The Steve Enoch Appreciation Thread

[CTBasketball]

He played very well tonight, especially on defense. We'll need him down the stretch with foul trouble.

 

[80shusky]

I liked to see him in. Scored a few points too. He didn't let Cousins push him around too much either which was nice.

 

[tcf15]

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-men-usf-notes-0226-20160225-story.html

Freshman Steven Enoch, from Norwalk, got into the game in the first half, and made his presence felt with six points and three rebounds in 18 minutes. His playing time has been sporadic, but he has followed Ollie's admonitions to get in better condition and improve his defense.

"He's always ready," Ollie said. "He's going to be a great player for us in the future, and his future is now."
....
Senior Phil Nolan did not get into the game. He's not injured; Ollie wanted to give Enoch an opportunity, and he said he envisions doing more of that.

 

[mauconnfan]

He did some really nice things, showing improvement for sure. The move from 12 feet on his first hoop is something we haven't had from a big in a while. He also had a nice off rebound and just missed squeezing it back in. He's the only one who Cousins didn't move easily and score, actually had to kick it back out after Steve stopped him on the baseline, nice to have big body ion that situation.

Going to be a good one!

 

[Ukonnfan]

He played very well tonight, especially on defense. We'll need him down the stretch with foul trouble.

I agree. I think there may be a gold mine in enoch. He absolutely is a freshman, but his intensity and defense has improved. He doesn't look as lost. For example, if he would have played for Brad Stevens back in his Butler days, he would be very good by tournament time. Because that program could run offense plays other than the hide-in-the-back-alley-oop, and this they would run decent plays for the post player and Get Him The Ball. Go back and what some older video. Maybe someone should ask Mr. Stevens for some. Just saying.

Steve Enoch needs his team to trust him. His future is about how many touches in the post he gets. Last night he did pretty good, and then it was the lets dribble around the outside game. They seemed to forget he was an asset just a minute ago. Sometimes its 9 Uconn against 10 opposing players when the offense is this way. Awful to watch. Give the kid the ball. He will figure it out. Give him the ball. Remember how many dumb mistakes Jalen made? He got playing time. Now see what hes doing. Give Steve Enoch the ball.

 

[UChusky916]

Enoch is deceivingly skilled for a big man of his size on the offensive end. I think his skill set takes other teams by surprise when he enters the game. His footwork is pretty good and he does a good job of being decisive in his actions, no hesitation... that's rare for a freshman.

Steve's only issue is learning how to play UConn defense, and I saw an improvement from him on that end yesterday. If we're facing a big strong bruiser down low (like Cousins last night), I like putting Steve in there instead of Brimah, Miller, or Nolan. Steve doesn't get pushed around and if he takes fouls, it doesn't hurt our team in the long run as much as Brimah or Miller.

 

[EBonz30]

Enoch is going to be a solid player.

Reminds me a lot of Dejuan Blair from Pitt.

 

[WallStreetHusky]

I have been waiting all year for Ollie to use him more, his issues are those of inexperience, not ability. The kid is an absolute beast, but he is raw and just needs more minutes. Why waste the minutes with Nolan and Facey? They are not going to get better than what they are now. Same issue with Jalen Adams, the kid is your best guard, both offensively and defensively. They both need more run, the team is better now with them, and will be in the future.

 

[7774]

I agree. I think there may be a gold mine in enoch. He absolutely is a freshman, but his intensity and defense has improved. He doesn't look as lost. For example, if he would have played for Brad Stevens back in his Butler days, he would be very good by tournament time. Because that program could run offense plays other than the hide-in-the-back-alley-oop, and this they would run decent plays for the post player and Get Him The Ball. Go back and what some older video. Maybe someone should ask Mr. Stevens for some. Just saying.

Steve Enoch needs his team to trust him. His future is about how many touches in the post he gets. Last night he did pretty good, and then it was the lets dribble around the outside game. They seemed to forget he was an asset just a minute ago. Sometimes its 9 Uconn against 10 opposing players when the offense is this way. Awful to watch. Give the kid the ball. He will figure it out. Give him the ball. Remember how many dumb mistakes Jalen made? He got playing time. Now see what hes doing. Give Steve Enoch the ball.

I just have to applaud your creativity in insulting our coach. So many people just go with the generic"KO Sucks", or "players don't improve", but you really show some out of the box thinking here.

