Nolan and Omar

[tentoes4rings]

While a strong argument can be made for how the youth of this team is responsible for much of this team's sloppiness and lack of execution, people seem to overlook that the reason we rely so much on freshmen and sophomores is because our two juniors have killed us this year.

Phil had zero points and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes tonight and failed to box out repeatedly. If Phil was just a serviceable center this year we'd probably have two or three more wins. Omar is shooting 39% and 55% from the FT line with a 1:2.2 assist to turnover ratio. If Omar isn't scoring, he's providing next to no value unfortunately. This team desperately needs leadership from these guys but instead has gotten consistently poor play out of them. This is as responsible if not more responsible for this team's woes as anything else.

 

[Chin Diesel]

They were supposed to be the upperclassmen who supplemented Boatright for leadership and experience. And they haven't brought much to the team.

 

[Yankees32123]

Couldn't agree more. Sometimes I forget that we have upperclassmen other than Boatright.

 

[UConn17]

This makes me think of an interesting point. Do you think it is possible neither is a captain next year? Like they will be seniors but neither seem completely deserving of a captaincy

 

[superjohn]

Omar is limited offensively but he clearly is a guy who lacks confidence. He looked so good earlier in the year for a stretch and now he adds nothing. He's scared to take an open jumper and with his defense he simply can't play if he's not hitting shots.

 

[tentoes4rings]

This makes me think of an interesting point. Do you think it is possible neither is a captain next year? Like they will be seniors but neither seem completely deserving of a captaincy

Absolutely. I see TSam or Hamilton being a captain over either of them.

 

[BoatShow]

Phil had the type of game where you forget he's out there until he does something awful. Missing layups is inexcusable when you're his size

 

[BoatShow]

Absolutely. I see TSam or Hamilton being a captain over either of them.

Probably telling that Amida already is a captain.

 

[Migs]

There's a reason KO bypassed seniority to give the Co-Captain role to AB.

 

[ctchamps]

I have yet to see a decent correlation between age and ability. Not a given. Not sure what people were expecting from either player since they didn't show much last season.

 

[Alum86]

God help us. Nolan has regressed.
Samuel as well. Purvis is horrific.
He gets lumped cause he has been here as transfer. Facey has regressed.
Bad team.

 

[champs99and04]

Seems like an odd night to pick on Phil. He missed two maddening bunnies, which is a nightly occurrence for him, but he helped us get back in the game. He guarded Goodwin and Nichols much better than either Brimah or Facey did, and our defense was stifling from the moment Ollie paired him with Brimah in the front court. If Nolan had started that game I think we win.

 

[SaeHusky]

somebody explain to me why Nolan played during crunch time tonight

 

[tentoes4rings]

I have yet to see a decent correlation between age and ability. Not a given. Not sure what people were expecting from either player since they didn't show much last season.

Omar was hurt last year and Phil actually was a significant contributor down the stretch to a national championship. I think we had the right to at least expect respectable play out of Phil based on how he finished last year. Whether it's added weight or another reason, his regression and lack of production have been very troubling.

 

[ctchamps]

Omar was hurt last year and Phil actually was a significant contributor down the stretch to a national championship. I think we had the right to at least expect respectable play out of Phil based in how're finished last year. Whether it's added weight or another reason, his regression and lack of production have been very troubling.

Not blaming either player. Essentially OC was a bench player last season and PN was a role player who played alongside a 4 who was drafted in the NBA. And many times the most effective line up last season was with NG and DD playing the 4 and 5.

What I love is that nothing is guaranteed. We can make projections but anyone who believes projections are guaranteed does not understand entropy.

 

[champs99and04]

somebody explain to me why Nolan played during crunch time tonight

Because he helped get us back in the game with great defense on Memphis' big men.

 

[tentoes4rings]

Seems like an odd night to pick on Phil. He missed two maddening bunnies, which is a nightly occurrence for him, but he helped us get back in the game. He guarded Goodwin and Nichols much better than either Brimah or Facey did, and our defense was stifling from the moment Ollie paired him with Brimah in the front court. If Nolan had started that game I think we win.

Do you just try to pick on every one of my posts? He failed to box out repeatedly, missed two lay ups in his two attempts, a one and one and had a grand total of two rebounds. His defense was ok, I'll grant you that, but as a junior in a crucial game we need a lot more out of him to be a solid team.

