Joel Ntambwe (UNLV Transfer)

[navery12]

Show me who is arguing against this. The three of us who are challenging superjohn are not challenging which of the two players are better currently. We are challenging the certainty of which player will be better in two years. It's unknown in our opinion. And two of us are making a point that with the uncertainty of that two year window, and with the needs of this team, scholarships might best be made elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong. I would be happy to have this kid come to UConn. And if it improves UConn's chances of getting his brother even better. All I'm arguing is that no one can predict with absolute certainty the future and which options anyone takes will work out best. There are better and worse probabilities in any decisions one makes. Probabilities being the operative word.

Nobody is saying anything with certainty, but we need better talent at every single position. We can't pass up guys like this if they want to come here

 

[Griffman]

Have some of you seen Polley play the last couple years? If you think in any way he is part of the future of this program, you are smoking Lamont's recreational weed. Hurley's goal is to improve talent. PERIOD!

As for Wilson, I expected so much more from him this year. He was extremely raw with very little pure basketball skill or instincts. I still think he has a high upside but please bring in any talented player we can regardless if it is at the expense of Wilson, Polley or anyone else.

 

[navery12]

First of all you're lumping me in with two other posters who are making a similar argument. Second of all, if you read my post, I'm concurring he might be the better player even as I'm making arguments that put asterisks for future development. My position is I can't be certain that Ntambwe will be the better player in two years?
How is that a position taken just to be different or argumentative?

Not you, you seemed to think the others are saying Ntambwe was better just to be different and not based on the objective facts that he was better last year

 

[Towney007]

He's a nice looking player, but those projections don't work that way.

The last two non-grad transfer I recall were Rodney Purvis and Ed Nelson. While Rodney was solid, he never became the star he projected to be.

Ed Nelson was ACC Rookie of the year at Georgia Tech. He never came close to producing similar numbers for UConn to those he put up at GT. Ed Nelson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Huh? Who's projecting?

As of right now, he's probably the 2nd or 3rd best player on our team if he committed. Right now. Based on his track record - third best guy we could put out on the floor right now. Maybe even better. If he stays like this - he's useful. If he doesn't develop an iota from here on out - he's a good piece to have.

Maybe he's not Ray Allen. Maybe he's not Sid Wilson in a few years. It's still a pretty great piece to have and better than 90% of what we've got. No one's proclaiming draft potential here.

 

[NJHoops]

When Ntambwe is eligible to play, he’ll be a sophomore, Wilson will be a junior, and Polley a senior. The goal is to upgrade talent. This coaching staff can’t wait for a time when getting deserving guys enough minutes is a problem. Every roster decision should answer the question, “does this make the team better” with a yes, and this one would.

 

[ctchamps]

Nobody is saying anything with certainty, but we need better talent at every single position. We can't pass up guys like this if they want to come here

Show me where I said we should pass on him.

Not you, you seemed to think the others are saying Ntambwe was better just to be different and not based on the objective facts that he was better last year

Never said that either.

Maybe if I stated it this way it would have been clearer: "DISCLAIMER: Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results."

My position is two fold. Currently Ntambwe is a better player than either Sid or Polley. In two years no one knows with any certainty which of these players will be best for UConn.

And yes, if I were in the position to take him I would because he projects as a good player. I just wouldn't proclaim I'm taking him because he will be the better of the three.

 

[navery12]

Show me where I said we should pass on him.


Never said that either.

Maybe if I stated it this way it would have been clearer: "DISCLAIMER: Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results."

My position is two fold. Currently Ntambwe is a better player than either Sid or Polley. In two years no one knows with any certainty which of these players will be best for UConn.

And yes, if I were in the position to take him I would because he projects as a good player. I just wouldn't proclaim I'm taking him because he will be the better of the three.

Towney just said all my thoughts clearer and better than I was apparently, so I'll just say read his post and that's what I'm saying

 

[superjohn]

Show me where I said we should pass on him.


Never said that either.

Maybe if I stated it this way it would have been clearer: "DISCLAIMER: Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results."

My position is two fold. Currently Ntambwe is a better player than either Sid or Polley. In two years no one knows with any certainty which of these players will be best for UConn.

And yes, if I were in the position to take him I would because he projects as a good player. I just wouldn't proclaim I'm taking him because he will be the better of the three.

