Lasan Kromah commits to Uconn

[Vuce]

I am not a fan of adding players for now, but rather for the long-run. We need to think of the future. And Kromah isn't exactly a good player. Sure he averaged double digits, but so did Evans and he was nowhere near capable of playing high major ball.

If you look at his per game stats, he gets shut down completely against good competition. Against Notre Dame, Georgia (who isn't good), Rutgers, Temple, and VCU he broke 10pts once. And in each of those games he shot the ball w/ less than 50% accuracy. He played #3 Syracuse and #20-ish Cal his sophomore year and got shut down completely.

I'm not being negative on purpose, I'm being skeptical because he hasn't proved anything yet. I'm not expecting anything from this kid. If he gives 5ppg I'll be pleased.

He had 10 against Butler, 12 against St. Louis, 15 against LaSalle - those were all NCAA Tourney teams. Is he a great offensive player? No. But he is 6-5 and provides some depth in the back court. And it is only for 1 year. He will be better than Evans - the A-10 is much better than the Patriot League. He is a role player that is a good fit - KO likes it so I am good with it.

 

[RS9999X]

He's not Johnny Selvie but he's a good add. Confirms Daniel at the 4. Likely see more Olander at the 5 against the cupcake Centers.

 

[whaler11]

I had some doubts and didn't like the way the hire went down... and some here like to point out that I'm a skeptic and can be negative but:

Kevin Ollie is going to be an unbelievable asset for this program and university. His upside appears to be a career that eclipses Calhoun's accomplishments. I say that as someone who thinks Calhoun is one of the most impactful people in the state's history.

 

[Hoophound]

We actually need him. RJ was critical in several games last year. This is a great add who should upgrade this year's team a bit. He can guard bigger opponents that Bazz or Boat might struggle with, he can provide rest so Bazz can avoid breaking downand he gives us some size when we need to play small ball. All this and he doesn't take a scholly spot for fall 2014 so we can still recruit. Awesome.

 

[Deleted member 3149]

As a senior, he's gonna be working his ass off. That's exactly what we need, just like RJ. So happy about this, as should you all be.

 

[arnie3]

It's kinda meh at this point. It's the use of an open scholarship. If it works out, good for Ollie. If not, so what.

 

[RMoore1999]

He was actually supposed to be a very good scorer and had a couple of moments his freshman year. He then had an absolutely hideous year as a point which necessitated Khalid. People forget that Ricky was a goat going into his junior year.

Ricky Moore is a god. Thanks for your interest in UConn Basketball.

 

[whaler11]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are missing the point here. Ollie had the guts to make the right call on Wolf.

 

[Hoophound]

It's kinda meh at this point. It's the use of an open scholarship. If it works out, good for Ollie. If not, so what.

I can see your side. I am a little more optimistic given his performance in a good basketball conference and his height. We need a few points and we certainly need some height in the backcourt. He's probably worth a bit more than "meh".

 

[Hoophound]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are missing the point here. Ollie had the guts to make the right call on Wolf.

It was a good move (right move) considering that I want our image restored. However, I'd really like Wolf back. I think we need him to maximize our potential.

 

[8893]

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are missing the point here. Ollie had the guts to make the right call on Wolf.

That had occurred to me, but unless/until I hear more about the way it came about, I don't know that there's a legitimate basis to assume it was his call. Whether it is the right call or not is another issue, and I don't know if I'll ever know enough to say myself; but I'd certainly trust Ollie to make that judgment if it was up to him. It's his ship now. Pun intended.

 

[whaler11]

It was a good move (right move) considering that I want our image restored. However, I'd really like Wolf back. I think we need him to maximize our potential.

Screw image. It was the right thing to do and it required a sacrifice. A college basketball coach who can recruit like Ollie and has the fortitude to do the right thing as a leader? That's a rare combination.

 

[Huskyforlife]

As long as he's better than rj. No harms been done. Good luck Kromah! Just play efficient.
on another note, hope wolf sticks around

 

[hyperthink]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

 

[AJC88]

Apparently KO was not confid in what he had??????

Wolfie?? has 6" on this kid!!

But NEED a BOARD-o-VAC. This is is just perif BS that seems to be getting in the way of the mjr issues.