 

[7774]

I have been waiting all year for Ollie to use him more, his issues are those of inexperience, not ability. The kid is an absolute beast, but he is raw and just needs more minutes. Why waste the minutes with Nolan and Facey? They are not going to get better than what they are now. Same issue with Jalen Adams, the kid is your best guard, both offensively and defensively. They both need more run, the team is better now with them, and will be in the future.

Probably because for most of the year Enoch has been a liability in half court defensive sets, and playing Nolan or Facey maximized our changes of winning games. Or because Enoch is really most effective against slower, bigger post players like Cousins. Nolan and Facey have been more effective against quicker big men.

 

[Kembacity]

I think we all were salivating watching Adams do his thing and Enoch play solid minutes down low. He's clearly highly skilled down low, doesn't travel a lot, doesn't lose the ball, basically doesn't do a lot of things that UConn big men have had problems with in the past that have lead all of us to roll our eyes at the TV

His defense is clearly behind, but man am I excited for the things he's going to do in a UConn uni, and for a CT kid to boot, I'm hoping we all will be getting misty in the eyes watching him celebrate something in early April in the next four years

 

[bmayuc]

Another underappreciated part of having Enoch in there is that we absolutely CONTROLLED the glass while he was in the game.

He has 3 boards but Hamilton wrestled about 4 other from his grasp.

How? He boxes out the opposing big Relentlessly, rather than getting shoved under the basket like every other big we have, clearing space for himself and other huskies to get an uncontested rebound.

Why important? It wasn't a coincidence that once SE was in the game we started running..

When a team has no confidence in their Bigs rebounding they are forced to really dig down and help out, meaning you can't leak out and get in running lanes due to constant uncertainty/anxiety abound boarding.

In the future, Hamilton/Gibbs/Purvis can be more liberal getting into the break if SE is back there rather than Brimah/phil

 

[WallStreetHusky]

Probably because for most of the year Enoch has been a liability in half court defensive sets, and playing Nolan or Facey maximized our changes of winning games. Or because Enoch is really most effective against slower, bigger post players like Cousins. Nolan and Facey have been more effective against quicker big men.

You and I have been watching different games then. I dont think Nolan and Facey have been "effective" against anyone other than the cupcakes we have played. No offense, no rebounding, no blocks, no nothing. If you are telling me we stand a better chance of winning with them than Enoch, then we are truly screwed.

 

[7774]

You and I have been watching different games then. I dont think Nolan and Facey have been "effective" against anyone other than the cupcakes we have played. No offense, no rebounding, no blocks, no nothing. If you are telling me we stand a better chance of winning with them than Enoch, then we are truly screwed.

Yeah, I guess we're watching different games.

 

[Danzz]

Enoch is a much better athlete than Brimah, Nolan, or Facey. As long as he can play decent D he will get a lot more PT. I believe that he is only 18 so his future is very bright.

 

[Worldwide]

Another underappreciated part of having Enoch in there is that we absolutely CONTROLLED the glass while he was in the game.

He has 3 boards but Hamilton wrestled about 4 other from his grasp.

How? He boxes out the opposing big Relentlessly, rather than getting shoved under the basket like every other big we have, clearing space for himself and other huskies to get an uncontested rebound.

Why important? It wasn't a coincidence that once SE was in the game we started running..

When a team has no confidence in their Bigs rebounding they are forced to really dig down and help out, meaning you can't leak out and get in running lanes due to constant uncertainty/anxiety abound boarding.

In the future, Hamilton/Gibbs/Purvis can be more liberal getting into the break if SE is back there rather than Brimah/phil

Lets not overlook his screening. When he sets the screen guys stick to him. Just wish Gibbs/others would feed him more in the post when he is set and calling for the ball.

 

[aceboon]

You and I have been watching different games then. I dont think Nolan and Facey have been "effective" against anyone other than the cupcakes we have played. No offense, no rebounding, no blocks, no nothing. If you are telling me we stand a better chance of winning with them than Enoch, then we are truly screwed.

Pay a lil bit more attention to pick and roll/ball screen coverage, Enoch was very deficient in that area compared to Nolan and even Facey, who isn't great in that area himself. A lot more to defense from a bigman than blocking shots.

 

[WallStreetHusky]

Pay a lil bit more attention to pick and roll/ball screen coverage, Enoch was very deficient in that area compared to Nolan and even Facey, who isn't great in that area himself. A lot more to defense from a bigman than blocking shots.

