THE CURSE OF THE SCOE

[huskymagic]

Calhoun is responsible for this season's ineptitude, and this all due to because of ROSCOE'S CURSE, let me explain. This has the potential to be similar to the curse of the Bambino and the goat of Wrigley field.

Roscoe Smith the most underrated player on this UCONN team, who was also the most highly rated UCONN recruit last year was he heart and soul of last year's championship team second after the immortal Kemba Walker. Roscoe was the ultimate warrior for us, he did everything that was asked of him and did it well, and never expressed any frustration or discontent, or showing up teammates or coaches. He was a true champion on last years team.

Great memories of Scoe include shutting down Scotty Hopson of Tennessee while hitting like 5 threes securing a big win. Second great memory was the game against texas, while everyone remembers the heave, roscoe had a huge game securing another big out of conference win.
Third best moment was the opening facial on gottlieb's team aka bucknell which demoralized bucknell right from the get go setting a tone of how the game was going to be played. Fourth best moment was how well he played the rest of the big east and ncaa tourneys(winning both after the shiner he got from mcgee) . fifth was the big block he had on vanzant which i thought was a turning point in that game.

I remind you of all these moments because I want to refresh your minds and most importantly Jim Calhoun's mind. Did Jimmy forget all of that? Did he think they weren't that important? The disrespect that Calhoun showed this season towards this guy was beyond arrogant, more like foolish.

To open the season with Deandre Daniels as your starter when you had a known thing in Roscoe is crazy. Second guessing this is easy because deandre has proven to be nothing short of brutal, but I knew this from the start so I was actually first guessing this move. The other key players from last years team started like napier,lamb, and oriakhi but roscoe somehow was sitting next to the great walk-on Brendan Allen for most of the games. What was the reasoning behind this? I remember lately Calhoun saying something like Roscoe doesn't have a position as if Deandre has one. This whole situation was and is becoming a joke and its on Calhoun.

Jimmy needs to repent by making Roscoe a captain of this team and starting him at the 3 not the 4 the 3 with Oriakhi and Drummond as our front court players with Boatright and Lamb in the back court. Don't sub anyone for the first 10 to 20 minutes there neeeds to be continuity. Napier should be the sixth man along with Giffey. This is the only way I see for the curse to be reversed or else the bad karma calhoun has generated will come back to bite Calhoun and us the fans who follow this team.

Thoughts and suggestions?

 

[UofCT]

I actually agree. I hate our 10 man rotation. We need to cut it back to 7 or 8.

 

[UCweCONN]

If Roscoe would stop passing up wide open shots, that would be a good start. JC may not want him shooting but a wide open shot is a higher percentage than an out of control drive leading to a charge or a desperation heave as the shot clock is running out.

 

[superjohn]

Agreed, Roscoe is a warrior and hasn't been given a fair shot all year. He needs to start and play starters minutes from here on out.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I dont agree. I hate Roscoe at the three. He can't shoot, He can't dribble, and he has one of the worse basketball IQ's we have seen. He is however a great defender and he BATTLES something a lot of our bigs don't do. I think he should get minutes at the four tell him to run the floor and board, if he gets an open shot inside the arc take it.

If Roscoe had a decent basketball IQ he be a nice player to put in the middle of the zone.

 

[mauconnfan]

Has anything ever changed in the Calhoun system over the years? He's won 3 NC's at Storrs I think and people get yanked when they suck..........Roscoe may be a warrior but he's done nothing at all to stay on the court. He did not improve his game, can't put it on the floor therefore can't go to the hole, can't make a shot, his defense and rebounding aren't the same as last year much like Bazz and Lamb...............JC has done some very questionable things this year but Roscoe, Alex aren't 2 of them that's for damn sure!!

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Roscoe is a great defensive player but when you can only come up with 40 points of offense how much time can we afford to give him?

 

[DaddyChoc]

I agree...

