Invited Practice Review

[Dove]

Just because he's angry doesn't mean he should start.......if Giffey is outplaying him in practice then he plays.......can't surrender to a player being mad and having facial expressions Doveman. That's one spot I could see where it's up in the air. Love Giff coming off the bench but that's a selfish reason from my end so I hope Omar earns the 3 spot because long run it makes us better.......

mau, I didn't go all Dogbreath on you regarding the entire practice. Omar, overall, did well yesterday as did Neils. Omar's attitude was cool to see. He was vocal and hustled. I expect him to win the job.

2 1/2 hours at a practice. I know. Word.

 

[mauconnfan]

mau, I didn't go all Dogbreath on you regarding the entire practice. Omar, overall, did well yesterday as did Neils. Omar's attitude was cool to see. He was vocal and hustled. I expect him to win the job.

2 1/2 hours at a practice. I know. Word.

I'm not on you Dove just want Omar to decide this question on the court......lol.......

You want to know something funny about DB2U's original post.........I never saw his name on it because I wanted to read it and when I did I "Liked" it and moved on. Then I saw a post from DogMania about how proud he was of DB2U for the post and only THEN did I realize the original post was not DogMania.........I assumed it was DM because I was not fully aware of the potential of DB2U to ramble on in such a manner.....all good of course!!!

 

[sledog]

Thanks for that pix under the rim. Brimah looks huge! In 2 yrs, ...

 

[BoatShow]

Deciding whether to start Niels or Omar is a problem many many coaches would love to have.

 

[ctchamps]

There is no way of knowing if the angry expression OC demonstrated is the result of some external situation or frustration with himself. Kid expected to come out running after the physical limitations were healed and might be ahead of himself with his expectations.

Look how people in this forum hear about x player being really great, like DD, and then go postal when the expectation doesn't occur. This is more likely the scenario of OC. I'm not thinking OC would have any problem not starting any more than NG. They both are team guys imo.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

There is no way of knowing if the angry expression OC demonstrated is the result of some external situation or frustration with himself. Kid expected to come out running after the physical limitations were healed and might be ahead of himself with his expectations.

Look how people in this forum hear about x player being really great, like DD, and then go postal when the expectation doesn't occur. This is more likely the scenario of OC. I'm not thinking OC would have any problem not starting any more than NG. They both are team guys imo.

Agree. There is no way to know. Maybe some guys were trying to wake up early on a Saturday morning. It's very hard to convey the experience of what you see with the words in a post. Omar did not look happy, but he did not complain, whine, show irritation, or not work hard. He showed a strong effort and did not show signs of not being physically ready (that I saw).

One thing that was surprising to me was how serious the team was. None of them looked happy, almost no joking around. Again, who knows, maybe the coach got on them beforehand...no way to know.

 

[Scot-e]

I don't want them laughing and having fun in practice. Pain. Suffering. Works for me.

 

[ctchamps]

I don't want them laughing and having fun in practice. Pain. Suffering. Works for me.

Whips and chain guy?

 

[ctchamps]

Agree. There is no way to know. Maybe some guys were trying to wake up early on a Saturday morning. It's very hard to convey the experience of what you see with the words in a post. Omar did not look happy, but he did not complain, whine, show irritation, or not work hard. He showed a strong effort and did not show signs of not being physically ready (that I saw).

One thing that was surprising to me was how serious the team was. None of them looked happy, almost no joking around. Again, who knows, maybe the coach got on them beforehand...no way to know.

That they are taking things seriously is great news. SN felt the team lacked that drive two years ago!

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Some great write ups on the open practice above. Thx everyone.

To those on the BY who were bullish on Brimah before the season started nice call (there were a few of you but my recollection fails me on who). I was in hold mode while a few were buyers of that Brimah stock ticker symbol AB.

Stock UP, Hold or Stock Down (Open Scrimmage):

Brimah (StockUP ) - One direct quote from KO raised the Brimah stock fast. It was simple and straight forward.

"Way to protect your yard Amidah"- Kevin Ollie

Brimah ran the court well in the scrimmage ending 1 with a nice dunk. Although Amidah missed some free throws his form is excellent and he could easily be in the 70% range with continued work in this area. When Brimah and Samuel went off to the side to shoot free throws both of them hit close to 80%. Brimah has some charisma and personality. This lends itself well to enhanced confidence as the season progresses. Ultimately AB's main contribution will be his ability to alter/block shots/rebound on the interior and not be a liability on the offensive end. Great block on Purvis in the scrimmage.

Boatright - (StockUP) - Played unselfish and with passion (evidenced by being demonstrative on the court) . Distributed well.

Napier - (StockUP) - Quick and short. Bazz arguably will be the best guard in college basketball this year. He did nothing to show otherwise other than 1 TO.