Can someone please translate this for me??????? I can't figure out what perif BS is, or the mjr issues.

 

[CAHUSKY]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

Welcome to the board mr. Kromah

 

[Fishy]

Ricky Moore is a god. Thanks for your interest in UConn Basketball.

He's right - you should have been on this board the year before the first title.

Ricky Moore was absolutely torched here. It was ridiculous.

 

[whaler11]

Welcome to the board mr. Kromah

And that gets at the biggest advantage of the addition. Competition.

 

[THC]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

I remember the first time I got high.

 

[HobokenHusky]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

Did the new GW coach have a "slave master mentality" and/or was a "mumu"?

Just curious.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

Well, I for one hope that you are onto something and he is a damn good player who will be a real contributor to this year's Husky team.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I remember the first time I got high.

I dont.

 

[caw]

well since you guys dont know much about lasan let me fill you in. If you think for one minute he's just gonna be a role player off the bench you got another thought coming.As a freshman he thruved under hobbs and was getting prepped to go tothe nba. Now hobbs gets fired and replaced by a narcissist coach who could not adjust to his players' talents. Thats why it seems as though lasan is not a big steal for you huskies. Also in the political world of college basketball he got benched for one of the players the new coach recruited that averaged about 3 points a game?!?! does that raise any eyebrows???? I watched a lot of his games from high school and aau and college. And i've seen him put up good numbers against good guards. He was in the wrong system at Gw.He started over victor oladipo on their aau team and indiana was trying to get him just like uconn. You all think Calhoun and boatright spots are safe??? think again. He'll be a STARTER next year. MARK MY WORDS. HOBBS knows whuts up. ollie does too. Even if he doesnt start every game he will probably be going to the league next year watch and see. and thank me later

Thanks for coming over and sharing.

A few things are up in the air right now considering the injuries (Napier, Calhoun, Olander, Giffey) UConn has right now. Not to mention not knowing if Wolf will walk on next year or not.

Could Kromah start? Sure, but if everyone is healthy he will have to be very, very good to start over Napier, Boatright, or Calhoun. He is going to have to be good to steal minutes from Giffey at the two/three.

I would love if UConn could trust Kromah enough to keep Boatright/Napier's minutes down around 28 a night early on.

I would love to see this IF Kromah is at least partially as good as the quoted poster claims:

PG: Napier (24), Boatright (16), Samuel (spot)
SG: Boatright (12), Napier (4) Kromah (20), Calhoun (4) Samuel (spot)
SF: Calhoun (20), Giffey (20), Kromah (spot)
PF: Daniels (28), Facey (12), Giffey (spot), Tolksdorf (spot)
C: Olander (??), Wolf (???), Nolan (??), Facey (??), Brimah (spot)

Redshirt: Purvis

I think the biggest question marks are highlighted above.

I think everyone can agree it would be best if Napier and Boatright could have their minutes brought down to around 28-32 at most, instead of near 37. It would be great if they could go all out when they are in the game instead of having to pace themselves. I'd also like to see Daniels/Calhoun around 28-30 at most (I realize I have Calhoun at 24 above).

A lot will depend on who steps up and how kids adjust. Giffey is really the only known quantity off the bench right now, unless Wolf is back. While I have Giffey at 20 above, I think most would be OK with him seeing more time if others aren't ready.

From what I have seen of Facey in high school, I think he can cover the back up four minutes. If he can't and no-one else can, then Giffey will see his minutes go up as a backup four.

The center is a huge question mark. We know that Nolan and Olander can play there, but are not ideal for long periods of time. Wolf would help tremendously filling 14-16 minutes minimum. I hope Nolan got stronger if Wolf is gone. Brimah being able to pick up minutes would be huge but not something I would project based on what I have heard about him.

Samuel could also steal some minutes. I like him, but I'm not sure how much UConn can rely on him because he does have a bit of a shaky outside shot (or did in high school). I think he can at the least be a good defender and bring the ball up in a pinch as a freshman. He's not Boatright or Napier with his handle, but he is respectable. I expect him to get better, but his shot must improve before he sees a ton of minutes on next year's team.

