Next year's team will be good.

[TheRogers]

The building blocks are Purvis and Hamilton. They are going to be a lethal tandem next year. Knocking on the door is Brimah and Facey. If they step up we become a solid team. TSam will get the nod early on but Adams will take over once he's caught up with the speed of the game. Our depth will be vulnerable. TSam, Omar, Rak, and Nolan seem like wildcards to me. Hopefully Nolan and Calhoun will be a calming presence and play like savy vets. They've shown they can but not consistently.

 

[Sportsman5]

A few thoughts:

Jalen Adams- the key to the season. I think that Adams can have a similar freshman season to what Tyus Jones had this year minus a couple of assists per game. He needs to score when he gets good opportunities and push the fast break. If he does, then that would be a very nice freshman year that is more than enough from the starting point guard position. Even a little less than this would still be enough. A season of 9-11 points per game, 2.5-4 rebounds, 3-4 assists with solid defense and shooting percentage is all we need. Daniel hamilton is a point forward and we can have 2 other guards on the floor with Adams to help with ball handling and driving to the hoop.
If adams can't at least come close to this production, then we are really going to rely on large jumps from cassell and samuels. that could be a long season

Daniel Hamilton- If he can add enough size and strength in the off season to play 25+ minutes per game at the power forward position, then that would be HUGE for the quality of the starting lineup. he already rebounds like a power forward

Brimah- incremental improvements in size, strength, not committing stupid fouls, low post moves, and rebounding will yield a first team AAC player and a top 10 center in college basketball. He is already a great defensive player minus 1-2 stupid fouls per game that can cost him 5-10 minutes of playing time per game

All other players- if 2-3 other players on the roster can make a reasonable leap in production from last year, then the team will definitely be a top 25 team. If the chemistry is better, then the team could be top 15

 

[CardiacAndre7]

A few thoughts:

Jalen Adams- the key to the season. I think that Adams can have a similar freshman season to what Tyus Jones had this year minus a couple of assists per game. He needs to score when he gets good opportunities and push the fast break. If he does, then that would be a very nice freshman year that is more than enough from the starting point guard position. Even a little less than this would still be enough. A season of 9-11 points per game, 2.5-4 rebounds, 3-4 assists with solid defense and shooting percentage is all we need. Daniel hamilton is a point forward and we can have 2 other guards on the floor with Adams to help with ball handling and driving to the hoop.
If adams can't at least come close to this production, then we are really going to rely on large jumps from cassell and samuels. that could be a long season

Daniel Hamilton- If he can add enough size and strength in the off season to play 25+ minutes per game at the power forward position, then that would be HUGE for the quality of the starting lineup. he already rebounds like a power forward

Brimah- incremental improvements in size, strength, not committing stupid fouls, low post moves, and rebounding will yield a first team AAC player and a top 10 center in college basketball. He is already a great defensive player minus 1-2 stupid fouls per game that can cost him 5-10 minutes of playing time per game

All other players- if 2-3 other players on the roster can make a reasonable leap in production from last year, then the team will definitely be a top 25 team. If the chemistry is better, then the team could be top 15

I would like to think that the combo of Nolan, Facey, Enoch and Lubin will be enough to keep Hamilton from playing over 10 mins a game at the 4. Dan Hurley obviously can flourish in the middle of a zone, but his strengths are more needed on the outside creating his shot and shots for others.

 

[David 76]

We have OSU and GTown at home next year... Maryland at our second home, MSG and away at texas.. Would like to say those would be a good way to measure our team but by mid jan I would like to see us rolling... I think we can be very good if we can fix a majority of our issues both as a team and individually. It's not like adams hasn't been in the spotlight, the kid seems to feed off of it... If we can get a big or our guys work over this summer and get much better at rebounding and team defense I think we can be very good... our guards did a lot of the work this year and we were in a lot of games without much from the bigs

Swag, I don't think we can expect a team with a freshman PG to be rolling that soon. I'll be happy if we are rolling in Feb. or March

 

[UConnSwag11]

Swag, I don't think we can expect a team with a freshman PG to be rolling that soon. I'll be happy if we are rolling in Feb. or March

you don't think we'll be rolling by mid january? especially if purvis and hamilton play like we know they can? I think Adams is going to be very good... he won't have to do much just run the offense and take his shot when needed

 

[David 76]

you don't think we'll be rolling by mid january? especially if purvis and hamilton play like we know they can? I think Adams is going to be very good... he won't have to do much just run the offense and take his shot when needed

Just think it will take more time to gel. Love Purvis & Hamilton, but even they are still learning. The Point is a tough position to master. But they and Brimah (even with his limitations) make a strong foundation.

