Brimah's Ankle

[OkaForPrez]

Love the touch on that tip put back. Not seeing anything that he wasn't capable of doing last year with the exception that he looks more confident with his back to the basket and the footwork looked a bit more polished. I know the adidas nations report said he was mechanical but so was Mek. I'll take Mekhanical all day.

 

[nycscooby]

Bad hands are what they are. There is only so much you can do. I know other posters have been drilled about saying this but it is a true weakness of Amidah's. When you cant catch and control the ball naturally it slows your post moves and affects your confidence. Amidah is offensively challenged by this but he is an absolute force on the defensive side of the court though if he had better ball control he would be a more effective rebounder too. That said he is hugely important to our success this year and I love his impact on the game and the way he plays.

 

[David 76]

Weaknesses and all, I'm glad he is on our side

 

[intlzncster]

Bad hands are what they are. There is only so much you can do. I know other posters have been drilled about saying this but it is a true weakness of Amidah's. When you cant catch and control the ball naturally it slows your post moves and affects your confidence. Amidah is offensively challenged by this but he is an absolute force on the defensive side of the court though if he had better ball control he would be a more effective rebounder too. That said he is hugely important to our success this year and I love his impact on the game and the way he plays.

Bad hands can be improved. Especially given that he's new(er) to the game. Football players do it all the time.

It just takes repetition. And having the game slow down in your head.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I couldn't care less about his scoring, I just wish he could rebound. We already know he'll put up 10+ ppg next year. we need him to get around 7 boards while continuing to be that rim protecting presence he's been.

 

[AstarIsBorn31]

Brimah making the cover photo and taking the 18 spot (out of 20) for Bleacher Report's Best Defensive Stoppers in 15-16.....

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ppers-in-college-basketball-in-2015-16/page/4

"Noted college basketball analyst Bill Raftery turned heads in 2014 when he said on The John Feinstein Show he believed Connecticut's Amida Brimah would be as good as Dikembe Mutombo in two years. And that was before Brimah blocked a national-best 121 shots in 2014-15.

Despite averaging less than 21 minutes per game for his career, Brimah has 213 blocks and swats away 15 percent of opponent shots when on the court. A lack of an offensive game or a strong instinct for rebounds has limited Brimah's overall impact to this point, but there's no questioning his value when defending the paint."

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Bad hands are what they are. There is only so much you can do. I know other posters have been drilled about saying this but it is a true weakness of Amidah's. When you cant catch and control the ball naturally it slows your post moves and affects your confidence. Amidah is offensively challenged by this but he is an absolute force on the defensive side of the court though if he had better ball control he would be a more effective rebounder too. That said he is hugely important to our success this year and I love his impact on the game and the way he plays.

I question whether Amidah actually has bad hands. He has a great ability to catch and put down the alley oops. That would seem to me to be a part of "hands." I think that "hands" can be confused with strength and ability to handle contact. As he gets stronger, learns to slow the game down, he will get better at establishing position and being able to put up a shot in balance. Let's hope he learns what he needs to know soon cuz he could be pretty damn good if he shows improvement. Miller should make a nice compliment as well.

 

[tcf15]

Brimah making the cover photo and taking the 18 spot (out of 20) for Bleacher Report's Best Defensive Stoppers in 15-16.....

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ppers-in-college-basketball-in-2015-16/page/4

"Noted college basketball analyst Bill Raftery turned heads in 2014 when he said on The John Feinstein Show he believed Connecticut's Amida Brimah would be as good as Dikembe Mutombo in two years. And that was before Brimah blocked a national-best 121 shots in 2014-15.

Despite averaging less than 21 minutes per game for his career, Brimah has 213 blocks and swats away 15 percent of opponent shots when on the court. A lack of an offensive game or a strong instinct for rebounds has limited Brimah's overall impact to this point, but there's no questioning his value when defending the paint."

And Shonn Miller gets the #1 spot: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...pers-in-college-basketball-in-2015-16/page/21

 

[AstarIsBorn31]

And Shonn Miller gets the #1 spot: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...pers-in-college-basketball-in-2015-16/page/21

Geez guess I shouldn't of went in assuming I would only find Amida... One of the fist Bleacher rankings with multiple Uconn players on it... Also looks like Brimah got bumped up to 17*?

 

[OkaForPrez]

Watching those highlights of Miller makes me want to drop another $100 on UConn.

