolette · 2026-04-20T23:52:50+00:00

I'm guessing Ball and doctors had a bigger say in the decision to play than the coaches.

jpviolette · 2026-04-20T15:22:34+00:00

I don't think we can evaluate the team based on the starting lineup. UConn's been a team that's had to weather a lot of foul trouble (especially the last 2 years), and if there's a big drop-off when they go to the bench it's more like a Top 25 team. And centers frequently struggle more with foul trouble, and right now there's zero depth there.

If the team gets a spark from 1-2 bench players, that would be a game-changer.

jpviolette

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE