Next year's formula--get the bigs involved offensively for balance

[scrappy2.0]

I feel real good about Adams Hamilton Purvis. I can understand why there has been some inconsistencies but also they have both showed tremendous potential. But for everything to blend we need front-court offense--we need to get everyone shots brimah need 7-8 shots a game Nolan 2-3 Enosh 5-6 Facey 3-4. EVERY game.
The lost of Daniels has been a devastating blow. I really believe the loss of Daniels is the difference between a team that could've competed for a chip and what looks like an NIT team. So we have to reevaluate how we are playing the game and stratagize how to get the big men more shots. Perhaps this year would be a good year to go into our foreign pipeline into Israel Germany or even Australia before so many other teams do to find some additional help.

 

[Kitaman]

Wow man you been sounding depressed lately. You omitted Lubin, which is alarming.

You are our last bastion of unrealistic hope. Got meds?

 

[HooperScooper]

I agree there needs to be more balance in the offense. But please dial back the expectations for Enoch. While he has great potential and physical attributes I'm not expecting him to be a big contributor next year because he's just too raw. He's not the immediate answer to the offensive woes up front. Diamond Stone is a different story.

 

[3rdbass]

OP great to be optimistic. I do agree that AB needs to touch the ball more in the post next year but he also needs to work hard on his game and strength in the off season to warrant the additional touches. The others I don't have much confidence or really there isn't enough support to warrant those touches yet.

 

[joober jones]

I don't know about Australia. That's yielded us such greats as Justin Brown and Ater Majok.

 

[joober jones]

I do agree about getting the bigs more shots though. We need to get Brimah more looks at the rim and chances to keep his jump shot moving along. Now that Nolan is shooting it a bit better, there's no reason not to pass to him while everyone else is being swarmed and he's standing there yelling with his arms outstretched.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

This is sort of like saying "we need to be more of a threat to score from the perimeter so Terence needs 4 or 5 threes a game."

Parceling out shots to guys who can't score is not balance.

 

[RMS25CT]

I do agree about getting the bigs more shots though. We need to get Brimah more looks at the rim and chances to keep his jump shot moving along. Now that Nolan is shooting it a bit better, there's no reason not to pass to him while everyone else is being swarmed and he's standing there yelling with his arms outstretched.

Have to have confidence that they can consistently catch a pass (that's not a lob to the basket) before you pass it to them. If the bigs can develop decent hands and become respectable passers from the foul line it hopes up a lot of options. Voskul wasn't much of am offensive threat, but in '99 the offense often started with him getting the ball at the high post. The UConn women's team did the same thing with Dolson. Get the ball at the high post, look weak side pass first. If nothing available run through the rest of passing progression. Or if open, take a 12-15 ft jumper. They are D1 big men....one would thing they should be expected to knock down a 12-15 footer at least 35%-40% of the time.

 

[Scot-e]

If OC, KF or RP do not become a solid scoring option along with DH, AB and JA we are going to have a lot of problems next year. AB needs to score 10 points a game- not sure the productivity at the 5 is going to make or break our season.

 

[jfuchs91]

I have little to base this on, but I feel like Nolan will be better offensively next year. Throughout his career he's shown good post footwork and decent touch from midrange, though he seems to have some serious confidence issues on the offensive end. As a senior, I'm expecting a step forward and perhaps somewhere in the 5-7 PPG range. Nothing huge, but certainly a step up from what he's given us so far.

 

[Kitaman]

I have little to base this on, but I feel like Nolan will be better offensively next year. Throughout his career he's shown good post footwork and decent touch from midrange, though he seems to have some serious confidence issues on the offensive end. As a senior, I'm expecting a step forward and perhaps somewhere in the 5-7 PPG range. Nothing huge, but certainly a step up from what he's given us so far.

You sound like Scrappy, oh wait. . . . . . . its his thread. LOL

 

[huskyharry]

Brimah will be even better at finishing at the rim and the five foot baby hook...he, Nolan and Facey will be able to consistently hit the open 10-15 foot shot next year.

 

[3rdbass]

I have little to base this on, but I feel like Nolan will be better offensively next year. Throughout his career he's shown good post footwork and decent touch from midrange, though he seems to have some serious confidence issues on the offensive end. As a senior, I'm expecting a step forward and perhaps somewhere in the 5-7 PPG range. Nothing huge, but certainly a step up from what he's given us so far.

