Hard questions

[The Smart One]

In regard to Fishy's first comment above, KO was masterful as a coach his first two seasons. He made all the right moves with game plans, substitutions, halftime adjustments and player development. While he hasn't proven himself for the long haul, he's proven an awful lot.

If Brimah doesn't make the 3 pt play in the first rd last year..does your point still hold?

 

[Edward Sargent]

Woah, lets not start getting racist now.

My bad, nothing intended just lousy typing

 

[pnow15]

Sadly, all of this angst is about one player. If Daniels stays for his senior year, we we are 16-4 and cruising. If either Purvis or Sam JR were as advertised 14-6. Brimah d0esn't have shoulder surgery 13-7. It TSam had smaller feet....
Problem is that Ollie did a poor job of picking 3 star players. I saw two kids from Coppin St. that could help this program, two kids from
Southern. No one expected Nolan to disappear. So, it not about landing recruits as much as it who we are recruiting. One thing is for sure
every recruit needs at least one Div 1 skill. Rebounding, Shooting, ball handling? We have several players on this team that have some degree of athleticism but they lack that D-1 skill.

 

[Sky ball]

If Brimah doesn't make the 3 pt play in the first rd last year..does your point still hold?

Many people can be heroes but only if an opportunity comes their way. When the opportunity does come your way you can step up and succeed or fail.

 

[mauconnfan]

If Ollie wants to establish a post game early - suggest goi g to Facey rather than Brimah.

Yeah he's been tearing it up!

 

[Cheeky]

Sadly, all of this angst is about one player. If Daniels stays for his senior year, we we are 16-4 and cruising.

I don't agree. Without a second ball handler, I don't see DD Having that big of an impact.

 

[Hoophound]

If Brimah doesn't make the 3 pt play in the first rd last year..does your point still hold?

Who cares? He made the play. He was in the game, not on the bench. KO played the raw freshman all year and he made a big play. From then on KO out maneuvered the best in the business and threw their corpses in a pile like cord wood.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't agree. Without a second ball handler, I don't see DD Having that big of an impact.

We're a much better team with Deandre Daniels on it, there is no denying that. Maybe not FF caliber but we win 3-5 more games already.

 

[3rdbass]

Yeah he's been tearing it up!

We would at least have a Post Presence. That is one this team lacks besides a second playmaker. DD was good for a couple baskets down low a game at least and definitely a few more passes there would the defense would collapse and leave someone open on the outside or allow for someone to be slashing through the lane. This is really the first time I can remember where UConn has exactly nobody at all you can throw it down low to at least make the defense collapse. Well I guess AO was only meh on the 2011 team but definitely better than AB is right now. AB needs to hit the weights hard next year.

 

[Gringo]

Warde has to try and put a foot down on that. UConn has ONE home Saturday regular-season game. It was in Hartford at 11 AM

No.

It is not UConn's job to make these other crap programs get more than 400 people. That's a them problem.

I'm sure the teams we are playing against would rather have prime time games as well. It's the tv networks (ESPN) that is mostly dictating when we play. Only thing Warde can do is get us into a P5 conference so we get prime time games, which is his number 1 priority.

 

[whaler11]

I would wager a guess that UConn hockey helped to limit the available Saturday dates at the HCC.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I would wager a guess that UConn hockey helped to limit the available Saturday dates at the HCC.

Lolwut? If men's basketball is getting bumped by hockey, I'm burning this mother down.

 

[whaler11]

Lolwut? If men's basketball is getting bumped by hockey, I'm burning this mother down.

I wouldn't say they are getting bumped for it but they have to schedule mens and womens basketball, uconn hockey and the wolfpack. There are only so many slots available.

 

[Cheeky]

We're a much better team with Deandre Daniels on it, there is no denying that. Maybe not FF caliber but we win 3-5 more games already.

I disagree. DD wasn't a big create his own shot guy. He hit a lot of 3s that were set up by Napes and Boat. Because of Napes and Boat and Giffey he had room to work the midrange.

This is to take nothing away from him - he was awesome. But without a 2nd ball handler, he'd have a hard time finding his shot on this team.

 

[James]

I disagree. DD wasn't a big create his own shot guy. He hit a lot of 3s that were set up by Napes and Boat.

did you miss the ncaa tourney? where he posted eye popping statlines like 27&10 and 20& 10, all with a ton of unassisted hoops. lots of post ups , triple threat drives to the rim. He didn't shoot off the dribble but his post/mid range game blows facey/brimahs/lubins/hamiltons out the water. That alone would have helped win games this year, he would also be an unquestioned leader brimming with confidence. Theres no doubt daniels staying would change the make up of this team; however it probably would have done nothing for his professional stock. thats the fine line a lot of posters here cant draw.

