Boatright has a lot of Kemba & Iverson in him.

[DogMania]

Granted one game, but for a players debut, Boatright was impressive. Consider this; he performed at a high level in his first game, against a legit high major program and did so throughout the game including winning time.

I remember watching KU's 2010 freshman combo-guard Josh Selby have an outstanding first game last year after he had to sit out a bunch of games, but that turned out to be the high point of his KU career. But based on watching Ryan in HS and finally in a UConn uniform, I'm convinced he's the real deal.

I had anticipated he'd play at a much more mature level than one would expect and he didn't dispel that believe on Saturday. That's not to say he's not going to make freshman mistakes and have some bad games along the way. Consider how well Napier has been playing, and how horrible his play was on Friday. It's going to happen, and happen more often with Freshman, though Boatshow is very talented.

I replayed part of the game and here's what impressed me:

Sees the floor well and delivers the ball quickly. There were a number of plays where he recognized the open man and delivered the ball to him. A few times he did not get the assist because the player either was fouled or missed a make-able shot.

Big time handle - He's just a freshman and he already has a handle that looks as good if not better than Kemba's. There was a play where the dribbled into traffic, really had no play and somehow dribbled his way back out of trouble. Probably not the best decision, but his escape-ability was impressive there.

Big time shot maker - Wow! He had two amazing drives where he used that big time handle (impressive crossover) to weave his way through traffice, elevate and knock down a pair of very difficult shots. He can also knock down the deep ball, making him extremely dangerous. We haven't seen enough of that to tell if he's going to be a big enough outside threat that defenders will have to play up on him. But if he is, he's going to be able to set up his drives like Ben Gordon used to do, when players tried to close on him quickly. Inside the arc, Kemba had that type of effect, but his 3 point shooting, which improved over time, wasn't as big of a threat as Ben's was. As my title suggests, Boatright's game looks similar to what we've seen from Kemba and Allen Iverson. He's more Iverson's size and is more athletic than Kemba, so the Iverson comparison seems more accurate. Note, I'm not saying he'll be as good as Iverson. Just comparing his style of play. But if he finishes on a consistent basis like he did the other day, he just might come close. What separated AI from the rest of the small athletic guards was his prolific scoring ability. I've never seen a player who was able to score from all over the court with defenders all over him. There were many times that he didn't even see the rim while taking his shot and still found a way to knock down a good number of those shots.

He seems to be a Big Moment guy, like Shad, Kemba and his current backcourt mate, Shabazz. Just about any freshman playing his first game, having to knock down 3 FTs to prevent his team from losing would likely fail. RB calmly went to the line and knocked 'em down. I must admit the last one which was delivered a tad to the left scared me, but it went down. Although Bazz missed a huge FT a few plays earlier, RB gives this team another Plus-FT shooter for end of game situations along with Bazz, Lamb and Daniels. There isn't a coach out there that doesn't dream about having a couple of very good FT shooters to put on the floor during end-of-game situations. JC has at least 4.

RB was fortunate not to have any TOs. He had at least a couple of bad passes that didn't result in TOs. One of his 3s got snuffed out by Snear, who is one of the best perimeter defenders I've seen in a long time.

I wish it was a 5 game suspension. I have little doubt that we would have beaten UCF with him. What he brings to the game is exactly what was missing in that loss. During that time when they squandered the big lead, they really struggled to disrupt UCF's defense. Boatright would have been able to get into the teeth of their D, especially when they went zone, and made enough plays to get that W.

 

[bmayuc]

Nice Post

Let me add to that one particular skill that I have seen on tape and will be invaluable. He already has the midrange game and smarts to get in the lane and use a 10 foot pull-up rather than barge into the trees. It took Kemba three years to learn and find that shot. When he did, we saw the results.

Boat is fun

 

[Peacefrog]

Just as I would not get too low if the first game was a bad one, I'm going to try and restrain myself a bit after one good game. That said, the small body of work we have to go on is very encouraging. For me it started with the dunk contest. This is pretty much just an exhibition of athleticisim, and boy, what an exhibition it was. The kid has frightening rise and superior body control. Then, against FSU he appeared to have a very good handle, great quickness, at least a "good" shot and didnt' shy away from big moments. There's a lot there to work with.

 

[HuskyFan32]

Granted one game, but for a players debut, Boatright was impressive. Consider this; he performed at a high level in his first game, against a legit high major program and did so throughout the game including winning time.

I remember watching KU's 2010 freshman combo-guard Josh Selby have an outstanding first game last year after he had to sit out a bunch of games, but that turned out to be the high point of his KU career. But based on watching Ryan in HS and finally in a UConn uniform, I'm convinced he's the real deal.

