Yeah I've heard this argument and...I'm not really buying this. Purvis was a McD AA and 5 star recruit. He has played very well at times. Adams was a five star recruit who has looked transcendent at times, and clumsy at others. Brimah has great days, but is indeed limited. Facey has actually been much better than anyone hoped. So have Vital and Vance as Freshmen. Enoch has some clear offensive skill, more than any big man in years honestly. So what happened...all of these guys just suddenly, en masse became unable to shoot or rebound or pass or dribble without it going off their foot? Unable to defend a 3 point shot or block out? Occam's razor tells me that isn't likely. No more likely than a team with Obi at safety being unable to stop Syracuse's passing game.
I don't think they were put in a position to succeed. I think that was true even before the two big injuries hit. I think they are running an offense that is archaic and easily defended. An offense that relies much too heavily on individual ability to break down an opponent. Let's be fair to Ollie, that's based on Calhoun's offense, and it did work for years, and in particular in years when we had exceptional one on one players. We don't this year and won't next year. They cannot keep running that offense. It needs to go to the scrap heap. A better PG isn't a magic cure either. It was obvious all year that nobody on that team has any real role on offense...constantly waving each other this way and that, weaving pointlessly out beyond the arc. Did you see other teams doing that? Who? Watch the better coached teams play offense and tell me you see anything that looks as sloppy and ill-defined as what we run. This isn't new. The offense sucked last year too, but at least the D was decent.
Defense, that's where the injuries hurt most. UConn D has always been a very high level of effort man. Purvis played it that way most of the year. Vital seemed to catch on. Adams...not so much. Vance...he got better but isn't there, and I wouldn't expect him to be. So they went to zone that they honestly looked like they didn't know how to play. In short, the lack of depth and inability to sub meant that the D had to too take too many pauses, during which opponents went on runs. If the offense wasn't garbage, maybe we withstand those runs.
Well, since it's my post you're responding to, I'll respond to you directly, though I've seen others do so above. And I hate that you're going to force me to write things I wish I didn't have to about players whom I like and who have been dedicated to the team.
Re: Purvis, can anyone point to a single moment, either at NC St., or here, when he's played consistently like the 5* McDAA he was in high school? That, my friends, is being over-rated. He's a solid athlete, a good defender on the perimeter and plays hard. But at 6'3"-6'4" he needs to handle the rock and pass better. He needs to be a much more consistent outside shooter, not just having moments when he gets red hot, then throws up a 1-10 his next couple games. How many times was he stripped clean on the way to the hoop, or did he throw up an off-balance heave when he wasn't? And he needs to have much better court sense - he doesn't see the court that well. Too many times I've seen him unable to locate the open area and give himself the extra half second to get his shot off. He's a stand-still jump shooter who doesn't get his feet and hands ready to shoot before the ball arrives. So while he holds the credentials, he's never played to the label. Just ask yourself, would you rather have Purvis or Troy Caupain for the last 3 years?
No all of those guys didn't just suddenly forget how to dribble and shoot. Most of them, save Jackson and Adams, weren't reliable shooters to begin with. And Jackson is a freshman who wasn't being counted upon initially. Adams is a sophomore. (And you recall Walker and Napier as sophomores, don't you?) Save for Adams no one could ever beat their guy off the dribble. And then he got injured late in the season, with big games approaching. I've written in other threads that I thought Ollie should have instituted a more structured offense rather than the pro-style dribble drive and dish with this group. But I think that became apparent during the season, rather than before the season, once the other two guys who could dribble-drive got injured. That's tough sledding.
Vital was a freshman. He showed it at times, and he shone at times, as freshman do. He's tough and plays hard. But he's a freshman. You conveniently ignored Enoch's defensive limitations and propensity to foul, which kept him from a much bigger role even with the better offensive skills. Great with baby hooks and short jumpers, but at 6'11" he also had some trouble finishing at the hoop. As I wrote, Facey was perhaps the most consistent and reliable performer, but remember that in the first 4-5 games even that wasn't the case. And in the first half yesterday he was 0-8. Is that on Ollie? As for defense, they actually played the zone pretty well, though didn't rebound well out of it. Heck, they didn't rebound much better against strong front lines in the man, either.
The senior class is what they are, and that's why their record is what it is. But they gave their all and played hard, and I like that. I like last years recruit class, and I like next years class. This will build.
