I'm sorry Phil, but...

[Greathusky]

Phil fills in valuable minutes when Brimah is in foul trouble. The one thing that Phil does not screw up is his height.

I am not sure how Lubin would handle another 7 footer. I am happy seeing Lubin taking some minutes from Nolan but let's not throw Phil under the bus.

 

[Silk31]

Man people defending Nolan like no other. I call it how I see it and Phil has noticeably regressed from a year ago. I love how if you even mention Dyson people spew out all kinds of negative stuff yet Nolan is untouchable apparently

 

[joober jones]

Most of us are over the Dyson hatred now and are rooting for him to have a nice career. I'll never non-sarcastically bash any of our players, regardless of performance, since nobody out there ducks up on purpose. I'm sure nobody is more upset about the way Phil Nolan's season is going than Phil Nolan. Until they cross into the Eric Hayward/Tate George realm (and to a much lesser extent Oriakhi territory), I'll remain a fan and pull for each and every one of our players.

 

[Gurleyman]

Man people defending Nolan like no other. I call it how I see it and Phil has noticeably regressed from a year ago. I love how if you even mention Dyson people spew out all kinds of negative stuff yet Nolan is untouchable apparently

There's a sliding scale of expectations. Nolan was a very low rated recruit who came to us despite the fact that we were going on probation, basically just sacrificing any chance at a conference title or NCAA bid in his first season to come here. On a bad team with no post presence as a freshman, he still barely saw the floor and looked overmatched when he did. He was never really projected to be much. Yet if he does nothing else in his career, he channeled something last year on defense against Michigan State that helped us win that game. He's basically a guy who's not talented enough for our level, but who stepped up and played his part in getting us a ring, putting him along the lines of guys like Okwandu, Beverly, and Tooles - none of whom we really bothered with ripping here because we understood they were good teammates and bench guys. If chipping in a little to last years title playing at a level over his head is all we ever get from him substantially, it's still a pretty good legacy.

Guys who come in with expectations, or who we put greater expectations on as veterans and those seasons don't pan out (Albie, Dyson, AO even before he left) tend to get the dander of folks up a little more, fairly or unfairly.

 

[mauconnfan]

We need everyone. 'Nuff said.

 

[Milo65]

Phil does a serviceable job playing defense, providing us with some size underneath and most importantly dishing out some fouls underneath. He may not score a lot, but he provides time for Brimah to rest and the defense doesn't miss a beat.

 

[Stinger92860]

If Phil kicks the ball back out instead of going up and being blocked, there is likely no Phil bashing today. IMHO, he needs to stop shooting, focus on D, rebounds and taking charges.

 

[B1GEast]

Man people defending Nolan like no other. I call it how I see it and Phil has noticeably regressed from a year ago. I love how if you even mention Dyson people spew out all kinds of negative stuff yet Nolan is untouchable apparently

Phil is one of our own, if your going to say something negative, follow up with something positive, then you don't come off too harsh.

That's just the golden rule, it no different then how you treat family

 

[willie99]

Kevin sending a message loud and clear, it's up to Phil to now. I think he knows this

 

[Silk31]

Phil is one of our own, if your going to say something negative, follow up with something positive, then you don't come off too harsh.

That's just the golden rule, it no different then how you treat family

Like I said, everyone seems to hate Dyson with a passion on message boards (I'm not one of them) but god forbid you call it how you see it with how bad Phil has been this year and everyone runs to his defense....makes no sense to me

But to all the Phil Lovers out there, you may be in for a long season and not sure how much longer you can defend his play.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Phil has not improved on O like we all hoped, but I disagree that he is a liability. He played great d in the tourney last year, and if we get a chance to make a run again, we will need him. He does somethings well and is not a liability on d. It's nice to see Lubin stealing minutes, but I don't see denigrating Phil making much sense. He helped stalwart a strong Texas front court. With Lubin stepping up, it gives us more depth which will help when Brimah gets in foul trouble. Phil needs to get burn, but Lubin should too. Ollie's got it covered.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Like I said, everyone seems to hate Dyson with a passion on message boards (I'm not one of them) but god forbid you call it how you see it with how bad Phil has been this year and everyone runs to his defense....makes no sense to me

But to all the Phil Lovers out there, you may be in for a long season and not sure how much longer you can defend his play.

You really don't know the difference in roles between Dyson and Nolan?

 

[pj]

Phil is a great teammate and cheerleader, a positive emotional force, and he was an essential piece of our most recent championship when he showed he could play quality defense. He's a quality practice player too, as his length isn't duplicated outside the starters.

I thought he would step up his game this year and he hasn't. Too bad. But he remains a big asset for the team, even if Rakim takes his minutes.

 

[ctchamps]

Phil currently has some positives but more negatives to his game. He defends well and sets screens better than most of the team. Personally it is exacerbating to watch him struggle trying to score and he is a bad rebounder.

I prefer to hope the kid can turn things around. Same as I had hoped Omar would turn things around. Same as I hope some people in this forum can recognize the character flaw they have in confusing critiquing with denigration. That flaw is far worse than Phil's play imo.

 

[Stainmaster]

I wonder what makes some of you happier, the fact that we won yesterday or the fact that Nolan didn't play well so your message board scouting reports held up.