Giffey - (StockUP) - Despite being on a Blue team that got blown out by the White during 1 scrimmage Giff is ready to shine this year. He looked confident and his summer balling will pay dividends. Looking for a great year from Neils.

Daniels - (Hold) - Hit the open shot from 3 consistently. In my opinion DD just needs to elevate his motor a bit more for his stock to rise. Every player has his own unique personality. Daniels has the highest upside on the team. He unquestionably is a potential blue chipper this year raising expectations for him.

Samuel - (Hold) - Played unselfish with a distribute first mentality which is his calling card. Turned the ball over to much in the scrimmage putting him in Hold status. Defensively he stole the ball from Bazz going man to man in the half court producing an easy layup (Samuel will be a great on ball defender). Samuel needs to improve his defense a bit when going zone. Also work on outside shot.

Purvis - (StockDown) - Needs to look to distribute more on the offensive end. Missed his open shots. Defensively was nondescript. Strong physically with upside though.

Facey - (StockDown) - For a guy who just got declared eligible he lacked motor and an on court presence on either side of the ball. The kid has been on a roller coaster emotionally so far this year. I love Facey and expect he will provide just what UConn needs from him this year which is rebounding. Tossed from practice after kicking a chair. It was related to a defensive mishap if not mistaken.

Kromah - (Hold) - Made a nice running reverse layup showing his athleticism. Serviceable on the defensive end.

Calhoun - (Hold) - Quite frankly he is behind the eight ball and needs time to round into game shape. Otherwise it would have been StockDown. A nice dribble drive and finish but no consistency on his shot yet. Court demeanor a bit off.

Olander - (Hold)

Nolan - (Hold) - Phil moved well in the post getting good position and making himself accessible for the entry pass. The overall tenure of the offense did not lend itself to many Phil touches. Despite getting position as mentioned above Phil needs to gain more confidence in his offensive capabilities. I think some solid early season games could put Phil into StockUP. Right now strong hold.

Tolksdorf - (Hold) - First off Leon is a classy kid with a great personality. At the Calhoun event I spoke with him for quite a while. He is capable of solid spot duty with productivity if called upon. I think there will be a place in time this year where he is called upon and delivers in the clutch when UConn is straddled with foul trouble.

All just opinions off of this open scrimmage. Ollie was StockUP. He ran this practice well. KO requested support this season win or lose. I would have taken out the lose part in his request. This team may lose some games but clearly can beat any and all on the schedule. Any losses need to be chalked up as learning experiences in preparation for peaking during March Madness.

This team has the ability to win the National Championship but is still a work in progress like every other team in the country.

So excited for the season to begin. We are going to be a Championship contender.

 

[mauconnfan]

BLUEDOG.......Phil Nolan??? Just curious as to why you left him out.........but thanks great stuff!!

 

[ctchamps]

Great stuff BLUE. Don't have to worry about any water balloons!

 

[mauconnfan]

Great stuff BLUE. Don't have to worry about any water balloons!

Well you and I thought BLUE was in the portapotty........

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Well you and I thought BLUE was in the portapotty........

LOL

Dear Fluedy & Mauconn,

I was apprehensive about any stock down calls knowing a water balloon thrown at high velocity between my eyes was a predictable result.

Despite my deepest fears I persevered!

Have a prosperous week. A healthy and safe 1 more importantly.

Bluedoggy

PS... See post edit above.

 

[Rdm203]

I had the same conclusion after watching AB and Facey during the Pro-am. AB is athletic and quick on his feet. Has good hands and a decent jump hook which will only get better when he gets stronger. You can also tell he was well coached in HS and picked up the offensive sets quickly. As others stated I was not impressed with Facey and hoped it was just because the pro-am is guard dominated. Being a 20 year old freshman I expected more from him. Expectations are definitely too high for him at this point and lets just hope he works his butt off and gets better over the next few months.

 

[ctchamps]

LOL

Dear Fluedy & Mauconn,

I was apprehensive about any stock down calls knowing a water balloon thrown at high velocity between my eyes was a predictable result.

Despite my deepest fears I persevered!

Have a prosperous week. A healthy and safe 1 more importantly.

Bluedoggy

PS... See post edit above.

Saw the edit of Nolan. I agree that he still needs to develop. He progressed at the end of last season but not to the point that I would say I'm comfortable that our 5 position has developed enough to put UConn in final four territory. I'm hoping that the early season allows for continued development to where he and/or Brimah can provide the 5 with enough to not make that position a liability.

One thing that is difficult to assess about Brimah is that he is not playing against great front court so his stock is up relative to his group, but that still lags the index of 5's on the Big Board.