Boatright

[Husky Dad]

I know we have great people coming in next year. I know some good ones are staying and getting better. I rewatched Florida Final Four game last night and Boatright was great. Thinking back he was great throughout tournament. I am excited to see him lead the team next year and grateful he is coming back. There will be adjustment in the post Bazz, Giffey and Daniels era but I am glad we got Boat coming back.

 

[sdhusky]

I know we have great people coming in next year. I know some good ones are staying and getting better. I rewatched Florida Final Four game last night and Boatright was great. Thinking back he was great throughout tournament. I am excited to see him lead the team next year and grateful he is coming back. There will be adjustment in the post Bazz, Giffey and Daniels era but I am glad we got Boat coming back.

Was he hurt earlier in the season?

I would like to see him be able to consistently hit that mid range jumper he made against KY and finish a bit better through contact.

His defense was lights out - when we made our early run against FL, he was harassing the point so they couldn't really get their offense started.

 

[Husky Dad]

Will be interesting to see the lineups with Boat, Samuels, Purvis, Cassell as options. Probably see a lot of three guard play.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

with boat coming back UCONN has been saved/boat is now the daddy & will show a persona never seen before/you need a game breaker-be ready for a boat load

 

[UconnU]

Boatright jumping in the air with the ball tucked under his arm screaming in joy as time expired, after leaving everything he had on the floor for the entire tournament, will probably be the most last image I have from this championship.

Also, 15-13-11?.... see a trend.

 

[8893]

Also, 15-13-11?.... see a trend.

Hmmm...and 9 and 7 are yet to be taken...

 

[Kitaman]

No one talks much about Boat's decision to stay when the team was 'banned'. He's just as loyal as Bazz and can be just as dominant. He buried his leadership skills but they will be on display next season. I suspect he will be a man on a mission 2014-2015. As for him returning his senior year I have to believe that there is no one happier about that than Coach Ollie.

 

[tcf15]

Boatright has the clutch gene in him. We just never noticed because he was playing side-by-side with the most clutch player in UConn's history. I can't wait to see what he is able to do now that he is running the team.

As evidence for his clutchness, here you go:

2014

• 6 baskets with less than 20 seconds remaining (albeit in 1st half) in games vs. Detroit, @ SMU, @ Memphis, vs. Houston, vs. Memphis in AAC Tourney, and vs. St. Joseph's.
  
• At Cinci, he had the pull-up 3 pointer that pulled UConn within one point with about 20 seconds left in the game.
  
• He had the buzzer-beater block against Boston College.

2013

• Against Providence, he hit the and-1 in OT to go up by 3 with 20 seconds left.
• Against Syracuse, he hit a buzzer beater 3 at the end of the first half.
• He found Omar Calhoun for the tying three against Georgetown.

And how about his very first game in a UConn uniform? With ice in his veins, he knocks down 3 free throws against FSU to tie the game and send it in to OT.

 

[Bezzz]

Hmmm...and 9 and 7 are yet to be taken...

...nor will the ever be. No digits higher than number 5 allowed on a hoops uni. Somethin' to do with the number of fingers on a referee's hand.

 

[Horatio]

He has to be Optimus Prime next season

 

[8893]

...nor will the ever be. No digits higher than number 5 allowed on a hoops uni. Somethin' to do with the number of fingers on a referee's hand.

Wow, never knew that. Thanks.

 

[huskiesouth]

...nor will the ever be. No digits higher than number 5 allowed on a hoops uni. Somethin' to do with the number of fingers on a referee's hand.

I assume you mean college hoops and not the NBA - Dr. J (#6) comes to mind.

 

[Bezzz]

I assume you mean college hoops and not the NBA - Dr. J (#6) comes to mind.

Yeah, for some reason NBA player numbers are cool with 6 thru 9...college hoops not so much. Anybody know why?

 

[boog204]

Yeah, for some reason NBA player numbers are cool with 6 thru 9...college hoops not so much. Anybody know why?

No idea, but I find it obnoxious when a guy is #27 or even worse #77 or something ridiculous like that. Just another one of my pet peeves. I can deal with 0-10 but to me 6-9 have no place after that. And, it should end with 55. Ok, rant off.

 

[Matrim55]

Yeah, for some reason NBA player numbers are cool with 6 thru 9...college hoops not so much. Anybody know why?

Because the NBA is smart enough to realize that most refs have 10 fingers. The NCAA fact finding committee is still examining this information, and has yet to reach a conclusion.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Yeah, for some reason NBA player numbers are cool with 6 thru 9...college hoops not so much. Anybody know why?

College referees aren't as talented as NBA refs. They can't count to ten or throw a jump ball properly.

