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Message: [QUOTE="Watchdog, post: 3459410, member: 10325"] The league, the style of play today and lots of other factors make that a tough question. So many variables come into play: Quality of the other teams in the AAC compared to the OBE, fewer great players on this UConn team which makes JB more of a focus than he might have been in other times and the greater focus on defense in the OBE, especially in the six foul era. All these factors effected playing time, and how easily a freshman was able to adjust to the college game. The major one being the Old Big East was a much tougher league from top to bottom, fouls weren't called on some of the stuff we see being called today, and defense was high on the agendas of all the teams. So most of our great freshmen were worked into the lineups with less pressure to be "the guy" right away and and less pressure to make the plays necessary to win games. Finally, JB really is special in how he moves, how high he can jump, how much he seems to see, how much he seems to understand the game, and (true to his nickname) seems so smooth and "effortless" so often. He glides and doesn't seem to have to make an extra effort to get up to get a rebound or throw down a dunk. We were at the ECU game and he really skied for some rebounds or to keep a ball alive several times. Ten rebounds besides his assists, etc. and the whole crowd was stunned by his dunk, even all the ECU fans around us. They all recognized and appreciated how special he is. Long run, will he be better than Ray or Rip or Ben or Emeka or ? We'll probably know more in 2020-21 and in the next 15 to 20 years in the league. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach