Kemba | The Boneyard

Kemba

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I was thinking today about UConn basketball (shocker, I know) and it struck me the way the last two seasons have played out, with the 09-10 team falling apart down the stretch, looking like they had given up, and outright embarassing the program at times. Then I thought about the team from last year, the way a once promising season looked to be flushed away after the loss to Notre Dame, and how the group rallied around Kemba and Calhoun. In the face of adversity, one of these teams crumbled, and one of them thrived. With HOFC Jim Calhoun, UConn always has a slight advantage over other teams, simply in terms of the way he gets his team to respond when things look bleakest. However, a coach can only control the destiny of a team to a point. At some point, a leader needs to emerge, everybody else needs to rally behind him, and the wins need to begin to come.

Obviously, in any discussion about leadership, you think of a guy like Kemba, especially when you're a UConn basketball fan like me. Of course, Kemba's ability to defend, disrupt offenses, create turnovers, score, and create for his teammates factored into our success. But what is also crucial to the success of a leader is the effect he has on his teammates. Jay Bilas put it best last season, when he said, "He almost makes his teammates feel guilty if they don't play as hard". It's extremely noticeable how much easier things are, and how much more fun a team is to watch, when the best player on the team is also the vocal leader and the hardest worker. Things are a whole lot easier when you have a leader who's just as happy when he goes 5-19 in a win than he is when he scores 42 in a win. In 2009-2010, the kids selfisness almost worked to a fault, as he was willing to accept his duties as the third option on a team that was floundering. You could tell by the end of the year that it was time to turn the keys over to him, and when he didn't get the keys, somebody else drove the plane into the ground.

I don't think the kids on this team are selfish, but they haven't quite reached the pinnacle of selflisness either. More alarming than anything, they don't seem to trust each other. When Shabazz and Lamb consistently refuse to throw the ball into the post, refuse to pass to an open man on the perimeter, and pound the ball into the ground, it speaks to the lack of trust in their teammates to score and make the right play. Now if you've ever watched Roscoe Smith drive or Andre Drummond attempt a fall away hook, you'd understand that the lack of trust isn't completey mis-guided. When you hear Shabazz say things like, "I was yelling at the guys to kick it back out so we could start the offense, but they put it up anyway" and this lack of trust is even more evident.

What I see with this team, is a bunch of guys who are conflicted over what their roles are. Last year, everybody knew Kemba was the scorer, Lamb was the second option, Oriakhi was the guy who crashed the glass and lived on putbacks, Roscoe cut and rebounded, Okwandu was the guy who set the screens, Shabazz ran the offense, etc. Ironicly, the one guy who didn't seem to know his role was Coombs, somebody many of us, myself included, wish we had back right now.

Kemba made the UConn jersey stand for something last year. It stood for grit, wanting it more than the other team, redemption, and at the end it stood for the work of a champion. This year it stands for entitlement, complacency, and individual over team. Other than the fact that last years squad had kemba and this years team doesn't, I'll ask you this: How many times last season did you find yourself saying, "Man, this team just wants it more than they do"? Conversely, how many times this year have you said, "Wow, the other team is just hungrier right now"?

The only time this season I've actually had fun watching UConn basketball was the second half against West Virginia, when Calhoun got T'd, the crowd got into it, and the intensity picked up about five levels. That's the only time all year they've actually played harde than the opponent.

We've lost this season to Central Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgrs, Cincy, Tennessee, and Notre Dame. None of those teams have nearly as much talent as UConn does, and on paper, UConn should win those games comfortably. Unfortunately, UConn looks like a bunch of prospects more concerned about their NBA draft stock than about winning. When a guy passes the ball, he has no confidence that the favor will be returned. The awareness is lacking, there is no execution, no communication, and above all, no leadership. UConn can definitely get things back on the right track though. I'm watching Pittsburgh right now, and they were in a much worse situation than UConn is in now. But right now, they are moving the ball, making the extra pass, executing, defending with intensity, and outplaying West Virginia in their own building. If that team can right the ship, than so can UConn. In order to do that, we'll need some momentum though. A win on Wednesday would be a big step in the right direction. This team needs everybody rowing in the same direction, and UConn basketball has to feel like UConn basketball again.
 

