Bad combine day for DHAM

[raf46]

Jay Bilas named DHAM as player who did poorly in all the agility drills. Then played poorly in the games. Needs to have a good Sunday. Lets hope DHAMS agent does not hang him out to dry.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Hope the best for Dan but maybe he shouldn't have hired an agent?

 

[alexd]

I will refrain from making a hasty response.

 

[Matrim55]

Hope the best for Dan but maybe he shouldn't have hired an agent?

Kid was clearly done with school, one way or the other. Hopefully he makes the League, but if he doesn't he'll still make good cash playing in Europe where his athletic shortcomings won't be quite so decisive. And if he gets into a good system there and continues to work on his shot selection and body, he could very well play himself into an NBA player down the road.

Wish him all the best.

 

[FASTEDDY]

IMO, Dham made a very bad and foolish decision to hire an agent.
Why not give yourself an out if combine doesn't go well?
Surprised that his family didn't give him better advice.

 

[7774]

Jay Bilas named DHAM as player who did poorly in all the agility drills. Then played poorly in the games. Needs to have a good Sunday. Lets hope DHAMS agent does not hang him out to dry.

Is there a link for this? I thought the general consensus was he played well in the game yesterday.

 

[Leebo]

Is there a link for this? I thought the general consensus was he played well in the game yesterday.

Presumably he's talking about live coverage from the combine today.

 

[reddevilhusky]

I think the original post is in reference to a taping of the first day of the combine. I know a replay of the first day was on earlier and it was the general consesus that Danny had a poor first day. I don't believe the combine is more than 2 days so hopefully that clears the confusion.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Kid was clearly done with school, one way or the other.

Yeah, unfortunately, though it's uncomfortable to admit about one of our guys, Hamilton had minimal interest in being in college. He's not a guy like Shabazz who seemed to cherish the experience. Whether Hamilton had minimal interest in being at UConn specifically isn't clear, but even his freshman year he already had one foot out the door and had to be talked into coming back.

 

[7774]

Yeah, unfortunately, though it's uncomfortable to admit about one of our guys, Hamilton had minimal interest in being in college. He's not a guy like Shabazz who seemed to cherish the experience. Whether Hamilton had minimal interest in being at UConn specifically isn't clear, but even his freshman year he already had one foot out the door and had to be talked into coming back.

You're acting like he's done something wrong, or is somehow a lesser person for not wanting to be in college.

 

[upstater]

You're acting like he's done something wrong, or is somehow a lesser person for not wanting to be in college.

I don't think he said that at all.

If I were running a program, I would not want kids who are not into the college experience. This isn't because they are not good people, but I don't think they would help the program.

 

[navery12]

Would I have loved for Hamilton to come back, of course. But I'm not going to fault him for getting bad advice or anything, when it could have been that this combine experience with NBA coaches could be beneficial before going to play in Europe

 

[7774]

I don't think he said that at all.

If I were running a program, I would not want kids who are not into the college experience. This isn't because they are not good people, but I don't think they would help the program.

I guess I just don't understand how it would make someone "uncomfortable to admit" that one of our players didn't have much interest in being a college student. It made me "uncomfortable to admit" we had players that sold stolen laptops. If I were a Syracuse fan, I would be "uncomfortable to admit" the Bernie Fine situation.

Some kid that, based upon his eligibility, took care of his academic responsibilities while he was here and although leaving has said he will take online courses to keep in good standing? Come on.

And you don't think Daniel Hamilton helped the program the last 2 years?

 

[upstater]

I guess I just don't understand how it would make someone "uncomfortable to admit" that one of our players didn't have much interest in being a college student. It made me "uncomfortable to admit" we had players that sold stolen laptops. If I were a Syracuse fan, I would be "uncomfortable to admit" the Bernie Fine situation.

Some kid that, based upon his eligibility, took care of his academic responsibilities while he was here and although leaving has said he will take online courses to keep in good standing? Come on.

And you don't think Daniel Hamilton helped the program the last 2 years?