 

[Silk31]

I wonder what makes some of you happier, the fact that we won yesterday or the fact that Nolan didn't play well so your message board scouting reports held up.

I harbor zero ill will to Nolan nor do I hope for any player donning a UConn Husky uniform to play poorly...everrrr

Those of that wish to be the fan who only sees the positives in every player and every situation, more power to you.

Phil seems like a good enough kid, but that was never debated. His on court performance is all I have to go off of and right now that is not debatable to me on poorly his year has been so far.

Very disappointing for a guy who has received such minutes for us in the past, but I guess I'm a worse UConn fan in some other posters eyes because I want Rakim to play more than Nolan at this point

 

[B1GEast]

If I recall correctly, Hilton Armstrong didn't click until his senior year

 

[uconngb]

I harbor zero ill will to Nolan nor do I hope for any player donning a UConn Husky uniform to play poorly...everrrr

Those of that wish to be the fan who only sees the positives in every player and every situation, more power to you.

Phil seems like a good enough kid, but that was never debated. His on court performance is all I have to go off of and right now that is not debatable to me on poorly his year has been so far.

Very disappointing for a guy who has received such minutes for us in the past, but I guess I'm a worse UConn fan in some other posters eyes because I want Rakim to play more than Nolan at this point

careful.....a logical and well thought out post like this could get you banned or censured.

 

[BoatShow]

I'm sorry Phil, but people in the internet suck.

 

[Stainmaster]

I harbor zero ill will to Nolan nor do I hope for any player donning a UConn Husky uniform to play poorly...everrrr

Those of that wish to be the fan who only sees the positives in every player and every situation, more power to you.

Phil seems like a good enough kid, but that was never debated. His on court performance is all I have to go off of and right now that is not debatable to me on poorly his year has been so far.

Very disappointing for a guy who has received such minutes for us in the past, but I guess I'm a worse UConn fan in some other posters eyes because I want Rakim to play more than Nolan at this point

Wasn't referencing you, bud. If I thought you were taking it too far, I would call you out by name. I want Rakim playing more too, doesn't make either of us "bad fans" per se.

 

[RMoore1999]

Thank god we ditched Omar while he was struggling.

BEST POST OF THE SEASON.

 

[Fishy]

careful.....a logical and well thought out post like this could get you banned or censured.

Oh, what --- are you whining about?

You can find another message board if this one isn't run to your satisfaction.

No fences here.

 

[jleves]

I harbor zero ill will to Nolan nor do I hope for any player donning a UConn Husky uniform to play poorly...everrrr

Those of that wish to be the fan who only sees the positives in every player and every situation, more power to you.

Phil seems like a good enough kid, but that was never debated. His on court performance is all I have to go off of and right now that is not debatable to me on poorly his year has been so far.

Very disappointing for a guy who has received such minutes for us in the past, but I guess I'm a worse UConn fan in some other posters eyes because I want Rakim to play more than Nolan at this point

Since I was the one on the soap box about stuff, I wanted to comment here.

This type of post is completely reasonable and a legitimate take on things. There's no reason we can't be critical or suggest we think one player should get minutes over another (unless they are batshit crazy ideas like Hamilton playing the two and Facey playing the three - but those get sorted out just fine by masses) as long as that criticism is constructive or at least not personal.

But calling out players, making fun of players, attacking players isn't fine.

T0 summarize:

OK Post - Phil is playing poorly this year and it's really time to see Rakim get more minutes.
Not OK Post - Phil is useless and should never see another minute on the court for UConn.

 

[tzznandrew]

Since I was the one on the soap box about stuff, I wanted to comment here.

This type of post is completely reasonable and a legitimate take on things. There's no reason we can't be critical or suggest we think one player should get minutes over another (unless they are bat crazy ideas like Hamilton playing the two and Facey playing the three - but those get sorted out just fine by masses) as long as that criticism is constructive or at least not personal.

But calling out players, making fun of players, attacking players isn't fine.

T0 summarize:

OK Post - Phil is playing poorly this year and it's really time to see Rakim get more minutes.
Not OK Post - Phil is useless and should never see another minute on the court for UConn.

This doesn't seem very difficult to understand...and yet...

 

[uconngb]

Oh, what --- are you whining about?

You can find another message board if this one isn't run to your satisfaction.

No fences here.

I've been on this board for over 20 years, and you know it. I paid for it when that was the only way to keep it going. Why I'm not allowed to have an opinion of a player on a board that is dedicated to the over-analysis of everything that happens to this team is beyond me. Everyone on their high horse that has commented on this thread is guilty of the same thing at one time or another. How is me saying that Phil has worse hands than Oriakhi different from you saying Hamilton commits turnovers like a pez dispenser? Do only Phil's parents come on this site, but not Hamilton's? We're all Uconn fans on this site, that's why it exists. And many times, that consists of venting. Doesn't make me any less of a fan than anyone else on this board. And if you think any of these players comes on this board and is concerned with what any of us says about anything, you're out of your mind. Thst said, only bouquets and rainbows from me from now on. I've had many a seat directly behind Uconn's bench over the years and trust me, if parents cared that much about criticism (coming from someone who actually has credibility like JC, vs from me, who has none other than being a fan), our hoops program would have been shut done a long time ago. I think people need to lighten up just a tad.