 

[David 76]

I would like to think that the combo of Nolan, Facey, Enoch and Lubin will be enough to keep Hamilton from playing over 10 mins a game at the 4. Dan Hurley obviously can flourish in the middle of a zone, but his strengths are more needed on the outside creating his shot and shots for others.

I hope the combo of the combination of Facey, Enoch and Lubin will be enough to keep Nolan from playing over 10 minutes a game at the 4.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

We do have a lot more returning than many are willing to see (albeit, depending on no non-senior departures). Brimah is not yet a lost cause as players of his profile (not long into playing the game) normally make enormous strides after their first summer of practice at the collegiate level (something he missed out on due to injury last summer). In many cases this is as valuable as game experience.

If he can become more consistent and a bit more polished, Hamilton & Purvis (as primary offensive options and leaders) can become more consistent (and at times more assertive on offense), Nolan, Facey, Omar & Samuel, as role players/supporting cast, more consistent in their play we will have most of what is necessary to be highly competitive. A little improvement from Lubin and a bit contributed by Enoch and some improvement and consistency from Cassell Jr and we will be missing only solid starting point guard play. Here the hope has to be that as a freshman, Adams is closer in personality to KEA than any other PG we've brought in before or after KEA.

 

[Sportsman5]

I would like to think that the combo of Nolan, Facey, Enoch and Lubin will be enough to keep Hamilton from playing over 10 mins a game at the 4. Dan Hurley obviously can flourish in the middle of a zone, but his strengths are more needed on the outside creating his shot and shots for others.

My point is that barring one of those bigs stepping up a lot, then the lineup will be better by replacing one of those traditional big men with a guard. An extra ball handler will be beneficial to the offense and a quick perimeter player to challenge outside shots is better for the defense. Brimah is all we need to control the paint. Hamilton can still drive to the hoop and shoot a lot on offense, but he will guard the opposing 4 when UConn is on defense. He would basically be deandre daniels role. Stretch the floor by shooting 3s and beat the opposing 4 off the dribble. Luckily hamilton is already a better rebounder than deandre and will likely improve on that next year. A little more size would allow him to play against all but the biggest 4s in college basketball.

 

[UCFan1513]

Just curious, if Prince Ali had kept his commitment and played for us what do we think he would have averaged? He'd probably be one of the first guys off the bench, but judging from his athleticism and scoring I want to see what everyone else here thinks he would average and what role he would play.

 

[Stainmaster]

Just curious, if Prince Ali had kept his commitment and played for us what do we think he would have averaged? He'd probably be one of the first guys off the bench, but judging from his athleticism and scoring I want to see what everyone else here thinks he would average and what role he would play.

Couldn't disagree more -- I don't get the obsession with recruits that dropped us/chose other schools over us. I don't care about who isn't on the team, I care about who is. Fixating on the Prince Alis and Chris Clarkes and Tevin Macks of the world only whips the fanbase up into a state of anxiety and always ends up spiraling into some discourse about how we're doomed...

 

[Ripper32]

There are so many question marks going forward and we saw how awful they looked without Boatwright. It's going to be a slow process. Enosh and Adams are going to go through obvious growing pain acclimating themselves to the college game. I think our record will likely be around the same (20-12 ish) barring any major surprises.

 

[UCFan1513]

Couldn't disagree more -- I don't get the obsession with recruits that dropped us/chose other schools over us. I don't care about who isn't on the team, I care about who is. Fixating on the Prince Alis and Chris Clarkes and Tevin Macks of the world only whips the fanbase up into a state of anxiety and always ends up spiraling into some discourse about how we're doomed...

