Just how good is DHam ?

[Huskybass]

DHam was the only freshman in the country last season to score over 300 points (380), get over 200 rebounds (267) and dish out over 100 assists (128). The only other UConn freshman to hit these three marks was Nadav Henefeld, and DHam's totals were higher.

I realize DHam was a little sloppy last season, but he is an exceptional talent. I can't wait to see him on the floor with Adams, Miller and Brimah. Showtime!

 

[NYUConn]

I Honestly think DHam is talented enough to make this his last year in Storrs. He made a lot of freshman mistakes last year, throwing the ball all over the court.

If he eliminates The bad turnovers he can go first team all AAC and get a serious look from the NBA.

 

[TasteofUConn]

It's a BY truism that a freshman will never be fairly evaluated, in the aggregate, by the members here because a substantial portion of us gauge freshman performance with a metric that is more properly suited to a junior with 2 seasons under his belt. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's going to be. The guy is a phenom. 150 days removed from high school and he was lighting up the three big box score columns, yet many focus on TOs or FG%. Ergo, realistic potential is lost in the haze of unrealistic expectations.
Mark it down - he will be absolutely huge for us.

 

[HooperScooper]

I Honestly think DHam is talented enough to make this his last year in Storrs. He made a lot of freshman mistakes last year, throwing the ball all over the court.

If he eliminates The bad turnovers he can go first team all AAC and get a serious look from the NBA.

He was very careless with the ball the first half of the season but he was much better the 2nd half of the year. He averaged 2.3 turnovers per game (in 35 games) but I bet about 50 of his 81 turnovers were in the first 15 or so games of the year.

He also shot a very low percentage but was better with that later in the year also. The trajectory was going the right way. I expect an excellent season out of him.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

He was very careless with the ball the first half of the season but he was much better the 2nd half of the year. He averaged 2.3 turnovers per game (in 35 games) but I bet about 50 of his 81 turnovers were in the first 15 or so games of the year.

He also shot a very low percentage but was better with that later in the year also. The trajectory was going the right way. I expect an excellent season out of him.

He is kind of like Kemba in the sense that he needs to learn how to adjust his speed, not go at warp 9 all the time. He has incredible quickness for his size, but he has not yet shown the ability to adjust his speed to create space for himself. Kemba really "got it" his junior year, I hope that dham can do so as a sophomore, but that may be too fast. When I watch '97-98 games, I found myself amazed that Rip came back for his junior season. I'm not sure he, or Ray, or others would have stayed if they play now. I hope to see Daniel show a more consistent jumpshot, as I think that will be one key for his future success. He's just not a classic shooter like Ray, Rip, or Ben.

 

[CallMeBruce]

It's a BY truism that a freshman will never be fairly evaluated, in the aggregate, by the members here because a substantial portion of us gauge freshman performance with a metric that is more properly suited to a junior with 2 seasons under his belt. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's going to be. The guy is a phenom. 150 days removed from high school and he was lighting up the three big box score columns, yet many focus on TOs or FG%. Ergo, realistic potential is lost in the haze of unrealistic expectations.
Mark it down - he will be absolutely huge for us.

It's still possible to objectively compare him to other freshmen, though. Shooting 38% is very bad, for any player. Yes, he did other things well, and was on net a very good and valuable player, but he was far from elite, and we've had other players perform better as freshmen. It's not a crime to not be as good as Jeremy Lamb or Ben Gordon were as freshman, but it remains that he wasn't. He did a lot of different things well, and so put up some very attractive stat lines, but a 'fair evaluation' can still acknowledge that there were significant holes in his game. That doesn't mean he can't be terrific next year, but I'm not going to start declaring him an all-time great until he actually plays like one.

