Samson Johnson freakishly athletic appreciation thread

[formerlurker]

I'm not on any sort of social media so please drop comments/videos here

 

[formerlurker]

 

[Tdaley]

View attachment 99092

Some of his catches while he is moving in traffic followed by a slam dunk finish is amazing. I can't remember another Uconn big man who made those kind of plays.

 

[auror]

I've been extremely impressed with his spatial awareness. He's gotten extremely good at finding the basket after he's caught the ball and he's already 11 feet in the air.

 

[Sea Goat]

Tough combination for any opponent to deal with - tremendous athleticism and growing confidence!!!

 

[UConnSwag11]

He is a change of pace for us on offense, but on defense, he's a liability. It is what it is for this year. He has been very serviceable this year.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Will need all 5 of his fouls tomorrow to combat a big hoss.

 

[jibsey]

The fact that his hand when jumping and outstretched is at Edey’s hand level when shooting is good. Now Edey will push him into the next county……

 

[Khal Drogo]

Will need all 5 of his fouls tomorrow to combat a big hoss.

Maybe even a couple fouls from Singare

 

[rip7774]

He’s been terrific for a while now after some struggles esp getting manhandled at points during reg season.

His play has really has really ticked up several notches and gives us that strong 1-2 punch again.

 

[Hamms30]

Might be the only guy that can jump high enough to block Edey's shoulder hook.

 

[AllHusky]

Make Edey guard Sam. He might present some problems for the big guy!!

 

[Stinger92860]

He is a change of pace for us on offense, but on defense, he's a liability. It is what it is for this year. He has been very serviceable this year.

I dont agree with this view. While not the dominant rim protector DC is, Samson is a change of pace for us on D also. His style is not always of good matchup for us, but sometimes he gives us just what we need. He plays the high edge better and is vey good at the pick/rolls and recovery. Last night he provided some really good minutes. Some nights he is not a good fit. I don‘t expect to see him on the floor with Edey, for example, unless we have foul issues.

Anyone know what his +/- was last night? I cannot find anything.

 

[mauconnfan]

Make Edey guard Sam. He might present some problems for the big guy!!

I doubt it honestly Edey will patrol the lane and won’t follow him all that much. It’s not like he can shoot it like many made us think. No matter he’s been very good backing up Cong.

 

[JAdams4Reel]

if he puts on a few pounds of muscle and polish’s his offensive skills he could maybe possibly hopefully be in contention for all American 3rd team. (kind of like Ledee)

 

[ToolzieFan]

Johnson is tied for fifth in the country with 75 blocks despite only playing 40.8% of our minutes. He’s as quick of a leaper as I can remember in a UConn uniform.

For those wondering, Stanley Robinson was third in the country in dunks with 66 in 2010.

T-Rank Player Stats - Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats - T-Rank

T-Rank College Basketball Ratings and Rankings. And fun.

barttorvik.com

 

[Palatine]

He is a change of pace for us on offense, but on defense, he's a liability. It is what it is for this year. He has been very serviceable this year.

He is NOT a liability.

He is less than Clingan but so is the rest of the country. He is a very good rim protector, once again not to Clingan standard, but very good. He blocks shots, he changes shots, and he is quick enough to high hedge and get back to the rim before opponents can do damage.

I don't know what you are watching but he is NOT a liability on defense.

 

[Poe]

No one (at any size, let alone at 6’ 11”) gets off the ground and to rim faster. His explosiveness is unmatched. His hands are all very underrated, a lot of big men would fumble these very difficult passes he gets in traffic sometimes. I really like what he brought to the table this year after missing so much time. He really demoralizes other teams second units with his vicious dunks (they could use a little Stanley yell, haha). Glad he stayed, key piece of the puzzle this year.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I've been extremely impressed with his spatial awareness. He's gotten extremely good at finding the basket after he's caught the ball and he's already 11 feet in the air.

He has very little offensive game (though he's had a few nice short lay-ins the last couple of games), but his stride length, his ability to catch the ball while moving through the lane and go straight forward for a dunk, and of course his ability to reach balls higher than anyone else make him an awesome release valve for our offense.

Edey will struggle to keep up with him and we need to take advantage.

 

[UCan3]

Johnson should get minutes early vs Edey. I love that match up. We need to try to wear him out in the first half and then run him off the court in the 2nd half.

Samson is a critical part of our game Monday. As much as it’s advertised as Clingon vs Edey, think Samson is the wildcard that tilts the scale and eventually the NC to UConn!