OT: Juwan Durham update

[intlzncster]

You're aloud to feel that way. I'm still having a hard time with the loss of a player I thought had lots of talent, and seeing coaches like Buzz, K, and Brey pursue him confirms my opinion.

I look forward to watching Whaley, Diarra, Carlton, and Cobb. But I don't think any of them have the raw talent of Enoch or Durham.

I think arguing these two don't have potential is a stretch, especially Durham. I'm not certain on Steve myself. He has the size, and the touch, but haven't seen anything else. It's almost like he spends all his time alone in the gym shooting jumpshots.

Both of these guys needed a redshirt year for development, and they'll get it by jumping ship.

I'm pissed about Durham leaving, less about Steve, unless we can't find a warm body to fill that whole.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

The question you gotta ask yourself is...Are you an a$$h0le?

If that is objectively the case, there's your answer.

Haha. I mean that definitely crossed my mind. And I may be one, but I don't think any of my posts have ever come close to crossing the line.

My account has issues. Its 100x slower when I'm logged in than when I'm not. And it acts very buggy a lot.

Again, could all be symptoms of my a**holery.

Also, for about three years, I had "nostrodamus all day" as my tag line and I definitely did not write that. So somebody (a mod) must have done that to me. only yesterday did i finally figure out how to change it. so maybe a mod has a vendetta against me, but I wouldn't know why.

 

[KembaStepback]

Durham is easy for these teams to sign. It's on Durhams end none of this makes any sense. These other schools/coaches get to wait ANOTHER year for him to get healthy and hit the weight room. He's got a high ceiling and there really isn't any downside aside from a wasted scholly. He gets to sit out for a 3rd season in 4 seasons.

 

[champs99and04]

Alternatively to stair's point, K and Rick could simply see potential upside, and don't mind stashing a kid at the end of the bench for potential high reward payoff. Really low risk, high reward proposition.

UConn saw that potential upside too. I don't think they wanted either to transfer. But the kids didn't want to be here. That's it.

I don't see why these concepts are so hard for people.

I agree with all of this.

But the fact that they don't want to be here is a huge problem. Pitino and K are ruthless with their players in a world class way, so it can't be that they wanted an easy way out. Instead, it's clearly a matter of credibility - which is understandable to some end, since Ollie obviously doesn't have the pedigree that the other two do - or communication, both of which are flaws that you absolutely cannot have as a head coach. Between the veiled reports from people around the program that something is awry in Storrs - and whether that's a scandalous sort of thing or a natural result of on-court struggles, I don't know - and the flood of players leaving the program, I don't think all of this can simply be explained away as organic roster turnover. There is something more here.

There is no way in hell on God's green earth that Juwan Durham should have left UConn. That he did causes me to question Ollie's abilities as a salesman and that he appears to have drawn interest from Duke - honestly one of the handful of schools I did not expect interest from - makes me shiver like I'm watching a horror movie.

Losing Jackson and MAL is fine. Enoch is a huge talent that I don't think is ever going to put it together. Durham is the one you lose sleep over as a coach. Durham is the one that models the prototype you coveted, the one who blew up the circuit two years ago before tearing his ACL, and the one whose freshman season represented the inevitable bridge back to health. He's the guy who you're thinking about on May 11th and the guy you're thinking about on March 17th when your all-American point guard is crying in the locker-room after the game because his 30 points wasn't enough. He could come back to haunt us.

 

[champs99and04]

Really? Pitino has demonstrated that he can teach defense at a much better level than KO has? I don't see it. Proven at recruiting, running an offense and having the vision as to how to create and organize players into a team? Absolutely. But UConn's play under KO does not fit the narrative that we are generally unable to teach players how to defend. See, e.g., our last national championship.

I mean, yes and no. KO has demonstrated an ability to teach man to man defense at a picturesque level when given the personnel conducive to his schemes. Pitino has churned out elite defense after elite defense with rosters turning over and rules changing and his league changing.
I have maintained that Pitino would have crafted a top ten defense out of what UConn had last season. Ollie stubbornly stuck with his aggressive schemes (and this was perhaps the source of the conflict between he and Miller) and they rated out as average.

In two of the last three seasons, defense has been a major problem for us. Not as big of a problem as offense, but a significant one nonetheless. Fortunately, I do think that the personnel on next years roster is more equipped to produce what KO wants them to. Between the small guards and undersized front court, it strikes me as more similar to the '13 and '14 teams. The question will be can anybody rebound and can anybody protect the rim.

 

[businesslawyer]

Umm, yes? You cited the 2014 natty. Louisville's defense against us that year was pretty damn good.

76-64; we shot 35%, they shot 48%
81-48, we shot 29%, they shot 45%
71-61; we shot 44%, they shot 41%

In the three games, they totally stifled us twice and the great defensive team that we were, was more or less a non-factor.

I know it's easy to beat on Pitino for his indiscretions, but he's a hall of famer who has taken three different schools to final fours, has won two championships (could have been more if he stayed at UK), and is generally regarded as one of the best coaches ever. You're really thinking that KO has the upper hand on him in any category at this juncture?

I think KO can absolutely coach defense; but saying that KO has "demonstrated that he can do it better" is pretty much disregarding Pitino's 25+ years of consistent excellence.

Except:

1. I did not say KO can coach defense better.

2. You're really using stats from 3 games to make your point? Really?

 

[businesslawyer]

That's a pretty unassailable assumption.

Pitino has coached Louisville to a top 10 adjusted defense 7 years in a row (6 of which in top 5), including 2 #1s and a #2. Pretty Spartacus ridiculous, to be honest.

Your numbers have adjusted for talent? Or you just assume that saying Louisville has produced better computer numbers on Defense over that time means Pitino is clearly a better defensive coach?

Comparison to make it easy: By going 12-0 at Ohio State, Urban Meyer does not prove that he is demonstrably better at coaching defenses than a coach who goes 7-5 at Minnesota.

 

[Fishy]

All right, we've officially plumbed the depths of crazy and can call this one a wrap.