I will admit Brimah is not as far along as I had hoped

[3rdbass]

There are no more 'ifs' and 'hope' for Brimah. He must now prove if he can play basketball at a high Div 1 level. Two years with this type of regression should give no one hope or play the if game. He got benched on the last game of the season for goodness sakes.

Its on him, but as for next year the expectation to me it has to be based on his best games played this year. To expect a significant improvement is unfounded. Sure its possible but junior year its "Show Me" time or "I'll believe it when I see it".

I will give him somewhat the benefit of the doubt due to not having a full offseason. He needs to work on strength both lower and upper body and post moves. If he can do that then maybe he will be a little bit more than a serviceable center for us next year. Though his last 8 games were brutal with 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 27.4 MPG against decent competition. He really fell off against the big boys and that is disheartening to see.

 

[tzznandrew]

Nobody seems to understand how important rim protection is.

Plus, if the season ended a month ago, everyone would be psyched that Amidah added that baby right hook and showed promise for a face-up mid range game. The fact that he has sucked on offense in March doesn't take that away.

Amidah has his limitations - he has poor balance and weak lower body strength, etc. That said, if he can simply learn to avoid stupid fouls, he will be one of the most important players in the conference because he is an elite rim protector. This is a game changing skill and the fact that so many people don't see this boggles my mind.

Progress isn't linear. Especially for bigs.

He was bad on offense in March.

His rebounding is abominable.

Of the two, I'm worried more about the latter. But let's see after an off-season where he doesn't have surgery.

 

[3rdbass]

Progress isn't linear. Especially for bigs.

He was bad on offense in March.

His rebounding is abominable.

Of the two, I'm worried more about the latter. But let's see after an off-season where he doesn't have surgery.

Yes give him the full off season and if he looks the same next year then we know he is just one headed monster(shot blocking).

 

[Alum86]

He is horrific on offense and cannot rebound. Bottom line. We played much better without him tonight. The smooth bigs from ASU ate his lunch

 

[champs99and04]

Nobody seems to understand how important rim protection is.

Plus, if the season ended a month ago, everyone would be psyched that Amidah added that baby right hook and showed promise for a face-up mid range game. The fact that he has sucked on offense in March doesn't take that away.

Amidah has his limitations - he has poor balance and weak lower body strength, etc. That said, if he can simply learn to avoid stupid fouls, he will be one of the most important players in the conference because he is an elite rim protector. This is a game changing skill and the fact that so many people don't see this boggles my mind.

Rim protection is vitally important, make no mistake about it. We really lose that when Phil is playing the five, and it bit us in the ass a couple of times down the stretch (I remember one drive where Phil was trying to take a charge, and the ASU driver gave him a simple side-step and scored easily).

But sometimes Brimah's biggest strength can be his biggest weakness - he'll lunge at drivers before he needs to commit, he'll chase low-percentage shots and leave the weak side unoccupied, and he is too easily negated by post players with a combination of skill and strength.

What you will see from Brimah is flickering spurts of defensive dominance (think second half of the SMU game) followed by struggles against more sophisticated offenses that involve him in more misdirection and ball screens. None of this is surprising for a sophomore big who has only been playing the game for a handful of years, I just worry mainly about his rebounding. That's the one thing that could become a fatal flaw, especially if nobody can consistently rebound at the four. You're just not going to be able to get away with the Phil-Amida front line.

 

[Excalibur]

Dude no one is saying he won't improve. what are you talking about?

They kind of are. . .

 

[tzznandrew]

He is horrific on offense and cannot rebound. Bottom line. We played much better without him tonight. The smooth bigs from ASU ate his lunch

And we were killed with him on the bench against SMU.

We need him to figure it out--desperately--for next year.

 

[jfuchs91]

I believe the majority of Amida's deficiencies stem from his lack of physical strength. His rim protection is elite, but he consistently is outmuscled on the low block, both on offense and defense. That, combined with him trying to block every shot, even those he has no chance at, have led to his putrid rebounding numbers for a 7 footer.

