Kwintin Williams Commits to UConn!

[Edward Sargent]

Lately we have had some players who were built like boys compared to other guys you see around college basketball and they got tossed around. Not sure how good any of these frontcourt guys will be but this dude doesn't look like someone who will be pushed around, neither does Cobb. Will be nice to have some grown men on the team. A dunk in someones grill is worth more than two points in my book as well

I am in total agreement here and thinking of Gary Clark versus anyone on our frontcourt last year.

 

[Edward Sargent]

During Scottie's freshman season, we played Villanova in an unusual, very early season conference game in mid-Dec. It might have been the first televised game of the season beyond CT, as it was likely on ESPN. To demonstrate what a freakishly great three sport athlete he was, they showed a black-and-white film clip of him throwing a pass in a Hamden HS football game. His team was at their own five yl. He threw the ball on the fly from his own end zone at least 70 or more yards. The receiver caught the ball and went out of bounds at about the other team's 15 yl.

The only pass I care about was the fullcourt heave to Tate!

 

[MSGSeven]

So the absence of a guy who never won an NCAA tournament game in 4 years, was the difference between the 2009 and 2004 team? The same guy who had a 9 turnover game the end of his senior year.
You must be joking! The 2004 team had the 2nd and 3rd pick in the NBA draft (Emeka and Ben). We had two lottery picks, I believe , coming off the bench (Charlie and Hilton) and another first round pick in Josh. Additionally, Talik, Denham and Shad were very good college players.

Jim has said many times 2004 was his most talented team!

So you're gonna just list the 04 players' resumes. How about the 09 players??? They were some of the best UConn players of all time and AJ Price might be the most underrated UConn player. And oh btw that team had some kid named Kemba Walker maybe you've heard of him. Dyson struggled his senior year being the leader and number one option but was perfect for that 09 team (best perimeter defender, second best 3 point shooter, top 3 or 4 scoring option, etc). With Dyson I think UConn beats Pitt, wins the BE Championships (reg season and tourney) and plays Carolina for the NC with a chance to become the greatest UConn team ever. For the record, I think the 04 team is the most talented team and it's my favorite team but the 09 team with Dyson was right there.

And Chief I didn't know you're on a first name basis with Calhoun LOL!!!

 

[Tenspro2002]

I would argue the 09 team had Mostly the same issue. Kemba was an out of control frosh and Austrie was absolutely not a ball handler.

Beating missouris 40 minutes of hack defense with only price really is amazing.

Kemba had a monster game against Missouri, almost single-handedly willed us to the Final Four. Unfortunately, he then followed that up with probably the worst game of his career against MSU in Detroit.

That led to one of the most underheralded aspects of our 2011 run: Kemba's personal redemption on the big stage.

 

[mauconnfan]

So you're gonna just list the 04 players' resumes. How about the 09 players??? They were some of the best UConn players of all time and AJ Price might be the most underrated UConn player. And oh btw that team had some kid named Kemba Walker maybe you've heard of him. Dyson struggled his senior year being the leader and number one option but was perfect for that 09 team (best perimeter defender, second best 3 point shooter, top 3 or 4 scoring option, etc). With Dyson I think UConn beats Pitt, wins the BE Championships (reg season and tourney) and plays Carolina for the NC with a chance to become the greatest UConn team ever. For the record, I think the 04 team is the most talented team and it's my favorite team but the 09 team with Dyson was right there.

And Chief I didn't know you're on a first name basis with Calhoun LOL!!!

Both very good teams in their own right, as was '06 maybe the most talented - ever but will always have that GM label and rightfully so.

 

[mauconnfan]

Kemba had a monster game against Missouri, almost single-handedly willed us to the Final Four. Unfortunately, he then followed that up with probably the worst game of his career against MSU in Detroit.

That led to one of the most underheralded aspects of our 2011 run: Kemba's personal redemption on the big stage.

^Spot on^

 

[the Q]

Kemba had a monster game against Missouri, almost single-handedly willed us to the Final Four. Unfortunately, he then followed that up with probably the worst game of his career against MSU in Detroit.

That led to one of the most underheralded aspects of our 2011 run: Kemba's personal redemption on the big stage.

Agreed all around. I didn't dispute any of that and didn't mean to. KW had a great Missouri game. But overall that team had AJ price as its ball handler. Walker was still a mostly out of control frosh that season. That pace against Missouri was perfect for him though, the up and down style rather than slogging in half court sets. That game was physical too. They let Missouri hack the crap out of our guards.

