Jeff Goodman is a closet fan of Uconn

[Gurleyman]

Difference between Donny and KFree is that Donny had perimeter skills. KFree never had any, we knew it, the coaches knew it, and KFree knew it. But that was the only way he was going to be a pro and he threatened a transfer if he didn't get that chance.

Donny didn't have many perimeter skills when he started. Used to cringe as a junior when he shot 3s, wondering why the hell he was out there.

If Doug Wrenn was awesome and our best line-up was Free at the 4, we'd have gone to it. We actually tried that starting line-up for 2 or 3 games, and it didn't help. Wrenn didn't respond. Or if you picture Deng playing like the hype and looking like Donyell, we could have had Deng-Freeman as sort of a 3-4 Marshall-Marshall interchangable hybrid.

Instead, neither was effective, Deng had to get his minutes at the 4 since he had no perimeter skills, and Wrenn was only available half the season. That pushed Free into the 3 for better or worse. I think we mentioned before in an earlier thread that if we had it to do over again, we should have maybe given a longer look at three guards (KEA, Albie, Tony), which might have forced Ed to more limited minutes, but at least put Free-Jake back at the 4-5

 

[7774]

My point is that just b/c KO is talking about Purvis being a point in the media is not proof that it's going to work out. I don't think we would be recruiting so many PGs if we were so confident that Purvis could be the guy. I'm not saying it is definitely not going to work, but KO talking it up is not the be all end all. JC talked up Justin Brown every year too to the media knowing full well that he would never be what he claimed as he did w/ KFree. I think most of us knew that that was all lip service.

Agree with most of this, and certainly it may not work out. I personally think KO can feel Purvis is the guy and still be recruiting point guards because he wants to play multiple point guards. I also think Purvis's situation is way different than KFree, or anyone else.

We all knew what Kevin was. He'd been in the program 3+ years and been coached by a great staff. Rodney's had 1 year, been coached by Mark Gottfried, and played in a system that was horrible for him. Who knows what the kid will be, but the fact he should get the normal freshman/sophomore improvement, and a read shirt year where he will be coached by a guy who played point guard in the league for 10+ years, and go against Napier everyday is good enough for me to have a positive outlook about it.

 

[Waquoit]

No the guy from the big lebowski is Jeff bridges

Goodman was in Lebowski.

 

[Danzz]

Purvis will surprise and TS will be more than capable

We'll see about Purvis. He has to learn to be a PG after a year of not playing in games and that may be a stretch. Samuel appears to be more of a combo guard who could probably play PG in stretches. Samuel was a 3 star talent so we aren't getting a Shabazz or Boatright. UConn is going to need a pure PG to run the team and so far we struck out on all of our targets. Ollie is now pursuing a juco (Newbury) because he is out of options. Goodman may be an arrogant ass but he is right on this one. We need a PG even more than we need a rebounding big.

 

[Huskies4ever]

We'll see about Purvis. He has to learn to be a PG after a year of not playing in games and that may be a stretch.

He'll be going up against SN, RB, TS, and BA every day in practice. Not to mention his head coach is a former NBA point. Not worried in the least.

 

[aceboon]

I'm still not understanding why Samuel is labeled as a combo guard on here

 

[selles]

We'll see about Purvis. He has to learn to be a PG after a year of not playing in games and that may be a stretch. Samuel appears to be more of a combo guard who could probably play PG in stretches. Samuel was a 3 star talent so we aren't getting a Shabazz or Boatright. UConn is going to need a pure PG to run the team and so far we struck out on all of our targets. Ollie is now pursuing a juco (Newbury) because he is out of options. Goodman may be an arrogant ass but he is right on this one. We need a PG even more than we need a rebounding big.

Let me help aceboon out on this one. Samuel is a POINT GUARD. A PURE, UNADULTERATED POINT. No one thinks he's anything else but a POINT GUARD. NO ONE. Watch the videos, he's a POINT GUARD.

