Nice article on The Rock

[UChusky916]

http://www.ctpost.com/uconn/article...k-presence-but-also-5785249.php?cmpid=twitter

 

[breezy]

I can't wait for other teams to get rocked.

 

[ctchamps]

http://www.ctpost.com/uconn/article...k-presence-but-also-5785249.php?cmpid=twitter

It's funny how preconceptions can be so wrong. I would have thought him a banger and less quick than the other bigs. But if Nolan's perception is accurate I couldn't have been more wrong. If accurate it will be the coaches job to get him to slam players at least as hard as Tyler. While not as easy as some would think, I feel that is more doable than trying to get quickness out of someone who is physically limited in speed.

"We had Tyler (Olander last year)," UConn junior center Phil Nolan said. "Tyler is a little bit taller and could slam into me a little bit more. ¦ (But Rock's) different than Tyler, way different. Tyler was slower than him and he can move around a lot more.

"I never noticed (how quick Lubin is) until we had to do defensive slides one day and he was just knocking them out, going crazy, and I just never realized he was that fast."

 

[mauconnfan]

"I haven't done anything yet."

I like that statement a lot. Does have confidence in his ability to do the essential things which will get him on the court yet knows he has something to prove. This will be interesting to watch, if he is more than just a 3-5 minute player as a young unknown would be expected to do, then sky's the limit for this team. So many different story lines waiting to be decided it's going to be fun!

 

[James]

Can't wait to see him play. who knows maybe he can legit play power forward for long minutes. Really have no clue

 

[Kitaman]

I hope he watches some K-Free film and Freeman can get in his ear (legitimately). He seems the perfect UConn baller.

Ollie (or whoever deserves credit) found a potential gem.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Folks hmmmm I think we may have found another enforcer to protect our YARD. This B.I.G. is saying ALL the right things. This guy is not playing around. Mama Rock has created a YardProtector and a great student athlete.

Shout out to ROCK:

 

[David 76]

If Rock is half as good as he thinks he is, we will be in great shape.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

If Rock is half as good as he thinks he is, we will be in great shape.

The confidence is a great attribute. The guy has a serious chip. The UConn way.

 

[Mazhude]

"I might be the shortest big we got, but I'm also the quickest, strongest and the fastest," Lubin said. "I won't have to play the five, but that just means I'll have to run a lot more..." Great attitude. Looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

To me, the news about great lateral quickness is really exciting. He has a lot to learn to play at this level, but if he can pick things up quickly, he could be a contributor and more. Maybe KO will play 10 guys, at least until things sort out.

 

[aceboon]

the news of him knocking out defensive drills is encouraging, don't want to take too much out of a 3 game sample size, but in those 3 games I watched I thought he was a nightmare on the defensive end, very poor in rotating and offering help. Some of that is on him but it didn't seem like the coach was holding him accountable so he gets some of the blame too. We know with KO if you're not playing D you're not playing, so if he has the athletic tools in place the staff will definitely get him to play effective D eventually. If Lubin can be 70%(or slightly less) than what Rico Gathers is for Baylor I will be very happy.

 

[ctchamps]

the news of him knocking out defensive drills is encouraging, don't want to take too much out of a 3 game sample size, but in those 3 games I watched I thought he was a nightmare on the defensive end, very poor in rotating and offering help. Some of that is on him but it didn't seem like the coach was holding him accountable so he gets some of the blame too. We know with KO if you're not playing D you're not playing, so if he has the athletic tools in place the staff will definitely get him to play effective D eventually. If Lubin can be 70%(or slightly less) than what Rico Gathers is for Baylor I will be very happy.

I came away with a similar impression when I viewed his games. I wasn't sure, however, how much of his defensive failures were the result of physical and mental limitations (speed, desire, BBIQ) and how much were the result of necessity given that Rakim was the only "tall" physical player on that team. If it was the coaches plan to keep Rock on the court for the majority of the game he may have advocated a less aggressive approach to Rock's game with the intention of avoiding foul trouble and conserving energy. If I were motivated enough I'd re-watch the games to see if he played more aggressively as the game progressed and foul trouble was not a concern.

 

[Scot-e]

Zero. There are simply too many proven options ahead of him. If he starts we won the lottery with his scholi.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Zero. There are simply too many proven options ahead of him. If he starts we won the lottery with his scholi.

