ctchamps
We are UConn!! 6 >>>1!
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My wife and I just spent the last four days watching the BE tournament. Lest we forget, Kemba smashed the record for all time scoring in that tournament.
On defense Kemba was the best on ball defender for the team. He didn't always play the opponents best player, but I think that was deliberate to reduce his chances of getting into foul trouble. When he did play the best player he was mostly glued to his player. I can't say the same for Jeremy or Shabazz.
He was also incredibly good at getting rebounds, both on the offensive and defensive ends, which Shabazz has not demonstrated his freshman year. I'm less concerned with this particular loss because CO and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel were poor rebounders and Kemba was needed to offset their weakness. I believe AD and DD will be significant upgrades in rebounding and provide more than enough to offset Kemba's loss in rebounding.
On Kemba's offense there is very little that can be said which people don't know. He could drive to the basket and complete as good as anyone in college bb. His handle was incredible and his mid range game was outstanding. His only weakness was his 3 point shooting and even that was respectable. He was a good passer. He was not as good a pg as MW, DS, AJP or KEA. His mindset was focused on getting to the basket. But the lack of seeing the floor and getting the ball to other players was more than offset by his ability to create for himself and score or get fouled.
I watched Shabazz running the team. He sees the floor much better than Kemba and he should develop into a much better passer. He may ultimately be a better 3 point shooter. The big problem is his handle and speed at getting to the basket. He had a lot of problems losing the ball when trying to drive past his defender. And he takes a lot of time getting the offense set in the half court.
If I compared his offensive game to anyone it would have to be AJ's his first season as a Husky, although not as good as AJ in hitting the 3 or driving to the basket. The offense bogged down during the time Kemba sat out in the Ville game. Although a good part of that bogging down was due to the miscues in passing by RS and turnovers by JL. The big difference between Shabazz and AJ their first seasons was AJ did not have Kemba to give the ball to as the clock wound down.
On defense he is ahead of AJ's first season considerably. And Shabazz has incredibly quick hands to cause steals or turnovers.
It will be interesting to see how much Shabazz can improve this season. He will have to speed up his playmaking in the half court otherwise UConn will end up with the clock running down and taking last second shots. My money is Shabazz will improve to approximate the level of AJ's second season. I'm with Nomar and think it is a blessing in disguise the first part of the season isn't challenging. If Shabazz does become this AJ type player, this will be another incredible season.
As a side note, I couldn't believe how much CO and DB contributed in helping UConn in that five game streak.
On defense Kemba was the best on ball defender for the team. He didn't always play the opponents best player, but I think that was deliberate to reduce his chances of getting into foul trouble. When he did play the best player he was mostly glued to his player. I can't say the same for Jeremy or Shabazz.
He was also incredibly good at getting rebounds, both on the offensive and defensive ends, which Shabazz has not demonstrated his freshman year. I'm less concerned with this particular loss because CO and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel were poor rebounders and Kemba was needed to offset their weakness. I believe AD and DD will be significant upgrades in rebounding and provide more than enough to offset Kemba's loss in rebounding.
On Kemba's offense there is very little that can be said which people don't know. He could drive to the basket and complete as good as anyone in college bb. His handle was incredible and his mid range game was outstanding. His only weakness was his 3 point shooting and even that was respectable. He was a good passer. He was not as good a pg as MW, DS, AJP or KEA. His mindset was focused on getting to the basket. But the lack of seeing the floor and getting the ball to other players was more than offset by his ability to create for himself and score or get fouled.
I watched Shabazz running the team. He sees the floor much better than Kemba and he should develop into a much better passer. He may ultimately be a better 3 point shooter. The big problem is his handle and speed at getting to the basket. He had a lot of problems losing the ball when trying to drive past his defender. And he takes a lot of time getting the offense set in the half court.
If I compared his offensive game to anyone it would have to be AJ's his first season as a Husky, although not as good as AJ in hitting the 3 or driving to the basket. The offense bogged down during the time Kemba sat out in the Ville game. Although a good part of that bogging down was due to the miscues in passing by RS and turnovers by JL. The big difference between Shabazz and AJ their first seasons was AJ did not have Kemba to give the ball to as the clock wound down.
On defense he is ahead of AJ's first season considerably. And Shabazz has incredibly quick hands to cause steals or turnovers.
It will be interesting to see how much Shabazz can improve this season. He will have to speed up his playmaking in the half court otherwise UConn will end up with the clock running down and taking last second shots. My money is Shabazz will improve to approximate the level of AJ's second season. I'm with Nomar and think it is a blessing in disguise the first part of the season isn't challenging. If Shabazz does become this AJ type player, this will be another incredible season.
As a side note, I couldn't believe how much CO and DB contributed in helping UConn in that five game streak.
