Dan Hurley, UConn Must Innovate, Make Liam McNeeley Primary Ball Handler

McNeeley can erase UConn's point guard issue

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The UConn Huskies have multiple issues on offense right now, but luckily, they also have a do-it-all freshman back on the court who’s capable of mitigating those problems.

Liam McNeeley has returned to action and looked remarkably healthy on Friday versus St. John’s. McNeeley appeared at full strength athletically, and he put up 18 points and 11 rebounds on a poor shooting night (2-for-9 from three). If a few more of his threes had dropped (many were right around the rim), McNeeley would have added another signature performance to his stellar season.

But McNeeley’s importance isn’t entirely statistical, nor does it relate only to his scoring ability. McNeeley also happens to be the best creator off the dribble for a UConn team severely lacking in that area.

And while Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has literally said that UConn doesn’t need McNeeley to be a savior, he’s certainly the primary reason why UConn has any chance to make noise in March. 

It’s not out of bounds to say that without McNeeley on the roster, this might have been a complete throwaway season for UConn.

From here on out, the Huskies must rely heavily on McNeeley as their primary ball handler and the hub of their entire offense, especially with Hassan Diarra needing time off in February.

Yes, Hurley has a point guard crisis at the moment, but it’s an issue that can immediately vanish if UConn gives up on the idea of having a traditional point guard (beyond Diarra) and instead makes McNeeley the team’s point forward, point wing, or whatever you want to call it.

Does UConn want McNeeley bringing the ball up the court on every possession? No, and they’ll have to rely on a point-guard-by-committee strategy as far as advancing the ball past halfcourt is concerned. Solo Ball can chip in. Aidan Mahaney can chip in. Ahmad Nowell can chip in once healthy.

But once the Huskies are in their halfcourt offense, the ball needs to be in McNeeley’s hands at the point of attack in pick-and-roll situations on most possessions. Either that or McNeeley needs to be featured in the play’s second action. Every. Single. Time.

There’s no evidence to suggest that Hurley isn’t already implementing this, by the way, it’s just that McNeeley’s spam-level uptick in usage must remain a constant priority for UConn given their lack of natural shot creators.

Hurley talked about McNeeley filling that creation void on Friday after St. John's. 

“I don’t think that we’re a great dribbling team overall just across the perimeter,” Hurley said.

“We’ve got to find people that can … just go and create. It’s hard to script out actions the entire game. We need guys to be able to win more 1-on-1s and go make plays in space, do things off-script. That’s obviously a strength for Liam.”

If Hurley and UConn make it their offensive mission to put the ball in McNeeley's hands at every possible opportunity, the point guard problem will start to matter less and less.

Let Liam cook at the point, and get Diarra some rest in February.

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