Shonn Miller

[OkaForPrez]

That's your call, I hope he lives up to the numbers soon enough I am rooting for the young man, just not blind OFP.

We all see it, you're just putting undue emphasis on areas that aren't as impactful to the bottom line, kind of like calling AP a marginal running back because he isn't good at pass protection or catching balls out of the backfield. It doesn't mean he's not great when he's trucking linebackers and beating safeties in the 2nd level. Taking away 5 pts a game in blocked shots is a big deal, it outweighs the flaws significantly. That's the disconnect.

 

[BlueMAB]

Maybe not "totally honest," and I'm not much of a math guy, but a lot of these schematic decisions - whether to invite a shot or defend it - boil down to mathematical propositions, no? There is a point where a shot is either efficient or inefficient, and from my understanding, even a marginal difference in percentage like the example you gave can tilt the arrow in either direction.

Again, I could be wrong, but the analytics, I would guess, treat 30% three point shooters and 35% three point shooters differently. In regards to the percentages, I have always thought of 33% as the bare minimum, 35-36% as average, 38-40% as excellent and anything above that as transformative. The difference between "average" and "you shouldn't be taking threes" might very well exist between those figures, even if it seems insignificant on the surface.

SMH. If defenses choose to back off a 30% three point shooter and give him more open looks, that could very well turn him into a 35% tjree point shooter considering he only needs to make 5 more shots over the course of 100 attempts.

 

[Deadrody]

"Similar role" doesn't signify having identical attributes. Miller should be used to stretch the floor and add another dimension to the offense like Daniels did, but he's not the 3-point shooter that Daniels was at all and I would not be comfortable with him taking close to as many 3s as Daniels did.

You seem to have utterly missed this part of the Ollie quote:

Ollie: And Shonn is kind of the hub of our offense. A lot of people say it's about our guards -- it's really about having a versatile four-man. Shonn gives us a component that we didn't have last year in the sense that he can pick-and-pop, he can shoot the three,

 

[Deadrody]

Yes and no. Of course he plugs that gap on defense but offensively he's a point forward. I agree we don't want him shooting 3's, .

Indeed. We should definitely ignore what the head coach sais - he can shoot the three - and decide for ourselves.

 

[Deadrody]

Brimah is not a marginal defensive player who blocks a lot of shots. He's a great defensive player who is occasionally bully balled off his spot, out of position and not rebounding to what his size suggests he should. And despite those warts he changes games, a lot of them.

That statement is flat out delusional. Outside of blocking shots, Brimah was marginal at best. How a guy that is 7 feet tall can go through an entire game without one rebound is mind boggling.

 

[mauconnfan]

We all see it, you're just putting undue emphasis on areas that aren't as impactful to the bottom line, kind of like calling AP a marginal running back because he isn't good at pass protection or catching balls out of the backfield. It doesn't mean he's not great when he's trucking linebackers and beating safeties in the 2nd level. Taking away 5 pts a game in blocked shots is a big deal, it outweighs the flaws significantly. That's the disconnect.

The disconnect is the 8-10 points he gives on isolation or when he attempts to help at the wrong time and his man gets a lay in. Again, just one mans opinion but some need to watch his total package of last year before the word "great" comes into play. Meka was "great" - right places all the time, real tough to score on one-on-one on the block, blocked shots from the weak side and rebounded the basketball on misses. My only hope is that he gets better and you guys can potentially call him great while being correct, I'm all in. For now it is what it is.

But again OFP, you're the man and I respect your opinion as I do James and aceboon I really do! Just a disagreement on a guy I do like a lot.

 

[Walker11]

Being a rim protector is really, really important in our defensive scheme and the fact that Amidah was arguably the top rim protector in the country is invaluable. This is not difficult.

 

[JSB60]

Indeed. We should definitely ignore what the head coach sais - he can shoot the three - and decide for ourselves.

Or decide by looking at his three years at Cornell when he made 26.8 percent of his threes.

 

[Walker11]

Or decide by looking at his three years at Cornell when he made 26.8 percent of his threes.

If you watch Miller's games on YouTube you will see him miss a lot of bad 3 attempts that he only took because he was the primary option, and that he will never have the green light for here. The answer is somewhere in the middle.

 

[OkaForPrez]

The disconnect is the 8-10 points he gives on isolation or when he attempts to help at the wrong time and his man gets a lay in. Again, just one mans opinion but some need to watch his total package of last year before the word "great" comes into play. Meka was "great" - right places all the time, real tough to score on one-on-one on the block, blocked shots from the weak side and rebounded the basketball on misses. My only hope is that he gets better and you guys can potentially call him great while being correct, I'm all in. For now it is what it is.

But again OFP, you're the man and I respect your opinion as I do James and aceboon I really do! Just a disagreement on a guy I do like a lot.

8-10 is an exaggeration otherwise he wouldn't be in the top 5 frontcourt players in the conference for DWS which is roughly a direct translation for personal points allowed relative to team points allowed. You are arguing against hard numbers with subjective ones.

And yes, in case the tone doesn't translate this is all casual debate to pass time until the season gets here. Much respect.

 

[OkaForPrez]

That statement is flat out delusional. Outside of blocking shots, Brimah was marginal at best. How a guy that is 7 feet tall can go through an entire game without one rebound is mind boggling.

Outside of blocking shots.
Outside of the stat that he lead all of college basketball in by a sizeable margin.
Outside of the attribute fundamental to our defensive strategy, which allows our perimeter defense to more aggressively pressure and close out on the three point shot, which has become an essential weapon in college basketball.


Outside of hitting, David Ortiz is a marginal baseball player.
Outside of throwing the ball on time to the right receiver, Peyton manning really can't do much else in the pocket these days.

Etc. Etc.

 

[mauconnfan]

Being a rim protector is really, really important in our defensive scheme and the fact that Amidah was arguably the top rim protector in the country is invaluable. This is not difficult.

We were 20-15 with the top rim protector and a center who didn't rebound very well or score the ball when his back was to the basket. This is also not very difficult, he needs to improve to be called "great" in a few areas. But you are correct in the fact it is invaluable to have a rim protector but it will be more valuable to him that he will have better and more experienced defenders around him to make up for the inconsistent decisions. With Facey and an immature DHam it wasn't as easy for him to just roam because it left too many easy baskets. I do believe he will add at least one blocked shot a game this year based on their ability to defend better on the interior.

 

[mauconnfan]

Outside of blocking shots.
Outside of the stat that he lead all of college basketball in by a sizeable margin.
Outside of the attribute fundamental to our defensive strategy, which allows our perimeter defense to more aggressively pressure and close out on the three point shot, which has become an essential weapon in college basketball.


Outside of hitting, David Ortiz is a marginal baseball player.
Outside of throwing the ball on time to the right receiver, Peyton manning really can't do much else in the pocket these days.

Etc. Etc.

While you make some good points, and maybe it's just me, but the "numbers" we speak of are so whacked at times I can't agree with them. Who's coming up with these, same guys who said Dustin Pedroia made more tough plays than Robinson Cano years ago because he had to dive at 5'9 and Cano made them look easy? Ok so you know they were both great fielders and deserved the GG but some of these crazy "numbers" and percentages in sports are made my geeks with little or no knowledge of the play itself or the game itself. Hey they are a ton smarter than me so maybe they're accurate but to me they're missing too much of the game for them to be spot on or close.

End result from all this crap is if AB becomes just a little better in the parts of the game he needed to we're going to be really really good. Bottom line is that's what I am rooting for.

 

[OkaForPrez]

While you make some good points, and maybe it's just me, but the "numbers" we speak of are so whacked at times I can't agree with them. Who's coming up with these, same guys who said Dustin Pedroia made more tough plays than Robinson Cano years ago because he had to dive at 5'9 and Cano made them look easy? Ok so you know they were both great fielders and deserved the GG but some of these crazy "numbers" and percentages in sports are made my geeks with little or no knowledge of the play itself or the game itself. Hey they are a ton smarter than me so maybe they're accurate but to me they're missing too much of the game for them to be spot on or close.

End result from all this crap is if AB becomes just a little better in the parts of the game he needed to we're going to be really really good. Bottom line is that's what I am rooting for.

Whaju call me?! Nah I was going to make the point that I have no idea who is checking the box to say who's individual fault it was somebody scored. I have no idea how that's done.

I assume its as explicit as, Amida was guarding X player and he scored so he is attributed the points.

But then how do you treat a zone? No clue.

 

[mauconnfan]

Whaju call me?! Nah I was going to make the point that I have no idea who is checking the box to say who's individual fault it was somebody scored. I have no idea how that's done.

I assume its as explicit as, Amida was guarding X player and he scored so he is attributed the points.

But then how do you treat a zone? No clue.

I called you OFP - hey we want him to be "great" and man if he is the sky's the limit for this team. As i said before even as is with his ability to block shots and lay alley oops in we are fine as the Huskies roster has improved. But he could be a huge difference maker with some tweaking for sure, HUGE.

 

[UConn990411]

What in the world is going on?

Brimah's rebounding woes are well-document and need to be addressed, but his defensive impact is undeniable. For the people who disagree: did you flip channels when AB was benched or in foul trouble? That's the only logical explanation here.

 

[mauconnfan]

What in the world is going on?

Brimah's rebounding woes are well-document and need to be addressed, but his defensive impact is undeniable. For the people who disagree: did you flip channels when AB was benched or in foul trouble? That's the only logical explanation here.

Not sure how much you read but no one denied his impact blocking shots did they? There is impact but the only undeniable things is it goes both ways, like it or not. Blocked shots are huge, overall defense just needs to be better. There is defense outside of blocked shots you do know that right? And also it's also undeniable that rebounding is part of your job as a defender, if your guys gets the rebound you aren't defined your basket too well. Not at all a new concept.

 

[UConn990411]

Not sure how much you read but no one denied his impact blocking shots did they? There is impact but the only undeniable things is it goes both ways, like it or not. Blocked shots are huge, overall defense just needs to be better. There is defense outside of blocked shots you do know that right? And also it's also undeniable that rebounding is part of your job as a defender, if your guys gets the rebound you aren't defined your basket too well. Not at all a new concept.

He does a lot more than block shots; the defense last year was so much worse when he was on the bench.

This debate is...bizarre.

 

[tcf15]

Again, with this debate about Amida Brimah being a great defender, I just go back to what Larry Brown had to say about him:

"And then on the defensive end, you’ve got somebody that goes after every shot. I was walking today with some of my staff. If you ask me to take one guy in our conference, besides some of the kids you hear mostly about, I’d take that center who corrects everything, every mistake you make. And he plays with passion. I think you need shot-blocking in college. With the 3-point line, everybody has to extend. You’re gonna make mistakes, and you’re gonna need somebody to protect. I think that’s a real big factor for their success. And he even made a couple of jumpers last night."

 

[dennismenace]

We've started to forget that in the first third of the season Facey was pretty good, including a monster performance against Duke (14 & 9) shoutout @Penfield & @champs99and04 .


But I think this is why KO has been emphasizing full court basketball and we can actually believe it this year. We are going to run teams into the ground with our depth.

