Can't wait

[Athlete94]

AB was totally lost in this game and to top it off he was out hustled to the ball by the white center on Houston on every loose ball. There was one time were AB didn't even crash the boards and just looked. I'm sorry but I'm so through with AB and his weak play and no offense. Yes he can make some great blocks but he has developed nothing else in his 4 years. Love the kid for the St. Joe's game but it is time to turn the page on him and I don't even know who are Center will be next year. LOL! I just know I can't deal with a guy like AB on the floor who brings so little to team especially on offense and rebounding.

Agree 1 million percent...

 

[Fishy]

Brimah is not great, but he's far from our biggest issue.

And next year, the Brimah years will feel like the good old days.

 

[UConnfan8]

No, I heard that they were only recruiting incompetent bigs on purpose from now on.

Sad thing is that could very well happen and well....I think you know what I'll say next.


We. Need. A Competant big man. Soon.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Well that's on you for not thinking rationally and setting your expectations accordingly. Better luck next time.

Dude, after Brimah's freshman year half of this board was projecting him as an NBA early entrant at some point. Were they all idiots?

It's silly to use Brimah's recruiting ranking and say "see, this is what we were supposed to get out of a poorly rated recruit".

His freshman year, Brimah was a pleasant surprise.
After his freshman year, it was a huge disappointment that he didn't develop further.

Why is he the same player today he was 3 years ago?

 

[Robertelamin]

AB wasn't the only reason we lost the game as RP played some of his worst defense I have seen this year by letting guys get bye him and CV wasn't much better. The team fell in love with the 3 PT shot in the early part of the second half for some crazy reason as they weren't hitting them. They stopped attacking. I just see our center look so helpless out there and with no effort and I get mad at him because he is a SR and not a Frehman like CV. AB is a nice kid but he isn't a high division 1 Center.

Hey I agree with you. I just don't think there needs to be a new thread at this point with like 2 weeks left in his career but that's just my opinion.

 

[UConnfan8]

Dude, after Brimah's freshman year half of this board was projecting him as an NBA early entrant at some point. Were they all idiots?

It's silly to use Brimah's recruiting ranking and say "see, this is what we were supposed to get out of a poorly rated recruit".

His freshman year, Brimah was a pleasant surprise.
After his freshman year, it was a huge disappointment that he didn't develop further.

Why is he the same player today he was 3 years ago?

Ask @Stairmaster this

 

[6xChamps]

Are all of you guys going to boo Brimah on senior night? I for one will stand up and clap for him.

 

[3rdbass]

Sad thing is that could very well happen and well....I think you know what I'll say next.


We. Need. A Competant big man. Soon.

I think we can get a way from a competent big man if we have 4 guys who can score and are committed to defense at the other positions and substitutions to back them up. I think we will see a lot of small ball next year. At least from the current makeup of our team and what i have seen from SE I hope we play small new year. LOL!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Are all of you guys going to boo Brimah on senior night? I for one will stand up and clap for him.

Of course not. He's a great person and representative of this program, and should be received accordingly.

He's just a horrible basketball player.

 

[3rdbass]

Are all of you guys going to boo Brimah on senior night? I for one will stand up and clap for him.

I love the kid and hope for the best but he has just been very inept Center in big games for most of his career besides St. Joe's game. Love the kid but he should never been a starting Center for a high division 1 team. Good backup defensive center when you need some blocks.

 

[Stainmaster]

You're content with mediocre to non-existent production from the center position. Got it.

Not that I'm content, but I don't think anything you have to suggest would measurably improve big man play. Because in this conference, we will have the same issues with attracting top players and paying for a coaching staff that develop bigs no matter who the head man is. You seem to think everything is as easy as it was when we had the greatest coach of all time and played in the greatest conference of all time.

 

[ctchamps]

Thank you, Captain Strawmen.

I don't care whether KO knows he needs to do better. I care about results. Can he actually do it? Can he recruit a Top 50 big or develop enough lower-rated bigs that we don't have gaping liabilities on the floor at all times? So far the answer is no.

So far, he's gotten 1.5 seasons of good production from bigs (Miller + half of Facey this year) out of about 15 seasons' worth of post players.

