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Key to season--Phil Nolan

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My hope is we can sustain a high tempo game--that shouyld be our bread and butter the Phoenix suns circa 2010--in that role Phil Nolan will have many opportunities for dunks and easy baskets--and thats what he looks like he can thrive in--if this team can pick up tempo--and we have the cogs and PG to do it--then we can make up for losing Wolfe--but its going to take a LOT and if we can swamped down in halfcourt--well thats where we will miss Wolfe and need to rely on very skinny big players to go up against guys 30-50pds more.
 
James said:
Phil Nolan ? Skill ? all he needs to do is worry about defense and rebounding. I don't really get the revisionist history about Nolan. What's even funnier is referencing an alley oop he caught in a pick up game. Our bigs are underwhelming it is what it is. Bazz + Daniels are the key. Daniels lacked consistency and Napier lacked endurance last year
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Funny how we all remember things slightly differently from one another. My take is that Nolan's last 4-5 games were a huge leap from the start of the season. He would need to improve a lot more before any of us could be comfortable with him as the starting five. But I don't see any reason why he can't have a trajectory like Hilton. I would hope for continual improvement from him as the season progresses although I don't expect it to be linear.

There only has to be a slight improvement from the bigs this season over last season to make this a dangerous team. And that is where the loss of Wolf increases the uncertainty of that happening. He and Tyler, although both with considerable limitations, brought experience to the floor. With his loss, the team is essentially starting in a similar position to last season with regards to the front court regarding experience.

The one thing I differ with you is Daniels. He started the season with inconsistency but for the most part the last half of the season he was consistent. Totally agree with you about SN fragility and how important it will be for the team that he stays healthy. Most of the losses were the result of him playing injured or being out. UConn was up on Ville until a player landed on his shoulder. Impacted SN that game and the GT game.

As regards consistency I felt RB was very inconsistent and Omar was somewhat inconsistent. In Omar's case I'm hoping most of the problem was with health issues.

TO was consistently bad. I'm hoping he becomes inconsistent or consistently decent.
Total unknows are Facey, Kromah, Brimah, Samuel. Can any of these players bring something this season?
 
This thread is nothing but wishful thinking. The only time Nolan was better than Olander was when Olander wasn't playing. We saw Olander's top, a dominating performance against a ranked team. With Nolan, I'm just happy when he gets a rebound and lands without stepping out of bounds. Continue with the Tyler hate if you must, but he is the true key to next season. There are plenty of examples of big men that blossom as seniors.
 
Those werent just any alley oops man. Go back and watch the vids, and watch where he is catching the ball and how well he is able to stretch out his body at that height. Not many his height can move like that.

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Nolan is not the key to the season.

Nolan is not even the third or fourth or fifth key to the season.
 
Waquoit said:
This thread is nothing but wishful thinking. The only time Nolan was better than Olander was when Olander wasn't playing. We saw Olander's top, a dominating performance against a ranked team. With Nolan, I'm just happy when he gets a rebound and lands without stepping out of bounds. Continue with the Tyler hate if you must, but he is the true key to next season. There are plenty of examples of big men that blossom as seniors.
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I don't know who the key to the season is, but if it's Tyler we're cked. He had one good game against a Notre Dame team that happens to employ similarly immobile stiffs in the paint. The rest of the season he was, to be charitable, not good. And that includes against low-level and mid-level competition. In the limited time that Nolan got he certainly looked quicker on his feet and more active than Tyler. He's also changed his body more in his 12 months on campus than Tyler has in three. If Tyler can play a couple minutes here and there and hold down the fort, fine with me.
 
I think UCONN needs 6-8 points 8-10 rebounds and a block or two out of the center spot. Scoring will come from elsewhere as will some rebounding. UCONN just needs solid play out of the five spot.
 
Could Nolan get hurt and the Huskies still win 20+ games and make the tournament? Yes. It is semantics probably, but I'd say Nolan performing to optimistic expectations is one of 5 or so important elements to the Huskies being a national contender.

