Zags: UConn Guards Poised To Make Postseason Run

[aceboon]

http://zagsblog.com/articles/uconn-guards-poised-to-make-postseason-run/#more-100059

 

[nomar]

"UConn was banned from the postseason because of their sub-standard APR scores and the Huskies missed out on the Big East and NCAA Tournaments."

That is bad journalism. It implies that last year's team or the prior year's team had sub-standard APR scores. The rest of the article is nice, though.

 

[CTBasketball]

Was this article intended to make fun of Boatright? Or can he really not speak to the press well?

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Was this article intended to make fun of Boatright? Or can he really not speak to the press well?

Have you ever heard him talk?

 

[CTBasketball]

Have you ever heard him talk?

I've met him in person and spoke with him several times. This is the first article I've ever read where the interviewer decided to put 'nother instead of another. Lots of stuff like that.

 

[HooperScooper]

Was this article intended to make fun of Boatright? Or can he really not speak to the press well?

Most sports writers take quotes from athletes and write them in proper English so it's easier to read. But not Zags. He has to quote them verbatim. Or maybe Zags thinks that's proper English.

 

[champs99and04]

“The Big East was a historic conference,” he said. “I watched it all my life growing up and I hated to see it broke up. And it made me the great player I am today"

Never change, Boat.

 

[UChusky916]

“The Big East was a historic conference,” he said. “I watched it all my life growing up and I hated to see it broke up. And it made me the great player I am today"

Never change, Boat.

Lots of ME ME ME, I I I from Boat this offseason.


Really hope Boat's ego doesn't affect his play negatively this year.

The team can be GREAT when he's playing well (see Syracuse game last year) but when he's not, it could spell trouble for us. I just hope he's mature enough to know when to defer and learn to contribute to the game in other ways and not force things when his shot isn't falling. Hopefully Ollie will keep him on track.

 

[aboogieee]

Lots of ME ME ME, I I I from Boat this offseason.

Would you rather him speak in third person?

 

[Pmurph678]

Would you rather him speak in third person?

He was looking for more "we"

Boat is as cocky as they come, but we should leave the hating to the rivals

 

[Kitaman]

I cringed when I read Boat's comments. Not because of what or how he said it, but because of the critical reaction I was expecting on the Yard.

Boat is Boat, and fans aren't going to change him. He's ours and I'm glad no one else's. Can we leave him (his speech) alone, as he will be heard more of this season? He loves the team, his teammates and the University, even if its not expressed satisfactorily (or correctly to others).

 

[MrP]

Lots of ME ME ME, I I I from Boat this offseason.


Really hope Boat's ego doesn't affect his play negatively this year.

The team can be GREAT when he's playing well (see Syracuse game last year) but when he's not, it could spell trouble for us. I just hope he's mature enough to know when to defer and learn to contribute to the game in other ways and not force things when his shot isn't falling. Hopefully Ollie will keep him on track.

I RARELY post on this forum, but read it every day (1st post with this username, which is my third, been on the boards since '03), but the witch hunt against Boatright that is characterized best by this post compels me to reply. It is just plain disingenuous to imply that Boatright only speaks about himself when in that article alone he uses the word "we", "us", "our", or "together" 10times. Moreover, it is clear that he has been ASKED about how his summer is going in terms of his personal development, otherwise he would have to be a complete egomaniac to just start talking about himself, unsolicited.

I guess the Boneyard always needs a whipping boy, and we've moved on from Shabazz, who is now our hero.

 

[aboogieee]

You can't like a comment twice on here? ^^^

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Lots of ME ME ME, I I I from Boat this offseason.


Really hope Boat's ego doesn't affect his play negatively this year.

The team can be GREAT when he's playing well (see Syracuse game last year) but when he's not, it could spell trouble for us. I just hope he's mature enough to know when to defer and learn to contribute to the game in other ways and not force things when his shot isn't falling. Hopefully Ollie will keep him on track.

EVERY time there's an article on one of our players, coaches, etc. someone, without fail, is going to say "is anyone else concerned by ...." and then point to something completely innocuous. Boatright's fine.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I also love the concern over the fact that certain guys have visions of leaving for the NBA after this year - as if that weren't the case with Russ Smith and Gorgui Deng last year, the entire Kentucky team the year before that, Kemba the year before that, etc.

Further, it's a pretty safe assumption that Napier and Boatright went into last year hoping that it would be their last one in college. If they were able to not let it change their games in a year where team success didn't ultimately matter a whole lot, it stands to reason that they'll be able to do it this year too.

 

[seanmc94]

I love that kid. Have since his presser announcing his college decision. He's a little crazy; but in a good way

 

[UChusky916]

I RARELY post on this forum, but read it every day (1st post with this username, which is my third, been on the boards since '03), but the witch hunt against Boatright that is characterized best by this post compels me to reply. It is just plain disingenuous to imply that Boatright only speaks about himself when in that article alone he uses the word "we", "us", "our", or "together" 10times. Moreover, it is clear that he has been ASKED about how his summer is going in terms of his personal development, otherwise he would have to be a complete egomaniac to just start talking about himself, unsolicited.
I guess the Boneyard always needs a whipping boy, and we've moved on from Shabazz, who is now our hero.

