Juwan Durham two step windmill

[James]

Durham is 18, so redshirting a year wouldn't be too big of a hinderence on his upside professionally. As much as I was excited to see the dunk , it's very true that lateral
Movement is a whole different ball game. But I mean if he is cleared 100% the kid will contend for major minutes at the 4, he was monster pre acl problems. For example

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Durham is 18, so redshirting a year wouldn't be too big of a hinderence on his upside professionally. As much as I was excited to see the dunk , it's very true that lateral
Movement is a whole different ball game. But I mean if he is cleared 100% the kid will contend for major minutes at the 4, he was monster pre acl problems. For example

And he pretty clearly outplayed Tony Bradley in their matchup. at least as far as you can tell from the end of game stats.

 

[husky429]

And he pretty clearly outplayed Tony Bradley in their matchup. at least as far as you can tell from the end of game stats.

For those who were looking for the video.... Durham was ranked 24 at the time. Actually looks like he dominated Bradley imho. He was basically better in every facet of the game except when Bradley was able to establish position--then he was beaten.

From the video above it definitely looks like Durham has beefed up some--maybe210-215? Legs are still ungodly skinny though.

i don't know about specific skills but before injury I remember noting he was a shot blocker, rebounder, with a good mid range game. His lack of weight was the knock on him and it hindered his true post game other than put backs.

Anyone have stats from this game?

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, I have been saying for the while he is the key to the season. Between being pretty good and really having great upside potential. I saw him work out one day and was very impressed. He's the real deal - and Chief doesn't say that often.

 

[Gringo]

FTR I wasn't trying to insinuate that Facey was an apt comp. What I was getting at was this: when scouts watch a player, there is very likely a particular check list they're looking for in order to qualify him as a high-major prospect. How tall is he? What is his wingspan? What is his vertical leap? How is his mobility, footwork, endurance, core strength, standing vert, etc.?

Facey checked some of those boxes and Durham probably checked more. But there are very few players leaving high school capable of performing at an all-conference level, and while it's probably unrealistic to expect that from Durham, to the extent that his skillset can be distinguished from the prototypical top 100 big who comes in as a freshman to block shots, rebound, and crash the rim for lobs will dictate how good he can be, and how fast.

I'm not even expressing skepticism, I'm just interested in getting a sense of how certain discrete skills immediately translate to the next level relative to others. And if he's on the upper end of that spectrum, and healthy...he's probably only here one year. I don't expect it to happen, but it's worth considering for the reason that college basketball is a standardized game in a lot of ways...you bring out one scale to assess whether a guy is a prospect and a completely different one to assess what he is. It's hard to do the latter with Durham because of injuries, hich is what makes it so intriguing.

I think we have to expect him to be a little rusty at first. He hasn't played a real game in about a year and a half. I think Durham said in a video he was able to work on other skills such as his jump shot and ball handling due to the injury, but the time off is probably a net-negative compared to how he benefited from additional skills versus game experience he would have if healthy.

For me I'll be very happy if he just shows he is healthy. Any extra we get in his freshman year is a bonus. It would take an exceptional talent to be one and done after a year and a half of not playing games. But if he makes a full recovery I think he would have a beast of a sophomore year.

 

[James]

Anyone have stats from this game?

durham had 28 points 9 rebounds and 8 blocks, shot 11-15 from the field. Bradley had 18&12 with 2 blocks... bradleys team won in OT though.

 

[RabidHusky]

That's him - here's his instagram profile where the vid was posted: Juwan (@juwan_d_23) • Instagram photos and videos

Yes it's Durham, in high school pre ACLs.

 

[tcf15]

Yes it's Durham, in high school pre ACLs.

Pretty sure it's him from 1 day ago. He and the rest of the freshmen are back home now.

 

[ktuck911]

This kid has frontcourt skills offensively we haven't seen in awhile. Hope he gets all healed up and us able to a few minutes for this year. If he can help us now we're gonna be a serious problem for folks this upcoming season.

 

[rip7774]

Until very recently, I think this board was sleeping on Larrier too. This year's team could be awesome if Durham & Larrier get their groove back!

I have always thought there may not be a dropoff from DHam with Terry. Terry is super athletic and a great finisher, which was a struggle in the lane for DHam.

And the guards pick up the playmaking (DHam's best asset at times other than rebounding) so Less Turnovers potentially with guards handling is a plus. Probably will shoot it as well or better, as DHam slumped for long stretches over multiple games last year.

Rebounding is the big question mark for us as DHam was a beast in that regard. Everywhere else, I see positives!

Very excited to see his debut!

 

[Kembacity]

Realizing that this kid (if healthy again) will be an absolute pro prospect at some point in his UConn career, maybe red-shirting doesn't make much of a difference. Of course things can go wrong down the line where he'd regret it, but if he doesn't red-shirt, and instead simply doesn't play at the beginning of the season but works his way in as he gets conditioned up to where he needs to be, he would still have 3 full seasons to audition for the pros.