I really hope it works out that way. Been missing this since the days when UConn ran other teams into the ground. Even when
they fell behind they stayed with the system; relentless pressure defense and fastbreaks until the other team broke down. But KO knows best. Can't wait for the season to start. Preseason tourney should tell us a lot about how ready and together they
are.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I dont know why but I picture some high pick and pops for Miller (sorry for getting back to that subject) at the 3 point line. Left open he gets the chance to shoot and knock down some of them to help spread the floor some. As that happens, I picture the same exact play only an open Amida for an easy oops in the paint, or a slashing (insert other Uconn player). I think thats what Ollie is talking about when comparing him to DD. When a zone defense is stopping penetration he'll flash at that FT line area and open things up for the rest of the team and potentially end a zone defense. All hinges on his shot falling for us.

The other positive thing.. I see Enoch developing into a player that can do the exact same thing, might even show that he can do that THIS season. If we can step into the exact same role when Miller sits that would ridiculous for our offense!!! Too much to be excited about for this season.

 

[mauconnfan]

He does a lot more than block shots; the defense last year was so much worse when he was on the bench.

This debate is...bizarre.

Wow no doubt it was worst when he was out - we replaced him with Facey or Lubin. It's bizarre you would think they would be better?

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I have visions of Shonn being the guy who can destroy zone defenses by flashing to the foul line, catching the ball and making plays. I think he can also drive and dish or drive and go to the hole. It can be hard to tell based on some highlight video, but he looks to have great hands and I think he's a very good passer. The passing part could really be a huge asset as well as his other strengths.

 

[aceboon]

I have visions of Shonn being the guy who can destroy zone defenses by flashing to the foul line, catching the ball and making plays. I think he can also drive and dish or drive and go to the hole. It can be hard to tell based on some highlight video, but he looks to have great hands and I think he's a very good passer. The passing part could really be a huge asset as well as his other strengths.

The game film tcf posted he was doing alot of that against Syrcause when Cornell played them, b/w DHam and Miller being able to make plays in the middle this team should be well equipped to go against zone defenses.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Kudos to those trying to bring this back around to Shonn.

 

[tcf15]

Kudos to those trying to bring this back around to Shonn.

Hey at least it isn't as bad as #SlickRickFaceOnDemFolks turning into a debate on UConn's graduation rate!

 

[mauconnfan]

I have visions of Shonn being the guy who can destroy zone defenses by flashing to the foul line, catching the ball and making plays. I think he can also drive and dish or drive and go to the hole. It can be hard to tell based on some highlight video, but he looks to have great hands and I think he's a very good passer. The passing part could really be a huge asset as well as his other strengths.

Good call here. Or better yet this may allow DHam to worry about flashing the foul line more where he was good near years end, and not worry too much about offensive rebounding. Shonn and DHam potentially bring us 2 players interchangeable at the foul line in that case. We certainly lacked that last year and although DD was good at it he didn't do it enough either. Such a key against a wide zone, hopefully we have some answers now. It would seem we have quite a few - add to it (ok everyone hold back on this) Ab can shoot the ball from the elbow there's no doubt if his % is good he can be there on occasion also.

 

[champs99and04]

SMH. If defenses choose to back off a 30% three point shooter and give him more open looks, that could very well turn him into a 35% tjree point shooter considering he only needs to make 5 more shots over the course of 100 attempts.

? I think everybody was already operating on the premise that these are open looks.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I'm not hard on him . . .

Yeah, and the Grinch wasn't hard on his dog!
Respectfully disagree with you on Brimah - his impact on D is huge. Guys just don't drive to the rim as much, and that bottles everything up, creating a ripple effect all the way out to the 3 point line, which allows our perimeter defenders to play tighter D.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yeah, and the Grinch wasn't hard on his dog!
Respectfully disagree with you on Brimah - his impact on D is huge. Guys just don't drive to the rim as much, and that bottles everything up, creating a ripple effect all the way out to the 3 point line, which allows our perimeter defenders to play tighter D.

You mean it allows for our guys to take chances and not play as good a D for 30 seconds?

His impact is solid for the reasons you bring up, if he improves I will agree it will be huge and we will be very very good. May be as is anyway.