I would love if Kromah brings a lot of the same things as Samuel (though more of a 2/3), but with 3 years of college experience. If Kromah shows he can hit the open outside shot, then UConn has a good problem on it's hands. If he can't handle 20 minutes a game then those minutes will be distributed to Calhoun, Boatright, Napier and Giffey (and maybe Samuel).

Basically every newcomer would have to fail for UConn not to be much deeper/better next year. If Wolf is back and even two of the new guys can contribute, it will be the deepest UConn team in awhile. If everyone lives up to expectations this could be a very good experienced team.

I'm just so happy UConn has a full roster again (well almost with Purvis redshirting).

 

[hyperthink]

He had 10 against Butler, 12 against St. Louis, 15 against LaSalle - those were all NCAA Tourney teams. Is he a great offensive player? No. But he is 6-5 and provides some depth in the back court. And it is only for 1 year. He will be better than Evans - the A-10 is much better than the Patriot League. He is a role player that is a good fit - KO likes it so I am good with it.

ur right about the conference. the a-10 almost always has a sweet 16 team

 

[hyperthink]

Thanks for coming over and sharing.

A few things are up in the air right now considering the injuries (Napier, Calhoun, Olander, Giffey) UConn has right now. Not to mention not knowing if Wolf will walk on next year or not.

Could Kromah start? Sure, but if everyone is healthy he will have to be very, very good to start over Napier, Boatright, or Calhoun. He is going to have to be good to steal minutes from Giffey at the two/three.

I would love if UConn could trust Kromah enough to keep Boatright/Napier's minutes down around 28 a night early on.

I would love to see this IF Kromah is at least partially as good as the quoted poster claims:

PG: Napier (24), Boatright (16), Samuel (spot)
SG: Boatright (12), Napier (4) Kromah (20), Calhoun (4) Samuel (spot)
SF: Calhoun (20), Giffey (20), Kromah (spot)
PF: Daniels (28), Facey (12), Giffey (spot), Tolksdorf (spot)
C: Olander (??), Wolf (???), Nolan (??), Facey (??), Brimah (spot)

Redshirt: Purvis

I think the biggest question marks are highlighted above.

I think everyone can agree it would be best if Napier and Boatright could have their minutes brought down to around 28-32 at most, instead of near 37. It would be great if they could go all out when they are in the game instead of having to pace themselves. I'd also like to see Daniels/Calhoun around 28-30 at most (I realize I have Calhoun at 24 above).

A lot will depend on who steps up and how kids adjust. Giffey is really the only known quantity off the bench right now, unless Wolf is back. While I have Giffey at 20 above, I think most would be OK with him seeing more time if others aren't ready.

From what I have seen of Facey in high school, I think he can cover the back up four minutes. If he can't and no-one else can, then Giffey will see his minutes go up as a backup four.

The center is a huge question mark. We know that Nolan and Olander can play there, but are not ideal for long periods of time. Wolf would help tremendously filling 14-16 minutes minimum. I hope Nolan got stronger if Wolf is gone. Brimah being able to pick up minutes would be huge but not something I would project based on what I have heard about him.

Samuel could also steal some minutes. I like him, but I'm not sure how much UConn can rely on him because he does have a bit of a shaky outside shot (or did in high school). I think he can at the least be a good defender and bring the ball up in a pinch as a freshman. He's not Boatright or Napier with his handle, but he is respectable. I expect him to get better, but his shot must improve before he sees a ton of minutes on next year's team.

I would love if Kromah brings a lot of the same things as Samuel (though more of a 2/3), but with 3 years of college experience. If Kromah shows he can hit the open outside shot, then UConn has a good problem on it's hands. If he can't handle 20 minutes a game then those minutes will be distributed to Calhoun, Boatright, Napier and Giffey (and maybe Samuel).

Basically every newcomer would have to fail for UConn not to be much deeper/better next year. If Wolf is back and even two of the new guys can contribute, it will be the deepest UConn team in awhile. If everyone lives up to expectations this could be a very good experienced team.

I'm just so happy UConn has a full roster again (well almost with Purvis redshirting).

He'll be starting no later than midseason. if younlook at gw numbers in offense the leading scorer averaged like 12 it was not a priductive system. fresman point guard he is a great shoiter in a more open running system that uconn plays. very crafty around the rim