Do you think Napier and Boatright will stay next year?

[hungry husky]

I agree with you, except for that last phrase. Do you really think Facey is going to be anything more than a 15mpg, 3ppg, 3rpg guy as a freshman? He'll help, but he's not going to be the difference between making the Tournament and not.

He's in there for boards. I don't know if you noticed but our leading rebounder is DD at 4.4 rpg. I can see him as a Roscoe Smith with a less polished offensive game. It's tough to say if he'll push us into the tournament but he's better than TO.

 

[Kitaman]

All they need to do is ask Coach. Nuff said.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I look at it like this:

AJ Price was a tremendous college basketball at UConn and he was selected 52nd overall.

In terms of pro potential I think AJ would be rated higher than Napier and Boatright, not to mention he has a height advantage (Price is 6'2") on Napier and Boat.

Napier and Boatright are both great college players and I think it would benefit both to come back another season, because I could easily see them going undrafted if they were to leave early.

 

[hasheemthedream]

I sure hope they come back for their own good, if they don't want to be playing in Israel in 2 years. Look at this list of past college guards that are now in the D-League or don't have a current NBA contract. I would say all of these guys were better than what SB and RB have shown so far:

Scottie Reynolds
Dominic James
Sherron Collins
Corey Joseph
DJ Kennedy
Jerel Mcneal
Josh Selby
Chris Wright (G-town)
Austin Freeman
Jacob Pullen

I am sure there is more, this is just off the top of my head.

 

[joober jones]

Boatright reminds me a little of Spud Webb

 

[sportsjunky1]

I sure hope they come back for their own good, if they don't want to be playing in Israel in 2 years. Look at this list of past college guards that are now in the D-League or don't have a current NBA contract. I would say all of these guys were better than what SB and RB have shown so far:

Scottie Reynolds
Dominic James
Sherron Collins
Corey Joseph
DJ Kennedy
Jerel Mcneal
Josh Selby
Chris Wright (G-town)
Austin Freeman
Jacob Pullen

I am sure there is more, this is just off the top of my head.

Josh Selby is on the Grizzlies. He was assigned to the D League. Get your facts straight!!

 

[UConnSwag11]

i think they can go, but i think out of them boat would be more likely... if they come back the team will be extremely good

 

[HobokenHusky]

I sure hope they come back for their own good, if they don't want to be playing in Israel in 2 years. Look at this list of past college guards that are now in the D-League or don't have a current NBA contract. I would say all of these guys were better than what SB and RB have shown so far:

Scottie Reynolds
Dominic James
Sherron Collins
Corey Joseph
DJ Kennedy
Jerel Mcneal
Josh Selby
Chris Wright (G-town)
Austin Freeman
Jacob Pullen

I am sure there is more, this is just off the top of my head.

HAHA Corey Joseph. Remember the meltdown here when he picked Texas? Memories.

 

[husky91]

I think we can be as good as top 5 if Facey can contribute right away and Nolan, Olander do also.

I am not a Wolf fan, in his 2 good games as a Husky his defense cost the team more points than he contributed. I think he goes back to Germany after this year.

I think everyone will stay, and we are probably ranked all season

 

[joober jones]

For their sake, for UConn's sake, and for the fans' sake, I really hope they both stay.

 

[James]

It's funny how everyone in here is convinced neither can even sniff the league , but if we were to lose both we would be horrendous. How much of it is wishful thinking ?

 

[gampelcrazies]

Were are they going to go?

 

[mets1090]

It's funny how everyone in here is convinced neither can even sniff the league , but if we were to lose both we would be horrendous. How much of it is wishful thinking ?

If neither can develop a deadly midrange/3pt game they probably won't do much in the NBA. They're both smaller than Kemba and can't shoot the way he does. They could develop that midrange game eventually but they aren't there yet. Boatright is basically a smaller Kemba with a worse jump shot. And Bazz is smaller than Kemba, a worse athlete and can't shoot like he does. So I don't think they are NBA ready. Maybe next year they will both have refined jump shots and be able to get drafted but they just aren't there yet IMO.

Agree with the overall sentiment that Boat is closer. His athleticism is outstanding. If his shot really comes together for the rest of the year he could go.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Agree with the overall sentiment that Boat is closer. His athleticism is outstanding. If his shot really comes together for the rest of the year he could go.

Also I think Bazz has a lot more loyalty/buy-in to the program and wants another crack at the NCAAT. Something gives me the impression that Boat is gone at the first realistic opportunity.

