Basketball: Ryan Boatright takes on expanded role at UConn

[Clockshop]

“I was thinking about going pro,” Boatright said. “I could have went late first-round, early second, but that’s not what I think I am. I think I’m a lottery, top-10 pick, so I just decided to come back to school. Me and my mom (Tanesha) thought that was the best decision for me, get bigger, get faster, get stronger and hopefully accomplish my goals to go into the draft next year.”


http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/spor...oatright-takes-on-expanded-role-at-uconn.html

 

[HooperScooper]

Whoa. Boatright would have gone late first round or early second round? Not so sure about that.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Sounds like Boat is gone after this year. So much for building towards 2014.

 

[HooperScooper]

Sounds like Boat is gone after this year. So much for building towards 2014.

Well they all think they are going pro before every year. I remember Denham Brown saying he was a one and done. Then after his freshman year it was two and done. Then after his sophomore season it was three and done. Then after his junior season he was going to be a lottery pick after his senior year. Let's just see how Ryan does this season.

 

[Palatine]

“I was thinking about going pro,” Boatright said. “I could have went late first-round, early second, but that’s not what I think I am. I think I’m a lottery, top-10 pick, so I just decided to come back to school. Me and my mom (Tanesha) thought that was the best decision for me, get bigger, get faster, get stronger and hopefully accomplish my goals to go into the draft next year.”

This borderline delusional. He would have gone undrafted.

The kid obviously has some bad people in his ear. Probably the same folks who gave him gifts as a high school kid. They want their pay day and they want it ASAP regardless of what is best for the Boat. Hopefully he listens to Calhoun and not the other voices.

 

[husky99]

Not sure about late 1stin round.. his height will be a factor in nba

 

[Kitaman]

Nate Robinson is a good barometer. Like Nate he has a huge disadvantage in height. Ryan is nowhere near him in skill sets.

Its not like he blew away the competition in the BE, and furthermore I'm not so sure he is that much better than a 'healthy' Bazz. Why he thinks he can hang in the NBA at this point in his game is shocking. He must have considered it with the post season ban and all the player departures and 'hopefully' quickly dismissed it.

But wait until the league players get a hold of this quote.

 

[Ricky1Moore]

What is boat smokin? Can I get some?

 

[aceboon]

After hearing these statements if Ryan has a good year I'd be shocked to see him back. His skills, size, and athleticism are comparable to Isiah Thomas, who came out after his junior year and showed that he should've gone alot higher than the last pick in the draft. He was miles ahead of Jimmer last year.

 

[aboogieee]

“My role will expand,” Boatright said. “I’ll get to do what I do best, which is score the ball a lot more. The offense will probably run through me. I’m the starting point guard, so I feel the need to get everybody involved.”

A role that I envisioned for him coming into UConn. Now we will get a chance to see why he was Chicago POY. He shown glimpses last season but this season it's time to put up ...

 

[willinphilly]

Nate Robinson is a good barometer. Like Nate he has a huge disadvantage in height. Ryan is nowhere near him in skill sets.

Its not like he blew away the competition in the BE, and furthermore I'm not so sure he is that much better than a 'healthy' Bazz. Why he thinks he can hang in the NBA at this point in his game is shocking. He must have considered it with the post season ban and all the player departures and 'hopefully' quickly dismissed it.

But wait until the league players get a hold of this quote.

Nate Robinson is a legendary freak athlete. Boat is an incredible athlete as well, but not in the same league. Boat is completely nuts to think he would have gone in the first round.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Anyone here remember Chad Wise? He told me he was going to the NBA haha. True story

 

[HuskyBballFan]

The list of players Boatright's size who have stayed less than three years is.....I can't even think of anybody. Ty Lawson needed three years, and he was built like a tank. Kemba needed three, and he was significantly stronger than Boatright is now. Steph Curry needed three years, and he was more skilled than Boatright.

To be fair to Ryan, he's obviously an extremely confident kid which is one of the things that makes him as good of a player as he is. He expects to have a huge year and show that he's ready for the next level - can't be mad at him for that. I'd be surprised if the "late first round" talk was the result of the typical vetting process from Calhoun - I'm sure it's Boatright's people telling him this. He'll hear the real story after the season is over.

 

[CL82]

Going into this year, I’ll be a captain,” Boatright said. “They want me to lead the team. That means a lot. It means I came a long way. It means that I earned the trust of my coaching staff by doing the right things.”

Can't wait to hear 'Bazz's take on his role this season. If he's on board, we'll be a fun team to watch.

 

[aceboon]

The list of players Boatright's size who have stayed less than three years is.....I can't even think of anybody. Ty Lawson needed three years, and he was built like a tank. Kemba needed three, and he was significantly stronger than Boatright is now. Steph Curry needed three years, and he was more skilled than Boatright.

To be fair to Ryan, he's obviously an extremely confident kid which is one of the things that makes him as good of a player as he is. He expects to have a huge year and show that he's ready for the next level - can't be mad at him for that. I'd be surprised if the "late first round" talk was the result of the typical vetting process from Calhoun - I'm sure it's Boatright's people telling him this. He'll hear the real story after the season is over.

