2013 / 2014 can be really special | Page 3 | The Boneyard

2013 / 2014 can be really special

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freescooter said:
This is my opinion. too. Arguing that UConn will be a contender means that you'll be getting an awful lot of front court help from a couple of guys who are generally regarded as being not quite ready for prime time, and a couple of guys who clearly haven't been all that good. Even with Boatright and Napier back, this team is going to be more along the line of a Sweet 16 at best rather than a Final Four team.
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I could go for a S16 team. But since we aren't Syracuse, I'd prefer a FF. I agree with your assessment, but an upset or two changes everything.
 
Brochacho said:
I could go for a S16 team. But since we aren't Syracuse, I'd prefer a FF. I agree with your assessment, but an upset or two changes everything.
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When we won the national championship in 2011, our starting center was Tyler Olander . Sometimes Chuck Okwandu would start...
 
willie99 said:
Ollie: “this may be our missing link. DD is going to get stronger, he may even be our next great wing. Wolf is going to improve again and be better than he is this year. Tyler may eventually find that confidence in himself to be the player KO thinks he can be, and Facey hopefully has the Jeff Adrien motor we're lacking down low. If he does, everyone else will be better too
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Again, I admire your optimism, but Jeff Adrien takes dumps that weigh more than Facey. He's not going to come in and start bodying people in the paint.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Again, I admire your optimism, but Jeff Adrien takes dumps that weigh more than Facey. He's not going to come in and start bodying people in the paint.
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what special players and special seasons did you see coming before they came? what calls did you make?

Of course, throughout this thread I only talked about potential for success while you prefer to emphasize the potential for mediocrity. You even suggested kids don't improve from year to year. My optimism is based on history and tradition, can't speak for where your pessimism comes from.

Recent calls I made in very similar circumstances: 2010/2011 was going to be an improvement from 2009/2010. We were going to benefit from addition by subtraction and our leadership and chemistry can only improve. Most people didn't share my optimism. We lost our leading scorers and they didn't like our freshmen class, we lost out on all the top recruits (except 1) and the program was in decline. Of course, nobody could predict how much better we would eventually be.

I said the 07/08 team would be much better than the 06/07 team if only because everyone was going to be one year older. I think optimism was split that year

I see no reason to not be optimistic.
 
To be honest , our players haven't developed at the clip I was expecting. Giffey is nothing more than a statue out there. Daniels is still a broomstick and goes in/out games mentally, though only a sophmore. Olander has been here 3 years and still looks the same physically. Napiers been hobbled but is a better shooter. Maybe it's the lack of competition for tick. it really pushes kids when you have to fight for minutes.
 
MikeSol12 said:
When we won the national championship in 2011, our starting center was Tyler Olander . Sometimes Chuck Okwandu would start...
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We had a very effective post player named Alex Oriakhi in the 2011 post season.
 
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willie99 said:
what special players and special seasons did you see coming before they came? what calls did you make?
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The 1999 Team was going to be good and everyone knew it. They were ranked in the top5 in every pre-season poll and had gotten to the Elite 8 the year before, so while I'm not sure anyone exactly believed UConn would win a national championship, and that had more to do with UConn's history than the team's ability, it wasn't like anyone didn't expect them to be a real contender. In 2004 they were again considered a true contender, and they were in 2006 as well, and many people thought they'd be a contender in 2009...really only 2011 was a surprise. I think most people though they were a year away from being a real contender. So 2011 was really the exception where the combination of the lack of a true dominant team and having the best player lead to a championship that was pretty unexpected.
 
