A few words about Omar

[Gurleyman]

Omar isn't a totally unknown commodity. We know he can score 20+ when he's on his game, and we know he can make pressure shots. He's not making shots right now so his mistakes are magnified. Giffey made as many mistakes today (three terrible passes to Brimah and Facey in the post off the dribble, for example), but hit a few shots so he was a net positive. Bazz made a few too, and only had 2 assists, but those are waaaaaay overshadowed by 26 big ones (including two big brass ones at the end). Omar made a couple mistakes as well, but since he shot 1-5, he gets folks here in a tizzy. If he shoots 4-5, I imagine hey, all's good.

There will come a game when it clicks again for Omar and he gets pointed back in the right direction. Maybe it will be against a cupcake, maybe it won't be until after the Holiday break when he gets a second wind or gets his head right. But here's the most important duck*ing thing for some of you to remember. Omar came here despite knowing we would be on probation his freshman year and he couldn't play in the NCAA Tournament. He could have bailed on his commitment with no questions asked and everyone would have understood. He stayed loyal to us when we were down, and when he really didn't have to. Personally, I think we should show him some of the same courtesy. It's barely December and we hopefully have four full months of basketball left before we wrap this thing up. Let him work through it.

In fact, everyone on this team has stayed loyal through something major (probation or coaching change/uncertainty) - we should appreciate all of them because we could easily be in a situation like football is in right now, instead of 8-0 and on the cusp of the top 10. This group of guys should be one of the favorite groups we've ever had, and yet it seems like we have more threads here killing people after wins than ever. I just don't get it.

 

[CTBasketball]

I feel like Omar is becoming a poor man's Rashad. Especially if he can't improve his handle.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Omar isn't a totally unknown commodity. We know he can score 20+ when he's on his game, and we know he can make pressure shots. He's not making shots right now so his mistakes are magnified. Giffey made as many mistakes today (three terrible passes to Brimah and Facey in the post off the dribble, for example), but hit a few shots so he was a net positive. Bazz made a few too, and only had 2 assists, but those are waaaaaay overshadowed by 26 big ones (including two big brass ones at the end). Omar made a couple mistakes as well, but since he shot 1-5, he gets folks here in a tizzy. If he shoots 4-5, I imagine hey, all's good.

There will come a game when it clicks again for Omar and he gets pointed back in the right direction. Maybe it will be against a cupcake, maybe it won't be until after the Holiday break when he gets a second wind or gets his head right. But here's the most important f* *ing thing for some of you to remember. Omar came here despite knowing we would be on probation his freshman year and he couldn't play in the NCAA Tournament. He could have bailed on his commitment with no questions asked and everyone would have understood. He stayed loyal to us when we were down, and when he really didn't have to. Personally, I think we should show him some of the same courtesy. It's barely December and we hopefully have four full months of basketball left before we wrap this thing up. Let him work through it.

In fact, everyone on this team has stayed loyal through something major (probation or coaching change/uncertainty) - we should appreciate all of them because we could easily be in a situation like football is in right now, instead of 8-0 and on the cusp of the top 10. This group of guys should be one of the favorite groups we've ever had, and yet it seems like we have more threads here killing people after wins than ever. I just don't get it.

Excellent post, though I thought it was supposed to be a "few words".

This is such a great group to root for. Love 'em.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

That's the entire argument. Omar almost never does anything else besides make shots. And he doesn't do that consistently enough. We all know his deficiencies on d and rebounding and passing. At least if giffey's shot is off you can count on him playing solid d. Or boxing somebody's out.
Omar almost never makes any other play. In fact he's pretty terrible at all other facets of the game. For a guy who is pretty much all offense, his shot is off
Way too often and he doesn't score very efficiently.
I like Omar. He had a good attitude and he bleeds blue, but he is really hurting us right now. Luckily we have bazz and deandre to bail is out.

