UConn Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2021-22 season

Point guard

Projected Starter: RJ Cole

This is perhaps the one position that the Huskies are a tad thin, but this is also one of the more obvious starters. RJ Cole is a veteran leader for this Huskies squad. After transferring from Howard and sitting out the 2019-2020 season Cole started in 21 of 23 games last season, averaging 12.2 PPG and 4.3 APG in 31.1 minutes per game. He was the teams leading 3-point shooter, hitting 38.6% of his shots from beyond the arc on 4.4 attempts per game.

Cole will be asked to do more on the offensive end this season, so it’s fair to wonder if he can maintain this high efficiency from three-point land. In two seasons at Howard, he averaged 37% from deep on nearly eight attempts per game while scoring 22.5 PPG. He was able to do this with a much weaker supporting cast. With that in mind, I don’t think an increase in volume will impact his percentages much.

Bench: Jalen Gaffney, Rahsool Diggins

Here is my first conflict with the starting lineup. I would like to see Cole and Gaffney start and share the floor a lot this season as I think Gaffney’s game is better suited off the ball. He may not start simply because he is the only other point guard with experience on the team. Either way, I think Gaffney is going to have a breakout year.

As a point guard, Gaffney is poised. Gaffney averaged just 1.2 turnovers per game in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He dished out 2.1 assists per game as a freshman, which dipped to 1.5 last season when he played off the ball more. When he took over duties as the starting point guard his freshman season, UConn’s offense improved largely in part because they were limiting turnovers courtesy of Gaffney’s decision-making, something that will only improve with experience.

We haven’t seen anything close to Gaffney’s full potential yet, but we will this season. Gaffney is an athletic finisher around the rim[TG1]  and his shooting has improved. He went from shooting just 26.4% from beyond the arc his freshman year to 36.2% last season. He also shot 82.2% from the charity stripe, often a useful indicator of a player’s shooting abilities. Gaffney’s biggest concern seems to be his confidence, but that sometimes just comes with age and experience… something Gaffney now has. Look for Gaffney to be a major contributor for the Huskies this season whether he starts or not.

Rahsool Diggins is the future point guard for the Huskies, but he may have to wait his turn a bit this season. Diggins capped his senior year of high school with numerous awards and narrowly lost in the state championship game. If nothing else, Diggins can provide energy and confidence off the bench as well as some competition to keep Cole and Gaffney on their toes in practice.