Observations from first three games

[Burnsbros23]

First off the obvious, we need Ryan Boatright. We need his ball handling his scoring all that. But something else this team seems to lack at times right now is a little spunk a little swagger off the bench. And Ryan will bring all that confidence energy and even a little vocal leadership. I think Shabazz is settling in nicely to being a starter and making smart decisions offensively and defensively now we need someone to do what Bazz did last year and thats what Ryan will bring.

The Big man rotation- I think we need to get AO and AD comfortable and use to playing with each other. Two concerns I have with that are is AO skilled enough to be a four and keep things from being too crowding down low? Also both AO and AD to me rely on their length and athleticism more than positioning for rebounding and sometimes that really pisses Calhoun off. And honestly AD is better than I thought I know the numbers havent shown it but he just needs a little more time under Calhoun and he could be great.

Tyler Olander- Obviously hes been very good rebounding scoring making passes from the high low. But I watch us vs these over matched teams and wonder if Olander can do it in the big east? This brings me too Roscoe Smith who was essentially are starting PF last year and played well. I think we need to get Roscoe's confidence back and I could see him eating into Olander's minutes but right now he is just not himself.

Niels Giffey- Just think we could get a little more out of his ability.

Daniels Lamb and Bazz have all been great.

 

[NOTaDIME]

Daniels has really been a bright spot. I feel like he could have been a touch overlooked, but the kid was still a highly touted recruit and he is looking great for being three games into his college career. The bottom line with this team is how the talent develops. We could be a great team if DD, AD, and Boatshow play with as much potential as we know they all have. The good news is that we have JC at the helm which makes me feel a lot better about the development of these young guys. Look at last year for an example...

 

[dogpause]

Roscoe seems to lack only confidence, especially when it comes to shooting. I think there will be a day when it all clicks for Roscoe -- his first shot drops, he blocks a shot, and gets a breakaway dunk -- that will put him over the top.

 

[Peacefrog]

Even last year I really liked what I saw from Tyler. He just seemed to play smart and always with a lot of effort. He just seemed to need a bit of seasoning and strength. If he is stronger this year and with a season of experience I expect him to be a lot more effective in Big East games. Sure, maybe not as much as against Maine but I believe he will be able to hold his own and then some.

 

[Prezidint]

Tyler Olander- Obviously hes been very good rebounding scoring making passes from the high low. But I watch us vs these over matched teams and wonder if Olander can do it in the big east?

Time will tell. I'm curious.

 

[tykurez]

Olander can absolutely do it in the BEast and I'll tell you why ... because he wants it. He puts himself in position to make a play on every play, and that's why he's going to be a big part of this team.

Daniels is REALLY impressing me. Part of me wonders if the coaches told him to be more aggressive looking for his offense against Maine, because he came out ready to play.

I know some people want AD to be more dominant, but I really liked his game last night ... played within himself and really went after the boards.

Neils is trying not to make a mistake and it's turning into mistakes. He's passing up open shots and driving into nowhere ... I think he finally got it a few times in the second half, but he needs to get a little more confident.

I'm slightly worried about Roscoe. You can see his confidence is shaken and he's pressing when he's in there. Was a bit out of sync last night. Perhaps Calhoun is being hard on him to get him to work even harder ... I just hope it doesn't get to his head too much. They'll need beast Roscoe when things get more serious.

The other guys were steady, as expected. Lamb was a bit off but still had a decent line. Shabazz did what he had to do, and Oriakhi had a nice bounce back.

 

[ctchamps]

The need for RB is definite. JL is a great 2G and moving him to the one really reduces a significant offensive threat.

I expect a number of fans to expect RB to contribute immediately after the buildup of his importance. The crud about his delay is that he is not only missing the games he's missing, he's missing developing time. That means that when he finally gets into the lineup it will take additional games before he gets comfortable with his team mates, things the rest of the team are currently undertaking. I hope the fans are patient with him and don't dismiss him if he has early rough patches.

TO is the best passer among the bigs. AD has a reputation for being a good passer and I expect that as he gets more comfortable playing at the college pace and when his mask comes off, he might become the best passer. For now TO is by far better than the rest when it comes to passing. RS really struggles in passing, particularly interior passing and AO struggles with passing.

