2014-2015 Starting Lineup

[champs99and04]

No. He was guarding guys like Stanley Johnson who was ready for the NBA when he was 16 or 17 years old. D-Ham is battle tested. Watch the St. John Bosco game against Mater Dei on youtube.

Stanley Johnson was not ready for the NBA at 16 or 17 years old. He probably isn't now, either. I don't care who he played in high school, college basketball is really hard. It usually takes even McDonald's all-Americans a year or two to adjust. Hell, just figuring out what you can and can't do out there can take a better half of a year. I'm sure D-Ham will learn there are some things he can't get away with anymore. D-Ham might be more talented than Omar. Difference is, Omar has identified and worked to improve his weaknesses. That alone might give him an upper hand.

 

[PAHusky]

1. Anyone who thinks we'll be starting Nolan and Brimah together, much less playing them together, is totally out of their minds. Makes absolutely zero basketball sense in so many ways.
2. The only locks to start at the beginning of the season are Boatright and Purvis. Nolan will almost certainly start over Brimah, at least to start the year off. Brimah has way more potential than Nolan but he's not as consistent, so until Brimah completely turns his talent into production he'll come off the bench like last year.
3. The 3 spot will be Calhoun's to lose. Could DHam pass him by the start of conference play? Absolutely, but I think that KO will give Omar every opportunity to start. DHam is a fantastic prospect and did extraordinary things in high school, and I think he has the chance to contribute more than any freshman we've had since maybe Lamb/Bazz or Drummond, but making the jump is a difficult thing, even for highly rated and supremely talented kids - just ask DD.
4. Facey will get the nod at the 4. I think he'll surprise many with how quietly effective he'll be this year. How fickle we are with our players! If you're a recruit and haven't played a minute we'll fall all over ourselves to declare you the next Jesus, but if you're a sophomore who didn't get a lot of run because you sat behind an NBA draft pick you're totally marginalized. I'd love for Rock to turn out half as well as some on this board are convinced (that comparison to Blair was pure farce, by the way), but I think it will take a few years, at the very least. Kids who dominate due to size in high school usually take a bit to adjust to the fact that everyone is now physically their peer.
5. Start of the season I think we'll trot out Boat-Purvis-Calhoun-Facey-Nolan, with Brimah, TSam and Hamilton first off the bench, Sam Jr and Rock getting mop up minutes. By the beginning of conference play, if our players with potential turn that into production, it may be Boat-Purvis-DHam-Facey-Brimah, though I think DHam will get the nod before Brimah in the starting lineup.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

No. He was guarding guys like Stanley Johnson who was ready for the NBA when he was 16 or 17 years old. D-Ham is battle tested. Watch the St. John Bosco game against Mater Dei on youtube.

I watched part of the 2013 game btw SJB & MD. Can you post the 2014 Utube game. I couldn't find that 1. Thx in advance.

 

[Inyatkin]

Even with all our new players, it's no exaggeration to say Omar Calhoun is our biggest wildcard this year. He could give us nothing, like last year, or emerge as a really good player. Either one is equally plausible, I think.

 

[scrappy2.0]

Brimah is a lock because he is the sole rim protector and thats who you start the game with. From what is sounds like Facey will be the stretch 4 likely to start Im sure Boatright and Purvis are in there--and then you have either 3 guard alignment with Samuel or whoever wins it out of Calhoun and Hamilton. It really doesnt matter right now--its not that big of a deal who starts.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

This team has the capability to put on the floor the best defensive team in the country. It just depends how often we see particular line ups. I think we have 5 guys that will be used at times... not just to protect the yard but also create havoc on the perimeter. My hope for a very deep run and possible title repeat revolves the potential this team has to defend. I anticipate being frustrated at times with various lineups. The good thing is I have confidence in KO that when it is winning time in March this team will be peaking and defending at a Nat Champ level.

UConn has a very legit shot at the Final4 with minutes dispersed putting a premium on D. Pretty exciting stuff.