I had anticipated he'd play at a much more mature level than one would expect and he didn't dispel that believe on Saturday. That's not to say he's not going to make freshman mistakes and have some bad games along the way. Consider how well Napier has been playing, and how horrible his play was on Friday. It's going to happen, and happen more often with Freshman, though Boatshow is very talented.

I replayed part of the game and here's what impressed me:

Sees the floor well and delivers the ball quickly. There were a number of plays where he recognized the open man and delivered the ball to him. A few times he did not get the assist because the player either was fouled or missed a make-able shot.

Big time handle - He's just a freshman and he already has a handle that looks as good if not better than Kemba's. There was a play where the dribbled into traffic, really had no play and somehow dribbled his way back out of trouble. Probably not the best decision, but his escape-ability was impressive there.

Big time shot maker - Wow! He had two amazing drives where he used that big time handle (impressive crossover) to weave his way through traffice, elevate and knock down a pair of very difficult shots. He can also knock down the deep ball, making him extremely dangerous. We haven't seen enough of that to tell if he's going to be a big enough outside threat that defenders will have to play up on him. But if he is, he's going to be able to set up his drives like Ben Gordon used to do, when players tried to close on him quickly. Inside the arc, Kemba had that type of effect, but his 3 point shooting, which improved over time, wasn't as big of a threat as Ben's was. As my title suggests, Boatright's game looks similar to what we've seen from Kemba and Allen Iverson. He's more Iverson's size and is more athletic than Kemba, so the Iverson comparison seems more accurate. Note, I'm not saying he'll be as good as Iverson. Just comparing his style of play. But if he finishes on a consistent basis like he did the other day, he just might come close. What separated AI from the rest of the small athletic guards was his prolific scoring ability. I've never seen a player who was able to score from all over the court with defenders all over him. There were many times that he didn't even see the rim while taking his shot and still found a way to knock down a good number of those shots.

He seems to be a Big Moment guy, like Shad, Kemba and his current backcourt mate, Shabazz. Just about any freshman playing his first game, having to knock down 3 FTs to prevent his team from losing would likely fail. RB calmly went to the line and knocked 'em down. I must admit the last one which was delivered a tad to the left scared me, but it went down. Although Bazz missed a huge FT a few plays earlier, RB gives this team another Plus-FT shooter for end of game situations along with Bazz, Lamb and Daniels. There isn't a coach out there that doesn't dream about having a couple of very good FT shooters to put on the floor during end-of-game situations. JC has at least 4.

RB was fortunate not to have any TOs. He had at least a couple of bad passes that didn't result in TOs. One of his 3s got snuffed out by Snear, who is one of the best perimeter defenders I've seen in a long time.

I wish it was a 5 game suspension. I have little doubt that we would have beaten UCF with him. What he brings to the game is exactly what was missing in that loss. During that time when they squandered the big lead, they really struggled to disrupt UCF's defense. Boatright would have been able to get into the teeth of their D, especially when they went zone, and made enough plays to get that W.

Agreed. No doubt we are undefeated if we had him against UCF.

 

[DogMania]

Nice Post

Let me add to that one particular skill that I have seen on tape and will be invaluable. He already has the midrange game and smarts to get in the lane and use a 10 foot pull-up rather than barge into the trees. It took Kemba three years to learn and find that shot. When he did, we saw the results.

Boat is fun

Good point. I noticed that as well. He hit an impressive mid-range runner that few ballers are able to finish.

 

[Kitaman]

I also see a little Nate Robinson in him (size and hops).

 

[Askgreek]

After reading several posts over the last couple of months that discussed how Ryan Boatright would be the key to our season, I was very skeptical that a freshman PG would prove to have that much importance. After the Florida State game, I have reason to believe that this will prove to be true. I cannot remember another guard that was more impresive in their debut (ball handling, play making, passing, shot making). He was extremely impressive and I believe if he continues to play at that level, he will be logging 25-30 minutes a game. He does remind me a lot of AI but I believe he may prove to have better PG skills. Once this team learns to play together, their ceiling will be as high as any past UConn team. I believe this is hands down the most talented roster we have ever had. Let's hope that they play like it...

 

[bmayuc]

After reading several posts over the last couple of months that discussed how Ryan Boatright would be the key to our season, I was very skeptical that a freshman PG would prove to have that much importance. After the Florida State game, I have reason to believe that this will prove to be true. I cannot remember another guard that was more impresive in their debut (ball handling, play making, passing, shot making). He was extremely impressive and I believe if he continues to play at that level, he will be logging 25-30 minutes a game. He does remind me a lot of AI but I believe he may prove to have better PG skills. Once this team learns to play together, their ceiling will be as high as any past UConn team. I believe this is hands down the most talented roster we have ever had. Let's hope that they play like it...