 

[Gblow8690]

When I watch him I see a effort guy and rim protector. I just don't think he has any offensive repetoir at all. He will get you dunks and garbage baskets. But he plays harder than any big man I have seen in awhile. Reading how he played in the counseler games makes me feel it's the same guy we had last year. Love his motor though.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I don't understand the bashing of Brimah's "hands" at all. He has above-average hands for a big man.
1. He's not a bad free throw shooter (65%-an improvement from 57% fresh year- is not bad for a big man), plus he made some key free throws against St. Joe's in the tourney
2. One of the sublime shot-blockers in college basketball (#2 in BPG last year in the country to be exact)
3. Catches, handles and throws down D-Ham's oops with ease
3. His offensive game could certainly use plenty of work, but he has a crafty jump hook thing that seems to work OK for him

His hands are better than what you'd expect from a 7-footer. With that said, I really don't see him succeeding as an NBA player.

 

[mauconnfan]

When I watch him I see a effort guy and rim protector. I just don't think he has any offensive repetoir at all. He will get you dunks and garbage baskets. But he plays harder than any big man I have seen in awhile. Reading how he played in the counseler games makes me feel it's the same guy we had last year. Love his motor though.

"same guy we had last year"? Please explain, we didn't have a guy last year who could play D or rebound with any consistency. D being even more key because our 4's were lost and gave up points due to lack of being in the right place. The improvement is simple even without the offense, that's just gravy.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't understand the bashing of Brimah's "hands" at all. He has above-average hands for a big man.
1. He's not a bad free throw shooter (65%-an improvement from 57% fresh year- is not bad for a big man), plus he made some key free throws against St. Joe's in the tourney
2. One of the sublime shot-blockers in college basketball (#2 in BPG last year in the country to be exact)
3. Catches, handles and throws down D-Ham's oops with ease
3. His offensive game could certainly use plenty of work, but he has a crafty jump hook thing that seems to work OK for him

His hands are better than what you'd expect from a 7-footer. With that said, I really don't see him succeeding as an NBA player.

1) Agree solid FT shooter and could get even better
2) Definitely an impact blocking shots can't deny that. With better choices he will be a terror.
3) DHams oops are different than catching in traffic and being ready to work with the ball low post. He's not awful but average at best with his hands. I still believe he's just not ready it's not "bad hands" as much
4) I think his jump hook is excellent as his his jumper. His problem is he was getting bodied out of his moves and set up tomato a move before he get a clean look. Hopefully added strength and work doesn't allow for that this year?

 

[Kembacity]

Not talking bad about Brimah at all, love the kid. But people need to stop citing his raw FG% (it's not just you palatine) and recall how a massive amount of his made FGs came from dunks, very often coming as alley oops. That's going to inflate the numbers.

But when he would take a 10-12 foot jumper last year, would you wince or watch hoping he'd hit it? I was never afraid of him taking a jumper, but as the season went on he seemed to get too cocky with his oddly thrown up shots around the basket. He would frequently sneak a shot past tight defense and it just found a way to go in, so I think that built him up in his head and maybe even the coaches wanted him forcing those up a few times a game. He wasn't strong enough to get away with that as the season went on, but I have confidence in his jumper for sure

 

[Palatine]

Not talking bad about Brimah at all, love the kid. But people need to stop citing his raw FG% (it's not just you palatine) and recall how a massive amount of his made FGs came from dunks, very often coming as alley oops. That's going to inflate the numbers.

Why is a dunk a negative? His high FG% means he makes good decisions on the offensive end. An olley oop means both he and the passer found good offensive positioning. The raw numbers means something.

For all the talk about his bad hands, his 36 TOs come to about one a game. I think people are guilty of comparing him to his potential rather than his contributions.

 

[aceboon]

Most polarizing UConn player ever

 

[Rocktheworld]

Why is a dunk a negative? His high FG% means he makes good decisions on the offensive end. An olley oop means both he and the passer found good offensive positioning. The raw numbers means something.

For all the talk about his bad hands, his 36 TOs come to about one a game. I think people are guilty of comparing him to his potential rather than his contributions.

Never said, and never would say, that dunking is a negative.

I'm just not sure what the point of noting a raw 67% is. Are you trying to say he's efficient with his touches? Well no it's an efficient number, it largely comes from easy wide-open alley oops. So to me, in this case, the stat, by being inflated, isn't very substantive to use as an indicator of skill development or anything. It's a testament to his being 7' and sitting in the paint waiting for DHam to bait the defense up from the baseline. Doesn't offer much more than that in my opinion. In essence, to me, it's more to show how good DHam was at consistently doing so throughout the season. Because you know he is primarily responsible for a large amount of Brimah's baskets last year.

 

[Palatine]

Never said, and never would say, that dunking is a negative.