How am I creating a 'witch hunt' against Boat or making Boat a 'whipping boy'? I love Boat. See my avatar. I'm just expressing a concern.

EVERY time there's an article on one of our players, coaches, etc. someone, without fail, is going to say "is anyone else concerned by ...." and then point to something completely innocuous. Boatright's fine.

I'm not asking if anyone else is concerned by anything. Again, I'm just expressing my own concern.


Boat has made it well known that he is going to the NBA next year, seemingly regardless of the type of season he has. All I'm saying is that I think that type of attitude can possibly be detrimental to his play. I don't need to remind everyone that our program has recently had some of our players being overly-concerned with their NBA future instead of playing for the good of the team and letting the NBA stuff work itself out as a result of their play.

I think next year's team has all of the pieces to be very special. We know what we will get from Shabazz, kid's a stud. We know what we will be getting from Daniels (I expect him to be a consistent double-double performer and lottery pick by years end). Our front court remains somewhat a mystery, but I think with Daniels at the 4, finding a center who can defend and rebound shouldn't be too hard. We all know that a good back court is what matters come tournament play.

Boat is the wild card in my opinion. As I said before, when he's clicking with the team and when he's on, we can probably beat any other team in the country.
Boat plays a valuable role on this team as PG/2G with a lot of duties. He will be a primary ball handler, scorer and distributor.
How far this team goes in March hinges on how well he performs. I know Boat has improved and I expect a big leap in his play, especially defensively where he was constantly being beat off the dribble last year.
I am not some Boneyard basher saying that Boat should be saying only good things about the team and that he's a cancer to the team or any of that. He's a great, loyal kid and I speak for everyone when I say that I'm glad he stuck with the program after all of his eligibility issues freshman year and the postseason ban last year. He's a Chitown kid and his confidence and fearlessness is one of the reasons why he's so good offensively. I know he's gonna wear his heart on his sleeve and I expect Boat to be himself. I just hope he doesnt let any NBA aspirations cloud his judgement. That's all im saying.

 

[Uconn93]

http://zagsblog.com/articles/uconn-guards-poised-to-make-postseason-run/#more-100059

Boatright is a very good player and I'm glad he's on our team, but am I the only one that cringes when he is intereviewed? He doesn't exactly sound educated and I don't think it's the greatest reflection on the University.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's obvious Boat is focused on one thing: himself getting to the NBA. It's not the team-centric attitude of Shabazz that we all love. That's just not who Boat is.

At this point it's a question of whether or not Boat's self-interest will be attuned with the team's goals (playing within the offense vs. forcing things to showcase himself or improve his stats) and whether or not he's going to mentally check out in terms of team success (see 2006, 2012).

As one of the lead guards, it will be hard for him not to play with intensity, so really it's a question of the degree to which he plays selfishly to the detriment of the team.

 

[MrP]

I I just hope he doesnt let any NBA aspirations cloud his judgement. That's all im saying.

In you first post, you specifically said that you hope "his ego" doesn't get in the way, not his NBA aspirations. I don't mean to pick on one poster, b/c many have said similar things (including others in this thread), but I just don't think Boatright is ONLY concerned about the NBA, and I think this article proves my argument, not yours (and the others who have made such remarks).

Also, I didn't say you we're creating a witch hunt, I said the witch hunt (probably the wrong term..."smear campaign" maybe?) was best characterized by your post.

 

[UChusky916]

In you first post, you specifically said that you hope "his ego" doesn't get in the way, not his NBA aspirations. I don't mean to pick on one poster, b/c many have said similar things (including others in this thread), but I just don't think Boatright is ONLY concerned about the NBA, and I think this article proves my argument, not yours (and the others who have made such remarks).

Also, I didn't say you we're creating a witch hunt, I said the witch hunt (probably the wrong term..."smear campaign" maybe?) was best characterized by your post.

During last season, I was one of the few supporters of Boat while he was being torn apart on this board. Last year was essentially his freshman year since 2 years ago his season was so fractured (thanks NCAA). I thought he stepped his game up well enough last year but I expect a bigger leap this year.

Boat's swagger and toughness far outweigh the possible resulting negatives, I just hope next year he can cut back on the negative plays. With Shabazz and Ollie in his ear, I doubt his ego will come into play on the court.
The thing he needs to improve on most is his defense, as he was often a liability last year on that end of the floor. But I attribute that partially to the high amount of minutes he was playing. He also did a lot of the ball handling and was often relied on to create offense for the team. Next year I hope we see a steadier Boat.

 

[MrP]

Agreed, hopefully with carefully managed substitutions, boat and Shabazz can be the defensive pests we've seen them be in the past more consistently

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Continue watching and listening to this if you have a problem with the way he expresses himself:

Boat, keep doing your thing!!