Samuel next season

[CallMeBruce]

I think most people have high hopes because he played very solid defense, made multiple high level plays, and made his free throws in the biggest games possible. Not because he is being talked up by a teammate.

He looks like a promising player, but comparisons to Walker and Napier are, at best, premature. It's extraordinarily unlikely he ever gets that good.

 

[HailUConn]

Getting talked up by a teammate and talking to a former great player doesn't make him a great player. I like Samuel, but the expectations that every single young player will develop into an elite superstar are getting tiresome.

! I guess UCONN is too good for you. But good news for you, 'Cuse could be your ideal landing spot where every once in a century the expectation that a young player will develop into an elite superstar are getting extremely refreshing and exciting!

 

[HailUConn]

I think he's got that same inner confidence and drive that both Kemba and Bazz had. Our back court is stacked.

I approve this message! He is oozing with the same kind of NYC passion, heart, and nastiness that Kemba has. His drive is fearless, his defense is legit, and if he can develop JS and step-back shot, I can definitely see him being another great UCONN Guard.

 

[CallMeBruce]

! I guess UCONN is too good for you. But good news for you, 'Cuse could be your ideal landing spot where every once in a century the expectation that a young player will develop into an elite superstar are getting extremely refreshing and exciting!

Here I thought that being a UConn fan meant rooting fervently for the sports teams my entire life, attending the school, and playing in the band at the football and basketball games while I was there. I guess I just need to hit myself in the head with a tack hammer in order to be dumb enough to agree with every "LUBIN IS BETTER THAN JEFF ADRIEN" post I find on here, like a "real" UConn fan.

 

[7774]

He looks like a promising player, but comparisons to Walker and Napier are, at best, premature. It's extraordinarily unlikely he ever gets that good.

Who is saying he will reach the level of Walker or Napier? You act like he can't be a great player for us unless he ends up on the Wall of Honor, which is ridiculous.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Who is saying he will reach the level of Walker or Napier? You act like he can't be a great player for us unless he ends up on the Wall of Honor, which is ridiculous.

These are comparisons to Napier and Walker. Saying he'll be the "next great UConn guard" is a clear insinuation that he'll be as good as, or comparable to, recent great UConn guards, like Napier and Walker. This idea that UConn has some magical fairy dust that turns guys into superstars is silly, and it creates unreasonable expectations. I don't think it's "doom-and-gloom" to suggest that Terrence Samuel is not likely a future star, since most players aren't, and he wasn't particularly highly-touted. I like Samuel. I think he's got a shot to start next season, and to be very productive. I don't think he's an All-American type player.

Please cite the part of my post that indicates that I don't think he could be great without being Napier or Walker. I'm trying to stifle comparisons to all-time greats, as they're unwarranted. I think Samuel's ceiling is as a very good-to-great player for us, but anyone who thinks that it's likely that he becomes one of the best players in the country isn't basing that assessment on his measurable skills or his on-court performance.

Bazz said this year he expected TSam to be the "next great UCONN guard". TSam has talked to Kemba for inspiration and has the drive to improve and prove himself on this level. He is a UCONN player through and through- he is not going to let his ranking out of HS determine his future- he is dedicated to making his future bright- if that is not an Ollie kid I do not know what is.

I think he's got that same inner confidence and drive that both Kemba and Bazz had. Our back court is stacked.

 

[PAHusky]

Few thoughts on TSam-
I'm not sure why everyone is knocking his ability to shoot at this point. We frankly have no idea how good he is. I think it's safe to assume that he's not the next Ray, but the few times he shot this year he didn't look like he was doing his best MKG impersonation and I wasn't physically repulsed by his form. I think we need to collectively remind ourselves that there was almost no reason for him to be shooting from outside of three feet this year either. He was a backup pg who brought defense and toughness to the table and was surrounded by a veteran team with scoring options. With his preternatural ability to get to the rack all he has to do to keep his defenders honest in the next few years is hit the jumper at a fairly average clip. I think he and KO know this and we'll see marked improvements in that area.

