Just Watched Game PART II

[Cheeky]

Tip of hat to TCF - thanks again.

What a horrible game. The first 3/5ths were unwatchable. Lord were we awful with the ball.

Assessments haven't changed from game 1, but some random observations:

Love Daniel's aggression - he should get close to a solid green light when open. I wonder how Sam will do against quicker Ds - his shot has been awesome, and he is very heady, but I wonder if we won't see a bit of an RJ effect when we start playing DI guards who can close on him quickly and present more size.

Boat looked like a top 10 player. Really is just playing in control, leading the team. Very impressed with him.

Everybody else looked the same, for the most part.

I'm very curious to see how Purvis develops. Unlike many of us, I didn't think he played a horrible game. Couple close charge calls, a bad outlet pass that he booted, a fumble. I didn't see what I'd consider a lot of bad fundamentals that can't be easily corrected. If anything, the kid just seems overzealous. That said, he needs to become a better passer. Looking at his NC State stats, he played about 25 minutes a game and averaged just over 1 assist per game. Glaringly, in his last 12 games he averaged 1/2 of an assist per game and never got more than 1.

Not sure if it means anything in isolation, but Purvis appears to not join in in the "give the free throw shooter 5" after the first free throw. At the 39 minute of the video, for example, you can see Boat is left hanging with his hand out. Purvis is off by the 3 point line.

As I see it, what ailed Purvis in the first 2 games is fixable - reduce the drive and crash, be more protective of the ball.

All that written, it would sure make me feel better to see Purvis have a solid game, with no turnovers, bad shots, charges, or easily misunderstood tweets.

Because I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a titch nervous about the squirrelly start.

Have I mentioned I hate Twitter?

 

[jibsey]

Purvis looks like a good defender and I expect he will score but he's not 1 dimensional. With boat's D, that's dynamic. It looks like Samuel is going to get half the minutes. When he goes to the rim TSam's crafty with body control, no freight train and Rodney would do well copy. A Ferrari blows away the competition and dominates, seen no evidence of that so far.

 

[August_West]

I think purvis will be ok. One of his charge calls was questionable, the other was legit. He was very loose with the ball early too, which KO got on his case about. KO started out mellow, but after that crappy start he really started working the guys. pretty animated. Purvis can go in the open court, his hands can be a little better. I'm hoping it is ring rust and being a little too anxious to get after it. Hamilton on the other hand had the poise of an upperclassmen and just did everything well. He's ready. I don't doubt he's not going to have an easy time of it every game. But he has what I call the "Wayne Gretzky intangible". The game just seems to look slower to him than most others. His handle is tight, his mid range game is on point and his instinctual feel for passing is what shocked me the most in a couple ways. From defensive rebounds he is successfully throwing some Scheffer like outlets. On offense he is breaking guys down of the bounce and feeding bigs on the base line. They need to finish. His passing is way ahead of what I expected out of him, and says great things about what he can do because it seems instinctual. I left Sunday's game feeling a little flat on the team as a whole ( give it time) but sky high on what we got with Hamilton. I don't think mini rip is accurate for him, he's got a different tool set and I can't think of a direct comparison. Very excited to see him grow this year.

 

[James]

I agree purvis needs to be a better passer, because boatright is more of a scorer than a guy who is gonna rack up assists.

 

[Cheeky]

. . . with Hamilton. I don't think mini rip is accurate for him, he's got a different tool set and I can't think of a direct comparison.

Okay, I know this is heresy and a hangable offense (be kind Swami), but I think Hamilton is now and will be a substantially better player than RIP was. RIP was a great scorer who was super clutch. End of sentence. I think the legend of Hamilton among UConn fans is greater than what he did - and rightfully so - because he delivered us from the evil of no final fours, no NCs. But his stat line was 21/4/2 PTS/BOARDS/ASSISTS for his Soph and Junior season, and he had 28 blocks in his entire 3 year career. Not to get too excited about what I've seen, but D. Ham looks like he's going to be a monster on both sides of the ball. Have you seen his handle? This kid has "MONSTER" written all over him.

I agree purvis needs to be a better passer, because boatright is more of a scorer than a guy who is gonna rack up assists.

I think Boatright is so good that he can pick what he wants to be. That is, if he wanted to get 10 assists a game, I think he'd have no problem getting them. And that's huge, because he seems so incredibly mature as a team leader, and I think he's going to do whatever he and KO believe will result in wins. What an amazing luxury to have him.

 

[huskymagic]

I don't think mini rip is accurate for him, he's got a different tool set and I can't think of a direct comparison. Very excited to see him grow this year.

I compared him to a combination of Roscoe, Lamb, and Rip all in one package is Daniel Hamilton. He is going to be ONIONS for us this year.

 

[8893]

I don't think mini rip is accurate for him, he's got a different tool set and I can't think of a direct comparison.

Kobe.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This is getting crazy.

 

[Walker11]

Averaging 21 per game with great efficiency on the # 1 team in the country is absurd. His legend is appropriate.

 

[8893]

This is getting crazy.

Assuming you're talking about the Kobe reference, obviously an exaggeration, but meant to reference the skill set ("point forward"?) and not the skill level.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Assuming you're talking about the Kobe reference, obviously an exaggeration, but meant to reference the skill set ("point forward"?) and not the skill level.

