Brimah

[3rdbass]

Vance actually had a decent game and was efficient in scoring and the minutes he played. He was the only one. Jalen did not play well until we had 5 minutes left in the second half. He was lackadaisical with the ball, some stupid turnovers, not helping with rebounding, didn;t make one big defensive/offensive play in the first 12 minutes of the second half to stop the Houston run and get the rest of the guys competing. His stat line was fine, but the eye test doesn't lie, and Jalen was as responsible as anyone for the collapse yesterday. Amida had a stat line of 4 pts and 8 rebounds, which is typical for him, Kentan had like 11 and 9 which is typical for him(I'm not saying that they played well, but their stat line is typical for them)

Our perimeter crew outside of Vance and team defense/rebounding/scrappiness/toughness were the reasons we lost this game. If you guys want to put Jalen on a pedestal as our best player then he needs to play like it and and he needs to be called out when not playing well. Kevin Ollie is one Brimah 3 point play away from being Diacoed.

I'm talking more about defense. VJ was very poor on defense yesterday. JA actually was pretty solid on his man. AB was just abysmal on defense the whole night which sucked since he is a Sr. and we needed him to exert our front court superiority. KF was definitely hustling for rebounds and got some bad calls against him. KF wasn't an issue. One thing I will say as that all our guards including JA fell in love with the 3 even when they weren't hitting them. That was a huge problem last night and fed Houston's second half run.

 

[mauconnfan]

I'm talking more about defense. VJ was very poor on defense yesterday. JA actually was pretty solid on his man. AB was just abysmal on defense the whole night which sucked since he is a Sr. and we needed him to exert our front court superiority. KF was definitely hustling for rebounds and got some bad calls against him. KF wasn't an issue. One thing I will say as that all our guards including JA fell in love with the 3 even when they weren't hitting them. That was a huge problem last night and fed Houston's second half run.

Vital picked a bad night for his 2-12, but he's been good bound to happen. Played hard all game he really did. Bad play rushing the middle on O once though when we need to slow down and get good possessions he had a rough one.

 

[Onions]

"no plays run for him"???? What the k do you watch the game with your hands over your eyes? He caught the ball at least 7-8 times on the low block and only threw up one jump hoof from 2 feet which he missed. He threw one pass over Purvis's head and did little to nothing with any of the others. The "bullet passes" you speak of were one hands high and a bounce pass from Facey which was waist high he bobbled to the Houston defender. He was atrocious, only you could see anything else. But it must be Adams fault because he's so out of shape? Please just give it up!

Nobody is a bigger AB booster on this board than me, but last nite AB was terrible. He looked lost on both sides of the court. I don't care about his lack of offensive production, he had very little impact on the defensive side either. Rebounds were going by his head and he was standing there looking like a kid at a carnival. We can't win when he plays like that and I'm amazed we were within 5 with a minute to go. On the other hand everyone else was pretty terrible too, especially in the second half. Jackson made his shots but a lot of Dotsun's 25 came at his expense. Jalen, Kenton and Purvis had mediocre games, CV gave us nothing (which seems to always happen when Vance gives us something and vice versa) and while Enoch had the best half of his 2 year career in the first half, in the second half it looked like he'd never seen a basketball before. Mostly they looked like a tired team on the road, very slow to the ball, and again I'm amazed they kept it close before KO's meltdown.

 

[tjc1888]

What in the hell are you even trying to say? My guess is a poorly written attempt at some type of moral high ground. Not particularly sure what the sticking point is, ask Knicks fans how they feel about Melo, or if the problem is "he's just a college kid, wah" ask literally any college football fan what they thought about Johnny Football.

The guy literally said "I can't wait to see him graduate". Aside from the fact that this means the man is getting a degree, the only negative implication that post has is 'you're not a very good player, I can't wait until my team is better' which is hardly as bad as you suggesting I go pick a fight with Brimah in person.


Can't wait to see you delete this post when I'm really just replying to the stupidity that you wrote.

He's saying......all these people that bash our players (that do more for our university than anyone here on this website) behind a screen name on a message board wouldn't have the guts to say it to their face. It's not some moral high ground.....it's the truth.

 

[HooperScooper]

That damn KO and his lack of sand training.