I stand by my original post, Enoch gets better with every minute he plays. I think he is an upgrade to Facey and Nolan right now, with very limited run, and he will only get better. Does he have a ways to go? Sure, no one is saying he doesnt, particularly on defensive positioning and fouling. But he can impact a game, as witnessed last night. The only time I see Nolan or Facey change a game is typically for the worse, either by committing a turnover, or being weak inside with no rebounding, and one is a junior and the other is a senior. Given this thread, it appears a lot of people are making the same observation. Enoch = impact + upside, Nolan and Facey = zero to limited impact with no upside. I would rather see Enoch out there going through his growing pains as Nolan and Facey have hit their very low ceilings. He has natural God given ability, he is simply a better athlete than the other two, what he needs to improve on wont come from more practice. I think he gives the team a better chance to win now, and in the future. KO sounds like he is starting to come around to the same thinking. The "flaws" in his game people point out are outweighed by his impact on the game.

 

[aceboon]

I stand by my original post, Enoch gets better with every minute he plays. I think he is an upgrade to Facey and Nolan right now, with very limited run, and he will only get better. Does he have a ways to go? Sure, no one is saying he doesnt, particularly on defensive positioning and fouling. But he can impact a game, as witnessed last night. The only time I see Nolan or Facey change a game is typically for the worse, either by committing a turnover, or being weak inside with no rebounding, and one is a junior and the other is a senior. Given this thread, it appears a lot of people are making the same observation. Enoch = impact + upside, Nolan and Facey = zero to limited impact with no upside. I would rather see Enoch out there going through his growing pains as Nolan and Facey have hit their very low ceilings. He has natural God given ability, he is simply a better athlete than the other two, what he needs to improve on wont come from more practice. I think he gives the team a better chance to win now, and in the future. KO sounds like he is starting to come around to the same thinking. The "flaws" in his game people point out are outweighed by his impact on the game.

You can stand by your original comments all you want, this team was playing elite D while he was playing very little. I like Enoch a lot and think he will be the starting C when Brimah departs, but that doesn't change my opinion that his understanding of how to hedge the high ball screen and sag back into coverage was a step behind the other bigs, and those defensive miscues add up and cost you games. There was a reason he wasn't playing (Jalen Adams was, so let's please stop this false narrative that KO wasn't giving him run), and despite the Boneyard's claims that they could coach this team better than KO, I'll defer to him on this one because it was obvious to anyone who understands defensive concepts that he Enoch had his shortcomings. Its a lot easier to give Enoch an extended run against USF than say SMU.

 

[Bryan Lord]

He might be ahead of brimah offensively already, rebounding is a push, much worse on D. Pretty good news.

 

[WallStreetHusky]

You can stand by your original comments all you want, this team was playing elite D while he was playing very little. I like Enoch a lot and think he will be the starting C when Brimah departs, but that doesn't change my opinion that his understanding of how to hedge the high ball screen and sag back into coverage was a step behind the other bigs, and those defensive miscues add up and cost you games. There was a reason he wasn't playing (Jalen Adams was, so let's please stop this false narrative that KO wasn't giving him run), and despite the Boneyard's claims that they could coach this team better than KO, I'll defer to him on this one because it was obvious to anyone who understands defensive concepts that he Enoch had his shortcomings. Its a lot easier to give Enoch an extended run against USF than say SMU.

I obviously defer to you, oh Wizard of Westwood, Mr. 6000 posts, the rest of us mere mortals bow to your hoops OPINIONS.

 

[Joobie]

Enoch is going to be a solid player.

Reminds me a lot of Dejuan Blair from Pitt.

He reminds me of a former UCONN warrior, Jeff Adrien!

 

[NotADimeBack]

I'd appreciate if he stepped his game up every time he gets an opportunity. You guys over hyped this kid heavy.
there are flashes of potential... If you're into that
Jalen Adams tho

 

[krinklecut]

Pay a lil bit more attention to pick and roll/ball screen coverage, Enoch was very deficient in that area compared to Nolan and even Facey, who isn't great in that area himself. A lot more to defense from a bigman than blocking shots.

Nolan is a horrible screener, he doesn't move out from under the basket.

 

[aceboon]

Nolan is a horrible screener, he doesn't move out from under the basket.

I'm talking ball screen defense my dude, and I disagree about him being a horrible screener on offense