Much more important one's are Shabazz continuing to improve & dominate, DDaniels sustains where he was at end of season, better shot selection and maturity from Boat, health & growth from Calhoun, then Nolan and whatever happens with C/PF candidates. Facey, Brimah or Orlander could just as likely do what Nolan is hoped to do although I'd say Nolan is best bet.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I don't know who the key to the season is, but if it's Tyler we're cked. He had one good game against a Notre Dame team that happens to employ similarly immobile stiffs in the paint. The rest of the season he was, to be charitable, not good. And that includes against low-level and mid-level competition. In the limited time that Nolan got he certainly looked quicker on his feet and more active than Tyler. He's also changed his body more in his 12 months on campus than Tyler has in three. If Tyler can play a couple minutes here and there and hold down the fort, fine with me.
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Amen.

Tyler the key to the season?! That's an absolute joke. All he showed last year was that he was in over his head when he was expected to be anything more than a role player. He looked lost out there, and was getting boxed out by 6-5 small forwards throughout the entire season. There's no Tyler hate going on, just realistic expectations for the player that he is. I'd love it if I was wrong, but after last season it doesn't look promisng that I am.
 
How many games did we win despite being out rebounded by 10+ boards this past year?? A lot.
 
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BoatShow said:
How many games did we win despite being out rebounded by 10+ boards this past year?? A lot.
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Yes, but how many did they lose when they got out rebounded? They lost 10 games so if they rebounded better maybe 5 of those are wins? 25-5 is a lot better than 20-10.
 
1. Wipe out what you mostly saw from Phil Nolan last year. We know that the break between the FR and SOPH years can be the biggest development ... particularly for big guys. I think we can see a far better Nolan. He gains confidence; he gains weight and strength.\

2. I do not think Tyler Olander played well last year. I expect a better 14-18 minutes from our Senior. I am not going put number up ... I just want him to do the job on the boards and defensively. Just OK will be good for this team. Facey and Nolan can be our upside.
 
They key to the season is having someone who can play 25 minutes a game at the 5, provide a credible deterrent at the rim, and not surrender a ton of offensive rebounds.

It's most likely that person is Nolan. If not him, then Facey. Brimah is unlikely to provide that. Neither is Olander.

If it's nobody, we'll be in as bad shape in the interior as we were last year.
 
I think it's going to be center-by-committee, at least early on. If someone steps up and becomes our solid consistent 5 we'll be in good shape. If not, let's hope Daniels and Giffey continue to crash the boards and everyone in the center shuffle makes their 5-10 mpg count.
 
Pudge said:
1. Wipe out what you mostly saw from Phil Nolan last year. We know that the break between the FR and SOPH years can be the biggest development ... particularly for big guys. I think we can see a far better Nolan. He gains confidence; he gains weight and strength.\

2. I do not think Tyler Olander played well last year. I expect a better 14-18 minutes from our Senior. I am not going put number up ... I just want him to do the job on the boards and defensively. Just OK will be good for this team. Facey and Nolan can be our upside.
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If Tyler can give us 6-5 50% in 18 min off the bench Id be incredibly happy. Tyler's been here 3 years and regressed last year. He's earned coming off the bench--hopefully he will prove to be a great farewell song for his career. The story to me is Nolan. I think we see upticks from Omar Nolan and Torksdorf yes Torksdorf(and if I have spelled his name wrong I apologize) but it's Nolan who is so important to this team. He showed in his limited EOY action--especially against Cincy(against some big dudes) that he can rumble a bit--we need to see him play good tough D box out run the floor finish and play that 4-1 middle hard and well. Hes going to have opportunities and unlike Tyler--he has the physical prowess to do things Olander cannot. This team best friend next year is TEMPO as in high energy tempo. We need to run a full court game--we need to shoot 3's space and create driving holes--we have guys who can handle from every position--if we use team speed those skills will run some teams out of the building quickly. Its guys like Nolan the youngins and Tyler as the middle pieces and if we need to go big that is key--I feel I know what Im going to get from the main cogs--its the bigs that need to come hard right away starting with Philip.
 
