I think the season comes down to two things

[BoatShow]

These of course, but I think another key will not letting your foot off the gas, and in turn not beating yourself up after losses. We weren't good in those aspects last year. We lacked passion/tenacity from the last second of the Texas game until the AAC tournament.

A lack of confidence spread like wildfire last year with everyone besides Boat. Purvis wasn't sure about anything until March, Hamilton never went up strong and had FT troubles that appeared to be mental, Omar lost his touch and never found it, Facey went from being high energy to a ghost, and Cassell let his shooting slump eat him up. It's a lot tougher to come out of these things when a lot of your teammates are also down on themselves.

Blowing those FTs vs Temple on NYE competely shattered Hamilton's confidence at the stripe, unfortunately.

 

[lange10]

Blowing those FTs vs Temple on NYE competely shattered Hamilton's confidence at the stripe, unfortunately.

Hamilton shot 71% (45-63) from the foul line after that Temple game. Finished the year at 67% so he struggled early and finished strong late. Future lottery pick, thus I'm not worried about his FT shooting.

Bigger problem is actually didn't get to the line enough. 63 attempts in 24 games after NYE = 2.625 FT per game. DHam needs to get to the line 4-5 times a game on average.

 

[jibsey]

Turnovers killed us in some games last year, specifically traveling calls, catching the ball out of bounds, and bad passes. Now you don't go a year without some of this but by this time they should at least know how to dribble without traveling. DHam and Rodney need to watch this stuff. A saved possession is as good as a steal.

 

[BoatShow]

Turnovers killed us in some games last year, specifically traveling calls, catching the ball out of bounds, and bad passes. Now you don't go a year without some of this but by this time they should at least know how to dribble without traveling. DHam and Rodney need to watch this stuff. A saved possession is as good as a steal.

I recently rewatched the AAC title game. Purvis was amazing in the second half but also had at least 3 signature travels

 

[pnow15]

I'm not sure chemistry will be as important as in other years. Ollie will do the NBA thing with this team.
He has a lot of talent who can get hot and take over parts of a game. Look for him to feed the hot hand. Purvis, DHam, Gibbs, Miller and Adams all could get hot. Brimah will need help but can do damage if allowed to roam untouched around the basket. Throw in a hot Calhoun or Sam Jr. Lots of weapons.

 

[Blue Blood]

two things
balls

 

[nyhusky89]

I'm not sure that Lamb and Hamilton have the same type of games. Lamb was a better shooter by a decent margin, but Hamilton has a better feel for the game, is a better passer/rebounder, and has a tighter handle. If DHam can get his shot near where Lamb was in his sophomore year, this will almost certainly be his last year on campus.

I think chemistry is the big factor with this team. While we are an upper-class laden team, many of the key pieces have just been added this year. There will be an adjustment period where the players feel out their roles within the team and learn their new teammates' tendencies. While the talent is undeniable, we may have our growing pains early in the year. However, I trust KO will have us playing our best ball come March.

This is not the thread for this, but you mentioned roles which is something i've been thinking about recently. here is what i envision at first blush.

Gibbs 30mpg-Run the O/hit your 3's/defend.
Purvis 29 mpg-Defensive bulldog/run at every chance/2nd option behind Hamilton
Hamilton 32 mpg-O runs through him/Quick, aggressive decisions/natural progression should be perfect.
Miller-27 mpg Glue guy/defend/rebound/do the little things/get 8-9 pts on dirty plays.
Brimah 30 mpg-D.D.D/PnR finisher-shouldnt need iso attempts, but 1-2 per half would be great
Adams 25 mpg-6th man/scoring punch/strong D/2nd ballhandler
Facey 12 mpg-No idea-rebound/defend, if he can get the J to 12-14 feet, him and AB can play without clogging the O
Calhoun 7mpg -doesnt have to do a lot/spread the floor
Nolan 8 mpg-Just come in, be smart, defend and rebound-same thing we've always asked in the same role-more mature player

 

[UConnSwag11]

I'm not sure that Lamb and Hamilton have the same type of games. Lamb was a better shooter by a decent margin, but Hamilton has a better feel for the game, is a better passer/rebounder, and has a tighter handle. If DHam can get his shot near where Lamb was in his sophomore year, this will almost certainly be his last year on campus.

I think chemistry is the big factor with this team. While we are an upper-class laden team, many of the key pieces have just been added this year. There will be an adjustment period where the players feel out their roles within the team and learn their new teammates' tendencies. While the talent is undeniable, we may have our growing pains early in the year. However, I trust KO will have us playing our best ball come March.

Yeah I mean how lamb improved tremendously. We can't have hamilton have the sophomore slump. Chemistry and confidence will be what needs to be worked out

 

[Dogbreath2U]

This is not the thread for this, but you mentioned roles which is something i've been thinking about recently. here is what i envision at first blush.

Gibbs 30mpg-Run the O/hit your 3's/defend.

Hamilton 32 mpg-O runs through him/Quick, aggressive decisions/natural progression should be perfect.

I can see dham being encouraged to make plays for his teammates when available, but I would say one key will be the degree that Gibbs can be the quarterback and run the offense. We really need someone who can attack a zone defense effectively and I think that has to be our PG. I have no idea how well Sterling can do that. Someone wrote that SHU played a lot of zone, so maybe that will help him to know how to attack it. Other teams have often gone to zone against UConn and we have struggled with it when we have not had a skilled point guard to break it down.