TO is the best 10 to 15 foot shooter among the 4's and 5's. He and Lamb are the best zone busters. TO works well with either AD or AO regarding positioning himself on the floor relative to the other two guys. AD seems lost at times and he and AO often are too close to one another to stretch defenses.

On the other hand when AD and AO are in together they are a nightmare for most teams on the offensive boards. Last season the number of offensive rebounds by the bigs was not very good relative to size advantage UConn often had. Kemba was one of the best offensive rebounders. This season is shaping up to be better than last season.

DD is a very good rebounder. Almost as good as JL. However three times in the Maine game he knocked the ball out of his team mates hand. I expect as the season goes on he'll be more aware of who is going up for rebounds and not interfere with his teammates.

RS is out of sync, but not bad enough yet that I believe he is spinning out of control. He still does a fantastic job on the defensive end. He and TO are both good at positioning themselves for D rebounds and are better than AO and AD in doing this. RS is more successful at getting uncontested D rebounds than Tyler when the ball is coming off the rim in the direction of these two players. When the competition gets tougher RS will be an asset for the team. He will be a part of the rotation of AO, TO, AD for the 4 - 5 spots. His minutes at the 3 will be reduced this season.

NG is still thinking about what JC wants every time he gets the ball instead of just playing. Nothing wrong with that. JC will develop him much better than some of the other notable coaches. In the second half, NG's play was more seamless - by this I mean he integrated what JC wanted without the obvious delay of thinking about what does JC want me to do now. I like this kid. He doesn't show any resentment to JC's instructions. I feel the game will click for him this season and he will be an important part of the rotation at the 2 - 3 spot with JL and DD.

 

[gibhunter]

Daniels came out ready to play cause it was his first start. Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, he should be starting and in his first start he scored 15 points.

 

[MarkT]

Daniels has really been a bright spot. I feel like he could have been a touch overlooked, but the kid was still a highly touted recruit and he is looking great for being three games into his college career. The bottom line with this team is how the talent develops. We could be a great team if DD, AD, and Boatshow play with as much potential as we know they all have. The good news is that we have JC at the helm which makes me feel a lot better about the development of these young guys. Look at last year for an example...

Overlooked? He was the 10th ranked player overall (not the 10th in his position but 10 overall) so how is he overlooked? If anything, I think that 10th was a little high. Our original commit in Moe Harkless (unfortunately decommited from UConn and now plays for Samson Johnson) already looks better and I think has a lot more upside (I believe he was in the top 40 but well below Daniels in the rankings). To be honest, if I could trade Daniels and get Harkless I would - the kid is already a stud and in the next year or two he is going to be one of the best collegiate players (if he stays) if not the best.

 

[intlzncster]

Overlooked? He was the 10th ranked player overall (not the 10th in his position but 10 overall) so how is he overlooked? If anything, I think that 10th was a little high. Our original commit in Moe Harkless (unfortunately decommited from UConn and now plays for Samson Johnson) already looks better and I think has a lot more upside (I believe he was in the top 40 but well below Daniels in the rankings). To be honest, if I could trade Daniels and get Harkless I would - the kid is already a stud and in the next year or two he is going to be one of the best collegiate players (if he stays) if not the best.

You are overrating Harkless. MH is the best player on a bad team, and therefore looks a lot better than he is. People did this with Melvin last year. He does more because he has to.

IMO DD has more upside based on his body alone: 2 inches, greater wingspan, and a greater potential to fill out. Also has a better looking shot. Harkless will be a good, maybe a great player, but best in the country? Let's see if he can make All BE 1st team next year.

 

[MarkT]

You are overrating Harkless. MH is the best player on a bad team, and therefore looks a lot better than he is. People did this with Melvin last year. He does more because he has to.

IMO DD has more upside based on his body alone: 2 inches, greater wingspan, and a greater potential to fill out. Also has a better looking shot. Harkless will be a good, maybe a great player, but best in the country? Let's see if he can make All BE 1st team next year.

