UConn's Dan Hurley Wants 'Beautiful Shooter' Solo Ball To Improve On Defense
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UConn Huskies sophomore shooting guard Solo Ball hasn’t come close to his ceiling as a player, which is terrifying news for every college basketball program outside of Storrs.
Ball has taken the sophomore leap on offense that Huskies head coach Dan Hurley predicted he would. Entering Saturday, Ball was leading UConn with 18.9 points per 40 minutes. He’s shooting a scintillating 44.4 percent from three and stepping capably into a first or second option role with Liam McNeeley sidelined.
Still, Hurley believes there’s a ton of room for growth on the defensive end for Ball, and the two-time national champion head coach also wants his sophomore scorer to re-commit himself to rebounding.
“We know Solo is a beautiful shooter,” Hurley said during a pregame media availability session on Friday before UConn’s battle with Georgetown.
“I loved him getting into the midrange (versus Villanova) and scoring on the road (a key basket), I loved him getting to the rim and finishing at the rim. He had three assists.”
“We gotta get Solo back on the glass. Last year he was on the glass great for us, especially the offensive glass. And then we gotta get his defense (going). We gotta get that two-way play for him — he’s got all of the components to do it.”
“But he’s made that huge sophomore jump we’re looking for.”
Ball has all the athletic gifts required to be an elite defender. According to UConn’s official website, Ball has a seven-foot wingspan, which only adds to the idea of him becoming a top-level defender.
If Ball can apply the kind of mindset pressuring the ball often exercised by Hassan Diarra, he’s capable of making virtually any guard in college basketball extremely uncomfortable on the perimeter.
Ball’s transformation into a two-way player is one of the next steps toward UConn becoming the best version of itself. It would also make Ball a surefire candidate for the NBA draft by 2026 at the latest.
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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