Purvis Worked Out for Charlotte

[TopDogs]

I don't think I saw this anywhere else but the Hornets had Rodney down to Charlotte for a workout. They just tweeted this out:

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Showing his true colors with the too hard layup. In all seriousness, Rodney is a great kid and worked very on his game here, going from "oh god Rodney is shooting a three" his first year to a guy I felt like every shot was going in.

 

[husky429]

Showing his true colors with the too hard layup. In all seriousness, Rodney is a great kid and worked very on his game here, going from "oh god Rodney is shooting a three" his first year to a guy I felt like every shot was going in.

Rodney was on D for that frame. I'm not sure who shot the too hard layup, hard to tell.

 

[Yankees32123]

Rodney was on D for that frame. I'm not sure who shot the too hard layup, hard to tell.

It kinda looks like Troy Caupain.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

It kinda looks like Troy Caupain.

I'm not sure I've seen him miss a shot so I was confused

 

[Dove]

Purvis' OOB time was off the charts. Best of luck to him.

 

[QDOG5]

A guy I thought under performed at UConn but might eventually make the end of an NBA bench as a defensive stopper. The more Huskies in the league the better.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

Showing his true colors with the too hard layup. In all seriousness, Rodney is a great kid and worked very on his game here, going from "oh god Rodney is shooting a three" his first year to a guy I felt like every shot was going in.

I applaud your confidence. I feel like every time I looked up, Rodney was shooting 30% from the floor and still chucking up bad shots.

 

[JonnyRI]

I think I thought all of the above sentiments were true about Rodney depending on the game.

 

[nomar]

I applaud your confidence. I feel like every time I looked up, Rodney was shooting 30% from the floor and still chucking up bad shots.

It varied from game to game. Some games he was Steph Curry. Most games he was Chicken Curry.

 

[uconnell]

I wish Rodney good luck and all the best.

 

[lange10]

A guy I thought under performed at UConn but might eventually make the end of an NBA bench as a defensive stopper. The more Huskies in the league the better.

Great ambassador for the program but purv will never play a minute in the NBA. Will make a killing overseas somewhere, though.

 

[MadDogRevival]

I'll always have Purvis in the Special Group of Players that also includes Monquencio "Q" Hardnett, Johnny Time Selvie, and Jerome, Send it Home, Dyson.
That is to say, guys who have the rare ability to keep both teams in the game at the same time.
Hat tip to Raff.

 

[champs99and04]

Rodney's case for being fondly remembered begins and ends with the fact that he played his best ball in the biggest games. And it's a pretty good one.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Rodney's case for being fondly remembered begins and ends with the fact that he played his best ball in the biggest games. And it's a pretty good one.

He is a great ambassador for the program and an awesome human being, but unfortunately he's also going to be remembered as one of the "faces" of the most disappointing 3-year stretch in this program since the 80's. Brimah is in the same category.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Great ambassador for the program but purv will never play a minute in the NBA. Will make a killing overseas somewhere, though.

Hope he uses that as fire. duck* the doubters.

 

[Hoophound]

Brimah would ask why it isn't a 4 year stretch.

 

[champs99and04]

He is a great ambassador for the program and an awesome human being, but unfortunately he's also going to be remembered as one of the "faces" of the most disappointing 3-year stretch in this program since the 80's. Brimah is in the same category.

I don't disagree, but again, in March, he wasn't typically the reason we were going home. All three years he showed up in the postseason. If I'm him, despite all the disappointment, I can live with that.

 

[mauconnfan]

I don't disagree, but again, in March, he wasn't typically the reason we were going home. All three years he showed up in the postseason. If I'm him, despite all the disappointment, I can live with that.

Again it's what you think is disappointing I guess. I kind of figured out pretty quick he wasn't that "special" player we saw when originally recruited watching all those tremendous highlight and working out videos. He was much more limited than we would have imagined and the weaknesses kept him from being a special player - ball handling, finishing and taking people of the dribble. I mean he had the body and tools just never got there. But it didn't stop him from being a special kid and a wonderful Husky. I was hoping after year one the things we expected were going to be fulfilled but after year 2 I got what I expected the 3rd year. A solid contributor that could carry the team offensively on a given night, shoot it pretty well and defend hard more often than not.

He was a great kid and ambassador and ended up being a little less than we would have liked, but solid over all.

 

[champs99and04]

Again it's what you think is disappointing I guess. I kind of figured out pretty quick he wasn't that "special" player we saw when originally recruited watching all those tremendous highlight and working out videos. He was much more limited than we would have imagined and the weaknesses kept him from being a special player - ball handling, finishing and taking people of the dribble. I mean he had the body and tools just never got there. But it didn't stop him from being a special kid and a wonderful Husky. I was hoping after year one the things we expected were going to be fulfilled but after year 2 I got what I expected the 3rd year. A solid contributor that could carry the team offensively on a given night, shoot it pretty well and defend hard more often than not.

He was a great kid and ambassador and ended up being a little less than we would have liked, but solid over all.

In a vacuum, I'm sure he aspired to play in more than one tournament in three years. I'm sure he also aspired to play in the NBA (a dream that isn't dead yet, but maybe isn't as attainable as it was three years ago). I'm sure he didn't plan to shoot 37% as a senior and oversee the worst season in this generation of UConn basketball.

But he's a complex kid who seems to be more mature and perceptive than you're normal student-athlete, and that can work both to his benefit and his detriment. He's had a tough life, and what's most important is his own satisfaction. The way he values the experience of being here - despite all the ups and downs - is refreshing and heartening, and I'd be shocked if he was at all resentful with the way things have turned out.

