Can't help thinking about 'Scoe

[Danzz]

I can't help thinking of how this great team and chemistry would have been ruined by someone like Roscoe being here rather than the player who's scholarship replaced 'Scoes and helped us achieve greatness. We won the National Championship and Scoe left unlike Giff, Deandre, Boat, Tyler and of course Bazz…………

Roscoe does not deserve a thread here - this is a champions Boneyard not a defectors!!

Exactly. Roscoe would have changed the dynamic of this team but he bolted. Would we have won with Roscoe? We'll never know the answer to that question but we do know we won a NCC championship without him. Apparently we didn't need him.

 

[sportsart]

Everything happens for a reason. If one less player transferred, I believe we would not have won.

That said, I think KO would have still made the adjustments to get us to the promised land.

Actually, no...we would not have won had he stayed. It was a script written so perfectly that any changes would have made it impossible to complete.

 

[Inyatkin]

The most important thing about Roscoe Smith is that he wasn't granted immediate eligibility, as he was seeking. If he had, the rumor, however true, was that it would've started a mass exodus out of Storrs. Could be made up, maybe Ollie would've convinced them all to stay anyway, but not having to miss a year would've been hard to pass up. So thank the NCAA for once on this one, I guess.

 

[Brochacho]

was he seriously injured?

Didn't look bad probably just needs a couple of stitches.

 

[sledog]

'Scoe was a phenom. Loved fighting for those boards. I loved that 'back eye' that he (I'm sure) 'touched up' for the 2 series. Looked mean and determined. Sad about the decision he made to migrate elsewhere.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I will always think of this when I think about Roscoe (it's not the Texas video):

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/blogs/dog-house/UConn_s_Funny_Freshmen_Hartford-119185944.html

 

[UConn5]

Loved Roscoe, loves his tenacity on the boards, loved that he was able to laugh about the brain fart at Texas (maybe because we won anyway).

Hated that he transferred. Take no pleasure in his lack of success out there.

That being said, given how this all turned out, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Milo65]

I wish Roscoe the best of luck, but he gave up on us a long time ago, so I gave up on him.

 

[Zerosumgame]

Roscoe would have been a candidate to transfer regardless of the ban, imo. The Drummond thing messed up the chemistry of the front line. Both AO and Roscoe saw their minutes and role significantly reduced in 11-12. Given that both players started on a nat'l title team extremely early in their careers, one was drafted and the other declared last week, they clearly had aspirations above that. Business decisions. Does Napier stay if we bring in someone like Teague for 11-12 and instead of giving him the keys to the team, his minutes and role decrease? I can't blame either of the player who transferred for doing so. Both of them were integral parts of the most incredible run in NCAA history (imo) and had legitimate reasons to leave the program.

As things lay, the situations have worked out for everyone, imo. Another championship chased down UCONN and both of those guys have a legitimate shot at good pro careers.

 

[Sully]

Betcha Roscoe wishes he had a mulligan on that decision.

 

[mauconnfan]

Roscoe would have been a candidate to transfer regardless of the ban, imo. The Drummond thing messed up the chemistry of the front line. Both AO and Roscoe saw their minutes and role significantly reduced in 11-12. Given that both players started on a nat'l title team extremely early in their careers, one was drafted and the other declared last week, they clearly had aspirations above that. Business decisions. Does Napier stay if we bring in someone like Teague for 11-12 and instead of giving him the keys to the team, his minutes and role decrease? I can't blame either of the player who transferred for doing so. Both of them were integral parts of the most incredible run in NCAA history (imo) and had legitimate reasons to leave the program.

As things lay, the situations have worked out for everyone, imo. Another championship chased down UCONN and both of those guys have a legitimate shot at good pro careers.

They saw their minutes reduced significantly because neither came back a determined and better player, and it showed big time. In case you couldn't see their games I will tell you both of their games were less impressive than the year before because they obviously felt it was owed to them because of the ring on their finger. To blame Andre Drummond, who should have made them better if they played hard, is really ignorant! REALLY ignorant and funny!

Glad they left…..we're champs again and they're not!

 

[Sully]

In the immortal words of the great Bob Marley. What will be will be.

 

[Zerosumgame]

They saw their minutes reduced significantly because neither came back a determined and better player, and it showed big time. In case you couldn't see their games I will tell you both of their games were less impressive than the year before because they obviously felt it was owed to them because of the ring on their finger. To blame Andre Drummond, who should have made them better if they played hard, is really ignorant! REALLY ignorant and funny!

Glad they left…..we're champs again and they're not!

Who is blaming anyone other than maybe the NCAA? This is big time ball and things happen. We had three talented players for what was really 1.5 positions and it didn't work. Napier and Lamb as the top guys didn't really work either. A lot of things went wrong in 2012, it was a pretty miserable season and I watched most of the home games during spring semester in person. Not great. So yeah, a miserable season, a ban, and a coach "jumping ship" during the ban. I understand hailing the dudes that stayed, but I don't get calling young kids "cowards" because they made a fairly logical decision.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

The young man owed us nothing beyond what he gave us and I wish him nothing but the best and thank him for his contributions while he was here. Having said that, it is highly unlikely we win a championship with him staying. That would have meant either that he fought Daniels for minutes at the 4, slowing Daniels' development, or that either he or Daniels played the 3, which would have meant less minutes for Giffey and Kromah over the year and thus less 3 point shooting, energy and perimeter defensive pressure. And that's even before you get into the chemistry issues of someone not getting enough minutes (or Kromah never coming here in the first place).

We won a championship. It is highly unlikely that you could have changed anything about this team and still have it come out as well as it did.

Well, no wonder the 1993-94 didn't win the NC (or make it to the final four). All that pesky talent: Ray Allen tripping over Donyell Marshall. And don't even get me start with Donny Marshall and the backseat he was forced to endure. Plus what was up with Doron Sheffer have to share time with Kevin Ollie and Brian Fair? Oh and poor Rudy Johnson. What was Calhoun thinking bringing in all that talent, all at once. (Sarcasm intended)

Rosco Smith is a rebounder. DD is a scorer. Giffey is a small forward defender and rebounder with a nice shot from beyond the arc. Any coach worth his keep could blend those dissimilar skill sets and make it work with plenty of minutes for all. No problem with having depth and, with KO, there wasn't the worry that any of these guys would have to play "looking over their shoulder" in fear of the inevitable hook if they made a mistake. And, for that matter, I'd prefer seeing all three of them on the floor at the same time and take the minutes from Nolan, Brimah and Olander.

I do agree that this collection of players managed to play their best basketball at the end of the season when it counted the most. There was a terrific chemistry and players seemed willing to play within their respective roles. But an injury here, serious foul trouble there and things could have gone differently. So I, for one, will take all the talent that UConn can recruit.

 

[mauconnfan]

Who is blaming anyone other than maybe the NCAA? This is big time ball and things happen. We had three talented players for what was really 1.5 positions and it didn't work. Napier and Lamb as the top guys didn't really work either. A lot of things went wrong in 2012, it was a pretty miserable season and I watched most of the home games during spring semester in person. Not great. So yeah, a miserable season, a ban, and a coach "jumping ship" during the ban. I understand hailing the dudes that stayed, but I don't get calling young kids "cowards" because they made a fairly logical decision.

Not sure what is so "logical" about sitting out a year at UNLV instead of playing for a Champion?……but to each their own!

The other guy who went to Mizzou, who really cares at all?