I see some are calling him the worse ____but what has DD actually done to get the start over RS

 

[huskymagic]

I dont agree. I hate Roscoe at the three. He can't shoot, He can't dribble, and he has one of the worse basketball IQ's we have seen. He is however a great defender and he BATTLES something a lot of our bigs don't do. I think he should get minutes at the four tell him to run the floor and board, if he gets an open shot inside the arc take it.

If Roscoe had a decent basketball IQ he be a nice player to put in the middle of the zone.

Your wrong about Roscoe. We all know he has problems offensively but he should start every game for us because he is better than Daniels or Giffey. Last year Roscoe was playing the 3 and not only playing outstanding defense, and rebounding the ball well but he was also scoring in a double digits in some games and making 3 pointers. Roscoe had a position last year and it was a starter as a small forward where he was a huge contributor. By starting a mediocre player like Daniels over him from the first game of the year really hurt Rosoce as he probably felt disrespected.

Considering Napier a bench player on last year's team got to be captain and unquestioned starter at point over Boatright who I said from the beginning should be starting was placed in a starting role over Roscoe who was a starter on last year's team is mind-boggling to me. Roscoe deserves better than that especially since he does everything and never complains or expressions frustration or call out teammates and coaches.

We need the lineup Boatright, Lamb, Scoe, Oriakhi, Drummond at all times on the floor at their respective positions without substituions. I dont care if they foul out in the first half let them play 15-20 minutes straight without interrupting the flow of the game, and by letting these guys know they can play through mistakes.

 

[huskymagic]

I agree...

I see some are calling him the worse ____but what has DD actually done to get the start over RS

Nothing jimmy had an infatuation with daniels from the beginning. I have no idea what he saw in the guy but even he was something special, you don;t start him over Roscoe from the first game. Let him earn it over Roscoe which he has never done and incapable of doing as I had already predicted. Drummond our highest recruit ever started off the bench.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Well I mean... there's going to be subs. You can't just let them play for 20 minutes straight. There's fatigue to factor in too. However, I agree with letting them play for longer stretches. We scored 13 points last night in 4 minutes and after that 4 minutes the subs started. I thought "Okay, lets keep it going..." But the fact is the flow was ruined. We went on another never-ending drought.

I'm all for playing Roscoe more. He gives intensity. This team NEEDS intensity more than anything else right now. I see it in Boat and I see it in Roscoe. That being said he needs to start hitting open mid range shots. We recruited him for his mid range game and every time he puts one up it clanks.

 

[Rico444]

Roscoe is shooting 37% from the field and 15% from 3. For a guy who is spending most of his time at the 4, those are terrible numbers. Factor in that he has zero handle and very little speed, and you can see why JC isn't playing him at the 3 very much. I have no problem with his getting minutes at the 4, because defense and rebounding are his strengths. But Roscoe has regressed from last year, let's not kid ourselves here.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Roscoe is shooting 37% from the field and 15% from 3. For a guy who is spending most of his time at the 4, those are terrible numbers. Factor in that he has zero handle and very little speed, and you can see why JC isn't playing him at the 3 very much. I have no problem with his getting minutes at the 4, because defense and rebounding are his strengths. But Roscoe has regressed from last year, let's not kid ourselves here.

Every player besides Lamb and Giffey has regressed this year.

 

[caw]

There are bevy of issues with this team:

1. It's young
2. Boatright sat 9 games
3. Calhoun misssed 3 games

OK now that those are out of the way:

1. Napier is obviously trying to run the offense, but he seems tentative with his passing
2. Napier is gambling too much on defense
3. Lamb is not aggressive on offense (he rarely attacks and shies from contact)
4. Lamb also gambles in passing lanes too much
5. Daniels shot has disappeared, I don't know where it went but he just isn't hitting anything outside of the lane.
6. Daniels goes under screens way too much.
7. Alex just doesn't play with fire. I don't mind aggressive fouls or mistakes due to being aggressive (the charging foul on the post up is bad but I'm OK with it because he is at least attacking, same with the ball being pinned between the rim and the backboard). I can't stand the bad plays where he doesn't secure a rebound or jogs around
8. Boatright, for all his talent doesn't run the half court offense that well (he is better at bailing himself out because he is so quick).
9. Boatright goes under screens way too much on defense.
10. Giffey and Olander play well and within themselves.
11. Drummond doesn't box out enough. He is an absolute physical beast and he has games where he is such, but he just seems like he could be so much more of a rebounder if he boxed out properly.
12. Roscoe took and made his first shot yesterday, then he passed on about 2 more that were open shots.
13. Too many players are trying to be the hero (taking contested 3's with 6 minutes to go down 6, or trying for a steal when the shot clock is winding down leading to a dunk by your man, etc.)

Positives from last night:

1. UConn still won a championship last year
2. Daniels actually attacked the rim twice and scored both times
3. Drummond dominated until he decided to go for about 2 steals in a row leading to layups by his man
4. UConn, even with a lot of defensive flaws, still played solid defense all told
5. Olander had some great passes to Drummond and Oriakhi, and I do mean great
6. They got a lot of open shots against GT

All-in-all there are a ton of issues from the past 4 games that keep occuring. Last night was also the first night of the season the team also just missed every open shot in the book. Lamb missed at least 3 open 3's, Daniels 2, Giffey 1, Napier at least 2, Boatright 1. It was one of the worst shooting nights I've seen from this team. Honestly, if they make a third of their open shots they are in another UT/ND/Cincy situation with a close game in the final minute. If they hit half their open shots they are probably up. Considering this is a good shooting team most nights, that part I'm not terribly concerned with.

 

[huskymagic]

Roscoe is shooting 37% from the field and 15% from 3. For a guy who is spending most of his time at the 4, those are terrible numbers. Factor in that he has zero handle and very little speed, and you can see why JC isn't playing him at the 3 very much. I have no problem with his getting minutes at the 4, because defense and rebounding are his strengths. But Roscoe has regressed from last year, let's not kid ourselves here.

Roscoe played the 3 last year and as I have already pointed out he played well and scored in double digits in some games. Roscoe also doesn't get any plays run for him and takes very few shots when he's in the game because he knows he will be taken out of the game if he misses or makes a mistake. These are the reason why his game has regressed, and other factors. You need players that know their role and their assignments on teams. Roscoe knows his role. Guys like Napier dont know their roles because they were elevated to roles that are unfortunately beyond their capabilities. The coach and the coaching staff have to take the blame for these gaffes.

 

[Hoophound]

Roscoe played the 3 last year and as I have already pointed out he played well and scored in double digits in some games. Roscoe also doesn't get any plays run for him and takes very few shots when he's in the game because he knows he will be taken out of the game if he misses or makes a mistake. These are the reason why his game has regressed, and other factors. You need players that know their role and their assignments on teams. Roscoe knows his role. Guys like Napier dont know their roles because they were elevated to roles that are unfortunately beyond their capabilities. The coach and the coaching staff have to take the blame for these gaffes.

There is no doubt truth to this philosophy but JC doesn't usually cave and change his ways. He usually gets it worked out but every few years we are awful because his approach isn't resonating. This may be one of those years. We'll know for sure over the next 10 days or so. Where I think you have to question coaching is in the play of Shabazz more than anyone else. To say he "isn't capable" is hard for me to swallow. He is a very talented basketball player.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Roscoe might of started at the 3 last year but he spent the majority of time at the 4. C'mon you should know this. Our lineup was Bazz kemba lamb scoe and AO. Were having serious offensive problems putting Scoe at the 3 will not help things. However Daniels and Giffey aren't much better.

I think we gotta start Boat Bazz Lamb Scoe/AO and AD. Tell Bazz and Jeremy they are playing off the ball and to get out and run.