Samson Johnson is not a bad team, they are a young team (younger then us) facing much tougher competition then us earlier in the year. So if you are saying Harkless is overrated playing on a bad team, then you should be saying Daniels is overrated too - he's playing against worse competition then Harkless and Harkless is putting up better numbers then Daniels (Samson Johnson has 4 players avg double digits in points so its not like he's gettin the ball all the time or the offense is running only through him). Harkless is a much better defender, better athlete, better 1 on 1 (he can beat you in more ways then Daniels), and he can shoot - he may not have as big a wing span but he is a much better athlete and actually jumps when he shoots the ball (you will see Daniels shot get blocked a lot once we face better teams just like RS had his blocked last year cus hes not a jump shooter either). Samson Johnson is going to be a very good team as the year goes on and a tough game for us (as well as everyone). I'd be willing to bet you that Harkless has a better year then Daniels and will be a much better player then Daniels (both this year and the future). Based on the numbers below - both are freshman which player do you take (you have to line the numbers up)? Harkless has good form, his 3-point shooting will improve (he's only shot 9 3 pointers vs 14 for Daniels). You can't teach athleticism, and can't improve quickness that much - Harkless has the physical attributes and Daniels does not, Daniels is a set shooter whereas Harkless can create his own shot (I've watched tape of both in both HS and now College and even in HS Daniels was unable to really get around his man - he was relying on his superior hight over HS players to get his shot off whereas Harkless can penetrate to the basket and create his own show.


FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc


G Min M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG


3 24.3 2.3 5.7 41.2 1.3 4.0 33.3 3.3 4.0 83.3 1.3 4.3 5.7 0.7 2.3 0.7 2.0 1.7 9.3


4 33.0 6.3 12.5 50.0 0.5 2.3 22.2 2.8 5.0 55.0 2.0 4.8 6.8 1.5 1.3 1.8 1.8 1.8 15.8

 

[Walker11]

What kind of Uconn fan vehemently argues that Harkless is better than Daniels after 3 games? Like wtf?

Go back to the Johnny Jungle with your 9 posts. Not fooling anyone here.

 

[tcf15]

I mean, that's not exactly going out on a limb or taking a gamble by saying Harkless will have the better year. Moe Harkless is on a team right now with a lot of unproven commodities and appears to be one the best players out of them all, on par with Lindsey. Obviously, he will get more opportunities with the ball in his hands. Deandre Daniels, on the other hand, comes into a situation where he defers to Shabazz, Jeremy, AO and even Drummond. If Daniels was the 2nd best player on our team and was putting up the same stats, maybe you'd have an argument that Harkless is the better player. But as walker11 pointed out, it is 3 games into the season and they both play different roles. You can't compare them equally.

 

[MarkT]

I am a UConn fan, I think Daniels will be fine I just would have preferred if we had Harkless (we were originally recruiting him and wanted him and only opened up to Daniels after Harkless decommited which should tell you what JC thinks). I can't have an opinion? Everyone is riding the kids dick after 3 games against no competition, are you gay for Daniels? WTF does go back to Johnny Jungle mean - stop being such a sensitive bitch. I think Boatright will be good and I think AD will become a dominant player and would have been the number 1 pick if HS kids could go straight to the NBA and just based on his physical attributes still think he will be the number 1 pick when he leaves.

 

[Walker11]

You are not a Uconn fan. At least I really hope so. You would be making the fan base look pretty dumb.

 

[MarkT]

I mean, that's not exactly going out on a limb or taking a gamble by saying Harkless will have the better year. Moe Harkless is on a team right now with a lot of unproven commodities and appears to be one the best players out of them all. Obviously, he will get more opportunities with the ball in his hands. Deandre Daniels, on the other hand, comes into a situation where he defers to Shabazz, Jeremy, AO and even Drummond. If Daniels was the 2nd best player on our team, and was putting up the same stats, maybe you'd have an argument that Harkless is the better player. But as walker11 pointed out, it is 3 games into the season and they both play different roles. You can't compare them equally.

TCF do you watch college basketball at all other then UConn - I mean UConn is my favorite team but I do watch other teams. Samson Johnson has 4 guys avg 14pts or more. Unproven commodities-that's why every analyst says that they have a great freshman class, have you watched them? They have very good freshman in Lindsey, Harkless, Harrison and Achiuwa. Please watch the game before you say .