I never said anything to disagree about, only wondered what everyone thought of him as a player as I was unclear

 

[Stainmaster]

I never said anything to disagree about, only wondered what everyone thought of him as a player as I was unclear

There are plenty of scouting reports and highlight tapes out on the internet. Not to sound like I'm splitting hairs, but the "how would this guy fit into UCONN" trope just doesn't make sense to me. We know he's not coming and what's in the past is in the past, so how is that relevant?

 

[UConnDan97]

...and we saw how awful they looked without Boatwright.

We also saw how good they could look without Boatright. It took them quite a while in that game to sort out their respective roles without their leader on the floor, but they stormed back in that game against ASU. That game actually made me feel better about going into next year without Boatright. By the way, I'm deducting 2 points from you for adding a "w" to his name, although he had brought many "w's" to UConn.

 

[UCFan1513]

There are plenty of scouting reports and highlight tapes out on the internet. Not to sound like I'm splitting hairs, but the "how would this guy fit into UCONN" trope just doesn't make sense to me. We know he's not coming and what's in the past is in the past, so how is that relevant?

Was just trying to get the opinions of some other fans on a player. Didn't know it was a crime to have a conversation about a player who isn't playing here

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Was just trying to get the opinions of some other fans on a player. Didn't know it was a crime to have a conversation about a player who isn't playing here

i'll answer. From the videos i've seen, Ali is very athletic. However, he doesn't look like a great shooter or dribbler, and was a bit one-handed. A bit similar to Purvis in his qualities, but doesn't have his build to drive the lane against bigs. But, with that being said, he would probably be the first guard off the bench and could've averaged 6-8 ppg, 2 rebs and an assist, but that is just from watching some of his videos.

 

[HuskyCLT]

lol chap in the comments?

That dude is a certified psycho... It appears he's learned how to speak some French and German too?

 

[RayRay19]

Huge off season for Brimah.....

 

[ctchamps]

There are so many question marks going forward and we saw how awful they looked without Boatwright. It's going to be a slow process. Enosh and Adams are going to go through obvious growing pain acclimating themselves to the college game. I think our record will likely be around the same (20-12 ish) barring any major surprises.

We also saw how good they could look without Boatright. It took them quite a while in that game to sort out their respective roles without their leader on the floor, but they stormed back in that game against ASU. That game actually made me feel better about going into next year without Boatright. By the way, I'm deducting 2 points from you for adding a "w" to his name, although he had brought many "w's" to UConn.

And two points are deducted from you for missing the Enoch miss. Although he hasn't played a single game to separate himself from the German.

 

[Deadrody]

1998 vs 2015
KEA =JA
Who else matches up
Rip =
RM=
Kelis Fisher=
ES
SW-
RJ-OC
JV-AM

Dude, please, PLEASE stop with the 2 letter abbreviations. Good lord.

 

[Silk31]

I have to point back to this year's Maryland's team as a reason for optimism. They were dead in the water last year with a mass exodus coming off another down year and in came Melo Trimble. He was ranked similar to where Adams is and while it is not ideal he played almost every minute of every game. They legit had no other PG on their roster, did you guys see that walk on scrub getting burn vs WVU when Trimble got hurt?!...we have more guard depth than that and UMD was the 2nd best team in the B1G.

They got the most out of their talent and the job that Turgeon did this year reminded me of the KO we came to know and love before last year. I'm all for rolling with the pessimism that this year's team created but all is not lost - all unfortunately will depend on just how good Adams can be as a true freshman. I've been buying into the hype all along so I'm all in on JA being exactly what our team needs

 

[Inyatkin]

Next year is huge. The occasional NIT appearance fits our pattern of the past 25 years perfectly, but we've never had back-to-back disappointing seasons. We've always followed up the bad ones with great or near-great ones. I guess the closest would be 07 to 08 with zero postseason wins, but it was clear we had something going in 2008.

 

[tzznandrew]

Next year is huge. The occasional NIT appearance fits our pattern of the past 25 years perfectly, but we've never had back-to-back disappointing seasons. We've always followed up the bad ones with great or near-great ones. I guess the closest would be 07 to 08 with zero postseason wins, but it was clear we had something going in 2008.

