Missouri tonight | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Missouri tonight

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partial said:
I just looked at his stats they're insane i think he'd probably be averaging somewhere around 20 and 10 if he hadn't transferred. He'll get his shot at the NBA but it won't be guaranteed. I wish we could let go of this now though, oh how i wish that there won't be a thread when AO inevitably goes to the D league.
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Doubtful that he'd be averaging more than he did at Mizzou if he had stayed. Keep in mind he played in a VERY weak SEC this year.
 
You bust a gut winning the national championship, make the all-Tournament team and the coach tosses you aside a few months later to make room for a shiny, new toy. Anyone would be pissed, resentful. So he makes a few comments on the way out the door. So what? He an amateur, he doesn't have professional handlers and spin doctors working for him. I should be surprised about the amount of people who give a couple comments more weight than winning an NC, but I'm not. We're UConn fans, after all.
 
Alex was just an average player, that's all. He never really developed into a stud like his size and strength indicated he could have. His coordination was always a bit lacking. Even knowing the way last year worked out, I would take a stud like Drummond 100% of the time.
 
Waquoit said:
You bust a gut winning the national championship, make the all-Tournament team and the coach tosses you aside a few months later to make room for a shiny, new toy. Anyone would be pissed, resentful. So he makes a few comments on the way out the door. So what? He an amateur, he doesn't have professional handlers and spin doctors working for him. I should be surprised about the amount of people who give a couple comments more weight than winning an NC, but I'm not. We're UConn fans, after all.
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BS "tossed aside"...he was given the same opportunity he had when he won a NC and he came back the same player with a chi**ier attitude, not better like others have been. He was expected to play next to AD not tossed side due to his arrival so that's complete BS....he couldn't handle the competitive situation and instead of manning up he went in to a childish rampage both on the bench and off the court. I am a UConn fan and while I love winning NC's that does not make the players I root for! Did Ray win one, Doron, Kevin Ollie???? Please you choose to support his crap that's fine but don't throw the NC card out there, that's not the way it ended with him like it or not!

I would prefer KO, Ray Ray, Doron, Yell and Donny on my team than this guy.........any day and they have no rings. I am a Uconn fan after all right?
 
The abuse level I'm reading far exceeds simply not rooting for the guy, mau. And I gotta laugh at the "don't throw the NC card" comment. As if an NC is nothing. You remember those times when making the tournament was cause for celebration and an FF was but a dream. You sound like a WBB fan there.
 
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Waquoit said:
You bust a gut winning the national championship, make the all-Tournament team and the coach tosses you aside a few months later to make room for a shiny, new toy. Anyone would be pissed, resentful.
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I think it's fair to blame Calhoun for some of Alex's early struggles - after the sophomore season he had, it never made sense that Oriakhi suddenly started getting Calhoun's quick hook again.

But AO got his chances to play extended minutes later in the season, both with and without Drummond on the court, and he pretty much sucked every time. He has himself to blame more than anyone.

I would have wished him well had he just left for Missouri and gone about his business, but he continued to run his mouth off about Calhoun all season. Add in the fact that he was thinking transfer before UConn's season ended last year and, well, it just doesn't give me a favorable impression of the kid.

But he is just that - a kid - and UConn wouldn't have won its third championship without him. I hope he succeeds in basketball or whatever he does, but at the same time, I won't be rooting for him either.
 
Fishy said:
Numbers lie.

He was not particularly impressive by any stretch this year - looks like Tarzan, tends to play like Jane.

He'll get some D-League attention and it would probably be good for him to head there. The guys who tend to excel overseas are usually the tougher sorts who aren't worn down by the nonsense of constantly being cut, paychecks being late, etc. Alex would not do well there.

One additional thing - Phil Pressey is a really good kid. But as a point guard, he's a grenade with the pin pulled.
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Who remembers when AO first left and his parting shots were, "Phil is the best point guard I've ever played with in my life." Or something close to that? Just a clear shot at Kemba. Well, Phil really proved himself this tournament...
 
