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If we went back and looked at TSam highlights from last year, I think most would realize what having an actual secondary ballhandler did for this team.
Sterling Gibbs
- Thread starter AntG168
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Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but:
Adams and Gibbs were both better ballhandlers than Samuel. I might put Purvis and Hamilton ahead of him as well.
No offense to Samuel, but he wouldn't have fixed what issues this team had, particularly because he couldn't shoot outside of 5 feet from the rim.
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Meant that last year TSam had to handle the ball too much and Gibbs was an upgrade in that capacity still.
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I get that. I just think Sterling was probably the same kid in that video that he was a week ago when superjohn was saying how obvious it was that Sterling was the problem in the Seton Hall locker room so I find his "Husky for life" schtick a bit weak.
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Yeah. And now that Whitehead shot 4-24 in the NCAA Tournament, that's proof that he was clearly the problem after all. Since basketball results are proof of character and everything.
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There was a problem between Sterling and Whitehead at SHU last year, the move was beneficial to SHU and UConn. Do you really want me to point out all the stupid cr@p you post here?
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I'll probably get slammed for this but i'd like to state how i feel about Gibbs
First off im not going to sugar coat or magically become a huge Gibbs fan all of the sudden. Since i've been watching him at Uconn i have never been a fan of his play. That is probably for 3 reasons.
1 is expectations, which is my problem. I expected a guy in the mold in Shabazz, Kemba and Boatright. I expected that he would be a real floor general, a leader vocally and by his play and actions on the court. When we needed a basket i expected him to work miracles and i often just didnt see that, and to expect that from him was probably unfair.
2 He is not very good at creating for himself or others, and if he is pressured while handling the ball the ball is as good as turned over. It drove me crazy watching him dribble the clock down only to get blocked, throw the ball away or take a horrible shot that usually didnt go in. Also because of those ability deficiencies he missed many opportunities to get the ball to open players for easy buckets. I cant count how many pick and roll opportunities he squandered when the second defender stayed and doubled him and he would be overwhelmed by the pressure and turn the ball over. Again he just didnt have the skill set or abilities to handle the situations he needed to be able to handle.
3 not really his fault either is that he was put in positions that he isnt skilled enough to handle. Ollie used him as a pg, and he simply isnt one. When on the floor with Adams where adams was handling the ball more or Dham was handling the ball more he was fine, but outside of that, he played to big a role in running our offense.
These are my personal opinions and probably why i'll get slammed for this, but i think trying to find his place in our offense hurt us througout the year (not blaming all of our loses on him, alot of players didnt live up to expectations).
On the flipside he never stopped playing hard and you could see the disgust and anger when things didnt workout the way he intended. Again, i think there was alot of frustration that wasnt only his fault.
Watching that video though is why i love Uconn and why i think Ollie is such a great head coach for this program. does he always make the right decisions? Ofcourse not, all coaches make mistakes, but he gets these kids to play hard and to care about each other and to believe in themselves. I took Gibbs tears as him being crushed that his team at Uconn is over AND maybe even a little regret that he couldnt have been at Uconn for 4 years. I can tell that Ollie and the culture at Uconn has changed him and his outlook and the good thing about this is that i believe that continuing to be a part of the Uconn family will continue to improve his life in the future. I think its a great look into why recruits should choose Uconn over a lot of other schools. Not to say other schools dont have similar cultures, but i think the bond that these kids have with the coaching staff and their teammates and even former Uconn players creates a family feel that ensures 1 that they play hard and work hard on improving their games. and 2 keeps them feeling connected and apart even after they move on, in whatever capacity that is in the future. i have no doubts that Gibbs gave us his all and left it all out there on the court, and for that and his role in being a good teammate i very much so appreciate the kid. Wish him and all the other seniors nothing but the best as they try to figure out what is next for them on and off the basketball court.
First off im not going to sugar coat or magically become a huge Gibbs fan all of the sudden. Since i've been watching him at Uconn i have never been a fan of his play. That is probably for 3 reasons.
1 is expectations, which is my problem. I expected a guy in the mold in Shabazz, Kemba and Boatright. I expected that he would be a real floor general, a leader vocally and by his play and actions on the court. When we needed a basket i expected him to work miracles and i often just didnt see that, and to expect that from him was probably unfair.
