DHam is a stud!

[Matrim55]

He's Brandon Roy. Hopefully with better knees.

 

[Yankees32123]

We were talking about who had the biggest impact. Saying that Hamilton being a pretty good player on a bad team is a bigger impact than Okafor, who was one of the top freshmen in the country on a great team, is nonsense. And even if we weren't by what measure is Hamilton better than Okafor, Gordon, or Lamb? Hamilton is scoring just under 11/game with sub-40% shooting. He's not exactly blowing my skirt up.

Emeka averaged 7.9 ppg and 9 rpg. Hamiton is right in that area. And we were not talking about impact, we were talking about "best player as a frosh"

 

[CallMeBruce]

Stop while you are behind. First off, this thread is about appreciating the impact Hamilton has on this team. Secondly, his raw numbers as a freshman are much better than either Lamb, Gordon or Gay.

10.7 ppg on .394 shooting is better than which of Lamb (11.1 on .487), Gordon(12.6 on .444), or Gay (11.8 on .462)? Hamilton is a good player, and he had a great night, but I'm not going to get stupid about it.

 

[CTBasketball]

I don't know if you guys remember, but Ben Gordon was CLUTCH his freshmen year. He hit some huge shots at MSG in 02. No way DHam's season is better than Gordon's freshman year. The dude averaged 12.6, dished out 3.1 assists/game, and shot over 40% from 3...

 

[CallMeBruce]

Emeka averaged 7.9 ppg and 9 rpg. Hamiton is right in that area. And we were not talking about impact, we were talking about "best player as a frosh"

Emeka was also breaking conference records for blocking shots that year. And he was shooting nearly 60% from the floor, not under 40%.

 

[Yankees32123]

Emeka was also breaking conference records for blocking shots that year. And he was shooting nearly 60% from the floor, not under 40%.

Obviously his % is going to be higher as a big man.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Obviously his % is going to be higher as a big man.

You think that accounts for the difference between .590 and .394? Yes, a big man is going to have a higher FG% than a wing, but Hamilton's shooting has been pretty crappy for a while now. Look at the TS%s for each one: Okafor at .602, Gordon at .576, Lamb at .568, Rudy at .546, and Hamilton at .448. He hasn't been as good as those guys were.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'd put him in the same league as but above Jeremy Lamb because most of his numbers are higher, and he is a legit play maker. JL was a pure scorer, mostly from outside on kicks.

 

[Matrim55]

I'd put him in the same league as but above Jeremy Lamb because most of his numbers are higher, and he is a legit play maker. JL was a pure scorer, mostly from outside on kicks.

JL was exactly who we needed in 2011 - the perfect fit next to Kemba and Shabazz to close games. Flip freshman JL for freshman DHam, and I don't think we win the title.

DHam is exactly what we need for the next two years. A high-scoring, do-everything wing that we can run the offense through for months at a time. Flip sophomore JL for sophomore DHam, and I think our ceiling next year is much lower.

Basketball's a funny game.

 

[Rocktheworld]

JL was exactly who we needed in 2011 - the perfect fit next to Kemba and Shabazz to close games. Flip freshman JL for freshman DHam, and I don't think we win the title.

DHam is exactly what we need for the next two years. A high-scoring, do-everything wing that we can run the offense through for months at a time. Flip sophomore JL for sophomore DHam, and I think our ceiling next year is much lower.

Basketball's a funny game.

Agree with this whole thing. But I'm just saying, if you're gonna compare Robin-esque players outside the context of their teams/seasons and just evaluate what you see re: their skill sets, IMO DHam is fairly more advanced than freshman JL. JL was nowhere close to 7 rpg. DHam averages twice as many assists. JL only had the upper hand in pure shooting.

 

[Gurleyman]

It's fair to say thar Hamilton has shown a more complete game than any freshman since Caron. Okafor was a great impact player as a shot locker/rebounder, but his range was one foot. Rudy didn't show the rebounding chops or playmaking skills of Hamilton. Rudy had a very uninspiring freshman year - it really wasn't until the Arkansas game in Maui as a soph that he looked like a possible stud. Lamb struggled to hold his starting spot, but had the best finish to a season a freshman could ever hope to have. Ben just had the instant offense role off the bench.

But it's also fair to deduct points for team success.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[djct1999]

I am not sure DHam has had as big of an impact as some other freshmen in UConn history, but I am certain that there are few, if any, ever to put on a UConn unifrom with the natural ability he possess. The only things he lacks is experience and prior to yesterday, I'd say confidence. Give this kid a few years and his skill set will make him a force, not just at UConn but in the association. Prediction: lottery pick next year.

 

[lange10]

I just hope it's in 2017 and not 2016.

Next year we're realistically still a year away. If we roll into 2017 with seniors Brimah, Facey, and Purvis, junior Hamilton, sophomores Adams, Enoch, and Stone (see what I did there?), we could have our first wire-to-wire top 10 team in nearly a decade.

One can only imagine. If we get Stone, there's no chance he stays longer than a year. As for DHam, I've been saying for about a month now that he may leave after next year but I got torn apart. It seems all the more possible now with his recent string of great games. Hope I'm wrong because if we get junior DHam for the 2016-2017 season we will be a force.

 

[RipCity]

Easily best case loss scenario because I think Hamilton is starting to realize he can take over games.

We lost, but hopefully we'll have a Robin to our Batman for the AAC tourney.