There is something deliciously homer-ish and awesome about some of the posts claiming that he is reminiscent of Iverson, one of the premier players/athletes/icons in the past 20 years, after one game. This post even posits that Boat will have better PG skills, specifically

I love the enthusiasm, but it is on some level patently absurd.

 

[DogMania]

After reading several posts over the last couple of months that discussed how Ryan Boatright would be the key to our season, I was very skeptical that a freshman PG would prove to have that much importance. After the Florida State game, I have reason to believe that this will prove to be true. I cannot remember another guard that was more impresive in their debut (ball handling, play making, passing, shot making). He was extremely impressive and I believe if he continues to play at that level, he will be logging 25-30 minutes a game. He does remind me a lot of AI but I believe he may prove to have better PG skills. Once this team learns to play together, their ceiling will be as high as any past UConn team. I believe this is hands down the most talented roster we have ever had. Let's hope that they play like it...

You make a good point about him likely having more PG skills that AI. Iverson is really a 2G and never showed much of a pass 1st, 2nd or 3rd mentality.

RB showed he is able to spot the open man and deliver the ball when needed. In addition to being quite talented, the reason why he's so important is he gives UConn that needed 2nd PG-Combo who can spell the other PG and give the team a 2nd guard who can attack the paint and break his man off the dribble.

Not only did Bazz have to log some ridiculous minutes the first 6 games, it also let teams key on stopping his penetration. With the two on the floor at the same time, one can pass to the other who will have a little more space to initiate the attack and disrupt the D. Teams will pay if they try to double the handler too often when both are on the floor together.

 

[Askgreek]

There is something deliciously homer-ish and awesome about some of the posts claiming that he is reminiscent of Iverson, one of the premier players/athletes/icons in the past 20 years, after one game. This post even posits that Boat will have better PG skills, specifically

I love the enthusiasm, but it is on some level patently absurd.

I am not saying he is better than AI, but that his game, body type, quickness, etc. reminds me of AI and that he has more of a PG mentality. We can only hope that he can have half the career of AI...

 

[tykurez]

Things that jumped out at me in these posts that I think are grossly premature:
- Has better handle than Kemba. Really? After seeing him play one D1 game?
- Has more athleticism than Kemba. I guess he can jump higher ... but is that all that constitutes athleticism? Perhaps we should ask Stanley Robinson.

Definitely excited for this kid ... but maybe we should pull the reigns in just a tad.

 

[bmayuc]

I am not saying he is better than AI, but that his game, body type, quickness, etc. reminds me of AI and that he has more of a PG mentality. We can only hope that he can have half the career of AI...

I was not at all denigrating what you said or hating on you. I agree with all of it. It is just very refreshing/amusing to note how fanbases can get so excited about new players. We see all the potential and none of the pitfall.

Really excited to see him play moving forward, and I think he'll be tremendous...

 

[bmayuc]

Things that jumped out at me in these posts that I think are grossly premature:
- Has better handle than Kemba. Really? After seeing him play one D1 game?
- Has more athleticism than Kemba. I guess he can jump higher ... but is that all that constitutes athleticism? Perhaps we should ask Stanley Robinson.

Definitely excited for this kid ... but maybe we should pull the reigns in just a tad.

uh oh. How did Stanley make an appearance here?! Kemba is a first class level athlete. Boat is an first class level athlete. Boat certainly has more hops, Kemba is stronger(and older). We'll see. Both are elite, however.

 

[SWHuskyFan]

I was excited about him based on his play before he even took a shot. He doesn't seem to have that problem that a lot of young PGs have where they dribble the ball at the top of the key wasting half the shot clock. When he got the ball he moved it quickly and with purpose. We got a couple easy baskets just based on that.

I was also very impressed with Florida State. They have some athletic players and they play really good defense. We aren't going to see many teams able to defend us that way. I'm excited to see how we look with that 3 guard lineup against some lesser defensive teams. Throw in AD at center and Daniels, AO or Roscoe at PF and we're going to be really tough to defend. We need to find the right combo to defend and rebound with that 3 guard lineup. That will be the key going forward.

 

[DogMania]

Things that jumped out at me in these posts that I think are grossly premature:
- Has better handle than Kemba. Really? After seeing him play one D1 game?
- Has more athleticism than Kemba. I guess he can jump higher ... but is that all that constitutes athleticism? Perhaps we should ask Stanley Robinson.

Definitely excited for this kid ... but maybe we should pull the reigns in just a tad.

There's no doubt that RB is a better athlete than Kemba. He can run faster and jump higher. Kemba is quick and has some good hops for a kid his size, but he barely gets over the rim. RB explodes over the rim with room to spare.

Yeah, it was one game. But his ball handling was spectacular. The way he moved that ball between his legs 3 to 4 times before blowing by his man was eye popping. Kemba has a plus handle, but based on what I saw RB has it on a string like few I've seen. Just calling it as I saw it.