2 He is not very good at creating for himself or others, and if he is pressured while handling the ball the ball is as good as turned over. It drove me crazy watching him dribble the clock down only to get blocked, throw the ball away or take a horrible shot that usually didnt go in. Also because of those ability deficiencies he missed many opportunities to get the ball to open players for easy buckets. I cant count how many pick and roll opportunities he squandered when the second defender stayed and doubled him and he would be overwhelmed by the pressure and turn the ball over. Again he just didnt have the skill set or abilities to handle the situations he needed to be able to handle.
3 not really his fault either is that he was put in positions that he isnt skilled enough to handle. Ollie used him as a pg, and he simply isnt one. When on the floor with Adams where adams was handling the ball more or Dham was handling the ball more he was fine, but outside of that, he played to big a role in running our offense.
These are my personal opinions and probably why i'll get slammed for this, but i think trying to find his place in our offense hurt us througout the year (not blaming all of our loses on him, alot of players didnt live up to expectations).
On the flipside he never stopped playing hard and you could see the disgust and anger when things didnt workout the way he intended. Again, i think there was alot of frustration that wasnt only his fault.
Watching that video though is why i love Uconn and why i think Ollie is such a great head coach for this program. does he always make the right decisions? Ofcourse not, all coaches make mistakes, but he gets these kids to play hard and to care about each other and to believe in themselves. I took Gibbs tears as him being crushed that his team at Uconn is over AND maybe even a little regret that he couldnt have been at Uconn for 4 years. I can tell that Ollie and the culture at Uconn has changed him and his outlook and the good thing about this is that i believe that continuing to be a part of the Uconn family will continue to improve his life in the future. I think its a great look into why recruits should choose Uconn over a lot of other schools. Not to say other schools dont have similar cultures, but i think the bond that these kids have with the coaching staff and their teammates and even former Uconn players creates a family feel that ensures 1 that they play hard and work hard on improving their games. and 2 keeps them feeling connected and apart even after they move on, in whatever capacity that is in the future. i have no doubts that Gibbs gave us his all and left it all out there on the court, and for that and his role in being a good teammate i very much so appreciate the kid. Wish him and all the other seniors nothing but the best as they try to figure out what is next for them on and off the basketball court.
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Not at all - that's pretty accurate basketball analysis and not an attack on his character so there's nothing slammable.
I think our team personnel forced our hand a bit. Adams wasn't ready to be the guy running everything - as much as he showed flashes, he couldn't shoot consistently and had bouts of immaturity. If we tried to force him to be the team leader 100 percent of the time, with a little bit of growing up to do, it would have been a long year. Adams learned some important lessons this year without the pressure of being the only driver of the car and with another year to grow and work on his jumper, he'll be more ready next year -- and he didn't have his confidence shot by having a tom of responsibility on his shoulders. So we shoe-horned Gibbs into the role of lead guard a lot, and I think he did his best - that explosive step to get by a defender (even a hedging big) wasn't there. Like I said up thread, I think he could have been an ideal conplement to Boat last year if he was born a year earlier.
But you're correct - Gibbs wasn't the perfect fit for the hole we had, but the alternative to not bringing him in could have been NIT or worse.
ctchamps
We are UConn!! 4>1 But 5>>>>1 is even better!
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Wow. Gibbs bottled his emotions all season. To break down in front of the cameras like he did says a lot. What the people in these forums who are primarily self absorbed ignore is the relationship coaches have with players and vice versa. That bb is only part of what matters. It's obvious Sterling and KO developed a strong bond this season. You could tell how much he wanted to demonstrate his appreciation for coach by the immense improvements he made in his defensive game.
I'm thrilled for Sterling that Seton Hall did not make it out of the first round. I'm on the list that wished he could have played more than one season under KO.
I'm thrilled for Sterling that Seton Hall did not make it out of the first round. I'm on the list that wished he could have played more than one season under KO.
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Guess he didn't the get the memo that Bunky left and there's no reason to want to be at UConn anymore.
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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Confirmed
intlzncster
i fart in your general direction
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I didn't see this til just now, but holy shiite, that was funny.
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Talked to Sterling after the Kansas game, said he really enjoyed his time here and one of the best decisions he ever made. Gained a ton of respect for him after that Kansas game.
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Great kid need more of his type no doubt.
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Stainmaster
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Great stuff. Lasan Kromah parlayed his year in the Hungarian league into a gig in Turkey (which pays a lot more) the following season. Hope Sterling can do something similar.
