KO breaks down the roster

[tcf15]

Kevin Ollie Breaks Down UConn Roster At Middlesex Chamber Breakfast

Appears to be very very high on Durham.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Kevin Ollie Breaks Down UConn Roster At Middlesex Chamber Breakfast

Appears to be very very high on Durham.

I loved the comparison to Donyell because I thought the same thing and that makes me feel smart.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Nice to read about Durham. Comparisons of Marshall or Villanueva were common. I'd take either one.

KO: "I'm stronger than my strongest excuse." Huevos, my friend. Huevos.

 

[champs99and04]

A lot of pieces on this team seem to be generating buzz, Durham perhaps more than all of them. The injuries justifiably temper expectations, but I'm starting to wonder if he's an Anthony Davis type talent (not that he'll be as good, but the size, the frame, the silky touch, the relaxed athleticism...it seems pretty similar). Biggest compliment KO gave him, I think, was that he has a high BBIQ. That's unusual for a freshman.
Larrier was the guy who won the off-season with his camp performances. Played at a camp w/ elite competition and was one of the better players. I imagine he will be rusty, but that's promising.

Adams is probably the obvious candidate to make a jump, and most of the preseason lists seem to echo that thought. Big time talent who got a lot better towards the latter half of the season. We've heard rave reviews on Gilbert. I don't know he translates to the college level, but we know his heart and toughness are going to translate, just like it did with Kemba, Boat, and Bazz. Him & Adams strikes me as Bazz and Boat pt 2. Bare in mind that "Bazz and Boat" wasn't always a good thing, but nonetheless they'll be exciting from day one.

Enoch/Facey/Brimah seems like they all had productive off-seasons.

And then there's Purvis, who might be our best player. So for all of the unknowns, this is a team I look at and go, maybe they're going to be really good, sooner than we think even. I'm not predicting that, but the possibility definitely exists that this team looks like a terror from day 1.

 

[intlzncster]

We've heard rave reviews on Gilbert. I don't know he translates to the college level, but we know his heart and toughness are going to translate, just like it did with Kemba, Boat, and Bazz. Him & Adams strikes me as Bazz and Boat pt 2. Bare in mind that "Bazz and Boat" wasn't always a good thing, but nonetheless they'll be exciting from day one.

Also bear in mind, what we remember most about Kemba/Bazz/Boat was not their freshman years. If he has a Shabazz-like freshman year, I'll be happy. If he surpasses, I'll be ecstatic.

 

[Onions]

Bare in mind that "Bazz and Boat" wasn't always a good thing, but nonetheless they'll be exciting from day one.

I can't think of a single time that Bazz and Boat wasn't a good thing.

 

[SubbaBub]

This season feels like an unbaked cake. I hope turns out delicious.

 

[Jay-Bone]

If Terry is the fastest baseline to baseline, we're going to be really quick. Push, push, push. I like a lot of the things he said in there. Tempering the The Top Five, cultivating AG into a pg (that's what KO do), "it's all dunks, which I love", etc. There's a lot of different pieces here that can be effective. Great to see the front court adding size and with Enoch and Diarra we could be back in the rebounding game. If Purvis shoots 3's like he did last year, along with JA, AG & VJ all making some we can be an inside out threat. What remains to be seen for me is how effective the freshmen can be and who's going to step up with the low post catches and moves. I miss the days of the drive and dish. And if the D continues to lock down, the season is their oyster. I'm excited.

 

[Kenny11]

I can't think of a single time that Bazz and Boat wasn't a good thing.

Maybe during Shabazz' sophmore year, when it just seemed like that entire team didn't really get along on the court (Shabazz and Lamb), (Drummond and Shabazz), and shabazz struggled with more responsibility and some nagging injuries. Boat was great that year but I think he had an issue with the ncaa and missed some games.

But basically, you are right.

 

[August_West]

I can't think of a single time that Bazz and Boat wasn't a good thing.

you have selective memory.

If we blew a lead against Kentucky in the NC game in the last 7 minutes we would have been talking about Bazz shoving Boat every day for the rest of our lives.

 

[BlueMAB]

you have selective memory.

If we blew a lead against Kentucky in the NC game in the last 7 minutes we would have been talking about Bazz shoving Boat every day for the rest of our lives.

But we didn't.

 

[August_West]

But we didn't.

so your premise is because we luckily didnt blow that lead, that the shove couldnt have been problematic and gone different?

thank the lord JC

 

[BUConn10]

Anyone have a good team photo with all the guys standing side by side? I'm curious to see if Juwan is a true 6' 11" because if he is then the kid has a pro future in front of him, all he has to do is reach out and grab it. When I saw a mention of him being 6'10/11" I was pretty shocked because I didn't expect him to have that size based on fluidity he moves with the ball in game on the footage we've seen of him.

@champs99and04 really got me thinking with his Davis comment. Like he said obviously not to that caliber right away like AD but the tools that can't be taught are there.

 

[ktuck911]

Encouraging article about the players... as for a P5 conference invite... our football team holds the key to that, IMHO.... So far, not so good....

