Is it time to end the center experiment? (seriously)

[msgordon]

Start Giffey and Daniels at the "4/5". Nolan gives us nothing. Can't guard the post, can't defend the rim, can't score or finish, can't rebound, poor instincts. Olander can't do any of that either although he is a decent screener and stretches the floor with a jumper once a month. When Daniels and gif need to sit the other one can play the 4 and brimah can play ~15 min since he at least offers rim protection. WIll we get abused in the post by wide bodies? Maybe. So what? We get abused in the post anyway. Giffey and Daniels are both better post defenders and rebounders than our 'centers'. I guarantee anything we lose by benching our centers (spoiler alert: we don't lose anything) would be offset by an offensive lineup that is impossible to match up with. Plus it opens up more minutes for our backcourt, mainly Kromah who would take on the role of a true defensive stopper in lineups that are otherwise offensive-oriented. Forget starting a '5' to match up with other teams' traditional lineups. Make them match up with us

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The short answer is no. I don't know if a long answer is necessary.

 

[CTBasketball]

Eh it could be run for some stretches. I think Brimah at the 5 would be better. Just let him play longer, let him foul out. He will learn.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I like the idea in principle, as well as the outside-the-box thinking. Ollie has gone with this lineup for stretches and it hasn't been exploited on the defensive end. It might be worthwhile to go to it for longer periods, especially when we're hurting on offense.


I at least don't think it should be ruled out a priori just because the lineup doesn't feature a 6'10 stiff in the paint.

 

[huskiesnyc]

My starting rotation would be 1. Bazz 2. Boat 3. Omar 4. Daniels 5. Facey
Not much of a change minus Nolan. I would drop him from first to last on the big man depth chart. This is UConn, a 3 time National Championship program and he is in no way a starter here….EVER. I don't care if Facey is skinny he knows how to rebound.

 

[huskyharry]

Eh it could be run for some stretches. I think Brimah at the 5 would be better. Just let him play longer, let him foul out. He will learn.

Agree, I would definitely like it for stretches. Offense would be much better with five shooters/scorers on the floor. Position defense would be better but DD and NG would collect fouls at too high a rate to play that lineup for too long.

 

[babysheep]

Yeah, because our rebounding wasn't suffering enough before we put five sub-200lb players out there.

 

[mauconnfan]

I like that line up once in a while and agree to a point - Giffey is smart enough and Kromah is both that and strong enough.........actually adds another offensive player and takes their big guy away from the basket on defense anyway so it could change the rebounding edge they would have.

We need to remember who sees them play every day in practice though. While Phil has not played great at all he wouldn't be in there if was not earning the time. And if Facey was not going to hurt us I am sure he would be playing more, something is stopping that from happening and we have to think he has a ways to go.

 

[Huskyforlife]

No

 

[msgordon]

Yeah, because our rebounding wasn't suffering enough before we put five sub-200lb players out there.

Our rebounding suffers because Nolander/Brimah are terrible rebounders. Like, historically bad. Their total rebounding percentages (% of available grabbed) are 9.8, 7.2 and 7.1. That's unheard of for guys who spend so much time inside the paint. Im pretty sure our rebounding would improve, our centers don't box out and have zero instincts on the boards

 

[champs99and04]

Is the Brimah honeymoon over already? I mean, I get that kid is a liability offensively, and more importantly, on the glass, but he's been getting better. He's fouling less, he grabbed four rebounds in 13 minutes the other night, and he's only going to continue to improve as his understanding of our offensive and defensive schemes furthers. He's a game-changer on the defensive end of the court, and if this team is going to accomplish the sort of things in March we dreamed of before the season, you get the feeling it's going to have to happen with Brimah out there. Nolan is just far too ordinary in all facets of the game, Tyler is hardly worth discussing at this point, and Facey - despite flashes of flourishing on the glass - is just too small at this point to play the five. Brimah's long, he's tall, he's athletic, he's rangy, and most importantly, the fact that he's only been playing basketball for a handful of years and is already this good would indicate that he's going to be a force when his basketball instincts catch up to his talent level.

Already in recent days we've had threads banishing Omar Calhoun, and now all four of our big men to the bench. That's just not the way college basketball works in December. You have to take your lumps with under-developed players now so they're there when you need them later on. We need Omar in March, and we sure as hell are going to need at least one competent big man. I like the small lineup for stretches as much as the next guy, but starting three guards and two smallish forwards would be foolish. They'd get worn down awfully quickly and the collateral damage later in the season wouldn't make it worth it.

 

[msgordon]

I said continue to play brimah in the OP. this is basically about only playing Norlander when we are in foul trouble/ not feeling the need to have a true 'big' on the court.

20:00-16:00 Napier-boat-Omar-dd-brimah
16:00-14:00 Napier-boat-Omar-Giffey-dd
14:00-12:00 Napier-Kromah-Omar-Giffey-dd
12:00-10:00-Kromah-Omar-Giffey-brimah
10:00-8:00 boat-Kromah-Omar-Giffey-brimah
8:00-0 Napier-boat-Kromah-Giffey-dd

x2 puts the minutes at Napier 36, boat gif and DD 32, Kromah 28, OC 24 and AB 16. Give me that in the tournament.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Is the Brimah honeymoon over already? I mean, I get that kid is a liability offensively, and more importantly, on the glass, but he's been getting better. He's fouling less, he grabbed four rebounds in 13 minutes the other night, and he's only going to continue to improve as his understanding of our offensive and defensive schemes furthers. He's a game-changer on the defensive end of the court, and if this team is going to accomplish the sort of things in March we dreamed of before the season, you get the feeling it's going to have to happen with Brimah out there. Nolan is just far too ordinary in all facets of the game, Tyler is hardly worth discussing at this point, and Facey - despite flashes of flourishing on the glass - is just too small at this point to play the five. Brimah's long, he's tall, he's athletic, he's rangy, and most importantly, the fact that he's only been playing basketball for a handful of years and is already this good would indicate that he's going to be a force when his basketball instincts catch up to his talent level.

Already in recent days we've had threads banishing Omar Calhoun, and now all four of our big men to the bench. That's just not the way college basketball works in December. You have to take your lumps with under-developed players now so they're there when you need them later on. We need Omar in March, and we sure as hell are going to need at least one competent big man. I like the small lineup for stretches as much as the next guy, but starting three guards and two smallish forwards would be foolish. They'd get worn down awfully quickly and the collateral damage later in the season wouldn't make it worth it.

The Brimah question partially boils down to the following: are we willing to sacrifice -- to an extent -- our success this year in order to get him more experience and develop him for next season?

It was one thing when Calhoun committed to developing Thabeet (which obviously paid off come 2009) and in doing so made an already bad 2007 team that much more shaky. It's a different thing to do so to a team with Final Four aspirations.

On the other hand, our bigs are so bad that it might be the case that Brimah is our best option even this year, in which case the discussion is moot.

 

[upstater]

The Brimah question partially boils down to the following: are we willing to sacrifice -- to an extent -- our success this year in order to get him more experience and develop him for next season?

It was one thing when Calhoun committed to developing Thabeet (which obviously paid off come 2009) and in doing so made an already bad 2007 team that much more shaky. It's a different thing to do so to a team with Final Four aspirations.

On the other hand, our bigs are so bad that it might be the case that Brimah is our best option even this year, in which case the discussion is moot.

Why is playing Brimah a sacrifice? If he plays like he did the other night, he is a huge asset.

The only question about Brimah is his propensity for fouls.

 

[aceboon]

The Brimah question partially boils down to the following: are we willing to sacrifice -- to an extent -- our success this year in order to get him more experience and develop him for next season?

It was one thing when Calhoun committed to developing Thabeet (which obviously paid off come 2009) and in doing so made an already bad 2007 team that much more shaky. It's a different thing to do so to a team with Final Four aspirations.

On the other hand, our bigs are so bad that it might be the case that Brimah is our best option even this year, in which case the discussion is moot.