With that said, even assuming that TSam isn't a great shooter and will never get better I think he'll have a huge impact on our team the next few years. I think UConn fans over the past few years have gotten so used to the fact that our PG has been the fulcrum of our offensive identity. While I think this may continue next year I think we're going to see a decreased emphasis in scoring from the PG position and an uptick in that area from the 2-4 position (maybe the 5? that's a discussion for another day, as fascinating as it will be to see if Brimah becomes a focal point of the offense down the line). With Hamilton, Ali, Turtle etc. TSam's pure point guard abilities are going to be huge. His skill in getting to the rim means way more than his ability to score - it's his ability to break down the defense that's so important. Look at Boat this year, for instance. Even when he went through that small stretch during the year when his pull up wasn't going for him and his scoring was down a bit his knack for breaking down his man and collapsing the defense opened up so much for us offensively. KO has been an animal recruiting hugely athletic, talented scorers, but without someone to run the offense and facilitate it won't mean much. Look at Kentucky this year - offensive talent at every position but whichever Harrison couldn't figure out how to run the offense until tourney time.

Think of it like Voltron. If you've got no one to run the team out there lions/positions 2-5 will form up the body no problem, but if the pg/lion 1 won't be the head, they'll be the.....well, use your imagination.

I have faith in Samuel's future. I think TSam can be the Voltron's head.

 

[7774]

These are comparisons to Napier and Walker. Saying he'll be the "next great UConn guard" is a clear insinuation that he'll be as good as, or comparable to, recent great UConn guards, like Napier and Walker.

The poster said that Shabazz said he would be the "next great Uconn guard". No one on this board said it. And if you think Shabazz meant he would turn out to be as great a player as he was, I don't even know what to tell you.

 

[Pudge]

I wish I played in the Band.

That obviously gives you way better cred than whatever my putrid background gives me. Like actually being on Teams of Basketball. Or ... having a father who was a damn good college coach. I freaking cannot play an instrument.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

All I want to say is a Kemba wasn't a good shooter when he first came in as a freshman.

 

[SeattleHoop]

K I'm just going to give my 2 cents.


Secondly, Although I agree with the killer instinct (that kinda feeling you get where you believe he won't let UConn lose in big games) I don't think he has a jump shot. I know hes only a fresh but in my opinion both bazz and kemba were more athletic and better dribblers then him as freshman, also pretty sure kemba and bazz both had good/decent mid range games (don't quote me on that...). Dribbling will come naturally however with experience and hopefully the decision making will follow suite. I hope he can work on the jump shot over the summer.

I will say, his body control and touch at the rim seems to be amazing. Some of the drives he made I didn't think he had a chance when he was at the top of the key before I watched him drive and lay it in. I believe he can learn quite a bit from Boat and hopefully he learned alot from Bazz.

I agree with you. One thing I noticed, although others on here might think it's dumb to point out, is his lack of flexibility. TSAM has a really stiff back. Whereas Kemba was a break dancer and Bazz was pretty athletic and could contort his body pretty well also. I think being flexible is important for a PG if they want to prevent injuries and also to be able to create space quickly and efficiently or twist through defenders.

That said, TSAM has his own unique strengths that Kemba and Bazz did not have. He is physically superior to both of them. He can take contact in the lane and he has a beautiful double pump lay-in that he can sustain through tough contact to draw fouls.
You also mentioned his herky jerky style and your right. He has choppy body movement and changes speeds in short time intervals which really throws off defenders. It's not pretty looking and it even makes our offensive flow look a little off but it is extremely effective and before you know it he is in the lane dishing the ball to one of our bigs or kicking it out to spot up shooters.
Lastly, he has that Brooklyn swag which you can't teach and his mentality reminds me a lot of Taliek Brown.

I don't think he has the star potential of Kemba and Bazz because he just doesn't have that smooth rhythm, but I think he has a great potential to do exactly what Taliek Brown did for us in 04'. Just my thoughts.