 

[the Q]

Both very good teams in their own right, as was '06 maybe the most talented - ever but will always have that GM label and rightfully so.

That's a bigger black eye than almost anything else. Maybe when someone pulls a 1/16 upset it will finally get overshadowed.

 

[MadDogRevival]

We would have beaten four opponents worse than we did if he had played in those games. He was on a team that won four NCAA games in one season, and very likely would have won a fifth if he had played in the Michigan State game.

Dyson certainly had value to that team, but this misses a very important point, which is that Stan was in Calhoun's doghouse pretty bad that year. He was getting limited minutes (2 against L'Ville as I recall), and was getting yanked at the drop of a hat when he screwed up. After Dyson went down, Calhoun had no choice, and Stan started getting huge minutes, with no fear of getting pulled . . . and in the games Dyson was out, Stan played some of the best basketball of his career at UConn. In the final four loss to MSU, he went 4 of 5 from 2, 1 of 1 from 3, 4 for 4 from the line, for 15 points, had 13 boards, and two blocks. He was all over the place, and that was in 31 minutes.

So, while it's fair to say that Dyson going down was a loss to UConn, the net was nowhere near as bad as lore has it - a large chunk of his minutes went to Stan.

 

[cohenzone]

The first thing that struck me is that he's a big body and elevates. But let's see what translates to gametime. We will have several big, not just tall, bodies. Rebounding would be a blast from the past.

 

[Guapo]

The first thing that struck me is that he's a big body and elevates. But let's see what translates to gametime. We will have several big, not just tall, bodies. Rebounding would be a blast from the past.

What does this have to do with the 09 team?? Wrong thread, buddy!

 

[cohenzone]

What does this have to do with the 09 team?? Wrong thread, buddy!

Wrote a reply I deleted when it sunk in you were kidding.

 

[the Q]

Dyson certainly had value to that team, but this misses a very important point, which is that Stan was in Calhoun's doghouse pretty bad that year. He was getting limited minutes (2 against L'Ville as I recall), and was getting yanked at the drop of a hat when he screwed up. After Dyson went down, Calhoun had no choice, and Stan started getting huge minutes, with no fear of getting pulled . . . and in the games Dyson was out, Stan played some of the best basketball of his career at UConn. In the final four loss to MSU, he went 4 of 5 from 2, 1 of 1 from 3, 4 for 4 from the line, for 15 points, had 13 boards, and two blocks. He was all over the place, and that was in 31 minutes.

So, while it's fair to say that Dyson going down was a loss to UConn, the net was nowhere near as bad as lore has it - a large chunk of his minutes went to Stan.

The minutes that went to Austrie hurt a lot though.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Maybe if we hadn't lost to a clearly inferior team because of the place we were supposed to have the biggest edge.

No chance it was better than the 06 team. The 06 team is probabaly the most talented team of the decade period. Forget just UConn.

Admittedly part of it is that this closed the 2nd half of the 2000s that were full of underachievers.

The irony in your statement by saying the 09 team losing to a clearly inferior team in the NCAA Tournament in comparison to the 06 team is pretty funny.

 

[sledog]

When does he arrive on campus??

 

[Guapo]

Wrote a reply I deleted when it sunk in you were kidding.

I'm excited about his jumping/dunking/rebounding ability as well

 

[the Q]

The irony in your statement by saying the 09 team losing to a clearly inferior team in the NCAA Tournament in comparison to the 06 team is pretty funny.

yeah, that's fair.

Just saying in terms of pure talent, it's not even close. That 06 team had like 6 NBA players/picks on it.

 

[Guapo]

Honestly, if we get a dunk from him that goes viral that can do wonders for our recruiting/brand etc.

It's a crazy world, we are just living in it.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

yeah, that's fair.

Just saying in terms of pure talent, it's not even close. That 06 team had like 6 NBA players/picks on it.

The 2009 team actually had the same amount of guys play in the NBA if my memory serves me correct.

If it's any of the post 2004 teams in a head to head matchup, I'm taking 2009 over 2006, 2011 and 2014.

2009 - 5 guys played in the NBA
Fr. Walker - 1x NBA All Star and improving (obviously not the Jr year Kemba)
AJ Price - Journeyman in NBA
Thabeet - Huge NBA bust
Adrien - Journeyman in NBA
Dyson - Cup of coffee in NBA

2006 - 5 guys played in the NBA
Rudy Gay - Very successful NBA career, just a notch below an All Star in his prime.
Hilton Armstrong - Journeyman NBA career
Josh Boone - NBA Bust
Marcus Williams - NBA Bust
Fr. Jeff Adrien - see above

 

[the Q]

The 2009 team actually had the same amount of guys play in the NBA if my memory serves me correct.

