Boatright's contributions

[superjohn]

I re-watched pretty much the whole NCAA tournament this week and I'm reminded how outstanding Boatright played throughout. Shabazz still hit the most big shots and was the best player in the whole tournament but Boat was not far behind at all. Boat has always been a very good player but he became a great player in the tournament. One thing Ryan does even better than Shabazz is drawing and kicking out to open three point shooters, he did it throughout the tournament in big moments like his pass to Niels for the corner three against Iowa State when the game was in the balance. He made an unbelievable draw and kick near the end of the Kentucky game getting DeAndre a wide open three that would have sealed the Championship game. Ryan proved again what a warrior he is gutting it out on a bum ankle and making huge plays down the stretch to secure our 4th title. We always knew he was a warrior but we didn't always know he could lead the team, I certainly saw enough to make me extremely comfortable about him leading the team next year. It's always a joy watching a player elevate his game to new heights.

 

[Fishy]

True, true and true.

And he was also a defensive monster as the season got down to the nitty gritty.

 

[BearJWS]

True, true and true.
And he was also a defensive monster as the season got down to the nitty gritty.

That was a very good read! I hadn't read that story. Thanks for sharing & would love to see Boatright as a defensive monster next season..... Go get 'em Boat!

 

[Hysteria]

Love that little guy---cant wait to see what he can do this year !

 

[BarkingDog]

Love this quote from Ryan: "Don't nothing scare me."

 

[art4life]

“It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”

― Mark Twain

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I've been a critic of RB in the past. Heck the only entre pass he new was an alley-op.
Not exactly classic point guard material. Apparently the bounce pass was illegal in Illinois.
I give credit to KO and RB's hard work for his tremendous improvement last year.
His change elevated that team more than anyone else.
He went from no-D to vicious.
More than anything I enjoy watching kids grow into players that make their team better. I don't know what he can do for an encore ,except provide the example for some other kids which will continue our success.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

“It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”

― Mark Twain

All the time I thought my old offensive line coach made that up.
I don't think he new who Mark Twain was.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I've been a critic of RB in the past. Heck the only entre pass he new was an alley-op.
Not exactly classic point guard material. Apparently the bounce pass was illegal in Illinois.
I give credit to KO and RB's hard work for his tremendous improvement last year.
His change elevated that team more than anyone else.
He went from no-D to vicious.
More than anything I enjoy watching kids grow into players that make their team better. I don't know what he can do for an encore ,except provide the example for some other kids which will continue our success.

Boatright has always been a pretty good defender. I've never understood that narrative on here. He picked it up a few levels at the end of last season to say the least, but he's always been a plus player on that end.

 

[Hysteria]

All the time I thought my old offensive line coach made that up.
I don't think he new who Mark Twain was.

Twain...a Hartford CT boy ...kinda...you know he 'bleeds blue"

:0

 

[David 76]

Boat became a much better player last year. Less offense but more of everything else. Then the tourney came and he was MVP material.
I also used to be concerned about Boat as a point guard. No more.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I thought Boat's improvement in the tourney/second half of the season was fantastic and he was one of the key contributors to the championship. This year he needs to take on a role that he has not had before as the quarterback and I expect that he will be far from a finished product out there this year. He has to keep his focus on being the distributor and big picture guy and not allow himself to get into trying to take over the game offensively. I think he will be very good, but it might take a little while before he gets to a high level of consistency.

 

[Huskybass]

Pound for pound, he is the most athletic player in the country. It is simply ridiculous that a 5'9" guy throws down dunks as easily as he does. He could have been a good college player based on his athleticism, but he has busted his butt to become an excellent college player. Watching Boat and Rodney in the backcourt together should be very exciting.

 

[mauconnfan]

Boatright has always been a pretty good defender. I've never understood that narrative on here. He picked it up a few levels at the end of last season to say the least, but he's always been a plus player on that end.

He was always a good defender who was a positive for sure but far from what he could be. There were quite a few levels he jumped for us to see what we thought he could be and the timing couldn't have been better. During his career he had mostly been the "take the chance", look for the steal and create havoc which essentially left him as a nice defender. The post season brought a whole new look as he stayed between his guy and the basket, closely guarding like glue but less chances for the steal and stopping the PG's from ever being able to get into the offensive rhythm they wanted. He was beyond sensational and we all expected he could be that guy and proved well beyond a doubt and then some he was more. I hope this continues for 2015 and expect it will. He really makes it so tough for them to run their sets and even when the other team does they have to star the offense to far out…………this defense is even more important than the steal and he proved he may be the best in college when he puts his mind to it!!

 

[huskiesnyc]

The way he competed on defense against MSU, especially in the second half when things could have easily gone the other way. Staying out on one leg with 9 minutes left against UK and hitting maybe the biggest shot of the season at 54-50 with no time on the shot clock. Love this kid and really happy we have him for 4 years. We couldn't ask for a better captain next season

 

[RayRay19]

Kemba, Bazz, Boat...... love it.

 

[James]

Ryan Boatright, senior, Connecticut Huskies

Boatright’s toughness and talent certainly belie his slight 6-foot frame, and he’s proved it for three seasons at UConn. To say he was instrumental in the Huskies’ run to the 2014 national championship is an understatement. But now he’s faced with another challenge: becoming Kevin Ollie’s key player.

Boatright shared playmaking duties with Shabazz Napier for much of his first three seasons, deferring much of the time. This season he will be asked by Ollie to take on the biggest share of the ballhandling and scoring load of his career. I’m expecting both his 21 percent assist rate and his 21 percent of shots in the offense to soar when he is on the court.

If there’s an area where Boatright must be more efficient, it's scoring at the rim or, more likely, in the “high-paint area." He makes just under 40 percent inside the arc, and that needs to improve next season. The tenacious Boatright loves to attack the basket because that’s the nature of his personality. Developing a floater game will be critical, and improving a good-but-not-yet-great stroke behind the arc will allow him to have a special season.

source , fraschilla with more kind words after that recent KO feature,this time on potential rising star boatright.

 

[BearJWS]

Ryan Boatright, senior, Connecticut Huskies

Boatright’s toughness and talent certainly belie his slight 6-foot frame, and he’s proved it for three seasons at UConn. To say he was instrumental in the Huskies’ run to the 2014 national championship is an understatement. But now he’s faced with another challenge: becoming Kevin Ollie’s key player.

Boatright shared playmaking duties with Shabazz Napier for much of his first three seasons, deferring much of the time. This season he will be asked by Ollie to take on the biggest share of the ballhandling and scoring load of his career. I’m expecting both his 21 percent assist rate and his 21 percent of shots in the offense to soar when he is on the court.

If there’s an area where Boatright must be more efficient, it's scoring at the rim or, more likely, in the “high-paint area." He makes just under 40 percent inside the arc, and that needs to improve next season. The tenacious Boatright loves to attack the basket because that’s the nature of his personality. Developing a floater game will be critical, and improving a good-but-not-yet-great stroke behind the arc will allow him to have a special season.

source , fraschilla with more kind words after that recent KO feature,this time on potential rising star boatright.

I was wondering when someone would post this. It's been a day +.....

 

[David 76]

Love the positive article but I disagree that Boat will have to have his shot numbers soar. He has weapons to work with and he needs to primarily distribute.Best for the team and for Boat's NBA career.