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

[Deleted at users request]

You're kidding right? Thabeet was miles ahead of Brimah in so many areas. Physicality in the post, could score on a lay up, putback because he was strong enough. He moved smarter and commanded a rebound when he got his hands on it. Please don't compare the 2 because unless he makes huge strides, which I am rooting for, the difference in these 2 guys will simply be stated by their NBA draft positions after their junior year. And that won't be close without a quantum leap!

Everything you just said went back to my comment of getting position. But that's all Thabeet could do was make layups. Thabeet was a high pick because of his potential to have his skills grow cause he already did the little things center should do like run the floor, rebound, make layups, and block shots. Brimah is almost the opposite. He has skills such as a great second jump, a jumper, a hook shot when he gets the right position, and a turnaround. But he has trouble rebounding and and finishing hard layups because he isn't strong enough and doesn't move smart enough to get good position. Once he learns how to do those things he will be light years better than Thabeet. I was just comparing them at the offensive end btw.

 

[SHS72]

Simple ask--why has KO not sent this kid to the Big Men's Camp? Believe it's down in Floida and other UConn guys have gone--Voskul if I renpmeber....

 

[mauconnfan]

Simple ask--why has KO not sent this kid to the Big Men's Camp? Believe it's down in Floida and other UConn guys have gone--Voskul if I renpmeber....

He couldn't go last year so it's not on KO. He had shoulder surgery so was unable to have summer activity.

 

[SHS72]

So send him now! Have to believe it would make a world of difference for this kid. Getting knocked around and learning to score the basketball.

 

[mauconnfan]

Everything you just said went back to my comment of getting position. But that's all Thabeet could do was make layups. Thabeet was a high pick because of his potential to have his skills grow cause he already did the little things center should do like run the floor, rebound, make layups, and block shots. Brimah is almost the opposite. He has skills such as a great second jump, a jumper, a hook shot when he gets the right position, and a turnaround. But he has trouble rebounding and and finishing hard layups because he isn't strong enough and doesn't move smart enough to get good position. Once he learns how to do those things he will be light years better than Thabeet. I was just comparing them at the offensive end btw.

No matter if "just lay ups" he scored and stayed in games because he was smarter and realized what he could do to help the team. No doubt Brimah shoots it better, love his shot and think it can be a weapon. 70 plus games in, the question is will he ever understand, that is my only point on all of this? He has skills but does everyone actually believe "big mens cams" will provide the mental aspect of becoming everything we hope he will be? See I don't necessary believe the instincts come from big mans camp but instead should have begun to show after mid soph year. I will say this again, hope I'm wrong, but I am very very nervous about him being much more than we see. Crow would be a wonderful dinner anytime next year and I'm looking forward to it quite honestly.

 

[jibsey]

AB's wild card is his physical body and hand strength. He's an athlete, can run and block, shoot a bit but he goes against guys with less gifts who negate him with power. Back him down, take his boards. I see him contributing and being part (1/2) of our solution down low.

 

[CTBasketball]

Brimah just doesn't understand the game, that is what's holding him back.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I'm gonna start calling him Amida Boumtje-Boumtje to promote the appropriate expectations.

 

[mcs333]

AB needs to strengthen his weak hands. He fumbles way too many passes and rebounds. Also needs to strengthen his lower body. He gets pushed around on the blocks. He is always off balance on the low blocks on the offensive end when the defender puts a body on him. Thus he always looks off balance and because of that his foot work is terrible. Have you ever seen him fake one way and come back with and up and under move. Love to see him learn a few of Kevin Mchale's moves.

 

[Jimdish255]

I think a more mature Lubin mlght be a great guy for him to practice against but to be honest I'm not going to obsess about AB becoming a complete player. Not because we don't need it but because his skill set may not match up with those expectations. He does need to figure out how do certain things and be more aware of positioning but he might never be the guy who creates space with his body and bangs effectively to get rebounds. If that's the case we need someone else to step up or step in To fill that role. This tournament shows once again that a well coached team that knows their roles and works together can be very successful when they hit a few shots even without a 7+ shot blocker or a bunch of 3,4,5 star recruits.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

ESPN lists Nolan at 225 i believe, while Brimah is listed as 230. I think all of us can agree that Nolan looks to outweigh Brimah by at least 10 pounds, so either Phil's weight is off or Brimah's is.

 

[RipCity]

 

[UConnSwag11]

peoples can say, " that was last year, he hasn't done this year, blah blah." without that play imagine this place right now? brimah get's a pass unless he get's worse... he has been more active calling for the ball, developed a nice looking jumper, does not stop hustling, deals with getting elbows and shoulders in his chest all game long, and you still see him trying to help the team out... he had shoulder surgery that hindered his development... this offseason will be telling, but if we see growth and development in him then that will be great... he may weigh 230 but he needs more mass, needs to work on his hands and rebounding... he's only been playing this game for what, 5 years? and he's already a defensive menace... if we get a scoring and rebounding four no one will mention brimahs offensive inefficiencies

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Amida seems to be a kid who has great energy and enthusiasm. He has very good straight ahead speed and obviously is a natural shotblocker. It seems like he could get better in a lot of ways, but there are two things that seem to hold him back. First, as mentioned above, he cannot function if someone else has a body on him. I doubt if he can get much bigger and stronger while here, but let's hope he can. Secondly, he has not learned from his mistakes or been able to make adjustments like we would have hoped. This is probably due to his limited experience with basketball, at least in part. But he also just didn't show the ability to adjust, like when he would pick up 2 fouls in a matter of seconds. One thing I would give him over Hasheem is his competitive fire and toughness. He will get in there and mix it up as he is able, but it always seemed to me that Thabeet really did not like the physical contact part of the game. Amida will gain at least some weight and strength, but I also hope he will gain a better understanding of the game and better decision-making ability. He doesn't yet anticipate where to be and often starts to move too late, leading to fouls and missed blocks or stops.