Rodney Purvis Development

[PradaMane]

I think many of you are over evaluating Rodney. For one, he's just not a Ferrari so let's start there and it gets easier. #2 he needs to handle it better for sure, but he's not awful but more like a 3. #3 many of you are going by what KO said and he was wrong but probably not by a lot. I don't think he thinks he's better than he is and I say that because he's been so accepting of his 6th man role. He is seemingly a great kid whom many of you expect a lot more out of. He's turned into a nice mid range shooter, something I think he should rely more on. He's not awful behind the arc, 35 plus %. And he has played very hard on the defensice end, wished he would rebound a bit more.

Problem with Rodney is we have this thread on him and not others who are performing much worst.

I see where your coming from but none of these kids other than hamilton had the promise and hype purvis had. MCD all american, who was projected as a lottery pick before heading to college, now he is a 6th man. Yeah phil nolan and terrence samuels and cassell jr are performing worse, but what promise or hype did they have coming into uconn? I don't think anyone is over evaluating him.

His expected production was the reason many here thought we would have a strong team again this year. No one expected 20 ppg or something outrageous. We expected 11-14 ppg a game, and a reliable second option for boat so he can sometimes play off ball. Instead we got 9.5 ppg 2 reb 1 assist... Check the preseason threads on the expectations. If someone was to have predicted his current stat line he would be labeled a troll and laughed at.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I was about to defend the kid but then I compared his freshman and current stats... he has regressed in just about every facet of the game. And he's playing the same amount of minutes as he did then.

Really pulling him.

 

[pnow15]

1. As Dirty Harry would put it."A man has to know his limitations"
2. Purvis does not know his.
3. He makes offense too hard. He needs to start with his set shot three pointer. If someone closes, then he needs to take a couple of dribbles and try a jumper. If he goes to the rim and meets resistance, then he goes to the floater. Save the layups for when the path is clear.
4. Just practice this sequence. Get this down pat. He doesn't have to be Isaiah Thomas on the dribble. Just get your shots in order.
5. Don't jump in the air and pass to Nolan, Brimah, Facey or Ollie. We remember lamp had the three pointer and the floater.
6. Practice this sequence.

 

[Huskybass]

I have met Rodney and he is a very nice kid who does not have a big ego. I think his biggest problem on the offensive end is a sub par handle. So many more things would open up if he was a decent dribbler. In some ways, his game reminds me of Jerome Dyson's game. Deep set shot, good athleticism, works hard, but seems to make things more difficult than they need to be.

I am pulling for Rodney, and I think we will see a much more complete player next season.

 

[tentoes4rings]

I see where your coming from but none of these kids other than hamilton had the promise and hype purvis had. MCD all american, who was projected as a lottery pick before heading to college, now he is a 6th man. Yeah phil nolan and terrence samuels and cassell jr are performing worse, but what promise or hype did they have coming into uconn? I don't think anyone is over evaluating him.

His expected production was the reason many here thought we would have a strong team again this year. No one expected 20 ppg or something outrageous. We expected 11-14 ppg a game, and a reliable second option for boat so he can sometimes play off ball. Instead we got 9.5 ppg 2 reb 1 assist... Check the preseason threads on the expectations. If someone was to have predicted his current stat line he would be labeled a troll and laughed at.

What makes Rodney's lack of production even more pronounced is what a complete bust Cassell has been. With virtually no contribution from him, more production from Purvis is critical.

 

[mauconnfan]

I see where your coming from but none of these kids other than hamilton had the promise and hype purvis had. MCD all american, who was projected as a lottery pick before heading to college, now he is a 6th man. Yeah phil nolan and terrence samuels and cassell jr are performing worse, but what promise or hype did they have coming into uconn? I don't think anyone is over evaluating him.

His expected production was the reason many here thought we would have a strong team again this year. No one expected 20 ppg or something outrageous. We expected 11-14 ppg a game, and a reliable second option for boat so he can sometimes play off ball. Instead we got 9.5 ppg 2 reb 1 assist... Check the preseason threads on the expectations. If someone was to have predicted his current stat line he would be labeled a troll and laughed at.

Omar Calhoun? He was ranked high also. Facey was NY's POY and after last year Amida had many here talking about his last year here unless I was seeing things. How are all they working out?

By the way he leads the team in FG% of the regular perimeter players. Yes better than Boat, Omar and DHam. Expectations from fans is what has led people to hammer him, pretty simple. He's a better defender than all but Boat and TSam maybe off the bench. He's not the Ferrari but he's getting better. If you don't like him or his game, you certainly shouldn't like anyone else on this team then!

 

[PradaMane]

Omar Calhoun? He was ranked high also. Facey was NY's POY and after last year Amida had many here talking about his last year here unless I was seeing things. How are all they working out?

By the way he leads the team in FG% of the regular perimeter players. Yes better than Boat, Omar and DHam. Expectations from fans is what has led people to hammer him, pretty simple. He's a better defender than all but Boat and TSam maybe off the bench. He's not the Ferrari but he's getting better. If you don't like him or his game, you certainly shouldn't like anyone else on this team then!

