Okay, I'll say it. Samson > Clingan? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Okay, I'll say it. Samson > Clingan?

They’re both gonna be great for us and tonight just imagine what this does for Johnson’s confidence! Clingan was off and we’ll find out why but we saw what he could do last year.
 
MexicoHusky said:
Hopefully tonight puts a fire under Clingan. Gets him running more or whatever he does to keep his cardio up. He looked like a more traditional out of shape goon that gets up and down the floor poorly. Not the relatively quick 7'2" guy we watched last year.
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Man, I can understand your frustration, but being out of shape has no relationship to being a goon.
 
I think every post in this thread tugs at being valid. Nice discussion to have after losing a Sanogo.
 
That was a good game by Samson. All the Boneyard genius critics that hammered Johnson all last year and this off season just lowered expectations. He will be a much better player in the coming months.

But Clingan is still coming back. He will return to his top form in a while. When he does, we will really be tough to beat.
 
I’m as big a fan as any of us I expect and I‘d say, pump the brakes. Johnson was new to the game in HS. Then came here and was behind Whaley, Akok and Polley at times. Then lost last year to injury. He’s still learning the game and it shows. Physicality he’s easily an NBA level athlete. He has to get better at positioning on D, he backs up too readily and tries to rely on length and hops.

Donovan doesn’t look in game shape or is perhaps sick. It’s cold and flu season. He’s a dominant post defender and rebounder. He’s a good passer and made two nice assists early in this game. But his offense is limited and we are seeing teams deny him the ball. As with the double teams Adama was seeing, Hurley will find ways to get him the ball. But he’s not going to be a dominant scorer against most teams. His biggest value is defense and rebounding.

Johnson has advantages on offense. Better FT shooter, but mostly teams have to guard him on his screens, which makes him a really dangerous guy on PnR. More so than Donovan as teams are just playing off him. The quickness Johnson has going to the rim and leaping on PnR is so hard to defend.
 
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MexicoHusky said:
Hopefully tonight puts a fire under Clingan. Gets him running more or whatever he does to keep his cardio up. He looked like a more traditional out of shape goon that gets up and down the floor poorly. Not the relatively quick 7'2" guy we watched last year.
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They keep calling him at 280, and iirc, it was 260 last year. He needs to get rid of that 20.
 
Clingan has a major influence on the game, but he’s lacking in several areas. He isn’t a polished finisher, can’t shoot free throws and he gets gassed easily. I like both of them, but Clingan is overhyped for now.
 
A whole lot of recency bias on the boneyard tonight! “Samson should be starting over Clingan! Diarra should be getting 35 minutes! “

They both had the best games of their careers tonight. Good for them, good for the team, good for us.

When DC and Castle are fully healthy and in shape those two will take this team to another level. That and If Samson and Hassan can build on tonight’s game we’re going to be a tough out in the tourney.
 
WeAreUCONN said:
Me too. I was screaming at my tv to put Sampson back in. Clingan missed an easy layup and then either allowed a layup or fouled the guy. He’s moving slow this year and hesitating around the rim.
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I thought last night while he did some good things DC did not look good and today he was just bad. I think its safe to say hes not conditioned enough to play back to back nights because it really showed. SJ was sensational today and this was his coming out party. Hes only going to get better. We are all seeing a glimpse of what Hurley saw and told us early on. This kid could really be something special in the making that we`ll see over these next two years.
 
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SEbluebood said:
Man, I can understand your frustration, but being out of shape has no relationship to being a goon.
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I probably should of used the term stiff. or simply a traditional slow 7'er.... which is mostly what I meant.
 
Doheny said:
Let's wait and see how they play against Kansas.
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That’s going to be interesting because Dickenson can shoot from outside. He’d be very tough for Donovan outside. Inside it’s the opposite and DC will give him problems and he might bully Johnson.

Dixkenson is better than either of them, but both of our guys are better than Parker Braun. Get fouls on Hunter and KU has problems.
 
TheChamps990411 said:
I thought last night while he did some good things DC did not look good and today he was just bad. I think its safe to say hes not conditioned enough to play back to back nights because it really showed. SJ was sensational today and this was his coming out party. Hes only going to get better. We are all seeing a glimpse of what Hurley saw and told us early on. This kid could really be something special in the making that we`ll see over these next two years.
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I agree. I told my brother that Sampson reminded me a little of Stanley Robinson. They both play like they’re on pogo sticks. Sticks is one of my all-time favorites.
 
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WeAreUCONN said:
I agree. I told my brother that Sampson reminded me a little of Stanley Robinson. They both play like they’re on pogo sticks. Sticks is one of my all-time favorites.
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Yeah Samsons athleticism is crazy and we are seeing it. That fast break dunk he had was insane. If he gives us that game in and game out and stays healthy he will only get better and better. I made a comment after the first couple games that Samson looked good and was getting comfortable. Once comfortable he would get confident and he`d be off and running. Its happening way sooner than i thought. You say Stanley Robinson (RIP) and i say George Ackles. I couldnt help but think of him while watching Samson play. GA in case you dont know was on a couple of those great UNLV teams of the early 90s.
 
I actually didn’t do that on purpose, this time. Samson has been superb. My hat goes off to him for sticking it out and earning his playing time.
 
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People on this board are so reactionary.

Remember last year, Clingan got PK80 player of the tournament and some were saying he should take more minutes from Sanogo at C or move Sanogo to PF and to play Clingan at C. Sanogo was more consistent overall at center with Clingan equally effective off the bench and key in certain match ups. Same will apply this year to Clingan/Johnson.

Yes, Samson played great and was better tonight.
No, he's not better than Clingan overall. Clingan is still getting into game shape from his injury.

This is a good problem to have, a luxury. Yet folks here act like this is an issue with Clingan. Patience.
 
uconnfan68 said:
They keep calling him at 280, and iirc, it was 260 last year. He needs to get rid of that 20.
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Go for a run with a 20# weight belt on. You’ll run 2/3 the distance you would run without it
 
AllHusky said:
Go for a run with a 20# weight belt on. You’ll run 2/3 the distance you would run without it
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Yeah, it isn’t all muscle. Still a young, growing guy. Hope his feet get better quickly.
 
Deepster said:
Right now, are we better with Samson in there?

a) There were times last season I said the same when Donovan outplayed Adama.
b) I think Donovan is not where he needs to be conditioning-wise yet.
c) Could Samson pull a Hilton Armstrong type jump in his development?
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Including the thread's title, three different questions have been asked.

Each could be asked with a different slant or more precision, but none of them bothered me, and none of them present a firm answer either way, nor do they have to.

All are worth answering or thinking about, and time will tell on all the surrounding fine points.

My biggest takeaway is that winning supports a wider range of not-fully-formed posts, and I like this post, even if, like some others, it's premature.
 
Deepster said:
Right now, are we better with Samson in there?

a) There were times last season I said the same when Donovan outplayed Adama.
b) I think Donovan is not where he needs to be conditioning-wise yet.
c) Could Samson pull a Hilton Armstrong type jump in his development?
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I was wondering the same thing. Proves again and again that Hurley knows better than most how to develop his players. I’m not worried about Clingan, he is still not completely recovered from his foot injury.
 
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