I think that this is the opposite of true. We don't have any proven, reliable frontcourt players. Brimah and Nolan played well in spurts last year, but both fouled too much to play even 20mpg while Facey could barely get on the court. If Lubin can rebound and defend while staying out of foul trouble, I'd say he has an outstanding shot to start.

 

[PAHusky]

I think that this is the opposite of true. We don't have any proven, reliable frontcourt players. Brimah and Nolan played well in spurts last year, but both fouled too much to play even 20mpg while Facey could barely get on the court. If Lubin can rebound and defend while staying out of foul trouble, I'd say he has an outstanding shot to start.

Facey could barely get on the court because he played the same position as a kid who got drafted and a fourth year senior who ended up being one of the best glue guys we've ever had at UConn. If Rock ends up starting, fantastic, but I don't get why everyone is writing Facey off so quickly.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Facey could barely get on the court because he played the same position as a kid who got drafted and a fourth year senior who ended up being one of the best glue guys we've ever had at UConn. If Rock ends up starting, fantastic, but I don't get why everyone is writing Facey off so quickly.

If you're going to join the conversation, actually do so. I was responding to a post that said Lubin couldn't start because there are "simply too many proven options ahead of him," which is hogwash. Stating an irrefutable fact that Facey is not proven at this level is not "writing him off," and I'll thank you to not put words in my mouth.

 

[johnhuskies95]

If you're going to join the conversation, actually do so. I was responding to a post that said Lubin couldn't start because there are "simply too many proven options ahead of him," which is hogwash. Stating an irrefutable fact that Facey is not proven at this level is not "writing him off," and I'll thank you to not put words in my mouth.

Ignoring your douchiness for a second, he's not exactly wrong. There's necessary context to your statement that Facey "could barely get on the court".

 

[Scot-e]

My point- since it appears Bruce does not get it- is that if Rock starts we either found a star basketball player that no other D1 schools even looked at (@ AB) or we are going to be really really awful next year. Just saying.

 

[ctchamps]

My point- since it appears Bruce does not get it- is that if Rock starts we either found a star basketball player that no other D1 schools even looked at (@ AB) or we are going to be really really awful next year. Just saying.

There are a lot of other dice combinations than just snake eyes and boxcars. Just implying.

 

[David 76]

"I might be the shortest big we got, but I'm also the quickest, strongest and the fastest," Lubin said. "I won't have to play the five, but that just means I'll have to run a lot more..." Great attitude. Looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table.

Great attitude or pissing off the other bigs? Nolan's comments give me hope. W/O them, could sound toxic.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Ignoring your douchiness for a second, he's not exactly wrong. There's necessary context to your statement that Facey "could barely get on the court".

Yes, and the context is that I'm responding to a poster who, so far as I can tell, referred to Facey (among others) as "proven," which was the point I was clearly refuting in my post, when I said that we don't have any proven, reliable frontcourt options. If he'd taken the time to read my post, he'd have realized that no, I'm not writing Facey off (though, unlike many others here, I'm not taking the fact that Giffey and Daniels existed as proof that Facey is about to be a breakout star), but to call him "proven" is ludicrous. He's the definition of unproven.

 

[CallMeBruce]

My point- since it appears Bruce does not get it- is that if Rock starts we either found a star basketball player that no other D1 schools even looked at (@ AB) or we are going to be really really awful next year. Just saying.

If I didn't interpret your remarks that way, it's only because that's not even close to what you said. You said that Lubin has "zero" shot of starting because there are "too many proven options ahead of him," and that him starting would be evidence that we "won the lottery with his [scholarship.]" Who are these "proven options?"

 

[johnhuskies95]

Yes, and the context is that I'm responding to a poster who, so far as I can tell, referred to Facey (among others) as "proven." If he'd taken the time to read my post, he'd have realized that no, I'm not writing Facey off (though, unlike many others here, I'm not taking the fact that Giffey and Daniels existed as proof that Facey is about to be a breakout star), but to call him "proven" is ludicrous. He's the definition of unproven.

This board isn't just a series of individual arguments, where posters decide to take one of two sides. He took issue with something that you wrote in response to another poster, so he responded.