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Personal Observations

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Not to beat a dead horse here, but I wanted to provide some of my own personal observations so far regarding the team.

1. Kentan Facey has been an absolute gem thus far. The kid rebounds well and has no problem going up with the basketball or kicking it back out to the guards. He has bought into the Husky mentality and is well deserving of the playing time he has been getting.

2. On the other hand, Phil Nolan doesn't deserve the amount of playing time he has been getting early on. All he is good for is potentially drawing a charge on the opposing team's big man. Half the time it works and the other half of the time their big is going to the line for an and one. I say let's see a little more of Lubin and a little less Nolan.

3. This injury that Boatright has might be the best thing that could've happened to this team. This team needs to play a couple games without him and learn how to play team basketball. Right now our offense consists on passing around the arch until the shot clock hits ten and then letting Boatright loose to make a miraculous shot over a defender or two or three.

4. Amida Brimah doesn't deserve the flack that he has been getting from the fans. He has been more than advertised on the defensive end of the floor by either blocking shots or altering them and in terms of offensive productivity I don't feel like we are giving him the ball enough personally. Sure we have always been Guard University and that trend seems to be continuing this year but I don't think it would hurt to chuck it to Brimah in the post every once in a while and let him make a move.

5. Maybe this is just me but I felt like in past years Terrence Samuel used to take it to the rack with authority and had no fear in doing so. Now it seems like he drives half way in and then just kicks it back out to Boatright. We need someone besides Boatright that can create their own shot, I think T Sam could be that guy if he asserts himself a little bit more.

6. We NEED someone who can consistently knock down a 3-point shot. Daniel Hamilton has shown that he can hit from deep and Purvis has shown that he has some range as well. I'm not looking for another Giffey just someone who can hit the occasional 3-point shot to keep the opposing teams defense honest that's all.
 
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1. Agree that Facey has been pretty good on the boards (offensive in particular) and a good garbage-points scorer.

2. Agree that Nolan has been lousy, but disagree that Lubin is the answer. Lubin is not likely to contribute much this year, and may never amount to more than someone like Mike Hayes as a foul sponge and defensive/rebounding presence.

3. Agree completely that others need to step up besides Boat. It may be uncomfortable to do so as a freshman, but Daniel Hamilton is our second best player, and it's not even close -- he needs to be that second guy.

4. Disagree on Brimah. I won't say that a college kid "deserves" flak, but he's not giving us much more than he did last year. He blocks shots, yes, but doesn't know how to rebound and his offensive game would be generously described as "limited". Giving Brimah more touches is not a solution to our offensive woes at this point. We wasted two possessions late in yesterday's game by throwing it into him.

5. Disagree on Samuel. In fact, he still has no fear taking it to the rack with authority. The problem is that taking it to the rack is everyone else's game as well -- Boat, Purvis, Hamilton, all more slashers than shooters. Last year his game was a change of pace relative to "finesse" guys like Bazz, Giffey, and Daniels, who preferred to hang around the perimeter. This year his game redundant, and he's not the answer.

6. Cannot agree more on our need for more shooters -- anyone who thought otherwise heading into the season was being a bit naive. This team is in danger of becoming like the 2010 squad, whose offense was entirely predicated on driving to the rim. We had no shooters and were easy to defend. Edit: agree with D$ that Cassell could be, maybe needs to be, that shooter, though so far he's looked more Scottie Haralson than Rashad Anderson.
 

ctchamps

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We're in line with these points.

I would say that this team needs Purvis, Boatright, DHam, Facey and Brimah to be on the floor the majority of the game. That's potentially a great five to have on the floor.
 

willie99

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we're historically known as Wing-U, I think DHam will restore that when we start running pro-curls for him

KO letting him grow into the roll
 
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6. We NEED someone who can consistently knock down a 3-point shot. Daniel Hamilton has shown that he can hit from deep and Purvis has shown that he has some range as well. I'm not looking for another Giffey just someone who can hit the occasional 3-point shot to keep the opposing teams defense honest that's all.