 

[Mano]

Frankly, I don't think any of us can reliably expect to know what Calhoun will bring to the table this year. Last year was a lost year due to (mostly) injuries and confidence. If you couldn't see that Omar was not the same player in terms of mobility that he was as even a freshman then I'm not sure what you were watching. And to those begrudging his stats as a freshman, do none of you remember ALL the extenuating circumstances that affected that team that year? What freshman UConn wing is asked to play 32 mpg? And his final shooting numbers were severely affected by injuries that limited his shooting in his last two games (when they were struggling to even put enough healthy players on the court, and he missed the last game due to injury lest we forget) to 2-21 from the field and 2-15 from 3 which dragged his overall percentages down from about 44%/35% to where he finished. All in all, I'd say he had a damn good freshman year. Last year was a real shame that his development couldn't continue and this year I'm truly looking for him to get back to close to his freshman counting stats while improving those percentages.

 

[uconnbill]

Boat-PG
Purvis-SG
Calhoun-SF
Facey-PF
Brimah-C

Samuel first guard off the bench
Nolan first big man off the bench
Hamilton first forward off the bench

 

[jleves]

We've lost Napier, Daniels, Giffey, Kromah and Olander (and Watts!). The only sure starter is obviously Boat. The rest may be in flux for several weeks. Just give me a team with lots of interchangeable spots that is good enough to get to the final four and I'm good. I don't care who starts. Trying to decipher this now without seeing so many new players and so may existing players who hopefully have improved it ridiculous.

Let's let the coaching staff sort this out. People arguing absolutes at this point (other than Boat) are ridiculous. If you just want to predict, that's fun - but beyond that, I don't think anyone knows - probably not even Coach Ollie at this point.

 

[Yankees32123]

I watched part of the 2013 game btw SJB & MD. Can you post the 2014 Utube game. I couldn't find that 1. Thx in advance.

Here's the link … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-_ab10JAYQ

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Here's the link … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-_ab10JAYQ

Ok thanks that's the 1 I watched. I thought there may have been a 2014 meeting.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I pretty much think we have 4 locks as starters with Boat, Purvis, Hamilton and Brimah, the other spot will be either Nolan or Facey.

I thought this was clear as day. People who dont see this dont have a very good understanding of the current age of college basketball

 

[Burnsbros23]

I think Sam Cassell JR is and will be a better player than Omar this season. I think Omar was exposed last season. Shot has too low of a release point, can't dribble, and a below average defender.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I think Sam Cassell JR is and will be a better player than Omar this season. I think Omar was exposed last season. Shot has too low of a release point, can't dribble, and a below average defender.

For the 100th time, Omar wasn't healthy last season.

 

[Inyatkin]

The Brimah/Nolan thing is like Charlie Villanueva and Josh Boone in 2004. Everyone knew Villanueva was a better prospect and had a brighter future and everything else, and that was all true. Boone still started over him all year. But somehow anyone who doesn't think Brimah is a lock to start is ignorant or doesn't understand college basketball.

 

[aceboon]

The Brimah/Nolan thing is like Charlie Villanueva and Josh Boone in 2004. Everyone knew Villanueva was a better prospect and had a brighter future and everything else, and that was all true. Boone still started over him all year. But somehow anyone who doesn't think Brimah is a lock to start is ignorant or doesn't understand college basketball.

Seems like that CV/JB scenario already played out this past season tho. Who knows maybe Nolan gets the nod over him, but after the way KO singled him out for praise in regards to his growth and development, and JC echoed similar comments shortly thereafter, I expect Brimah to be the starting C. I often feel that Nolan gets a raw deal on here from those who only focus on him getting blocked or missing bunnies on the offensive end and overlook how good he is on defense with his rotations and defending ball screens, but I expect Brimah to be one of the best defensive Cs in all of college ball this year and much better at getting his foul situation under control. I can't see that type of weapon coming off the bench.

 

[Dmike]

But somehow anyone who doesn't think Brimah is a lock to start is ignorant or doesn't understand college basketball.

Perhaps you are ignorant of the fact that Brimah had surgery this offseason and Nolan put on 25-30 Lbs. of muscle while Brimah was rehabbing. I would not be so sure that Brima will show the improvement you anticipate. Also, a beefed up Nolan may be better than you think. Prima seriously would have benefited from being able to take advantage of the off-season to work on his skills and put on muscle. He's clearly the better prospect, but may not be the better player at the start of the season.

