Phil Nolan's Report Card

[donyell34]

Phil is Phil. Not only did he not improve he got worse go figure. When you do something every day and get worse is mind boggling. Problem is we had nobody else. We need more talented players. Hilton was much more athletic with much more potential , he went on to the NBA and hung on for a while. Phil will get as close to the NBA as you and me.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I have seen nothing to believe he will emerge in his final year, but I felt the same about HA so who knows.

Armstrong didn't change as much as you think from his junior to his senior year, other than the fact that he played a lot more. His rate stats were pretty consistent.

 

[UChusky916]

I guess the fact that he started for a team that won a national championship doesn't count as a sunny side these days.

To say he's "not in the realm of being a solid defender" is just not accurate. Phil's insertion into the starting lineup coincided with the best stretch of defense the team played all season - they held opponents to 50.3 points per game in the AAC Tournament.

He is a player that can come off the bench for 10-15 minutes and fill in without killing you. That is what he's been and what he'll always be, and there is a value in that sort of player which is why Kevin Ollie continues to play him despite the objection of the coaches on the boneyard. I know this because I have seen it.

I agree that he is a solid defender and doesn't 'kill us' as you say when he's on the floor. Most of Phil's contributions don't appear on the stat sheet. If they kept track of charges drawn, that'd be a different story. In my eyes, Phil's real value is on setting screens... he has great timing and knows how to get wide to open up our guards.
But, at the end of the day, can't we find someone else who set screens and defends well? Eventually, if you're getting minutes, you have to make your impact on the stat sheet as well. And Phil simply doesn't.

He is not a good rebounder on either end of the floor. About half-way through the year, once the coaches realized how inept Phil was at rebounding, he adopted a strategy of batting the ball back out to the perimeter rather than trying to get it himself. Sometimes, this allowed our guards another possession if they grabbed the batted ball. Other times, the opposing team's guards had a transition opportunity going the other way. Overall, I'm not sure it was helpful.

He is not an offensive threat. He doesn't have the strength to back his man down or finish through contact. He also seems to miss a LOT of bunnies around the rim which should be automatic points for someone his size. Every now and then he finds himself in the right spot for an easy dunk or finish, but most of those opportunities came about as a result of the opposing big sliding to provide help for when our guards drove into the paint, leaving Phil on his own.

Unfortunately, Phil hasn't really improved his game in my eyes. He's the same type of player he was when he came in as a freshman. And this is the biggest concern for me. Hopefully, I'm wrong and he makes some improvements. But for those in the thread saying that Phil may finally 'get it' and make a Hilton-esque leap are grossly mistaken.

 

[HuskyCLT]

I don't think Phil will jump off the stat sheet or anything his senior year, however, if he can play like he did down the stretch in the last couple games and the AAC tournament across the whole season then we will be fine. We don't need much more than that.

For all of the things he doesn't do great, he sets himself up in great defensive position using his feet and was really an asset for our defense at the end of the year. That being said, the vast majority of the year leading up to that he seemed completely lost and I cringed whenever he had the ball in his hands. If he regresses to that again, then he needs to be a bench player.

I think that Phil can achieve something closer to 6-7 pts/game and 4 rebounds, possibly higher. The kid showed he has a little shot at the end of the year, and he can play with intensity. I thought Phil showed some pride in his game and team at the end of the year and looked motivated. I seriously don't envision him allowing his senior season to be the train-wreck that was his '14-'15 season. The kid will have some pride and play hard. A lot of times we don't know which Phil we are getting, but I'm going to be optimistic and think he will be a surprising asset to our team next year and be the 'good Phil' we saw in the AAC tournament in his motivated Senior season.

 

[Horatio]

Can we please stop disrespecting Hilton Armstrong .

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

At some point the coaches do need to use a "money ball" type analysis on some of these players especially Nolan. When your starting Forward/C averages 1 point and less than 2 boards a game how can his defense ever make up for this? We are in essence starting every game down 10-0 by him playing.

 

[Kembacity]

I just want someone to invent a new hot dance craze around the country called the "Philly Flop" which is what we call him in my crew now

Uh oh, philly flops in the game

 

[Palatine]

I believe that Nolan will average --at minimum-- 5 points and 4 rebounds a game next year.

 

[Inyatkin]

I swear it was a year ago we were crediting his defense for a big part of the Michigan State win

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Phil Nolan isn't going anywhere, so the Huskies need to find a way to provide Nolan a role where he can succeed, which in my opinion, is providing minutes when Brimah is in foul trouble. Other than that, I don't see Nolan getting any minutes at the 4.

We like Facey as the starting 4, and Lubin and Enoch will also vouch for PT at the 4.

 

[RichZ]

I think he's capable of putting up 6PPG and 4RPG next year.

In the same game?

Oh, wait, you're not talking season highs, you're talking averages.

 

[Stainmaster]

Nolan showed a very discernible improvement over the last few games of the season. I'm hoping like the dickens that he can sustain it. Adding in a little bit of low-post scoring in addition to his defense makes him a more valuable piece of the team.

 

[joober jones]

Every time we get down on Phil, remember this. He isn't Mandeldove. Or Justin Brown.

 

[KembaStepback]

The thing about Phil is, he's got no stand still vertical. He's constantly getting blocked underneath because he can't dunk with authority without a running start.

His baseline jumper isn't awful. His defense can be very good, but sometimes he has mental lapses. If he can keep working on his strength and his vertical, and just concentrated on playing defense and getting rebounds, he'll be a useful player.

I wouldn't say we start down 10-0 when we start him. This isn't the NBA. It's the AAC. There are maybe a handful of 4's that get 10 points a game.

 

[HuskyBoi]

phil woke up late in the year which is a good sign. someone should trick him that november is really march, cuz we will really need him waking up in november for us to be a better team, considering he woke up in march

 

[joober jones]

A lot of his problem when he's under the rim is that he takes forever to gather himself. I don't know if it's so much a lack of a stand-still vertical (though the numerous 1-foot out layups lend some credence to that theory) as the fact that he consistently brings the ball down and shuffles around long enough that defenders can get there in time to block his shot.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Armstrong didn't change as much as you think from his junior to his senior year, other than the fact that he played a lot more. His rate stats were pretty consistent.

Watch the games and you will see he did show a really big improvement. With the depth on that team, stats are less meaningful.

 

[uchusky32]

Phil takes the power out of power forward!

 

[tennmike]

Phil excels at getting in people's way...stated differently, settings screens or taking charges. His deficiencies have been well documented. If he wants to be a contributor next year, he has the off season to work on strength, focus, aggression and situational smarts. Hope he gets it, because it is right there in front of him. Uconn is not a laissez faire hoops program. The weak-willed do not need uniforms.

 

[jibsey]

Hilton was drafted and played in the NBA pretty much off his senior year. If Phil equals that I will need therapy and drugs.