Akok Is On The Mend; Where Does He Fit?
The Story: Akok Akok will be back in the fold soon after his Achilles tear last season as he has progressed to playing five-on-five.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Akok went down with a torn Achilles tendon on Feb. 16 and will return to a much more crowded situation. The Huskies not only have Josh Carlton back this season, even though he didn’t play against Hartford, but Isaiah Whaley has been starting at center and Adama Sanogo and Javonte Brown are freshmen looking for time.
WHAT CAN AKOK DO? On the surface, Akok’s first season wasn’t much to write home about. He averaged 5.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting a poor 41.3 percent. Akok was largely ineffective playing as a stretch four, but he looked more comfortable playing as the lone big. Akok has put on some muscle, is 6-foot-11, is long and can shoot. The big question for Dan Hurley is how to fit him in.
CROWDED AT THE FIVE: UConn figures to play smaller and more athletic as classic big lineups, such as playing Carlton with another big, just isn’t en vogue in the NCAA. In two games, 3-point specialist Tyler Polley has started at power forward and Whaley started at center as a mobile defender. Hurley wants the power forward to have 3-point shooting range, which opens the lane up for the likes of James Bouknight and company. That leaves freshman brick house Sanogo, Carlton and Brown, and then now Akok, fighting for time.
TIME AT THE FOUR? Whaley and Akok have the skills to play power forward in big lineups, but that doesn’t appear to the default for Hurley. For Akok to play alongside another big will require his shooting to improve. He will also have to contend with Richie Springs, another athletic freshman who is in the mix for minutes at power forward. Akok is going to have to be able to anchor the defense and extend the offense on the perimeter if he wants to play there.
WHY IS WHALEY STARTING? One word — mobility. Whaley can run the floor, play in the high post as a passer and switch onto smaller players and defend. That defensive versatility, and his movement as a screener, are why he is getting the lion’s share of the minutes in the first two games. He’s smaller than the rest at 6-foot-9, but he is averaging 11 points, 8.5 rebounds and four assists per game in the early going. Can he keep that up in Big East play? We’ll see.
SANOGO BUILT LIKE A HOUSE: That leads us to our new favorite player, Sanogo. He is a 6-foot-9, 240-pound muscle machine. His physicality in the first two games, combined with a soft touch, is noticeable. He’s bigger and stronger than anyone we have seen in a very long time. As for Brown, he’s the tallest player on the team at 7 feet, but he’s a developmental project. We didn’t see him against Hartford, but in the few minutes in the opener, his size and mobility were apparent, even if he was a bit timid. There are just so many options. He might be better served developing this season.
WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE CARLTON? We wrote about this on Monday: Who do you take out to get Carlton time? Whaley is more mobile, quicker and a better finisher. Sanogo is more physical and is too talented not to get time. Now we have Akok coming back? For Carlton, the decline is stunning. He was the most improved player in the Conference We Shall Not Name as a sophomore and came into this season as a three-year starter who had opened 81 of 96 games. Carlton, who dropped 20 pounds in the offseason after bulking up a year ago, has played three minutes in two games. He had two points against CCSU and didn’t play against Hartford, marking the first DNP-CD of his career.
OUR TAKE: Isn’t it nice to have options? We keep on thinking back to UConn having Temi Aiyegbusi take a deciding jump shot a year ago because the Huskies ran out of players. Now? The Huskies have five players in the pivot and can go big or small at in the post depending on the matchup. The options are going to make it harder for Hurley to mix and match and find the right chemistry, but if one inside player ins’t getting the job done, the Huskies can just look down the bench and grab someone else. That’s something they haven’t had the previous two years.
Morning Reads
FOOTBALL LOSES THOMAS: Defensive tackle Caleb Thomas will transfer from the football program after graduating from school. (Caleb Thomas on Twitter)
FORBES RECOGNIZES CAMARA: Batouly Camara, a forward on the women’s basketball team who graduated after last season, was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for her charity, Women’s and Children’s Empowerment (WAKE). (The UConn Blog)
WOMEN’S WOODEN LIST:: Four women’s players were named to the Wooden Award watch list, given to the nation’s top player in juniors Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook, and Christyn Williams and freshman Paige Bueckers. (Wooden Award)
BOUKNIGHT ON MEN’S LIST:: Not to be outdone, James Bouknight is on the Wooden Award men’s list. (Wooden Award)
GET WELL, KEMBA: Kemba Walker won’t start the NBA season for the Celtics after undergoing a stem cell infusion in October. (ESPN)
MEN’S HOCKEY BACK: The men’s hockey team will play BU on Saturday afternoon at the Freitas Ice Forum. (UConnHuskies.com)