UChusky916

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Solid post, I agree with most of what was said.

Also, you have to take into account this team's lack of maturity. We're dependent on a lot of young guys to play roles. Some say "well they are older than sophomores because of all of the game experience they from the postseason." Okay, kinda. But experience is different than maturity. This team needs to mature into their roles.

Last year's team had defined roles, and people undervalue what seniors Beverly and Okwandu brought to that team. I feel like the Senior day game at Gampel last year vs ND was exactly what last year's team needed. The young guys felt like they let down their seniors in what was a very emotional senior home game. The team hit rock bottom, and when faced with adversity, responded because there was a leader there who pulled them together. Everyone knows about the practice that happened the day after that game.

This year, our best bet for that upperclassman leadership/maturity was AO (the only upperclassman), and we all know how that turned out. I haven't given up on him, but hopefully soon, something happens with this team that tests their fortitude, and someone will have to rally the troops if they are going to respond. The only person in my mind that can do it, is AO. The kid needs his confidence back. If we get Maui/postseason AO back, we could have something.

The 2nd game against Syracuse at Gampel on gameday could end up being a much more important game than people realize, but I hope it doesn't come down to that. Hopefully by then, the team will be in the midst of a winning streak and working their way back up the rankings. But someone will have to lead them there.
 

Rico444

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Agreed. We don't have that fiery, in-your-face kind of guy on this team. Boatright looks like he could get there in the future, but he's not going to be that kind of leader as a freshman. It hurts us, at times.
 
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Totally agree about Boatright. Kid looks like a natural born leader, and if I were Calhoun, I would give him the start next game because I think he outplayed Bazz yesterday. I know it's unusual for a kid like Boatright to come right in and attempt to take the keys to a team that just won a national championship, but Irving at Duke did it last year and had great success before getting injured.

UChusky916--You do make some good points about the youth of this team. People seem to forget that we only have one upper classmen on the team. That said, most of these kids have played sixty games at the D-1 level by now, so it's time that we start seeing some significant improvements. Getting a win on Wednesday night would be huge. It would be a road win against a top 15 team, and it would go a long way towards stoppint the bubble talk on here. I think they'll come out ready to play, but we'll see.
 
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I actually think boat might have been that guy at this point in the season had he not missed all the games with suspension... think about his fit and attitude/confidence right now if he had played consistently throughout the season... he might very well have taken over by now and been that guy we need, regardless of age.... we do have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, so for a fiery freshman to take over wouldn't be that strange.... i think many of us thought that napier would be the guy to take the reins, and at times he has, although he has faltered at other times.... perhaps without the suspensions (not griping here, that's for a different day/post... just pointing out facts) boat would be that guy right now.... maybe he wouldn't and we'd be in the same spot, but my guess is that with boat in lineup, we win 2 or 3 of the close ones we lost... not to mention a different feel and swagger about us
 
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Great post op-I think all fans want to see that uconn toughness again.


I just wanted to briefly change direction here because it got me thinking again to comparisons with past husky teams.

I always bring up the 2004-2005 team when making comparisons to this year (even though that team was better). I think that comparison is more suitable than comparisons to 2009-2010 for the simple reason (not trying to dominate the rap here) of youth.

I visited the boneyard in 2004-05, but I can't really remember the sentiment, expectations, disappointment level with that team. Can anyone fill me in?

I know I was pissed when they lost in the 2nd round, and I did think the team could go further, but it wasn't a huge shock.

You would think the expectations would've been similar to this year: bringing back a ton of guys from a NC team who played significant minutes, bringing in a very highly touted freshman, and so on. I would say that a combo of Boone, Charlie, Denham/Rashad played almost as important roles on that NC team as did Lamb, Napier, Roscoe and AO.

The 2009-2010 team was filled with upperclassmen. We're talking 3 seniors, a couple of juniors, one majok, one kemba, and just two freshman.
 
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