scrappy2.0 said:
If Tyler can give us 6-5 50% in 18 min off the bench Id be incredibly happy. Tyler's been here 3 years and regressed last year. He's earned coming off the bench--hopefully he will prove to be a great farewell song for his career. The story to me is Nolan. I think we see upticks from Omar Nolan and Torksdorf yes Torksdorf(and if I have spelled his name wrong I apologize) but it's Nolan who is so important to this team. He showed in his limited EOY action--especially against Cincy(against some big dudes) that he can rumble a bit--we need to see him play good tough D box out run the floor finish and play that 4-1 middle hard and well. Hes going to have opportunities and unlike Tyler--he has the physical prowess to do things Olander cannot. This team best friend next year is TEMPO as in high energy tempo. We need to run a full court game--we need to shoot 3's space and create driving holes--we have guys who can handle from every position--if we use team speed those skills will run some teams out of the building quickly. Its guys like Nolan the youngins and Tyler as the middle pieces and if we need to go big that is key--I feel I know what Im going to get from the main cogs--its the bigs that need to come hard right away starting with Philip.
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I like Leon's game and he obviously wasn't prepped for the American speed of the game his frosh year but showed signs ...... he can shoot it, seems to have anice IQ for the game, good size for a 3-4 but needs to work on the feet on D.........still I agree the year under his belt and his size could bring more minutes for him..........Kromah, he and Giffey hopefully all can assist on the boards more too!
 
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huskiesNhoos said:
This team needs okwandu. If someone can be like chuck during the title run we are set
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I think we'll need a little more than an Okwandu-like impact from Nolan if we're going to advance to the final four or come close. Chuck was a fantastic role player - he was a much better perimeter defender than people gave him credit for, both in terms of defending the pick and roll and occasionally even submitting non-embarrassing defense on guys like Terrence Jones and Derrick Williams when given the chance. But keep in mind, he was Oriakhi's backup, and our crunch time lineup that season mainly consisted of Napier, Kemba, Lamb, Scoe, and AO - a similarly composed unit to the one I expect to see at the end of games this season - with Chuck on the bench. Unless Facey proves capable of playing the five for large stretches next season, it's difficult for me to envision Nolan playing less than 20 minutes a game if this team is going to reach its ceiling.

People dismissing the value of rebounding couldn't be further off. When you're playing a great team who can match you with their execution on both sides of the floor, you're at a massive disadvantage to be giving free possessions away to the other team. Sure, you can overcome rebounding problems if the five you're tossing out there dwarf the five the opposition is lining up, but obviously that's not the case in a tournament setting - you are severely decreasing your margin of error if you are willingly conceding possessions to the other team, which is why if Phil's not at least a nine rebound per 40 minutes center by the time March rolls around, we're in trouble. The advanced defensive metrics - most namely, points allowed per 100 possessions - painted our Huskies as a relatively mediocre defensive team last season, and the routine demolitions we took on the boards played a big role in that. If you think we're going to win with Olander playing the five, a kid who, over the course of three years, has proven to be a well below average rebounder, and an absolute catastrophe when forced into the center spot, then you're lining yourself up for disappointment because history directly contradicts the notion of teams who can't get stops and rebound soundly winning in March.

As I've previously stated, Chuck was an excellent role player who did all the little things. But his rebounding rate was vastly inferior to Oriakhi, and that, more than anything, was why he took a backseat to AO in high leverage situations. Vilify him all you want, but AO's ability to rebound at a high rate was one of the biggest reasons we won the title in 11 - we will need Nolan, or somebody else, to step up duplicate at least 80% of what AO gave us in 2011, or else this team is going to be exposed in the tournament. All the other pieces are in place - we have a frightening offense, above average athletes at every position who can force difficult shots when they need to, and two players (Calhoun and Daniels) who should display marked improvements on the boards this season - all we need now is a big body who can do the dirty work while the four perimeter guys draw the headlines. If Phil's not our best bet, then we're in trouble.
 
WaquOleander st: 651928 said:
This thread is nothing but wishful thinking. The only time Nolan was better than Olander was when Olander wasn't playing. We saw Olander's top, a dominating performance against a ranked team. With Nolan, I'm just happy when he gets a rebound and lands without stepping out of bounds. Continue with the Tyler hate if you must, but he is the true key to next season. There are plenty of examples of big men that blossom as seniors.
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I don't see Olander playing more than 10-12 minutes per game. Phil showed real promise at the end of last season, and Facet and Brimah both have way more potential than TO. I hope TO is a solid contributor, but I just don't see him getting starter's minutes.
 
I would not be surprised to see it take some time for the minutes at the 5 to become stable. Let them fight it out and show what they can do during games. The reports about Tyler being the best big during practices be a lot last year was surprising to hear, but it did not translate to games. If his slowness was due to the foot problem more than his having put on some more weight, then perhaps he will be more of an effective player at the 5. I do not expect that to happen, but it will be good for the team if he has a good senior year.
 