If the bigs can play well, we'll go as far as Bazz and Boat and Omar.
 
freescooter said:
The 1999 Team was going to be good and everyone knew it. They were ranked in the top5 in every pre-season poll and had gotten to the Elite 8 the year before, so while I'm not sure anyone exactly believed UConn would win a national championship, and that had more to do with UConn's history than the team's ability, it wasn't like anyone didn't expect them to be a real contender. In 2004 they were again considered a true contender, and they were in 2006 as well, and many people thought they'd be a contender in 2009...really only 2011 was a surprise. I think most people though they were a year away from being a real contender. So 2011 was really the exception where the combination of the lack of a true dominant team and having the best player lead to a championship that was pretty unexpected.
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who said anything about 1999? I said 97/98 was an incredible leap from the NIT season of 96/97

also talked about 01/02, not 03/04

and 07/08, not 05/06

every season I mentioned they exceeded their expectations by a significant amount. every season I mentioned they didn't do well the previous season and had the same core returning

you're talking about something totally different
 
D$ said:
Let's be real here for a second. He will more than likely have people in his ear that he is good enough now and he himself is not short on self confidence. If he believes that he is going to make high 6 or low 7 figures, he's going to jump at the chance.
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He'll look at it and he should, but hopefully he'll listen to Coach Calhoun's contacts (and perhaps Coach Ollie's) and realize that he'll maximize his return by waiting a year. If on the other hand, he's at close to peak value, and Calhoun will tell him so, then I wish him the best.
 
Perspective said:
While I'd love to see it, I think that's hopeful. Fact is, next year's team is going to be substantially the same as this year's team, but we'll be losing RJ and maybe Boat or Bazz. Essentially, it's this years team with 13 more games under their belts, with freshmen added. I don't really expect huge improvement from this year. If Boat leaves then I would expect that there would be a drop off from this year. Sure, guys will get a bit stronger and have a bit more experience, and Wolf's vertical may go up 25% to 5 inches, but that won't cure our basic ailment, which is the lack of a front court that can rebound effectively, score on occasion, and defend the paint.

What I expect to see is more of what we have this year, which is a great group of kids who are busting their asses to do the best with what they have, plus tournament incentive, which, for next year, should be stronger in them than in most others.

Boat has a very strong ego. Fact is, if he was thinking about going last year, he's probably thinking about it more now. I can't see him in the NBA, but I'm no pro scout. He seems to very much believe that that is where he should be, however, and, if people believe in something strongly enough, even if it's not true, they sometimes do irrational things.

Perhaps with the D-League players like Boat have substantially less risk by leaving early. Getting drafted and not making a starting roster is not nearly as detrimental to NBA aspirations as it was 20 years ago, where you would then disappear to Europe and likely never return. Adrien is a perfect example of a guy who was marginal, but, who through hard work and determination, used the D-League to prove his worth to the league. Given that the D-League truly is the echelon immediately below the NBA, it may even be a better proving ground for players than another year in college.

I'd say UConn is a 25-30 ranked team right now. If Boat comes back, I think we're 18-25 range next year, with a chance to run to the EE based on effort and feistyness, but with a sweet sixteen appearance being the mark of an excellent year and excellent progression under KO.

Oh. And I don't see Bazz leaving - too prudent and too much to gain by staying.
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This doesn't give enough weight to playing time. Much to my surprise, Wolf is figuring it all out. Look for him to make the standard "sophmore" jump in BBIQ and fitness as this is his first year really being in the trenches. (Look for a dramatic improvement in Omar as well.) Also keep in mind that improving (hopefully) Nolan and the addition of Facey allows us to put both Wolf and Tyler on floor at the same time. That will up our physicality a lot and really help TO who is not a center but is a servicable PF. Keeping Boat and Bazz is key, though. They are the engine.
 
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Perhaps Coach Ollie's? I would hope KO is the first person he is going to regarding his NBA chances and what front offices think of him instead of Calhoun.


CL82 said:
He'll look at it and he should, but hopefully he'll listen to Coach Calhoun's contacts (and perhaps Coach Ollie's) and realize that he'll maximize his return by waiting a year. If on the other hand, he's at close to peak value, and Calhoun will tell him so, then I wish him the best.
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aceboon said:
Perhaps Coach Ollie's? I would hope KO is the first person he is going to regarding his NBA chances and what front offices think of him instead of Calhoun.
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I suspect KO has established ties to the league that will tell him where our guys would end up. I know Calhoun does. There's no doubt in my mind that Calhoun will be a part of this process, especially for Bazz.
 