 

[NOTaDIME]

Overlooked? He was the 10th ranked player overall (not the 10th in his position but 10 overall) so how is he overlooked? If anything, I think that 10th was a little high. Our original commit in Moe Harkless (unfortunately decommited from UConn and now plays for Samson Johnson) already looks better and I think has a lot more upside (I believe he was in the top 40 but well below Daniels in the rankings). To be honest, if I could trade Daniels and get Harkless I would - the kid is already a stud and in the next year or two he is going to be one of the best collegiate players (if he stays) if not the best.

I know he wasn't overlooked by many's standards, but I mean from the standpoint of getting AD, and in the surprising manner that we did. He is a great player, but the commitment of AD really was the headline of the offseason, and more people were looking forward to seeing his ability than DD's. That's what I mean by overlooked.

 

[MarkT]

You are not a Uconn fan. At least I really hope so. You would be making the fan base look pretty dumb.

I'm making the fan base look educated about the game of basketball - I'm not just gonna say this guy plays for UConn so he's the best like most of the 's on this board. While I think JL has a chance at POY, are you going to argue with me that the player of the year is most likely gonna be Sullinger, Barnes or Terrance Jones? Most of the people that post on the board never played the sport and only watch their favorite team whereas I watch every UConn game but I also watch any other game that is on TV when UConn is not playing and I played the sport in unlike all you.

 

[Walker11]

I guess you aren't a St. Johns fan. Lindsey and Achiuwa are J.C. juniors. And you obviously don't seem to realize that they have an incredibly thin roster with 8 scholarship players, 7 of them being new. The points are going to have to come from the freshman, no , their offensively inept JR. back up PG Malik Stith isn't going to be dropping 65 ppg.

Your logic: Achiuwa averages 15 ppg. Drummond averages what, 6? Therefore, Achiuwa >>> Drummond. Nervermind that he is their only big man and that Drummond is competing with 4 other good bigs.

 

[MarkT]

I know he wasn't overlooked by many's standards, but I mean from the standpoint of getting AD, and in the surprising manner that we did. He is a great player, but the commitment of AD really was the headline of the offseason, and more people were looking forward to seeing his ability than DD's. That's what I mean by overlooked.

I agree with that. I think DD will be a solid college player (may make it to NBA, not sure but won't be a good NBA player) and will be important to the team cause we need another person that can hit an open 3. I just don't think he's gonna be a "stud" and was trying to bring the posters back to reality that he has several flaws in his game (like any player let alone a freshman). And lastly was stating my point that I think we would be an even better team if Harkless would have come to UConn cause I think he has more potential and will be a better player then Daniels.

 

[HuskyFan32]

First off the obvious, we need Ryan Boatright. We need his ball handling his scoring all that. But something else this team seems to lack at times right now is a little spunk a little swagger off the bench. And Ryan will bring all that confidence energy and even a little vocal leadership. I think Shabazz is settling in nicely to being a starter and making smart decisions offensively and defensively now we need someone to do what Bazz did last year and thats what Ryan will bring.

The Big man rotation- I think we need to get AO and AD comfortable and use to playing with each other. Two concerns I have with that are is AO skilled enough to be a four and keep things from being too crowding down low? Also both AO and AD to me rely on their length and athleticism more than positioning for rebounding and sometimes that really pisses Calhoun off. And honestly AD is better than I thought I know the numbers havent shown it but he just needs a little more time under Calhoun and he could be great.

Tyler Olander- Obviously hes been very good rebounding scoring making passes from the high low. But I watch us vs these over matched teams and wonder if Olander can do it in the big east? This brings me too Roscoe Smith who was essentially are starting PF last year and played well. I think we need to get Roscoe's confidence back and I could see him eating into Olander's minutes but right now he is just not himself.

Niels Giffey- Just think we could get a little more out of his ability.

Daniels Lamb and Bazz have all been great.

This is why Id like to see if Scoe can play with DD as the 3 and AD as the 5. See how they would play together. Maybe that gets Scoe some minutes and comfortable enough to do his thing.

 

[ctchamps]

I am a UConn fan, I think Daniels will be fine I just would have preferred if we had Harkless (we were originally recruiting him and wanted him and only opened up to Daniels after Harkless decommited which should tell you what JC thinks). I can't have an opinion? Everyone is riding the kids dick after 3 games against no competition, are you gay for Daniels? WTF does go back to Johnny Jungle mean - stop being such a sensitive bitch. I think Boatright will be good and I think AD will become a dominant player and would have been the number 1 pick if HS kids could go straight to the NBA and just based on his physical attributes still think he will be the number 1 pick when he leaves.

