Predict: who has the best season?

[Huskyforlife]

Discuss

 

[bfair]

Most improved : brimah
Most clutch :: boat show
Beast... Purvis
Biggest surprise ::: t Sam all day.


We rebound better and are deeper than last year... NCAA champs!!!!!!


Most underrated team again... Our huskies...

 

[CallMeBruce]

Nearly picked Samuel, but I went with Cassell. I think he can do more things well, but none of those guys would shock me by having a big season.

 

[bmayuc]

I voted TSam because he will be a consistent performer. I think the other two will be up and down, but TSams value will be in the steady hand he provides and physicality and confidence he plays with

 

[Kitaman]

Terrance, his confidence is sky high coming into this season. No one talks much about it, but he was not outplayed while on the floor during our Tournament run. That's a compliment for the freshman considering the talent he was up against. Ollie likes him which only helps. Finally being a NYC kid, he ain't scared of a little competition.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Have to go with the known quantity: Samuel.

He played with tenacity and aggression, and his physicality in driving to the rim was a key "change of pace" from the size-challenged and finesse-oriented Boat and Bazz. Samuel will always give great energy, a stout presence on the defensive end, and a drive-and-kick or drive-and-score pure PG mentality.

Any of us is full of if we say we have any idea what to expect from OC. He could return to freshman year form -- maybe even a little better -- or he could continue to be the guy who got stripped on 70% of his drives to the rim (slight exaggeration) and missed 80% of his 3-point attempts (sadly, not a big exaggeration).

Sam Cassell it's hard to tell. Does his game translate to the college level, given the step up in competition? He could get big minutes, like Kromah did, or he could never see the light of day. Neither would surprise me.

 

[UConNation]

I'm going with Sam Jr. I know that I'm going to get slaughtered for saying this, but I'm just not that big of a fan of TSam. I think that he has the potential to be very good, but I think right now he tries to do far too much with the ball, and I think that's because he thinks he's better than he is (right now). I think that once he develops his handle a little bit more and improves his ability to stay in control while he drives to the rim, he'll be a phenomenal player. I think Sam Jr. comes in with a more polished game and contributes right away. But, as was said earlier, I won't be the least bit surprised if any of these guys go Beast Mode; Marshawn Lynch style.

 

[James]

calhoun... as in jim calhoun? if we're talking OC i'd settle for average, as he is coming off a season where he was our worst rotation player by far.

With more minutes Tsams assists + steals should go up, so probably him.

 

[Scot-e]

^ I don't get that at all. Tsam was brilliant in the NCAAs. He came in and changed the whole complexion of the game. For a freshman he was very polished and got to the rim almost at will- not sure what more you could have asked from him. If he improves marginally year to year he is going to be a beast by the time he is a Junior. Hard not to be a fan of his IMHO.

 

[Kitaman]

I'm going with Sam Jr. I know that I'm going to get slaughtered for saying this, but I'm just not that big of a fan of TSam. I think that he has the potential to be very good, but I think right now he tries to do far too much with the ball, and I think that's because he thinks he's better than he is (right now). I think that once he develops his handle a little bit more and improves his ability to stay in control while he drives to the rim, he'll be a phenomenal player.

What you are saying may be true, however this is true of the majority of freshman, especially bench players. What you are describing though is an abundance of confidence. Which if he has it as a freshman, then he is set for the future. Can't teach it but certainly can use, harness and develop it.

If he were a soph, or junior then it may warrant attention, but as a freshman this to me is okay, in fact I'll even say its very good problem to have.

In fact, Khalid, Kemba, Bazz, Marcus. Boat and several other of our guards had the same 'problem' as a freshman.

 

[Stainmaster]

As underrated as I think Cassell Jr. will be, I think that T-Sam will be able to have the biggest overall impact on the team. I see him continuing to be able to provide the same kind of defensive intensity that Boat became known for this past postseason. I don't see him being that skilled of a distributor until he's an upperclassman, but he has the wheels and the hustle. I'm also a fan of the progress he showed in terms of finishing at the rim -- at the very least, he's not afraid to draw contact and pick up two free throws, something you love seeing from a guy his size.

 

[Silk31]

T-Sam with Cassell Jr being a close 2nd...I dunno if Omar will ever return anywhere near his freshmen year form. To say last year was a disaster for him is an extreme understatement.

