Samson Johnson - The Value of Waiting Your Turn. Will the Fab Five Follow the Model? What Say You?

[Deleted at users request]

If there's one thing Calhoun was known for it was letting young guys play through mistakes!!

He might pull you for a second to chew you out. But he’d throw you back in and let you know not to do that dumb ish again lmaoooo

That hit him video from Boatright’s freshman year was classic.

 

[aceboon]

If there's one thing Calhoun was known for it was letting young guys play through mistakes!!

lol Giffey was scared to death a good majority of his freshman year because of the quick hook

 

[Icehawk]

Part of the reason he isn’t turning the ball over either is because he looks scared most of the time to do anything besides catch shoot or catch and pass.

I think he has a pretty good handle - he's very comfortable with behind the back moves to his offhand and just keeping the ball out of reach of defenders.


We aren't losing anyone to the portal Dan Hurley wants to keep.

 

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[Hunt for 7]

I’m not panicking. Guys will be fine once they have bigger and defined roles just like Hawkins.

The tone of this thread is that this is common though for guys to not contribute much their freshman year. And that just couldn’t be further from the truth.

But you have to come to that conclusion either after the year or after the regular season. I remember in RIPs freshman year we really started to see how good he was in the NIT. Not sure how it happened maybe there was an injury but we put him in the role of primary ball handler and that was when I remember thinking for the first time that he was better than just good and that he could turn into something special. Ball has played ok not sure why so many are hating on him. I would like to see some improvement from one of the wings we need to be better than 8 men deep. Just looking for Stewart or Ross to string together a few productive games where they do not stand out as a liability when they are on the court.

 

[caw]

Trust there’s a lot I love about Solo’s game. Just feel like he could be playing better offensively with some tweaks.

Part of the reason he isn’t turning the ball over either is because he looks scared most of the time to do anything besides catch shoot or catch and pass. One thing about most of those other guys, Calhoun made sure they played fearless and weren’t afraid to make mistakes. Part of the reason Bazz had all those turnovers and same with Boatright and Kemba. But it was the price to go along with them playing fearlessly, confidently, and growing. Can’t learn playing scared.

Both Ball and Stewart are deferring and trying to play mistake free rather than just playing. It’s not the worst thing and probably what Hurley wants right now.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Still dumbfounded as to why people are arguing & flashing stats to show that UConn's freshman are worse than we think historically.
All 5 of the starters (incl Castle here) are performing at or above expectations.
Samson Johnson is equaling the optimistic projections.
Diarra is showing the naysayers that he's an important & valuable piece.
We are undefeated and at a minimum have a great first 7.

No two teams & years are the same and this year is a very different national title follow-up. UConn is loaded and competing again for a national championship. And I'd bet even the biggest crappers in the freshman cheerios would admit it is >50% that one or two of the frosh can be the 8th & 9th men on a title team.

The only logical reason I can find for this inane debate is UConn fans have grown accustomed to young teams & outsized freshman roles the year after national championships. This fifth time is different.

 

[asteinindc]

Samson's trajectory seems remarkably similar to a few skinny bigs we've had: Hilton and Facey, top of mind.

which raises a question: who is the last guard who didn't really play at all freshmen/sophomore year that developed into a stud junior/senior season?

Not Hawkins, obviously. Not Vital. Not Bouknight. Not Jalen....

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Samson's trajectory seems remarkably similar to a few skinny bigs we've had: Hilton and Facey, top of mind.

which raises a question: who is the last guard who didn't really play at all freshmen/sophomore year that developed into a stud junior/senior season?

Not Hawkins, obviously. Not Vital. Not Bouknight. Not Jalen....

I think you also have to consider who some of those guys had to beat out for minutes - or didn’t have to, more accurately.

 

[superjohn]

If there's one thing Calhoun was known for it was letting young guys play through mistakes!!

I just wish Hurley would let the freshmen play. It sucks that Karaban and Clingan never got to see the court last season to really feel what it would be like to get game action for a national championship team.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I just wish Hurley would let the freshmen play. It sucks that Karaban and Clingan never got to see the court last season to really feel what it would be like to get game action for a national championship team.

I'm confused by his logic. It's bad that Solo is getting so many minutes because he's missing shots but it's also bad that Hurley doesn't give his freshman minutes to build their confidence.

 

[Bazz2014]

I’m in the camp with those who are plenty optimistic about the freshmen. Castle is going to be special. Hard to argue that. But I really think Solo is going to progress faster because of the extra mins he’s getting now. I also think he will thrive as a 6th/7th man when Castle comes back. As a starter, he’s out there with 4 experienced studs averaging double digits, 3 of whom know Hurley’s system very well and the 4th is an incredibly high IQ 5th year player who looks like he was born to be a husky. I guarantee Solo’s mandate right now in stepping into that 5th starting role is to do exactly what he’s doing- limit mistakes, be solid and find ways to contribute as the 5th option.

When he’s back on the bench, he’ll be able to talk with the coaches at the beginning of each game about what the opponent is doing, what exactly he needs to do when he gets in. He always seems just a little better after his first break on the bench- the game is still a little too fast for him, but he’s still showing flashes of good things.