And they were a 4 seed 1 AJ Price ACL away from a S16 date with that Westbrook/Love UCLA team.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Dude, please, PLEASE stop with the 2 letter abbreviations. Good lord.

OK

 

[UConnDan97]

And two points are deducted from you for missing the Enoch miss. Although he hasn't played a single game to separate himself from the German.

I think that I was so taken by surprise of the Boatright misspelling that I burst a capillary in my eyeball and couldn't continue on to find the Enoch error. Therefore, I'm filing for a 2-point waiver due to wrecked old eyes. Being 39 is getting harder and harder...

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If Hamilton as a Soph can be a superstar but if he become jr year DD I'll take it.
IF Brimah can stay on the floor , despite his weaknesses we become a much better defensive team with him on the floor.
If that happens ,
My worries about the four will diminish.
Facey is an inigma
He should be much better than his end of year performance
Maybe injuries ,or just lack of confidence. Its fish or cut bait time for him.
Lubin came from a JV program to the big time
I wrote him off as a marginal contritubuter as a jr or senior
He has exceeded my expectations
Nolan is unique , I think he was slowed by injury
His most important contribution will be attitude .
Seniors mean a lot to the team
Enoch is a true 4 stretch 5
Very young ,his development can make next year's team very good.
My concerns about JA being a freshman although, historically accurate , are tempered by the fact he is a post grad playing at an elite level
That team could beat some D1 schools. He would be much closer to a sophomore in the old days when frosh were ineligible.
Plus he is the type of player who makes everyone around him better.
He will be flanked by experienced guys, that have much more talent than generally given credit for. Our returning guards need to grow , from last year
Why wouldn't they? Back court coaching is our strength or at least should be.
Should be a fun year.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

First of all Congratulation To Kembacity for being my like number 1000
You deserve a special AZEE literary award for reading comprehension.
Thank you
My acerbic wit it lost on many people including my wife.
Second to the name spelling police
Since names are primarily phonetic ,that really don't have correct spellings, they have preferred spelling.
In Ryan's case his preferred spelling is probabably the result of a clerical error in a past generation as the to Engligh words Boat and Right make no sense .
I would suspect his name derives from the English occupational name Boat and Wright
A wright is a skilled worker ,when used with the adjective Boat ,
it indicates a possible link to shipbuilding or a skilled craftman aboard a ship.
As a genealogist , we encounter spelling changes , from father to son.
Literacy was not always as high as it is now. So your name spelling pretty much depended on the wim of a clerk.
Ps The S at the end of Samuel indicates its a sir name , John Samuels, son of Samuel.

 

[PaulVentrales]

hello everyone! with this being my first post I will be more optimistic than I otherwise would.

1. Tsam has to get better - not a typical UConn guard, which is fine and all, but he HAS to develop a jump shot. it's like playing 4 on 5 at times with his defender just sitting in the lane.. which only clogs driving lanes even more for Purvis and dham - I see that are being just as big an issue. Those two have to be freed up - they have to paired with a knockdown shooter to keep defenses honest. Maybe Cassell.. maybe Omar.. I'm skeptical of both. Without any shooters walking in that door, someone will have to develop one.

2. I know the offseason shoulder injury didn't help with his progression, but brimah was a major disappointment for me this year. needs to develop an offensive move - ONE offensive move. A go-to move with a high success rate. Also, to have someone his size get so few rebounds is a major cause for concern. That just can't happen. It all comes down to adding weight in my opinion. He gets pushed around leading to flailing limbs leading to fouls being called on him simply because he's can't absorb contact. (all of this goes for Facey as well). He needs to have a desire to attack the defensive glass. I miss the Jeff Adrien days. Who knows, maybe Rock will be the next? Wishful thinking, I know.

3. Purvis can be a great player, but he needs to spend the summer shooting free throws. For a player relying so much on driving and taking contact at the rim, he needs to be an 80 plus percent free throw shooter. If not, he'll continue to be hesitant on initiating that contact and none of us want to see that. I'd also like to see more elevation on his shot. One, it's a set shot.. and two, he gets no arc on the ball. It sure was fun seeing him in the SMU game tho, easy to be optimistic after seeking that performance - helped me forget a lot of the inconsistencies during the year.

