How I choose to remember Alex Oriakhi at UConn

[alexrgct]

 

[Fishy]

He's a nice kid - if he wants to transfer so be it.

Is there any way we can get Glen Miller to stop going to Super Cuts? People with hair cuts like that generally have manifestos - it is not a good look.

In my mind, that is a far more pressing concern than the comings and goings of Alex O.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I'm sad AO couldn't finish up here. He seems like a really nice kid.

As for Glen Miller's hair cut. How are any recruits suppose to take him seriously? Whoever he is the lead recruiter of we wont land.

 

[CTPride]

 

[husky210]

Find a picture of him getting stripped going up for a dunk

 

[jibsey]

Playing well to help us to a title, but unfortunately I'm going to remember the things he couldn't do on the floor that ultimately led to him leaving.

 

[noeynox]

Oriahki was a winner. Became too sensitive to play for Calhoun or Calhoun rode him to his breaking point. You know what you're getting with Calhoun when you come here. 5 Stars or not, you ain't getting no superstar treatment here. You WILL play in the league a long time if you have the talent to be there, and mental toughness it takes to last under Calhoun. I always felt Calhoun was toughest on those he thought had the most potential, to bad Alex didn't see it that way.

 

[campcalhoun2009]

How I will remember AO: http://www.charmin.com/ultra-soft-toilet-tissue.aspx

 

[johnhuskies95]

How I will remember AO: http://www.charmin.com/ultra-soft-toilet-tissue.aspx

I bet you're a pretty tough guy yourself.

 

[NOTaDIME]

I bet you're a pretty tough guy yourself.

I will never understand these types of posts. Who cares if the OP is tough? Hes not getting a free education to perform for UConn. That is the difference between message board guys and scholarship athletes at big time athletic schools.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I will never understand these types of posts. Who cares if the OP is tough? Hes not getting a free education to perform for UConn. That is the difference between message board guys and scholarship athletes at big time athletic schools.

I never said anything about the OP.

I just find it a little ridiculous that message board posters are calling a kid "soft" because he decided to transfer. Especially when most posters don't know the guy at all and are just spewing vitriol under anonymity.

 

[NOTaDIME]

I never said anything about the OP.

I just find it a little ridiculous that message board posters are calling a kid "soft" because he decided to transfer. Especially when most posters don't know the guy at all and are just spewing vitriol under anonymity.

I'm talking about the poster you were referring to. It's a message board, why can't we call things like we see them? He is soft as a basketball player, and soft mentally in my opinion. I guess I don't see why those are ridiculous observations.

 

[husky711]

I never said anything about the OP.

I just find it a little ridiculous that message board posters are calling a kid "soft" because he decided to transfer. Especially when most posters don't know the guy at all and are just spewing vitriol under anonymity.

You don't have to know the guy personally to come to the conclusion that he played very soft and immature this year. He lost many battles down low for rebounds/possessions/etc. And his reaction? Throwing his hands up in the air, shaking his head, and looking at the ref. Forget saying "screw it I'm going to make up for it on the other end" or "that's NOT happening next possession"... he constantly had the mindset of "WTF I'm getting screwed" all season in every aspect. It seemed like he felt he was getting screwed by the coaches, by the refs, and by pretty much anyone that could do so.

It's unfortunate because he looked great last year and looked like he could potentially take on a Jeff Adrien-esque role, but apparently he no longer feels he can withstand Coach Calhoun and the mentality required to play for a demanding coach.

 

[johnhuskies95]

What about calling other players out? Andre was freaking laughing at the end of the game against ISU. Tyler was pretty bad the second half of the year.

There seems to be a double standard.

 

[AF34]

 

[Wolferowski]

Find a picture of him getting stripped going up for a dunk

that's how I remember jake voskuhl!

 

[Husky999]

.....soft

 

[bobbygt]

I think it's time for an "Alex, please stay a uconn husky" thread!

He'll always be a husky at heart!

 

[champs99and04]

I never said anything about the OP.

I just find it a little ridiculous that message board posters are calling a kid "soft" because he decided to transfer. Especially when most posters don't know the guy at all and are just spewing vitriol under anonymity.