That's 4 years of frustration out of Brimah. Facey useless until this year. Enoch has shown very little nearly 2 years in. I won't even address Nolan or Olander. Or Lubin. Carlton next year we're tripping over ourselves to get excited about a guy who can't see the Top 100 with a telescope.

Something needs to change.

I just want to know why it's so convenient for you to bash recruiting bigs and avoid any consideration that we landed the number 2 big in the 2017 class. It's not a recruiting failure if the kid loses it after verbalizing. That's bad luck.

Had we not landed Zach Brown, I could support your claim. But you and @superjohn totally eliminate this when you go after KO. These seasons have been frustrating. Amida is frustrating. But he was an APR recruit.

The play KO drew up for Jalen at the end of the first half shows he can coach. His big mistake was getting the technical at the end of this game killing any chance of winning.

 

[Kitaman]

Its his senior year, let it go! He was never going to be an AA or a NBA ready Center.

He's the best we have and I'm certain that opposing Coaches fear him and game plan around him. He did contribute in the Championship game to earn his ring. If anything else he is the happiest player I've ever seen in a UConn jersey (and I've seen hundreds of them).

Lets please find and highlight the good as he makes his exit from UConn!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Not that I'm content, but I don't think anything you have to suggest would measurably improve big man play. Because in this conference, we will have the same issues with attracting top players and paying for a coaching staff that develop bigs no matter who the head man is. You seem to think everything is as easy as it was when we had the greatest coach of all time and played in the greatest conference of all time.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying that our pride and expectations should befit the status we want for this program.

We can't say "of course we're blue bloods, look at all our trophies" and then turn around and say "gee, we can't recruit or develop bigs anymore, that's just the way it is, folks".

If we're blue bloods, ****ing act like it. And that includes high expectations for our players and coaching staff.

 

[ctchamps]

Will we ever get a competent Big again?????

I'm just curious. Were you off the planet when we got Zach Brown?

 

[superjohn]

Brimah is not great, but he's far from our biggest issue.

And next year, the Brimah years will feel like the good old days.

His shotblocking presence will clearly be missed but as it is we only get that every other game with him because he's always taking himself out of the game with bonehead fouls. Offensively he is an absolute black hole and it often feels like we are competing 4 on 5. Enoch and Durham have way more ability on that end, that's why it's so disappointing Durham wasn't ready to play this year and Enoch hasn't been given enough time to develop. I'll always love Brimah for his three point play against St. Joe's and for being a good teammate but I won't miss seeing him get pushed around and the JV IQ.

 

[willie99]

If you think the Center position is a disaster this year just wait until next year.

can't be worse, and I'm looking forward to next year

 

[superjohn]

I'm just curious. Were you off the planet when we got Zach Brown?

You had about as much of a chance of suiting up for UConn as Brown did.

 

[Stainmaster]

Dude, after Brimah's freshman year half of this board was projecting him as an NBA early entrant at some point. Were they all idiots?

YES. YES THEY WERE. IDIOTS WITH FLAMES SHOOTING OUT OF THEIR HEADS. 4 points and 3 rebounds per game? One monster outburst against UCF? People think that we send players to league "because we're UConn and we have some magic secret sauce that makes kids stars whenever they put on the uniform." Look at all of the big men we brought in who went to the league. They were all universally regarded so, so much higher than Brimah ever was. Take a gander at some of the bigs who've entered early the past few years. How many of them only had UConn and La Salle as their only DI offers?

It's silly to use Brimah's recruiting ranking and say "see, this is what we were supposed to get out of a poorly rated recruit".

This makes no sense when viewed in context with your comments on Carlton. Low-ranked kids like Brimah are expected to be good as lottery picks, yet Carlton's lack of a spot in the Top 100 is indicative of the sky falling?

Honest question: if you or I suited up at center for UConn, what would your expectations be? 10/8/3 and a spot in the draft just because our jersey says "UConn" on the front?