Has anyone noticed we always have three guys waiting to see if they should bring the ball up? Jeremy always stands around in the backcourt

 

[UConn990411]

Roscoe played the 3 last year and as I have already pointed out he played well and scored in double digits in some games. Roscoe also doesn't get any plays run for him and takes very few shots when he's in the game because he knows he will be taken out of the game if he misses or makes a mistake. These are the reason why his game has regressed, and other factors. You need players that know their role and their assignments on teams. Roscoe knows his role. Guys like Napier dont know their roles because they were elevated to roles that are unfortunately beyond their capabilities. The coach and the coaching staff have to take the blame for these gaffes.

He started at the 3...but played far more minutes at the 4. Down the stretch, he was almost almost always at power forward with Oriakhi at center.

You ain't very bright.

 

[mcs333]

Drummond gambled 4 times trying to steal the ball last night. 3 resulted in layups and the other in two made free throws. total of 8 points.

 

[3rdbass]

I'm all for giving DD some minutes again at SF as he looked great driving the ball which he did at least 3 times with 2 buckets and a great pass to I believe AD which he missed. I loved that he realized his strength instead of settling for outside shots which aren't falling for him now. He even played great defense. I think we should go with C-AD, PF-TO/RS, SF-DD,SG-JL &PG-RB. With a bench of PF-TO/RS, C-AO, SF-NG and yes SG/PG-SN(unless BA can play some minutes LOL). I don't like to see AD/AO in the game at the same times as it just clogs up the lanes and make any inside offense non-existent.

 

[Prezidint]

By starting a mediocre player like Daniels over him from the first game of the year really hurt Rosoce as he probably felt disrespected.

I happen to, retrospectively, agree with this sentiment. Based on a limited data set I had thought that DD was much superior to Scoe in offense. Turns out that this isn't so. DD is not substantially better on offense. Knowing that, I definitely agree that DD never should have been given the starting spot. Unless he was perceived by JC to be head and shoulders above Scoe, he should have come off the bench.

For the record, "disrespected" is not a real word, and it will never be a real word, notwithstanding its widespread use or inclusion into any formal dictionary.

And, young pups, note that use of the word "disrespected" (or dis) is a shibboleth to my generation that signals that you haven't been taught the language well.

 

[caw]

I happen to, retrospectively, agree with this sentiment. Based on a limited data set I had thought that DD was much superior to Scoe in offense. Turns out that this isn't so. DD is not substantially better on offense. Knowing that, I definitely agree that DD never should have been given the starting spot. Unless he was perceived by JC to be head and shoulders above Scoe, he should have come off the bench.

For the record, "disrespected" is not a real word, and it will never be a real word, notwithstanding its widespread use or inclusion into any formal dictionary.

And, young pups, note that use of the word "disrespected" (or dis) is a shibboleth to my generation that signals that you haven't been taught the language well.

Or a signal that the older generation rarely adapts to the living language with ease.

 

[huskymagic]

He started at the 3...but played far more minutes at the 4. Down the stretch, he was almost almost always at power forward with Oriakhi at center.

You ain't very bright.

Your questioning my basketball iq when I have already correctly predicted 2 months in advance since the beginning of the year about starting Boatright, about Napier being a limited player who was going to get exposed by opposing teams, about Daniels not being any good and Harkless being a big loss for us lol. You obviously don't know enough about basketball, but let me enlighten you. Roscoe was a three but the reason he played in the post was to get rebounds because last year's team was awful rebounding and Roscoe was suited to get rebounded and play good defense when we needed him to match up inside. Majority of time in the post was with Oriakhi and Okwandu.

Roscoe was on the perimeter most of the time shutting down the opposing team's best perimeter player, and also crashing the rebounds because the team needed him to do that because he was the best pure rebounder on that team. Roscoe was hitting 3's last year on the perimeter.

 

[huskymagic]

Roscoe might of started at the 3 last year but he spent the majority of time at the 4. C'mon you should know this. Our lineup was Bazz kemba lamb scoe and AO. