Eric Cobb Highlights

[BUConn10]

Junior season really.

Correct, oh boy that's a pinch to the nads.

 

[Stainmaster]

Yikes hope we play small.

Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have a choice.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Pros
The kid actually knows how to pass
That's my biggest surprise.
We haven't really seen that skill out of a big in a while.
You guys worried about offense really amaze me ,like a 4-5 is really going to create
Those guys come along very rarely.
If he can catch he will score because we have guys who actually can create.
I thought agility was the biggest concern ,that surprised me I though I would see some lumbering OX like Wolfe.
His hands are also decent.

Cons
How tall is he really? Looksundersized
Can he defend the position?
What is his actual playing condition? Can he go 25-30 minutes

 

[King Husky]

I call BS. He uses his body to displace the defense (technically a player control foul that is rarely called), getting them off balance before he goes up for the shot. He can get that shot off at UConn due to his size. Shot blockers need to be balanced. One of the reasons Brimah had problems with fouls is guys would go into his chest which would cause his arms to come down, and lead to more fouls called.

For all the talk about Enoch's post moves, finishing is what matters. Enoch shot 41% for Scalitos sake. This guy showed he can finish with both hands, and he has better vision than some guards. He also didn't panic when the double team came and made a nice pass. He squared up the defender at the elbow and drove by him.

I don't expect him to be Jeff Adrien on offense. But he's got more potential than 5 fouls and eating up space.

I completely agree with your precept here, but to my eye I don't see that ability in Cobb. Even though it may appear like he is that type of player, I don't see it.

 

[pj]

How tall is he really? Looks undersized

Listed 6'9", probably a few inches shorter than Enoch.

 

[mauconnfan]

Sure, Enoch didn't convert on them. But the moves were there and he could get his shot off and up onto the rim whenever he wanted. Cobb will not be able to get those shots off against D1 defense. The JUCO defenders in that vid are literally getting out of his way on some of those. But it doesn't matter, he's not here for that purpose. He's here to be a big body, box out, and set good SOLID screens. If he can play that role well we should all be happy

Disagree although it's obvious the D is less than what he will see. Fact is when he makes his move he move people so he clears himself enough to get the shot off. Steve, while having nice moves, hardly ever finished when contested and had his shot blocked quite often when on the low block. He has the tools, but he didn't finish either. Not saying this kid will be better, but there's a chance no doubt.

 

[mauconnfan]

Listed 6'9", probably a few inches shorter than Enoch.

I may-sure him at 6-7 1/2 to 6'8 which is fine with his size.

 

[Austin316]

Exceeds Boneyards expectations. In our faces! Let's see what he's got.

 

[RichZ]

Sure, Enoch didn't convert on them. But the moves were there and he could get his shot off and up onto the rim whenever he wanted.

Enoch got stripped while attempting a move or while going up way too regularly.

Cobb will not be able to get those shots off against D1 defense. The JUCO defenders in that vid are literally getting out of his way on some of those.

The fact that he had no trouble scoring against skinny kids has no bearing on whether or not he'll be able to score against a D1 defense. It doesn't mean he won't be able to score against D1 competition any more than it means he will be able to. Bear in mind too, that a lot of the bigs in the AAC aren't actually adept at playing what anyone would call "D1" defense.

 

[Stainmaster]

Bear in mind too, that a lot of the bigs in the AAC aren't actually adept at playing what anyone would call "D1" defense.

Hell, they made Brimah look dominant at times.

 

[shizzle787]

Looks underrated. This looks like a steal for us. He can dribble which is unusual for big guys, and he seems like a good passer as well.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Disagree although it's obvious the D is less than what he will see. Fact is when he makes his move he move people so he clears himself enough to get the shot off. Steve, while having nice moves, hardly ever finished when contested and had his shot blocked quite often when on the low block. He has the tools, but he didn't finish either. Not saying this kid will be better, but there's a chance no doubt.

I suspect that there is a chance that Cobb will be a better player than Enoch, mainly based on the way he took the ball at his defender and showed poise in making the moves to let him get it to the basket. He saw the opening and went at the defender, backed him down, and got some easy close in hoops. He used the backboard effectively. Can he do it against taller defenders? Can he get up and down the court at UConn speed? Can he shoot foul shots acceptably? Hope he can or hope he will get better and better with some time and hard work.

 

[Ricker]

UConn's version of 'Big Baby'

Refreshing mix of talents different from recent bigs. I know the missing negative must be his interest in 3 pt attempts with little success. I'll take carving out space and having a few assists from the 4-5 positions. Hope is delivered.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Agreed. The unfortunate thing about us losing Wilson is that Larrier is the only SF on the team, and none of our guards are taller than 6'2". I'm sure we'll play a 3 guard lineup a decent amount, but with only 4 guards we can't play 3 guards all the time. I think we'll see a lot of Larrier at the 3, Diarra at the 4, and Cobb/Carlton at the 5 as well.

Now, if somehow we pull a rabbit out of our hat with Waters, we will play a 3 guard lineup more (unlikely).

Polley is a SF I believe. But who knows what we'll get from him.