This was your response to me saying Ntambwe is a lot better than Sid and Polley...

So I take it you were the only poster who was critical when Sid came to UConn. However I don't recall your reservations of his skills in posts on the Boneyard. Did I miss your reservations of Brendan as well?

 

[UConnStats]

If you think in any way he is part of the future of this program, you are smoking Lamont's recreational weed.

Just what this thread needed, some state level politics! Lmao

I'm glad we can all take solace in the fact that the staff is smart and knows what they're doing better than any of us.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Huh? Who's projecting?

As of right now, he's probably the 2nd or 3rd best player on our team if he committed. Right now. Based on his track record - third best guy we could put out on the floor right now. Maybe even better. If he stays like this - he's useful. If he doesn't develop an iota from here on out - he's a good piece to have.

Maybe he's not Ray Allen. Maybe he's not Sid Wilson in a few years. It's still a pretty great piece to have and better than 90% of what we've got. No one's proclaiming draft potential here.

Do you read? Look at Nelson's stats at GT. He never put up stats like that for UConn. Not even half.

You cannot assume that Joel would put up similar numbers at UConn that he put up at UNLV. Any assumption about what he would do here is a projection. The style is different, and competition is different. I'm not saying he wouldn't be really good, just that it is wrong to assume you can plug in his stats from UNLV at UConn.

 

[UCfor3]

Hurley's mantra all year was two fold. Change culture and improve talent. I have to assume he knows more than all of us jabronis. If he wants him, it's because he thinks it improves our talent. That's good enough for me. Acquire talent and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[ctchamps]

When Jalen signed with UConn I thought he would be a NBA player before his senior year. I didn't think Ollie would destroy our program after winning the title. I thought Sid would have a more productive freshman year. What does any of that have to do with Ntambwe being a better basketball player right now than both Sid and Polley?

Your original statements to kansashusky were as follows:

Because he's a lot better than Sid and Polley and can play both positions better than them.

Based off of him being a better basketball player than them.

kanshusky, Afghusky 15 and I never challenged you on currently. We challenged you on the statement better basketball player. Period. If you meant currently and just thought it unnecessary to state it fine. But when it became clear we were arguing a position on this lack of clarity, you felt it necessary to be derogatory.

 

[JB75]

I was rooting for sid hard this year but he’s still a long way away from being the player some on this board thought he was gonna be. I don’t think I saw him make a jumper since mid January. He really didn’t seem to improve too much Unless he makes some crazy strides this summer- I just don’t see it. Hope I’m wrong

 

[ctchamps]

This was your response to me saying Ntambwe is a lot better than Sid and Polley...

I think I clarified why I made this response.

 

[UCfor3]

Do you read? Look at Nelson's stats at GT. He never put up stats like that for UConn. Not even half.

You cannot assume that Joel would put up similar numbers at UConn that he put up at UNLV. Any assumption about what he would do here is a projection. The style is different, and competition is different. I'm not saying he wouldn't be really good, just that it is wrong to assume you can plug in his stats from UNLV at UConn.

You can't assume anything with any incoming player. There are no guarantees for anyone. This is what Hurley is paid handsomely for. To make make these judgement decisions. He's not infallable but he's got a good track record of rebuilding.

 

[Engineer90]

He's a nice looking player, but those projections don't work that way.

The last two non-grad transfer I recall were Rodney Purvis and Ed Nelson. While Rodney was solid, he never became the star he projected to be.

Ed Nelson was ACC Rookie of the year at Georgia Tech. He never came close to producing similar numbers for UConn to those he put up at GT. Ed Nelson College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Wow! I don't remember it being THAT bad! I bet Ed isn't coming to any UConn reunions. Having said that, I would take Ed Nelson right now!!!

 

[Towney007]

Do you read? Look at Nelson's stats at GT. He never put up stats like that for UConn. Not even half.

You cannot assume that Joel would put up similar numbers at UConn that he put up at UNLV. Any assumption about what he would do here is a projection. The style is different, and competition is different. I'm not saying he wouldn't be really good, just that it is wrong to assume you can plug in his stats from UNLV at UConn.

So we shouldn't project because you never know? Is that your actual point?

Don't sign Yu Darvish I guess. Style's different here and you know - even with numbers you never know so PASS

 

[YearoftheHusky]

Me five minutes ago: Sweet, there’s three new pages something must be up.

