OT: Juwan Durham update

[BUConn10]

He was a good insurance plan in case they somehow lost out on their big man, and was focused on his education. He was also good enough to transfer to Maryland this year.

Do you really think Duke would offer him a spot for four years if he wasn't any good? Even if he never turns into anything special, it's enough proof the talent is there.

No, its clearly the same case as the 3 names he whipped out, case closed.

 

[Stainmaster]

No, its clearly the same case as the 3 names he whipped out, case closed.

And you're so certain it's a vastly different story?

I was merely responding to the statement that "Duke doesn't hold scholarships for non-NBA guys" with four concrete counter examples. Either I'm right, or you think Antonio Vrankovic and Jordan Goldwire are pro prospects.

 

[Stainmaster]

I hear you but you and I both know it's not a good look if our bigs who barely did anything here are wanted by Pitino and coach K.

It looks like Pitino and K think that the sole factor behind our bigs' lack of production is our coaching staff/development program. I think it's naive for them to think that an individual player's attributes and attitude has nothing to do with their on-court performance. Then again, I'm not the millionaire with a fistful of rings.

 

[BUConn10]

And you're so certain it's a vastly different story?

I was merely responding to the statement that "Duke doesn't hold scholarships for non-NBA guys" with four concrete counter examples. Either I'm right, or you think Antonio Vrankovic and Jordan Goldwire are pro prospects.

It doesn't have to be just pro prospects, whoever said that originally was exaggerating, it not so black and white. The fact is them offering him a scholarship is essentially a commitment to a school or for the next 4 years as well. On a team whose scholarships are each valuable and aren't handed out to just anyone, K clearly has a plan for him, which is what JD feels he didn't have st UConn going forward as he claims.

 

[Chief00]

In all due respect, you didn't detect my sarcasm.

Quite frankly, at first read I didn't since there have been posts from others like that. But, I guess that's the sarcasm then. It's been a late night - just got in from Hartford and tomorrow is a work day. I hope we close on some guys very soon.

 

[Chief00]

Some of us will wait to see how he actually pans out at Duke before making those kinds of judgements.

How did the last transfer big Coach K brought in end up doing? What kind of role did he play on their team the last two years? A Duke offer isn't some magic pronouncement that determines he's going to pay off for them.

Stairmaster - you got to get out more and meet some of these dudes. There is no denying Enoch and Durham are big loses especially given our lack of Bigs.
We have now lost our top 4 Bigs from last season, when you include Brimah and Facey.

 

[mauconnfan]

It doesn't have to be just pro prospects, whoever said that originally was exaggerating, it not so black and white. The fact is them offering him a scholarship is essentially a commitment to a school or for the next 4 years as well. On a team whose scholarships are each valuable and aren't handed out to just anyone, K clearly has a plan for him, which is what JD feels he didn't have st UConn going forward as he claims.

Yeah that's it no doubt. It's the fact KO didn't have plan for him not the fact KO's plan wasn't what Juwan wanted to hear. And the fact he thought he should have played more his freshman year had nothing to do with his leaving either, even though we all know he did nothing to earn more time. I mean the only ones who sees potential in this kid are GTech, ND, Virginia Tech and Duke, KO didn't see any potential now did he? I mean 2 knee surgeries in 2 years and not playing more than a handful of games but he still accepted him with open arms to his program, but only K sees the real potential.

Hilarious stuff you and Chief should grab some dinner together to just touch on the transfers, may take a while so leave early.

 

[AntG168]

Oh this is gold. If Durham ends up at Duke, there will no longer be any argument for those who think he's not a loss.