Brimah hasn't been a detriment to this team's success, and he certainly wasn't on Wednesday, the difference he made defensively when he was on the floor was very noticeable. With his fouling being down as of late I would start playing him more than Nolan. Thabeet played a ton in 06-07 because he was the best C option on the team, Gavin Edwards, Curtis Kelly, or Jonathan Mandeldove weren't better options at C or PF, pushing Jeff A to C.

 

[FeedTheDove]

My starting rotation would be 1. Bazz 2. Boat 3. Omar 4. Daniels 5. Facey
Not much of a change minus Nolan. I would drop him from first to last on the big man depth chart. This is UConn, a 3 time National Championship program and he is in no way a starter here….EVER. I don't care if Facey is skinny he knows how to rebound.

Still the only person who's just as concerned as me as to why the NY gatorade player of the year isn't seeing playing time. I get that the staff sees him everyday in practice, but that is becoming the most annoying excuse ever as to why we're not seeing him. Huskies said it before, even if he doesnt give us the 7 or 9 rebounds he did against cupcake opponents, he'll match what Nolan's putting up without question. Literally the worst that can happen is you give the kid big game experience that he can use come March. I was excited about him being eligibile for a reason, and him riding pine isn't it. #FreeFacey

 

[CTBasketball]

I think Brimah will make a big jump next year to around 7-9 rebounds a night. But he won't get there unless he starts playing more than he has been.

 

[upstater]

Still the only person who's just as concerned as me as to why the NY gatorade player of the year isn't seeing playing time. I get that the staff sees him everyday in practice, but that is becoming the most annoying excuse ever as to why we're not seeing him. Huskies said it before, even if he doesnt give us the 7 or 9 rebounds he did against cupcake opponents, he'll match what Nolan's putting up without question. Literally the worst that can happen is you give the kid big game experience that he can use come March. I was excited about him being eligibile for a reason, and him riding pine isn't it. #FreeFacey

Do you think he'll give them more than Brimah?

 

[TheChamps990411]

Our rebounding suffers because Nolander/Brimah are terrible rebounders. Like, historically bad. Their total rebounding percentages (% of available grabbed) are 9.8, 7.2 and 7.1. That's unheard of for guys who spend so much time inside the paint. Im pretty sure our rebounding would improve, our centers don't box out and have zero instincts on the boards

The problem with brimah as a rebounder seems to be he puts himself out of position because hes always trying to block everything. he needs to stop running out to challenge shots and just box out.

 

[champs99and04]

The Brimah question partially boils down to the following: are we willing to sacrifice -- to an extent -- our success this year in order to get him more experience and develop him for next season?

It was one thing when Calhoun committed to developing Thabeet (which obviously paid off come 2009) and in doing so made an already bad 2007 team that much more shaky. It's a different thing to do so to a team with Final Four aspirations.

On the other hand, our bigs are so bad that it might be the case that Brimah is our best option even this year, in which case the discussion is moot.

Brimah has been fine. If anything, he should be seeing more time - you're not sacrificing anything by playing him.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Do you think he'll give them more than Brimah?

Well he could definitely at least match his rebounding numbers. But who knows at this point? Brimah will see playing time anyways because each and every one of our bigs are prone to getting into foul trouble.

I also wasn't dissing Brimah by saying I want to see more KFace, i just really want to see more KFace.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

We miss Wolf. I know this board lives in a world where freshmen can magically step in and be better than 3rd and 4th year players that were just as highly recruited when they came out of school, but the reality is that college coaching matters. As bad a game coach as Blaney was, he was a great teacher for big men. Wolf would have made a huge difference on this team.

 

[joober jones]

Here's a good hypothetical for you - if Dove was on this team (and remained academically eligible), would he be our starting center?

 

[jibsey]

We don't necessarily need a 6'10 or up big man, even a 6'8" banger with tenacity would make a huge difference. Even with Wolf we would have been short. It's a recruiting shortfall but then again these guys don't grow on trees. I 'm not ready to give up on our 3 headed donut but Nolan has to start showing more or he doesn't play.

 

[sledog]

OC needs his ass nailed to the pines.