For anyone who thinks Boat isn't ready to carry the torch

[dogpause]

All you need to do is watch the Championship Game against Kentucky and focus on Ryan's play. He is more than ready, has the swagger, and the moves. Not saying we'll win it all, but I sure wouldn't count us out. The polls, and the seeding, never consider the swagger factor nor the mental toughness that UConn teams bring to the post season. Boat, IMO, has the same Champion's DNA as Kemba and Shabazz. And I believe he's quicker than either of them.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Boat is as close to a sure thing that we have next year - any question marks relate to the rest of the crew. How good is Purvis? How ready is Hamilton? What do we get from the 4 spot? Which version of Omar Calhoun are we going to see? Can our centers stay out of foul trouble? Etc....

 

[Palatine]

Boat is closer to Kemba than Shabazz. We'll see how it plays out.

 

[Rocktheworld]

The polls, and the seeding, never consider the TESTICULOS

We all know Boat got these, I'm not worried

 

[CL82]

Boat needs to be our on the floor leader and a lockdown defender but not necessarily be a guy who takes the shot with the shot clock expiring. You definitely can make the case that he was the biggest key to last year's national championship run. When he was out teams made runs against us. That was really evident in the Kentucky game. I like him a lot and look forward to see how far he can take us.

 

[dsturdy5]

When he rolled his ankle in the championship game, I thought that was going to be the turning point. Thankfully he played through it.

 

[intlzncster]

I was so psyched when Boat decided to return. Daniels wasn't as big of a deal for me, though I'd love to have him.

We would have struggled mightily without Boat.

 

[Kitaman]

Boat was ready at the start of the season, but deferred to Bazz in a humble quality way. All I can say is that Boat is ready!

Oh and he can be Bazz's equal with some minor adjustments, which he is capable of making. Another 4 year point guard for our Huskies, joining Bazz, Taliek, Rickey and others.

 

[intlzncster]

Boat was ready at the start of the season, but deferred to Bazz in a humble quality way. All I can say is that Boat is ready!

Oh and he can be Bazz's equal with some minor adjustments, which he is capable of making. Another 4 year point guard for our Huskies, joining Bazz, Taliek, Rickey and others.

His D reached a higher level at the end of the year though. He played his way into the Ricky Moore conversation during the tournament.

He also learned to pick his spots better.

 

[intlzncster]

When he rolled his ankle in the championship game, I thought that was going to be the turning point. Thankfully he played through it.

Toughness. His best quality. That will set the tone for next year's team.

 

[huskiesnyc]

I don't think anyone is doubting Boat. Kid competes harder than anyone on the team, and that's really saying something

 

[Strummer]

After Brimah's 3 on St. Joes, I believe that Boat's amazing, 40" up, stop on a dime, shot clock expiring, over Randle late in the NC game was the 2nd most important huge shot of the tourni run. IIRC, it kept a pad on the lead, and you could literally see Randle shrug his shoulders, look up to the rafters, and facially express the emotion, "what the _____ do we have to do to stop these guys?" Literally was, IMO, the moment when Kentucky started to believe they were going to lose.

 

[CL82]

His D reached a higher level at the end of the year though. He played his way into the Ricky Moore conversation during the tournament.

He also learned to pick his spots better.

Ricky Moore is the comparison that came too my mind as well, although I think that senoir Boat is a more consistent offensive option than senior Moore

 

[Rocktheworld]

I don't think anyone is doubting Boat. Kid competes harder than anyone on the team, and that's really saying something

Even "Basket-a-ball" Dan Shulman noticed during the NC game "UConn is a different team when he is on the floor"

 

[jfuchs91]

Boat's defense was spectacular down the stretch last season, though I think it's unrealistic for him to maintain that and be the focal point on the offense. It's similar to how Shabazz was the super-pesky on ball defender in 2011 because Kemba was relied upon to carry the offensive load.