 

[PradaMane]

did you miss the ncaa tourney? where he posted eye popping statlines like 27&10 and 20& 10, all with a ton of unassisted hoops. lots of post ups , triple threat drives to the rim. He didn't shoot off the dribble but his post/mid range game blows facey/brimahs/lubins/hamiltons out the water. That alone would have helped win games this year, he would also be an unquestioned leader brimming with confidence. Theres no doubt daniels staying would change the make up of this team; however it probably would have done nothing for his professional stock. thats the fine line a lot of posters here cant draw.

You must of forgot his very inconsistent play during the season. I can't deny he was a big part of are championship run, but the kid was absent many games. We absolutely need another ball handler above all.

 

[champs99and04]

This is a completely different team with DeAndre Daniels on it. When he declared for the draft, our one legitimate pick and pop threat evaporated into the air. I don't think it's possible to overstate just how much the complexion of the offense changes with him on the court - rather than Facey or Lubin clogging up the lane, another defender has to be committed to the three point line which opens up room for Purvis and Hamilton, making their ball-handling deficiencies less hurtful.

Not to mention, Daniels was a better defensive player than Facey is now. Facey doesn't really protect the rim at all and he sometimes gets lost in pick and roll defense. Daniels was way more valuable on that end than people remember.

Even if Daniels was virtually the same player he was last year (which I find unlikely after he destroyed everybody in the tournament), you'd have to pencil him in for around 15 and 7 a night. That's the difference between this team being where they are now and a 16-4 type squad.

 

[zls44]

This is a completely different team with DeAndre Daniels on it. When he declared for the draft, our one legitimate pick and pop threat evaporated into the air. I don't think it's possible to overstate just how much the complexion of the offense changes with him on the court - rather than Facey or Lubin clogging up the lane, another defender has to be committed to the three point line which opens up room for Purvis and Hamilton, making their ball-handling deficiencies less hurtful.

Not to mention, Daniels was a better defensive player than Facey is now. Facey doesn't really protect the rim at all and he sometimes gets lost in pick and roll defense. Daniels was way more valuable on that end than people remember.

Even if Daniels was virtually the same player he was last year (which I find unlikely after he destroyed everybody in the tournament), you'd have to pencil him in for around 15 and 7 a night. That's the difference between this team being where they are now and a 16-4 type squad.

Methinks you are assuming a level of consistency that DeAndre Daniels never showed outside of the final 6 games he played at UConn.

 

[champs99and04]

Methinks you are assuming a level of consistency that DeAndre Daniels never showed outside of the final 6 games he played at UConn.

I actually didn't think he was all that inconsistent last year, certainly not any less consistent than Boatright. Daniels had one bad stretch that may have been related to a high ankle sprain, but he was a beast from March on. I'm not necessarily saying he'd be an all-American if he returned this year but he would be a very worthy second option.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Were debating whether a player who dominated the NCAA tourney, was a 2nd rd. NBA draft pick and plays a position we are solely lacking would make this team better? Really?

 

[zls44]

Were debating weather a player who dominated the NCAA tourney, was a 2nd rd. NBA draft pick and plays a position we are solely lacking would make this team better? Really?

No, we aren't. We are debating if he would have been a consistent force this year.

I think he would have been a great player half the time and the other half the time people would wonder why he can't be that guy all the time because he put up 8 and 6.

 

[Waquoit]

No, we aren't. We are debating if he would have been a consistent force this year.

I think he would have been a great player half the time and the other half the time people would wonder why he can't be that guy all the time because he put up 8 and 6.

I think you are understating what his production would have been. But even if what you said was correct, it would put us at least on the bubble.

 

[zls44]

I think you are understating what his production would have been. But even if what you said was correct, it would put us at least on the bubble.

To clarify: I certainly wish he was on the team for selfish reasons, but understand why he left.

 

[RMoore1999]

The rally at the end was nice, but meaningless. This felt like a loss five minutes into the game.

1) Kevin Ollie doesn't have this team ready to play. It's February and the games that we could stick in with our defense have evaporated as other teams have improved offensively throughout the year. Ollie's team hasn't improved one iota on offense.

I don't know if Ollie has ever shown himself to be a great coach - it's too early in his career to expect him to be one - but the one thing he has shown is that he is a magician in terms of managing and getting his players to play hard.

That is not happening now.

2) And the talent. People actually think that our roster scares off recruits...I have no idea why. Who gets the blame for this roster? There isn't a single shooter on the team. We have one ball handler. Not a one of them outside of Boatright can get their own shot. Our center is a project, our power forward is a project and our off guard spot is an interchangeable trio of guys who can't shoot or dribble a basketball. Our front court reserves are a pair of players who are MAAC-level talents. "But we win championships after bad years"...not with these parts, kids. We need the projects to get better, we need Omar and Rodney to play like they're capable, but we also need more talent.