Steph Curry is 6'3", much bigger than Boat, and yea I agree with the rest, I don't even think JC would even address the draft with Boat after last season, seems like something his family or Reggie Rose would say.

 

[dapriest]

The kid is cocky as hell.
That's a good thing, because it means he's fearless on the court, and confidence is very often critical to success. It also provides him with the no-conscience scorer's mentality that is required to hit big shots in big games.
That's a bad thing, because it means he's prone to make decisions, on and off the court, that are based on an irrational understanding of the world caused by said cockiness.
Love the Boat, but I'm not sure he would have been drafted in the 2nd round, and even considering it, given the downside, exemplifies the "bad thing" aspect of the cockiness.
For his sake, and for UConn's I hope the good thing outweighs the bad, in the end.

 

[UConnSwag11]

If Corey Joseph and Avery Bradley got drafted I'm sure boat could've

 

[EricLA]

Not sure about late 1stin round.. his height will be a factor in nba

Well it's good that he has confidence, but I'm in agreement that he had some idiots chirping in his ear. there's never going to be a huge rush on 5'10" PG's in the NBA. Kemba is 3" taller, phenomenally talented, and he'll end up a solid PG in the league. But Walker stayed at UCONN for 3 years and led them to the promised land with one clutch performance after another. I like the Nate Robinson comparison as the guy is 5'9", but Robinson is a 11.2 PPG career scorer. That's really good. Maybe Boat sees himself as a Robinson type of player. We will see how well he does this year.

 

[caw]

Looking at the PGs taken this year in the NBA Draft, it was a good year to go.

You had Lilliard (6), Marshall (13), Wroten (25), Teague (29), Tomas Satoransky (SP, 32), Tyshawn Taylor (41) and that's it. I don't count Rivers or Denmon as PGs.

I don't think he would have gone ahead of any of those guys. If he was 6'1 or 6'2, he would but he's not.

Boatright actually had a good year from an overall statistical POV. He is an athletic freak though and has an absurd handle.

Compared to Nate Robinson, I think Boatright is a bit taller and had a similar statistical year to Nate's first year at Washington.

10 PTS, 4 ASTS, 3.3 RBDS, 1.2 STLS, 2.2 TOS versus
13 PTS, 2.3 ASTS, 3.9 RBDS, 1.1 STLS, 1.8 TOS

Shooting %'s of 42, 38, 69 versus 46, 27, 72. Nate's athleticism helped a lot with his FG% and rebounding and that is a huge thing for Boatright to improve.

Pretty similar overall, though Boatright had better PG numbers and lower scoring numbers. Boatright played 25 games @ 30 minutes, Robinson 23 @ 25 minutes.

 

[sparky]

Gotta love his self confidence. His height and defense would keep him out of the first round. He is an explosive force as a guard, but he is not a great finisher. The nba is a guard and forward league, but he is no Mugsey Bogues, perhaps starbury, but not yet. He will play in Europe perhaps

 

[kobebeanbryant]

doesn't really mean anything for a point guard, but it's pretty cool that he won the 1-on-1 competition at the chris paul camp.

 

[AfgHusky15]

Boatright has everything he needs to be a succesful pg in the league. He is very quick, freakishly athletic, has a sick handle, knows how to distribute and find others, and shot 38% from beyond the arc as a freshman. His only obstacle is his height but with his hop it shouldnt be anything he can overcome...Im expecting a ig year from boatright next year.

 

[Brochacho]

A desperate NBA team could view him as a poor man's Russel Westbrook.

But the thing is, Perry Jones went late in the first round. As of right now Boatright isn't in the same zipcode of talents like Jones. Boatright has to be on the 3 year plan IMO. Our team in 2014 looks like it could be pretty good and NBA teams would like to grab players who have proved that they can be a part of a successful team. And it would give Lamb and Drummond 2 more years to pump some more juice into the UConn brand, which certainly wouldn't hurt Boat.

 

[HooperScooper]

A desperate NBA team could view him as a poor man's Russel Westbrook.

But the thing is, Perry Jones went late in the first round. As of right now Boatright isn't in the same zipcode of talents like Jones.

There are good reasons why Perry Jones slipped to late in the first round. Boatright doesn't have those issues so I don't think it's a fair comparison to bring up Jones in this conversation.

 

[aceboon]

How did you even come up with this name as a comparison? I know "poor man's" implies lesser version but usually the comparison involves players along the same size with less talent. Westbrook is 6'3"-6'4", long armed and brolic, Boatright is lucky to be 5'10" and 170lbs, when an NBA team looks at Boatright the last name they are thinking of is Westbrook. Think other small pg's...

A desperate NBA team could view him as a poor man's Russel Westbrook.

But the thing is, Perry Jones went late in the first round. As of right now Boatright isn't in the same zipcode of talents like Jones. Boatright has to be on the 3 year plan IMO. Our team in 2014 looks like it could be pretty good and NBA teams would like to grab players who have proved that they can be a part of a successful team. And it would give Lamb and Drummond 2 more years to pump some more juice into the UConn brand, which certainly wouldn't hurt Boat.