Purvis reminds me of . . .

[Cheeky]

. . . okay, I'll say it.
Jerome Dyson. But I mean that in a way.

Jerome Dyson is the most divisive (in terms of BY) player we have ever discussed here.
Some folks think he was all effort and a great husky.
Some folks think he was all effort and a 4 year train wreck.

I suppose the point is, nobody ever questioned his effort, regardless of what you thought of his game.

Purvis reminds me of Dyson in that he's: streaky, athletic, capable of very good D, able to look like an NBA prospect for short stretches, makes you want to smash things much of the time, can keep both teams in the game, and so on.

But most importantly the reason he reminds me of Dyson is that he seems to have really low BB IQ and he seems to have a game that has not changed/improved since his 1st day at NC State. That's what I remember most about Dyson - guy just never got better. He left after 4 long years with the exact same game he had come in with, shooting at about the same percentages, with the same strengths and same weaknesses.

I'm hope I'm wrong about Purvis, but I think we're going to see 2.7 more years of the same up and down, wow and oh God, start him bench him that we've seen this year.

 

[Horatio]

I agree with some of your points but I just look at Dyson as just being a "good - very good college player" and thats why he had his flaws . Just from my memory, "if" Purvis was anywhere near Jerome Dyson, we'd only
Have about two loses. I "wish " Purvis could be 2009 Dyson , but he still has time.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

They are similar in that they try hard and genuinely seem to be pro-team and have good intentions. Both played out of control at times and seem to make a mistake for every positive play.

With that said, Purvis isn't nearly as good as Dyson was. Dyson was a much better offensive player. Dyson was also at least an inch and a half taller and was more explosive. I keep saying it, Purvis is just a slightly above average athlete for this level. Is he really any more athletic than T-Sam? Nobody promotes Samuel's (possessive, not Samardo) athleticism.

As Horatio pointed out, if this team had Dyson, we would be much better than we are now.

 

[8893]

Jerome Dyson is the most divisive (in terms of BY) player we have ever discussed here.

I think Taliek wins that distinction, and before that it was Ricky. But we forget that because they both went out with NCs.

 

[Jluc]

Dyson was a lot better as a sophomore than Purvis has been so far. It's not even close. But I understand the comparison.

 

[Matt1010]

Dyson was a more dynamic player at this point in time, but I think it is premature to doubt RP and his potential for improvement. The guy has played in less than 15 games after having sat out an entire year, and he hasn't been healthy for all of them. The more he is on the court the more comfortable he will get and I think we will see this improvement throughout the remainder of the season and into next year.

The statement that Purvis is barely more athletic than TS is ridiculous IMO. He hasn't shown it so far, but go back and watch his HS highlights and tell me that the kid is not a stud athlete. Watch some of the instagram dunk videos he puts up after practice. It is not even close. He needs to get comfortable playing at this high of a level and we will begin to see this.

 

[mets1090]

Purvis is, to this point in his development, a poor man's Dyson. That's not to say Purvis can't develop to match or surpass Jerome but there's no comparison at this point in terms of overall ability.

Dyson was also a more explosive athlete than anything I've seen from Purvis, this year or in old highlights.

 

[Mike Honcho]

If we hadn't lost Dyson to that MCL injury in 2009, we would have beat MSU and challenged NC for the title. He was a difference maker playing at a very high level.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Dyson was a more dynamic player at this point in time, but I think it is premature to doubt RP and his potential for improvement. The guy has played in less than 15 games after having sat out an entire year, and he hasn't been healthy for all of them. The more he is on the court the more comfortable he will get and I think we will see this improvement throughout the remainder of the season and into next year.

The statement that Purvis is barely more athletic than TS is ridiculous IMO. He hasn't shown it so far, but go back and watch his HS highlights and tell me that the kid is not a stud athlete. Watch some of the instagram dunk videos he puts up after practice. It is not even close. He needs to get comfortable playing at this high of a level and we will begin to see this.

Go watch Omar's HS highlights. That athleteticism has never been here at UConn. Whether its injuries or whatever some guys lose it. Also its a lot easier to be athletic in high school, but here hes playing against guys who are just as big and fast.

I always thought Purvis' athleticism was massively overrated. Please watch this mixtape.


Nothing special going on and not anything different than what I've seen here. He barely gets the ball above the rim. Now go watch Jalen Adams. You can tell the difference in how "bouncy" their step is, how quickly they get off the ground, and how explosive the first step is. Its not even close.