 

[MexicoHusky]

It's still possible to objectively compare him to other freshmen, though. Shooting 38% is very bad, for any player. Yes, he did other things well, and was on net a very good and valuable player, but he was far from elite, and we've had other players perform better as freshmen. It's not a crime to not be as good as Jeremy Lamb or Ben Gordon were as freshman, but it remains that he wasn't. He did a lot of different things well, and so put up some very attractive stat lines, but a 'fair evaluation' can still acknowledge that there were significant holes in his game. That doesn't mean he can't be terrific next year, but I'm not going to start declaring him an all-time great until he actually plays like one.

I was thinking something along these lines as well. Very good at a lot of things, but I'm not sure he's ready to be our best player yet. Ray, Rip, Caron...even Gordon was probably our best offensive player by their sophomore year. We'll see what happens, but I'm not even sure the offense runs through Dham like it did for those other guys.

 

[MexicoHusky]

There is a positive thing about being good at a lot, but not really great at anything is he probably sticks around longer. Until he starts dunking on people or scoring more efficiently he probably stays in college.

 

[RichZ]

I think he'll be more a scorer than a shooter, which is fine with me. Garbage points are still points.

If he picks up his mid-range percentage by more than a couple points, his assist numbers will rival those of some elite point guards, because as he gets more dangerous from 15 feet, he'll consistently draw help defense from the interior on any move in the lane, and have Brimah, Facey, Enoch et al open for dunks on a consistent basis.

The thing that impressed most last year was his rebounding. Not just his ability at it, but his willingness to get into the paint and bang for boards. I'm sure it's not what he had in mind for his college career, but his eagerness to what the team needs done most was a very pleasant surprise to me.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Shooting 38% is very bad, for any player . . . but he was far from elite, and we've had other players perform better as freshmen. It's not a crime to not be as good as Jeremy Lamb or Ben Gordon were as freshman, but it remains that he wasn't.

Gordon -
13/2.7/3/44%/25mpg on a 27 win team that made it to the elite 8 and lost to eventual champion Maryland, with Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, Tony Robertson, Taliek Brown, Shamon Tooles, and even the Legendary Johny Selvie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lamb -
11/4.5/1.6/49%/28mpg on a national championship team with Kemba Walker, Giffey, Shabazz, Roscoe, and Oriakhi.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DHam -
11/7.6/3.7/38%/31mpg - AAC rookie of year. on a team that was a 4 seed in the NIT and then got beat in the 1st game. This team had a terrific PG in Boat, and a bunch of misfits at every other position. I won't rip all the guys around him, which would be easy, but his 38% shooting substantially reflects the fact that he was the only guy on the roster who could reliably create his own shot, particularly with Boat being swamped constantly as the only real ball handler.

It's completely unfair to ignore the context in which each of these players played in their 1st years.
Lamb had Walker. Everybody rememba Kemba? Guy was the greatest floor general we ever had. Could single handedly break a defense apart. Sure, Lamb was great, but his opportunities were predicated in large part on the enormous defensive attention Kemba drew. And he had other guys around him who could finish.
Gordon was on a deeply talented team with beau·coup talent all around him.

DHam is every bit as elite as Ben and Jeremy, and his ceiling is, IMO, higher than both. He now will have substantially more talent around him than he did last year, he will get many more open looks and easy buckets, he won't be forced to create shots late in the clock, and he will have more talented scorers to dish to if he is over guarded. He is going to be huge this year, and his efficiency is going to increase dramatically.

 

[8893]

Better than Master Bruce thinks he is.

 

[mauconnfan]

I expect a really good year from DHam. As others said he had a rough start, seemed the speed of the game and the adjustment of having better players defending had him struggling to make plays. He leaves his feet too often and we saw that in the WVU game immediately where the press rattled him and he committed TO after TO. He seemed to stay on the floor and take his time in the 2nd half, while letting the game come to him. Typical freshmen stuff but I saw more good. The kid rebounded the hell out of the ball and I found myself in awe of his ability to find the ball. He is really good at getting to the hoop, wasn't as good at finishing as he rushed a lot of shots when he got there. A little more Ray when he gets there, take your time and pump fakes etc etc. He had some great moves which finished with a left and missed a few but I think he will finish a much higher percentage of these in 15-16. He's an excellent passer and now will be playing most of the time with 4 others who can score the ball and aren't afraid to do so, his passing will be become more significant I believe.