No, not even the Kobe reference. Just the general hype around Hamilton after two glorified scrimmages.

Incidentally, Tyus Battle calls to mind Kobe before Hamilton does, I think. Hamilton I don't know who the comp would be.

 

[8893]

No, not even the Kobe reference. Just the general hype around Hamilton after two glorified scrimmages.

Incidentally, Tyus Battle calls to mind Kobe before Hamilton does, I think. Hamilton I don't know who the comp would be.

I haven't seen enough of either one of them, especially not Battle, but I agree with those who have already seen "special" talent from Hamilton in these two friendlies. Not sure why it's any less crazy that you see that in a kid who is still in high school, but I think it's pretty normal for fans to be excited about a kid who looks like he is their next great player.

 

[champs99and04]

No, not even the Kobe reference. Just the general hype around Hamilton after two glorified scrimmages.

Incidentally, Tyus Battle calls to mind Kobe before Hamilton does, I think. Hamilton I don't know who the comp would be.

It seems like all of the excess hype surrounding Purvis has now been transferred to Hamilton. At some point maybe we'll find the happy medium.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I haven't seen enough of either one of them, especially not Battle, but I agree with those who have already seen "special" talent from Hamilton in these two friendlies. Not sure why it's any less crazy that you see that in a kid who is still in high school, but I think it's pretty normal for fans to be excited about a kid who looks like he is their next great player.

No, I wasn't clear. Battle plays the same style of game as Kobe. Hamilton does not. That's all I meant. I'm not putting either one of them in the NBA yet.

And we'll just agree to disagree on the "D. Hamilton's game is more diverse based on two non-games than that of a 3-time NBA All-Star."

 

[8893]

No, I wasn't clear. Battle plays the same style of game as Kobe. Hamilton does not. That's all I meant. I'm not putting either one of them in the NBA yet.

And we'll just agree to disagree on the "D. Hamilton's game is more diverse based on two non-games than that of a 3-time NBA All-Star."

What I see so far is that he looks like he has a better handle than Rip; I don't think Rip is a great comparison either. And Kobe may not be either. I was extrapolating from the handle, the height and the scoring. I'm sure there is a better comparison, but nothing is coming to me right now and I don't know the NBA well enough. In terms of our former players, maybe Rudy Gay?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I just have a fundamental issue with saying his handle is better than Rips based on those two scrimmages and/or his high school tape. I'm also completely blanking on an NBA comp for him. I'm sure someone will come up with one.

 

[huskymagic]

What I see so far is that he looks like he has a better handle than Rip; I don't think Rip is a great comparison either. And Kobe may not be either. I was extrapolating from the handle, the height and the scoring. I'm sure there is a better comparison, but nothing is coming to me right now and I don't know the NBA well enough. In terms of our former players, maybe Rudy Gay?

I already compared him to a combination of Roscoe, Lamb, and Rip all in one package is Daniel Hamilton. He has the rebounding and defending skills of a Roscoe, the ball handling skills and physique of a Lamb, and the fluidness and intangibles of a Rip.

 

[August_West]

No, not even the Kobe reference. Just the general hype around Hamilton after two glorified scrimmages. Incidentally, Tyus Battle calls to mind Kobe before Hamilton does, I think. Hamilton I don't know who the comp would be.

He's a frosh, he will have his frosh moments, but I really watched him closely sunday to the exclusion of the rest of a less than enthralling game. It's not what he did against inferior competition, but how he did it. There is an instinctual ( I've said that before, but there is no better word to describe it) feel to what he is doing out there, along with his length and handle point to him having everything it takes to be a great one here. I've seen a lot of UConn games over the last 28 years and we've had some great freshmen come in here, but there's is something about his overall game that makes me think he will be one of the biggest impact Freshman ( as a freshman) we've ever had.

I'm not a hyperbole type of guy when it comes to this stuff, in fact skew toward the skeptical. I'm also not a a scout or recruiter, just a fan. I know it's two exhibitions, but I got the feeling that we are in for quite a ride with him. I hope I'm right, if I'm wrong I'll eat a whole Greek pizza as punishment at the end of the year.


Also, now that I said all that, clearly we're doomed.

 

[CallMeBruce]

How is Kobe a "point forward?"

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Short answer, I suppose, would be "he's not."

 

[8893]

I probably don't understand the term well enough. Tall guard, or wing/small forward with handle/point guard skills is what I had in mind. Wiki tells me it's more like LeBron, so I guess they don't have the size for that.

 

[Cheeky]

Big Ern - I respect your hesitation to anoint DHam just yet. Your reluctance demonstrates a sagacity not often associated with "fans" when discussing their own players.

That written, and risking looking foolish, the kid has got it all, and it doesn't really matter to me how out of our league the competition was.

He appears to have an excellent nose for the ball - a Shabazzesque feel for where to be and when, combined with a confidence. Also, he has a sweet shot and a very tight dribble. His fundamentals appear excellent. His shot appears excellent. His effort appears excellent. Quite unlike my first few impressions of, for example, DeAndre, who looked stiff and uncomfortable (much like Facey at times). Or Kelly, who looked lost. Or Purvis!

All in all, I think there is a very good chance that DHam ends up being one of the top 5 UConn players of all time.