I can't buy into the chicken little argument. I just can't.
Hamilton was the best UConn freshman I'd seen seen Rudy Gay. Incredible talent.
Purvis came on as the season progressed and became our best player, yes, best player. He also clearly assumed leadership of the team. It's his team now. I'd like to see what he can do.
Brimah was defensive player of the year in conference as a sophomore, who barely played before he arrived. He has gaping holes in his game, but clearly has ability to make a big impact.
Facey was a rebounding machine, and flashed some offense. If he can play better fundamental defense he can be very good.
Calhoun is a shooter, with improved D this season. His poor shot fundamentals means he needs to be wide open to shoot.
Samuel plays strong, like Taliek. Solid depth at PG who will get better with experience.
Nolan is the classic UConn big who gradually improves up to an eventual strong senior year. If you subtract the phantom fouls (about 25-30% of his fouls never happened) he'd look much better.
That talent doesn't stink. What I saw last year wasn't bad players, it was a bad team. Sometimes it happens, but those guys weren't able to play together, they didn't mesh. Maybe these players, plus some new ones will function better as a team. Ollie needs to recruit, but rare was the year when Calhoun had deep strong recruiting classes. What he did very well was find kids that were underrated.
Come on. You are stating the peak/ best case scenario with every guy.
Agree on D-Ham; kid is a stud. Purvis has potential but like everyone else is extremely sporadic and inconsistent. Brimah again has great potential, but is so inconsistent and a horrific rebounder for a starting center.
A few points stand out:
1.) Facey showed brief flashes here and there, but overall he isn't even close to developed enough that he should be our starting 4. He wouldn't have seen more than a few garbage minutes of pt on a number of our teams from 1990 to 2012. His development is fine. 6 and 4-5 isnt bad for him in his second year. Nobody would be complaining about him if he backed up Jeff Adrien his first two years. The problem is we needed him as a starter and hes clearly not ready. This points to a lack of overall talent/ depth.
2.) Omar cant shoot. Everyone wants him to be a shooter and we need him to be, but he cant. He has absolutely terrible shooting form and a low release, slow ugly shot. Love his attitude. Seems like a great kid and team player, but he hasnt given anyone a reason to be optimistic about making a big jump.
3.) T-Sam would make a decent back-up/ 3rd string change of pace guard. He cant shoot and his handle is just decent at best. But he is big, strong, and can get to the hole. The problem is he was our 3rd guard overall. That's a huge problem and does point to a lack of overall talent.
4.) Nolan actually came on in the last 5 games and was really improved. He wouldn't be a bad option as our 4th overall big. Someone to go on and play either the 4 or the 5 for a few minutes here and there to give others a breather, or play when someones in foul trouble. Once again the issue is he is our 2nd big and was starting at the end. This points to a lack of overall talent/ depth.
Overall, it seems people are confusing potential with talent/skills today. Brimah has great potential. Facey has great potential. Purvis has good to very good potential. Each of them are extremely inconsistent and lack fundamental basketball skills
today. The problem is that due to a lack of overall depth/ front end talent, we have had to rush each of their developments.
Brimah could be a great center, if Jeff Adrien was playing next to him. Facey would be fine next to Okafor or Josh Boone. Purvis would be a great 6th man backing up Ben Gordon or Boat last year. The problem is we are relying on these guys to be critical pieces to the team before they are ready.
And the reason for this is that we do lack the front end talent that would require these guys to perform the roles that they are more suited to today. Brimah, Facey, T-Sam, Omar, Cassell Jr, Rock (now gone), Nolan. None of those guys can anchor a recruiting class. You cant expect starting level production/ consistency from them until year 3 or even 4. They are all decent role players, one dimensional guys, but none are well rounded enough. We need to put more high end talent around them and each of them is fine.
We haven't brought in enough impact recruits to surround with them. We've gotten D-Ham, and that's really it (Purvis was a transfer but he can count too since he was 5*). So while the overall talent isnt as pitiful as some would make it seem, it is down. This roster has plenty of potential, but it also has a lot of holes, and glaring holes in certain fundamental skill sets.