He wont. And just say he does for arguments sake, if we're winning we wont give a damn. We need to worry about what we have and what we can get going foward amd stop crying over spilled milk. He left because he was mentally soft. He can never play basketball again for all i care

 

[August_West]

Let him go to the ACC. It's a Charmin soft league for a Charmin soft player.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Yeah that's it no doubt. It's the fact KO didn't have plan for him not the fact KO's plan wasn't what Juwan wanted to hear. And the fact he thought he should have played more his freshman year had nothing to do with his leaving either, even though we all know he did nothing to earn more time. I mean the only ones who sees potential in this kid are GTech, ND, Virginia Tech and Duke, KO didn't see any potential now did he? I mean 2 knee surgeries in 2 years and not playing more than a handful of games but he still accepted him with open arms to his program, but only K sees the real potential.

Hilarious stuff you and Chief should grab some dinner together to just touch on the transfers, may take a while so leave early.

The dinner I want to see is between Chief and Stairmaster. Love would be in the air.

 

[QDOG5]

And you're so certain it's a vastly different story?

I was merely responding to the statement that "Duke doesn't hold scholarships for non-NBA guys" with four concrete counter examples. Either I'm right, or you think Antonio Vrankovic and Jordan Goldwire are pro prospects.

I agree with you Stair. Even a guy like John Schreyer who had a great four year career at Duke but was a borderline pro from the time he was recruited until the end of his career. He's now an asst for the Dukies. I think after we beat Duke in 1999 and four of the Duke players left early for the draft that Coach K changed his recruiting process. I think he went for a balance of one and dones and four year guys. That way he was assured of some continuity year after year. I think that Calipari reeling in 5 in the top fifty every year has forced K to go after more of the one and dones in recent years. The fact that UConn has defeated both schools in a national semi-final and final brings me endless joy.

 

[BUConn10]

Yeah that's it no doubt. It's the fact KO didn't have plan for him not the fact KO's plan wasn't what Juwan wanted to hear. And the fact he thought he should have played more his freshman year had nothing to do with his leaving either, even though we all know he did nothing to earn more time. I mean the only ones who sees potential in this kid are GTech, ND, Virginia Tech and Duke, KO didn't see any potential now did he? I mean 2 knee surgeries in 2 years and not playing more than a handful of games but he still accepted him with open arms to his program, but only K sees the real potential.

Hilarious stuff you and Chief should grab some dinner together to just touch on the transfers, may take a while so leave early.

These are quotes from kid's damn mouth in two different articles!

Get off your high horse and give it a break, holy s---...

 

[mauconnfan]

These are quotes from kid's damn mouth in two different articles!

Get off your high horse and give it a break, holy s---...

Ok off my damn high horse now so tell me what is the kid going to say think about for once? He's going to say Monmouth's plan is better than UConn's, he's transferring after all in case you didn't know. Geez you're ignorant.

 

[RJScootin]

Right, he'll be 2 years farther along in his development.

You're sounding an awful lot like a casual fan.

Its the casual fan who wouldn't have the foresight to see developing Enoch was more important than playing Brimah a player going no where on a team going no where.

Right in two years he'll be more developed, it would have been nice for that development to come through with him as a senior for UConn. Instead this board will sweat some 5th year transfer commit for a year who averaged 2 rebs and 2.8 points from St. Joe's.

 

[mauconnfan]

Its the casual fan who wouldn't have the foresight to see developing Enoch was more important than playing Brimah a player going no where on a team going no where.

Right in two years he'll be more developed, it would have been nice for that development to come through with him as a senior for UConn. Instead this board will sweat some 5th year transfer commit for a year who averaged 2 rebs and 2.8 points from St. Joe's.

And Steve's were so much better? 3/2.3...There's a chance our sweating the 5th year guy or a freshman may bring us more impact, especially if he can defend his position.

 

[CTBasketball]

Its the casual fan who wouldn't have the foresight to see developing Enoch was more important than playing Brimah a player going no where on a team going no where.

Right in two years he'll be more developed, it would have been nice for that development to come through with him as a senior for UConn. Instead this board will sweat some 5th year transfer commit for a year who averaged 2 rebs and 2.8 points from St. Joe's.

