DD = Sticks

[D$]

But can't jump as high. No handle, decent shooter, worse rebounder, and you all remember how frustrating sticks could be.

 

[Dann]

not close. stix not only had better hope but wasn't afraid to attack the rim at all costs. he also shot the ball wih a actual shot and not a wierd upward motion slowly

 

[D$]

Doesn't help that DD has the slowest release I have ever seen.

 

[Kitaman]

DD just can't play the 4. He's out of position. Too bad we can't put him at the 3.

 

[D$]

I'm not sure that would make that much of a difference, maybe just on D. He's playing on the perimeter. The game just isn't there for him right now.

 

[UConnSwag11]

But can't jump as high. No handle, decent shooter, worse rebounder, and you all remember how frustrating sticks could be.

You basically said dd doesn't equal stix. Remember stix was the reason we made it to the final four in '09. Check his stats when he came back. He was an animal. Year after that when he chose to he could be dominant

 

[aceboon]

DD just can't play the 4. He's out of position. Too bad we can't put him at the 3.

What is he being asked of at the 4 that is so difficult? Are you speaking from an offensive or defensive perspective? On offense it is not like we are sticking him in the post and asking him to be Jeff Adrien, he either is getting face-up isolation opportunites on the baseline or wing, or wide open jumpers from 3. The problem is he is not hitting his jumpers and has been a turnover machine when putting the ball on the floor when asked to create. He's being utilized as a 3 on offense, and right now he hasn't been up to the task.

 

[CL82]

What is he being asked of at the 4 that is so difficult? Are you speaking from an offensive or defensive perspective? On offense it is not like we are sticking him in the post and asking him to be Jeff Adrien, he either is getting face-up isolation opportunites on the baseline or wing, or wide open jumpers from 3. The problem is he is not hitting his jumpers and has been a turnover machine when putting the ball on the floor when asked to create. He's being utilized as a 3 on offense, and right now he hasn't been up to the task.

Getting muscled by a bigger 4 all game long? Can't judge DD by last night where back spasms limited him. He has some problems, but I think he'll be a decent player for us.

 

[aceboon]

Getting muscled by a bigger 4 all game long? Can't judge DD by last night where back spasms limited him. He has some problems, but I think he'll be a decent player for us.

Who are these monster PF's that we have played so far this season that have done this to him? Leslie didn't really outmuscle him as DD pretty much gave up the post to him and didn't even put his back into him to defend the post. Maybe it was the back spasms or him trying to avoid foul trouble, but I found his lack of effort in trying to defend Leslie as a bigger issue than his muscle, and really Leslie wasn't a major factor on the offensive end, Howell hurt more. DD's issues are far greater on the offensive end than defensive, and on the offensive end he's being asked to play like a wing, which so far he hasn't been very good at doing so.

 

[gibhunter]

DD is not a decent shooter. 39% from the field and 27% from the three are bad numbers, not decent numbers. We know boat is in a slump because numbers from last year prove that he is a good shooter. DD has never shown anything other than inconsistent shotting and bad decision making. He should be firmly behind NG on the depth chart.

 

[Jerry1714]

I would take Stix all day every day over DD. He was flat out awful last night.

Sitx would sometimes, well maybe more then sometimes, disappear and look lost but I never questioned his talent and ability to play at this level. DD? All I have is questions with him.

 

[Puertorock43]

DD is just not a good player lets face it. Stop trying to come up with every excuse in the book to explain his play. Plain and simple he is a bench player. I cringe every time he has the ball in his hands. The recruiting experts failed miserably in his evaluation. No way was he a top 10 recruit.

 

[CTBasketball]

Ollie needs to go to the freshman dorms, and find a freshman over 6'7'' and weighs over 230lbs. Sign him up.

 

[Kitaman]

Ollie needs to go to the freshman dorms, and find a freshman over 6'7'' and weighs over 230lbs. Sign him up.

Isn't football season over, I'm sure some of those guys played HS basketball.

 

[Husky25]

But can't jump as high. No handle, decent shooter, worse rebounder, and you all remember how frustrating sticks could be.

I hope not. If true, that means he will be a malcontent by mid season and disappear down the stretch. Sticks had no discipline and count not self-motivate to save his life. This likely won't happen with Daniels, as Ollie has 3 of the most team oriented, high motor, disciplined players from Calhoun's tenure in himself, Moore, and Freeman on his team.

 

[caw]

Sticks' athletic ability allowed him to get easy buckets on putbacks and alley-oops at least 2-3 times a game.

Daniels is really an enigma for me, he has plays where he just does something really, really nice but they are few and far between. That 8-10 foot pull-up he made last night in the second half from the front-left of the basket was really quite advanced.

From what I have seen he is way too upright when he dribbles resulting in travels, steals for the other team, etc.

