Roscoe Smith makes the Lakers Training Camp Roster

[Huskyforlife]

Oriaki is dead to me. The crap his dad spewed, which he did not repudiate, was unacceptable. I don't wish bad things for him, but I really don't wish him well either.

Roscoe is a whole different kettle of fish. He is entitled to do what he thinks is best for his career development. He left in a reasonably classy manner. Yes, he did leave when we could have used him, but who did that hurt? Only him.

I'd rather celebrate the kids that stayed than be bitter over the kids left.

I'm only talking about it because this is what the thread is about. I couldn't really give one about either

 

[David 76]

So he transfers to a team that has three tournament wins in 15 years?

Those odds were better than ours in 2013

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Those odds were better than ours in 2013

The odds were the same for Roscoe, except at UConn he could've actually played.

I don't fault either AO or RS for leaving. I actually think AO made a solid decision.

However, RS left a legendary program, had to sit out a year and then play for a. mediocre program with no national exposure in MWC.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The odds were the same for Roscoe, except at UConn he could've actually played.

I don't fault either AO or RS for leaving. I actually think AO made a solid decision.

However, RS left a legendary program, had to sit out a year and then play for a. mediocre program with no national exposure in MWC.

I think Roscoe was counting on getting a waiver to play right away. When it was denied, he didn't have much recourse.

 

[David 76]

Agreed. I just can't hold it against a kid in that situation. No one knew we would bounce back so quick.

 

[Inyatkin]

I don't really hold it against him but I know the moment I heard he was transferring was the moment I first thought this beautiful thing that had been built in Storrs really might fall to pieces. For some reason the Michael Bradley transfer felt devastating, too.
Hard to believe the swings this team has gone through the past five years.

 

[David 76]

We went through a real threat of a few giant steps backword. Loss of scholarships, ban, loss of a hall of fame coach, and being screwed in conference allignment. amazing how we came out of it. Thank you coach Ollie!

 

[Fishy]

While I respect Fishy's thoughts and fleudy's idea that he left much more admirably than AO (agree) I'm with Huskyforlife on this. JC is/was JC, you elected to come to UConn to play for him because he will make you a better player as well as a better person. While JC was hard on him (jerked around or whatever) there was a reason. Obviously one of them he was playing crappy basketball, not rebounding and turning the ball over. It seemed to me much like AO both did very little to improve their weaknesses during their summer away instead looking to relish in the NC. You owe JC as well as the other players hard work and continuing effort to improve. Didn't see much of that going on until he went to UNLV because that guy that bot 11-12 rebounds last year wasn't close to being on campus in Storrs the year after the NC. JC doesn't drew around with players who work hard, play hard. do their work in class and are all about the TEAM. Guessing there was a lot more to the "jerking around" than just bad coaching.

I am about to call you an idiot, but I do so lovingly.

This is mindless horse s---.

Jim Calhoun is not infallible and he was Reason #1 why 2012 was such a grease fire.

He misses the first three conference games because of the Miles' nonsense, is fairly disengaged for the rest of the month and then goes out on a medical leave the first week of February.

And his minutes went to Tyler Olander. The same Tyler Olander who got nearly 18 minutes a game that year got less than half that this year as a senior on a team desperate for front court bodies. Again, Tyler Olander.

So let's recap from the perspective of a top 40 recruit who hopes to play in the NBA...

1) Your coach has assumed part-time status and has ominously stated on 25,000 occasions that he'll decide whether to retire after the season.

2) Your minutes are inexplicably falling and going to a player who is a stretch mid-major player on his best day.

3) The team is banned from the postseason.

4) With realignment looming in all the wrong ways and the situation with the head coach, the atmosphere around the program can charitably be described as a circus. In reality, it's a tire fire.

Despite all that, to read that he was somehow selfish by making the call to leave...good god, get --- over yourselves. We're just UConn fans - it's their lives. If he knew that Kevin Ollie was freaking Batman, he probably stays, but with what he had in hand then, understandable call.

And again, he went on to become an 11 and 11 man which kinda scoreboards the whole argument.

 

[stick]

Plus, Oriakhi & Smith helped win a title the previous season. They definitely deserved a little more leeway than what JC gave them.

 

[mauconnfan]

Plus, Oriakhi & Smith helped win a title the previous season. They definitely deserved a little more leeway than what JC gave them.

Yeah they did didn' they. Like this from JC ".....it's okay that you guys didn't do anything all summer to better yourselves because you won a title last year. As a matter of fact play crappy and don't rebound but you'll still play because of that ring"

You guys kidding me?