 

[uconnfan68]

This makes me think of an interesting point. Do you think it is possible neither is a captain next year? Like they will be seniors but neither seem completely deserving of a captaincy

Amida is already a co-captain with Boat. He'll be a 3 year co-captain. No way he leaves early.

 

[uconnfan68]

Omar was hurt last year and Phil actually was a significant contributor down the stretch to a national championship. I think we had the right to at least expect respectable play out of Phil based on how he finished last year. Whether it's added weight or another reason, his regression and lack of production have been very troubling.

It's like none of them ever play basketball anymore. None expects any passes, no one moves, no one boxes out, lots of pushing instead of playing defense with their feet.

 

[champs99and04]

Do you just try to pick on every one of my posts? He failed to box out repeatedly, missed two lay ups in his two attempts, a one and one and had a grand total of two rebounds. His defense was ok, I'll grant you that, but as a junior in a crucial game we need a lot more out of him to be a solid team.

I'm not sure I remember having many conversations with you in the past, so you may be thinking of somebody else. As for Nolan, I grant you his two layups were cringe-worthy, he's never been a good rebounder, and he's been a disappointment this season But there are components of his game that make him a useful player in certain match-ups, and tonight was one such match-up. Facey and Brimah were abused by Nichols and Goodwin for the entire game. Whether they were posting, rolling off screens, or even popping to the elbow for jumpers, those two were just doing whatever they wanted and eviscerating the UConn defense. Nolan may not have done anything extraordinary in his time out there, but his mere presence had a stabilizing effect on the whole team; instead of scrambling around every possession trying to double the post, Nolan was able to use his strength to wall off and move his feet on the perimeter. It is not a coincidence that Ollie kept him on the floor during crunch-time; he was a key cog in a comeback effort that fell just short (and may have been completed if not for some shaky officiating).

 

[ctchamps]

I'm not sure I remember having many conversations with you in the past, so you may be thinking of somebody else. As for Nolan, I grant you his two layups were cringe-worthy, he's never been a good rebounder, and he's been a disappointment this season But there are components of his game that make him a useful player in certain match-ups, and tonight was one such match-up. Facey and Brimah were abused by Nichols and Goodwin for the entire game. Whether they were posting, rolling off screens, or even popping to the elbow for jumpers, those two were just doing whatever they wanted and eviscerating the UConn defense. Nolan may not have done anything extraordinary in his time out there, but his mere presence had a stabilizing effect on the whole team; instead of scrambling around every possession trying to double the post, Nolan was able to use his strength to wall off and move his feet on the perimeter. It is not a coincidence that Ollie kept him on the floor during crunch-time; he was a key cog in a comeback effort that fell just short (and may have been completed if not for some shaky officiating).

The type of analysis that I love to read. I would add that Brimah and DHam were getting abused as well. The biggest failure of blocking out was that one spin move Nichols put on PN. That hurt. Totally agree that the combo of PN and AB was the most effective combo. KO couldn't employ it earlier because you never know how many fouls AB will get.

 

[Stainmaster]

God help us. Nolan has regressed.
Samuel as well. Purvis is horrific.
He gets lumped cause he has been here as transfer. Facey has regressed.
Bad team.

Facey has regressed? The guy basically saw no court time last year...

 

[champs99and04]

The type of analysis that I love to read. I would add that Brimah and DHam were getting abused as well. The biggest failure of blocking out was that one spin move Nichols put on PN. That hurt. Totally agree that the combo of PN and AB was the most effective combo. KO couldn't employ it earlier because you never know how many fouls AB will get.

Yup, it was a rough game for Brimah defensively. He's the type of player that will dominate a game defensively for a stretch of possessions and then be a liability the next few possessions. Tonight, Nichols had his way - he hit a couple jumpers early as Brimah was late to close out, and then later he took him in the post and scored there. AB's pick-and-roll defense was uneven as usual, though I thought it improved later in the game.

The good news regarding your comments on Hamilton is that he's a freshman. He's struggling with the type of stuff freshman usually struggle with (concentration lapses off the ball, overplaying the perimeter, difficulties fighting through contact, etc.). He has the ability to become a great defender in time.