CL82 said:
I suspect KO has established ties to the league that will tell him where our guys would end up. I know Calhoun does. There's no doubt in my mind that Calhoun will be a part of this process, especially for Bazz.
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The guy played for 13 years in the league and a majority of that at the end of his career was because of what front offices thought of him as a lockerroom guy, it should be obvious that he's developed a good rapport with NBA front offices, the OKC GM Sam Presti even said as much. Nevermind the fact that KO has direct and recent ties to the NBA, KO is his coach, not Calhoun. If Boat or Bazz are going to Calhoun first about what they should do as far as going pro KO should be offended.
 
aceboon said:
The guy played for 13 years in the league and a majority of that at the end of his career was because of what front offices thought of him as a lockerroom guy, it should be obvious that he's developed a good rapport with NBA front offices, the OKC GM Sam Presti even said as much. Nevermind the fact that KO has direct and recent ties to the NBA, KO is his coach, not Calhoun. If Boat or Bazz are going to Calhoun first about what they should do as far as going pro KO should be offended.
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Either way they're not NBA ready. For even Boatright to be thinking about this is asinine.
 
willie99 said:
what special players and special seasons did you see coming before they came? what calls did you make?

Of course, throughout this thread I only talked about potential for success while you prefer to emphasize the potential for mediocrity. You even suggested kids don't improve from year to year. My optimism is based on history and tradition, can't speak for where your pessimism comes from.

Recent calls I made in very similar circumstances: 2010/2011 was going to be an improvement from 2009/2010. We were going to benefit from addition by subtraction and our leadership and chemistry can only improve. Most people didn't share my optimism. We lost our leading scorers and they didn't like our freshmen class, we lost out on all the top recruits (except 1) and the program was in decline. Of course, nobody could predict how much better we would eventually be.

I said the 07/08 team would be much better than the 06/07 team if only because everyone was going to be one year older. I think optimism was split that year

I see no reason to not be optimistic.
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What special seasons did I see coming before they happened? 1999 and 2004 are two that jump out at me. Do you know why? Because they had seasons immediately prior that indicated they were on the verge of something special.

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic, and I certainly never suggested that kids don't improve from year to year. I won't even bother to ask you to show me where i said it because you're just making things up. (Although I would mention, while we're on the topic, that Giffey probably played his single best game in a UConn jersey against Kentucky in Maui, about 2 weeks into his career.)

Look, you are without question the biggest homer on this board. I get that. Your boy "Jimmy" could have killed a drifter at halftime of a game at Gampel and you would have found a way to blame the drifter.

But what I'm saying is that the idea that a team that has the weaknesses this team has, that has been absolutely manhandled on the boards for most of the year, has very little - if any - consistent post presence, has two reliable scorers and they're both under 6 feet tall, and is adding two projects next season, is not poised to be "special" just by virtue of being a year older. Tyler Olander is not going to turn into Okafor just because he's a senior. He's been here three years. And recognizing that what we can hope for is probably incremental improvement doesn't make me a pessimist.
 
This hopefully is a dress rehearsal for next year with a deep NCAA Tourney push next year. Got to think that staying does more for their career than being tested and sent to D league or Europe. Its a harsh world at the Pro Level. No one knows this better than Ollie. If they play their cards right they will be Sr members of an awesome team next year and will show case to drive up their value.
 
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The claims that Daniels has shown any signs of becoming a great or elite wing are preposterous
 
aceboon said:
The guy played for 13 years in the league and a majority of that at the end of his career was because of what front offices thought of him as a lockerroom guy, it should be obvious that he's developed a good rapport with NBA front offices, the OKC GM Sam Presti even said as much. Nevermind the fact that KO has direct and recent ties to the NBA, KO is his coach, not Calhoun. If Boat or Bazz are going to Calhoun first about what they should do as far as going pro KO should be offended.
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Reread my post and then dial it back notch chief. We're on the same page.
 
CL82 said:
Reread my post and then dial it back notch chief. We're on the same page.
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We're actually not on the same page at all, and I'm quite calm, your post is just bizarre and I'm pointing that out.
 
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