It is weird, the way things unfolded. He initially planned to leave UConn after his junior year and decided after some agonizing to return for his final year of eligibility. Then that summer his brother dies, an event nobody could have ever prepared for or anticipated. Instead of coping across the world in more of a secluded environment, he mourns the loss in the company of the players and coaches and classmates that mean the most to him. From a purely emotional standpoint, I'd bet he's in a better place today than he would have been otherwise. There is no doubt that he handled everything that came his way with a candidness that is to be cherished, and it was rewarding to see how well he performed on the court in circumstances where others didn't seem to have it in them.

 

[MadDogRevival]

I don't disagree, but again, in March, he wasn't typically the reason we were going home.

Yeah, but he typically was a big part of the reason why we dropped a bunch of should-have-won games in Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb that put is in a poor seed come winning time. So, let's not forget that. It's great when you have a LeBron/Draymond talent for showing up in big games. But it's not so great when you have a Stanley-esque talent for disappearing in games in which you should dominate.

The thing I always found odd about RP is that the guy didn't improve discernibly in 4 years here. I mean, nobody would have confused me with a high D-1 athlete when I was young, but I got better every year at basketball from age 12 through age 25 (my peak!).

How do you play 4 years at a major D-1 school, with access to all the resources, presumably playing 2-5 hours a day, with coaches everywhere, and your game barely changes in 4 years?

I will never understand that.

 

[pj]

Yeah, but he typically was a big part of the reason why we dropped a bunch of should-have-won games in Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb that put is in a poor seed come winning time. So, let's not forget that. It's great when you have a LeBron/Draymond talent for showing up in big games. But it's not so great when you have a Stanley-esque talent for disappearing in games in which you should dominate.

The thing I always found odd about RP is that the guy didn't improve discernibly in 4 years here. I mean, nobody would have confused me with a high D-1 athlete when I was young, but I got better every year at basketball from age 12 through age 25 (my peak!).

How do you play 4 years at a major D-1 school, with access to all the resources, presumably playing 2-5 hours a day, with coaches everywhere, and your game barely changes in 4 years?

I will never understand that.

The worse you are, the easier it is to improve.

The reality is that many of his skills undoubtedly did improve at UConn, but they didn't cross the threshold of D1-competitiveness/impressiveness. Like Brimah's foul line jumper, it's good, he can make 8 of 10 in practice for the Lakers, but it's not so good that you want to keep passing him the ball at the foul line and asking him to take jump shots in games. Same with Rodney's handle, I'm sure it improved but you never wanted him as opposed to Jalen taking guys off the dribble.

 

[KembaStepback]

Yeah, but he typically was a big part of the reason why we dropped a bunch of should-have-won games in Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb that put is in a poor seed come winning time. So, let's not forget that. It's great when you have a LeBron/Draymond talent for showing up in big games. But it's not so great when you have a Stanley-esque talent for disappearing in games in which you should dominate.

The thing I always found odd about RP is that the guy didn't improve discernibly in 4 years here. I mean, nobody would have confused me with a high D-1 athlete when I was young, but I got better every year at basketball from age 12 through age 25 (my peak!).

How do you play 4 years at a major D-1 school, with access to all the resources, presumably playing 2-5 hours a day, with coaches everywhere, and your game barely changes in 4 years?

I will never understand that.

I think RP improved some, just not as much as we'd like. His shooting improved, save for a very cold stretch early this yr. He also improved his FT% quite a bit during his time here. Rodney is a great kid. His problems are court awareness (out of bounds stuff) and the fact that his hands and handle are pretty bad (losing control, never being able to finish through contact) The first one you can sort of live with. Assuming he can figure it out. The 2nd issue is the big one. If he's having trouble controlling the ball in a college game, he'd never be able to do it in the NBA. It's a shame, because he's built like a truck and should be able to penetrate. I'm not sure he's a good enough shooter to be a 3 and D player at the next level. I think he will be ok in the Summer League. He might even stay in the D League for awhile. If he can show he can consistently hit the 3 and lock people down on defense a team will give him a shot at some point id think.

 

[PAHusky]

Never once doubted that Rodney left everything he had on the court, can't ask for anything more than that. Wish him well

 

[MadDogRevival]

The worse you are, the easier it is to improve.
The reality is that many of his skills undoubtedly did improve at UConn, but

We must have been watching in different universes. In mine, his 2pt (48 to 41) and 3pt (36 to 34) percent both declined from his 1st year to his last . Rebounds and Assists went up about 1 per 40 minutes. His FT shooting improved markedly, but at less than 3 attempts per game, even the 30% increase he got amounts to less than 1 point a game.

But the numbers don't tell the whole story - he shot more 3s and fewer 2s his final year, so the overall decline in shooting percent from 1st year to 3rd year was 43% to 37%. OUCH.

AT BEST, that's a break even, in my view.

Regarding, "easier to get better if you're not good." Well, Rodney had plenty of room to improve in many areas. He only improved in FT shooting, and, with his style of play, it probably should have been very low on this list of things on which to improve.

As for, "never once doubted he left everything on the court," again, different universe. Kid played hard, mostly, but he'd get lost on D often and get burned. I suppose you can argue that that's not lack of effort. IDK - to me, that's effort. That's not being locked into game mode. Yeah, one on one, on the ball, he was very good.

In any event, I was hoping he would move on after his 2nd season - not so much because of him, but more because I wanted the minutes to go to the younger guys, who had the potential to be around several years. As it turned out, Purvis got a lot of minutes, didn't end up doing much with them, and somebody didn't get as much playing time or as much of a role on the team.

From the island of what coulda been.