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This isn't a "they're nice kids who try hard" post. There are enough of those already that it's starting to feel insulting. This is about their careers as basketball players.
We'll start with Kentan Facey, who probably needs the least defending of the three. His improvement offensively has been overstated, but we ask him to do a ton defensively - switching 1-4 - that most other teams wouldn't even consider trying. This guy is a beast of an athlete who any team in the country would love to have on their team.
Amida Brimah is no more responsible for the failures of this team as he was the success of the team that won the title. There are match-ups that chase him off the floor, but his limitations offensively have been exacerbated by limited personnel around him, and on defense he remains among the countries biggest impediments to finishing at the rim. Switch him with Mathiang from Louisville and watch him thrive for a top five team. Again, any team would take this guy.
Rodney Purvis is perhaps the most difficult player to figure out. He was, at times, the best player on a borderline top 25 team last season, and he's always come to play in March. He has regressed this season in a way I have never seen, to the point that you wonder if external factors are contributing. He is still a terrific defensive player who navigates screens better than any player on the roster and sets a terrific example, never taking a possession off despite being asked to play an unreasonable amount of minutes. If every player on the team worked as hard as Rodney defensively, we're not in this spot.
I understand that it's disappointing they didn't develop further. I also understand that a lot of this isn't their fault. We loved Roscoe Smith. Facey is essentially a rich man's version of him. Put him next to Kemba and he'd look like a pro at times. Four years ago, we would have given anything for a center to average 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in conference play. Put the current version of Brimah on the '13 or '14 team and watch them destroy the world. His improvements have been distorted by the team around him.
Rodney has never fit into any box. But the great teams fit you. This guy would have been the perfect 3 and D guy in a different system. He would have won us some games and been nailed to the bench by Calhoun in others. We all would have laughed about it later and celebrated the good instead of the bad.
This team is not good, and as senior leaders, the buck stops with them. It's fair to pin this on them. What's not fair is to act like they are dead weight being dragged along. They aren't that. For all their faults, they are, indisputably, the best defensive players on the team, and the other guys drag down the defense more than they drag down the offense. We rank 57th in defensive efficiency despite their efforts, not because of them. Enoch and Jackson are abhorrent defenders, Vital and Adams are inconsistent, and Durham doesn't play enough to make a difference. For their money, Larrier and Gilbert - supposedly two of our best three players - sucked defensively in the first couple games and did as much to get in the way as they did help. Point being, I don't want to hear about how we have this amazing nucleus of underclassmen being bogged down by these guys. They're all very promising, and I'm ecstatic to have them here, but if they don't get a lot better, they will get their asses kicked in next season. Adams, especially, gets too much of a pass for a guy shooting 38% in conference play. He has hamstrung the offense with his erratic shooting as much as anybody else. He's not there.
I'm aware that the stories of these guys aren't complete. I'm also aware that Sunday is senior day. Maybe this isn't the Bazz/Giffey class, but there should be no disclaimers attached when they are honored and there should be no thought at all to skipping out on that game or the AAC tournament. These guys care a lot and they deserve that day to be special. Let's please do it for them.
We'll start with Kentan Facey, who probably needs the least defending of the three. His improvement offensively has been overstated, but we ask him to do a ton defensively - switching 1-4 - that most other teams wouldn't even consider trying. This guy is a beast of an athlete who any team in the country would love to have on their team.
Amida Brimah is no more responsible for the failures of this team as he was the success of the team that won the title. There are match-ups that chase him off the floor, but his limitations offensively have been exacerbated by limited personnel around him, and on defense he remains among the countries biggest impediments to finishing at the rim. Switch him with Mathiang from Louisville and watch him thrive for a top five team. Again, any team would take this guy.
Rodney Purvis is perhaps the most difficult player to figure out. He was, at times, the best player on a borderline top 25 team last season, and he's always come to play in March. He has regressed this season in a way I have never seen, to the point that you wonder if external factors are contributing. He is still a terrific defensive player who navigates screens better than any player on the roster and sets a terrific example, never taking a possession off despite being asked to play an unreasonable amount of minutes. If every player on the team worked as hard as Rodney defensively, we're not in this spot.
I understand that it's disappointing they didn't develop further. I also understand that a lot of this isn't their fault. We loved Roscoe Smith. Facey is essentially a rich man's version of him. Put him next to Kemba and he'd look like a pro at times. Four years ago, we would have given anything for a center to average 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in conference play. Put the current version of Brimah on the '13 or '14 team and watch them destroy the world. His improvements have been distorted by the team around him.
Rodney has never fit into any box. But the great teams fit you. This guy would have been the perfect 3 and D guy in a different system. He would have won us some games and been nailed to the bench by Calhoun in others. We all would have laughed about it later and celebrated the good instead of the bad.
This team is not good, and as senior leaders, the buck stops with them. It's fair to pin this on them. What's not fair is to act like they are dead weight being dragged along. They aren't that. For all their faults, they are, indisputably, the best defensive players on the team, and the other guys drag down the defense more than they drag down the offense. We rank 57th in defensive efficiency despite their efforts, not because of them. Enoch and Jackson are abhorrent defenders, Vital and Adams are inconsistent, and Durham doesn't play enough to make a difference. For their money, Larrier and Gilbert - supposedly two of our best three players - sucked defensively in the first couple games and did as much to get in the way as they did help. Point being, I don't want to hear about how we have this amazing nucleus of underclassmen being bogged down by these guys. They're all very promising, and I'm ecstatic to have them here, but if they don't get a lot better, they will get their asses kicked in next season. Adams, especially, gets too much of a pass for a guy shooting 38% in conference play. He has hamstrung the offense with his erratic shooting as much as anybody else. He's not there.
I'm aware that the stories of these guys aren't complete. I'm also aware that Sunday is senior day. Maybe this isn't the Bazz/Giffey class, but there should be no disclaimers attached when they are honored and there should be no thought at all to skipping out on that game or the AAC tournament. These guys care a lot and they deserve that day to be special. Let's please do it for them.