It’s never fun to see a player get injured. When they’re nearing the end of a challenging collegiate career, it’s even worse. So, first things first, let’s hope UConn guard Jalen Adams heals fast from the sprained knee he suffered in a Wednesday evening loss to Temple.
As we await the results of Adams’ impending MRI, and the prognosis of the injury, it’s worth exploring how the team can tread water — and, frankly, improve! — should its leading scorer be unavailable for an extended period of time.
Just to set the table here, let’s be realistic about where UConn stands even before Adams’ (and Alterique Gilbert’s) injury. The team has no chance of earning an at-large bid, and could very well be on the precipice of a prolonged losing streak with five projected losses looming over the next few weeks. While the Huskies should finish above .500 for the first time since 2016, they’ll likely lose more conference games than they win. KenPom (and me in our preseason roundtable) projects the team to finish at 17-14.
With that said, there are two goals for the rest of the season:
- Get better. Get healthy. Learn things. And be in a better position next year.
- Be in position to make one last push during the AAC Tournament.
Against Temple we saw the worst-case scenario. After Adams went down, the Huskies completely collapsed, giving up 12 straight points and ending any hope of an underdog victory. That’s not good for anybody.
But in the second half we also saw some progress including another standout performance by Josh Carlton (his second straight double-double), an efficient game from Christian Vital and some unique lineup looks. The game was never in doubt, but we do have a baseline for how the team can perform without Adams and, possibly, help UConn prepare for the two goals above.
Things I’m interested in seeing:
Alterique Gilbert get healthy. Dan Hurley has seemingly done a good job of recruiting some Gilbert insurance with James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney arriving next year to join Brendan Adams, but (obviously) having a healthy Gilbert on the roster is critical to the overall goal of reaching the tournament. While this year’s version of Gilbert’s shoulder injury appears far less serious than the last few iterations, it’s important to get him back on the court when he’s ready and begin the process of moving on from the terrifying-yet-familiar scene of him writhing on the floor in pain last week. Gilbert’s health is priority number one — the kid has a lot of life left after basketball and I assume he’d like two working arms during it. Getting him back on the court and in the mindset to attack the rim and lead the offense is priority number two.
Christian Vital lead the team. Although it wasn’t always pretty, Vital acquitted himself pretty well against Temple without Adams. He led the team with 18 points on 6-13 shooting (3-6 from three) and had 13 rebounds and five assists. Adams has long been the most talented player on the team but Vital is its beating heart. I’m intrigued by the idea of watching him act as the main scoring threat with Adams out, because that will be Vital’s role next year if he returns to campus. Short-term, having a confident Vital bombing threes and firing up the rest of the team dramatically increases the odds of a few AAC Tournament upsets.
Josh Carlton become a consistent offensive weapon. Remember player development? Carlton has markedly improved on his forgettable freshman season to emerge as a legitimate big man for the Huskies. Yes, he’s still too inconsistent and his lack of athleticism probably lowers his overall ceiling. But he’s providing a set of skills that UConn hasn’t had on the roster since Alex Oriakhi. Over the next few weeks, I’m interested in seeing if Carlton can maintain his current performance level (he’s averaging a double-double over the Huskies’ last seven games) and continue to reduce his foul totals. Missing out on recruit Kofi Cockburn (for now, wink) was a blow for next year’s Huskies but continued improvement from Carlton can erase most of that and put the team in very good position heading forward. It’s critical that, with Adams out, Carlton not take a step backwards.
Carlton at the 4. Speaking of Carlton, it was fascinating watching him and Eric Cobb on the court together against Temple. Playing Carlton at the power forward position is probably not a thing that makes a ton of sense in the long-term, especially with no other true center on the roster for next season, but I’m intrigued for a few reasons. For one, Carlton can’t jump. So giving him a little extra size advantage on the offensive end could be beneficial. And two, I love his natural instincts. Carlton’s positioning on both ends of the ball is better than most UConn big men in recent memory. It’s what helps him overcome his lack of athleticism. I’d be willing to sacrifice some speed in defending the opposing four if it put better overall defenders and rebounders on the floor for UConn. I’m not sure they’ll end up with the personnel to make it happen, but I’m always in search of more player versatility and more lineup options. Carlton continuing to improve will deepen the roster and give Hurley more to work with.
Zone defense. I know, I’m trying to delete it. But hear me out. UConn’s frontcourt is foul-prone and thin. And UConn’s opponents can’t shoot threes. Incorporating some more zone looks could protect Carlton and Cobb (and Wilson, who is somehow the backup center???) from racking up fouls while not sacrificing much to opposing offenses who are shooting a grotesque 31 percent from three against the Huskies. Additionally, you might be able to steal some rest for the wounded duo of Gilbert and Adams when/if they return. Let’s be real, when your season is heading towards a Hail Mary in the conference tournament, you might as well use the last two months of the regular season to experiment. Let’s get weird.
On-the-job training for Sid Wilson and Brendan Adams. At the midway point of the season Hurley made a curious remark about declaring a rebuilding year and playing the young guys more. Sure enough, and aided by the injuries, Brendan Adams and Sid Wilson have seen their minutes increase — the pair are now routinely combining for about 40 minutes per game. Neither has lit the world on fire but as we’re seeing with Carlton, letting young kids learn on the job can speed up the rate of return. And both guys are critical for the long-term health of the program. Especially if Vital leaves, Badams with be leaned on heavily next year and will act as part of the aforementioned Gilbert Insurance Plan. If he can improve his all-around game over the offseason there will be a ton of minutes available, especially if the freshmen experience some growing pains. For Wilson, he should be the starting small forward right now. He has the talent for it, and Tyler Polley has fallen off a metaphorical cliff since conference play started, shooting 23 percent (9-39) from three-point range. Wilson hasn’t been able to perform consistently enough to steal that spot but with Jalen Adams out, now would be a good time to step up.
