UConn's Dan Hurley Hints At Team's Ideal Starting Lineup: 'I'm Pretty Excited'
UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley hinted at his ideal starting lineup during the postgame presser for UConn’s opening night victory over Sacred Heart on Wednesday.
The Huskies won by 36 points but were without one of their best players, sophomore Jayden Ross, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury.
Hurley has repeatedly used a “rocket ship” metaphor to describe Ross and fellow sophs Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart, each of whom Hurley envisions taking a leap this season.
Based on Hurley's postgame comments on Wednesday, Ross figures into UConn’s ideal starting five.
“You know, I think when we get Jayden Ross out there, I'm pretty excited about Solo and Karaban and Liam and J. Ross, what that's going to look like when we play those four guys together with a center,” Hurley said.
“I think that's just a little bit we're trying to figure out, you know, how we want to start games. Obviously like Jayden Ross would have started this game if he was available. Jayden Ross has been just a rocket ship for the last two weeks.”
“I mean, this guy has looked like our best player at times or one of our -- he just changes things for us. Just a 6'7" athlete that's making threes and on the glass and just getting to the rim.”
“It's going to be interesting when he is healthy where we go that way because Solo looks pretty entrenched, and it's going to be hard to get Liam out of the line-up. It's going to be hard to get Alex out of there, and then we have the two centers.”
“So where do we go when J. Ross is back, and then who is better starting the game for us, Aidan (Mahaney) and Hassan (Diarra)? You know, Aidan started (on Wednesday).”
Some of the math isn’t mathing with Hurley’s comments, but that’s just because he’s dealing with six or seven absurdly talented players. If he wants to start Ball, Ross, McNeeley, and Karaban with a center, that means neither Mahaney nor Diarra would be in the starting five; so having to choose between them isn’t an issue.
On the other hand, leaving both out of the starting lineup also leaves said lineup without a true point guard. Ball would presumably take over duties of initiating the offense, but he’s better served on the wing.
The Mahaney-Diarra minutes will be fascinating to watch. Mahaney looked awesome in UConn’s exhibition, and while he wasn’t able to generate much offense for himself or others on Wednesday, he’ll always be a threat from three, whereas Diarra never has been.
Ahmad Nowell could even sneak into the rotation and steal some of Diarra’s minutes for the above reason. Hurley and staff prioritize three-point shooting, and Wednesday was another reminder of Diarra’s inability to knock down outside shots as the senior guard went 0-for-4 from downtown.
Diarra brings so much to the table for UConn that makes up for his shooting. There’s a reason he was Big East Sixth Man of the Year last season. He’ll never fall out of Hurley’s rotation, but the reality of some of his minutes being in danger is merely an indication of a very talented, deep roster.
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Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org