 

[HuskyBballFan]

If I recall correctly, Roscoe got himself in trouble before the first game of the 2012 season and sat the entire first half. Olander and Daniels played well in that game and all of a sudden Roscoe had broken the record for quickest detour into Calhoun's doghouse. It took longer than expected for Olander to be exposed (since he actually played pretty well in the cupcake portion of the schedule) and Roscoe was the odd man out of the rotation all too often.

By the end of the year, we knew who Olander was, we knew Daniels wasn't ready, and we knew Oriakhi was already dreaming about Phil Pressey. So Roscoe finally got minutes (at the 4, where he belongs) and started looking like Roscoe again.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I am about to call you an idiot, but I do so lovingly.

This is mindless horse s---.

Jim Calhoun is not infallible and he was Reason #1 why 2012 was such a grease fire.

He misses the first three conference games because of the Miles' nonsense, is fairly disengaged for the rest of the month and then goes out on a medical leave the first week of February.

And his minutes went to Tyler Olander. The same Tyler Olander who got nearly 18 minutes a game that year got less than half that this year as a senior on a team desperate for front court bodies. Again, Tyler Olander.

So let's recap from the perspective of a top 40 recruit who hopes to play in the NBA...

1) Your coach has assumed part-time status and has ominously stated on 25,000 occasions that he'll decide whether to retire after the season.

2) Your minutes are inexplicably falling and going to a player who is a stretch mid-major player on his best day.

3) The team is banned from the postseason.

4) With realignment looming in all the wrong ways and the situation with the head coach, the atmosphere around the program can charitably be described as a circus. In reality, it's a tire fire.

Despite all that, to read that he was somehow selfish by making the call to leave...good god, get --- over yourselves. We're just UConn fans - it's their lives. If he knew that Kevin Ollie was freaking Batman, he probably stays, but with what he had in hand then, understandable call.

And again, he went on to become an 11 and 11 man which kinda scoreboards the whole argument.

1) Your Hall of Fame who has had health issues isn't sure if he's ready to decide if he's coming back yet. So, let's transfer to a program with a first time head coach. Both are unknowns.

2) He got in the dog house for whatever reason, but he ended up gaining his minutes back and was back to playing come the end of the season.

3) Banned from the postseason. Transfer banned from the whole season.

4) Even with realignment, and coaching uncertainty at UConn, transferring to a MWC School with a new coach, 1 sweet 16 in twenty seasons and their best and only impact nba in twenty years is what shawn Marion?

Look, I harbor no ill will to roscoe. I loved him at UConn and I hope he sticks with LA.

I won't buy the narrative that it's our fault he transferred and to transfer to unlv of all places was stupid.

No need to bad mouth the kid, but certainly no need to bad mouth JC.

 

[aceboon]

1) Your Hall of Fame who has had health issues isn't sure if he's ready to decide if he's coming back yet. So, let's transfer to a program with a first time head coach. Both are unknowns.

2) He got in the dog house for whatever reason, but he ended up gaining his minutes back and was back to playing come the end of the season.

3) Banned from the postseason. Transfer banned from the whole season.

4) Even with realignment, and coaching uncertainty at UConn, transferring to a MWC School with a new coach, 1 sweet 16 in twenty seasons and their best and only impact nba in twenty years is what shawn Marion?

Look, I harbor no ill will to roscoe. I loved him at UConn and I hope he sticks with LA.

I won't buy the narrative that it's our fault he transferred and to transfer to unlv of all places was stupid.

No need to bad mouth the kid, but certainly no need to bad mouth JC.

When Roscoe transferred to UNLV, Rice was already coming off of season where he won 26 games and made the tournament. I don't think much of Rice's actual coaching abilities(he's a fantastic recruiter tho), but its not like he was a complete unknown. The whole MWC/exposure thing is irrelevant, that's the type of things that fans focus on when viewing things through their scope, the conference and TV situation clearly isn't affecting their recruiting, they've been cleaning up the past few years.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

When Roscoe transferred to UNLV, Rice was already coming off of season where he won 26 games and made the tournament. I don't think much of Rice's actual coaching abilities(he's a fantastic recruiter tho), but its not like he was a complete unknown. The whole MWC/exposure thing is irrelevant, that's the type of things that fans focus on when viewing things through their scope, the conference and TV situation clearly isn't affecting their recruiting, they've been cleaning up the past few years.

I guess we'll just have to disagree.

I don't fault him for transferring at all. He needed to make the best decision for himself.

I just question the decision making, reasons and input he received.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I guess we'll just have to disagree.

I don't fault him for transferring at all. He needed to make the best decision for himself.

I just question the decision making, reasons and input he received.