As much as I want to agree with this it's hard to. I will say that in January when we were 7-11 (2-5) overall that was the tipping point. We were out of it unless we won some games and went on a run - and we did. If we didn't? I wouldn't have a problem playing Enoch, even starting him. Especially if we were locked in to the AAC 6/7/8 seeds in January.

But I think he should have gotten more minutes. He was more valuable than Durham IMO. But if we wanted to win games Brimah's impact on defense trumped all other possible centers impact. Had to go with it.

 

[upstater]

And Steve's were so much better? 3/2.3...There's a chance our sweating the 5th year guy or a freshman may bring us more impact, especially if he can defend his position.

RJ Scootin literally wants UConn to lose games by playing the unseasoned players. It's a crazy theory, and surely the downfall of any program if you think like that.

 

[Wordbomar]

I'm sorry but no way Durham is Duke good. Will be like Obi and sit until he transfers again.

 

[intlzncster]

It doesn't have to be just pro prospects, whoever said that originally was exaggerating, it not so black and white. The fact is them offering him a scholarship is essentially a commitment to a school or for the next 4 years as well. On a team whose scholarships are each valuable and aren't handed out to just anyone, K clearly has a plan for him, which is what JD feels he didn't have st UConn going forward as he claims.

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.

 

[intlzncster]

Its the casual fan who wouldn't have the foresight to see developing Enoch was more important than playing Brimah a player going no where on a team going no where.

RJ Scootin literally wants UConn to lose games by playing the unseasoned players. It's a crazy theory, and surely the downfall of any program if you think like that.

Nah, it's just the way it's always been done here. You earn your PT in practice. The other way is participation-trophy mentality.

And the team wasn't 'going nowhere' until the season was over. They still had a chance for the Dance right up through the end what with the auto bid still out there.

Tanking is for pvssies.

 

[upstater]

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.

People act like every recruit that goes to these schools pans out. They don't.

Go look at the Louisville board and see what they are saying about the lack of development of Pitino's recent big man recruits.

 

[Stainmaster]

People act like every recruit that goes to these schools pans out. They don't.

Go look at the Louisville board and see what they are saying about the lack of development of Pitino's recent big man recruits.

People only follow UConn closely, they don't have any idea that our problems aren't wholly unique.

 

[Stainmaster]

Its the casual fan who wouldn't have the foresight to see developing Enoch was more important than playing Brimah a player going no where on a team going no where.

Right in two years he'll be more developed, it would have been nice for that development to come through with him as a senior for UConn. Instead this board will sweat some 5th year transfer commit for a year who averaged 2 rebs and 2.8 points from St. Joe's.

Alrighty then, sounds like you wanted this year's record to be worse than 16-17. I can't imagine for the life of me why, but okay.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Anyone who watched more than ten seconds of Enoch last season could recognize that his problem was not knowing where the hell he was supposed to be or what the hell he was supposed to be doing rather than athleticism. Quite frankly, I'm glad that even a casual fan like you could pick that up.

Agree. But whose job is it to tell the player where to be and what to do in each situation?

Granted, he was clueless at both when he got here, but he is still clueless at both 2 years later as he leaves.

I guarantee Enoch will be a lot better at knowing where to be and what to do with Rick Pitino instructing him.

 

[intlzncster]

Agree. But whose job is it to tell the player where to be and what to do in each situation?

Granted, he was clueless at both when he got here, but he is still clueless at both 2 years later as he leaves.

I guarantee Enoch will be a lot better at knowing where to be and what to do with Rick Pitino instructing him.

You don't think he was told over and over? The kid clearly had trouble picking it up his first two years here. Doesn't mean the light bulb wouldn't have come on as an upperclassmen. Bigs, especially raw ones, do take quite a bit longer to develop than other players.

I personally think Pitino's zone will simplify things for Enoch in the interior to his advantage. It will also play more towards his athletic limitations.