Stewie seems like he’s solidly the 8th man when Castle is back. Outside of yesterdays game, when pretty much everyone had some garbage moments, I think he’s shown some really good flashes and moments of great playmaking, shot creation etc. again, he is clearly still learning our system and is more focused on not making mistakes. He needs time and he’ll get it.

7 games in feels way too early for this type of pessimism. I trust that these guys knew what they were signing up for when they came here, and for what it’s worth, Singare and Ross- who seem the most buried on the bench right now- are often the most exuberant in cheering on their teammates.

 

[Tiamat7]

The freshman have been a disappointment. They have no idea how to make their court time valuable -- and that includes Ball. Solo still rushes everything and that leads to terrible shooting. Steward comes in hunts the three and misses it. Ross is trying to absorb the game but looks lost. Hopefully we start to get something -anything- out of them by the new year.

Maybe when Castle comes back Solo will feel less pressure in a smaller role and just let the game flow.

That's an interesting take. In my view, Solo was thrust into a starting role and has been serviceable. His shooting percentage isn't good, but his foundations are strong and it looks like he belongs. The minutes and growing pains will only help down the road.

Stewart shows flashes, but will likely see some DNPs in the Big East. Ross and Singare just aren't ready, and that's normal. The assistant coaches are no doubt in their ears about the longer term plan.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I just wish Hurley would let the freshmen play. It sucks that Karaban and Clingan never got to see the court last season to really feel what it would be like to get game action for a national championship team.

Karaban only played that much because there was no other choice. He played the most minutes on the team. It ended up working out that he did play that much. He also got to play without fear because there was no benching him.

Half this board was calling for more Clingan minutes throughout the year. You maybe being one of them.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Both Ball and Stewart are deferring and trying to play mistake free rather than just playing. It’s not the worst thing and probably what Hurley wants right now.

I completely agree that that’s how they’re being coached to play and I hate it.

It’s like neutering an attack dog. Then people wonder why these kids have confidence issues when they’re playing to not make mistakes instead of playing to make plays.

Everyone on the team should be held to the same standard.

 

[superjohn]

I'm confused by his logic. It's bad that Solo is getting so many minutes because he's missing shots but it's also bad that Hurley doesn't give his freshman minutes to build their confidence.

 

[Waquoit]

Karaban had the extra half a season on the team. So it's not an apples to apples comparison with this year's guys.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I completely agree that that’s how they’re being coached to play and I hate it.



Everyone on the team should be held to the same standard.

How do you know any of this to be true?

 

[REB1094]

How do you know any of this to be true?

I think Solo has a green light. Taking lots of shots and is good for one flash of "wow this guy is going to be REALLY good" per game. Yesterday it was when he took the ball off (I think) a block, and went coast to coast 1v4. Crossed over 2 guys and got to the rim for a layup. Got smacked in the face so he missed (no call), but that was crazy

I think Stewart is afraid to get pulled. Yesterday he passed up some open threes in the first. Then eventually he took and missed one, and sure enough got pulled immediately

Maybe just a coincidence with rotation timing, but I did notice that one

 

[YoungFree]

The freshman have been a disappointment. They have no idea how to make their court time valuable -- and that includes Ball. Solo still rushes everything and that leads to terrible shooting. Steward comes in hunts the three and misses it. Ross is trying to absorb the game but looks lost. Hopefully we start to get something -anything- out of them by the new year.

Maybe when Castle comes back Solo will feel less pressure in a smaller role and just let the game flow.

Why are we talking like this 1 month into the season? Chill out.

 

[superjohn]

How do you know any of this to be true?

The funniest part is he's basically describing Calhoun with all these posts while saying Calhoun didn't do any of what he's describing.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Here’s hoping our frosh are starting in the next two NCAA title games but I think the Fab 5 moniker needs to be retired like 30 years ago. It’s nearly impossible to live up to and not fair to them.

 

[Deleted at users request]

The funniest part is he's basically describing Calhoun with all these posts while saying Calhoun didn't do any of what he's describing.

You mean the same Calhoun that started two freshmen over guys who won National Championships the year before? You aren’t remembering how Calhoun treated talented players correctly.

 

[bigknight3]

This thread is a waste of time. The freshman are playing like freshman. They said flashes and then weaknesses that they need to build on throughout the season.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, Roscoe Smith, Amida Brimah, Rashad Anderson, Dehnam Brown, Marcus Williams, Ryan Boatright, Jeff Adrien, Omar Calhoun, etc.

I’m purposefully leaving out some legends and the 5* guys. But all of those names and so many more had freshman years where they made significant impacts.

You will be hard pressed to find a single guy who struggled, didn’t play, and made something of themselves. The Hilton and Deandre examples started a lot of games.

I’m not sure where people are getting this all freshman struggle and don’t contribute narrative from. That couldn’t be further from the truth for this program.

In some cases because those teams were thin and had no choice but to play them. Imagine there’s no portal, Solo is the starting SG by default. That is why that happened back then.