Me now:

 

[ctchamps]

Towney just said all my thoughts clearer and better than I was apparently, so I'll just say read his post and that's what I'm saying

I feel you are just as clear about your position as Towney with regards to Ntambwe.

No one in this thread, NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL, argued that Ntambwe is currently a better player than either Sid or Tyler.

No one in this thread, NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL, argued that we should pass on Ntambwe.

The statement AND ONLY STATEMENT, that some of us took issue with was superjohn's statement Ntambwe is a better player than either Sid or Tyler. His original statement to kansashusky omitted he felt Ntambwe is a better player CURRENTLY. All the debate we and others are having is over that salient omission. @superjohn has since indicated he implied this in a followup post he made to me. I'm comfortable it was just an omission.

 

[ctchamps]

Me five minutes ago: Sweet, there’s three new pages something must be up.

Me now:

You will see a new thread titled Ntambwe is "Coming to UConn" or "Staying at UNLV" or "Going to Another School Other than UNLV or UConn" at some time between now and the end of this current commitment period. If you enjoy the rumor mill of Corey Evans or Goodman indicating which schools are interested or reaching out to Ntambwe, rumors that get us no closer to what will actually happen, then I apologize in having a friendly debate with my fellow boneyarders.

 

[superjohn]

I feel you are just as clear about your position as Towney with regards to Ntambwe.

No one in this thread, NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL, argued that Ntambwe is currently a better player than either Sid or Tyler.

No one in this thread, NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL, argued that we should pass on Ntambwe.

The statement AND ONLY STATEMENT, that some of us took issue with was superjohn's statement Ntambwe is a better player than either Sid or Tyler. His original statement to kansashusky omitted he felt Ntambwe is a better player CURRENTLY. All the debate we and others are having is over that salient omission. @superjohn has since indicated he implied this in a followup post he made to me. I'm comfortable it was just an omission.

This is amazing, you guys jump on me for saying Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley but you all agree Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley...

Can anyone help me out here? Why are we going after a third wing? Says he struggled in the PF position and he is more suited to a SF which Polley and Wilson are.

Because he's a lot better than Sid and Polley and can play both positions better than them.

And that statement is just based off of his stats?

Based off of him being a better basketball player than them.

So I take it you were the only poster who was critical when Sid came to UConn. However I don't recall your reservations of his skills in posts on the Boneyard. Did I miss your reservations of Brendan as well?

A few weeks ago you probably never heard of him... now based off of Andre Lafleur's comments you can confidently state as a fact that he is better than Sid and Polley?... Come on

Hurley has said Sid has the highest ceiling and aside from Jalen Adams has the best chance of going pro. Sid is much more athletic than Ntambwe. If Sid can get stronger and improve his shot (both very doable) than it would be very hard for Ntambwe to come in and take Sid's minutes.

 

[ctchamps]

Some of these comments can't even be serious.

I like Sid Wilson a lot. I think he's got a good shot to be a good player for us. He's not better than Ntambwe at almost anything right now. And NOT bringing this kid in because SID MIGHT DEVELOP~!... guys. That can still happen with this kid here and he's already further along. He unquestionably makes us better.

This is where you went off the tracks. Reread every post prior to your post I'm quoting and show me who and what was stated that made you conclude anyone suggested we should not recruit and/or take this kid. I believe you will find you misunderstood our position.

 

[ctchamps]

This is amazing, you guys jump on me for saying Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley but you all agree Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley...

We state Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley currently, which is different than a blanket statement. If you don't see or want to see the distinction, so be it.

 

[Engineer90]

Projections are based on starting point and trajectory. We don't have much trajectory data on Sid or Ntambwe. We have some people that believe Sid has more upside and, based on that, likely a higher trajectory. The problem is that you never know if a kid is going to realize that potential and higher trajectory. Based on what I have heard, I wouldn't assume it is a given for Sid. Take the kid who is ahead now and if Sid surpasses him, so be it. There are 200 minutes to go around so they can both still play lots of minutes even if Sid's minutes increase over time.

 

[BuckleyNerd]

We state Ntambwe is better than Sid and Polley currently, which is different than a blanket statement. If you don't see or want to see the distinction, so be it.

You argue like my girlfriend