Shabazz

[Inyatkin]

Had his ups and downs this year, sure. But I am really looking forward to seeing him in our uniform the next two years. He probably doesn't have the size to leave early even if he exploded next year, and with a little more maturity (questioning teammates' heart maybe not the best idea) he could be really special.
If nothing else, I think he proved he's got heart.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Yeah even though his consistency was in the air bc of reasons we don't know. He always had heart and I like that

 

[SubbaBub]

He has all the tools, just forgets which one to use sometimes. If he learned to limit his game to what he does best, he'd be an all time great and have his number on the wall.

Facilitate the offense.
Dribble drive to the rim and dish.
Take the open three (and only the open three ).
Be the tough on ball, in front of his man defender.

If he did nothing else, he be an all american and a lottery pick.

As soon as he stops trying to take and make any and every shot or go for every steal, he'll be a lot better.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Hoophound]

Shabazz is our best player.

 

[UConnSwag11]

remember kemba his first season and a half? he had one speed and a lay up

 

[TheRogers]

One thing you can not fault Bazz on is trying to get this team going.

 

[sammydabiz]

G

Had his ups and downs this year, sure. But I am really looking forward to seeing him in our uniform the next two years. He probably doesn't have the size to leave early even if he exploded next year, and with a little more maturity (questioning teammates' heart maybe not the best idea) he could be really special.
If nothing else, I think he proved he's got heart.

Good thread:

Bazz is the heart of this team and IMO his skill and knowledge is as good or better than Kemba's as a Soph.

I'll also add that Boatright's ceiling is much higher than Bazz's, and he too could be a special player with proper development. Boat was one of the few bright spots this year.

 

[caw]

Bazz has a ton of skill and his herky-jerk style of play and shooting ability will make many UConn fans happy for the next two years. I think he either got healthy or stopped worrying about the pain the past few weeks, because he looked a ton quicker (esp. on defense). His odd shot selection will cause many UConn fans to cringe the next two years. If he can fix that, he will be a fantastic PG.

Boatright may be one of the best basketball players I've seen in awhile, he just can do almost anything with the ball he wants. He needs to learn to drive and dish better though. He should be watching tapes of Peyton Siva (vs. UConn) over and over again. He's not Kemba, but he could be Siva.

 

[DrewDog85]

Shabazz was the best thing about this Team,, he did everything he could last night.

 

[Ed-D]

This is the same guy who bricked the 3 when we were down 6 with the ball, right? After like one second on the shotclock. He's got all the skills, but the mental parts of his game need work.

 

[Gurleyman]

This is the same guy who bricked the 3 when we were down 6 with the ball, right? After like one second on the shotclock. He's got all the skills, but the mental parts of his game need work.

It was actually with about 14 seconds left on the shot clock (media time out was 7:54, shot was with 7:33), and it was right on line and hit off the front rim. But let's not let facts get in the way of an excellent bitch session.

 

[SaeHusky]

Cant say enough about Bazz - like anybody he makes mistakes at times - but the kid bleeds blue and white

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

the Bazz/Boat back court sounds very exciting to me.

undersized......but exciting.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

remember kemba his first season and a half? he had one speed and a lay up

Actually, I don't remember that at all. I remember Kemba schooling defenders left and right after coming in for an injured Dyson in the tourney.

 

[Silk City]

Actually, I don't remember that at all. I remember Kemba schooling defenders left and right after coming in for an injured Dyson in the tourney.

You must be thinking of the Elite 8 game vs. Mizzou, and not the majority of the season.

 

[sammydabiz]

You must be thinking of the Elite 8 game vs. Mizzou, and not the majority of the season.

Exactly, I was at that game in Glendale, his best game as a huskie at that time, I definately recall being shocked by how good he was playing that day.

 

[imno1]

This is the same guy who bricked the 3 when we were down 6 with the ball, right? After like one second on the shotclock. He's got all the skills, but the mental parts of his game need work.

There are some on this board who think every missed shot by Bazz was an ill advised one. I for one don't care how much time is off the shot clock our guards should shot any time they are open.

 

[Kitaman]

Well we said this last year after Kemba declared. Nothing has changed except that he became our best player. Sure he makes mistakes but he has 2 more years to go and is learning. By the time Ollie gets done with him he will be a first team AA. Surprisingly I did not expect the team to 'reject' (strong word I know) him as the leader. That I think hurt him and affected his ability to run this team. If what we think happens with his teammates decisions, it will be his team next year and I think you will see UConn basketball again. We were leaderless and its no fault to Bazz but his teammates just didn't embrace his role. Our other leader (captain), well you know.......................................

 

[tzznandrew]

Actually, I don't remember that at all. I remember Kemba schooling defenders left and right after coming in for an injured Dyson in the tourney.

This is great. I get to remember Kemba the way most of our fans are remembering players. Channeling doucheyness:

My lasting memory of Kemba is him going 3-9 from the FT line and only 1-5 from the field against MSU and costing us a chance to go to the Final Four. It's great that we won a title two years later, but that team was more talented.