As for being a better player based on seeing him a handful of times, "NO!" That's not where I was going. Just trying to describe his game as I saw it. Some of my observations such as the way he sees the floor and delivers the ball, yeah, I need more than just this game, some video clips and HS games on TV to make a true assessment. He did a nice job on Saturday, but let's see what he does game after game.

You can choose to deny some of the obvious if you'd like, but I've seen enough to assess his athleticism and to some degree his play making. Two of his in-traffic shots were flat out spectacular. If it's something he can't do on a consistent basis then the kid simply had the game of his life. Seriously. To do what he did on Saturday in his first game, against a ranked team, on TV with the game on the line is something that's hard to ignore.

I understand how a lot of fans make outrageous comments after seeing a kid play just once. Heck, I've done that in the past and have been wrong, but more times than not are cautious. In this case, I believe we have the real deal and he's only going to get better. RB was grossly under-ranked. Many discounted what he did because of his size and the competition he faced (I think he played more suburban Chicago teams than the more athletic inner city teams, though I might be wrong about that). The problem with that argument is that he played at a very high level no matter the competition he faced.

I'm flat out shocked that Huggy Bear took a chance and messed with RB by taking a verbal from Hinds. Hinds looked like a nice player while Boatright seemed special to me. I guess we'll find out as the season goes on how special he is or isn't.

Contrasting RB with AD for instance, there's little doubt that AD is an exceptional athlete who shows flashes of greatness. That baseline power dribble and dunk was eye popping. It would be easy for some to predict he will dominate this season. At this point, based on what I've seen, I think he's a player who will have some dominating moments and handful of games, but is a work-in-progress. He lacks a post-up game. AD struggles with defensive focus, often over committing to help-D and the blocked shot giving up offensive rebounds to his defensive assignment. He rushes his shots, etc, etc. My point here is with most players it's tough to predict how quickly they'll develop and contribute and how high that water mark might be. With Boatright, his mark is very high right out of the gate. As to how high it will rise, I'm not sure, but I think he's going to contribute more offensively than what Bazz did for us last season. Strong statement, so let's see if I'm overly optimistic or not.

 

[tykurez]

There's no doubt that RB is a better athlete than Kemba. He can run faster and jump higher. Kemba is quick and has some good hops for a kid his size, but he barely gets over the rim. RB explodes over the rim with room to spare.

Yeah, it was one game. But his ball handling was spectacular. The way he moved that ball between his legs 3 to 4 times before blowing by his man was eye popping. Kemba has a plus handle, but based on what I saw RB has it on a string like few I've seen. Just calling it as I saw it.

As for being a better player based on seeing him a handful of times, "NO!" That's not where I was going. Just trying to describe his game as I saw it. Some of my observations such as the way he sees the floor and delivers the ball, yeah, I need more than just this game, some video clips and HS games on TV to make a true assessment. He did a nice job on Saturday, but let's see what he does game after game.

You can choose to deny some of the obvious if you'd like, but I've seen enough to assess his athleticism and to some degree his play making. Two of his in-traffic shots were flat out spectacular. If it's something he can't do on a consistent basis then the kid simply had the game of his life. Seriously. To do what he did on Saturday in his first game, against a ranked team, on TV with the game on the line is something that's hard to ignore.

I understand how a lot of fans make outrageous comments after seeing a kid play just once. Heck, I've done that in the past and have been wrong, but more times than not are cautious. In this case, I believe we have the real deal and he's only going to get better. RB was grossly under-ranked. Many discounted what he did because of his size and the competition he faced (I think he played more suburban Chicago teams than the more athletic inner city teams, though I might be wrong about that). The problem with that argument is that he played at a very high level no matter the competition he faced.

Still can't say I agree with you ... yet ... but of course I hope your assessment comes true.

If you had said freshman Boatright has better attributes than freshman Kemba then I'd be inclined to believe you ... but the way Kemba created separation and just controlled the tempo of the game in his final year cannot be matched yet by a kid who has one D1 game under his belt.

 

[UConn3432]

boatright is better than i thought he'd be, but he did what he did against a team that only has 1 guy under 6'5 with very little speed in the backcourt. (peterson 6'1) it will be interesting to see if smaller guards can do a better job containing him. i hope not.

 

[UConn3432]

before everyone goes crazy, i know florida state is the best defensive team in the country, they were just clearly no match for his quickness.

 

[DogMania]

Still can't say I agree with you ... yet ... but of course I hope your assessment comes true.

If you had said freshman Boatright has better attributes than freshman Kemba then I'd be inclined to believe you ... but the way Kemba created separation and just controlled the tempo of the game in his final year cannot be matched yet by a kid who has one D1 game under his belt.

Still can't say I agree with you ... yet ... but of course I hope your assessment comes true.