It's easy to use last offseason as an excuse, but it may be a legitimate one. That is the time of year where most players work on their bodies, and Brimah is in desperate need of weight. If he can put on 10-15 pounds this offseason, I believe that will tremendously improve some of his weaknesses.

There's still a lot to like with Brimah. He's 7 feet tall, mobile for his size, ranked first in the country in block% and fourth in true shooting%. Considering that he's only been playing basketball for a handful of years, that's impressive. He certainly has his weaknesses, but he's got discernible skills to build around. He just needs to put in the work on his body to be able to bang in the low post.

 

[Matrim55]

This thread turned into a dumpster fire.

 

[Giddyup5]

I believe the majority of Amida's deficiencies stem from his lack of physical strength. His rim protection is elite, but he consistently is outmuscled on the low block, both on offense and defense. That, combined with him trying to block every shot, even those he has no chance at, have led to his putrid rebounding numbers for a 7 footer.

It's easy to use last offseason as an excuse, but it may be a legitimate one. That is the time of year where most players work on their bodies, and Brimah is in desperate need of weight. If he can put on 10-15 pounds this offseason, I believe that will tremendously improve some of his weaknesses.

There's still a lot to like with Brimah. He's 7 feet tall, mobile for his size, ranked first in the country in block% and fourth in true shooting%. Considering that he's only been playing basketball for a handful of years, that's impressive. He certainly has his weaknesses, but he's got discernible skills to build around. He just needs to put in the work on his body to be able to bang in the low post.

See I think that his biggest deficiency is lack of court awareness. If you put 20 lb of pure muscle and strength on him I still think he makes the same mistakes. I'm hoping in 2 years the combination of strength and experience makes all the difference.

 

[UConnWingman]

I'd rather have a couple PFs a half of a foot shorter that know they have to fight for rebounds than Brimah. Brimah should transfer to a school that needs help on their mens volleyball frontline.

 

[Stainmaster]

I'd rather have a couple PFs a half of a foot shorter that know they have to fight for rebounds than Brimah. Brimah should transfer to a school that needs help on their mens volleyball frontline.

Can we cut this crap?

 

[Huskies2324]

Maybe I am wrong, but the sophomore year for UConn players seems to become a toxic mess. Kemba regressed as a soph, many folks on this board were critical of Bazz after his soph, Omar...nuf said. These are just a few near term examples. The point is that there is a huge difference as a Jr. I am hoping Amida puts the work in and gets to the next level by Fall 2015. We may need to all chip in a few ducketts to send him to Hakeem The Dream camp tho

 

[UConn990411]

Kemba did not regress his sophomore year.

 

[Danzz]

He just needs to make boxing out and rebounding his priority. Team defense has to improve for Brimah to stay home. Our 2 guards get beat off the dribble regularly leaving Brimah to step up and challenge the shot. Brimah needs to get better and our defense needs to get better.

 

[Matrim55]

Kemba did not regress his sophomore year.

And neither did Amida.

Yet the fanbase (now w/ Amida, and at the time with Kemba) acted like both guys were wild, unplayable disappointments.

 

[3rdbass]

I'd rather have a couple PFs a half of a foot shorter that know they have to fight for rebounds than Brimah. Brimah should transfer to a school that needs help on their mens volleyball frontline.

Troll alert! AB struggled at the end of the year against good big front lines. Give the kid a full off season to get some strength and work on his post moves and positioning. He does have skills including good feet, and decent shot.

 

[AstarIsBorn31]

Put his dorm bed in the cafe and throw a hoop in there and make that boy eat.... He has to learn to make contact right before he goes up for a shot and not cause him to throw up a fading hook... The coaches see his weaknesses and they will be worked on... I believe Brimah has good work ethic & strives to reach goals and for that reason I have no doubt he will improve greatly in the offseason...

 

[Huskies2324]

Kemba did not regress his sophomore year.

You are right....the team was a mess that year so seemed like a down year for him but it wasn't

 

[uconnfan68]

He is horrific on offense and cannot rebound. Bottom line. We played much better without him tonight. The smooth bigs from ASU ate his lunch

Dude, we lost. We actually need him at times in games.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Elite rim protection but at what cost?