I think it's fair to call him soft. It has nothing to do with me being Muhammad Ali or a scrawny message board poster, it's just an observation. He knew what he signed up for when he signed on to play at UConn. Calhoun isn't a soft ass who's going to manage egos. He has the mindset of winning a championship every year, and at times this season, Oriakhi's mind didn't look into it. The intensity he played with this year and the intensity he played with last year were completely different IMO. He was named co-captain at the beginning of the year, started the season off by complaining about playing time on twitter instead of earning it, moped his way through the Big East schedule, and was nowhere to be found in the tournament. I understand he has his limitations as a player, but Calhoun doesn't coach kids to be perfect, he coaches kids to be hard nosed, kind of like Jeff Adrien. Who gives a if you're not tournament eligible? If Alex cared that much about playing in the tournament he would have played a lot tougher than he did against Iowa State. The team went down without a wimper this season, and Alex was a big part of the reason for that. Now he's going to talk to the guy who has beaten cancer twice, biked eight miles with broken ribs, and built a program with his own hands, and tell him that he's transferring? Comeon man, have some loyalty.

 

[johnhuskies95]

He wants to play in the tournament. He just experienced the rush of winning a national championship, he wants to have at least a chance to get back there.

And if you say he moped his way through the big east season, what about the rest of the team? They could just never get off the ground.

It's clear that people still think that Oriakhi is a good player who would be valuable next year. Usually when a player transfers from UConn, there is a 2 page thread and nobody really cares. Now we have multiple threads filled with hatred and seething.

Oriakhi committed before his sophomore year and he never once wavered in his commitment. By all indications, Jim Calhoun himself didn't have a problem with him transferring.

Btw, I don't really care too much about losing Oriakhi as a player. He didn't really fit in with this team, and he didn't play well when he was on the court with Drummond at the same time. Clearly Drummond is going to get more minutes than him going forward. I just find the reasoning by some of the posters to be bizarre.

 

[champs99and04]

He wants to play in the tournament. He just experienced the rush of winning a national championship, he wants to have at least a chance to get back there.

And if you say he moped his way through the big east season, what about the rest of the team? They could just never get off the ground.

It's clear that people still think that Oriakhi is a good player who would be valuable next year. Usually when a player transfers from UConn, there is a 2 page thread and nobody really cares. Now we have multiple threads filled with hatred and seething.

Oriakhi committed before his sophomore year and he never once wavered in his commitment. By all indications, Jim Calhoun himself didn't have a problem with him transferring.

Btw, I don't really care too much about losing Oriakhi as a player. He didn't really fit in with this team, and he didn't play well when he was on the court with Drummond at the same time. Clearly Drummond is going to get more minutes than him going forward. I just find the reasoning by some of the posters to be bizarre.

I'm not signling Oriakhi out as the sole reason this team fell short this season by any means, but he was the one upper-classmen on the team, the one guy who had been through all the highs and lows. He witnessed first hand what can happen when a talented team turns it on and off as they please when he was a freshman.

It just confuses me...it's very rare that you see a player regress as signficantly as he did. He went from averaging 8.7 rebounds and having some monster games (MSU, UK, Butler, Texas...) to averaging 4.8 rebounds and really not making an impact in any of our big games. Something was missing, and you can't tell me Drummond was the only reason he regressed. He didn't have great skills last year either, but he was a monster on the boards. Weird.

 

[UCDaveD]

 

[mauconnfan]

that's how I remember jake voskuhl!

Jake does not belong in a thread about Alex because he was 5X the player.............I know it was in jest but his hands were like Freddy Blitnekoff in comparison.......

 

[huskyniner]

 

[gars44]

I'm talking about the poster you were referring to. It's a message board, why can't we call things like we see them? He is soft as a basketball player, and soft mentally in my opinion. I guess I don't see why those are ridiculous observations.

The kid is not soft. He's no Jeff Adrian or Kevin Freeman or Ricky Moore, but those were unusually hard guys. Not too many play with that level of ferocity. But Alex is not "soft."