I'm not an astute enough fan to answer your question, but it won't surprise me to see some improved play because he's not here. Do I think he hurt the team? Yes, except for the end of the year. However, I don't know what goes on in the locker room. If Ollie told him to be more assertive, and instead what we got was DHam taking on too much and effectively stopping the movement on offense, then it's also a coaching problem. Obviously I wouldn't know.

I didn't think he meshed well in the offense though.

I still think he is a good guy and I liked rooting for him. He was unselfish for the most part, and looked the part of the team player. But when things went downhill this year, he was at the center of the problems.

As for the earlier part of your post, I wasn't agreeing with the earlier poster that he didn't want to be in school. Again, I wouldn't know. I was just saying that I don't think the previous poster was saying he was a bad person.

 

[7774]

I'm not an astute enough fan to answer your question, but it won't surprise me to see some improved play because he's not here. Do I think he hurt the team? Yes, except for the end of the year. However, I don't know what goes on in the locker room. If Ollie told him to be more assertive, and instead what we got was DHam taking on too much and effectively stopping the movement on offense, then it's also a coaching problem. Obviously I wouldn't know.

I didn't think he meshed well in the offense though.

I still think he is a good guy and I liked rooting for him. He was unselfish for the most part, and looked the part of the team player. But when things went downhill this year, he was at the center of the problems.

As for the earlier part of your post, I wasn't agreeing with the earlier poster that he didn't want to be in school. Again, I wouldn't know. I was just saying that I don't think the previous poster was saying he was a bad person.

I had to stop reading at the point you said you thought he hurt the team until the end of the year. Guy was 2nd in the conference in rebounding, 4th in assists, 1st in free throw shooting, 6th in assist/TO ratio. His win share/40 was 2nd best on the team behind Shonn Miller. But we would have been better off without him.

Wow.

 

[tower1]

I'm not an astute enough fan to answer your question, but it won't surprise me to see some improved play because he's not here. Do I think he hurt the team? Yes, except for the end of the year. However, I don't know what goes on in the locker room. If Ollie told him to be more assertive, and instead what we got was DHam taking on too much and effectively stopping the movement on offense, then it's also a coaching problem. Obviously I wouldn't know.

I didn't think he meshed well in the offense though.

I still think he is a good guy and I liked rooting for him. He was unselfish for the most part, and looked the part of the team player. But when things went downhill this year, he was at the center of the problems.

As for the earlier part of your post, I wasn't agreeing with the earlier poster that he didn't want to be in school. Again, I wouldn't know. I was just saying that I don't think the previous poster was saying he was a bad person.

I agree with your post and must add that i thing something was going on in the locker room that we never knew. This team never jelled.

 

[TheChamps990411]

IMO, Dham made a very bad and foolish decision to hire an agent.
Why not give yourself an out if combine doesn't go well?
Surprised that his family didn't give him better advice.

This. So this. I think seeing him play for the last 2 years we all seemed to be in agreement that this kid was not nba ready and his athletic shortcomings may prove to much for him to stick in the league. If youre going to lack athleticism your skills better be top teir.

 

[Dove]

Well, how many times did he go all forward only then to hesitate and dish?

Looks like he's about to dish. (But hoping he impresses).

 

[Dove]

I have had 4 margaritas and am buzzing big time. Above post is legit, tho.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Is there a link for this? I thought the general consensus was he played well in the game yesterday.

He had a good second game - only player with a double-double (11 pts, 12 rebs), and his team was plus 5 with him on the floor.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I have had 4 margaritas and am buzzing big time. Above post is legit, tho.

buzzing after only 4 margaritas?? Light weight rookie.

 

[Tenspro2002]

You're acting like he's done something wrong, or is somehow a lesser person for not wanting to be in college.

I wasn't passing judgment on whether Hamilton being uninterested in college makes him a bad person.

The fact is, around here we take pride in contrasting our program to the UK one-and-dones who treat college like a pit stop on their way to the NBA. It appears that Hamilton had the same attitude, except he wasn't good enough to leave after one year (and it will probably be demonstrated that he wasn't good enough to leave after two).

