sat behind the team bench yesterday and...

[kirkking]

here is what I observed.
1. Boat is turning into a great leader. The whole team really looks up to him. You can see this especially during the timeouts. Everyone one knows who the chief on this team is.

2. What happened to purvis's vertical? Did he get injured or put on too much muscle? He was highly rated in high school because of his athletic ability. When you watch his high school and nc state highlights this guy used to have thunderous dunks and even had a couple lebron like blocks in college. I haven't seen that vertical from him this year. That said purvis is one hell of a defender. His one on one defense was fantastic yesterday, I also like how he didn't lose his focus on defense after committing a turnover on offense. His conditioning is also excellent. Dude wasn't breathing hard at any point in the game.

3. Even though nolan had a terrible game, from my seat I can see that he is a great teammate. He was sitting next to Lubin on the bench, encouraging him and jumped out of his seat after that lubin block. This kid has no ego and an amazing heart. I hope more people realize how valuable that is to this team.

4.Omar is having fun on the court. After he made his three he smiled and nodded at coach. I expect to see him in the starting lineup soon.

5. Hamilton looked lost the whole game. Everytime he sat on the bench the coaching staff was going over plays with him. He seems to be really hard on himself.

6. After the game, a couple of our assistant coaches were smiling and talking to facey. Even though his box score didn't show much, the coaches seemed to really like his play.

7. Cincinnati has insane length. I think our team learned alot about turnovers and how to limit them from this game.

 

[donyell34]

Cool stuff Kirk.

 

[8893]

Was 14 rows behind the bench and agree with every one of your observations, emphatically so with #4. I think it was at 50-47 when he was getting back on D after a layup that I saw the memorable smile that made me think, "He's back, and possibly going to be better than ever."

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Great post OP.

Purvis does look pretty muscular. That doesn't always translate to improved performance in hoops. Sometimes lean and quick is better than big and bulky.

 

[alexd]

Omar 2015 = John Gwynn 1990

 

[tcf15]

Good stuff OP, thanks for sharing.

Think Purvis still has that vertical (he had some nice dunks in the First Night scrimmage: this and this) but it seems like he's mostly gone for layups since that missed dunk against West Virginia.

 

[Tommyboy]

Good stuff OP, thanks for sharing.

Think Purvis still has that vertical (he had some nice dunks in the First Night scrimmage: this and this) but it seems like he's mostly gone for layups since that missed dunk against West Virginia.

Think it's a confidence thing or injury related still?

 

[tcf15]

Think it's a confidence thing or injury related still?

I think it's more just going for the sure thing than a flashy dunk, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Tommyboy]

I think it's more just going for the sure thing than a flashy dunk, but that's just my opinion.

I will take the two points no matter how it happens.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I think it's more just going for the sure thing than a flashy dunk, but that's just my opinion.

I agree. I also believe that he hurt himself on the WVU missed dunk (which caused him to miss it) and he doesn't want a repeat of that.

 

[Matrim55]

Re: Nolan, I think we all need to remember that he's playing through a foot injury. Dude's getting no lift because of it.

 

[Leebo]

Purvis restraining himself is probably a good thing, once you've seen how things can kinda go off the rails at full speed.

 

[UCweCONN]

To be honest, I was expecting a highlight show from Purvis this year after watching his highlights. He had a breakaway in the Cincinnati Game that I was expecting a thunderous dunk on but he laid it in. If a guy gas questionable hops like Shabazz, I'll take the layup every time. But when you are a high-riser, I want the dunk. The dunk is the highest percentage shot there is, if the player is a dunker.

 

[Dove]

Excellent post kirk.

 

[SellersElbow]

Great post and I especially appreciate item #3. Team chemistry was a huge part of our success last year. I remember watching OC be a supportive teammate despite playing...um...poorly, or not at all. Glad to hear PN is doing likewise. We should appreciate and be proud of this as fans.

 

[James]

Good stuff OP, thanks for sharing.

Think Purvis still has that vertical (he had some nice dunks in the First Night scrimmage: this and this) but it seems like he's mostly gone for layups since that missed dunk against West Virginia.

you know what, remember when nc state played uconn he ended a ton of fast breaks with the same lay ups. later in the season he started putting on a show athletically. so i agree, the kid is really trying to find his groove still.

 

[James]

 

[uconnfan68]

To be honest, I was expecting a highlight show from Purvis this year after watching his highlights. He had a breakaway in the Cincinnati Game that I was expecting a thunderous dunk on but he laid it in. If a guy gas questionable hops like Shabazz, I'll take the layup every time. But when you are a high-riser, I want the dunk. The dunk is the highest percentage shot there is, if the player is a dunker.

This team has already missed more dunks this year than I want to remember. Just make the shot.

 

[husky91]

These bash Nolan posts are ridiculous.

Go look at Brimah's stats when he's not playing against 6-6 front courts and teams with RPIs > 200

 

[LIUCHusky]

These bash Nolan posts are ridiculous.

Go look at Brimah's stats when he's not playing against 6-6 front courts and teams with RPIs > 200

So, you would just prefer to bash Brimah. Got it.

 

[Devland]

This team has already missed more dunks this year than I want to remember. Just make the shot.

Back in the day when it was illegal to dunk players were a lot more skilled around the basket because they had to be. Would Lew Alcindor (Jabbar) developed the sky hook if he was allowed to dunk? Would Shabazz have been as skilled around the rim if he was dunking? I think the dunk has taken away from some of the skill of the game.

 

[intlzncster]

To be honest, I was expecting a highlight show from Purvis this year after watching his highlights. He had a breakaway in the Cincinnati Game that I was expecting a thunderous dunk on but he laid it in. If a guy gas questionable hops like Shabazz, I'll take the layup every time. But when you are a high-riser, I want the dunk. The dunk is the highest percentage shot there is, if the player is a dunker.

Shabazz hops are fine. He had a 30.5/37.5" vertical at the combine. For comparison, Ben Gordon had a 31.5/37.5" vertical, almost exactly the same. Nobody complains about his jumping ability.

Nothing wrong with laying it in. I'm also thinking Purv's ankle isn't quite right yet, or at the least, he doesn't quite trust it yet.

 

[Stainmaster]

A two-point shot is a two-point shot no matter how the ball makes it into the hoop. For those with dunk fetishes, I'm sure you can find some And1 Mixtape Tour DVDs somewhere on the internet.