4. I wouldn't be surprised to see dham initiating the offense a fair amount next year.. Ollie is going to have to figure out a way to get the ball in his hands. He's a matchup nightmare with his scoring and passing ability. Tighten up the handle a bit and let him go to work.

5. I think everyone needs to give Jalen Adams a little bit of time to grow. One major thing to remember is that he's relatively new to the point guard position. Prior to this year he was mainly a scoring combo guard. This year at Brewster was the first time he truly ran an offense - granted he excelled in doing so, but the point remains.. he is still learning the position. There may be some growing pains coming into a major D1 program and being asked to do the same.

6. Tremont Waters needs to get more love on here. The kid already is and is going to be an absolute stud... I hope he commits tomorrow. He's the next one.

7. We can't let guys like Mustapha Heron and Kris Dunn leave CT to go to other programs. Those kids have to stay in state. They aren't South Kent/ St. Thomas More prep kids who are shipped in from other states .. these guys are CT public school born and raised. They grow up with UConn.

Long story short, I'm probably not saying anything new here. I am optimistic, but I do see some issues. Guys need to get better. 10-8 in the AAC is horrible. We should be absolutely dominating this conference. I look forward to future conversations!

 

[Stainmaster]

hello everyone! with this being my first post I will be more optimistic than I otherwise would.

1. Tsam has to get better - not a typical UConn guard, which is fine and all, but he HAS to develop a jump shot. it's like playing 4 on 5 at times with his defender just sitting in the lane.. which only clogs driving lanes even more for Purvis and dham - I see that are being just as big an issue. Those two have to be freed up - they have to paired with a knockdown shooter to keep defenses honest. Maybe Cassell.. maybe Omar.. I'm skeptical of both. Without any shooters walking in that door, someone will have to develop one.

2. I know the offseason shoulder injury didn't help with his progression, but brimah was a major disappointment for me this year. needs to develop an offensive move - ONE offensive move. A go-to move with a high success rate. Also, to have someone his size get so few rebounds is a major cause for concern. That just can't happen. It all comes down to adding weight in my opinion. He gets pushed around leading to flailing limbs leading to fouls being called on him simply because he's can't absorb contact. (all of this goes for Facey as well). He needs to have a desire to attack the defensive glass. I miss the Jeff Adrien days. Who knows, maybe Rock will be the next? Wishful thinking, I know.

3. Purvis can be a great player, but he needs to spend the summer shooting free throws. For a player relying so much on driving and taking contact at the rim, he needs to be an 80 plus percent free throw shooter. If not, he'll continue to be hesitant on initiating that contact and none of us want to see that. I'd also like to see more elevation on his shot. One, it's a set shot.. and two, he gets no arc on the ball. It sure was fun seeing him in the SMU game tho, easy to be optimistic after seeking that performance - helped me forget a lot of the inconsistencies during the year.

4. I wouldn't be surprised to see dham initiating the offense a fair amount next year.. Ollie is going to have to figure out a way to get the ball in his hands. He's a matchup nightmare with his scoring and passing ability. Tighten up the handle a bit and let him go to work.

5. I think everyone needs to give Jalen Adams a little bit of time to grow. One major thing to remember is that he's relatively new to the point guard position. Prior to this year he was mainly a scoring combo guard. This year at Brewster was the first time he truly ran an offense - granted he excelled in doing so, but the point remains.. he is still learning the position. There may be some growing pains coming into a major D1 program and being asked to do the same.

6. Tremont Waters needs to get more love on here. The kid already is and is going to be an absolute stud... I hope he commits tomorrow. He's the next one.

7. We can't let guys like Mustapha Heron and Kris Dunn leave CT to go to other programs. Those kids have to stay in state. They aren't South Kent/ St. Thomas More prep kids who are shipped in from other states .. these guys are CT public school born and raised. They grow up with UConn.

Long story short, I'm probably not saying anything new here. I am optimistic, but I do see some issues. Guys need to get better. 10-8 in the AAC is horrible. We should be absolutely dominating this conference. I look forward to future conversations!

Welcome to the zoo. You bring up some very good points - we shall see how it all plays out.