Matt (Chicago) said:
And yet here you are sticking up for him. Everyone on this board appreciates what he did for us in 2011, just read some of the other threads about him. What people are upset about is how he trashed our HOF coach and program once he left. But you conveniently leave that out of your argument of course....
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I have stated my opinion on it and AO SR is a dick. Im over it though its time to move on. You can either give AO more power by continuing to be upset at him or you can move on its your choice.
 
Waquoit said:
You bust a gut winning the national championship, make the all-Tournament team and the coach tosses you aside a few months later to make room for a shiny, new toy. Anyone would be pissed, resentful. So he makes a few comments on the way out the door. So what? He an amateur, he doesn't have professional handlers and spin doctors working for him. I should be surprised about the amount of people who give a couple comments more weight than winning an NC, but I'm not. We're UConn fans, after all.
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Bust a gut? Really? I don't think anyone saw Alex "bust a gut" last year. He bragged about how he improved his game going into the 2011-2012 season but regressed in every facet. He forgot how to catch a ball, his scoring went down, he forgot how to rebound. His defense fell behind. He started the season as a starter, but his play was terrible, so he got demoted for Andre Drummond. Then even when inserted back into the starting line up with Drummond, he still under performed. He blamed it all on Calhoun. Calhoun didn't miss those shots, Calhoun didn't drop all those passes, Calhoun didn't miss those rebounds, Calhoun didn't miss those blown defensive assignments. Calhoun did get angry at him for it & pulled him for someone who could. Alex pouted & complained. Additionally, all season long Alex vented via Facebook/Twitter about how he was being misused. Not to mention Alex's father did the same. Then upon leaving, Alex took more pot shots. Alex has no one to blame but himself.
 
Waquoit said:
So you're about style over substance, fine.
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Style?! - I think the contention would be that what he said revealed more about his character and 'substance'. In any walk of life it is bad form (again not style) to talk poorly about former employer, a competitor, colleagues etc..

For me it was weird watching him. I kind of wanted him to do well, but didn't mind seeing his shortcomings (rebounding tenacity) exposed either.

If Colorado State can control the boards like that they have a chance against Louisville. But I kinda think Missouri still had its chances and would have been in the game if they had any offensive coherence and could have played defense for more than 10 seconds per possession. So probably Louisville by 15
 
UConn990411 said:
I think it's fair to blame Calhoun for some of Alex's early struggles - after the sophomore season he had, it never made sense that Oriakhi suddenly started getting Calhoun's quick hook again.

But AO got his chances to play extended minutes later in the season, both with and without Drummond on the court, and he pretty much sucked every time. He has himself to blame more than anyone.

I would have wished him well had he just left for Missouri and gone about his business, but he continued to run his mouth off about Calhoun all season. Add in the fact that he was thinking transfer before UConn's season ended last year and, well, it just doesn't give me a favorable impression of the kid.

But he is just that - a kid - and UConn wouldn't have won its third championship without him. I hope he succeeds in basketball or whatever he does, but at the same time, I won't be rooting for him either.
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It seemed like there was a lack of communication on AO and JC part. AO went about it the wrong way he should have approached Calhoun in private rather then post things on twitter. The whole point of getting AD was to form a frontcourt duo, find a way for those guys to play together rather then make it a competition. You need to make sacrifices in order to win a championship. Communication is key when trying to put together a talented team, oh well it is what it is.
 
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Waquoit said:
So you're about style over substance, fine.
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No, but I will hold it against someone if they take unnecessary shots at Calhoun and the program for no reason other than to make themselves feel better. If a good employee of yours took a higher paying job somewhere else, I'm guessing you wouldn't have an issue. If, however, on their way out they told you to , I'm guessing that might overshadow some of the good times.
 