 

[UConn990411]

My responses in bold.

I sure hope they come back for their own good, if they don't want to be playing in Israel in 2 years. Look at this list of past college guards that are now in the D-League or don't have a current NBA contract. I would say all of these guys were better than what SB and RB have shown so far:

Scottie Reynolds - only as a senior. He never shot higher than 41.2% in his first three years.
Dominic James - not really, and he was awful as a senior.
Sherron Collins I'll give you this one.
Corey Joseph uh, no.
DJ Kennedy - not really, and he played a different position.
Jerel Mcneal - 6'2 shooting guard (although I thought he'd have an NBA career).
Josh Selby - he was a disaster in his only year at Kansas.
Chris Wright (G-town) - Bazz and Boat are/were both better as sophomores.
Austin Freeman - another undersized shooting guard. Not comparable.
Jacob Pullen - 6'1 G who couldn't cut it at point in the NBA.

I'm not guaranteeing Boatright and Shabazz will have NBA careers, but they both have a shot. Like most guys who won't be high draft picks, it will come down to landing in the right situation and how much they improve individually (obviously).

 

[uconNYC]

There really are not that many great teams in college basketball. Cracking the top 25 is not that big a deal (unless you're PC or Rutgers). If Bazz and Boatright come back we have a legit shot to be a Top 15 team and thus a Sweet 16 contender.

 

[Huskies4ever]

Neither of them are as good as Chris Smith who was listed at 6'1" but was really only about 5'10". Chris was a much better shooter and scorer. The only way the 2 of them make in the NBA is as PGs and they both need work running a team.

Imagine if Chris Smith was as explosive and good off the bounce as RB! I thought Smith was listed as 6'2', but was closer to 6'1"?

 

[Clockshop]

Is Phil Pressey that much better than Bazz and Boat?

 

[mauconnfan]

Is Phil Pressey that much better than Bazz and Boat?

Certainly not if he's shooting 1-17, not sure either of them are capable of that..........he may be a bit faster than Bazz and as fast as Boat but he's not better, he does have some better overall players to distribute to....besides the mumu with no hands........

 

[jk0411]

If they do, I think we have a tournament team, especially with Facey. My gut says one of them won't be back next year.

One can only hope they get good advice, as someone else mentioned. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Here's a link to Chad Ford's top 100 prospects for the 2013 draft and neither SN or RB appear on his list. Obviously, this is one man's opinion, but doesn't bode well for the prospects of one or both of them being drafted at all. If they do opt for the draft next year, chances are they'll be disappointed and end up playing overseas somewhere.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/results/top100/_/year/2013

 

[CTBasketball]

I really hope they stay and we get a 7'5'' 300lb center from Argentina with soft hands, phenomenal post-moves, and is a force on the defensive/offensive glass.

 

[mauconnfan]

I really hope they stay and we get a 7'5'' 300lb center from Argentina with soft hands, phenomenal post-moves, and is a force on the defensive/offensive glass.

That and Deandre and Phil gain 25 lbs of muscle over the summer, Tyler finds himself somewhere, Enosch shaves his side burns and cuts his hair short, rids himself of the shooting sleeve so he looks tougher, Tolksdorf gains confidence and Giffster starts taking people off the dribble............they will be contenders then!!

Seriously though they're a few pounds, a couple better handles and a big (even Kentan) who boards from being pretty decent next year no doubt as long as these guys stay where they belong!

 

[CTBasketball]

Even with Facey, I do not see this team getting to the Sweet 16 next year or maybe even the tournament.

 

[mcs333]

Why not a top5. Won't happen in the preseason but Uconn could end up challenging for a NC. Just think back to 2010-2011. We returned two starters. KW and AO. Walker ave. 14.6 and 5.5 assist. Was not on any preseason AA team except fox sports where he was picked to the fifth team. AO ave 5 points, 6+ rebounds. Would knew 5 freshmen would come in and end the season with 11 straight wins. Remember going into the NCAA's we were still a longshot.

We return a much better team next year if everyone returns. Guard play will be excellent and OC should significantly improve with a year under his belt. I think we will see much more improvement from DD as he becomes more confident and get's more experience. If we can get solid play from NG and Facey can contribute right away we can compete for a NC. A lot of if 's but this team is much better going into 2013-14 than 2010-2011 team was. Also KO hopefully will be a better coach with a year's experience.