CBS Sports: Scouting UConn

[aceboon]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...6/scouting-the-final-four-connecticut-huskies

 

[CTMike]

Pretty fair all around.

 

[aceboon]

Pretty fair all around.

Agreed, except the last comment about Brimah, not sure if the guy is speaking about him just now in the present tense but Brimah is plenty "UConn good". With a normal roster not impacted by the ban/sanctions he would probably sit and learn but by being forced into action early he's expedited the learning process, Brimah will be a stud.

 

[Rico444]

Agreed, except the last comment about Brimah, not sure if the guy is speaking about him just now in the present tense but Brimah is plenty "UConn good". With a normal roster not impacted by the ban/sanctions he would probably sit and learn but by being forced into action early he's expedited the learning process, Brimah will be a stud.

Yeah, the Brimah comment was weird. Maybe he hasn't watched much film on our team all year, and the game(s) we played against him Brimah didn't play well?

 

[aceboon]

Yeah, the Brimah comment was weird. Maybe he hasn't watched much film on our team all year, and the game(s) we played against him Brimah didn't play well?

Yea Brimah completely altered a game against a top 20 opponent with his 2nd half play against Cincy in the AAC tourney, hard to say he's not UConn good.

 

[KhalidElAmida]

Yea Brimah completely altered a game against a top 20 opponent with his 2nd half play against Cincy in the AAC tourney, hard to say he's not UConn good.

Not to mention, we don't even make it to the rd of 32 without Amida. How many freshman centers would have had the testiculos to make that 3 point play?

 

[caw]

Well, what is UConn good? Brimah right now is pretty far behind what many think of when they think UConn center. Most think Voshkuhl (So, Jr, Sr), Okafor (Fr, So, Jr), Armstrong (Sr), Thabeet (So, Jr), Oriakhi (So). Brimah doesn't really live up to any of those years by centers. Of course Brimah is only a freshman.

People really do underestimate the contributions of other players on this team. Giffey in particular only got a sentence. That boggles my mind. Sure he may not be the best offensively on the team but the spacing he provides along with his versatility and hustle really shouldn't be discounted.

I wonder how many of those quotes were from Pitino, some seemed very UL based. There are few teams (and maybe none left) that can attack UConn the way UL did. The one that stood out was how UConns bigs are slow footed. Only UL made them look that way this year and Russ Smith might be the quickest guard in the country.

 

[CTMike]

The Brimah comment felt more like faulting him for being a frosh than anything. I can't wait to see how his game grows.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Brimah Fr > Thabeet Fr

IMO.

 

[Davidm]

Not to mention, we don't even make it to the rd of 32 without Amida. How many freshman centers would have had the testiculos to make that 3 point play?

I think the better question is How many centers in general can actually make that free throw (and or actually shoot decent from the line)!!? Especially freshman!

 

[James]

one of those guys has a halting way of speaking, sounds just like greenberg. yelling about ball screens and how we are too small. Also I love this rep that Nolan is getting as a tough physical defender; thats all ollie brainwashing him. Honestly don't believe daniels will revert to his bad habits, he is playing like a senior(testiculo)-demanding the rock, not turning it over, playing elite defense. he should be able to abuse yegete

 

[OkaForPrez]

AB is a more offensively efficient freshman HT who couldn't stay on the floor because of foul trouble. His development of when and when not to challenge shots and his ability to challenge shots without fouling have both dramatically improved this year and will continue to. He's played decidedly more minutes in the post season and by the way the run were on has given him 10 more games worth of opportunity to develop. This experience is immeasurable and critical.

AB is as UCONN GOOD as it gets, because of his motor (with all respect to HT) which is 10x what Beet's was.

My guess is the guy that said he wasn't uconn good was Jay Wright.

 

[KhalidElAmida]

Brimah Fr > Thabeet Fr

IMO.

I had season tickets during Hasheem's frosh year and he was BRUTAL to watch more often than not... Especially on offense, when it was an adventure every time he touched the ball. IMO Amida is more coordinated and has a much better feel for the game than Hasheem did at this stage in his career.

 

[breezy]

One of the coaches really liked Boat and Deandre which was refreshing to read after all the talk of Bazz being our only player.

 

[Davidm]

View attachment 5531


My guess is the guy that said he wasn't uconn good was Jay Wright.

I think you mean... Jay Wrong

Sorry I couldn't help myself.

 

[CL82]

"I do think if you're physical with Daniels, he won't go in the post."

"The one thing with them is Shabazz is going to beat the first line of defense. With Florida's bigs, I don't think he's going to be able to get going. He's not as good as a finisher as some people think."