I know he's a high character guy so let's see what Omar is made of now that he is absolutely fully recovered from hip surgery and has a full off season to put in work. I'm rooting for him but it won't be easy for him to regain minutes in the rotation. There is a ton of guard competition which hopefully will bring out the best in our guys, including Omar

 

[UConNation]

What you are saying may be true, however this is true of the majority of freshman, especially bench players. What you are describing though is an abundance of confidence. Which if he has it as a freshman, then he is set for the future. Can't teach it but certainly can use, harness and develop it.

If he were a soph, or junior then it may warrant attention, but as a freshman this to me is okay, in fact I'll even say its very good problem to have.

In fact, Khalid, Kemba, Bazz, Marcus. Boat and several other of our guards had the same 'problem' as a freshman.

I don't disagree with you at all. I'm just going off of the OP question, and based off of that, I'm guessing that Sam Jr is going to have a better year. Just a guess though. Your last statement about Bazz and Kemba reminds me of something Jim Calhoun said about Bazz when he was a sophomore. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something along the lines of "Shabazz thinks he's as good as Kemba actually was." It was probably accurate at the time, and we all know how Bazz turned out. And if TSam develops like Shabazz did, I'll take that 7 different ways to Sunday.

 

[bfair]

IMO there will be a few games where oc plays well and gets minutes.

Don't attack me for giving my honest opinion:
- he plays horrible off ball defense ... Horrible .. His team defense is awful and there is no debating this ..
- he can't yet create his own shot or get to a spot on the dribble.
- he is not strong at all in the open court w the ball..

Pros
- he can use both hands
- good size and strength
- and he can be a good shooter especially from the corners which can be used to attack certain defenses ( zone) and bigger teams that don't defend the perimeter.


This is my opinion and I'm not hating on this kid at all!

 

[Jluc]

Freshman Omar averaged 11 ppg. Neither Cassell or Samuel will come close to that this year. I think people on this board doubt Omar to much. Yeah he had a horrible year last year, but we all know the scoring ability is there. He has my vote for best year of the three

 

[patrick]

I hope it's Calhoun, I still gotta soft spot for him, but I voted Samuel.
The way he finished last year and the progress he made was outstanding!

 

[bfair]

Guys.. Not trying to be a jerkoff but the fact that no one here has considered the defensive end of the game is crazy... Now there isn't a lot of tape on tsam on the defensive end and of course none on cassell. But I can freaking list four back door cuts vs oc last year. That I remember ... Last year proved that on ball pressure and team defense can virtually stalemate many college offenses even when outsized in the front court..

Oc doesn't play defense. I would take kromah over him any day of any year ... Averaging less points bc scoring 11 and giving up 10 is why I hate harden and melo lovers...

Purvis will be an unreal defender and rebound for us and I have a hunch tsam will do the same..
Oc can't or won't play defense and gets beat off the ball and is horrible on screens .. Horrible..

 

[Huskyforlife]

Really suprised Sam jr is ahed of Calhoun for the people here. Everyone seems to think he'll bounce back

 

[Brochacho]

I'm not going to call Omar a bad defender just yet because I think it's not fair to judge him until he is 100%. But however, it was noticeable that in off ball situations he could be "outquicked" leading to an easy bucket. And being a 6'6 guard, he is going to be put in a lot of situations where he will have to defend smaller, quicker guys. Offensively, Omar is just a volume shooter right now, which is something next years team should not need. Perimeter scoring would seem to be a strength and Omar does not provide highly efficient offense or 3 point bombing capabilities; it would be interesting to see where he fits in offensively.

For Omar to stick next year I think it comes down to how much his hip hampered his defense and I think he needs to transition from a scorer to a shooter. Giffey and Omar were both 32% shooters as freshman from 3 so I have faith that he can also develop into a 40%+ guy from long distance .

 

[david]

If you want to know how much omar's injury hampered him just watch him dunking in high school where he was doing reverse 2 handed dunks on the break, vs last year when he was rejected by the rim on a normal dunk

 

[Husky25]

Whoever is able to break a half court zone trapping defense most effectively, which better be more effectively than last season. I know UConn won the National Title last year but they were (obviously) far from perfect. Exhibits 1-4 were Louisville, Louisville, Louisville, and Kentucky.