I stand by that comment. T-Sam is taller, bigger, quicker (first step) and more explosive (taking off) than Purvis. At worst they are equal. I'm not trying to rip on Purvis. He can be a good player and hes athletic. But he is not some athletic marvel that people claim. I wouldnt even say hes a very good athlete, just above average. imo.

 

[PRHusky]

It is funny, I was thinking that Daniel Hamilton reminded me of Dyson. One great play always followed by a horrible play. At his best, Dyson's good to bad ratio was like 3>1. Hopefully Daniel gets there. His talent level is off the charts.

 

[Rocktheworld]

FWIW Sophomore Dyson vs Sophomore Purvis

Player GP MIN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG FG% FT% 3P%

Jerome Dyson 24 27.0 12.5 3.6 2.0 1.8 0.7 2.7 .413 .811 .325
Rodney Purvis 13 25.8 9.2 1.9 0.9 0.2 0.1 1.7 .421 .538 .348

 

[Cheeky]

Daniel Hamilton reminded me of Dyson.

DHam reminds me of JD like a fine steak reminds me of a McRib sandwich.

 

[Matt1010]

I always thought Purvis' athleticism was massively overrated. Please watch this mixtape. He barely gets the ball above the rim.
I stand by that comment. T-Sam is taller, bigger, quicker (first step) and more explosive (taking off) than Purvis. At worst they are equal. I'm not trying to rip on Purvis. He can be a good player and hes athletic. But he is not some athletic marvel that people claim. I wouldnt even say hes a very good athlete, just above average. imo.

Come on man that video is his freshman year highlights. Watch this from his junior/senior year and tell me that he is not explosive and a much better athlete than T-Sam.


May he lost it with the injuries because obviously we have not seen this but he was an stud athlete.

 

[Horatio]

DHam reminds me of JD like a fine steak reminds me of a McRib sandwich.

For some reason my mind goes straight to Malik Sealy when trying to compare
DHam to someone.

 

[D$]

I might be in the minority, but I loved watching Dyson. I was crushed that night he tore is meniscus. We were championship bound!!!

 

[Dribbles]

I'd be a little less unhappy if after a t/0, miss F/T, etc, he didn't grin like he just been named for the Wooden ward.

 

[pnow15]

DHam reminds me of Scotty Pippin, which is why we have to live with the screw ups.

 

[Horatio]

DHam reminds me of Scotty Pippin, which is why we have to live with the screw ups.

That's a good one and thanks for my 500th " like". I'll email you a six pack.

 

[Yankees32123]

Go watch Omar's HS highlights. That athleteticism has never been here at UConn. Whether its injuries or whatever some guys lose it. Also its a lot easier to be athletic in high school, but here hes playing against guys who are just as big and fast.

I always thought Purvis' athleticism was massively overrated. Please watch this mixtape.


Nothing special going on and not anything different than what I've seen here. He barely gets the ball above the rim. Now go watch Jalen Adams. You can tell the difference in how "bouncy" their step is, how quickly they get off the ground, and how explosive the first step is. Its not even close.

I stand by that comment. T-Sam is taller, bigger, quicker (first step) and more explosive (taking off) than Purvis. At worst they are equal. I'm not trying to rip on Purvis. He can be a good player and hes athletic. But he is not some athletic marvel that people claim. I wouldnt even say hes a very good athlete, just above average. imo.

This is a dumb post.

 

[Chief00]

I might be in the minority, but I loved watching Dyson. I was crushed that night he tore is meniscus. We were championship bound!!!

I will never buy into the mythology since Stanley never would have stepped up with Jerome on the court with him. Stanley felt so much better about himself when that circumstance changed. Also, Jerome never won a post season game. The other aspect is game prep and Samuel's comments concern me if there is reason to think certain guys are not in game prep frame of mind - yes that was primarily my criticism of Jerome's game. Guys need to get their sleep and not be out partying the night before a game etc. The other thing and Ollie has mentioned this as JC did about Jerome - part of being tough is getting your shots in at night after practice or studying. Are these guys still not doing that? JC talked about how Ben G did that. When you see a team shoot under 50% from the line you really wonder if that is happening. Also the high turnovers indicate guys are not locked in.

 

[PacificStorm]

Come on man that video is his freshman year highlights. Watch this from his junior/senior year and tell me that he is not explosive and a much better athlete than T-Sam.


May he lost it with the injuries because obviously we have not seen this but he was an stud athlete.

I'm surprised we have not seen this athleticism on a regular basis at Uconn. Someone speculated that maybe his injuries had played a part. Maybe we should wait till early March for him to show his real stuff. I'd hope it's not too late for that.

 

[lonsharkin51]

Rodney = Kelvin Torbert. One of UConn's most important misses has come full circle.