 

[ZackB05]

I honestly think Omar and the team would benefit from him coming off the bench. Giffey is just better in every facet of the game. Omar needs to relax and take a breather. May be easier for him to come in and pick his spots. I think he can regain his confidence with small "wins" off the bench. The kid has ability but just seems completely lost right now. If anyone can get him to where he needs to be its Ollie.

 

[Gurleyman]

That's the entire argument. Omar almost never does anything else besides make shots. And he doesn't do that consistently enough. We all know his deficiencies on d and rebounding and passing. At least if giffey's shot is off you can count on him playing solid d. Or boxing somebody's out.
Omar almost never makes any other play. In fact he's pretty terrible at all other facets of the game. For a guy who is pretty much all offense, his shot is off
Way too often and he doesn't score very efficiently.
I like Omar. He had a good attitude and he bleeds blue, but he is really hurting us right now. Luckily we have bazz and deandre to bail is out.

Not for nothing, but watch Giffey on d on the last play of the game. He had his back to the play as Florida ran a guy right to the rim for the layup. It was more Boat's fault - he was caught trailing his man around a curl screen and giving him a,path to the basket jn the first place, but Giffey was in the best position to provide help and he was looking 180 degrees in the wrong direction, so he never saw it coming.

Hey, stuff happens and hopefully he learns from it, but a senior really can't make a mistake like that in that situation. You have to see the ball to play defense.

 

[upstater]

That's the entire argument. Omar almost never does anything else besides make shots. And he doesn't do that consistently enough. We all know his deficiencies on d and rebounding and passing. At least if giffey's shot is off you can count on him playing solid d. Or boxing somebody's out.
Omar almost never makes any other play. In fact he's pretty terrible at all other facets of the game. For a guy who is pretty much all offense, his shot is off
Way too often and he doesn't score very efficiently.
I like Omar. He had a good attitude and he bleeds blue, but he is really hurting us right now. Luckily we have bazz and deandre to bail is out.

He played good defense last night too. Good midrange game, moves his feet on D.

 

[Stinger92860]

Not for nothing, but watch Giffey on d on the last play of the game. He had his back to the play as Florida ran a guy right to the rim for the layup. It was more Boat's fault - he was caught trailing his man around a curl screen and giving him a,path to the basket jn the first place, but Giffey was in the best position to provide help and he was looking 180 degrees in the wrong direction, so he never saw it coming.

Hey, stuff happens and hopefully he learns from it, but a senior really can't make a mistake like that in that situation. You have to see the ball to play defense.

Did you watch Boat chasing through screens. He was doing a great job busting his the last 3 minutes. He can't fight through every screen and he needed help on that play.

 

[mauconnfan]

Not for nothing, but watch Giffey on d on the last play of the game. He had his back to the play as Florida ran a guy right to the rim for the layup. It was more Boat's fault - he was caught trailing his man around a curl screen and giving him a,path to the basket jn the first place, but Giffey was in the best position to provide help and he was looking 180 degrees in the wrong direction, so he never saw it coming.

Hey, stuff happens and hopefully he learns from it, but a senior really can't make a mistake like that in that situation. You have to see the ball to play defense.

That was Deandre's fault and not Boat or Giffey......DD was playing Young on the pick and Boat got picked off and DD stayed tight rather than recognizing and leaving for Frazier.....it was on DD....Boat ran all over trying to stay with Frazier prior and did well doing so but ran into Young the 2nd go round....

 

[mauconnfan]

We need Omar no doubt. I am rooting for the kid as i am sure everyone is. Bad news, his minutes aren't good now and we have players who are playing better. Nature of the beast. He needs to do other things, as KO said pre-game with Joe D, to ensure he stays on the court even when not scoring. For now he's not doing the "other" things either and had hjis chance when he didn't box out the Gator down the stretch for a rebound instead giving up an easy putback.......he needs to start making open shots or they need to play Giffey or Kromah early! Simple for now....can't lose ground waiting for a guy to get his confidence......