Whether he's a good enough point guard obviously remains a question since we haven't seen him play in college yet, but whether he's good enough or not he's a POINT GUARD.

P.S. If you don't know what you're talking about on a given subject, don't talk.

P.P.S. Jeff Goodman is an imbecile.

 

[Danzz]

Let me help aceboon out on this one. Samuel is a POINT GUARD. A PURE, UNADULTERATED POINT. No one thinks he's anything else but a POINT GUARD. NO ONE. Watch the videos, he's a POINT GUARD.

Whether he's a good enough point guard obviously remains a question since we haven't seen him play in college yet, but whether he's good enough or not he's a POINT GUARD.

P.S. If you don't know what you're talking about on a given subject, don't talk.

P.P.S. Jeff Goodman is an imbecile.

I've watched the videos and Samuel looks a lot more like Craig Austrie than Kemba Walker and the fact that he is playing PG in HS doesn't change that.
Here is what Scout says:
"This is a combo guard who might be slightly undersized to play off the ball, yet doesn't have the instinct to be a true point guard" Scout has him listed as a SG as does Rivals. So whether or not you agree with them, there are people in the scouting business who have a point of view different than yours.
P.S. Shove the caps up your .
P.P.S. Even imbeciles can be right sometimes.

 

[boog204]

Donny didn't have many perimeter skills when he started. Used to cringe as a junior when he shot 3s, wondering why the hell he was out there.

When he started, no. But he was able to hit a 15 foot jump shot his sophomore year (something that KFree never really did) and as a junior shot 36% from 3 (23-64) which is not cringe worthy. His numbers from deep dropped to 26% his senior year but I never felt like he was hurting the team playing the 3. Definitely felt that way with KFree and have always felt like that it was KFree who forced that issue on JC and have always wondered why JC gave in.


Either way, if we had gotten a commitment from any of the PGs we were recruiting this year I'd think the Purvis as PG belief would have been partly tabled. I don't think you can just "learn" to be a point guard in one year of practice after having been a scorer for the major parts of your career regardless of you are playing against or who is coaching you. Look at Boat. He's still a combo with merely adequate PG skills despite coaching and two years with Bazz.

 

[willie99]

we're doomed, next season already sucks and we didn't start this season yet

I hate when that happens

 

[tentoes4rings]

JC moved Freeman to the 3 too... No one wanted to see it and it was a disaster.

No one but Freeman wanted to see it that is. One rare poor lack of judgment by JC to put a kid he loved and his NBA prospects ahead of the team. An unmitigated disaster from the start.

 

[mauconnfan]

Judging by the video's I saw Samuel is a PG more than a combo........his role will be refined after a year behind Bazz and Boat........as will Rodney.

And while TS is not expected to be Bazz or Boat now we never know how good guys turn out to be.........we've seen so many great stories it's not hard to think these will be a lot better next year!

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Goodman was in Lebowski.

Ok, John goodman was, too many similar names

 

[Gurleyman]

No one but Freeman wanted to see it that is. One rare poor lack of judgment by JC to put a kid he loved and his NBA prospects ahead of the team. An unmitigated disaster from the start.

So what was your answer with that team we had? Starting Wrenn? Or do you think Deng was a better option at the 3? We tried both, and it didn't help. Wrenn stunk and Deng, despite hype to the contrary, had far less perimeter skills than Free. If Wrenn could play, we'd have seen Free back at the 4 in no time. But if he could play, we might not have signed Caron.

The problem with that team is that there just wasn't enough talent to be a contender. Not a first round pick on the roster. I think thats the only team in the JC era that you could say that about (since Tate was one to cover the early years). KEA was a great college player, of course, but Albie-Free-Ed-Jake-Deng-Wrenn-Tony-Souley is a platter of side dishes with no entree. We didn't come close to filling the Rip void, no matter who played where.