That being said, if Hamilton and Purvis come in and show that they can score at a high level (and Purvis, Samuel, and Cassell Jr. can handle some PG duties), then I think we can make a serious run again this season. We won the title last season because of Shabazz and our incredible defense. There's no doubt that Boat can carry our team, but I hope he'll have more pieces around him where he won't have to do as much for the team as Kemba in '11 or Shabazz last season.

 

[sparky]

Boat can play, but can he lead? There's no doubt that his handle is exceptional and he can score and play great on ball D, but the one question mark I have is LEADERSHIP. Kemba and Bazz could lead and did. Now let's see what Boat does. My guess is he will be fine, but we need depth in the middle to compete for a NC.

 

[Dmike]

Ricky Moore is the comparison that came too my mind as well, although I think that senoir Boat is a more consistent offensive option than senior Moore

There should be several of you out there, who need to settle in to a nice crow dinner. Boat was incredible during the tournament, not because of how he played "his" game, but because like 'Bazz, he gave the team what it needed to win. His defense was as good as anyone to dawn a UConn uniform. Preseason, when discussing the team's chances, I recall a healthy, vigorous debate about how this team stacked up to prior championship teams and many said that Boat's D did not come anywhere close to Moore's. Ricky was lockdown, but so is Boat and as a result we can thank those two for a couple of NC banners flying high in Gampel. I can't wait to watch Boat next year. This team feels like a good one.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

boatshow like to have fun, win, talk (fruits have bad taste of UCONN), celebrate, and put on a good ol show not necessarily in that order: the team will have to follow his lead because if they do not they will be left behind looking like a behind

 

[temery]

boatshow like to have fun, win, talk (fruits have bad taste of UCONN), celebrate, and put on a good ol show not necessarily in that order: the team will have to follow his lead because if they do not they will be left behind looking like a behind

What the hell does "fruits have bad taste of UCONN" mean?

 

[Kitaman]

What the hell does "fruits have bad taste of UCONN" mean?

syracuse (orange)
Boat's quote after BE Tourney game couple of years ago.

 

[otp85]

All you need to do is watch the Championship Game against Kentucky and focus on Ryan's play. He is more than ready, has the swagger, and the moves. Not saying we'll win it all, but I sure wouldn't count us out. The polls, and the seeding, never consider the swagger factor nor the mental toughness that UConn teams bring to the post season. Boat, IMO, has the same Champion's DNA as Kemba and Shabazz. And I believe he's quicker than either of them.

If he plays the way he did in the title run then we definitely have nothing to worry about. But to play devil's advocate, every actual UCONN fan knows that's not the Boat we have always seen. A motivated Ryan Boatright is a dangerous weapon. An indifferent Ryan Boatright is just plain dangerous. He has all the tools those guys had and maybe more. The question is can he step up and be that leader that Kemba and Shabazz were. I believe he can, think he wants to; that it is why he came back.

 

[intlzncster]

If he plays the way he did in the title run then we definitely have nothing to worry about. But to play devil's advocate, every actual UCONN fan knows that's not the Boat we have always seen. A motivated Ryan Boatright is a dangerous weapon. An indifferent Ryan Boatright is just plain dangerous. He has all the tools those guys had and maybe more. The question is can he step up and be that leader that Kemba and Shabazz were. I believe he can, think he wants to; that it is why he came back.

Thing is, most of the 'motivation' (not sure that's the word I'd use) issues stemmed from immaturity and being unable to handle not being the lead guard.

He's the lead dog next year, and he's reportedly matured in tremendous fashion. I see no issue here.

Only thing I'd say is that he won't be able to play that tournament D all year. With handling the responsibilities of running the team, I think he'll have to sacrifice some on the defensive end most of the year. Come tournament time though, it's balls to the wall.

 

[BoatShow]

I think we'll find leadership in other places next year. Omar was reportedly huge in the locker room (mind out of the gutter you guys) and his positivity while his play diminished sent a big message to other guys.

 

[Matrim55]

With him leading, I know that we'll fight tooth and nail all 40 minutes.

The big question is going to be "Can he trust the other guys to carry the load?" Boat's made a lot of progress as a point guard and a teammate, but he'll always have that "hero ball" itch.

 

[muhmitchell]

He's a fighter