Terence Samuel and the freshman

[upstater]

*freshmen

Enough has been said about Brimah, don't need to add to that. And I've seen enough from Facey to be impressed by his athletic ability and his moves around the hoop. There's a reason this kid was top 100 in the rankings and NY State player of the year. Enough coaches and scouts saw impressive athletic ability out of him so he could deserve that ranking.

Samuel was under the radar and underwhelmed fans. But I saw a kid last night who has good athleticism, good size, is not afraid to drive to the hole, and he looks like he belongs. He will have to play with an off guard who can shoot so that teams don't Rajon/Taliek him, but he is exactly what this team needs. It is clear that he is going to get some minutes spelling both Shabazz and Boatright during the season.

It really should be no surprise that in UConn's unheralded lowly ranked class that we ended up with a guy like Samuel who deserves to play and will spell Boatright and Shabazz and do very well (a guy who likely wasn't ranked high for lack of a jump shot), another kid who is ultra athletic but needs some time to develop because he has been playing for such a short time, and a 7'0" rising star in the college ranks.

I'm not surprised because UConn coaches have had a good eye for talent and have always done very well. Don't doubt our coaches, they seem to know what they are doing. AND, they have a track record. Stop following the star-rankings and all that nonsense.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Agree with all of that. Both Samuel and Brimah looked like they belonged on the floor.

Samuel has good arm length, a strong core and looks to have good lateral movement. He can really become a lock down defender. And with his size and strength he should do well protecting the ball while running the offense.

 

[Hoophound]

Agree with all of that. Both Samuel and Brimah looked like they belonged on the floor.

Samuel has good arm length, a strong core and looks to have good lateral movement. He can really become a lock down defender. And with his size and strength he should do well protecting the ball while running the offense.

Its been said with many of the guys over the years, KO, Ricky and Taliek to name a few, but if Samuel gets a jumper, look out. That needs to be priority one for him in his free time. Get the correct form down and shoot, shoot, shoot. If he can shoot, he will become very good. He's got size, strength and IQ.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Its been said with many of the guys over the years, KO, Ricky and Taliek to name a few, but if Samuel gets a jumper, look out. That needs to be priority one for him in his free time. Get the correct form down and shoot, shoot, shoot. If he can shoot, he will become very good. He's got size, strength and IQ.

And he doesn't even need to develop the three point shot. If he can master the foul line and elbow jumper that'll make him dangerous. He needs to develop a reliable scoring method that doesn't require him getting to the rim.

 

[MidTown Husky]

Samuel looked like he had a lot of command when he came in pushing the ball down the court. Also that huge driving lay up with the arena as loud as it has been all night. Even if he wasn't super sharp he's got confidence and can obviously play

 

[AZHuskiePop]

And he doesn't even need to develop the three point shot. If he can master the foul line and elbow jumper that'll make him dangerous. He needs to develop a reliable scoring method that doesn't require him getting to the rim.

Priority for PG shooting wise
1. Make your FT
2. Make your FT
3. Make your FT
4. Mid-range jumper/ floater
5. Three point shoot

 

[boog204]

I liked what I saw from Samuel as well. Pretty strong w/ the ball, good defensively. He was smaller and quicker than I thought, I expected a bigger/slower DBev type. I imagine that Facey is not going to play all that much given the depth ahead of him.