See how easy it is to miss the forest through the trees to tarnish one's memory, when one is so inclined.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Well we said this last year after Kemba declared. Nothing has changed except that he became our best player. Sure he makes mistakes but he has 2 more years to go and is learning. By the time Ollie gets done with him he will be a first team AA. Surprisingly I did not expect the team to 'reject' (strong word I know) him as the leader. That I think hurt him and affected his ability to run this team. If what we think happens with his teammates decisions, it will be his team next year and I think you will see UConn basketball again. We were leaderless and its no fault to Bazz but his teammates just didn't embrace his role. Our other leader (captain), well you know.......................................

That could be, I don't know. I would have guessed it was mostly someone else not embracing him in that role, but I am totally guessing. It's kinda sad (like just sad, not pathetic--no sarcasm) that we seem to be talking about Alex like he is dead or gone. I think it was understandable that he was upset and disappointed. I wish he would have handled it differently, but he was actively encouraging Andre to come to UConn. He was thinking of the team and not himself (at least then).

This group needs to find it's way through the adversity and that usually takes time and work and maturing to do that. I like the way that Bazz and Boat seemed to play well together. That could have been a critically bad split if they were at odds that would have cast the future in severe doubt.

 

[blkknight1]

Exactly, I was at that game in Glendale, his best game as a huskie at that time, I definately recall being shocked by how good he was playing that day.

That Mizzou game in 09 was tailor made for Kemba, a quick and speedy guard that could break the Missouri press by himself and get to the basket for a bunch of easy lay in or find open teammates. Missouri had no answer for him that day.

On to Shabazz, the post return of JC Shabazz reminds me a little of Kemba at the end of his sophmore year in that they both tried to put the team on their backs at the end of the season.

I think the potential is there like some of the poster have said if he can limit himself to what he does well. Remember Ricky Moore in 97 when he took over the team as a sophomore he tried to be a scorer and that didnt suit him by the next year he was a facilitator of the offense and defensive stopper the things he did well and the team performed better.


Shabazz has the heart and desire to be the leader and you can tell he wants that mantle. The most important thing he must do is improve his decision making. Recognize the situation and act accordingly, if he is going to shoot work on being a more consistent shooter. Finally I think that he should stop trying to be Kemba and just be Shabazz.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Surprisingly I did not expect the team to 'reject' (strong word I know) him as the leader. That I think hurt him and affected his ability to run this team. If what we think happens with his teammates decisions, it will be his team next year and I think you will see UConn basketball again. We were leaderless and its no fault to Bazz but his teammates just didn't embrace his role. Our other leader (captain), well you know.......................................

I think this is the answer. I just hope you're right that with certain changes to our roster, Bazz will be allowed to seize the reins and command the respect of his teammates. For whatever reason, they just didn't buy into his leadership this year.

 

[Ed-D]

There are some on this board who think every missed shot by Bazz was an ill advised one. I for one don't care how much time is off the shot clock our guards should shot any time they are open.

open or not, the only truly bad shots are the ones you miss. When that happens at key moments of the game, the player needs to be held responsible.

 

[caw]

Kemba's freshman year wasn't horrible. He was no Cup, but he also was only the 3rd best guard on that team, at best, with Austrie having some advantages for his poise and shooting (well early season shooting).

Kemba as a sophomore was obviously on the floor a ton, he wasn't much different from how he was as a junior athletically but he only had 2 speeds (walking and sprinting). His shooting was pretty poor also.

Kemba as a junior added at least 2 more levels of speed (in between walking and sprinting) and a jumpshot that was good enough when he was open.

Shabazz as a freshman was pretty thin and made a ton of stupid, stupid passes. I remember the 360 behind the back pass to Chuck. Yeah that had a chance of going through (sarcasm). He was probably a bit better as a defender because he knew he could go all out for 20-25 minutes.

Shabazz as a sophomore gained a ton of strength and cut down on his bad passes by about 1000%. His shot selection is still a bit questionable but it got better throughout the season. He had trouble trying to adjust to playing with high energy and focus for 35-40 minutes a night. I think the guard depth affected him a ton.

I expect Shabazz to work on his conditioning and strength and shot selection for next year. I think if Lamb were to stay Shabazz would be extremely effective with four legit guards on the team next year.

Boatright is probably not as quick as Kemba but he already has a better idea of change of pace than Kemba and probably a better shot and handle (I mean Kemba as a freshman).

 

[Gurleyman]

open or not, the only truly bad shots are the ones you miss. When that happens at key moments of the game, the player needs to be held responsible.

You are aware that roughly 43 percent of shots in college basketball are made?

And it was a key moment only in retrospect. Down 6, he misses off front rim, White hits one of two at line, and we have the ball back down by 7. We score on the next possession to cut it to 4 or 5, then get it down to 2 or 3 by 4 minute mark, and go down to the wire, then a missed shot with 7:30 to play is just an irrelevant blip in the course of the game. It just happened to be that we never got any closer than six, so that becomes the "key moment" of the game for people who want it to be -- to fit their preconceived opinions.