 

[UChusky916]

Boatright has the clutch gene in him. We just never noticed because he was playing side-by-side with the most clutch player in UConn's history. I can't wait to see what he is able to do now that he is running the team.

As evidence for his clutchness, here you go:

2014

• 
  [ ]6 baskets with less than 20 seconds remaining (albeit in 1st half) in games vs. Detroit, @ SMU, @ Memphis, vs. Houston, vs. Memphis in AAC Tourney, and vs. St. Joseph's.
  
  [ ]At Cinci, he had the pull-up 3 pointer that pulled UConn within one point with about 20 seconds left in the game.
  
  [ ]He had the buzzer-beater block against Boston College.

2013

• 
  [ ]Against Providence, he hit the and-1 in OT to go up by 3 with 20 seconds left.
  [ ]Against Syracuse, he hit a buzzer beater 3 at the end of the first half.
  [ ]He found Omar Calhoun for the tying three against Georgetown.

And how about his very first game in a UConn uniform? With ice in his veins, he knocks down 3 free throws against FSU to tie the game and send it in to OT.

Not to mention with ~4 mins left in the title game he knocked down a sick step-back jumper where he elevated ABOVE Randle (almost floating) as the shot clock expired. THAT was clutch.

 

[Gurleyman]

Because the NBA is smart enough to realize that most refs have 10 fingers. The NCAA fact finding committee is still examining this information, and has yet to reach a conclusion.

They will change this rule soon, but they will implement it retroactively, claiming that Elton Brand, Luke Schensher, Matt Howard and Dakari Johnson all should have been allowed to wear larger jerseys with higher numbers in the championship games (no, you can't just put the same number on a bigger jersey - don't ask stupid questions). The final results will be voided and our next four teams will be ineligible for the postseason for defeating teams with players forced to wear improper numbers - which falls under the NCAA's basic "1-for-1" rule (14.7.3.a.1).

Voskuhl, Okafor, Oriakhi, and Brimah will all fall just under the cutoff for jersey numbers that required 6's or higher, of course. The NCAA's Committee on Jersey Fairness will evaluate the data and put the weight cutoff at "whatever Voskuhl was +5, unless one of the other guys weighed more - someone look that up". Thabeet won't count since it was a semifinal and they can only really enforce this retroactive rule for championship games or it would get too confusing.

Matt Howard will also not count in 2010 when Duke beat them, due to the Duke exemption, of course.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

From what i understand, the officials want to signal to the scorers with one hand. Thats why no numbers with 6+ in them.

in the 15 13 11 conversation, Neils wore 5. I wonder who's next ? TSam wears 3, and i think he'll be the next great one.

I hope we see a lot of 3 guard sets next season with Boat, TS, and Purvis.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Barring a disaster, Boatright will become only the third player since the Calhoun era to average at least 10 points every year over a four year career. The others being Jerome Dyson and Phil Gamble.

Chris Smith only fits the criteria if you round up his freshmen year numbers.

 

[jibsey]

Having Boat next year is big. Remember those times when Bazz went out and we went into a black hole? Well Boat will now be the one to keep that from happening. I see him getting everyone on the offense involved, and then taking over games when he needs to. Just tighten up his shooting over the summer.

 

[elduderino]

Was he hurt earlier in the season?

I would like to see him be able to consistently hit that mid range jumper he made against KY and finish a bit better through contact.

His defense was lights out - when we made our early run against FL, he was harassing the point so they couldn't really get their offense started.

I wouldn't be totally opposed to him continuing to improve his BBIQ, and true point skills so that he can more effectively avoid contact. At his size, contact is always going to be punishing, but especially down low.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Was he hurt earlier in the season?

To answer this question, I do recall an article around halfway through the season where it quoted Boat saying that he has been battling through a shoulder injury that he developed while lifting during the off season. There were a few posts on here that mentioned that may have been some of the reason that his shooting percentages have declined a bit.

I also personally think that's much of the reason he stepped up his defense big time during the tournament. He was obviously frustrated with how he was shooting, so what did he do? He battled his way to the line and impacted the game as much as he could on defense. And guess what, it was perfect. That's a mature move by our captain next season.

 

[jleves]

I wouldn't be totally opposed to him continuing to improve his BBIQ, and true point skills so that he can more effectively avoid contact. At his size, contact is always going to be punishing, but especially down low.

A BarB-cue IQ is really important so you don't have your best player eating tainted wings from 7/11.

 

[David 76]

A year ago the thought of Boat as our point guard was frightening to me. But he improved his decision making so much, improved his defense to an amazing level, and became a better passer (several big baskets last season were off assists by Ryan). I'm now very comfortable with RB as PG and I'm looking forward to watching Boat's team