ClumsyLibrarian said:
Who remembers when AO first left and his parting shots were, "Phil is the best point guard I've ever played with in my life." Or something close to that? Just a clear shot at Kemba. Well, Phil really proved himself this tournament...
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He actually said it during the offseason before the 11-12 season. Funny comment I saw on twitter from one of the CBB writers who said he once asked a BE coach why they didn't recruit Pressey. He said that for every game that he'll win, he'll end up losing you 3 more.
 
UConn3432 said:
I entered today with a lot of hatred towards AO. Watching these games its clear he made the right decision, unfortunately just the wrong school. Making the Tourney is where it's at. Like the feeling you get when you buy a powerball ticket, already planning your life as a multi-millionaire. He had that feeling one more time.

All I want from an incoming freshman at UConn is to have a primary goal of winning a nat'l championship. I cant blame a guy for going for a second title. As a senior If you told me I couldn't have a chance to play for a title, I'd leave before the ink dried on my release papers.
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I'm glad you were never a teammate of mine.
 
Alex wasn't tossed aside for a shiny new toy- Andre Drummond was, and is, ten times the player Alex is. Period. It was the absolute right decision.
 
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Robertelamin said:
Turd school, turd program, turd player, poor BigErn....
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I have no idea who you are.

But, **** do I care about Missouri? Alex can end up working at Quiznos and I won't lose sleep over it, I just think "guys" like you and Mau sound like whiny ex-girlfriends when it comes to this kid.

Why don't you make one more entry in your journal about it and call it a day?
 
Waquoit said:
You bust a gut winning the national championship, make the all-Tournament team and the coach tosses you aside a few months later to make room for a shiny, new toy. Anyone would be pissed, resentful. So he makes a few comments on the way out the door. So what? He an amateur, he doesn't have professional handlers and spin doctors working for him. I should be surprised about the amount of people who give a couple comments more weight than winning an NC, but I'm not. We're UConn fans, after all.
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That shiny new toy argument is bunk. Top programs bring in talent every year. We brought in Khalid to a loaded team, and Ricky and Rash had to adapt. Rash's career frankly went into the toilet individually, but he was out there locking down Langdon as the final seconds ticked off 77-74 and has a ring. Never said "boo" publicly or privately - didn't threaten to transfer. Just kept working hard and trying to be ready when his opportunities came. Okafor and Boone co-existed as two bigs without much shooting range, the way AO and Drummond could have, and the highest rated recruit that year came off the bench (Charlie) and won a title. Boone played better than CV as freshmen and was a better fit - those minutes could have been earmarked for Charlie on paper, but Boone earned them and CV adapted. What started the downward spiral for Alex is that he allowed himself to be outplayed - not by Drummond, but by Tyler Olander. That's nobody's fault but his own, and unlike his predecessors trying to find a role alongside talented teammates, he didn't respond.

That said, I believe JC when he said that AO is one of the best kids he ever coached. I think he's a good kid, but immaturity and confidence issues struck, and I think he needed a bit of coddling and confidence-building at that point, which wasn't JC's thing, for better or worse.

I'll personally remember Alex for 2011 and let bygones be bygones for the rest of it, but he'll be in line behind Kemba, Lamb, Bazz, at the very least, if not Okwandu, Giffey and Beverly too.
 
Leaving UConn could have been a life changing event for AO - a new opportunity to reinvent himself. But he seems to not understand his own weaknesses. He went to a program where the road to success might have looked a little easier. Its no coincidence that the Missouri coach was rated as one of the most overpaid coaches in America. Its obvious that AO worked on body strength etc. during the off season. But basketball is an incredible psychologically demanding sport.

Its funny how the better coaches are careful about transfers and the baggage that they bring with them.
 
zls44 said:
Alex wasn't tossed aside for a shiny new toy- Andre Drummond was, and is, ten times the player Alex is. Period. It was the absolute right decision.
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Right.

Also--they didn't have to play the same position. There was no need to play AO at center, and he probably wanted some run at PF anyway. Hell, AO wanted AD on that team and imagined them co-existing.
 