You may be a UConn fan, but you are a UConn fan that knows how to be a lightening rod. Just for your information there are posters who come to this forum as "trolls" pretending to be a UConn fan. All they want to do is incite the group. You have less than ten posts and already you're talking smack with two posters.

I haven't seen Harkless play. UConn wanted him. The fans wanted him. The kid decided to go to St. Johns. UConn gets DD. He actually fell into our laps more than it was a matter of recruiting him. We're happy we got him. This was a thread about DD and our excitement regarding his potential. People stated flaws they saw in his game and have pointed it out. They didn't take heat.

You may or may not be correct about Harkless. But your emphasis about Harkless was so strong it was going to invite anger, particularly because it made DD seem like a poor choice. There are a lot of ways you could have made your point without having been so inflammatory. And even if that didn't work, you could have taken the insults people threw at you and worked with that poster instead of inflaming back.

But fight away if you think that's the best way in going through life.

 

[MarkT]

I guess you aren't a St. Johns fan. Lindsey and Achiuwa are J.C. juniors. And you obviously don't seem to realize that they have an incredibly thin roster with 8 scholarship players, 7 of them being new. The points are going to have to come from the freshman, no , their offensively inept JR. back up PG Malik Stith isn't going to be dropping 65 ppg.

Your logic: Achiuwa averages 15 ppg. Drummond averages what, 6? Therefore, Achiuwa >>> Drummond. Nervermind that he is their only big man and that Drummond is competing with 4 other good bigs.

Both Lindsey and Achiuwa are Juco transfers - this is their first year playing D1 so I consider them freshman as this is their first year at Samson Johnson, first year playing together, 1st year playing at this level of competition. OK-and we have for the most part only played 8 players so by your dipshit logic Daniels should be scoring more. And right now Achiuwa is a better player then Drummond, but Drummond has more talent and will be a more dominant force then Achiuwa by years end. OK-so Achiuwa is their only big, that means players can help on D since they don't have another big man should it not be harder for him to score then a team that has a couple big men where the opposings team D can't cheat since they have to be more honest. Did you not read my post about Drummond dipshit?

 

[Walker11]

I'm sure you saw Achiuwa drop 4 points on Texas A and M tonight. Or 4 points on Arizona. The two teams with any legitimate size.

I wouldn't expect Daniels to be scoring more because of the 8 guys playing, only two of them are sub 6'7.

Flued, what causes someone like myself, (assume I am rational) to keep feeding this obvious troll who is very successfully provoking me?

 

[MarkT]

You may be a UConn fan, but you are a UConn fan that knows how to be a lightening rod. Just for your information there are posters who come to this forum as "trolls" pretending to be a UConn fan. All they want to do is incite the group. You have less than ten posts and already you're talking smack with two posters.

I haven't seen Harkless play. UConn wanted him. The fans wanted him. The kid decided to go to St. Johns. UConn gets DD. He actually fell into our laps more than it was a matter of recruiting him. We're happy we got him. This was a thread about DD and our excitement regarding his potential. People stated flaws they saw in his game and have pointed it out. They didn't take heat.

You may or may not be correct about Harkless. But your emphasis about Harkless was so strong it was going to invite anger, particularly because it made DD seem like a poor choice. There are a lot of ways you could have made your point without having been so inflammatory. And even if that didn't work, you could have taken the insults people threw at you and worked with that poster instead of inflaming back.

But fight away if you think that's the best way in going through life.

I think DD will contribute by hitting open shots, to be honest I think the people on the board are overhyping him that he's gonna be this "stud" and great player and I just don't see it. It's very premature given our schedule so far and the fact that he lacks any athleticism (he's long and can shoot), I don't see the upside people are talking about where as I see a future star in Harkless. People on this board were saying Ater Majok was gonna be this great player, where is he now? I say it how it is - DD will become a beast (and probably the number 1 pick) and I think Boatright can be a very good PG just don't see it with Daniels. I hope I'm wrong, I hope he becomes a Paul Pierce type of player (best case scenario but I just don't see him being a stud).