The kids a basketball player and being surrounded by more experience and others who can play the game will certainly bring out the fact he's really good at everything, maybe not great at anything, but a perfect match for a team very similar to his abilities. What's not to like, fills that stat sheets and wants to be better? And he will be.

 

[willie99]

DHam was the only freshman in the country last season to score over 300 points (380), get over 200 rebounds (267) and dish out over 100 assists (128). The only other UConn freshman to hit these three marks was Nadav Henefeld, and DHam's totals were higher.

I realize DHam was a little sloppy last season, but he is an exceptional talent. I can't wait to see him on the floor with Adams, Miller and Brimah. Showtime!

one of our best ever

I used to think he was going to be a Caron Butler in his sophomore season, but now he has way more talent around him

we're about to embark on a special season

 

[Dogbreath2U]

The situation reminds me some of Rudy going into his sophomore year. While everyone knew he was the most purely talented player on the 2006 team, he did not seem ready to claim the star role with so many "older" players with talent around him. Daniel seemed to be similar in that way as a freshman and I'm not sure he will be ready to be the star on this team. I'm not sure that that would be the best for the team as well. This group will go as far as they are able to play for the team and there could be a different "star" from one game to another. That's what makes this year so interesting and why KO's ability to keep them together will be a key. Hard to wait. It also sucks that we are not getting any preseason scouting reports from the new building. We need some better spies.

 

[8893]

I'm have visions of "pick your poison" dancing in my head, with DHam getting fed on the wing and having the options of: a pinpoint lob to Amida; taking his man off the dribble; dishing to Shonn in the corner for a three; putting up a shot; passing to Rodney for a drive; or sending it back to Sterling/Jaylen at the top of the key for a reset.

Pretty nice options.

 

[jibsey]

He's involved and everywhere on offense and defense and with him putting the ball on the floor at his size it's not realistic to not have some turnovers. If he has them I hope people don't go crazy, because what we get back is worth them.

 

[ctchamps]

It's still possible to objectively compare him to other freshmen, though. Shooting 38% is very bad, for any player. Yes, he did other things well, and was on net a very good and valuable player, but he was far from elite, and we've had other players perform better as freshmen. It's not a crime to not be as good as Jeremy Lamb or Ben Gordon were as freshman, but it remains that he wasn't. He did a lot of different things well, and so put up some very attractive stat lines, but a 'fair evaluation' can still acknowledge that there were significant holes in his game. That doesn't mean he can't be terrific next year, but I'm not going to start declaring him an all-time great until he actually plays like one.

In fairness regarding my evaluation of you this is masterful Bruce! I couldn't like it enough, not only because I agree with you, but the presentation was measured. Not that you or anyone else needs my approval. Just felt the need to express it. Really nice job. This thread is the epitome of the type of discussion that elevates the Boneyard.

 

[ctchamps]

Better than Master Bruce thinks he is.

I posted the above before reading this. I guess we are balancing out that other thread. And I loved seeing jibsey's post about realism. Just love it.

He's involved and everywhere on offense and defense and with him putting the ball on the floor at his size it's not realistic to not have some turnovers. If he has them I hope people don't go crazy, because what we get back is worth them.

 

[Waquoit]

I think he'll be more a scorer than a shooter, which is fine with me. Garbage points are still points.

If he picks up his mid-range percentage by more than a couple points, his assist numbers will rival those of some elite point guards, because as he gets more dangerous from 15 feet, he'll consistently draw help defense from the interior on any move in the lane, and have Brimah, Facey, Enoch et al open for dunks on a consistent basis.

The thing that impressed most last year was his rebounding. Not just his ability at it, but his willingness to get into the paint and bang for boards. I'm sure it's not what he had in mind for his college career, but his eagerness to what the team needs done most was a very pleasant surprise to me.