 

[hungry husky]

I feel like Omar is becoming a poor man's Rashad. Especially if he can't improve his handle.

That's a bad comparison. Rashad was money. He's a poor many's Giffey. He hit a really nice turnaround last night.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I honestly think Omar and the team would benefit from him coming off the bench. Giffey is just better in every facet of the game. Omar needs to relax and take a breather. May be easier for him to come in and pick his spots. I think he can regain his confidence with small "wins" off the bench. The kid has ability but just seems completely lost right now. If anyone can get him to where he needs to be its Ollie.

I'm concerned that if you demote him to a bench role, there's no chance he breaks out of it and becomes the stud wing we need him to be this year and over the next two. If you start him, you give him a chance to get into the flow of the game earlier and assess right away whether or not he "has it" that night.

I think Ollie played things more or less correctly yesterday, giving Giff the lion's share of the minutes even though he came off the bench.

 

[ktuck911]

I'm concerned that if you demote him to a bench role, there's no chance he breaks out of it and becomes the stud wing we need him to be this year and over the next two. If you start him, you give him a chance to get into the flow of the game earlier and assess right away whether or not he "has it" that night.

I think Ollie played things more or less correctly yesterday, giving Giff the lion's share of the minutes even though he came off the bench.

Good point, but remember one thing KO preaches: HUMILITY. Right now, Omar's humility is being tested. Leave the egos at the front door and come to play as a team first. Omar's being sculpted right now into a man. Year 2 of 4. IMO, he'll be fine.

 

[Scot-e]

OC is a quality player who has been in a slump. As a 2 what he needs to do is score and play D- I think he has the skills to do that. We have been lucky up to this point but if we are having these same conversations in January so will the coaching staff. Hopefully this run of cupcakes gets his mojo back- if not we should bring in Luke Skywalker as a coach and try blindfolding him to see if he can use "the force" to make a few baskets.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I feel like Omar is becoming a poor man's Rashad. Especially if he can't improve his handle.

So then we can expect him to score points (and a lot of them) at some point in his career? So far, he's got the "poor" part down pat.

 

[Gurleyman]

That was Deandre's fault and not Boat or Giffey......DD was playing Young on the pick and Boat got picked off and DD stayed tight rather than recognizing and leaving for Frazier.....it was on DD....Boat ran all over trying to stay with Frazier prior and did well doing so but ran into Young the 2nd go round....

DD is partially to blame, too, but with us putting out a lineup with no bigs, he is being asked to cover the guy who has been killing us all night, giving up at least 50 pounds. He probably was in stay at home/keep him off the glass mode.

Giffey was looking 180 degrees in the wrong direction and never saw the play happen. I love the guy, but that was terrible defensive fundamentals on the biggest defensive play of the game. Unless he was instructed to face guard Yeguete, in which case I wonder what the hell our bench was thinking.

 

[UChusky916]

We need Omar no doubt. I am rooting for the kid as i am sure everyone is. Bad news, his minutes aren't good now and we have players who are playing better. Nature of the beast. He needs to do other things, as KO said pre-game with Joe D, to ensure he stays on the court even when not scoring. For now he's not doing the "other" things either and had hjis chance when he didn't box out the Gator down the stretch for a rebound instead giving up an easy putback.......he needs to start making open shots or they need to play Giffey or Kromah early! Simple for now....can't lose ground waiting for a guy to get his confidence......

Great post Mau. Agreed.
He's simply NOT doing other things to stay on the court, as you said. That missed box-out was big. 2 easy points for UF. I think KO was intending to keep him in there at that point, even if he kept missing shots, but not when you don't box out. After that, he didn't see the court again.

Let's not forget that, if Giffey wasn't shooting an incredible 85% from 3 after the first 4 or 5 games, we would have been talking about how terrific Omar was shooting (he was near 60% from 3). I think it got a little into his head to the point where he thought that every time he caught the ball he could just hoist it up.

