Niels

[intlzncster]

I think what says the most about NG is, like a lot of the guys from this team, he stuck it out when he could have went elsewhere. His decision to stay might have even been the most difficult out of everyone's. He wasn't guaranteed a starting spot or huge minutes coming into the season. The teams chances at winning it all didn't look phenomenal at the begining of the year. He wasn't really playing for NBA scouts. His home was an ocean away. He could have easily gone pro in Germany after his stellar performance this summer and started making loot. He could have bounced back to the motherland with his one title and he'd have been showered in good German beer and bratwurts and beautiful Bavarian women and been paid enough Euros to swim in a la Scrooge McDuck.

Damn that sounds good. Niels is a stronger man than I.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I love niels. Thats all.

 

[uconndoit]

And he never gave up even though his grandfathers bombed Pearl Harbor!

 

[upstater]

Boatright was grabbing rebounds like crazy, creating space, popping Js, getting under people's shirts. It would be mind boggling to imagine him doing that consistently. But if he could and added assists to his repertoire, then yes he could play in the NBA. He plays much bigger than his size.

As for Giffey, he really played well in the European championships and I could see him as a glue guy who can pop 3s.

 

[David 76]

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for puny little me asking if there was any shot NG could go in the 2nd round or would he go D league and try to make it like Ollie.
Such a ridiculous, biased, question should never have seen the light of day. Especially seeing that NG had a 2 game slump with his jump shot. I will leave now for the remedial BY where a will attempt to learn what "a real question" is

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I love Neils, but if anyone thinks he is getting drafted to the NBA they are just too biased to the huskies. Great piece to our national championship team but he would do nothing in the NBA.

Welcome to the board. You seem great.

 

[CL82]

If you had told me at the start of the season that our championship dream would rely upon an undersized bearded German swing man playing the 5 against some of the toughest big men we faced all year, I would not have been all that confident about our chances. By the championship game, it didn't make me blink.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I am an alumni and HUGE UCONN fan, and love that we won. I thought the point of these message boards was for fans to engage in any interesting discussion or points they are thinking and not just 100% positive and exaggerated statement. First and foremost I am amazed, stunned and beyond proud of everything that is UCONN basketball this year. There is an infinite amount of praise and positive statements to be said about the team as a whole and each individual player and coach who contributed but are you guys kidding me that there is no room for praise. I am a HUGE fan, but also unbiased and some of the stuff I read is so exaggerated. Can Giffey play in the NBA? Like that's a real question. EVERY announcer and analyst said he would have a great career in Europe, no one mentioned the NBA except on these boards. Great contributor for us, but sorry for pointing out he doesn't have a spot in the NBA. Should I run and get off the boards for that?

And Boatright is an incredible athlete and basketball player, but I don't know where you could find anyone saying that this year he is a first round draft pick other than these UCONN message boards.

Sorry for trying to be unbiased, not hating on anyone, just trying to be unbiased and give my opinion.

I figured I'd wait until I'd read all posts before chiming in, and then you came back to defend your stance. Many others have already taken you to task for inserting yourself into a celebratory thread to point out that Niels missed 8 consecutive 3-pointers over the span of the 3 final rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

• First, a fact for someone who above seems to denigrate exaggeration: 8 shots does not equal a TON.

• Second, there actually were some allusive mentions of missed shots, which contradicts your saying that nobody mentioned them.

• Third, nobody has attacked you for your careless error above when you wrote "praise" and likely meant "criticism." Either way, we're neither kidding you nor intending that no criticism is allowed.

• Fourth, Niels's missed 3-pointers during the last 3 games of the season were all part of the mojo.

Most "sports journalism professionals" not only believed that Michigan State, then Florida, then Kentucky would beat UCONN, but also asserted that UCONN could likely only win if they played a 'perfect game.' Niels's missed shots, and other players' imperfections make evident that such was not the case. It also reveals the foolishness of any after-the-fact claims about poor shooting, poor foul shooting, and poor individual performance as a 'reason' why UCONN could prevail over better teams. In other words: WE MADE MISTAKES TOO! I saw so much to commend in Niels's overall play in those last 3 games that I remained confident that he should be in the games even when shots he regularly made throughout the year weren't dropping. I figured that sooner-or-later they would, and they did (YAY).​

Monday may well have been a good day for you to join The Boneyard, and you are always welcome to state opinions, reveal personal idiosyncracies, even make typographical and/or grammar errors. But adding to the conversation at hand is always more appreciated than not.

PS - Even if it is unlikely that Niels will play in the NBA, imagining the possibility is one way that I can cope with the thought f not seeing him play again. I will miss the guys together for certain, but there really is a good chance that I won't see Niels and Lasan play again. Don't even get me started about Tyler and Tor.

 

[Danzz]

Niels is right up there with Rashad.

Giffey is a different player than Rashad. Giffey contributed more than shooting and in the shooting category category Rashad was far superior because he could make his shots under pressure. Rashad was more aggressive and thought shoot first. If Rashad ever got a rebound it was by accident. Giffey developed into an outstanding position rebounder and without his work on the boards we probably don't win a NCC. Except for their ability to make open outside shots, they were really quite different players.

 

[RichZ]

Totally agree....over the course of this year, he came to be able to compete with much bigger offensive players, started securing critical rebounds (no longer tapping them), and still playing tough D outside the paint as well. He was more confident as a ball handler and drove the ball and even made some baby hooks. Add that to shooting about 50% from 3 and Niels was one of the critical pieces of the puzzle that came together as the team moved toward the tournament.

To hit those two critical 3 pointers was just so awesome. His going cold for that stretch would have been a lousy way to end his career. Instead, he was one of the heroes who brought home the championship. It looked like he could not have been a better teammate and representative of the University of Connecticut.

He demonstrated the surest hands rebounding that we've seen in quite some time. If he got 2 hands on the ball, it was his, period.

 

[Mattydog7]

I love Neils, but if anyone thinks he is getting drafted to the NBA they are just too biased to the huskies. Great piece to our national championship team but he would do nothing in the NBA.

Good man coming off the bench in the NBA.

 

[SHS72]

LoveNeils too, but his inability to hit 3 s late in tourney will hurt him big time.think Europe team may be his best bet.

 

[phillionaire]

LoveNeils too, but his inability to hit 3 s late in tourney will hurt him big time.think Europe team may be his best bet.

his ability to hit all of those other threes doesn't mean anything i guess

 

[7774]

LoveNeils too, but his inability to hit 3 s late in tourney will hurt him big time.think Europe team may be his best bet.

Out of all the reasons to think Neils won't make the NBA...................................

 

[Mots010]

LoveNeils too, but his inability to hit 3 s late in tourney will hurt him big time.think Europe team may be his best bet.

Two threes in the last 10 minutes of a NC game wasn't late enough?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I am an alumni...

NFW, you are an alumni. That is all!

 

[hungry husky]

Niels is right up there with Rashad.

That's apples to oranges my friend. Rashad was a lights out 3 point specialist and Giffey was a superior defensive player.

 

[UConnDad]

Looks like another championship!

 

[joober jones]

Niels served me more crow than any other UConn player and it was delicious.

 

[Fishy]

If you revive a thread that's two years old for no good reason, you'll get punched square in the forehead.

It's right there in the terms of service, so don't do it.

 

[Palatine]

Many felt that Niels passed up too many open threes. But it was more a case of knowing his own ability and when the close out would get there. His high percentage was directly related to him making sure h was getting uncontested shots.