I think it's certainly fair to question the wisdom of the decision, especially now. I just don't blame him for making it and thinking he might be walking into a much better situation at UNLV, and unlike some people in this thread, I don't think he's some sort of villain for doing it.

 

[James]

It wasn't selfish at all , it was just a dumb decision. He didn't know KO was batman ? He should have he was coached by him closely.

Also olander isn't a mid major player . He is high d1 with terrible work ethic , definitely talented enough to outplay scoe in practices.

We would have been a better overall team with scoe in the cards , rebounding wouldn't have been a beaten horse. Too bad he made that decision , don't think about it much tho . As someone noted he thought he could play right away , probably wouldn't have done it if he knew otherwise .

 

[CL82]

At the end of day, the only way 'Scoe decision makes sense is if he was already unhappy at Connecticut. I suspect that is the case, largely because he didn't particularly want to be a four. As it turned out, the transfer didn't change that.

Still I wish him the best.

 

[David 76]

If Roscoe had gone to MSU, then people would not be giving him crap? Other than James, I don't think that holds water.
I think one of the great divides on this forum is the division between those of us who know Calhoun accomplished the nearly impossible and have great gratitude and respect for him vs those who go beyond that and think he didn't have a weakness, flaw or a bad decision in his tenure at UCONN.
I think there were kids for whom Calhoun was not a good fit. A few things he could have handled better. That doesn't make him less, just human.

 

[ZenConn]

Absolutely no problems with the guy.

I can't fault the guy for wanting to leave and when he was here, he left it all on the court.

The guy had a black eye in the BE tournament and was still trying to secure rebounds on the way to our title.

 

[mauconnfan]

Bottom line in this whole thread:

Roscoe played his heart out for the NC team. Actually was quite a different player than the scouted "great shooter" who was coming in and instead did all the little things while defending. He was solid but still a long way to go to be a major impact overall. But expectations were soph year would be improvement to some extent. He came back and caught the soph slump, something led him to the doghouse of JC's and that's not a fun place I am sure. He wasn't nearly as combatant as AO and his choices after that year do not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath. No way he should be faulting him for his decision to leave but I think some, like myself look at it this way. Bazz, Giffey, Deandre and Tyler all stayed so why not man up and stay with the program you decided would make you better? You certainly have a choice, but when the going gets tough......blah blah blah.He left, the others didn't Bail? Yes to an extent. Did he help win a NC - yep. He's not AO but let's not pretend he's Giffey, Bazz or any of the others and shouldn't be!

 

[RayRay19]

Whatever....loved what he brought to the team but gotta say who knows if we had him we probably would not have won the chip....loved the way it played out

 

[intlzncster]

If I recall correctly, Roscoe got himself in trouble before the first game of the 2012 season and sat the entire first half. Olander and Daniels played well in that game and all of a sudden Roscoe had broken the record for quickest detour into Calhoun's doghouse. It took longer than expected for Olander to be exposed (since he actually played pretty well in the cupcake portion of the schedule) and Roscoe was the odd man out of the rotation all too often.

By the end of the year, we knew who Olander was, we knew Daniels wasn't ready, and we knew Oriakhi was already dreaming about Phil Pressey. So Roscoe finally got minutes (at the 4, where he belongs) and started looking like Roscoe again.

I don't know, it seemed pretty clear who Tyler Olander was, taking into account his freshman year work and who he was playing against during the cupcake portion of the season. He was always slow, never athletic, and basketball-wise, didn't seem like he belonged at a high major program. JMO though.

 

[mauconnfan]

Actually I thought Tyler belonged as a bench player early on but he really peaked early. Never added much to his game but that 3 against Maryland was pretty big and that performance vs ND was also something pretty special and proved he was capable.

 

[James]

Olander had offers from florida, wake, virginia and ND. He was very much worthy of a high d1 offer. the dude just had a terrible work ethic, typical for 18 year olds. Just because a prospect doesn't pan out doesn't mean he didn't belong, he probably would have been lackadaisical at a div II school as well.

 

[champs99and04]

The thought that Tyler Olander was a mid-major basketball player needs to be buried. He played damn near 2,000 minutes for a program that was the best in the country during his four years. He played seventeen minutes in the final four, 62 minutes in the NCAA Tournament, and went 9-1 in 10 career tournament games (he DNP'd vs. 'Nova, Iowa State, and Kentucky this year). No, he wasn't the primary or even secondary basis for that success, but the mere fact that a Hall of Fame head coach, and then later, perhaps a future Hall of Famer, trusted him to play crucial minutes on the largest possible stage is in itself a huge accomplishment.

