Stone/Newman Crystal Ball

[tcf15]

Good sign: Jeff Borzello picked UConn for the both of them.

Borzello usually knows his stuff.

 

[Dynasty]

Good sign: Jeff Borzello picked UConn for the both of them.

Borzello usually knows his stuff.

Yeah, Borzello usually doesn't flip flop like most of them as well. Good signs.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Borzello grew up a UConn fan

 

[Leebo]

I want to avoid the slippery slope of believing the ones that say yes for UConn and not believing the ones that say yes for other teams.

 

[Chief00]

I think it will hinge on Newman's visit; perhaps late August/Sept timeframe. It does seem like Newman talks more about being a package than Stone - but Stone is more private.

 

[alexd]

Doooomed....

 

[husky99]

Doomed x2

 

[uchusky32]

I hate that I love following recruiting!

 

[Husky1964]

Horrors!!!!! We could wind up with Enoch, Stone and the Senegal guy. Which 2 do we take??????????????? Or one???????????

 

[mauconnfan]

Horrors!!!!! We could wind up with Enoch, Stone and the Senegal guy. Which 2 do we take??????????????? Or one???????????

The one (or 2) who wants to be here!!!…….

UConn is about WINNING so if they want to come all ten toes in I like them!

 

[Waquoit]

If this happens, I will find myself just laughing out loud at random times for no apparent reason.

 

[3uconn]

I'm trying to work my way through Newman's camp to talk with him. Hopefully I can do it because from there I'll try and get Stone too. Really want to see what they have to say about UConn and Ollie.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Does anyone know if Stone and Nolan know each other?

 

[aburks41]

Does anyone know if Stone and Nolan know each other?

they are in fact buds

 

[aceboon]

Does anyone know if Stone and Nolan know each other?

 

[UconnU]

Whos the guy Is the guy in the carolina blue shorts w. the crazy hops..

 

[aceboon]

Whos the guy Is the guy in the carolina blue shorts w. the crazy hops..

JP Tokoto

 

[huskyharry]

I think Phil will finish much more effectively around the rim this coming year.

I also expect both Phil and Amida to be more confident and effective in stepping out and hitting mid-range jumpers.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

Matt Jessen-Howard also voted for UConn today followed by Wisconsin guy voting for Wisconsin. Shocker.

 

[UconnU]

I think Phil will finish much mor vely around the rim this coming year.

I also expect both Phil and Amida to be more confident and effective in stepping out and hitting mid-range jumpers.

Midrange jumpers?? I sure as hell hope not! These guys dont even have 1 post move combibed. One step at a time. Love their d though...I think phil being more than servicable on the d end significantly helped up win that ship.

 

[Dooley]

Jeff Borzello ‏@jeffborzello 33m
Entered new Crystal Ball picks for Diamond Stone and Malik Newman earlier today. Go see what I've got in Storrs: http://247sports.com/User/Jeff%20Borzello/Predictions?PlayerInstitution.PrimaryPlayerSport.Recruitment.Year=2015&PlayerInstitution.PrimaryPlayerSport.Sport=Basketball…

Stone, Newman, and Enoch. I would sign up for that trio right friggin' now.

 

[DogMania]

Midrange jumpers?? I sure as hell hope not! These guys dont even have 1 post move combibed. One step at a time. Love their d though...I think phil being more than servicable on the d end significantly helped up win that ship.

Phil is actually a solid mid-range jumpshooter. He rarely took them, but I've seen him knock one after another during pregame warmups. Even Amida has knocked down the short J. I'm good with them getting better with their Js, but, yes, more importantly, improving in their ability to score at the rim. Amida simply will get better as he gets stronger and more exprienced. I hope he can hit the weight-room after he recovers from his shoulder surgery. Too bad he had to go under the knife. A spring and summer hitting the weights was what he needed most. I'm sure he's going to improve next season, but that improvement will probably be slowed a tad due to his shoulder recovery.

Phil did a great job of catching the ball deep during the NCAAs, but really struggled to finish. I think he got stuffed twice in the NC game against UK. He needs work on exploding to the rim, knowing when to dunk, and when to shoot a quick kiss of the glass. Tim Dunkin is a perfect example. He doesn't try to dunk everything, but instead gets his shot quickly off the glass before the D can't get a hand on it. If it's touched after it hits backboard it's GT and 2 points. I think Phil's game will mature next season. He showed he has enough hops with that huge late dunk in the UF game.