If you had said freshman Boatright has better attributes than freshman Kemba then I'd be inclined to believe you ... but the way Kemba created separation and just controlled the tempo of the game in his final year cannot be matched yet by a kid who has one D1 game under his belt.

Creating separation has just as much to do with skill and technique as does athleticism. Kemba was magical in that department. Boatshow has a ways to go in learning how to use his raw skills and athleticism to match what Kemba did last season. I'd say he looks ahead of where Kemba was as a freshman, but as you pointed out he's played just one game so we need to see a larger body of work before concluding such. Based on Saturday's game it seems RB's roll as a freshman will be bigger than Kemba's.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

God this is hilarious.

33 minutes in his D1 college career and we get a graduate level thesis comparing Boatright to a Hall of Famer and the guy who had the best season in UConn history.

Love the enthusiam though!

 

[usedtoberats]

was surprised to see the iverson reference so soon, but i see it/ feel it too. ( again not saying he'll be in that class), but he sure reminds me of AI in his quickness, decisiveness and overall will to win.

I saw boat at the final four high school all-star game, I noticed something interesting... with all those egos and star power there, it seemed like boat was a pied piper type, as many of the players gathered round ryan. They all seemed to gravitate to him, to his charisma, and his overall exuberant personality.

In the game that he played I arrived after half and he did not start the 2nd half...disappointed, i thought oh well he's pretty good, but not a star at this level..... NOT... when the game became close, up off the bench came ryan and well the game got back in control. He pushed the ball, directed the offense, hit some monster 3's and played lock down defense.

aha, we got a good one

Granted one game, but for a players debut, Boatright was impressive. Consider this; he performed at a high level in his first game, against a legit high major program and did so throughout the game including winning time.

I remember watching KU's 2010 freshman combo-guard Josh Selby have an outstanding first game last year after he had to sit out a bunch of games, but that turned out to be the high point of his KU career. But based on watching Ryan in HS and finally in a UConn uniform, I'm convinced he's the real deal.

I had anticipated he'd play at a much more mature level than one would expect and he didn't dispel that believe on Saturday. That's not to say he's not going to make freshman mistakes and have some bad games along the way. Consider how well Napier has been playing, and how horrible his play was on Friday. It's going to happen, and happen more often with Freshman, though Boatshow is very talented.

I replayed part of the game and here's what impressed me:

Sees the floor well and delivers the ball quickly. There were a number of plays where he recognized the open man and delivered the ball to him. A few times he did not get the assist because the player either was fouled or missed a make-able shot.

Big time handle - He's just a freshman and he already has a handle that looks as good if not better than Kemba's. There was a play where the dribbled into traffic, really had no play and somehow dribbled his way back out of trouble. Probably not the best decision, but his escape-ability was impressive there.

Big time shot maker - Wow! He had two amazing drives where he used that big time handle (impressive crossover) to weave his way through traffice, elevate and knock down a pair of very difficult shots. He can also knock down the deep ball, making him extremely dangerous. We haven't seen enough of that to tell if he's going to be a big enough outside threat that defenders will have to play up on him. But if he is, he's going to be able to set up his drives like Ben Gordon used to do, when players tried to close on him quickly. Inside the arc, Kemba had that type of effect, but his 3 point shooting, which improved over time, wasn't as big of a threat as Ben's was. As my title suggests, Boatright's game looks similar to what we've seen from Kemba and Allen Iverson. He's more Iverson's size and is more athletic than Kemba, so the Iverson comparison seems more accurate. Note, I'm not saying he'll be as good as Iverson. Just comparing his style of play. But if he finishes on a consistent basis like he did the other day, he just might come close. What separated AI from the rest of the small athletic guards was his prolific scoring ability. I've never seen a player who was able to score from all over the court with defenders all over him. There were many times that he didn't even see the rim while taking his shot and still found a way to knock down a good number of those shots.

He seems to be a Big Moment guy, like Shad, Kemba and his current backcourt mate, Shabazz. Just about any freshman playing his first game, having to knock down 3 FTs to prevent his team from losing would likely fail. RB calmly went to the line and knocked 'em down. I must admit the last one which was delivered a tad to the left scared me, but it went down. Although Bazz missed a huge FT a few plays earlier, RB gives this team another Plus-FT shooter for end of game situations along with Bazz, Lamb and Daniels. There isn't a coach out there that doesn't dream about having a couple of very good FT shooters to put on the floor during end-of-game situations. JC has at least 4.

RB was fortunate not to have any TOs. He had at least a couple of bad passes that didn't result in TOs. One of his 3s got snuffed out by Snear, who is one of the best perimeter defenders I've seen in a long time.

I wish it was a 5 game suspension. I have little doubt that we would have beaten UCF with him. What he brings to the game is exactly what was missing in that loss. During that time when they squandered the big lead, they really struggled to disrupt UCF's defense. Boatright would have been able to get into the teeth of their D, especially when they went zone, and made enough plays to get that W.