I'm just not sure what the point of noting a raw 67% is. Are you trying to say he's efficient with his touches? Well no it's an efficient number, it largely comes from easy wide-open alley oops. So to me, in this case, the stat, by being inflated, isn't very substantive to use as an indicator of skill development or anything. It's a testament to his being 7' and sitting in the paint waiting for DHam to bait the defense up from the baseline. Doesn't offer much more than that in my opinion. In essence, to me, it's more to show how good DHam was at consistently doing so throughout the season. Because you know he is primarily responsible for a large amount of Brimah's baskets last year.

You implied that his numbers were inflated. My point is that they wee an accurate reflection of good shot selection and good offensive positioning. So I considered your comment to be negative.

And once again you imply his alley oops or dunks were wide open. If he gets inside position, then they are wide open. That's good. The numbers are not inflated but a reflection on his ability to function efficiently in the offense.

He is not WAITING, he is working. Why doesn't he get credit for bailing out Hamilton by being in the right spot? Or knowing where to be be when DHam starts to move. It's called teamwork. Both of them are responsibility. It not a case of Brimah being "wide open."

 

[Rocktheworld]

You implied that his numbers were inflated. My point is that they wee an accurate reflection of good shot selection and good offensive positioning. So I considered your comment to be negative.

And once again you imply his alley oops or dunks were wide open. If he gets inside position, then they are wide open. That's good. The numbers are not inflated but a reflection on his ability to function efficiently in the offense.

He is not WAITING, he is working. Why doesn't he get credit for bailing out Hamilton by being in the right spot? Or knowing where to be be when DHam starts to move. It's called teamwork. Both of them are responsibility. It not a case of Brimah being "wide open."

I should've known better

 

[Rico444]

Never said, and never would say, that dunking is a negative.

I'm just not sure what the point of noting a raw 67% is. Are you trying to say he's efficient with his touches? Well no it's an efficient number, it largely comes from easy wide-open alley oops. So to me, in this case, the stat, by being inflated, isn't very substantive to use as an indicator of skill development or anything. It's a testament to his being 7' and sitting in the paint waiting for DHam to bait the defense up from the baseline. Doesn't offer much more than that in my opinion. In essence, to me, it's more to show how good DHam was at consistently doing so throughout the season. Because you know he is primarily responsible for a large amount of Brimah's baskets last year.

If it's so easy to sit there and just catch alleyoops all day, why didn't Phil Nolan have anywhere close to as many dunks from D-Ham? I can count on one hand the number of Hamilton to Nolan connections last year.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

If it's so easy to sit there and just catch alleyoops all day, why didn't Phil Nolan have anywhere close to as many dunks from D-Ham? I can count on one hand the number of Hamilton to Nolan connections last year.

Exactly. There's something to be said for being in the right spot on the floor, rolling hard to the rim, and finishing those plays effectively. There's obviously plenty of skill involved, it's just that people have a hard time associating "skill" with any big guy who doesn't play like Kevin McHale.

As to whether the 67% field goal percentage means anything - of course it does. It means Brimah isn't wasting possessions by taking, and missing, bad shots. He's never going to be Hakeem, so on a team with Sterling Gibbs, Jalen Adams, and Daniel Hamilton we don't want ten possessions per game ending with Brimah jump hooks. He has one elite skill on offense - let him do that as much as possible and be happy with his offensive production.

Rebounding and staying out of foul trouble are the ways he can elevate this team to a different level.

 

[Justin M]

The more time Brimah can spend on the floor, the more of an impact he will have. Stats dont always tell the tale and people levitate towards them completely to gauge a players caliber. If Brimah and Miller can get comfortable with eachother on the floor, they could be an outstanding duo. From what I've seen out of Miller rebounding and toughness wise, I would be okay with letting Amida chase as many shots as he thinks he can block. Let Dham (an above average rebounder for his position 7.6 rpg) and Miller (8.5 rpg) clean up the weak side. I agree Amida can help out on the glass more by being a more disciplined shot blocker, but I would rather have him attempt to block and alter shots than wait for the ball to be rebounded out of the bottom of the net

 

[David 76]

Anyone else find it strange that the video with Shonn being the #1 defensive stopper, was all offense.

Don't think AB is polarizing. I think virtually everybody likes him (if you don't, get help) people just disagree on his readiness for the NBA and his offense.

As far as his "hands", I think he is much better when he receives the ball over his head than chest level or lower. In the latter he has a hard time going up or taking a dribble or two to go up.

But no doubt in my mind he will be an NBA player. I think his height and blocks alone will get him in. And he will be a better player with one or two more seasons.

 

[Matt1010]

Watching those highlights of Miller makes me want to drop another $100 on UConn.

I'm already up to $300...either I'm really smart or need serious help.