Fouls, rebounding, being out of position?

Blocks are a statistic that everyone eats up and has the implication that high blocks equal a great defender.

Couldn't be further from the truth.

For all the good he does when he protects the rim, a lot of the time that comes at the expense of things that kill us.

Gotta hope he gets better because he's the best big we have.

 

[Goat]

He was a great find. His skills are growing, but his repertoire is small and got solved in conference. He has not got coaches green light to try other moves on game, so far. He gives up rebounding position to protect the rim, but he could be better at offensive rebounding.
We will be back sstrong. Surgeries in theoff-season and in season injuries kept us from doing better, but we were a few close loses away despite that. 10 toes in.

 

[Mano]

I believe the majority of Amida's deficiencies stem from his lack of physical strength. His rim protection is elite, but he consistently is outmuscled on the low block, both on offense and defense. That, combined with him trying to block every shot, even those he has no chance at, have led to his putrid rebounding numbers for a 7 footer.

It's easy to use last offseason as an excuse, but it may be a legitimate one. That is the time of year where most players work on their bodies, and Brimah is in desperate need of weight. If he can put on 10-15 pounds this offseason, I believe that will tremendously improve some of his weaknesses.

There's still a lot to like with Brimah. He's 7 feet tall, mobile for his size, ranked first in the country in block% and fourth in true shooting%. Considering that he's only been playing basketball for a handful of years, that's impressive. He certainly has his weaknesses, but he's got discernible skills to build around. He just needs to put in the work on his body to be able to bang in the low post.

I agree and would like to expand further as to why I do.

I would never question Amida's effort level since he always seems to put it all out there, but the moment someone on the opposing team puts a body on him it doesn't matter. How many times have we seen him set up his boxing out position just to have someone put the slightest bodying up on him and bounce him out of the way while they get the rebound? I'm all of 5'9", 180 (wait! I mean 6'5", 250) and I'm pretty sure I could bump him out of the way for a board.

We never seem to see him sky for a board either as it seems any contact makes it hard for him to properly elevate, thusly it seems most of his rebounds are collected at shoulder or even hip level when with his natural height he should be head and shoulders above most guys. The kids base is just too insubstantial to body up with anybody bigger than him banging down low. A lot of people on here say his positioning sucks or that its his instincts, and to a degree I'd agree, but I've also seen him gain position only to lose it the second the opposition sidles up to him and puts their weight into him. In traffic he just can't keep his ground. Hell, half the time its DHam doing just that to beat him to a rebound.

As to solutions: identifying when to commit to the block and when to box out are priority #1, as leaving that weak side rebounding position wide open has been pretty detrimental to the team's ability to rebound (no wonder we haven't seen them run as much as we've all hoped this year), even if it means we lose out on some of that head game impact stuff having a shot blocker back there has for opposing offenses. Second to that is a full off season of eating and strength conditioning until he resembles Lubin more than Slender Man. And lastly they should just make him walk like a crab everywhere he goes until his frame adopts that stance instinctually.

 

[mauconnfan]

And neither did Amida.

Yet the fanbase (now w/ Amida, and at the time with Kemba) acted like both guys were wild, unplayable disappointments.

Kemba's 2nd half of his soph season was a transformation into what we were going to see for the year after. He got it big time as the 2nd half of the season turned, and it was obvious. I doubt anyone would ever compare Kemba's soph season to that of AB.

 

[TheChamps990411]

How much he progresses is the key to our season next year IMO. Purvis and Hamilton are going to be studs. Adams will have his moments, and will struggle early in the year. If Amida can become a solid OVERALL big man we will be a great team. If he continues to be who he is, we will struggle to make the tournament.

This sounds a lot like what was said going into this season. Purvis is talented but low basketball IQ and Dham ill give you has a ton of game and should be our best player next year. Other than Dham everyone else is a question mark. This team is filled with far too many IF players. One thing does give me some hope though. in the last 5 years we missed the tourney as punishment for violations,missed the tourney outright and got bounced out in the first round when pre season expectations were pretty high. In the other two years not much was expected and we one national titles.