SMU game reinforced that next year we will be loaded

[intlzncster]

I think people need to throw on the brakes a bit with the Gilbert hype next year. Kid has played less than three college games. My guess is he'll be about what Boat was as a freshman, which is certainly a useful player but not "same caliber as Jalen."

Larrier, as somebody already said, will be coming off an ACL tear. It wasn't an off-season tear where he'll have 18+ months to rehab. This was late November, giving him less than 11 months to when camp starts. He'll also have played about three games of basketball in three years, so there will undoubtedly be some rust to shake off.

If we're hoping for a really good team next year, the best guy to tie those hopes to is probably Durham. Adams, I imagine, will be an all-American type player, and Jackson, Vital, MAL, Gilbert, and Larrier should at the very least be productive. It still feels like we're a piece short in the front court, though. He has the potential to be that second blue chip player, but we'll be held hostage by the progression of his body (both from a strength standpoint and a comfort with the knee standpoint).

This is exactly how I feel. Though, I expect Durham's big year will be as a junior.

As I said before, while the injuries have helped Vitale and Vance, they really have handicapped UCONN next year.

 

[intlzncster]

Due to type of injuries, I have more faith in AG coming back stronger and ready. He can work on his footwork and conditioning from the waste down. He's a bulldog type and a fighter.
Larrier on the other hand will be forced to work on upper body only. In basketball, your legs are so important and coming off an injury as his, it will take much time to regain strength and without being at full strength there is a good chance that he will play hesitant. The type of player he is, that's not good.

But with an ACL, you can work on shooting all day long. So it might help that he'll be limited to those types of drills/practice.

 

[champs99and04]

This is exactly how I feel. Though, I expect Durham's big year will be as a junior.

As I said before, while the injuries have helped Vitale and Vance, they really have handicapped UCONN next year.

Agreed. It's almost pointless to look this far ahead, but if everybody comes back (I don't think Adams is here four years), 2018-19 could be a special year.

A lot of us said the same thing about Enoch...it would be really nice if he turned into a player. It's still feasible.

 

[djct1999]

yeah, we are going to be so much better. Totally.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

We'll bounce back next year but I wish we had another year of Facey.

Facey has been the surprise player this year. Going into the year, I thought it would be Vance. Well all kind of brushed Facey off to have another expected Facey year of nice flashes, but minimal production. He has turned into a very nice player- a reliable rebounder and offensive presence.

He seems like a guy who would REALLY thrive and show his quality when surrounded by the right players and a generally more adequate team than the one we have right now.

 

[BUConn10]

I'm still reading the title of this thread and laughing at what @Jerry1714 said earlier. Seriously, how do you watch that slaughter and the first thing you think is "this team will be loaded".

What I think actually happened is OP watched the SMU game and really thought, "I know how to get a dozen likes or so".

 

[August_West]

Hate to break it to you but, Brimah could certainly be useful next year.

We need big men.

Brimah is useless this year because the kid is never on the court because of foul trouble.

And you believe that somehow he'd be able to stay in the court to be useful next year?

Why?

 

[AfgHusky15]

I'm still reading the title of this thread and laughing at what @Jerry1714 said earlier. Seriously, how do you watch that slaughter and the first thing you think is "this team will be loaded".

What I think actually happened is OP watched the SMU game and really thought, "I know how to get a dozen likes or so".

Oh boy. Please pull up a chair, take a deep breath, and try to use every bit of your reading comprehension skills to read the following:

1) My first reaction to the SMU was not "we are going to be loaded." It was frustration at pretty much the whole team except for Kentan, Vance, and Juwan.

2) As I mentioned in my OP, ever since the injuries I have been viewing the season through the prism of how this team will look next year. Again as I mentioned in my OP we saw how much of a difference 1 player makes (see games missed by Jalen), so I was already excited about next year with the trio of Jalen, Alterique, and Larrier (if they stay healthy).

3) What has me even more excited for next year is the emergence of Vance. The SMU game further reinforced that Vance's turnaround in shooting is the real deal. So that makes 4 talented players we can look forward to next year.

4) On top of that, during the SMU game Juwan once again showed flashes of the immense talent he possesses. That makes 5 talented players we will have on our team next year, and we still don't know what surprises the incoming freshman (including Mamdou) have in store for us, or major developments other players like Enoch have in them over the summer.

5) Most importantly, we all know that this team is not very good as is right now, but many of us have the ability to watch the team and think beyond just "good team" and "bad team." We can look at individual performances within the game and think how the team would look if those who are playing well are coupled with returning key players next year.

6) Do you want every thread to be about just how bad we are this year? We have plenty of those.

7) You could post something about your concerns for next year if you think the SMU 'slaughter' is indicative of what the team will look like next year, but that would actually take analytical skills beyond "good team/bad team," so maybe I am asking too much from you.

 

[upstater]

And you believe that somehow he'd be able to stay in the court to be useful next year?

Why?

22.4

That is his minutes per game.

 

[willie99]

Hate to break it to you but, Brimah could certainly be useful next year.

We need big men.

Brimah is useless this year because the kid is never on the court because of foul trouble.

we gave Brimah 4 years, he's not the solution my friend

 

[willie99]

We'll bounce back next year but I wish we had another year of Facey.

he's the one player we're going to miss

 

[August_West]

22.4

That is his minutes per game.

lol that is absolutely terrible for a someone who is a senior team leader playing on a team decimated by injuries . You think 22.4 is by design? that is Ollies intention?
We need him 35 minutes a game. If he wasn't a foul machine that's what he'd be playing.