Isn't the premise of the OP like saying AO was the key yo 2011
Kemba was the key to 2011 and Bazz is the key to next year.
His health is critical. How much his play can elevate players like Nolan remains to be seen.

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AZHuskiePop said:
Isn't the premise of the OP like saying AO was the key yo 2011
Kemba was the key to 2011 and Bazz is the key to next year.
His health is critical. How much his play can elevate players like Nolan remains to be seen.

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That's not the point, though. When I think of "key" or "x-factor", I generally think of players who have large degrees of variance in their night to night production. We all know Napier is going to be a stud next season, and at the very least, Daniels, Calhoun, and Boatright will be very good, and Kromah and Giffey will be great in their role. Phil is a complete unknown - he could continue to build on the momentum he generated in the latter stages of last season, or he could return to being the non-entity he was for the majority of the year. Oriakhi certainly fit the bill as a "key" in 2011 - when he was great, the team was great. Kemba was great almost every night, but we knew if Oriakhi showed up we were going to be tough to beat. Same deal this year.
 
As for TO and the various opinions, I prefer to look at the ND game and think there has to be something there. I realize ND was overrated but still the kid produced a very nice game and showed he could make a shot, play a little back to the basket and rebound it a little. No reason not to think we can't have some piece of that in smaller versions this year!
 
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AZHuskiePop said:
Isn't the premise of the OP like saying AO was the key yo 2011
Kemba was the key to 2011 and Bazz is the key to next year.
His health is critical. How much his play can elevate players like Nolan remains to be seen.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
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Different games and body types--AO and Phil but along the same lines. I know what Im going to get from Shabazz Boat Calhoun DD. The key is Nolan. Don't fool yourself---AO was a VERY important cog on our NC run. Kemba was able to do his magic because the other parts of the boat were taken care of. Now Nolan is not AO(and a Nolan Wolfe combo wouldve been best) but what Nolan can do is go out and run the floor hard get easy baskets D up and grab rebounds at both ends. Hes better up the floor than AO--really a different guy he does not have AOs NBA ready body. But hes just as important to this team as AO back 3 years ago.
 
Really don't think any one player will be the key to next season.

We know what we will get with Olander; bashing him is pointless. He was never meant to play big minutes at the 5. I just hope he plays with toughness.

Phil is a wild card at this point. I think many on here are expecting too much of him. I hope he makes me eat my own words obviously, but I don't see how one can conclude hes going to have a breakout year after watching him play last year. In time, I agree he'll be solid... But don't be disappointed if he doesn't make a huge jump this year..

I'm expecting pretty solid (freshman) play from K Face. I honestly cant wait to see him play and see if he can surprise any of us on the offensive end.

I've been loving what I've been hearing about Brimah on twitter and whatnot. If he gets some playing time I'm expecting him to be the hardest working guy on the floor.

The real key is how well these four will work together to give us a decent frontcourt on a consistent basis with tough defense and rebounding. If Olander is playing awful, one or two guys needs to step up, and the same for any one else (not just picking on Ty.)

All that being said I'm as excited as any other season for this one to start.

P.S. DeAndre has been working his a** off this off season. Not sure if his weight will be where everyone wanted it to be but make no mistake, he's truly dedicated. His tweets lately have been awesome!!!!
 
I don't really want to start new threads off of tweets, so I am just digging up old, relevant threads. Here's an update from AMore on Nolan:


Dom Amore‏@AmoreCourant​
Phil Nolan is up to 216 lbs, says he grew to 6-10. "if I can get to 225 I can do some special things ... I'm ready" #uconnmen
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If you look at last years minutes you get:

SN-37
RB-36
OC-32
DD-29
NG-21
TO-22
EW-14 (22 GAMES)
PN-11 (23 GAMES)
LT-7 (11 GAMES)

The top 5 had 155 of the allotted 200 minutes. That will change somewhat, but as long as they stay healthy they're on the floor this year. That makes them the "keys". I think that what this thread is mixing up is the difference between key and "x-factor". I'm hopeful that SN & RB's minutes go down because last year there was no post season. I'm hopeful that they'll be ready to play 40 games this year! :)
 
He is a key.............if he is stronger and better then so will the Huskies. If we see more of the last 6-7 games and maybe he even gets more confident I think Phil can eventually be something special!!
 
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