 

[HuskyOfLeisure]

I fell in love with TSam because of the toughness he displayed in the lousiville game. While the rest of the team let Hazell hang on rim backwards and leave open 3pt shots for Hancock, TSam went out there and mixed it up, showed fight and never quit till the last second…even called Chris Jones a bitch in handshake lines. Love him.

 

[CallMeBruce]

So I've been feeling like my favorite UConn-comp for Samuel is Tate George, based on size, the way he moves, the way he attacks the basket, etc.

Anyway, I was looking for highlights of George on YouTube, and I came across this video, which many of you have probably seen, but it was a lot of fun:

 

[Matrim55]

I remember a relatively low-rated point guard coming to UConn around 20 years ago, with Donyell Marshall's class. Tough SOB, but didn't have a jump shot so the consensus was he'd never amount to much.

Anybody remember that guy? Can't recall what happened to him - gonna assume he just faded away.

 

[muhmitchell]

TURNCE UP babyyy!

 

[Waquoit]

I'm not sure why everyone is knocking his ability to shoot at this point. We frankly have no idea how good he is.

I agree with where you are going here. He's not a finished product, he continued to build his game over the course of the season. Why wouldn't the upward progression continue? He showed great poise when put in big post-season spots. I mean, the Nova game for crying out loud? You can't teach that.

 

[jibsey]

He has something that many don't that is he played in big time games that mattered and was very effective. Very disruptive with quick hands on D. I expect he's working on his shot as we speak. He actually reminds me of KO as a player because KO could get to the rim and didn't have much outside shot early on.

 

[breezy]

His layup during our scoring drought against Kentucky was enormous. Was it also the Kentucky game where he took it the length of the floor to lay it up in like a 1 on 2 situation? Huge Testiculos on those plays.

 

[CL82]

How many jumpers did Taliek Brown make? I can only think of one.

That made smile and of course think of this: LINK

I'm going hold off getting my hopes up too much for TSam. I think he'll be pretty good but Omar's struggles this past year have taught me that it is better to wait and see.

 

[DogMania]

He is my family's scholarship player- great person- very determined.

I was shocked by how rapidly he improved for us during the NCAA.. I knew he had talent but thought it might take a few years for it to surface enough for him to get real PT. Boy was I wrong. Great D! - can really get to the basket- and "strong like bull".

I was pleasantly surprised how well he came on late in the season. He improved his jump shot dramatically as well. Props to the staff for both recruiting him and coaching him up.

 

[DogMania]

All I want to say is a Kemba wasn't a good shooter when he first came in as a freshman.

He was actually a good shooter in high school. He just struggled his freshman year for whatever reason.

 

[DogMania]

His layup during our scoring drought against Kentucky was enormous. Was it also the Kentucky game where he took it the length of the floor to lay it up in like a 1 on 2 situation? Huge Testiculos on those plays.

yes I believe so. He had one really nice sequence of plays when the team needed a spark. He reminded me of Johnny Gwynn instant offense. Come in expecting to make plays. He certainly makes the most of his minutes. Not many bench players are capable of doing that. Many are either too passive or turnover prone. TSam was solid.

 

[microfich]

Tate George, Kevin Ollie, Marcus Williams, Taliek Brown, Kemba Walker. None were shooters as frosh. Only Kemba looked like he'd ever have a chance to be a shooter. They all improved to where it was a reliable part of their arsenal. They all also had special skills beyond shooting a jump shot that propelled us to great heights. Sammy's top features are his strength and an elite first step. He is NYC tough, has ripening onions, a good touch at the rim and a nice, tight, if a bit too high, dribble. Sammy will improve and internal competition will only make him better.

 

[CallMeBruce]

http://espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/10900738/super-sophomores-make-impact-2014-15

Vitale is high on Samuel.

 

[aceboon]

http://espn.go.com/espn/dickvitale/story/_/id/10900738/super-sophomores-make-impact-2014-15

Vitale is high on Samuel.

surprised he would go with Samuel over Brimah