UConn Senior Guard Could Surprisingly Be In Danger Of Losing Minutes
Watching the UConn Huskies during Monday’s exhibition win over Rhode Island, it was clear that almost every Huskies guard or wing is a serious threat from three.
Senior point guard Hassan Diarra is the lone exception.
Will Diarra's weakness be a problem for the Huskies in big games if opponents force him to shoot?
Diarra brings so much value to winning when it comes to his defense, experience, ball handling, strength, and overall chemistry with Hurley. But his unreliable jumper sticks out like a sore thumb on an otherwise flawless-looking Huskies offense.
Diarra’s shooting wasn’t as much of an issue when he was coming off the bench as a plug-and-play energy guy, but it could become one if he’s logging starter minutes.
Hurley might re-allocate some of Diarra’s lead guard minutes to sharpshooting transfer Aidan Mahaney if Mahaney’s performance on Monday (not to mention his NCAA tournament last season) proves to be a harbinger of his coming production.
Diarra and Mahaney will also likely share the floor during a lot of stretches.
A more interesting question is whether freshman point guard Ahmad Nowell will make a push for some of Diarra’s playing time.
Experience is not on Nowell’s side in comparison to Diarra, but Nowell is a much better shooter. He looked like a capable ball handler in limited exposure on Monday.
Nowell projects to be a better player than Diarra overall, but that might not happen before March.
Admittedly, it’s somewhat fruitless to speculate on Hurley's rotations based on one exhibition, especially regarding a freshman (Nowell) who's played six minutes so far in his career.
For all the public knows, Diarra could be dominating Nowell in practice every day.
Still, there’s something about Nowell that might work right away for Hurley, especially if he’s shooting threes with confidence (and knocking them down) like he did during his gutsy debut.
Nowell will have to prove proficient at many facets of the game beyond just shooting to earn minutes. If he does, and if Diarra’s shot isn’t markedly improved, Hurley could be faced with an interesting decision.
Hurley and Huskies fans everywhere are wondering: how good will Ahmad Nowell become, and how soon?
More NCAA: UConn's Bench Scoring Reveals Dan Hurley's Absurd Depth, Even Stronger Culture
-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
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