WhereistheDove? said:
Doubtful that he'd be averaging more than he did at Mizzou if he had stayed. Keep in mind he played in a VERY weak SEC this year.
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It's just a hypothetical, but he would have seen increased minutes and a much higher usage rate, a great recipe for more points even for average players let alone if he increased substantially in his efficiency and free throw shooting. In any case as you pointed out there's other factors, personally i think the biggest one is that i'm not sure he would have been as motivated if he stayed at UConn. This is all by just looking at his stats though. I haven't really seen him play game to game and the couple of times i saw a glimpse he was all thumbs.
 
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WhereistheDove? said:
How did I know you were going to take that literally? You know what I meant.
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None of the AO comments I've come across come close to "go ef yourself" even figuratively. And I see guys here calling compliments about his then-new teammates as slams against his former teammates. You guys all have ODS.
 
AO's no worse off and that was always the outcome. UConn was a risky proposition this year (from last year's perspective). Missouri looked safe. AO wasn't getting draft mentions for Draft 2013 so he chose to find another venue.

Good Luck to Him. He's still not getting draft mentions . I'd take him second round (Celtics)
 
The real question here isn't about AO. It's about when Quinn Snyder will call asking for his job back.
 
Scoe said:
It seemed like there was a lack of communication on AO and JC part. AO went about it the wrong way he should have approached Calhoun in private rather then post things on twitter. The whole point of getting AD was to form a frontcourt duo, find a way for those guys to play together rather then make it a competition. You need to make sacrifices in order to win a championship. Communication is key when trying to put together a talented team, oh well it is what it is.
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Maybe, but we haven't the foggiest idea of what communication went on from JC, only AO's version. I imagine Calhoun expected Oriakhi to bust his tail regardless and AO thought otherwise. So I don't think this is an accurate read. If you accept that fact that Alex O had a limited upside and you wanted to simply get the most out of that, then maybe some sympathetic communication and clarification of his role would have been helpful (even still I bet he got some of this from assistant coaches that can fill that good cop role). However my guess is Calhoun simply told AO to earn his playing time. That is how Jim Calhoun coached and doing it differently is contrary to what made UConn and UConn players successful.

When Calhoun got a player with extraordinary ability and potential he set the bar beyond what the player ever thought he could achieve. He demanded they strive for perfection. The UConn style player responds to this and achieves his NBA dream by surpassing what that individual thought he could do on the basketball court. And he realizes this is exactly how you become a professional. Ultimately this turns diamonds in the rough like Cliff Robinson, RIP, Ben Gordon, Kemba, Emeka, into gems. And it turns seemingly average college basketball talents like Travis Knight, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Jake Voskhul, Donny Marshall, Jeff Adrien and one Kevin Ollie into NBA players.

Some players did not respond to this approach and you can legitimately fault Calhoun for misjudging their athletic potential or mental makeup in recruiting them. This is the cause of too many transfers under Calhoun and a legit criticism of his program. But to say he should have coddled Oriakhi and settled for good when great was possible simply runs contrary to the method for excellence that Jim Calhoun expected and achieved at UConn.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I have no idea who you are.

But, **** do I care about Missouri? Alex can end up working at Quiznos and I won't lose sleep over it, I just think "guys" like you and Mau sound like whiny ex-girlfriends when it comes to this kid.

Why don't you make one more entry in your journal about it and call it a day?
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Nice one Big Crack.......keep the girlfriend and immature references coming! I wanna grow up and be like Big Crack and the other 2 Husky fans who like AO.....joke!
 
Waquoit said:
None of the AO comments I've come across come close to "go ef yourself" even figuratively. And I see guys here calling compliments about his then-new teammates as slams against his former teammates. You guys all have ODS.
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He burned bridges and that has nothing to do with comments about his new teammates. It has to do with the barbs and shots that he and his father took at the program on his way out. Again, had he just shut his mouth and told his dad to do the same, I assure you that only a tiny percentage of this fanbase would hold him in a negative light. But he didn't. He moped all year long and then passed the blame off.
 
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