Rodney Purvis would be entering his junior year

[Scoe]

No one is replacing Shabazz, Niels, DD, and Kromah. We are Uconn though as is always the case its next man up, this team needs to have their own identity, and Boat is clearly gonna be the leader of this team. As a fan I'm still enjoying the run we went on, I am excited to see how we will do next year though.

 

[B1GEast]

This is Uconn, some one will always be there to replace the guy, Ray Allen, RIP, Oak, Kemba, Bazz

Just put Uconn where the bat sign is and our hero will emerge

 

[Palatine]

If Brimah is a slow healer and it takes the full five months, that means he is completely healthy at the beginning of October. I would expect him at full speed in the middle of November.

And that's the worst case scenario. Chances are that he is back practicing weeks before October.

 

[scrappy2.0]

If Brimah is a slow healer and it takes the full five months, that means he is completely healthy at the beginning of October. I would expect him at full speed in the middle of November.

And that's the worst case scenario. Chances are that he is back practicing weeks before October.

Brimah can work on his legs core conditioning foot work and grip strength. It takes a short period of time to become efficient around the hoop. Take any sized person--any age--let them play hoop for an hour around the rim and they will be feeling comfortable shooting within an hour making most shots--now add a foot of height and 20 less years and wala Brimah. But he can work on strength to be able to keep position strength through his stomach back hands and legs---and a lot of time to work on footwork. For a big man--this injury might be a blessing in disguise--no one wants to be injured--but it gives him 5 months to work on necessary problematic areas for post players

 

[HuskyHawk]

Each team is unique. This will be a very different team. It should be very good and very entertaining. It should win the AAC, should get a seed higher than #7 in the NCAAs. From there it is a crapshoot honestly. In a single elimination tournament, anything can happen, as we just saw twice in the last few years.

It's a ride folks, let's just enjoy it and see where it takes us. It wouldn't be any fun otherwise. As long as there is hope and optimism for this team, and there is plenty, we should strap in and hang on.

 

[B1GEast]

as long as KO is at the wheel, we have a shot

 

[jazyj]

Good post but I will have to disagree slightly with one comment…….DHam is not "skinny" he's has a very nice basketball body for this age with room to mature. He is bigger than Rip was as a freshman and almost as big as he was when he left at this point and he is certainly stronger looking than DD was for his first 2 years at least………..

But I agree, one more 5th year or other surprise and they have a chance to be pretty good and potentially better, although Bazz is tough to replace.

he is skinny he shouldn't play 4, but it looks like he will be forced to play at least 3

 

[jazyj]

I year of prep and one of juco…….he has 3 left as a Husky!!

2 years at juco, he red-shirted

 

[Scot-e]

We are going to have a veteran team.

 

[RabidHusky]

KO certainly has a lot of toys to tinker with. The more early season time AB misses the more experience for Lubin and Facey. Might be a plus come March.

 

[David 76]

It all depends on how Boat does running the team and distributing the ball. He certainly has the heart and intensity to be the leader. His ability to be THE PG will determine our fate.

As things stand, I think we will be worse than last year at the 1 and 4. The 5 will improve by maturity. Can Hamilton & Omar give us an improvement at the 3 over Kromah, slumping Omar and partial Giffey? Will Purvis and Sam Jr improve over what Boat gave us at the 2?

There are a lot of points and rebounds to make up for, as well as the magic of Shabazz. So while we will have more talent on the bench, we have a lot to overcome. I'm still hoping we get some help for the front court for next year.

It is quite a puzzle and I will be interested to see how Ollie handles this. I don't think we're doomed but I don't think we are better than last year.

 

[mauconnfan]

he is skinny he shouldn't play 4, but it looks like he will be forced to play at least 3

Forced to play the 3? He is a 3……….he's too "skinny" to play the 4, heck Nolan is too, but he's fully capable of the 3. Skill wise he's the best 3 we've had in a while coming in………long while.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Forced to play the 3? He is a 3……….he's too "skinny" to play the 4, heck Nolan is too, but he's fully capable of the 3. Skill wise he's the best 3 we've had in a while coming in………long while.

Your right. That's saying something with all the great 3s that went here. Deandre.. Roscoe.. Stanley.. Rudy.. Caron...

 

[LIUCHusky]

Your right. That's saying something with all the great 3s that went here. Deandre.. Roscoe.. Stanley.. Rudy.. Caron...

Roscoe? How about Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton.

 

[Stinger92860]

The difference between Brimah and Calhoun, vis a vie off season surgery, is the Brimah's baskets come from 5 feet from the basket and most are dunks and put backs.

He did a nice job developing that jump hook.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Roscoe? How about Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton.

They aren't 3s. They play the 2. I'm talking about true 3s. Not guys who just played it while they were here.

 

[Tenspro2002]

They aren't 3s. They play the 2. I'm talking about true 3s. Not guys who just played it while they were here.