 

[Huskybass]

I have seen the Iverson similarities for about a year. Watch the Youtube highlight reels and you will see a very rare level of athleticism in Boatright.

If Boatright and Kemba threw on some track spikes and competed in sprints, long jump, triple jump, high jump, etc. I am pretty sure that Boatright would be a convincing winner. But that is just pure athleticism. Kemba was an excetional basketball player by his Junior year and he possessed a will to win and body control that is extremely rare. If Boatright even approaches Kemba's success and leadership we will be very, very fortunate.

I am very excited to have Boatright as a Husky and by saying he is a better athlete than Kemba, thats not a knock on Kemba at all, just simple fact based upon pure athleticism.

 

[DogMania]

God this is hilarious.

33 minutes in his D1 college career and we get a graduate level thesis comparing Boatright to a Hall of Famer and the guy who had the best season in UConn history.

Love the enthusiam though!

We go through this over and over again. Just because someone compares a current player with some past or current star doesn't mean they're saying said player is or will be as talented. It's comparing the style of play.

With that said, I remember similar threads about Kemba before he blew up. The fact is we rarely know exactly how far a player will develop. Do I think Boatright will end up as good as Kemba or Allen Iverson? I have no idea. Would I be shocked if he turned out as talented or better than Kemba? No. I thought Kemba would be a very good college guard that might make the NBA and he turned out to be one of the two best college guards in the country.

This is one of those threads that would love to revisit a couple years from now.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We go through this over and over again. Just because someone compares a current player with some past or current star doesn't mean they're saying said player is or will be as talented. It's comparing the style of play.

With that said, I remember similar threads about Kemba before he blew up. The fact is we rarely know exactly how far a player will develop. Do I think Boatright will end up as good as Kemba or Allen Iverson? I have no idea. Would I be shocked if he turned out as talented or better than Kemba? No. I thought Kemba would be a very good college guard that might make the NBA and he turned out to be one of the two best college guards in the country.

This is one of those threads that would love to revisit a couple years from now.

Not saying he is or isn't going to be great. Just saying it's absurd after 1 game to draw all these conclusions that you outlined. "Big time shot maker" "Big moment guy", so if he misses one of those shots, or one of those FTs, he wouldn't have been that? Or that he is more athletic than Kemba? Can we see the guy for more than 33 minutes before we can claim that?

His future seems bright, but don't get offended when after 1 game you draw parallels/comparisons/or whatever you want to call it to Iverson and Kemba and people laugh.

I wasn't trying to be a , because it was an interesting take, but I did laugh at it too.

 

[RayRay19]

its going to be a fun year! cant wait to see him throw down in gampel! crowds gna go wild!

 

[huskymania]

Granted one game, but for a players debut, Boatright was impressive. Consider this; he performed at a high level in his first game, against a legit high major program and did so throughout the game including winning time.

I remember watching KU's 2010 freshman combo-guard Josh Selby have an outstanding first game last year after he had to sit out a bunch of games, but that turned out to be the high point of his KU career. But based on watching Ryan in HS and finally in a UConn uniform, I'm convinced he's the real deal.

I had anticipated he'd play at a much more mature level than one would expect and he didn't dispel that believe on Saturday. That's not to say he's not going to make freshman mistakes and have some bad games along the way. Consider how well Napier has been playing, and how horrible his play was on Friday. It's going to happen, and happen more often with Freshman, though Boatshow is very talented.

I replayed part of the game and here's what impressed me:

Sees the floor well and delivers the ball quickly. There were a number of plays where he recognized the open man and delivered the ball to him. A few times he did not get the assist because the player either was fouled or missed a make-able shot.

Big time handle - He's just a freshman and he already has a handle that looks as good if not better than Kemba's. There was a play where the dribbled into traffic, really had no play and somehow dribbled his way back out of trouble. Probably not the best decision, but his escape-ability was impressive there.

Big time shot maker - Wow! He had two amazing drives where he used that big time handle (impressive crossover) to weave his way through traffice, elevate and knock down a pair of very difficult shots. He can also knock down the deep ball, making him extremely dangerous. We haven't seen enough of that to tell if he's going to be a big enough outside threat that defenders will have to play up on him. But if he is, he's going to be able to set up his drives like Ben Gordon used to do, when players tried to close on him quickly. Inside the arc, Kemba had that type of effect, but his 3 point shooting, which improved over time, wasn't as big of a threat as Ben's was. As my title suggests, Boatright's game looks similar to what we've seen from Kemba and Allen Iverson. He's more Iverson's size and is more athletic than Kemba, so the Iverson comparison seems more accurate. Note, I'm not saying he'll be as good as Iverson. Just comparing his style of play. But if he finishes on a consistent basis like he did the other day, he just might come close. What separated AI from the rest of the small athletic guards was his prolific scoring ability. I've never seen a player who was able to score from all over the court with defenders all over him. There were many times that he didn't even see the rim while taking his shot and still found a way to knock down a good number of those shots.