I agree, his team play is what I enjoyed the most. His ability to set up Brimah. I just get the feeling that he will improve and progress in all facets this year. Caron is one example of a scorer who became a better shooter in his second year.

 

[ctchamps]

I think he'll be more a scorer than a shooter, which is fine with me. Garbage points are still points.

If he picks up his mid-range percentage by more than a couple points, his assist numbers will rival those of some elite point guards, because as he gets more dangerous from 15 feet, he'll consistently draw help defense from the interior on any move in the lane, and have Brimah, Facey, Enoch et al open for dunks on a consistent basis.

The thing that impressed most last year was his rebounding. Not just his ability at it, but his willingness to get into the paint and bang for boards. I'm sure it's not what he had in mind for his college career, but his eagerness to what the team needs done most was a very pleasant surprise to me.

Probably that rebounding prowess was developed playing against his stronger older brothers. I would bet he loves the opportunity to mix it up inside. I believe DHam will get stronger. He needs to because he was easily pushed around by muscular fours. DD and NG did not have that problem but they were upperclassman before that happened.

I'm anticipating that the player who will most benefit DHam is Miller. Miller will be the player who will give DHam the option of leaking out or going for defensive rebounds. That was the big change for Rip freshman to sophomore season. It will open up more fast breaks and reduce opposing teams crashing the boards. And I believe Miller will force defenses away from clogging the middle allowing DHam easier paths to the basket and better looks for mid range shots. DHam won't have to rely on that spin move as much this season.

 

[CallMeBruce]

In fairness regarding my evaluation of you this is masterful Bruce! I couldn't like it enough, not only because I agree with you, but the presentation was measured. Not that you or anyone else needs my approval. Just felt the need to express it. Really nice job. This thread is the epitome of the type of discussion that elevates the Boneyard.

I aim to please.

 

[ctchamps]

I aim to please.

Like I said I think you have a lot to contribute. You can pass to the open man or take a contested shot. The ball is in your hands.

 

[Scottzer]

In a lot of ways, I think he's the most difficult of the top 20 UConn recruits to evaluate after one season. Every comparison has a valid counterpoint to it.

I have to agree that 38% is rough. His freshman season overall wasn't as good as Nadav's or Lamb's. But, Nadav was like 23 or something crazy old for a frosh, and Lamb has to be the single greatest (certainly amongst frosh) beneficiary to playing alongside a superstar in UConn history.

We all see the flashes of brilliance, but it's really hard to figure out whether he becomes a 13-15 ppg player with an uptick in all of the right areas or not. He's a guy who I'd really like to stick around for 3 years, because, for a sophomore a typical season to season improvement level won't have him NBA contributor level ready. I think Kemba's soph to junior year improvement is the best example of that, and unless improvement is greater than 3 sigma, I think he'll need another year. And, if that happens, I'm really, really excited about next season. This season has tons of potential, but realistic preseason expectations amongst us shouldn't exceed E8/S16 until we see a few games. Talent is there, just too early to get upset with or excited for a low/high season projection.

 

[champs99and04]

Gordon -
13/2.7/3/44%/25mpg on a 27 win team that made it to the elite 8 and lost to eventual champion Maryland, with Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, Tony Robertson, Taliek Brown, Shamon Tooles, and even the Legendary Johny Selvie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lamb -
11/4.5/1.6/49%/28mpg on a national championship team with Kemba Walker, Giffey, Shabazz, Roscoe, and Oriakhi.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DHam -
11/7.6/3.7/38%/31mpg - AAC rookie of year. on a team that was a 4 seed in the NIT and then got beat in the 1st game. This team had a terrific PG in Boat, and a bunch of misfits at every other position. I won't rip all the guys around him, which would be easy, but his 38% shooting substantially reflects the fact that he was the only guy on the roster who could reliably create his own shot, particularly with Boat being swamped constantly as the only real ball handler.