It's interesting. As a fan base, we're boastful, even sometimes conceited when we're measuring our success against other programs. But yet when it's time to appraise the talent and ability of the players that are responsible for that success, that context occasionally gets neglected. I can promise you that everyone who gets a scholarship from this place is really f'in good at basketball, and those that play extensive, significant minutes are on the court for a reason.

Is Tyler Olander as good as Roscoe Smith? Obviously not. He's not as good as Alex Oriakhi, either. But for a good portion of the 2012 season, he was better than those two. During the first 15 games that year - roughly half the season - he averaged 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block per game. In addition, his passing skills from the high post made him a better fit with Drummond, and he defended the perimeter better than Oriakhi. Tyler Olander played a role on a championship team as a freshman, worked hard over the summer, and earned the minutes he was given as a sophomore. He was recruited as a power forward and showed glimpses of excelling in a certain role before being pressed into duty as a center following the mass exodus of 2012. For some reason, this always gets discounted - the kid had his flaws and his work ethic is questionable, but he never did get the credit he deserved for playing the role of sacrificial lamb at center his final two years when he was always better suited as a four.

Roscoe Smith was a great Husky, but the player he would become at UNLV was not the guy he was as a sophomore at UConn. He averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds per game while shooting 42% from the field and 24% from three, and her per minute numbers for that season were actually a little worse than Olander's. On a team that was spacing-deprived all season, Smith was a complete zero offensively, and as a result, the things he did do well - defending, running the floor, grabbing tough rebounds - were mortgaged.

When Olander hit the wall in the middle of the year, Smith inherited those minutes and was back to playing like his old self by the end of the year. I don't blame him for transferring and will always hold him in a high regard. But spare me the revisionist history BS about how he got a raw deal here.

 

[Inyatkin]

It doesn't help Olander's reputation that he made a really poor closing impression. His minutes in the Florida game were absolute agony, and his defense on Patric Young was about the only time after the opening minutes that Florida looked like they had a shot.

 

[Deadrody]

1) Your Hall of Fame who has had health issues isn't sure if he's ready to decide if he's coming back yet. So, let's transfer to a program with a first time head coach. Both are unknowns.

2) He got in the dog house for whatever reason, but he ended up gaining his minutes back and was back to playing come the end of the season.

3) Banned from the postseason. Transfer banned from the whole season.

4) Even with realignment, and coaching uncertainty at UConn, transferring to a MWC School with a new coach, 1 sweet 16 in twenty seasons and their best and only impact nba in twenty years is what shawn Marion?

Look, I harbor no ill will to roscoe. I loved him at UConn and I hope he sticks with LA.

I won't buy the narrative that it's our fault he transferred and to transfer to unlv of all places was stupid.

No need to bad mouth the kid, but certainly no need to bad mouth JC.

I'm honestly not following the logic here. Deciding to leave and picking a destination are two entirely different things. It would be against NCAA regulations for there to be any useful information out there for a player to use to decide what his possible destination might be while deciding IF he should leave or not.

Furthermore, due to the limited time with their new team and the forced year off, not a lot of major D1 teams consider or take transfers, much the way most high level programs don't typically take JUCO players.

You have to separate Roscoe's decision from his ultimate destination. You really can't fault him for leaving under the circumstances, and once he decided to leave, how many schools do you actually think were interested ? UNLV is a pretty good landing spot if you ask me.

 

[Joobie]

I am not sure what happened with Roscoe & it bothers me to this day! When it became public knowledge that Alex was bailing, I asked Roscoe TO HIS FACE if he was also planning to leave. He assured me that he was staying. Once it was announced he was transferring, I saw him again. He looked miserable: like he lost his best friend. I think the guy got bad advice. I think he wanted to stay, but listened to the wrong people. Would love the opportunity to ask him what happened, but I think he needs to get the benefit of the doubt. Wish him well & hope his NBA dreams come true~!

 

[Waquoit]

I think he had less of a grip on the flakier kids like Curtis, Roscoe, etc. I think DeAndre might have driven him to the funny farm.

That's so true about DD. JC got so pissed at him against Rutgers he threw a punch at him. Only time i ever saw that.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm honestly not following the logic here. Deciding to leave and picking a destination are two entirely different things. It would be against NCAA regulations for there to be any useful information out there for a player to use to decide what his possible destination might be while deciding IF he should leave or not.

Furthermore, due to the limited time with their new team and the forced year off, not a lot of major D1 teams consider or take transfers, much the way most high level programs don't typically take JUCO players.

You have to separate Roscoe's decision from his ultimate destination. You really can't fault him for leaving under the circumstances, and once he decided to leave, how many schools do you actually think were interested ? UNLV is a pretty good landing spot if you ask me.

Isn't that exactly what I said though?

I don't fault him for leaving, I just think he made a dumb decision.