What's the difference? We follow college basketball here, not the NBA. What position guys play in the League has no bearing on what position they play in college. That's the trap that JC fell into over his last few years here. He saw guys like Stanley Robinson and Roscoe Smith and said "those guys look like prototypical NBA 3's, therefore they must play the 3 here", despite the fact that they were woefully deficient in terms of basketball skill at the position.

In the college game, you need two ballhandlers, a wing, a forward (preferably versatile), and a big man.

In the NBA, you can get away with one stud ballhandler, uber-talented wings and forwards with size, and a big man.

In college, shoehorning a 6'8 athletic freak into the 3 position usually just ends up with you not having enough ballhandlers, perimeter skill, or quickness, unless said guy is a top-flight talent.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

What's the difference? We follow college basketball here, not the NBA. What position guys play in the League has no bearing on what position they play in college. That's the trap that JC fell into over his last few years here. He saw guys like Stanley Robinson and Roscoe Smith and said "those guys look like prototypical NBA 3's, therefore they must play the 3 here", despite the fact that they were woefully deficient in terms of basketball skill at the position.

In the college game, you need two ballhandlers, a wing, a forward (preferably versatile), and a big man.

In the NBA, you can get away with one stud ballhandler, uber-talented wings and forwards with size, and a big man.

In college, shoehorning a 6'8 athletic freak into the 3 position usually just ends up with you not having enough ballhandlers, perimeter skill, or quickness, unless said guy is a top-flight talent.

The difference is that all the guys I just named were athletic 3s that could also play the 4 ala Daniel Hamilton. Ray and Rip were 2s that played the 3 in college.

 

[caw]

The difference is that all the guys I just named were athletic 3s that could also play the 4 ala Daniel Hamilton. Ray and Rip were 2s that played the 3 in college.

From what I have seen Hamilton is much closer to Ray/Rip than Daniels/Roscoe/Stanley/Gay in terms of skill, build and position. He's a likely 2 in the NBA unless he grows, he's a prototypical UConn three or two. He might see minutes at the four out of necessity but does not fit the mold of the other guys you listed at all. Butler was much bigger, Gay and Robinson could jump out of the gym, Roscoe had zero SF skills and Daniels was much longer/taller.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

From what I have seen Hamilton is much closer to Ray/Rip than Daniels/Roscoe/Stanley/Gay in terms of skill, build and position. He's a likely 2 in the NBA unless he grows, he's a prototypical UConn three or two. He might see minutes at the four out of necessity but does not fit the mold of the other guys you listed at all. Butler was much bigger, Gay and Robinson could jump out of the gym, Roscoe had zero SF skills and Daniels was much longer/taller.

In terms of skill yes. He has the physical build of a 3 though with his size and length that's similar to the 3s that came before him. We did say at the beginning of the conversation that he was the most skilled out of the group.

 

[mauconnfan]

They aren't 3s. They play the 2. I'm talking about true 3s. Not guys who just played it while they were here.

Deandre wasn't much of a 3, Roscoe certainly wasn't a 3 and was never going to be………Caron and Rudy yes, Stanley not so much either. As I said it's been a while…….

 

[champs99and04]

What's the difference? We follow college basketball here, not the NBA. What position guys play in the League has no bearing on what position they play in college. That's the trap that JC fell into over his last few years here. He saw guys like Stanley Robinson and Roscoe Smith and said "those guys look like prototypical NBA 3's, therefore they must play the 3 here", despite the fact that they were woefully deficient in terms of basketball skill at the position.

In the college game, you need two ballhandlers, a wing, a forward (preferably versatile), and a big man.

In the NBA, you can get away with one stud ballhandler, uber-talented wings and forwards with size, and a big man.

In college, shoehorning a 6'8 athletic freak into the 3 position usually just ends up with you not having enough ballhandlers, perimeter skill, or quickness, unless said guy is a top-flight talent.

Not sure where you're going with this one. Roscoe played predominantly the four in his two years here. He would get a few token minutes to start the game at the three in '11, but the bulk of his minutes came at the four. In fact, that's why he transferred.

I do agree with you, though, that Rudy and Stanley should have played more four.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Deandre wasn't much of a 3, Roscoe certainly wasn't a 3 and was never going to be………Caron and Rudy yes, Stanley not so much either. As I said it's been a while…….

Deandre was a 3. There was just not real4s to let him play 3 so he was forced into that position. If we had he uconn bigs of before he would've been on the peremiter. Same with Roscoe. Even though they didn't have the skill necessarily (especially Roscoe) they were prototypical 3s for their size like Daniel..

 

[UConn990411]

A prototypical 3 would have the skill set necessary to play the 3...

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Deandre was a 3. There was just not real4s to let him play 3 so he was forced into that position. If we had he uconn bigs of before he would've been on the peremiter. Same with Roscoe. Even though they didn't have the skill necessarily (especially Roscoe) they were prototypical 3s for their size like Daniel..

This is how it usually is in college. Donyell would play 5 on defense a lot because Calhoun couldn't go more than 4 minutes of Knight on the floor Knight's freshman and sophomore year without busting a gasket. Giffey was checking Randle on D in the NC game this year. Get your 5 best players on the court.