Kemba Playing In Waterbury Tonight (Borges)

[beerfan]

Could Amore tweet photos that are any worse than those? I doubt it, why even bother.

 

[zls44]

I was also incredibly impressed with Brimah. He has a decent low-post move on the block, which is something they can build his offense around. Facey is incredibly raw on the offensive end. Seemed lost. But both were solid defensively and had good hands on the boards.

 

[zls44]

Also Andre Drummond's team plays Sunday

 

[StoweD210]

Thanks for the updates. Those were great.

 

[zls44]

As promised, some videos. Apologies for shooting them vertically on my phone, not the smartest way to do it.

Video #1: Just some generic game footage focused on AJ (red #34), Kemba (red #4), and Amida (red #33)



Video #2: Amida at the FT line. Note how far back his feet are from the stripe. He seemed to move closer to the line when shooting FTs in the second half, and had better results.

http://youtu.be/Emn9vELnU1I

Video #3: Kentan Facey in action (white #12). Starts with a pair of FTs (bank!!!), has a nice block towards the end. There was a delay while they wiped off the court in the middle of it, and one of the best dunks of the day at the end here featuring one of his teammates.

http://youtu.be/x_eGO4lrgOQ

 

[RickyMoore21]

I only saw the second game...

Some thoughts on Brimmah: biggest takeaway was his passion and intensity. He seemed mentally into the game and was working hard. His go to post move seems to be a turn-around right hook which is pretty solid; other than that, he is raw offensively relative to other D1 bigs. His biggest weakness appears to be his strength -- he's just very skinny and lanky. Blocked some shots and had a huge block on Roosevelt Lee near the end of the game (Lee tried to dunk it and Brimmah met him at the rim -- somewhat similar to Hibbert's block of Melo). I would say the potential is definitely there which is good because there is plenty of room for improvement. IMO he appears to be the #4 big. I wouldnt expect a huge impact this year but in the future, yes.

Also, in case any of you guys care, A.J. seemed to change his jump shot. His release is now more in the center of his head (rather on the side like Boat).

 

[ctchamps]

I only saw the second game...

Some thoughts on Brimmah: biggest takeaway was his passion and intensity. He seemed mentally into the game and was working hard. His go to post move seems to be a turn-around right hook which is pretty solid; other than that, he is raw offensively relative to other D1 bigs. His biggest weakness appears to be his strength -- he's just very skinny and lanky. Blocked some shots and had a huge block on Roosevelt Lee near the end of the game (Lee tried to dunk it and Brimmah met him at the rim -- somewhat similar to Hibbert's block of Melo). I would say the potential is definitely there which is good because there is plenty of room for improvement. IMO he appears to be the #4 big. I wouldnt expect a huge impact this year but in the future, yes.

Also, in case any of you guys care, A.J. seemed to change his jump shot. His release is now more in the center of his head (rather on the side like Boat).

Thanks. What's your ranking of the bigs?

 

[RickyMoore21]

Thanks. What's your ranking of the bigs?

I honestly haven't seen Facey play at all other than brief highlights. Looking at him in person yesterday, he doesn't seem like a center at the D1 level (more like a C.J. Leslie body if that makes sense). So i dont know if he will play with DD or with another big like TO or Nolan. At this point, i would give TO and Nolan a push, with Facey as an unkown but also as someone who i expect to see minutes. Brimmah i dont see getting much time.

With only 80 minutes available at the 4/5 positions, i wonder how Ollie will distribute time to DD, TO, Nolan, and Facey. Does DD play some at the 3?

 

[ctchamps]

I honestly haven't seen Facey play at all other than brief highlights. Looking at him in person yesterday, he doesn't seem like a center at the D1 level (more like a C.J. Leslie body if that makes sense). So i dont know if he will play with DD or with another big like TO or Nolan. At this point, i would give TO and Nolan a push, with Facey as an unkown but also as someone who i expect to see minutes. Brimmah i dont see getting much time.

With only 80 minutes available at the 4/5 positions, i wonder how Ollie will distribute time to DD, TO, Nolan, and Facey. Does DD play some at the 3?

Barring injuries and Samuel not getting to UConn, I think the 1, 2 and 3 are far more solidified than the 4, 5.

SN, RB, OC, NG, Kromah and Samuel would get the minutes at the 1, 2 and 3.
The consensus starter at the 4 is DD. Unless something drastic happens, a DD injury or horrible slump or Facey develops quickly, DD will get most of the minutes at the 4 with NG, TO and KF playing backup minutes.

The 5 is the big question mark, one that has been repeated over and over in this forum and most likely considered by prognosticators regarding UConn's ranking.

IMO Nolan should start at the 5. I loved his attitude and athleticism right from the beginning. His integration into KO's structure was his major drawback. When SN or RB have to point a player to the place he should be on the floor you know the kid is lost. And Nolan was lost most of the early part of the season. By the end of the season that wasn't the case. The light bulb clicked on for him. If he retains what he figured out at the end of last season and carries it forward this season, UConn fans are going to be very happy.

Regarding his backup, it will depend on how fast Kentan can develop under KO. At the beginning of the season it will most certainly be TO. But I expect Kentan to ultimately get more time than TO as the back up. It won't be linear most likely. But I have a hunch he and Nolan have similar athletic attributes.

 

[UChusky916]

Agree that Nolan will be our starting 5 with Olander/Facey/Brimah also rotating in