3) I have high hopes for Rodney Purvis over the next two years, but I am starting to wonder if KO has ever seen a Ferrari. I think he saw a Fiat once and got confused.

4) Our players are routinely pushed all over the court. Our guys look juiced at the end of games. Nagging injuries sprout like daisies. Cincy and Houston look like they just walked out of a gym - we look soft as hell. Weight room.

5) If there was any justice in this world, Ryan Boatright would grow three inches between now and the draft. The difference between a truly humiliating defeat and a narrow loss was that superhuman little dude. Because of what he did in the the last eight minutes, Kevin Ollie won't be asked what exactly he spent the previous two hours doing.

6) I absolutely hate the AAC. I despise how they're selling us out to help the rest of the conference sell tickets on their Saturday dates and I hate how they are selling us out to fill gaps in weekend programming on Sundays. The defending champion just played a game 1,800 miles from campus in front of a dozen fans. You can hear the high-fives in Bristol, Syracuse and Chestnut Hill.

6) These are dangerous times for UConn athletics. If you want to see what happens when a program gets aced out of a major conference and has to make due in a mid-major league, take a look at Houston. They are the cautionary tale.

We can't afford to string together down years and we're not replacing players the way we need to. We didn't have a player to fill in next to Boatright in the backcourt. After a couple of years of failing to recruit a decent backcourt player, we're going to try to replace both Boatright and Napier next year with Adams. Enoch will help fill in the gap where Lubin and Nolan have thus far failed.

But that's not enough - we need another impact player in the backcourt. If we can weasel back into the Stone derby, great, but we need someone who can shoot and handle the ball. If that's one player, fine. If it takes two players to get that done, then get two.

This year is already f---ed - time to make sure that next year isn't f--ed, too.

1993, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2010...

it's called prime-time inexperience and youth.

Now, your first #6 (which should have been #1) could very well accelerate this cycle, as recruiting is certainly suffering due to it.

 

[WeAreUCONN]

The rally at the end was nice, but meaningless. This felt like a loss five minutes into the game.

1) Kevin Ollie doesn't have this team ready to play. It's February and the games that we could stick in with our defense have evaporated as other teams have improved offensively throughout the year. Ollie's team hasn't improved one iota on offense.

I don't know if Ollie has ever shown himself to be a great coach - it's too early in his career to expect him to be one - but the one thing he has shown is that he is a magician in terms of managing and getting his players to play hard.

That is not happening now.

2) And the talent. People actually think that our roster scares off recruits...I have no idea why. Who gets the blame for this roster? There isn't a single shooter on the team. We have one ball handler. Not a one of them outside of Boatright can get their own shot. Our center is a project, our power forward is a project and our off guard spot is an interchangeable trio of guys who can't shoot or dribble a basketball. Our front court reserves are a pair of players who are MAAC-level talents. "But we win championships after bad years"...not with these parts, kids. We need the projects to get better, we need Omar and Rodney to play like they're capable, but we also need more talent.

3) I have high hopes for Rodney Purvis over the next two years, but I am starting to wonder if KO has ever seen a Ferrari. I think he saw a Fiat once and got confused.

4) Our players are routinely pushed all over the court. Our guys look juiced at the end of games. Nagging injuries sprout like daisies. Cincy and Houston look like they just walked out of a gym - we look soft as hell. Weight room.

5) If there was any justice in this world, Ryan Boatright would grow three inches between now and the draft. The difference between a truly humiliating defeat and a narrow loss was that superhuman little dude. Because of what he did in the the last eight minutes, Kevin Ollie won't be asked what exactly he spent the previous two hours doing.

6) I absolutely hate the AAC. I despise how they're selling us out to help the rest of the conference sell tickets on their Saturday dates and I hate how they are selling us out to fill gaps in weekend programming on Sundays. The defending champion just played a game 1,800 miles from campus in front of a dozen fans. You can hear the high-fives in Bristol, Syracuse and Chestnut Hill.

6) These are dangerous times for UConn athletics. If you want to see what happens when a program gets aced out of a major conference and has to make due in a mid-major league, take a look at Houston. They are the cautionary tale.

We can't afford to string together down years and we're not replacing players the way we need to. We didn't have a player to fill in next to Boatright in the backcourt. After a couple of years of failing to recruit a decent backcourt player, we're going to try to replace both Boatright and Napier next year with Adams. Enoch will help fill in the gap where Lubin and Nolan have thus far failed.

But that's not enough - we need another impact player in the backcourt. If we can weasel back into the Stone derby, great, but we need someone who can shoot and handle the ball. If that's one player, fine. If it takes two players to get that done, then get two.

This year is already f---ed - time to make sure that next year isn't f--ed, too.

well said and I agree with every single word.
next year is a Big season for Uconn Men's Hoops.
in terms of how that team plays and what recruits we get between now and then.