Now he's realizing that he can't do that and he's trying to get in the lane and do other things, but he's forcing it. Last night we needed Omar against UF's bigger guards but he was too indecisive and turned the ball over early. Add in his poor box-out on a team that can't buy a rebound, and that equals the bench.

While I agree he does need to work on other parts of his game, I do like his mid-range game and his ability to drive to the hoop. He has a good floater in the lane as well. He should try getting into the lane and initiating contact and get to the line. Sometimes a shooter just needs to see the ball go in a few times, even if it's from the stripe.

You have to let a shooter work through his slumps. I know Omar will. He's going to put up a lot of points in his time here at UConn. I'm glad he stuck to his guns and stayed a Husky through the program's transition period, so for that we have to give him the benefit of the doubt (as OP stated). Omar will break out of his slump soon everyone will get off of his back.

 

[Gurleyman]

You can blame all three of them. Boat was working hard the whole possession, so he should be forgiven to a degree - just got picked off trailing around that curl screen, which opened a path to the basket (you'd rather give up a perimeter shot with no bigs on the floor, if you had to give something up). DD offered no help on the screen, as he was locked up with Young (showing more concern about keeping a body on him than hedging), and Giff was just inexplicably out in lala land. He has absolutely no clue where the ball is. None. Seriously - WTF is he doing here? (and it isn't an unfair screen capture - that's where he was looking the whole play). http://Post original url/1bftLif

 

[Inyatkin]

Agree completely about Omar sticking with us when probably everyone expected him to seek greener pastures.
I also don't get how everyone can completely forget how down they can get on someone in a slump. My god, the things that were said about Shabazz two years ago would make you cringe. It was unfair then and just looks stupid now.
Maybe Omar will flame out, but I'd say it's much more likely we'll be looking back in wonder that anyone could have been so down on him.

 

[selles]

You can blame all three of them. Boat was working hard the whole possession, so he should be forgiven to a degree - just got picked off trailing around that curl screen, which opened a path to the basket (you'd rather give up a perimeter shot with no bigs on the floor, if you had to give something up). DD offered no help on the screen, as he was locked up with Young (showing more concern about keeping a body on him than hedging), and Giff was just inexplicably out in lala land. He has absolutely no clue where the ball is. None. Seriously - WTF is he doing here? (and it isn't an unfair screen capture - that's where he was looking the whole play). ]

In fairness, Florida had fed the post approximately 35 possessions in a row and both DD and Giffey were at a size disadvantage trying to keep their guys from getting position, I'm sure that played into their lack of response on the drive.

 

[7774]

So then we can expect him to score points (and a lot of them) at some point in his career? So far, he's got the "poor" part down pat.

Guess you missed last season. Too bad, it was pretty enjoyable all things considered.

 

[sdhusky]

Guess you missed last season. Too bad, it was pretty enjoyable all things considered.

Exactly. TDH is an idiot.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

So then we can expect him to score points (and a lot of them) at some point in his career? So far, he's got the "poor" part down pat.

He was on the all-conference rookie team last year. Posts like that just make you sound like an as shole.

 

[David 76]

Minutes have been adjusted based on reality. Always consider the possibility that KO might know what he is doing.
For those rooting for Omar but concerned about his play, I understand but be patient.
For those knocking Omar, this has happened with, Napier, Daniels, Boat, Kemba, Taliek, Tate George, Rudy Gay, Charlie Villanueva and just about every great husky except Ray Allen. But I don't think I've ever heard a "I was wrong maybe I should learn something" from the people who knocked them.
All of our championships were won with point guards many UCONN fans couldn't live with (More, Brown, Walker) at some point of their career.
They are kids and I assume Omar feels worse about his lack of production than you do.

 

[Palatine]

We know Omar can shoot. He has proven it. He has also shown, at times, to be a good rebounder. He is still working on his handle. He just came off surgery. He is not playing great but he needs to work his way through it.