Do you think his hands are fine and he really doesn't need to improve them? Or do you think that's a weakness of his and improving his hands would help his game? Just wondering if you think it's not a problem.

Obviously I have no idea what players do to improve their skills. I'm sure they are all doing something. But have you ever read anything that was specifically done with Brimah to improve his hands, which I consider to be a huge roadblock to him getting better? I just remember reading that about Thabeet and thought it was interesting that he was doing something kind of strange to specifically address a weakness in his game. I believe that all players can do specific drills or training to improve their deficiencies. These guys are all relatively to very athletic or else they wouldn't be playing D1 college basketball so they all have the capability to improve. Maybe Brimah has been doing training to improve his hands. Let me know if you know what he has done. I'm just amazed he hasn't improved more in his 4 years at UConn. Not sure if he's just not capable of improving or if he hasn't worked at it enough.

 

[Jimdish255]

He's too nice to be a dominant post player. That goes above and beyond his lack of instincts. I'm sure he tries hard and is a great teammate, but Enoch has to get as much time as fouls permit. And Enoch doesn't need to get a lot stronger at this point, just improve his explosive fitness level a bit.

 

[UConnDan97]

I love the ridiculous yet predictable meltdowns on the Boneyard. And from the same predictable posters.

Brimah is a good yet inconsistent center who is capable of having a game-changing night. He is also capable of having a bad night. That's what defines him as "good yet inconsistent". I've seen games where substituting him would not have changed the outcome negatively (last night), and I've seen games where we literally could not go another minute without him (Memphis).

But this board is filled with a bunch of posters who not only allow zero room for failure from a bunch of 20-year old kids, but also are very much spoiled in the success that they have been allowed to enjoy up to this point in their athletic fandom lives as Husky fans. There is no perspective, because they have never had to obtain any. How quickly we forget that without this kid, we would not have won a national title in 2014...

 

[Pudge]

I am back in my little corner again.

We actually can play well with Brimah as our center. I have seen it ... and seen the difference with when he is not on the floor. For all his deficiencies - and they are abundant, that kid can raise the energy level of the other 4 and really that is our best 5 most nights.

What did you think of Meyer on Houston? (OT) at 6-10 240 he is a tinge under where Jake Voskuhl was and has little of the athleticism we have seen from the many rim protectors we love to talk about - which probably means we wouldn't take Meyer - but I loved his game.

 

[CTBasketball]

I'm content with Brimah being what he is. I get it.

But the one thing that still drives me nuts is that when he grabs a defensive rebound, he never looks up to outlet the ball to start a fast break. Drives me up walls.

 

[husky429]

Do you think his hands are fine and he really doesn't need to improve them? Or do you think that's a weakness of his and improving his hands would help his game? Just wondering if you think it's not a problem.

Obviously I have no idea what players do to improve their skills. I'm sure they are all doing something. But have you ever read anything that was specifically done with Brimah to improve his hands, which I consider to be a huge roadblock to him getting better? I just remember reading that about Thabeet and thought it was interesting that he was doing something kind of strange to specifically address a weakness in his game. I believe that all players can do specific drills or training to improve their deficiencies. These guys are all relatively to very athletic or else they wouldn't be playing D1 college basketball so they all have the capability to improve. Maybe Brimah has been doing training to improve his hands. Let me know if you know what he has done. I'm just amazed he hasn't improved more in his 4 years at UConn. Not sure if he's just not capable of improving or if he hasn't worked at it enough.

There was a short factoid about thabeet and his hands years ago. You need to realize these quotes are from 20 year olds having conversations with journalists for a few minutes tops, at a time.

It's just a random nugget of info. Thabeet did sand work, and a lot of other work, to improve his hands.

It's unclear to me why you would think an accomplished (albeit flawed) coach, would not work on a players hands. EVERY player works on hand strength.

Brimahs lack of rebounding ability is due to strength and instinct, same with his hands. It's not something he's going to change on this point.

Kevin Ollie doesn't need p prove to you or anyone else that he is doing hand, catching, passing drills and training with brimah. If you think it's a good idea, imagine what a real basketball coach is noticing when reviewing game film.

Again, most of what happens in training is not put in an article. Most of what you read in articles isn't remembered years later. Ollie doesn't need to say they're doing hand strength training. Only a buffoon wouldn't.

