Shabazz's Post-Game Quotes

[UConn990411]

Ok I think we need to clear this up that Shabazz is not a better player than Kemba was as a sophmore and he isnt anywhere near the talent Kemba was and still is. Kemba as a sophmore had to back guys like AJ Price and Dyson who were good players and seniors and he was scoring about 14-15 points a game similar to what Shabazz is scoring today as a starter. That team had many really good players who were seniors so Kemba couldn't lead that team because it wasnt his time or place. When Kemba became the undisputed leader and person on our team as a junior we all saw what happened which is a national championship with almost all freshman. This team doesnt feel Napier is the leader of this team and Napier doesnt feel that himself with the post game quotes that he gave.

He was backing those guys as a freshman - he started every game as a sophomore, and really wasn't good until the second half of the year (post-Texas game...he was the lone bright spot when the season fell apart).

No, Shabazz is not the talent Kemba is, which is why he will never be as good as Kemba was last year. But he's already a better playmaker and a better scorer than Kemba was as a sophomore, and his decision for the most part making is actually better too.

People forget how frustrating KW was that first half of his sophomore year.

 

[high-post]

On the one hand, I wish he'd own up to his turnovers and crummy defense out on the perimeter the past few games. On the other hand, some of the problems with this team (like the bad perimeter defense and poor execution against the zone) aren't really Napier's fault.

Our lack of length out on the perimeter when Boatright and Napier are playing together is a big problem. Kemba was such a great, disruptive defender and really did an excellent job closing out and contesting shots from the outside. We've basically replaced him with Boatright, who is very small and is a really mediocre defender IMO. Bazz's defense looks like it's gotten a little less intense/effective this year, and maybe that's less a matter of effort than it is not wanting to get into foul trouble.

I think Boatright is playing a little too much at this point. Boat's a great young player, but he's not big enough to shoot over the defense a lot of the time, and after the ball's been swung to him he seems hesitant to put up a jumper in catch and shoot situations, preferring pound the basketball or to drive into the teeth of the defense. That's good when it's effective, but lately it's not really been a great option. I'm not sure what our other options are, but that's how I feel about it.

 

[uchusky32]

What? With the exception of 10-20 teams a year, which have guys go pro early, the average years of experience of teams is probably right around 2.5 years, and the age of starters is probably closer to 3.

We started, last night, J, SSS, F.

Don't even need math to see that S is the average, or 2 years for our starters.

Bringing Boatright, Daniels, Olander, and Smith off the bench, with a sub average of 1.5 years lowers our total experience average to below 2. Let's say 1.8.

So we field a team with a 1.8 years experience average.

We are young, "most teams are young" is not true.

Now admit you're wrong or you're a dumb-. But I mean that in a nice way.

(in your defense, I think Rutgers was younger than us for starters!)

What I was trying to imply is tat there are many young teams out there. Kentucky, NC, Duke, at key positions and others have young players that they need to make huge contributions. Regardless of age Leaders take responsibility. Shabazz needs to do that and learn from his own mistakes. The last to games when he pressed harder to get the team back on track he tried to do it on his own. What was the outcome? Multiple turnovers!

 

[Kitaman]

Bazz is young and trying to earn the respect of his players. His best chance is to get the players involved by passing to them keeping them happy.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I think Shabazz is going through the same growing pains that many of our past PG's have experienced. JC is stepping harder on the pedal now, so I expect to see major improvement in lots of areas.

Agree. Kemba was very inconsistent his sophomore year and was not able to establish himself as a clear leader. I think that Jeremy is trying to be "the guy," Shabazz is trying to be "the guy," and Boatright probably always thinks he's "the guy." That does not mean that they are being "selfish," just that they are trying to take bigger roles as was expected of them. It's just not an easy thing to do.

Every team seems to have some kind of weak spot or vulnerability and this one has more than one. One that has emerged is that our players have difficulty dealing with tough pressure defense that puts constant pressure on our ability to keep the ball safe.

 

[champs99and04]

Take Shabazz off the team and we have zero or a couple wins.
Perhaps too much was said. Perhaps not.
Somebody thinks his stats don't reveal his play?
He's getting 15 points and 4.3 boards a game. That 4.3 is 4th on the team, and the 15 is 2nd on the team.
His assist to TO is a little less than 2 to 1. Not ideal, but not horrible.
He's shooting 410 from 3, and 442 overall.

Not sure how good/bad his D is - I probably don't pay enough attention.

Overall, it's hard to imagine that anybody should be coming down on this kid.

Drummond had 7 TOs and not much energy for most of the game.

Giffey got the start and got his first InstaHook bonehead play within the 1st minute.

Alex Oriakhi is playing head games with himself and comes and goes like a stray dog.

Lamb is not being assertive, took himself out last night with silly fouls, and is settling for the 3 ball more than he should be.

Team defense is not there, and as Fishy noted, we're not getting our signature stops when we need them.

If I had to line up the guys in order of who's responsible for us not playing well, Napier would literally be the last guy on the list.

I think what you're missing here, is that as a point guard, you have to take responsiblity for the way other guys are playing. If Shabazz was not the lead guard on the team I would have no problem with the way he's playing, and for a sophmore, he's not that far, if at all behind schedule. So the points he puts up is great, but these last few games we have watched some abysmal half court offense, and that falls on the shoulders of the point guard more than anyone. In our losses he has over-penetrated, gotten beat on defense, turned the ball over in abundance, and more than anything, refused to throw the ball into the post. Shabazz is the guy who, as he said, is closest to the coach, so he needs to be the one to make sure everybody is in position, and playing their role on offense.

 

[champs99and04]

The one thing this team needs to learn is to adjust to multiple defenses. The minute the opponent throws a zone at them they are confused, completely, for the next 5-6 minutes. They need to learn to adjust much quicker.
The 3 point "D" that worked so well in last years tourney is non existant. We need to get out much quicker.
Our undersized guards are having difficulty getting the ball to our big men in the right places. Our big men could help themselves, immensly, if they get themselves in the right places. This is why AO, RS, & DD are struggling so much.

Yes, this team needs to do a better job fighting over screens and forcing players into the teeth of our defense. In the tournament we did a great job of that, this year not so much. When you have shotblockers like Alex, Andre, and even Roscoe, it is benefitial to force teams to beat you at the rim instead of from the perimieter.

 

[DogMania]

Airing this out in the media is concerning, but it's not a bad thing for Bazz to air this stuff out with his teammates as long as they have a voice to air out their issues. Bazz also needs to be willing to admit his shortcomings like turning it over lately and going under screens instead over the top, like some of his teammates are doing and giving up wide open 3s.

Let's hope the team comes together due to this and not further pulled apart. They're clearly not playing as a team lately, especially in the half court.

 

[chrisn671]

I actually love that Shabazz said this to the media. The scorers on the team(including Shabazz) have the tendency to become selfish at the worst times. There are so many playmakers on the team, they just don't know when to utilize their playmaking ability yet, so it seems like everyone wants to take over the Kemba role. Ball movement is one of the biggest issues the team has, but I'm confident that JC will get it corrected by March.