I may be in the minority, and that's understandable, but I believe that Omar will be a big contributor for us off the bench, and will be able to help with the outside shooting.
 
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Not sure if anyone watches off the ball but Nolan was solid defending yesterday hence the very small numbers by their bigs and the minutes he rec'd. He's a better defender than either Brimah or Facey on the block and its not close. Facey showed some signs of getting better especially outside the box yesterday at times but has a ways to go.
 
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I may be in the minority, and that's understandable, but I believe that Omar will be a big contributor for us off the bench, and will be able to help with the outside shooting.

Everyone is waiting patiently to see which Omar shows up but I am with you in hoping he's the freshman! Really need that boost!
 

8893

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I may be in the minority, and that's understandable, but I believe that Omar will be a big contributor for us off the bench, and will be able to help with the outside shooting.
I want to believe that. The longer I see him in street clothes, the harder is for me to believe.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

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I may be in the minority, and that's understandable, but I believe that Omar will be a big contributor for us off the bench, and will be able to help with the outside shooting.

Have you ever made a 2012-13 Omar highlights video? If so, I'd love to see it. In the alternative, which games would you or someone else recommend?
 
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What exactly has Amida shown as a post player that would warrant him getting more touches? If you said Facey, I'd be all for it. But Amida is still too raw with his back to the basket game and to compound things he does not pass well out of the post.

I'm also in the hopeful minority that Omar might be exactly what this team needs and could end up as our starting 2G. Of course, that would require him actually playing a game.
 

willie99

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Not sure if anyone watches off the ball but Nolan was solid defending yesterday hence the very small numbers by their bigs and the minutes he rec'd. He's a better defender than either Brimah or Facey on the block and its not close. Facey showed some signs of getting better especially outside the box yesterday at times but has a ways to go.

you might be right, but I still want him to stop using his butt as a dust mop :)

did he go to K's camp this summer or something?
 
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I think ...

Many are just wrong about Phil Nolan. IF ... Rakim Lubin (or Brimah or Facey) had some of Nolan's key attributes, we would be far better off. If you have played basketball at a higher level, you know the positioning that Nolan excels at. He does take charge and is in the correct spot defensively to negate much of what CBB opponents do in the half-court. And also, he is a reliable constant in the UConn half-court set. YES, we need him to grab a few rebounds. Just don't discount a lot of what the guy consistently provides.

Facey has the capacity to grow in his role. Confidence. He catches well & now seems to position/read balls up for a rebound far better. Encouraging him to take more 10-15 shots should be part of what this year's development should be.

Samuel can get better. I don't expect him ever to be a solid jump shooter scorer; just make a decent percentage. But, he is very valuable o defense and setting our offense. Cassell is in a funk. Is he the "old man" scorer we saw in the exhibitions? He's jacking them up like lots of old men I know ... and hitting rarely. Needs his role defined better.

Purvis showed us some in Puerto Rico & Calhoun has in his past. How we get a third scorer is the challenge of the next month from Ollie & his staff.
 

CTBasketball

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I actually think Nolan should get more minutes, especially when Brimah is in foul trouble. He hasn't been playing poorly...he just hasn't been playing a lot.
 
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Don't agree with 3 at all. Cassell currently isn't hitting the wide open threes that Boat spoon feeds him, and Hamilton is still learning how to get open as the second option. Do we want a struggling Cassell now trying to shake loose by making shots closely guarded? Do we want double teams run at Hamilton this early in his career? We'd basically be a rudderless ship. Plus, Boat needs to get used to playing with his new teammates as well - developing the timing and chemistry on where to find guys. He and Purvis really only have two games together, and he's had none with Omar yet. Any games Boat misses stunts that development a little more (it took time for Kemba and Lamb to click).

Plus, the insinuation that Boat isn't playing team ball is a bit insulting to a kid who crossed the "team player" hurdle a long time ago. He needed to take 20 shots against Texas for us to have a chance to win shorthanded.
 
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