 

[yukonyc212]

I just thank god the Brimah era is winding down. I'll always be greatful for his season saving and1 in 14, but that's pretty much been it for him in the highlight department in 4 years. It's frightening that 2 of our 3 seniors are exactly the same player they were when they stepped foot on campus for the first time. I just hope that isn't the norm going forward for player development or else we are screwed.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I love the ridiculous yet predictable meltdowns on the Boneyard. And from the same predictable posters.

Brimah is a good yet inconsistent center who is capable of having a game-changing night. He is also capable of having a bad night. That's what defines him as "good yet inconsistent".

So a center who can't score, rebound, play good defense consistently, is always in foul trouble, or catch any pass that isn't gift wrapped for him is good in your world? Also, do you understand what makes a player labeled as "good?" You're a good player if you consistently perform at a high level, so saying he's "good but inconsistent" is basically saying he's not good. Please enlighten me on what makes him good.

 

[chiller99.5]

Odds of a high school athlete playing College Basketball * Men Women
Number of US High School Basketball players 541,479 429,504
Number of US College Basketball Players (See table above) 32,735 27,951
% of foreign students playing NCAA Basketball * 6.1% 4.4%
% of US High School Players competing at any College level 5.7% 6.2%
% of US High School Players competing at NCAA I Schools 1.0% 1.1%

 

[JSM1970]

Good? No way. Can he have a decent game here and there against bad front courts -- yes.

It's all been said but his lack of strength and complete lack of any basketball principles is too much for him to overcome.

I'm sure he'll play somewhere overseas.

Brimah is a good yet inconsistent center who is capable of having a game-changing night. He is also capable of having a bad night. That's what defines him as "good yet inconsistent". I've seen games where substituting him would not have changed the outcome negatively (last night), and I've seen games where we literally could not go another minute without him (Memphis).

But this board is filled with a bunch of posters who not only allow zero room for failure from a bunch of 20-year old kids, but also are very much spoiled in the success that they have been allowed to enjoy up to this point in their athletic fandom lives as Husky fans. There is no perspective, because they have never had to obtain any. How quickly we forget that without this kid, we would not have won a national title in 2014...

 

[UConnDan97]

So a center who can't score, rebound, play good defense consistently, is always in foul trouble, or catch any pass that isn't gift wrapped for him is good in your world? Also, do you understand what makes a player labeled as "good?" You're a good player if you consistently perform at a high level, so saying he's "good but inconsistent" is basically saying he's not good. Please enlighten me on what makes him good.

Do we win the Memphis game without him? Do we win both the UCF games without him? Those questions are rhetorical, since we already know the answer. As well as the fact that there were other wins during the year that we just could not have without him.

If we didn't need him, then nobody on the board would complain when he gets into foul trouble after 10 minutes into the game. The reason that we all complain is because we all know that we DO need him on the court. Some of us are just more willing to admit it than others, I guess...

 

[UConnDan97]

Good? No way. Can he have a decent game here and there against bad front courts -- yes.

It's all been said but his lack of strength and complete lack of any basketball principles is too much for him to overcome.

I'm sure he'll play somewhere overseas.

So he'll play professionally somewhere overseas for money....but there's "no way" that he's good. Got it. Thanks for the insight...

 

[HooperScooper]

There was a short factoid about thabeet and his hands years ago. You need to realize these quotes are from 20 year olds having conversations with journalists for a few minutes tops, at a time.

It's just a random nugget of info. Thabeet did sand work, and a lot of other work, to improve his hands.

It's unclear to me why you would think an accomplished (albeit flawed) coach, would not work on a players hands. EVERY player works on hand strength.

Brimahs lack of rebounding ability is due to strength and instinct, same with his hands. It's not something he's going to change on this point.

Kevin Ollie doesn't need p prove to you or anyone else that he is doing hand, catching, passing drills and training with brimah. If you think it's a good idea, imagine what a real basketball coach is noticing when reviewing game film.

Again, most of what happens in training is not put in an article. Most of what you read in articles isn't remembered years later. Ollie doesn't need to say they're doing hand strength training. Only a buffoon wouldn't.

All makes sense to me. I was just asking if Brimah put in the work to improve his hands. If he did it didn't work. I guess my question then would be what did he do and why didn't it work? I'll ask him him what he did when I see him.