He seems to be a Big Moment guy, like Shad, Kemba and his current backcourt mate, Shabazz. Just about any freshman playing his first game, having to knock down 3 FTs to prevent his team from losing would likely fail. RB calmly went to the line and knocked 'em down. I must admit the last one which was delivered a tad to the left scared me, but it went down. Although Bazz missed a huge FT a few plays earlier, RB gives this team another Plus-FT shooter for end of game situations along with Bazz, Lamb and Daniels. There isn't a coach out there that doesn't dream about having a couple of very good FT shooters to put on the floor during end-of-game situations. JC has at least 4.

RB was fortunate not to have any TOs. He had at least a couple of bad passes that didn't result in TOs. One of his 3s got snuffed out by Snear, who is one of the best perimeter defenders I've seen in a long time.

I wish it was a 5 game suspension. I have little doubt that we would have beaten UCF with him. What he brings to the game is exactly what was missing in that loss. During that time when they squandered the big lead, they really struggled to disrupt UCF's defense. Boatright would have been able to get into the teeth of their D, especially when they went zone, and made enough plays to get that W.

Hi Dogmania longtime follower of the boneyard and recent member. I must say I completely agree with you about Boatright. He has got the speed, the athleticism, penetration ability, and big time shot making ability that will serve this UCONN team well. I believe he should start at point guard. That way Shabazz can play off the ball at the 2 spot where he is more suited because he is slow and doesnt have much athletic ability but he is a great shooter. With Boatright, Napier and Lamb in the starting lineup is when UCONN will be most effectve. However, I beleeive Calhoun likes Boatright coming off the bench to provide a spark for the second unit and I dont expect him to start. Drummond who is an absolute beast and playing more like it everyday of course will be out starting center. The 4 spot is where UCONN needs to figure out who should play the most minutes. I believe Roscoe is best out of the options we have left because he provides toughness, defense, and good all around grit that this team needs. Oriakhi has not progressed it looks at all it seems and is still the same clumsy soft big guy. He needs to get his act together if he wants to get at least 15 to 20 minutes a game because Roscoe and Olander are both playing better than him.

 

[DogMania]

Not saying he is or isn't going to be great. Just saying it's absurd after 1 game to draw all these conclusions that you outlined. "Big time shot maker" "Big moment guy", so if he misses one of those shots, or one of those FTs, he wouldn't have been that? Or that he is more athletic than Kemba? Can we see the guy for more than 33 minutes before we can claim that?

His future seems bright, but don't get offended when after 1 game you draw parallels/comparisons/or whatever you want to call it to Iverson and Kemba and people laugh.

I wasn't trying to be a , because it was an interesting take, but I did laugh at it too.

I took no offense. These boards are all about opinion, agreement and disagreement.

For some of us, it's more than 33 minutes. I've seen him play on TV a couple times and watched some vid clips as well. I've also read a number of articles where analyst who know their stuff have thrown in their 2 cents about his skills, abilities and potential.

I agree a 100%, that as a fan you have to be careful about drawing too many conclusions based on one game. For example, after seeing Josh Selby have a huge game for KU after sitting out the early part of his freshman season, I thought he was going to be a big time instant contributor. Well that never materialized, though partly due to issues between him and his coach and teammates. He just might turn out to be an outstanding NBA player someday. Who knows. But my point is I agree in part with your point.

Where we differ is that based on what I believed about RB before he ever played those 33 minutes, were more than substantiated under conditions that few freshman would even come close to excelling. I won't go through the list, but RB did everything I had hoped for against a legit high major opponent and was at his best when the outcome was in the balance. His debut performance was actually one of the most remarkable ones I've ever seen. He scored in just about every possible way (deep, midrange, in traffic, at the rim), he distributed the ball more often and accurately to the right teammates at the right time. Although I believe he was not credited for any TOs, he had 2 or 3 bad passes, so I'm not blind to that. He came through on what is the hardest FT scenario possible, having to knockdown 3 FTs on the last possession to tie the game. I guess if there were 0 seconds on the clock and he was standing there along, that would add a tad more pressure. I don't remember much about how he did defensively. I recall him struggling with the high screen and staying in front of his man at times, something that all young guards struggle with.