If it's any of the post 2004 teams in a head to head matchup, I'm taking 2009 over 2006, 2011 and 2014.

2009 - 5 guys played in the NBA
Fr. Walker - 1x NBA All Star and improving (obviously not the Jr year Kemba)
AJ Price - Journeyman in NBA
Thabeet - Huge NBA bust
Adrien - Journeyman in NBA
Dyson - Cup of coffee in NBA

2006 - 5 guys played in the NBA
Rudy Gay - Very successful NBA career, just a notch below an All Star in his prime.
Hilton Armstrong - Journeyman NBA career
Josh Boone - NBA Bust
Marcus Williams - NBA Bust
Fr. Jeff Adrien - see above

yeah, 06 also had Brown who was a 2nd round pick too.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

yeah, 06 also had Brown who was a 2nd round pick too.

Same with 2010 NBA Draft, and Stanley Robinson. They both didn't end up ever playing in the league though.

 

[UConnNick]

Dyson certainly had value to that team, but this misses a very important point, which is that Stan was in Calhoun's doghouse pretty bad that year. He was getting limited minutes (2 against L'Ville as I recall), and was getting yanked at the drop of a hat when he screwed up. After Dyson went down, Calhoun had no choice, and Stan started getting huge minutes, with no fear of getting pulled . . . and in the games Dyson was out, Stan played some of the best basketball of his career at UConn. In the final four loss to MSU, he went 4 of 5 from 2, 1 of 1 from 3, 4 for 4 from the line, for 15 points, had 13 boards, and two blocks. He was all over the place, and that was in 31 minutes.

So, while it's fair to say that Dyson going down was a loss to UConn, the net was nowhere near as bad as lore has it - a large chunk of his minutes went to Stan.

I wasn't trying to disparage any other players, and certainly not Sticks, who's one of my favorite UConn players ever. I was simply making the point that if you're a member of the team you get to count the NCAA tournament wins on a team you play for, whether you played in any of the games or not. You don't single out one particular player on that team as never having won an NCAA tournament game. Do you say the same thing about the guys on the end of the bench that never played in any of the tournament games? Just because they never played in any of the games doesn't mean they can't claim they were on a team that won NCAA tournament games. It's a team, not a collection of individuals that should be singled out and viewed individually.

I submit that if Dyson hadn't been able to play for the entire 2008-2009 season, we may or may not have made it to the NCAA tournament, and even if we did, our seed probably wouldn't have been anywhere near as high as it was. That likely would have meant a far tougher path to get to the Final Four, and maybe we don't get there. He helped put us in a position to have success in the tournament, regardless of the fact he didn't play in any of those games.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

Honestly, if we get a dunk from him that goes viral that can do wonders for our recruiting/brand etc.

It's a crazy world, we are just living in it.

I just sent his Instagram profile to House of Highlights, with a request to share a dunk and shout out UConn. Let's see.

If we could get a bunch of us to send his videos around to the popular highlight pages, we might get him (and UConn) on a bigger map

 

[Guapo]

I just sent his Instagram profile to House of Highlights, with a request to share a dunk and shout out UConn. Let's see.

If we could get a bunch of us to send his videos around to the popular highlight pages, we might get him (and UConn) on a bigger map

Lol, thanks!

I'm hoping for a viral dunk with him in a UConn uni but whatever works!

 

[MSGSeven]

Dyson certainly had value to that team, but this misses a very important point, which is that Stan was in Calhoun's doghouse pretty bad that year. He was getting limited minutes (2 against L'Ville as I recall), and was getting yanked at the drop of a hat when he screwed up. After Dyson went down, Calhoun had no choice, and Stan started getting huge minutes, with no fear of getting pulled . . . and in the games Dyson was out, Stan played some of the best basketball of his career at UConn. In the final four loss to MSU, he went 4 of 5 from 2, 1 of 1 from 3, 4 for 4 from the line, for 15 points, had 13 boards, and two blocks. He was all over the place, and that was in 31 minutes.

So, while it's fair to say that Dyson going down was a loss to UConn, the net was nowhere near as bad as lore has it - a large chunk of his minutes went to Stan.

I remember the Stix situation that year and Dyson going down probably got Stix more playing time but they played different positions and were totally different players. With both players it's a better team and they would've had a much better chance against the likes of Pitt, Cuse and Mich St. I think the 09 team only had 1 loss that year with Dyson so that speaks to his value to that team.