Wow, this draft was fun over the last 20 days. But, the long days of deliberation allowed Team ColoradoUCFan put together the best squad in game Two. Let me explain why Colorado’s the right choice (and not because of legal marijuana)
Defense: Nobody is Ghana score in the paint against Team Colorado. We all know that Amida is a prolific shot blocker, and he might not be the best on our team. No UConn forward has ever blocked as many shots as Donyell Marshall did in ’94 with 3.3 (only Centers Thabeet and Okafor have more blocks per game than Donyell in a season). But, Amida actually is as a good a shot blocker per minute as Emeka was in his best season. Emeka averaged 4.7 blocks in 02-03 in 33 minutes a game. Brimah averaged 2.3 blocks in 16.2 minutes. Wow, on second thought Amida might be the best shot blocker on my team. Who knows. Team Colorado has the best shot blocking forward and center tandem in the league. BTW, when we bring in 96-97 version on Kirk King off the bench, he averages over 2 blocks a game, plus he is going to get real physical on you when we go “short” when Amida gets in foul trouble.
The paint isn’t the only spot where you’re in trouble vs Colorado. Our team is full of versatile athletes. So have fun against our press facing Scott Burrell and Nadav Henefeld. Remember that press they had in 89-90? Team Colorado owns that press now bitches. Damn it, Nadav could be the single best full court defender in UConn history. From his single season, Nadav still holds the single season steals mark with a whopping 138 for a 3.7 per game average. Guess who’s number two alltime? That’s right, Scott Burrell with 3.6. Also on Team Colorado. BTW, Scotty is listed as the starter. In reality I probably start Nadav. But damn it, they're both so athletic and versatile. They probably spend a lot of time together on the court.
On the perimeter, Ben guards the second guard on the other team. Obviously KO guards the lead guard on the other team.
Offense: We won’t need to score much because of our D. But, guess what..we will. I envision our offense focused on Donyell on the inside and Ben Gordon outside. For those of you yougsters out there who might not have watched Donyell in the early 90’s, let me tell you that he was dominant in college – blocks, boards, but also scoring. That’s why he was UConn’s first All American and led us to the sweet 16 (and almost Elite 8, but no missed free throw discussion here). Donyell averaged 25.1 points in 93-94. He was tall with long arms, with inside moves, comfort dunking in your face, and he had a sweet outside touch. He even hit 41 threes. Amida won’t be scoring much on our team, but that’s not why we picked him. Ben Gordon will be the primary shooter outside, obviously, since he still holds the second most 3’s made in a season in UConn history. Imagine Donyell and Ben Gordon on the pick and pop? We have a solid point guard, with KO having a career 619 assists and 5.0 per game. Scotty and Nadav can also both hit threes and aren’t too shabby on offense at all. If you’re counting, that’s 4 guys who can hit a three and I’m not counting KO who hit 31% as a senior.
Speed / Athleticism: I’m super excited about speed and athleticism. We can run and jump. Scott Burrell was the first and only man to be drafted first round in the NBA and MLB. But, from the 5 spot to the 1 spot, our guys will be able to run you ragged, which will pay off when we press you.
Rebounding: Donyell will lead the team, like he did in 94 with 8.9 a game. King can pound in the paint, before he was suspended in ’97 was averaging over 7 a game. Scotty got 6 per as a senior and “Freshman” Nadav got 5.6 per game. Any boards our starting center, Amida, gets is just a bonus. But, we’ll be fine.
Versatility KO is the point. Amida is the starting center. But, all the other players can play multiple positions. We can put Scotty / Nadav at 2, 3 or 4. We can play King backing up the 4 spot or 5. It would be unorthodox but we could even go super big and put Donyell at 3, King at 4 and Amida at 5. Wow, that sounds fun.
Domination Just wanted to mention again that Donyell Marshall averaged 25 pts / 8.9 boards / 3.3 blocks in 93-94. Our first AA. Our First BE Player or the year. Our First BE Defensive player of the year. UConn’s first lottery pick. And a couple of our guys experienced the domination of the Dream Team.
Leadership Lot’s of leaders on this team. I think Nadav was the key to the Dream Team. But, most importantly, I have Kevin Ollie & nobody else in game 2 does. You may have heard what Kevin Durant said about KO’s leadership skills or maybe Lebron or Iverson. KO is a natural born leader. We all know that now after 2 years as a coach, but he’s been doing this all along. Teammates want to follow him into battle. Does anyone think there’s a coincidence that KO’s Jr and Sr years were back to back BE regular season championships? We will have the intangibles and leadership to hold it together in close games.