"I think clearly if you can find someone with decent quickness, with some size on Napier, he would have a tough time. I you're thinking of holding him to 10-12 points, it's not going to happen. "

"Be physical with Daniels, it changes the way those two play, especially Daniels. "

“You gotta beat them down in transition. We looked at doing that, and if you beat them before they get set, they're not great getting back on D. Exploiting them in transition.

"Once you beat that first line of defense, you can attack. And you can go after Shabazz Napier because he's small.”

Challenge accepted.

 

[caw]

What offensive players have successfully attacked Napier bc he's small over the course of a game? I can't think of any. UF isn't posting it's guards and are shorter than ISUs, MSUs and Novas.

 

[UconnU]

What offensive players have successfully attacked Napier bc he's small over the course of a game? I can't think of any. UF isn't posting it's guards and are shorter than ISUs, MSUs and Novas.

the only team that really gave us trouble with their length on the perimeter was SMU... and Florida's guards are smaller.

 

[aceboon]

What offensive players have successfully attacked Napier bc he's small over the course of a game? I can't think of any. UF isn't posting it's guards and are shorter than ISUs, MSUs and Novas.

DeAndre Kane started burning Kromah in the 2nd half, twice getting him in the post. KO took Kromah out and put Bazz on Kane, Kane immediately tried to post up Bazz and Bazz was having none of it, easily pushing him out of position for an entry pass from their guards. ISU wasted 2 straight possessions trying to set up Kane in the post cuz of Bazz's D.

 

[champs99and04]

I don't agree with all of it, but there's some really good stuff there and well worth the read. One comment I found particularly off-base was this one: "I think defensively, they give up penetration way too easily. Because Napier and Boatright are playing the whole game, they can't deliver that energy on both ends of the floor. And they have to be careful with the new foul rules.”

I agree with Caw, that had to have come from Pitino. I can't think of any other team that was able to consistently penetrate on our defense, and the one about our big men being slow footed was definitely from Pitino, he actually went out of his way to mention it at halftime of the AAC championship.

I'd be curious to know which coaches were interviewed. Pitino was one. Some of the quotes seemed like Cronin, especially about Bazz struggling against length - Cincinnati was really the only team in the country I can think of that was able to switch ball screens against us successfully. I'll be really interested to see what opposing coaches have to say about Florida.

 

[pj]

We're playing a lot better than we were when those weaknesses could be attacked. Kudos to the AAC coaches for showing Kevin and the team what they needed to fix. The team looks like it has no holes right now.

 

[auror]

I don't agree with all of it, but there's some really good stuff there and well worth the read. One comment I found particularly off-base was this one: "I think defensively, they give up penetration way too easily. Because Napier and Boatright are playing the whole game, they can't deliver that energy on both ends of the floor. And they have to be careful with the new foul rules.”

I agree with Caw, that had to have come from Pitino. I can't think of any other team that was able to consistently penetrate on our defense, and the one about our big men being slow footed was definitely from Pitino, he actually went out of his way to mention it at halftime of the AAC championship.

One huge thing that doesn't get mentioned enough about the NCAA tournament is that the timeouts/commercial breaks are longer. More time to catch your breath so you can exert more energy during play. That was HUGE for us in the Mich St. game. The commercials and timeouts seemed endless to me as an anxious fan, especially because that game was uniquely a game with a lot of runs, so both coaches were burning through timeouts. Boatright was able to exert crazy amounts of energy on both sides of the ball.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'll be really interested to see what opposing coaches have to say about Florida.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...510411/scouting-the-final-four-florida-gators

As for your general remarks: agreed 100%. Only Louisville was able to penetrate at will, but really, that was mostly Russ Smith, who nobody could keep out of the lane. Probably Pitino. I like Wilbekin as a player, and I think we're going to struggle with him, but he's no Russ Smith.

I assume Cronin and probably Larry Brown were among the other voices.

 

[caw]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...510411/scouting-the-final-four-florida-gators

As for your general remarks: agreed 100%. Only Louisville was able to penetrate at will, but really, that was mostly Russ Smith, who nobody could keep out of the lane. Probably Pitino. I like Wilbekin as a player, and I think we're going to struggle with him, but he's no Russ Smith.

I assume Cronin and probably Larry Brown were among the other voices.

Agree though Kasey Hill is pretty quick. He's the best shot at replicating what Smith and Siva have done against UConn.

It's kind of funny but UL seems like a more talented UF but then UF has a better record and is in the FF. i also like UConns matchup with UF way better than with UL.

 

[nomar]

“You don't see a really good penetrator that can shoot. And he's as hot as anyone from 3-point right now. He can get into the lane. Those guys are hard to find. A guy that is so hard to keep out of the paint but also shoot the 3-ball so well, and it's like the basketball gods don't permit it. You have to pick your poison. No matter what we did, hand in his face, he still makes shots. The best attribute he has is the ability to make good shots in crunch time. It's back-breaking and demoralizing.”