 

[jibsey]

I can see dham being encouraged to make plays for his teammates when available, but I would say one key will be the degree that Gibbs can be the quarterback and run the offense. We really need someone who can attack a zone defense effectively and I think that has to be our PG. I have no idea how well Sterling can do that. Someone wrote that SHU played a lot of zone, so maybe that will help him to know how to attack it. Other teams have often gone to zone against UConn and we have struggled with it when we have not had a skilled point guard to break it down.

Adams will do that, maybe not on day 1, but by year end.

 

[microfich]

Chemistry IS so important and even more so with new faces that will play important minutes like Miller/Gibbs. Mojo is required as well - no more buzzer beatings. Brimah getting stronger is needed and a reasonable thing to expect. Maturity from experience from all returning players will also reasonably occur which will reduce turnovers.

 

[mauconnfan]

Common goal - Winning, tourney run.

Chemistry will come along with everyone on that same page!

 

[Huskyforlife]

1. Amida brima
2. Amida brima
3. Amida brima
4. Amida brima
5. Amida brima

If he's the player he was last year, we may not be dancing...

 

[jibsey]

Unless injuries, no way team doesn't dance. Even if AB is a stiff.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

In all honesty, I really think it comes down to the question of ; do we have someone who will step forward, demand the ball and be able to hit a tough shot with the game on the line. Do we have that leader on this team? We look great on paper and some of our guys have even had flashes of having some of the "Shabazz/Kemba/El Amin" moxy. Not something Ollie can really teach but i am hoping that person steps up and pushes through in time for March.

 

[ctchamps]

I felt the chemistry was more than fine last season. Some components were missing. The team had the amino acids which seemed to be getting along just fine with one another. The team lacked the ribonucleic acid to help the amino acids form proteins. Last season the RNA missing was DeAndre Daniels. This season it is available with Shonn Miller.

 

[Rico444]

If we consistently score more points than our opponents, I like our chances.

 

[ctchamps]

1. Amida brima
2. Amida brima
3. Amida brima
4. Amida brima
5. Amida brima

If he's the player he was last year, we may not be dancing...

I think we see a significant improvement from last season. He'll have the off season to work on conditioning and skills. His end of season performance was the result of the coaches working on two things in his game - reduction of fouls and attempting to get defensive boards. They succeeded in reducing fouls but not getting rebounds and the success was at the expense of his defensive domination. I think he puts it together this off season.

 

[3rdbass]

1. Amida brima
2. Amida brima
3. Amida brima
4. Amida brima
5. Amida brima

If he's the player he was last year, we may not be dancing...

Totally disagree with this. We won it all with a Freshman AB who was pretty ineffective in the tourney except for the St. Joe's game. We will be in the dance with the added transfers filling key roles and JA coming in. The problem is we not might get to the Final Four unless AB improves. Of course if SM is better than we think and SE can give us minutes at the 5 we might not have to worry about AB improving.

 

[ChrisSmith]

One more thing will be very important. Amida's development will be critical. Avoidance of foul trouble and ability to know when to block shots versus get a rebound. Strength development, an ability to get offensive rebounds and better footwork on the offensive end.

Brimah shot 67% from the field, 65% from the line, scored 9 points a game and blocked 3.5 shots a game. I would be happy with identical production next year, if he can go from 4.4 rebounds to 6.5 +

 

[UConnSwag11]

Brimah shot 67% from the field, 65% from the line, scored 9 points a game and blocked 3.5 shots a game. I would be happy with identical production next year, if he can go from 4.4 rebounds to 6.5 +

Rebounds around 8, fouls around 2

 

[jibsey]

Brimah shot 67% from the field, 65% from the line, scored 9 points a game and blocked 3.5 shots a game. I would be happy with identical production next year, if he can go from 4.4 rebounds to 6.5 +

What's his percentage if DHam doesn't spoon feed him?

 

[Stainmaster]

What's his percentage if DHam doesn't spoon feed him?

If DHam feeds him and the ball goes in the basket, it's still 2 points.

 

[Stainmaster]

1. Amida brima
2. Amida brima
3. Amida brima
4. Amida brima
5. Amida brima

If he's the player he was last year, we may not be dancing...

We had Nolan starting at center in 2013-14. Did that stop us from dancing? Granted that was before he regressed, but still.

 

[OkaForPrez]

What's his percentage if DHam doesn't spoon feed him?

I've banned myself from talking about Amida Brimah because frankly this entire board is driving me batty when it comes to the things they use to define his performance and the ways he impacts games that they choose to ignore. However, I can't 'not answer this question. Who cares?

It IS a unique skill to be able to quickly elevate (and therefor jump later) so that its easier to time a lob dunk. It's the same skill that makes AB an effective shot blocker. Amida goes and gets the ball anywhere in a large radius around the rim and finishes it. Sometimes he takes the ball down and lays it up reverse. He has an uncanny knack to finish round the rim even when the rim is behind him. You can't separate out the things he does well and his role in the back half of that connection. Yes Hamilton has to beat his man off the dribble and force the help defense but Amida is no slouch on the other end and its the way we are offensively designed to exploit both strengths.

Why this board is hell bent on minimizing Brimah's impact when he's on the court is beyond me. We all agree he needs to play smarter so that he can stay on the floor longer but I think its well over the line to minimize his top 5 in the country FG% because its just dunks.

We're not running the lob play for Phil.

I'll now return to biting my tongue.