I've figured out whats wrong with Shabazz

[Dogbreath2U]

Boatright played great defense on Jordan Theodore. JT's 7 turnovers were attributable mostly to the defense Ryan played. If the game does not consistently go through Boatright at the point UConn will be NIT bound. Fortunately it appears the transition is in place. Therefore anything is possible.

Ryan was very good today and let's hope he keeps it up. I was one who supported Bazz being the primary point and now agree that it probably should be Boatright. But the reality is that we need Shabazz to get playing like he was earlier and to have an effective dynamic duo on the court. Boat is still a freshman who is going to make freshman mistakes. A big difference today was that he was able to penetrate and get his shot off when he has had other games when he was just not able to do that. Our 3 guard set is vulnerable against teams with athletic and taller defenders playing against both Boat and Bazz. I'm encouraged that Boat was really utilizing his super quickness to create enough separation to be able to shoot or to draw the defender and dish to open bigs.

 

[huskymagic]

Boatright played great defense on Jordan Theodore. JT's 7 turnovers were attributable mostly to the defense Ryan played. If the game does not consistently go through Boatright at the point UConn will be NIT bound. Fortunately it appears the transition is in place. Therefore anything is possible.

very astute and honest of of you bluedog

 

[huskymagic]

How in the hell can you say Bazz is playing at his maximum level when he has shot about 1-23 his last 3 games??? If that was his max ability he wouldn't even be a D1 player. Its almost like you take pride in posting like an idiot.

I don't see you defending Daniels half as much as your defending Napier and I have been just as critical if not more critical of Daniels game and abilities. I respect both young guys as people and think they can help us in the future but for now they are not the guys we need to utilize in order to win. If you are unable to penetrate consistently and shake your defender consistently and you play the point guard position then that means your shooting will suffer as a result of this which is why Napier is shooting so badly. There are only 5 players who we absolutely need to win and those 5 are Boat, Lamb, Scoe, Alex, and Drummond. This is my opinion and what I feel is best for this team.

 

[mauconnfan]

We may need a reminder on the 5 whom you believe are the key magic?

 

[NHUConnfan]

Shabazz's stats (35.8 mpg): 13.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.9 apg (/3.0 tpg), 1.7 spg, 39.7% FG, 35.5% 3-point, 74.2% FT
Kemba's sophomore stats (35.3 mpg): 14.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.1 apg (/2.9 tpg), 2.1 spg, 40.3% FG, 33.9% 3-point, 76.7% FT

Shabazz will never be as good as Kemba, but he's closer as a sophomore than your Replicant wants to give him credit for. He also has the ability to be more than just a role player as an upperclassman.

The big difference I think is turnovers - and not necessarily the way they are reflected in the stats. I imagine sophomore Kemba and sophomore Bazz have similar TO stats, but if I had to rate how bad they were on a scale of 1-10, Kemba's were less egregious than Shabazz.

 

[UConn990411]

No doubt decision making remains Shabazz's biggest weakness.

Kemba's turnovers tended to be from being overly aggressive/out of control going to the basket. Shabazz - for all the good things he does - has a tendency to make some inexplicably bad decisions on occasion.

While I think this will always be a problem with him, it's amazing how quickly people seem to forget that he's a sophomore point guard.

 

[DogMania]

I still think there is something wrong with Bazz physically. His game is still troubling, but unless my eyes have lied to me earlier in the season, Shabazz has a lot of game in him. I just hope he gets better and rediscovers his game.

 

[aceboon]

I still think there is something wrong with Bazz physically. His game is still troubling, but unless my eyes have lied to me earlier in the season, Shabazz has a lot of game in him. I just hope he gets better and rediscovers his game.

I posted the same in the "Shabbier" thread, I really don't understand how people can see the way he's moving(today I thought he actually looked quicker and faster than he has in weeks) and not think something is wrong with him physically. In the beginning of the season Shabazz was driving, pass faking and getting to the rim, using stepbacks to create space for his jumper, etc, now you don't see much of anything that involves quick movement of his feet and he's very stationary on O. That is not the same player from the beginning of the season, Shabazz from FSU to today is like night and day.

 

[uconnfan68]

I posted the same in the "Shabbier" thread, I really don't understand how people can see the way he's moving(today I thought he actually looked quicker and faster than he has in weeks) and not think something is wrong with him physically. In the beginning of the season Shabazz was driving, pass faking and getting to the rim, using stepbacks to create space for his jumper, etc, now you don't see much of anything that involves quick movement of his feet and he's very stationary on O. That is not the same player from the beginning of the season, Shabazz from FSU to today is like night and day.

You are correct. He was hurting for weeks, and played 40 minutes every night.

 

[jibsey]

Need em both.

 

[DogMania]

I posted the same in the "Shabbier" thread, I really don't understand how people can see the way he's moving(today I thought he actually looked quicker and faster than he has in weeks) and not think something is wrong with him physically. In the beginning of the season Shabazz was driving, pass faking and getting to the rim, using stepbacks to create space for his jumper, etc, now you don't see much of anything that involves quick movement of his feet and he's very stationary on O. That is not the same player from the beginning of the season, Shabazz from FSU to today is like night and day.

That's an excellent breakdown. It would be interesting to watch tape on the FSU game and compare that to one of the recent games. As you pointed out, I bet we'd all see he's not the same player. How much of it is physical, mental or emotional, I don't know. But we've seen what he is capable of and we're not seeing lately.

 

[Henry]

I think part of the problem with Shabazz is that he was used to playing in spurts last year. He is not used to playing 37 minutes at this level and may have been pacing himself. Alex's talk to the team was spot on and may help them all to relax and concentrate on team. Maybe it will help Shabazz too.

 

[ctchamps]

I posted the same in the "Shabbier" thread, I really don't understand how people can see the way he's moving(today I thought he actually looked quicker and faster than he has in weeks) and not think something is wrong with him physically. In the beginning of the season Shabazz was driving, pass faking and getting to the rim, using stepbacks to create space for his jumper, etc, now you don't see much of anything that involves quick movement of his feet and he's very stationary on O. That is not the same player from the beginning of the season, Shabazz from FSU to today is like night and day.

I think it is a combination of something physical and the changeover that the coaching staff implemented after the first nine or ten games. Early in the season, Shabazz and Jeremy were the offense and the coaches felt it was necessary to get AO and AD more involved. So the team transitioned it's style of play and for the most part since that change Jeremy and Shabazz have taken a turn for the worse.

BTW, I think Jeremy is also playing injured. He's been favoring the lower back the last few games.

 

[Kitaman]

I still think there is something wrong with Bazz physically. His game is still troubling, but unless my eyes have lied to me earlier in the season, Shabazz has a lot of game in him. I just hope he gets better and rediscovers his game.

People forget that Bazz as a freshman was similar to Ryan B. Nagging injuries will slow you down and he hasn't had much rest either. Even minor injuries need time to heal properly, any athlete at any level will tell you that. Its made worse when the opponent you are guarding is 100% healthy and getting proper rest (in-game).

Everyone should see his potential which is to be a 'great' UConn guard.

 

[ktuck911]

Right now it's kinda clear that The Boat Show is the better pg... Bazz's game is nice but might be better suited as a back up...