 

[bmo22]

Here's a lineup I don't think has been thrown out there:

Boatright
Samuel
Purvis
Nolan
Brimah

I'd like to see this 5 get some run together, maybe not at the start of the game but down the stretch. Definitely our best defensive lineup and the speed with Samuel and Purvis running the wings on the break would be fun to watch. This would probably only work for extended minutes if Purvis proves he can hit the outside jumper. Anyway I really liked what I saw from Samuel last year and Nolan and Brimah down low, should they stay out of foul trouble, would really clog up the lane. Can't wait for the season to start.

 

[Inyatkin]

Perhaps you are ignorant of the fact that Brimah had surgery this offseason and Nolan put on 25-30 Lbs. of muscle while Brimah was rehabbing. I would not be so sure that Brima will show the improvement you anticipate. Also, a beefed up Nolan may be better than you think. Prima seriously would have benefited from being able to take advantage of the off-season to work on his skills and put on muscle. He's clearly the better prospect, but may not be the better player at the start of the season.

Yeah try rereading what I wrote.
I could easily see Brimah starting. The point is that it's an open question, and not at all the lock some people are making it out to be.

 

[Dmike]

Yes, reading comprehension is important. I agree with you wholeheartedly. As restitution for my prior transgressions, I have now liked your post.

 

[allday2345]

At the very least I think what we can all agree on is there will be many different starting lineups this year and lineup combos.

Who knows what Ollie has in store and it would be ignorant of us to guarantee certain players starting because we simply don't know.

Starting lineup is also different than who is a better player and who gets more minutes...there seems to be a lot of back and forth on that topic in this thread.

My Favorite Starting Lineup however would be:

Samuel
Boat
Purvis
Facey
Brimah

 

[allday2345]

Also, starting lineup isn't necessarily based just on who is better at the college level.

So many things factor in such as
-Seniority
-Chemistry
-Confidence (From Starting or not)
-Injury/Rehab
-Discipline Problems
-Grades
-Players bringing energy off the bench (Brimah and Samuel bring great energy into the game coming off the bench and provide a spark that others can't)

 

[bmayuc]

You said that, as a freshman, "his calling card was raining 3 pointers." He was below-average on 3 pointers, so that was wrong.

I'm not saying he can't improve, but you're saying he's guaranteed to become something he's never been just because Shabazz Napier improved a lot at UConn. Even if we ignore last season, when Calhoun shot incredibly poorly, there's no particular reason to assume he's due to become any sort of 3 point marksman.



Allen and Gordon were on the benches of really deep teams, they both averaged more than 20 points/40 minutes as freshman, and they did it with much better shooting numbers. I'm not sure what kind of comparison you're trying to make here, but it doesn't appear to make much sense.

Production is the comparison. He made 45 3pts his freshmen year, which places him conveniently between Ray Allen(33 made 3's) and Ben Gordon(62 made 3's) as a freshman. That was far and away his strength. My point is that he PRODUCED as a freshman, a rare quality here at UCONN. Yea he shot 32% but the expectation was that would improve, as he had proved he had the balls to take/make big 3's. Do you remember this?

 

[CL82]

I'd expect Nolan to start at the 5 until Brimah shows that he's got the fouling bug kicked. JC used to say that first sub ought to make you better and I kind of see that thought process with Brimah. Just after you get used running your stuff against Nolan, who I fully expected to be improved, the big shot blocker comes in and forces you to adjust. I don't think we have enough depth at center 5 to use Nolan as a 4.

I'm rooting for Omar to be an improved version of his freshman self. I'm sure that Ollie is going to give him every chance to show that. I'm not worried about Hamilton, he'll end up with starter's minutes regardless of whether he's on the floor at the opening tip. If Omar isn't improved, we have options.

The big question to me is Facey. If he has improved he's a perfect piece to the puzzle, a true stretch 4. We'll see.

 

[Kitaman]

People saying Hamilton is already penciled to start is equivalent to Ollie making recruiting promises like other coaches many here loathe.

It ain't like his position is open, with no upperclassmen to compete against.

Reminds me somewhat of the Boat/Bazz discussion around here when Boat was a freshman yet to suit up.