 

[JSM1970]

Phil Nolan plays overseas. Is he good?

So he'll play professionally somewhere overseas for money....but there's "no way" that he's good. Got it. Thanks for the insight...

 

[mauconnfan]

Nobody is a bigger AB booster on this board than me, but last nite AB was terrible. He looked lost on both sides of the court. I don't care about his lack of offensive production, he had very little impact on the defensive side either. Rebounds were going by his head and he was standing there looking like a kid at a carnival. We can't win when he plays like that and I'm amazed we were within 5 with a minute to go. On the other hand everyone else was pretty terrible too, especially in the second half. Jackson made his shots but a lot of Dotsun's 25 came at his expense. Jalen, Kenton and Purvis had mediocre games, CV gave us nothing (which seems to always happen when Vance gives us something and vice versa) and while Enoch had the best half of his 2 year career in the first half, in the second half it looked like he'd never seen a basketball before. Mostly they looked like a tired team on the road, very slow to the ball, and again I'm amazed they kept it close before KO's meltdown.

Bingo - not sure how he had 8 boards but he didn't get any big ones and he was in position to ge a few of them.

I like the tired team assessment - like it or not it's reality. Didn't win many if any 50-50's and dotson kills us - happy for him to leave.

 

[mauconnfan]

He's saying.all these people that bash our players (that do more for our university than anyone here on this website) behind a screen name on a message board wouldn't have the guts to say it to their face. It's not some moral high ground.....it's the truth.

No what he's saying is Brimah is a good kid and no need to say you are anxious to see him leave, he's still a Husky. Quite honestly he agreed with everything else which he should.

 

[UConnDan97]

Phil Nolan plays overseas. Is he good?

Yes. He is...

 

[Huskyforlife]

St

Do we win the Memphis game without him? Do we win both the UCF games without him? Those questions are rhetorical, since we already know the answer. As well as the fact that there were other wins during the year that we just could not have without him.

If we didn't need him, then nobody on the board would complain when he gets into foul trouble after 10 minutes into the game. The reason that we all complain is because we all know that we DO need him on the court. Some of us are just more willing to admit it than others, I guess...

Still waiting for what makes him good. Asking questions that you and I cannot answer is not supporting your point. Maybe we lose those games, maybe we win? Who knows.

We're complaining because he's been the starting center for four years and makes the same exact mistakes. We complain because of his minimal improvement. We complain because of the pedestal guys like you put him on.

He seems like a great kid, passionate and clearly loves his university. I'll thank him for his services on the way out. But he was never a starting caliber player for a team with our expectations. There's nothing wrong with that fact.

 

[gtcam]

I'm content with Brimah being what he is. I get it.

But the one thing that still drives me nuts is that when he grabs a defensive rebound, he never looks up to outlet the ball to start a fast break. Drives me up walls.

That's because he is amazed he grabbed a ball

 

[huskyrob1]

4 and 8 for him is normally fine but last night he had potentially his worst game ever. I mean how many times can you catch the ball 4 feet from the basket and have no clue what to do with it? Miss a bounce pass you can dunk, get a loss ball and travel while stepping out of bounds, foul people with reach ins with no reason to do so, have people walk by you without defending. He made so many terrible plays last night you wouldn't have enough time to list them. What really perturbs me is he got 24 minutes, more than he deserved. He was absolutely lost on the court.

"have people walk right by you without defending".... Gray did just that with 2 or 3 minutes left. Drove down the court to the right of the basket, went around Brimah like he wasn't even there and went up for the score.

 

[huskyrob1]

Do we win the Memphis game without him? Do we win both the UCF games without him? Those questions are rhetorical, since we already know the answer. As well as the fact that there were other wins during the year that we just could not have without him.

If we didn't need him, then nobody on the board would complain when he gets into foul trouble after 10 minutes into the game. The reason that we all complain is because we all know that we DO need him on the court. Some of us are just more willing to admit it than others, I guess...

He's definitely a value to the team, but IMO he is not a starter this year. Our best 5 are Jalen, Purvis, Enoch, Facey, and Vital or Jackson. He's first or second off the bench or maybe 3rd behind Durham in certain situations. The coaching staff is at fault here on a couple levels