Hamilton isn't a bad person, but his attitude doesn't fit the narrative we like to tell ourselves about UConn kids in contrast to other peer (elite) programs.

And, as has been discussed elsewhere, bringing in guys who want to skip town at the earliest opportunity doesn't help us build continuity and consistent success. Many of our championship teams were led by guys who could have left earlier, but stayed around to accomplish more on both an individual and team level.

 

[champs99and04]

I wasn't passing judgment on whether Hamilton being uninterested in college makes him a bad person.

The fact is, around here we take pride in contrasting our program to the UK one-and-dones who treat college like a pit stop on their way to the NBA. It appears that Hamilton had the same attitude, except he wasn't good enough to leave after one year (and it will probably be demonstrated that he wasn't good enough to leave after two).

Hamilton isn't a bad person, but his attitude doesn't fit the narrative we like to tell ourselves about UConn kids in contrast to other peer (elite) programs.

And, as has been discussed elsewhere, bringing in guys who want to skip town at the earliest opportunity doesn't help us build continuity and consistent success. Many of our championship teams were led by guys who could have left earlier, but stayed around to accomplish more on both an individual and team level.

I don't disagree entirely that UConn should be branding themselves differently than UK, but I think a lot of the 'pride' we take in our kids sticking around can simply be reduced to the fact that UK's guys are more ready after one year than ours.

Look at Ryan Boatright. He appeared to have the same mindset - only difference is, he wasn't projected high enough to leave after one year. Or two. Or three. Doesn't change the fact that he might be one of my five favorite kids to ever play here.

And I'll say the same about Daniel Hamilton. Did he probably not love college and want to be in the NBA? Yeah. But I'd caution people in conflating pro aspirations with a lack of investment in the program. This is the same kid who talked about having sleepless nights in anticipation of the season. Same kid that looked like his puppy got run over after a loss. He cared, deeply, even if his overriding goal was to play pro ball.

I think the narrative that Kentucky kids use college as a pit stop is mostly bull s___ anyway. Even if you spend one season somewhere, the experience of playing major college ball - when the only reference point is AAU or prep ball at that point - is exhilarating and emotionally draining. Frankly, I would imagine a lot of kids prefer the college experience to the NBA one...it's just that, in many cases, the financial ramifications of the decision make returning to school nonviable. To think that somebody like Andre Drummond or John Wall isn't a devout advocate of their respective programs is a sentiment I disagree with.

Now I'm aware that D-Ham didn't leave for a guaranteed first round check, but it's probably also true that he drew more interest than a kid like Boatright, who was going to go undrafted regardless of when he came out. Honestly, I think D-Ham loved UConn basketball but simply didn't love everything that went along with it. Not an indictment on the program at all, IMO.

 

[djct1999]

DHam was the best player in a UConn uniform last year. For many games, he was the best player on the court. Thankfully, I don't have to imagine how bad this team would have been without him. Sure, we can easily argue that it was a poor basketball decision for him to hire an agent prematurely. Only he knows the reasons why. He gave us two productive years and showed glimpses of tremendous upside. Lets hope and root that someday he fulfills that. He owes UConn basketball and especially its fans nothing.

 

[7774]

I wasn't passing judgment on whether Hamilton being uninterested in college makes him a bad person.

The fact is, around here we take pride in contrasting our program to the UK one-and-dones who treat college like a pit stop on their way to the NBA. It appears that Hamilton had the same attitude, except he wasn't good enough to leave after one year (and it will probably be demonstrated that he wasn't good enough to leave after two).

Hamilton isn't a bad person, but his attitude doesn't fit the narrative we like to tell ourselves about UConn kids in contrast to other peer (elite) programs.

And, as has been discussed elsewhere, bringing in guys who want to skip town at the earliest opportunity doesn't help us build continuity and consistent success. Many of our championship teams were led by guys who could have left earlier, but stayed around to accomplish more on both an individual and team level.

Fair enough. I disagree with most of this, but I understand your position.