Djery Baptiste (Committed to Vanderbilt)

[CTBasketball]

Thabeet. Jake and Travis too. Amida seems to be coming along.

How is Adrien a bigger accomplishment than, say, Boone or Thabeet? Adrien was incredibly polished when he got to UConn.

You usually don't point at Thabeet and say, "Wow he's an accomplishment - such a fine NBA player." Same goes for Travis and Jake. Adrien I guess was a push. Boone failed in the NBA.

 

[CallMeBruce]

You usually don't point at Thabeet and say, "Wow he's an accomplishment - such a fine NBA player." Same goes for Travis and Jake. Adrien I guess was a push. Boone failed in the NBA.

Thabeet - $16.8mm
Knight - $22.6mm
Voskuhl - $12.3mm
Boone - $5.5mm, not counting playing overseas

None of these guys turned out to be stars, but every one of them made it to the NBA and got paid. If Djery Baptiste is expecting more than "become a multi-millionaire," then he needs to calm down.

 

[Gurleyman]

You usually don't point at Thabeet and say, "Wow he's an accomplishment ."

I do. I always compare freshman Thabeet to a baby giraffe - certainly tall, but spends an awful lot of time falling down when trying to do anything somewhat athletic. He was a fringe top 100 recruit who wasn't considered an NBA prospect coming into college, and became a first-team All-American, the defensive anchor of a FF team, and a high lottery pick (#2).

Whatever he did from there isn't so much on UConn. The program put him in a position to succeed, molding a guy who came in with limited skill and coordination and developing him to the point that the NBA saw potential. He had to keep developing, and for whatever reasons (lack of drive/passion, hit his ceiling early, etc.), he didn't get better in the league.

Of course, that was a previous coaching staff, so it's sort of a moot point.

 

[BNich]

Did he really commit to Vanderbilt???

 

[BNich]

Dshelby ‏@HoopSwag 16h
So proud of my kid Djery Baptiste. He has chosen Vanderbilt. A great kid and a phenomenal education.

 

[Silk31]

You usually don't point at Thabeet and say, "Wow he's an accomplishment - such a fine NBA player." Same goes for Travis and Jake. Adrien I guess was a push. Boone failed in the NBA.

How do you possibly consider Thabeet not an accomplishment in terms of development?!...he was an uncoordinated piece of African tree when he 1st came to campus with little bball experience and JC turned him into the #2 pick in the draft after his junior year.

It's not about what these guys did once they got to the league it's about providing the chance to get to the next level. Thabeet is the poster child for developing a little known big into BE DPOY & Co-BE POY

Meanwhile who can Vandy point to in terms of development for any player, let alone a big man? Festivus for the rest of us Ezeli?!...child pleaseeee.

Again, do you Djery but if he was truly considering us or Vandy and thought them to be the better option in terms of big man development then good luck to you young man

 

[CTBasketball]

How do you possibly consider Thabeet not an accomplishment in terms of development?!...he was an uncoordinated piece of African tree when he 1st came to campus with little bball experience and JC turned him into the #2 pick in the draft after his junior year.

It's not about what these guys did once they got to the league it's about providing the chance to get to the next level. Thabeet is the poster child for developing a little known big into BE DPOY & Co-BE POY

Meanwhile who can Vandy point to in terms of development for any player, let alone a big man? Festivus for the rest of us Ezeli?!...child pleaseeee.

Again, do you Djery but if he was truly considering us or Vandy and thought them to be the better option in terms of big man development then good luck to you young man

From a UConn fan's perspective he was a great accomplishment. Outside of UConn he was a bust.

 

[Walker11]

Turning any player outside of the top 15 into an NBA player is a huge accomplishment. Thabeet was extremely far from a sure fire pro when he came in and he is still in the league. Armstrong's development is also an enormous accomplishment for himself and the program.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

You usually don't point at Thabeet and say, "Wow he's an accomplishment - such a fine NBA player." Same goes for Travis and Jake. Adrien I guess was a push. Boone failed in the NBA.

The narrative of Thabeet as a bust drives me nuts.

Yes he was a bust in relation to his draft spot. But considering where he was when he got to UConn, he should be considered the crowning achievement in big men development.

When he got here he literally couldn't catch a basketball or make a layup. Three years later he's the defensive POY, most impactful player in the country, and the #2 pick in the draft.

And this is somehow a bust from a development perspective?? Insanity.

 

[scrappy2.0]

To me the most important players

Having a great PG one great scorer and one great rim/paint protector. I"m not that big on recruiting but I wish we got him as we still have a need. --I wish Uconn had picked him up I think hes a 2-3 year player and hes going to be a very good rim protector space eater+ he can score around the hoop. Move on!