It's completely unfair to ignore the context in which each of these players played in their 1st years.
Lamb had Walker. Everybody rememba Kemba? Guy was the greatest floor general we ever had. Could single handedly break a defense apart. Sure, Lamb was great, but his opportunities were predicated in large part on the enormous defensive attention Kemba drew. And he had other guys around him who could finish.
Gordon was on a deeply talented team with beau·coup talent all around him.

DHam is every bit as elite as Ben and Jeremy, and his ceiling is, IMO, higher than both. He now will have substantially more talent around him than he did last year, he will get many more open looks and easy buckets, he won't be forced to create shots late in the clock, and he will have more talented scorers to dish to if he is over guarded. He is going to be huge this year, and his efficiency is going to increase dramatically.

So the fact that D-Ham played on a demonstrably worse team is a check in his box? I understand that the other guys had more around them, and I agree that D-Ham's low field goal percentage was at least partially a function of playing in an ineffective offense... but Lamb and Gordon had a lot to do with those teams being really good, and D-Ham - for as promising as his season was - had a hand in the limitations of last years team, starting with the fact that he shot 19% over the final three games of the AAC Tournament.

Lamb went the opposite direction when the games began to increase in significance - he submitted one of the most efficient postseasons in UConn history, and pretty much established himself as the second best player on a team that won the title. Kemba or no Kemba, that team is gone by the sweet sixteen if Lamb doesn't play out of his mind (not to mention, he played excellent defense over that stretch, something that hasn't carried over to the rest of his career, but still).

Hamilton may well have the best sophomore season of any Husky in quite some time, but I don't think there is much of a debate regarding who had the superior freshman season between he and Lamb.

 

[lavuuk153]

Gordon -
13/2.7/3/44%/25mpg on a 27 win team that made it to the elite 8 and lost to eventual champion Maryland, with Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor, Tony Robertson, Taliek Brown, Shamon Tooles, and even the Legendary Johny Selvie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lamb -
11/4.5/1.6/49%/28mpg on a national championship team with Kemba Walker, Giffey, Shabazz, Roscoe, and Oriakhi.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DHam -
11/7.6/3.7/38%/31mpg - AAC rookie of year. on a team that was a 4 seed in the NIT and then got beat in the 1st game. This team had a terrific PG in Boat, and a bunch of misfits at every other position. I won't rip all the guys around him, which would be easy, but his 38% shooting substantially reflects the fact that he was the only guy on the roster who could reliably create his own shot, particularly with Boat being swamped constantly as the only real ball handler.

It's completely unfair to ignore the context in which each of these players played in their 1st years.
Lamb had Walker. Everybody rememba Kemba? Guy was the greatest floor general we ever had. Could single handedly break a defense apart. Sure, Lamb was great, but his opportunities were predicated in large part on the enormous defensive attention Kemba drew. And he had other guys around him who could finish.
Gordon was on a deeply talented team with beau·coup talent all around him.

DHam is every bit as elite as Ben and Jeremy, and his ceiling is, IMO, higher than both. He now will have substantially more talent around him than he did last year, he will get many more open looks and easy buckets, he won't be forced to create shots late in the clock, and he will have more talented scorers to dish to if he is over guarded. He is going to be huge this year, and his efficiency is going to increase dramatically.

Comparing the team to 2011 doesn't seem fair since a lot of the players were also so raw but looked back on now seem better than they were at that time. If this years team ends up doing something special, we can look back down the road and say DHam was on a team with Boatright, Purvis, Brimah, insert glue guy who makes a big impact down the road. The 2011 team was begging for anyone to step up and be the number 2 and Lamb did that. DHam was good last year and oozes potential, but he needs to make the jump that he can before he gets to Lamb's level. Gordon for me is on a completely different level and needs his name up on the wall. I actually remember reading an article after the BE tourney in 02 where the author said he saw the next great UConn player and it wasn't Butler, but Gordon. Obviously Butler shut him up...but Gordon was right behind him.