If Shabazz DOES go pro this year...

[upstater]

It is true that Kemba took plays off and kind of drifted during games. He had to. He would have keeled over had he not. Shabaz really has no one else who can take over for him the way Bazz took the reins for Kemba. RJ is really the only one.

 

[pj]

I could listen to that if you explain how he's developing his teammates for next year by not keeping his man in front of him consistently on defense.

Obviously, he's trying to give them more opportunities to practice their help defense.

 

[sparky]

He is a very good player, but not Great. I am not sure he would be in the GREAT category even if he stays. I hope he stays and proves me wrong.

 

[upstater]

He is a very good player, but not Great. I am not sure he would be in the GREAT category even if he stays. I hope he stays and proves me wrong.

He may finish better than AJ Price, and the fact he made it through this key transition will be bigger than what Price gave the school, so in that respect, I'd be all for Napier getting it after playing as a senior.

 

[CL82]

No, and its not close in my opinion.

Oh I don't know about that I'd say he's only one more national championship away.

 

[CL82]

I think you're severely underestimating the degree to which Bazz has subordinated his game to the development of team chemistry and of the other players. He is Kevin Ollie's right hand and is helping to develop the team for next year. The fact that he can routinely turn it on in crunch time shows you what he could be doing statistically if he were out for his own stats and accolades.

Personally, every time I watch I see him playing hard. But he defers to other players in the first 35 minutes. Other great players at UConn did more to conserve their energy, including Ray Allen. That kind of strategic play should not be counted too severely against a great player. The key is to win the game, not to dominate every minute of play. Players like Ray won a disproportionate share of games, and so does Bazz. You can't look at the interior players this team has and say it has any business having the record it has. That success is all due to Bazz.

I've noticed this as well but hadn't thought it through as much as you have. So you are saying that he's saving gas for what El Amin referred to as "winning time?" Interesting observation.

 

[ktuck911]

I'm going to say that he falls short if he leaves after this year.

Ur nuts... This kid won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP as a freshman... Hit two FTs to ice the game at that. On the biggest stage of college basketball as a true frosh... AND, he's running the show.. He's a proven leader, with NOTHING up front... NOTHING... Boatwright needs to prove more than he does, most definitely... but Bazz has shown he's a Husky of Honor.. Period, end of story...

That sense of 'what have you done for me lately' fan mentality only jives at the pro level, NOT here...

 

[Huskybass]

He is a very good player, but not Great. I am not sure he would be in the GREAT category even if he stays. I hope he stays and proves me wrong.

How many non-great players score 28 and 27 points in consecutive Big East games? Bazz has absolutely carried this team.

 

[dtrumpet]

This. At the time Uconn was eliminated from the NCAA Tourney that year you could have made the case that Caron was performing better than any player in the country. This is something that stats alone will not show you. If you saw them both play in their last year at Uconn you know what I am talking about. To be fair, if Rudy came back for his junior year he may very well have reached that level.

And it took a huge game by Juan Dixon to knock that team out. Butler and Dixon essentially putting both teams on their backs in the second half, going at it possession after possession, made for an absolutely great tournament game. What Caron was to that team, Rudy was not for his, maybe because he didn't have to be, but he wasn't.
And Shabazz? He doesn't belong there yet, if he comes back and builds on this year, and takes a deep run in the NCAA, then maybe, because he will be seen as a pivotal player at a pivotal time, maybe the most important to sustaining the program. But if he leaves after this year, that job is not yet done.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Ur nuts... This kid won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP as a freshman... Hit two FTs to ice the game at that. On the biggest stage of college basketball as a true frosh... AND, he's running the show.. He's a proven leader, with NOTHING up front... NOTHING... Boatwright needs to prove more than he does, most definitely... but Bazz has shown he's a Husky of Honor.. Period, end of story...

That sense of 'what have you done for me lately' fan mentality only jives at the pro level, NOT here...

So what exactly in your little rant qualifies Shabazz for an honor that Ben Gordon and Caron Butler haven't even received yet? He's not the only freshman to win a championship at Uconn. He's not the only "proven leader" we've ever had. I'm not sure that "being better than Ryan Boatright" is a qualification either. You gotta do better than that.

 

[Kitaman]

No Khalid.....no Bazz (this year). Have him lead his team to the promise land (whatever that is). Freshman year (nice role player), Sophomore year (good not great), Junior year (very good, not great)

Senior year he is destined for greatness, and Huskies of Honor. In fact he is on his way to being one of our best guards ever, but needs one more year. He also does need some pre/post season recognition.

 

[Jerry1714]

So what exactly in your little rant qualifies Shabazz for an honor that Ben Gordon and Caron Butler haven't even received yet? He's not the only freshman to win a championship at Uconn. He's not the only "proven leader" we've ever had. I'm not sure that "being better than Ryan Boatright" is a qualification either. You gotta do better than that.

Very good post.

People are so obsessed with what they see now and think it is the greatest thing ever. That rant was the definition of this.

People do not realize how many GREAT players that are not up there yet.

This whole "Bazz is carrying the team" argument is so stupid. Where is he carrying us to? We are not ranked right now and 6th in the BE, by some of these posts you would think we were number 1 in the country and Bazz was playing with 9 white dudes KO picked up from the JCC.

Is he the best player on the team, yea. Does that mean he should be hanging in the rafters. NO

 

[gorbowski06]

Very good post.

People are so obsessed with what they see now and think it is the greatest thing ever. That rant was the definition of this.

People do not realize how many GREAT players that are not up there yet.

This whole "Bazz is carrying the team" argument is so stupid. Where is he carrying us to? We are not ranked right now and 6th in the BE, by some of these posts you would think we were number 1 in the country and Bazz was playing with 9 white dudes KO picked up from the JCC.

Is he the best player on the team, yea. Does that mean he should be hanging in the rafters. NO

Well put.I love Bazz but he has to do more to have his number hanging in the rafters. Something one more year would help accomplish .

 

[caw]

Very good post.

People are so obsessed with what they see now and think it is the greatest thing ever. That rant was the definition of this.

People do not realize how many GREAT players that are not up there yet.

This whole "Bazz is carrying the team" argument is so stupid. Where is he carrying us to? We are not ranked right now and 6th in the BE, by some of these posts you would think we were number 1 in the country and Bazz was playing with 9 white dudes KO picked up from the JCC.

Is he the best player on the team, yea. Does that mean he should be hanging in the rafters. NO

First, I agree with most of this.

Second, who should be up there ahead of Bazz? In the JC era, I would order them as Ben, Thabeet, Caron, El-Amin as givens then from there it's a toss up between a few.

Third, UConn may be in sixth, but really should be ranked. You can't hold the intelligibility against Bazz. He had nothing to do with it. The rankings reflect the fact that UConn is ineligible. I think Bazz is capable of pulling off a Caron like run this year, depending on seeding and draw. It sucks that Napiers legacy is hurt over something he has zero control over. Let's see how the season plays out though.

Fourth, I hope this doesn't matter and he comes back.

 

[Waquoit]

100% agree. You can also put AJ Price in that discussion.

No, you can't. It's called Huskies of Honor. Price should be forever disqualified.

 

[Jerry1714]

No, you can't. It's called Huskies of Honor. Price should be forever disqualified.

Given the laptop issue, I will not argue with that.