 

[DogMania]

I've watched the videos and Samuel looks a lot more like Craig Austrie than Kemba Walker and the fact that he is playing PG in HS doesn't change that.
Here is what Scout says:
"This is a combo guard who might be slightly undersized to play off the ball, yet doesn't have the instinct to be a true point guard" Scout has him listed as a SG as does Rivals. So whether or not you agree with them, there are people in the scouting business who have a point of view different than yours.eh
P.S. Shove the caps up your .
P.P.S. Even imbeciles can be right sometimes.

When it comes to position, you can take what these recruiting sites say with a grain of salt, especially with the less heralded kids that they don't watch closely.

With that said, from what I've read, seen and heard from those who've seen him, say he's a Point and one person said he didn't think he was a high major talent. IMO, the only reason why some say he's a combo is due to his size and ability to take it to the basket. He's not a good jump shooter, something you expect in a high major wing. He rarely, if ever, played off teh ball in HS, so I don't see how anyone can project him as a 2G, though I gues if he doesn't work out as a 1, he could play some 2 as a reserve mainly for defensive purposes since he's got good size, though I'm not sure he's athletic enough to defend high major wings.

 

[boog204]

Samuel is an interesting player. From the videos I've seen he's got kinda the big, slower point guard thing going on. Almost a Tate George type. It looks like TS can really pass the ball and can run a team. But he reportedly is not much of a shooter, doesn't seem to be athletic enough to be a penetrating drive and dish guy, and may be a liability defensively. At the same though, he seems to have that "player" type label in that he can be very effective b/c he understands the game.

 

[ctchamps]

we're doomed, next season already sucks and we didn't start this season yet

I hate when that happens

Then you are letting peoples voices enter your head and play out the season as opposed to letting the season unfold. Check your head at the scorers table!

 

[DogMania]

No one but Freeman wanted to see it that is. One rare poor lack of judgment by JC to put a kid he loved and his NBA prospects ahead of the team. An unmitigated disaster from the start.

I figured here is as good as any to chime in on KFree. It was not a lack of judgment on JC's part, but a sign of gratitude for working his ass off for 3 years as an undersized 4 and willing to give him a chance to play the 3 since that would be his only hope of making the NBA, not to mention the fact that the team had few options at the 3 that year. It simply turned out that he was not yet capable of playing the 3 in college. His jumpshot and handle were simiply not good enough. He actually developed those skills in the NBDL quite well, though not quite good enough for the NBA, but certainly good enough for D1. Too little too late though. So I don't blame JC for giving him a chance or KFree for wanting to give it a try. And I don't remember him demanding the position change or to that matter, threatening to transfer.

As for Purvis, I seem to remember KO saying he would be developing his PG skills. I think Purvis is going to be a Ben Gordan type of combo who will split time at both guard positions. He's got the size and offensive game to play the 2. He's got a PG handle, but it seems his lead guard instincts are lacking, something that's hard to develop but not impossible to improve. UConn has won with combos at the point that have lacked some of the PG see-the-floor and passing skills. Taliek and Ricky are two that IMO didn't excell in those areas, not to mention their lack of jumpshooting skills. But both were good in transition, could beat their man off the dribble and disrupt things in the half-court.

Purvis is a jet. He's got a nice J, that he just needs to gain some confidence and consitency in. Based on the times I saw him play in HS on TV, I was shocked to find out how much he struggled at NC State. I chalk most of that up to the lack of player development that their Head Coach has demonstrated throughout the years. How that guy keeps on finding high major gigs is beyond me.

Here's my take on this whole thing. Since there's a good chance, though I'm not so sure about it, that the Boatshow will try to take his talents to the NBA next season, Purvis is more a combo guard at this stage, and Samuel is a borderline high major talent, it makes sense that Ollie is looking for depths and an upgrade at the point guard position. But if he's not able to find someone who looks better than any of the options he currently has, we are probably OK with what we have for the 2014 season. Unless he really thinks he can land a talented point guard in the 2014 class, I think he should wait and try to get an elite point guard in the next class.