Thanks for making my point for me. Love that.

 

[upstater]

we gave Brimah 4 years, he's not the solution my friend

Oh, someone said he is the solution?

 

[upstater]

lol that is absolutely terrible for a someone who is a senior team leader playing on a team decimated by injuries . You think 22.4 is by design? that is Ollies intention?
We need him 35 minutes a game. If he wasn't a foul machine that's what he'd be playing.

Thanks for making my point for me. Love that.

No one even knows what your point is.

My point, which should be simple to understand, is that his 22 minutes could be useful next year.

 

[willie99]

Oh, someone said he is the solution?

thought you said we're going to miss him?

he's part of the problem now, we don't need him another year

 

[Chief00]

With three players recovering from injuries it's difficult to conclude anything about next year. Then add in Durham who is still recovering from the ACL in my opinion.

 

[BUConn10]

Oh boy. Please pull up a chair, take a deep breath, and try to use every bit of your reading comprehension skills to read the following:

1) My first reaction to the SMU was not "we are going to be loaded." It was frustration at pretty much the whole team except for Kentan, Vance, and Juwan.

2) As I mentioned in my OP, ever since the injuries I have been viewing the season through the prism of how this team will look next year. Again as I mentioned in my OP we saw how much of a difference 1 player makes (see games missed by Jalen), so I was already excited about next year with the trio of Jalen, Alterique, and Larrier (if they stay healthy).

3) What has me even more excited for next year is the emergence of Vance. The SMU game further reinforced that Vance's turnaround in shooting is the real deal. So that makes 4 talented players we can look forward to next year.

4) On top of that, during the SMU game Juwan once again showed flashes of the immense talent he possesses. That makes 5 talented players we will have on our team next year, and we still don't know what surprises the incoming freshman (including Mamdou) have in store for us, or major developments other players like Enoch have in them over the summer.

5) Most importantly, we all know that this team is not very good as is right now, but many of us have the ability to watch the team and think beyond just "good team" and "bad team." We can look at individual performances within the game and think how the team would look if those who are playing well are coupled with returning key players next year.

6) Do you want every thread to be about just how bad we are this year? We have plenty of those.

7) You could post something about your concerns for next year if you think the SMU 'slaughter' is indicative of what the team will look like next year, but that would actually take analytical skills beyond "good team/bad team," so maybe I am asking too much from you.

Reading comprehension skills? Ok why don't you comprehend this one, very important line for me?

"SMU game reinforced that next year we will be loaded"

Yea you're right, that line leaves a lot of open ended interpretation, poetic license I assume.

It's a shame you had to spend time to write all that other stuff. If you think my analytical skills of the game are the reason why I don't agree with you well let me tell you this, if you expect immediate improvement next season, and something greater than a team ranked 20-30 nationally by seasons end then you will be disappointed heavily. I predict next season resembles 2015-16 in terms of number of losses, seeding, as post season results. Of course we all hope for the best, it endless pep rally posts, and saying ridiculous things like the bolded title of the thread is almost patronizing at this point in the season.

 

[upstater]

thought you said we're going to miss him?

he's part of the problem now, we don't need him another year

What I am saying is that they could certainly use him next year.

His problem is NOT being on the court. That is where Amida is failing.

I mean, I already wrote this once above.

 

[shizzle787]

I do believe this team will be good next year. A starting line-up of AG, Adams, Jackson, Larrier, and Enoch will be really good if AG and Larrier return properly from injury. Vital, Durham, and MAL coming off the bench will be good.

 

[intlzncster]

And you believe that somehow he'd be able to stay in the court to be useful next year?

But Enoch will?

With these guys, you need both. Too bad we couldn't sub them out offense/defense for every possession.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Sure! Change on the fly!
Old time hockey!
Dit Clapper!
Eddie Shore!

 

[champs99and04]

What I am saying is that they could certainly use him next year.

His problem is NOT being on the court. That is where Amida is failing.

I mean, I already wrote this once above.

Hard to believe people aren't getting this. Have they watched us without Brimah on the court this year? The solution to a guy killing you by only giving you 22 minutes per game is not to bring his minutes down to 0. Brimah would be better served playing for a team that could use him for what he is - a 20-30 minute guy who is going to excel in some match-ups and not others. He's not a foundational piece, but he's still a useful player.

 

[King Husky]

Enoch will be developed enough, especially on the offensive end. Ollie should be telling Adams to throw the ball to him all the time. Enoch can back just about anyone down and he has a nice hook shot to go with it. He can do that on most possessions as almost no one is bigger than him.

I couldn't agree more! What he needs to keep developing is his defense and ability to not foul.

 

[whaler11]

So @upstater is right. UConn could use Brimah next year...

That is scarier than The Ring.

 

[CTBasketball]

This is a good post. A lot of it is banking on player development - a big IF here.

I think Enoch will make big strides now that he'll be the starting center. Fouling is an issue, but to be honest he's been a lot better than Brimah this year.

Durham is a wildcard. We can only hope Jackson keeps it up. So is Vital and to be honest Larrier/Gilbert will be too. Those are difficult injuries to come back from.

Jalen has to be the guy next year. We'll go as far as he takes us I'm thinking. But we'll be playing with a far superior supporting cast.