 

[Lefty2one]

DD is such a robotic player, it seems like playing the sport is extremely unnatural to him. The post above about him playing/dribbling upright is spot on, he plays basketball like he's got a pulled muscle in his back or something. I'm surprised that a 6'8 kid with such limited athleticism wound up as a Top 15 recruit.

There's hope for him long term, I don't see why he can't develop. Hopefully he doesn't bail and transfer out after this year.

 

[Tenspro2002]

The players we get at this position are continually regressing.

First Sticks was a poor man's Rudy Gay.
Then Roscoe was a poor man's Sticks.
Now DD is a poor man's Roscoe?

It's time we abandon this mold of player and get back to a lineup with a traditional college 3 that we featured in the 90's. (And yes, I know DD is playing the 4 this year, but he's naturally a 3, and a poor one at that.)

 

[caw]

The players we get at this position are continually regressing.

First Sticks was a poor man's Rudy Gay.
Then Roscoe was a poor man's Sticks.
Now DD is a poor man's Roscoe?

It's time we abandon this mold of player and get back to a lineup with a traditional college 3 that we featured in the 90's. (And yes, I know DD is playing the 4 this year, but he's naturally a 3, and a poor one at that.)

I'm not sure DD is a poor man's Roscoe. Really aside from a little muscle they produce about the same. I would say they are both poor man's Sticks. However, would you be saying that if UConn had gotten Leslie instead of/with Roscoe?

 

[Dogdeacon]

Problem with Daniels is almost the opposite of Sticks in that you can see the gears turning in DeAndre's head every time he has the ball on offense and it takes too damn long for the info to get from his head to his limbs. Sticks was almost all athleticism and instinct, which led him unable to contribute in games where running and jumping didn't result in opportunities. Even DeAndre's good moves against MState were good because he'd pre-decided to attack the rim and caught defenders flat footed. I'd guess in the gym DeAndre doesn't think so much and just plays. Unless he figures out a way to do this under the bright lights he's at best a poor man's Rudy Johnson.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I'm not sure DD is a poor man's Roscoe. Really aside from a little muscle they produce about the same. I would say they are both poor man's Sticks. However, would you be saying that if UConn had gotten Leslie instead of/with Roscoe?

Of course I wouldn't be saying that, because we would have played Leslie where he belongs -- at the 4. Which is where all of these 6'9 guys with a mediocre shot and mediocre handle should be playing.

Not every 6'9 guy with athleticism and perceived basketball skills is going to turn into a LeBron, a Durant, or even a Rudy Gay at the small forward position.

When you put a player of that physique at the 3 at the college level, you're taking a huge risk that he's actually going to be able to execute the responsibilities of a college small forward -- playing on the perimeter, handling the ball, knocking down shots. The best of the best, those you find in the NBA, can do all those things. If you get a guy a notch or three below that, you're effectively cutting your legs out from under you by having only two ballhandlers on the court. That's been my biggest problem with JC's "NBA-style" lineups the last 6-7 years.

 

[huskiesnyc]

DD has no confidence and a very low hoops IQ. I saw him pass up 3 wide open 3's last night in the first half. Then he started going baseline and stepping out of bounds- we've all seen him do 25 times this year. His shot selection is terrible, and he can only go right.

 

[Rico444]

He needs to stick with the 4. Post up more, stop trying to take your defenders off the dribble from outside the 3 point line. When he catches the ball beyond the 3 point line, he should take the open 3 if he has it or pass the ball and get back in the paint. Once he settles in to that role, I think you'll see a much better result.

 

[champs99and04]

Gee...a lot of criticism for a kid who has yet to play 600 minutes at the college level. Sticks played nearly 1200 minutes in his senior season alone. My point is, we need to be patient with these kids. There is no sense in regulating him to the bench just because he hasn't lived up to his ranking thus far. Keep in mind Deandre was buried on the depth chart for most of last season, so he's still adjusting to the pace of the college game. Has he struggled this year? Sure, but it's silly to draw comparisons to a four year player when he's barely completed a quarter of his sophmore season.

There are a lot of areas in which Deandre needs to improve, most notably, his ball-handling ability and decision making. Another poster made a good point that he seems to pre-determine what he's going to do before he even gets the ball. He needs to work on his footwork, as he has the tendency to travel. Adding a pump fake to his game would be nice also. But how soon we forget the first half of the Michigan State game, when he basically pieced together four or five consecutive beautfiul offensive moves. He nailed a three from the top of the key, drove baseline for a dunk, spun to the middle for a floater, and nailed a hook shot in the paint. He has talent. NBA talent? No. But he can very well evolve into a solid 3/4 hybrid type player.

 

[Rico444]

He needs to stick with the 4. Post up more, stop trying to take your defenders off the dribble from outside the 3 point line. When he catches the ball beyond the 3 point line, he should take the open 3 if he has it or pass the ball and get back in the paint. Once he settles in to that role, I think you'll see a much better result.

I don't like to toot my own horn or anything, but...

Oh, who am I kidding?