The addition of Rock will give us strong athletic body who should add a different dimension to our front court. And hopefully Facey can begin to earn some minutes. He's not a wide body, but a good athlete and long enough to give us minutes at the 4 and even at the 5 in some emergency situations next season. I often forget that Hamilton has some good size and might be able to eat up a few minutes at the 4 if needed.

We probably all underestimated DD's value on both ends of the floor, especially the defensive end. He even played some emergency 5, quite effectively at times due to his experience and length. Even Giffey gave us some minutes at the 4 when needed. These new comers are going to have to eat some minutes at the 4 and maybe even the 5 this coming season because there are going to be games where Amida & Phil are in foul trouble, like we saw in the UK game. Remember last season how vulnerable we thought we were at the 4 & 5 leading into the post-season, but KO and his staff were able to coach a National Championship out of them.*

*I looked back at the box score to see how many fouls Brimah and Nolan had, and I was surprised to see that they combined for 0 points in the NC game. I didn't realize that. They combined for 3 points in the UF game, 4 in the MSU and ISU games and 2 in the Nova game. It's evident that our skilled players carried throughout the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully our bigs will provide more offense this coming season, though the strength of this team will still lie in the hands of our skilled 1s, 2s & 3s.

 

[Sportsman5]

I'm trying to work my way through Newman's camp to talk with him. Hopefully I can do it because from there I'll try and get Stone too. Really want to see what they have to say about UConn and Ollie.

Can I hire you as a sales guy for my company? You are relentless

 

[Chief00]

I was skeptical because when I think of elite package deals I think of UK. But, quite frankly our chances, if I had to put a number out there, would be perhaps 45% - which is very good considering what we might get.

 

[Chief00]

Phil is actually a solid mid-range jumpshooter. He rarely took them, but I've seen him knock one after another during pregame warmups. Even Amida has knocked down the short J. I'm good with them getting better with their Js, but, yes, more importantly, improving in their ability to score at the rim. Amida simply will get better as he gets stronger and more exprienced. I hope he can hit the weight-room after he recovers from his shoulder surgery. Too bad he had to go under the knife. A spring and summer hitting the weights was what he needed most. I'm sure he's going to improve next season, but that improvement will probably be slowed a tad due to his shoulder recovery.

Phil did a great job of catching the ball deep during the NCAAs, but really struggled to finish. I think he got stuffed twice in the NC game against UK. He needs work on exploding to the rim, knowing when to dunk, and when to shoot a quick kiss of the glass. Tim Dunkin is a perfect example. He doesn't try to dunk everything, but instead gets his shot quickly off the glass before the D can't get a hand on it. If it's touched after it hits backboard it's GT and 2 points. I think Phil's game will mature next season. He showed he has enough hops with that huge late dunk in the UF game.

The addition of Rock will give us strong athletic body who should add a different dimension to our front court. And hopefully Facey can begin to earn some minutes. He's not a wide body, but a good athlete and long enough to give us minutes at the 4 and even at the 5 in some emergency situations next season. I often forget that Hamilton has some good size and might be able to eat up a few minutes at the 4 if needed.

We probably all underestimated DD's value on both ends of the floor, especially the defensive end. He even played some emergency 5, quite effectively at times due to his experience and length. Even Giffey gave us some minutes at the 4 when needed. These new comers are going to have to eat some minutes at the 4 and maybe even the 5 this coming season because there are going to be games where Amida & Phil are in foul trouble, like we saw in the UK game. Remember last season how vulnerable we thought we were at the 4 & 5 leading into the post-season, but KO and his staff were able to coach a National Championship out of them.*

*I looked back at the box score to see how many fouls Brimah and Nolan had, and I was surprised to see that they combined for 0 points in the NC game. I didn't realize that. They combined for 3 points in the UF game, 4 in the MSU and ISU games and 2 in the Nova game. It's evident that our skilled players carried throughout the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully our bigs will provide more offense this coming season, though the strength of this team will still lie in the hands of our skilled 1s, 2s & 3s.

Quite frankly, very good job breaking down what our bigs contributed in F4.