As I said before, he's going to have some bad games. Even the experienced players do. Look at it this way, if a player had a very bad first game, that doesn't mean he won't be a very good player, either sooner or later. But if a player has a very good first game against legit competition, displaying some of the skills you thought he was capable of, there's a good chance the player is legit. Ryan didn't just make one special play against FSU, but multiple plays that few guards, including experienced ones, simply wouldn't have been able to do. If he's not legit, then he sure was damn lucky this past Saturday.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I'm sticking to my guns that RB was and is the most important newcomer to this team. Mostly because the role he fills (providing UConn with that desperately needed 3rd guard and 2nd combo guard), but also due to the maturity of his game that would allow him to come in and contribute right away at a pretty high level. We'll find out if that's the case real soon with legit competitors coming up with Arkansas and Harvard, and then again once Big East foes come knocking on our door with their physical play.

 

[cohenzone]

I remember watching frosh Iverson against UConn at the Civic Center. While obviously hard to contain, I recall saying to my ticket mate that if he played in the 2nd half of the game the way he played in the close first half, UConn would kill them. He did and we did. It took a while for Iverson to become Iverson, but no denying what an exciting player he was. Matching AI is a tall order, but that isn't what we need from him anyway and he showed more control than AI did as a younger player. Hopefully his first game is indicative of what he can do most of the time. The made FTs were impressive.

 

[DogMania]

Granted one game, but for a players debut, Boatright was impressive. Consider this; he performed at a high level in his first game, against a legit high major program and did so throughout the game including winning time.

I remember watching KU's 2010 freshman combo-guard Josh Selby have an outstanding first game last year after he had to sit out a bunch of games, but that turned out to be the high point of his KU career. But based on watching Ryan in HS and finally in a UConn uniform, I'm convinced he's the real deal.

I had anticipated he'd play at a much more mature level than one would expect and he didn't dispel that believe on Saturday. That's not to say he's not going to make freshman mistakes and have some bad games along the way. Consider how well Napier has been playing, and how horrible his play was on Friday. It's going to happen, and happen more often with Freshman, though Boatshow is very talented.

I replayed part of the game and here's what impressed me:

Sees the floor well and delivers the ball quickly. There were a number of plays where he recognized the open man and delivered the ball to him. A few times he did not get the assist because the player either was fouled or missed a make-able shot.

Big time handle - He's just a freshman and he already has a handle that looks as good if not better than Kemba's. There was a play where the dribbled into traffic, really had no play and somehow dribbled his way back out of trouble. Probably not the best decision, but his escape-ability was impressive there.

Big time shot maker - Wow! He had two amazing drives where he used that big time handle (impressive crossover) to weave his way through traffice, elevate and knock down a pair of very difficult shots. He can also knock down the deep ball, making him extremely dangerous. We haven't seen enough of that to tell if he's going to be a big enough outside threat that defenders will have to play up on him. But if he is, he's going to be able to set up his drives like Ben Gordon used to do, when players tried to close on him quickly. Inside the arc, Kemba had that type of effect, but his 3 point shooting, which improved over time, wasn't as big of a threat as Ben's was. As my title suggests, Boatright's game looks similar to what we've seen from Kemba and Allen Iverson. He's more Iverson's size and is more athletic than Kemba, so the Iverson comparison seems more accurate. Note, I'm not saying he'll be as good as Iverson. Just comparing his style of play. But if he finishes on a consistent basis like he did the other day, he just might come close. What separated AI from the rest of the small athletic guards was his prolific scoring ability. I've never seen a player who was able to score from all over the court with defenders all over him. There were many times that he didn't even see the rim while taking his shot and still found a way to knock down a good number of those shots.

He seems to be a Big Moment guy, like Shad, Kemba and his current backcourt mate, Shabazz. Just about any freshman playing his first game, having to knock down 3 FTs to prevent his team from losing would likely fail. RB calmly went to the line and knocked 'em down. I must admit the last one which was delivered a tad to the left scared me, but it went down. Although Bazz missed a huge FT a few plays earlier, RB gives this team another Plus-FT shooter for end of game situations along with Bazz, Lamb and Daniels. There isn't a coach out there that doesn't dream about having a couple of very good FT shooters to put on the floor during end-of-game situations. JC has at least 4.

RB was fortunate not to have any TOs. He had at least a couple of bad passes that didn't result in TOs. One of his 3s got snuffed out by Snear, who is one of the best perimeter defenders I've seen in a long time.

I wish it was a 5 game suspension. I have little doubt that we would have beaten UCF with him. What he brings to the game is exactly what was missing in that loss. During that time when they squandered the big lead, they really struggled to disrupt UCF's defense. Boatright would have been able to get into the teeth of their D, especially when they went zone, and made enough plays to get that W.

This thread goes way back. Apparently Boat has lived up to the expectations that some of us had from the very beginning.

 

[UConn5]

I think that what has gone on with Boatright is what college basketball is supposed to be about. The young man has clearly grown as both a person and a basketball player. Good for him, I hope he enjoys this. I know I have been very impressed by his growth.