 

[willie99]

AB was totally lost in this game and to top it off he was out hustled to the ball by the white center on Houston on every loose ball. There was one time were AB didn't even crash the boards and just looked. I'm sorry but I'm so through with AB and his weak play and no offense. Yes he can make some great blocks but he has developed nothing else in his 4 years. Love the kid for the St. Joe's game but it is time to turn the page on him and I don't even know who are Center will be next year. LOL! I just know I can't deal with a guy like AB on the floor who brings so little to team especially on offense and rebounding.

turnovers, fouls, lack of rebounding, can't shoot, can't pass

it's 4 against 6

 

[superjohn]

You folks would be saying the exact same thing about Enoch were he the one with AB's minutes all year long.

Enoch is a soph.

 

[TheChamps990411]

AB was totally lost in this game and to top it off he was out hustled to the ball by the white center on Houston on every loose ball. There was one time were AB didn't even crash the boards and just looked. I'm sorry but I'm so through with AB and his weak play and no offense. Yes he can make some great blocks but he has developed nothing else in his 4 years. Love the kid for the St. Joe's game but it is time to turn the page on him and I don't even know who are Center will be next year. LOL! I just know I can't deal with a guy like AB on the floor who brings so little to team especially on offense and rebounding.

I can tell when Uconn loses just by the posts calling for someone to leave,get benched or fired lol!

 

[King Husky]

I've been a defender of Brimah. Love the kid. Great spirit. Not a good basketball player.

Same with me. Ollie simply asks way too much of him. At best, this is a guy who should start the game, play 3 minutes, and then become a 15 min per game bench player, sharing minutes with Enoch and the other guys.

 

[UConnfan8]

I'm just curious. Were you off the planet when we got Zach Brown?

And then what happened remind me because I must have been off

 

[Stainmaster]

Enoch is a soph.

Half the board has already given up on him ever contributing even though he's only played significant minutes for maybe a few weeks during his career this far.

 

[BUConn10]

Only crazy homers look at kids ranked in the 240s nationwide coming in and expect considerable improvement.

"Well, the last center from Africa we had was the #2 overall pick, so..."

See, you say something like this then in a thread tomorrow about recruiting bigs you will reply to someone pointing out our misses in recruiting ready-to-play bigs and you will make some recycled "UConn has won most of its titles with unheralded players that we developed into stars" or some other candystriped response.

You don't really ever hold a solid position in this regard, you play each individual thread and pick the position that gives the air of superiority, yet your position has always been "UConn is fine" regarding any and all discussions. Try thinking outside the box.

 

[Matrim55]

Enough of these project big men. Get a recruiter who can go get a top 20 big man every year.

So basically hire Coach K or Calipari as an assistant, then?

I mean, even UNC doesn't get a top 20 big every year. And Syracuse's top 20 big (Coleman) didn't play tonight.

Apropos of everything: We've signed six four-star PFs or Cs (Enoch, Durham, Diarra, Brown, Polley, Carlton) and the top postgrad big (Miller) over the past three years.

 

[Stainmaster]

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying that our pride and expectations should befit the status we want for this program.

We can't say "of course we're blue bloods, look at all our trophies" and then turn around and say "gee, we can't recruit or develop bigs anymore, that's just the way it is, folks".

If we're blue bloods, ****ing act like it. And that includes high expectations for our players and coaching staff.

You made a deliberate choice to keep your expectations the same when we replaced the greatest coach of all time with someone whose only coaching experiences was 2 years as a collegiate assistant. You chose to look at this program through the same eyes when we were plucked from the best conference in the history of the sport to a mid-major with Tulsa, Tulane, and ECU. The expectations you've assigned are unfortunately not congruent with reality. All things being equal, we all want the same 39-0 tourney runs and recruiting classes of 5 lottery picks per year that you want. Some of just know that isn't feasible.

 

[superjohn]

Half the board has already given up on him ever contributing even though he's only played significant minutes for maybe a few weeks during his career this far.

I would have liked to have seen Enoch given more minutes to develop this season. He's still a mess on defense but he has legit offensive skills, the only way at becoming less raw is game minutes.

 

[3rdbass]

Half the board has already given up on him ever contributing even though he's only played significant minutes for maybe a few weeks during his career this far.

Well it would have been great for KO to let him play some more minutes in a game to work on his D. The kid will never get confidence in his game if you don't let him play through his mistakes and this was the perfect time for more minutes with AB playing so poorly.