 

[tcf15]

Anyone have a good team photo with all the guys standing side by side? I'm curious to see if Juwan is a true 6' 11" because if he is then the kid has a pro future in front of him, all he has to do is reach out and grab it. When I saw a mention of him being 6'10/11" I was pretty shocked because I didn't expect him to have that size based on fluidity he moves with the ball in game on the footage we've seen of him.

@champs99and04 really got me thinking with his Davis comment. Like he said obviously not to that caliber right away like AD but the tools that can't be taught are there.

I think it's legit. DraftExpress has him as measuring 6'10" in shoes back in 2013 when he was around 16yo, so it's possible he's added between 1-2 inches since that measurement: DraftExpress NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Juwan Durham, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook

And here's a team photo from KO's instagram - looks like the tallest on the team, but also standing closer to the camera than most of the other bigs:

 

[FfldCntyFan]

so your premise is because we luckily didnt blow that lead, that the shove couldnt have been problematic and gone different?

thank the lord JC

You think that was luck?

Bazz pushing Boat was a large part of us getting refocused. Defense & KO's coaching did the rest.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

don't know if this has been posted or not, but whenever someone on the team loses in NBA 2k17 they have to do push-ups. Nice to know there building some muscle

 

[champs99and04]

Also bear in mind, what we remember most about Kemba/Bazz/Boat was not their freshman years. If he has a Shabazz-like freshman year, I'll be happy. If he surpasses, I'll be ecstatic.

I'm basically expecting him to be what Boat was as a freshman, which won't be an easy task by any means (Boat, by freshman standards, was extraordinary that year, averaging 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds on 42/38/69 shooting splits). You could argue Boat had a better freshman year than Bazz and Kemba, even, though the team obviously wasn't as successful.

I don't know that Gilbert puts up the numbers Boat did, but they strike me as virtually the same player (I concluded that from the two minutes of tape I've seen on him) - bouncy as hell, off-the-charts quickness/handle, fearless to the point of being reckless at times, and a hit-or-miss jumper.

 

[champs99and04]

I can't think of a single time that Bazz and Boat wasn't a good thing.

I was mostly referring to the 2012 season, when they seemed to feud (I think they've since admitted as much), but even aside from that, it wasn't all peaches and oranges in their development. A lot of people wanted to run Bazz out of town when he was a sophomore and Boat secretly wasn't very good for most of 2014 until the tournament.

Point being, they'll deservedly go down as legends, but nobody was thinking that way when they were the same age Gilbert and Jalen are now. Those two are both going to struggle at times, and they're both going to draw over-the-top reactions from this board when they do.

 

[Palatine]

Just watching Durham's high school film, he is the most polished offensive big man we have had in a while. Really looking forward to see what he can do.

 

[PAHusky]

I can't think of a single time that Bazz and Boat wasn't a good thing.

Bazz may have made, at most, two missteps in his time at UConn:
1. the rat tail haircut he sported his freshman year
2. he was whiny and had awful body language for a small part of his sophomore year. I think he realized as much as anyone that the team was inordinately talented but just would not click.

But then he went and won a national championship, so he can show up at every alumni game for eternity rocking a mullet and shoving his teammates and I wouldn't give a duckk.

 

[intlzncster]

so your premise is because we luckily didnt blow that lead, that the shove couldnt have been problematic and gone different?

I differ on the term "luckily" there.

 

[Mr. French]

I mean, really ? There was NEVER a point where boat and bazz together wasn't good?

They were the perfect backcourt pairing all 3 years? I'm pretty sure that last 6-10 games were the point we realized it was special, but I can't recall knowing since day 1 that was a perfect situation.

I dno, maybe we're all reading into that comment too much, but it's a pretty strong statement. That is the definition of hindsight, I'm pretty sure.

Hopefully that whole post isn't construed as negative about those players, just an indictment on the intensity of the hindsight in that post.

 

[Onions]

I mean, really ? There was NEVER a point where boat and bazz together wasn't good?

They were the perfect backcourt pairing all 3 years? I'm pretty sure that last 6-10 games were the point we realized it was special, but I can't recall knowing since day 1 that was a perfect situation.

I dno, maybe we're all reading into that comment too much, but it's a pretty strong statement. That is the definition of hindsight, I'm pretty sure.

Hopefully that whole post isn't construed as negative about those players, just an indictment on the intensity of the hindsight in that post.

Bazz had a bad sophmore year, but it had nothing to do with Boatright joining the team. I don't mean they loved each other or that there wasn't a lot of alpha dog tension between them, I mean I can't think of a single game where the on-the-court chemistry between them hurt us more than their play helped us. We should be so lucky that Gilbert/Adams is as good as Bazz/Boat -- and I say that being very optimistic about this years team. Bazz/Bozt gave us a 20 win season in 2013 when we had no right to expect one and a national title in 2014 - as far as I can see they were "always a good thing" if your a Huskies fan.

 

[Onions]

you have selective memory.

If we blew a lead against Kentucky in the NC game in the last 7 minutes we would have been talking about Bazz shoving Boat every day for the rest of our lives.

You mean if after getting to the finals as an 8th seed and losing to a team that everyone thought we would loose to we would then focus on an insignificant moment between our two best players rather than on the miracle run that got us there - well yes, that does sound like the boneyard.