It's not rocket science my friend. None of those kids were all Americans. None of them were projected to be a NBA player from highschool. It's not that crazy to understand. The kid averages 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and has not improved in parts of his game that were problems for him years ago(free throw percentage, shooting mechanics, decision making). You wanna sit here and put him in the same boat as facey, samuels and calhoun coming out of highschool? I know your not that silly, and aware that none of them were half the player purvis was.

 

[Danzz]

I never thought that Purvis was going to be a super star for us because he wasn't at NC State. Too many blamed the coach and their system. Good news is that he is an outstanding athlete who can get better.

 

[Cheeky]

In some ways, his game reminds me of Jerome Dyson's game. Deep set shot, good athleticism, works hard, but seems to make things more difficult than they need to be.

I'd swap Dyson for him in a heartbeat. As much as Dyson drove me nuts, the kid was a lock down defender and he played really hard for every second the court. Just not getting that vibe from Rodney.

 

[mauconnfan]

It's not rocket science my friend. None of those kids were all Americans. None of them were projected to be a NBA player from highschool. It's not that crazy to understand. The kid averages 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and has not improved in parts of his game that were problems for him years ago(free throw percentage, shooting mechanics, decision making). You wanna sit here and put him in the same boat as facey, samuels and calhoun coming out of highschool? I know your not that silly, and aware that none of them were half the player purvis was.

Their college basketball players wearing a UConn uniform. Not sure you've been watching but there have been many kids who come here unheralded and become very good basketball players. Omar wasn't a star coming out of HS, an AA in many publications? He's not as good as Purvis in 3 years so why not hammer on him still?

We all hoped he was the Ferrari KO said he'd be but he's not, that's not rocket science either. Get over the fact he's not and start looking at him as a player we need to get better and help UConn in the future. Anyone who insists on finding fault with Purvis all the time just needs to get back to reality and not look at what "should be." He's going to be a piece of the rebuild here so get on the bandwagon or just continue the hate.

 

[PradaMane]

Their college basketball players wearing a UConn uniform. Not sure you've been watching but there have been many kids who come here unheralded and become very good basketball players. Omar wasn't a star coming out of HS, an AA in many publications? He's not as good as Purvis in 3 years so why not hammer on him still?

We all hoped he was the Ferrari KO said he'd be but he's not, that's not rocket science either. Get over the fact he's not and start looking at him as a player we need to get better and help UConn in the future. Anyone who insists on finding fault with Purvis all the time just needs to get back to reality and not look at what "should be." He's going to be a piece of the rebuild here so get on the bandwagon or just continue the hate.

Why would I be hammering on omar calhoun . He did not have half the talent purvis had. Omar calhoun was never ranked as the number 1 shooting guard, never seen as a one and done kinda guy.. But that's obvious. the fact that you can't see the difference in prospect between calhoun and purvis is baffling and I refuse to try to explain to you that point anymore.

The main question is, do you think he can turn the corner and get better. Free throw shooting and shooting mechanics is something every scouting service has documented on him since he was in highschool (3 years removed) it's still a problem today. Ball handling is something he struggled with at nc state, still something that we see every game as well as poor decision making. Now do you think he will improve in those areas? He had a year and a summer in storrs.. Why haven't we seen improvement ?

 

[mauconnfan]

Why would I be hammering on omar calhoun . He did not have half the talent purvis had. Omar calhoun was never ranked as the number 1 shooting guard, never seen as a one and done kinda guy.. But that's obvious. the fact that you can't see the difference in prospect between calhoun and purvis is baffling and I refuse to try to explain to you that point anymore.

The main question is, do you think he can turn the corner and get better. Free throw shooting and shooting mechanics is something every scouting service has documented on him since he was in highschool (3 years removed) it's still a problem today. Ball handling is something he struggled with at nc state, still something that we see every game as well as poor decision making. Now do you think he will improve in those areas? He had a year and a summer in storrs.. Why haven't we seen improvement ?

Wait, he's not as good as he came advertised. Can we all get over that and move on and look at him as a UConn Husky rather than the 247 Video's and the "ferrari" he was labeled as? I mean this is ridiculous - we need to look at him as the guy we need to turn the corner and maybe become the player many expected at some point. Is Rodney the first guy that all the "guru's" overrated at some point? My point on Omar is he was a unanimous Top 25-30 guy and in turn, what has he done? He gets the pass somehow though. They both need to be better, a lot better. But one can guard people and the other can't. There seems to be this "Rodney" bashing and while he has a ways to go, how do we not notice where Facey and Brimah are as of today? Improvement, maybe but not enough to get us more than 11 wins at this point. This is the whole team not one person, unless of course you have those "Top SG" blinders.

Move on, who cares what he was supposed to be, he's ours now and as I see it, much like the rest of the team with only Boat moved, they ALL need to be a lot better not just #44.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I think next season will tell us what will likely ultimately happen with Rodney's basketball career.