Thanks, fleud. Your question is definitely valid - the centers got bailed out a lot last season, sometimes by Shabazz and other times by guys like Giffey and Daniels. Brimah and Nolan combined for zero points, five rebounds, and eight fouls in the national championship game. In the semi-final, they combined for three points, two rebounds, and eight fouls, and our best lineup that game was one with Giffey at center. Those raw numbers aren't necessarily indicative of the contributions they made - particularly defensively - but it isn't like we were looking at those battles with Young and Randle as favorable match-ups.
So you're correct in saying we're not going to win this season with the 2013-14 versions of Brimah and Nolan. But we're also not going to win this season with the 2013-14 version of Boatright, the 2013-14 version of Samuel, Calhoun, and so on. A level of anticipated improvement in returning players is implied in every team breakdown and preview, which in it of itself is a dangerous road to go down. Frequently, that improvement is more subtle, and less linear than we had hoped for. The talent we returned in 2011-12 was far more proven than what we return this season, and that was among the most frustrating seasons in UConn history for a variety of reasons. For all of my blabbering, we're all just guessing here.
Simply put, there are a lot of unproven players on this team, and how they are able to tailor their respective skill sets to the best interests of the team is even less known. But the talent is undeniable. I, and a lot of other people, believe Brimah and Purvis can be first round picks. Ryan Boatright is likely going to be close to an unanimous all-AAC first team preseason selection. Omar Calhoun is just a year removed from being named to the Big East all-freshman team. Daniel Hamilton was a borderline five star recruit. Facey was the Gatorade player of the year in New York, or at least in the running from what I remember. Samuel and Nolan played big time minutes on a national champion.
Every UConn team assumes a very distinct identity, and I'm hoping this one will hang its hat on transition scoring, rebounding, and defense. That being said, I expected last years team to be dominant offensively and occasionally struggle defensively, and the inverse was true. So again, I don't know much other than I'm excited for UConn hoops.