 

[Matrim55]

UConn's version of 'Big Baby'

Refreshing mix of talents different from recent bigs. I know the missing negative must be his interest in 3 pt attempts with little success. I'll take carving out space and having a few assists from the 4-5 positions. Hope is delivered.

Let's hope he's our version of UCLA-era Kevin Love. Why not shoot for the moon, right?

 

[pj]

Let's hope he's our version of UCLA-era Kevin Love. Why not shoot for the moon, right?

Let's hope he has a late growth spurt, adds 6 inches, and becomes Shaquille O'Neal. But with better free throw shooting.

 

[King Husky]

Enoch got stripped while attempting a move or while going up way too regularly.



The fact that he had no trouble scoring against skinny kids has no bearing on whether or not he'll be able to score against a D1 defense. It doesn't mean he won't be able to score against D1 competition any more than it means he will be able to. Bear in mind too, that a lot of the bigs in the AAC aren't actually adept at playing what anyone would call "D1" defense.

If you break it down into written logic and concepts, yes, your reasoning is correct in regard to the defense. I am just making my eye-test assessment of what I see from Cobb alone, the way he moves, uses his body, positions his feet, when he is around the basket. I don't think he will be an effective scorer at UConn. I do think he can be a very useful role player though, especially with our lack of experience at that position.

 

[Matrim55]

Let's hope he has a late growth spurt, adds 6 inches, and becomes Shaquille O'Neal. But with better free throw shooting.

Well now you're just being silly.

 

[3rdbass]

They can dunk, therefore they can score. I'll say it now, Larrier won't be at the PF spot all game long. Somebody from that collection of guys we have coming in, plus Diarra, is going to get minutes there. I'm sure the matchup will dictate that in part. We'll see what happens, but we have even less depth on the perimeter, in sheer numbers (not talent), than we do inside.

Well I bet he starts like last year at PF. We had RP, AG, JA, TL and AB starting. We will see the same to start with Polley and Diarra backing up.

 

[Scottzer]

I'm going to go with a different guy he reminds me of. I see a little bit of DeJuan Blair - that old Pitt guy who I severely miscalculated in expecting to be an undersized Barkley type NBA player. But, I see a bit of him - that size, ability to get off shots using backboard effectively, and that bulk to help rebounding. Somebody is going to say I'm way off. But, I like what I see.

 

[80shusky]

Disagree although it's obvious the D is less than what he will see. Fact is when he makes his move he move people so he clears himself enough to get the shot off. Steve, while having nice moves, hardly ever finished when contested and had his shot blocked quite often when on the low block. He has the tools, but he didn't finish either. Not saying this kid will be better, but there's a chance no doubt.

Steve also committed offensive fouls very often on his post moves. He would hook a fair amount and arm bar and push off a lot. Many times it wasn't called even though it was pretty blatant. I remember commenting in the chat room during one of the games that he kept fouling on his post moves and was lucky they weren't called. A few minutes later he got whistled. During one of the games I believe I remember Vital pointing out to him in the huddle he was doing it. You could see him talking to Steve and motioning with his forearm.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm going to go with a different guy he reminds me of. I see a little bit of DeJuan Blair - that old Pitt guy who I severely miscalculated in expecting to be an undersized Barkley type NBA player. But, I see a bit of him - that size, ability to get off shots using backboard effectively, and that bulk to help rebounding. Somebody is going to say I'm way off. But, I like what I see.

good god if we could get half of DeJuan Blair we'd be WINNING

 

[RichZ]

If you break it down into written logic and concepts, yes, your reasoning is correct in regard to the defense. I am just making my eye-test assessment of what I see from Cobb alone, the way he moves, uses his body, positions his feet, when he is around the basket. I don't think he will be an effective scorer at UConn. I do think he can be a very useful role player though, especially with our lack of experience at that position.

Having been an undersized 5/4 (more than) a few decades back, I look at his post moves and wish I'd had them. It's been a while since we had a center (or a power forward for that matter) who could cleanly catch a pass (other than an oop above the rim) and immediately create positive space and go up with a shot he's comfortable with. Steve got tentative and either got stripped or traveled, or he tried an awkward shot rather than finding a way to get position for his comfortable shot.

 

[King Husky]

Having been an undersized 5/4 (more than) a few decades back, I look at his post moves and wish I'd had them. It's been a while since we had a center (or a power forward for that matter) who could cleanly catch a pass (other than an oop above the rim) and immediately create positive space and go up with a shot he's comfortable with. Steve got tentative and either got stripped or traveled, or he tried an awkward shot rather than finding a way to get position for his comfortable shot.

Just like WingU-Conn, I know what you're talking about and agree that I would love to have a player like that. But I don't think Cobb will be that for us on offense. Maybe Diarra could fit that bill.

 

[Walker11]

I want to see the bad and the ugly before I make any predictions. Like everyone else mentioned, I wasn't expecting the handle or vision. Cobb looks like he has one move in the post - that drop step to the left. It remains to be seen if it will be effective versus higher end talent but it is a helluva lot better to have one good, go to move rather than an abundance of moves that don't result in buckets, i.e. Enoch.