I wonder if he has interest in red-shirting or definitely foresees coming back strong, playing very well, and getting to the league. I wouldn't mind having his availability for the latter half of the season if he's not going to end up using 4 years of eligibility anyways.

 

[champs99and04]

Has there been any talk of whether he'll be ready for the season? By the first game it will have been 13 months since the injury - it being the second one, I imagine that adds to the recovery process. But we've definitely seen guys come back in less time than that (not saying he will, these things can be tough to predict and I would expect them to take every possible precaution).

 

[PAHusky]

Yes it's Durham, in high school pre ACLs.

Not to be a d*ck but can you start sourcing some of these posts? On the last page you said it wasn't him. Thanks

 

[James]

Has there been any talk of whether he'll be ready for the season? By the first game it will have been 13 months since the injury - it being the second one, I imagine that adds to the recovery process. But we've definitely seen guys come back in less time than that (not saying he will, these things can be tough to predict and I would expect them to take every possible precaution).

Ollie has been quite vague in answering that. Lots of ambiguous answers like " we are keeping all options open". But I mean this is par for the course , Ollie is the king of "player speak" , Im guessing from his pro career.

 

[RabidHusky]

Not to be a d*ck but can you start sourcing some of these posts? On the last page you said it wasn't him. Thanks

My first observation (that he was smaller and healthier basically)was answered by tcf with the url of the picture. I went there and it was one of several dozen of his life from toddler to high school. It was clear to me then that it was him.

 

[husky429]

My first observation (that he was smaller and healthier basically)was answered by tcf with the url of the picture. I went there and it was one of several dozen of his life from toddler to high school. It was clear to me then that it was him.

It is definitely Juwan pre-injury--his comment reads "almost there." So he's almost back to healthy and being able to do that.

If you look at his other pictures at UCONN he still looks pretty small. I'm hoping he can strengthen his legs to help avoid more injury.

FYI...

Talked to some people who know some people who know some people... Not much to add to previous analysis but he is much more skilled of a big that we're used to. IQ is pretty good, solid shotblocker and he has a WET jumper, especially 15-18 feet out. Much more of a two-way player than we're used to from our bigs recently (not counting Miller), and when healthy he's more of a smooth athlete than explosive--doesn't wow you until you realize he's got 20/10/5 at the end of the game.

We'll need to worry about rebounding and getting backed down in the post at the next level, as is expected. He has a chance to be an excellent college player, but will need to bulk up and improve post-D if he wants to rep UCONN at the next level

 

[Chief00]

It is definitely Juwan pre-injury--his comment reads "almost there." So he's almost back to healthy and being able to do that.

If you look at his other pictures at UCONN he still looks pretty small. I'm hoping he can strengthen his legs to help avoid more injury.

FYI...

Talked to some people who know some people who know some people... Not much to add to previous analysis but he is much more skilled of a big that we're used to. IQ is pretty good, solid shotblocker and he has a WET jumper, especially 15-18 feet out. Much more of a two-way player than we're used to from our bigs recently (not counting Miller), and when healthy he's more of a smooth athlete than explosive--doesn't wow you until you realize he's got 20/10/5 at the end of the game.

We'll need to worry about rebounding and getting backed down in the post at the next level, as is expected. He has a chance to be an excellent college player, but will need to bulk up and improve post-D if he wants to rep UCONN at the next level

Overall - I don't disagree.

 

[intlzncster]

Ollie has been quite vague in answering that. Lots of ambiguous answers like " we are keeping all options open". But I mean this is par for the course , Ollie is the king of "player speak" , Im guessing from his pro career.

Realistically, Ollie and the medical team don't really really know. There isn't any standardization with these things, especially given he's a big kid, post dual injuries.

 

[champs99and04]

It is definitely Juwan pre-injury--his comment reads "almost there." So he's almost back to healthy and being able to do that.

Could also be interpreted as the guy in the video being the one who is almost back to full strength. Either way, appreciate the info.

 

[80shusky]

Here is another Durham video. Many of these are old obviously because he has sat so long with the injuries but as @husky429 posted he has an offensive skill set unlike any of the bigs we have had for a while. He appears to be a very polished jump shooter and has a pretty stroke. He also has legitimate post moves on offense. Defensively can block shots of course. When he gets healthy and is a full go, whether it is now, later this year or next year, I have a feeling he could be as solid a producer from the post as we have had in several years.

 

[husky429]

Could also be interpreted as the guy in the video being the one who is almost back to full strength. Either way, appreciate the info.

Not sure why I didn't think of that. It looks like a hs gym, but it could just be he's gone before school starts again.

I'm leaning towards this was a recent video now, as he does seem a little beefier than the mix tapes from a year ago

 

[superjohn]

It's definitely a recent video.