Nolan will stay in his present range of scoring which is fine if we can get scoring from the guards and AB. Nolan has always had good slow motion post moves. LOL! He is what he is and the hope for more is setting yourself up for a letdown. If he can be a 2-3 PPG and 5-6RPG I will take that next year. I expect his rebounding to get better though but his minutes will also be higher since he will probably be starting most of the year.

AB is the big I expect the biggest improvement offensively with a full off season this year.

 

[sledog]

Send therm all to Big-boy school. Perhaps they can get a volume discount.

 

[TerryA88]

I'd any player who plays the 4-5 spot to be able to do ANY 4 out of the 5 following things...in any random order.

1) Be able to catch and hold a pass.....requires knowing where the defensive players are.
2) Be able to catch a basketball while moving....think pick and roll/jump stop/power dribble
3) Be able to dribble the basketball five times comfortably, while moving...maybe establish 2 go-to moves.
4) Be able to pass the basketball...if you can do any of the above, someone may leave their defensive assignment. That means somebody is open.
5) Confidence . Basketball is a team sport, if you are not hustling/ boxing out/being aggressive and present on the court/doing something to help your teammates/ improving YOUR game and your knowledge of basketball....WTF are you doing? Creating 3 v 5's for your teammates while watching a basketball game.

 

[mauconnfan]

Go to Greece and give the kid a one way ticket to Storrs Paradise. Then maybe we can include the bigs on any offensive scheme.

 

[Kitaman]

Go to Greece and give the kid a one way ticket to Storrs Paradise. Then maybe we can include the bigs on any offensive scheme.

What I don't understand is where is the basis for so much Big Man hope next year. I mean Nolan is 3 years in, Brimah and Facey are both 2 years in, what makes posters feel a dramatic and magnificent change will occur in 8 months.

Lubin is a frosh so he's excluded. But Juniors and Sophomores should have some sense of expected and dependable development for the next season. Furthermore its not an easy thing to do and not guaranteed. Lastly many other big men in Div 1 bball will also be looking to improve, so their improvement would have to be more than those others in conference and outside.

I just don't see it, perhaps a marginal improvement but not the degree of expectation others see.

 

[gtcam]

OP - I agree to some degree because to dismiss the thought without seeing what the capability of those players next year is premature. Sure parceling out this year, right now, to the bigs here may not be sound advice. IF some of these guys work on their mid range and close range shooting AND the are effective AND not afraid to pull the trigger, I say yes lets get the ball inside. (Lots of IFs and ANDs here but they cant possibly help but improve)
As far ad DD is concerned, oh yeah we miss the second half of the year DD but besides Bazz, I feel UConn misses the all around game that Giff brought with him last game.

 

[mauconnfan]

OP - I agree to some degree because to dismiss the thought without seeing what the capability of those players next year is premature. Sure parceling out this year, right now, to the bigs here may not be sound advice. IF some of these guys work on their mid range and close range shooting AND the are effective AND not afraid to pull the trigger, I say yes lets get the ball inside. (Lots of IFs and ANDs here but they cant possibly help but improve)
As far ad DD is concerned, oh yeah we miss the second half of the year DD but besides Bazz, I feel UConn misses the all around game that Giff brought with him last game.

And the likes of Kromah, yep..and both were very smart on the court!

 

[pnow15]

I can hardly wait to see the TSam and Nolan running the pick and roll several times a half.

 

[OkaForPrez]

20 posts about next year and not one about Sam II Am. For all we know he was playing through pain all year.

 

[Stainmaster]

20 posts about next year and not one about Sam II Am. For all we know he was playing through pain all year.

Criticism of SCII has gone down because he hasn't been on the court. It's the equivalent of the "backup QB phenomenon" on the football board. Trust me, out of all of the players on the team, he was one who the peanut gallery most cited as a waste of a scholarship over the course of the season.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Criticism of SCII has gone down because he hasn't been on the court. It's the equivalent of the "backup QB phenomenon" on the football board. Trust me, out of all of the players on the team, he was one who the peanut gallery most cited as a waste of a scholarship over the course of the season.

I read the same posts. The biggest knocks on Sam were his defensive speed and the fact that he too wasn't knocking down shots. I could see playing through the lingering pain of a stress fracture contributing to that. I don't think he'll magically get another gear next year, but maybe he will be a tad bit quicker and more consistent from 3. I would have liked to see him get some of T sam's minutes of late, and I love T sam. He should at least be part of the discussion.

Let's not forget about the JUCO AA.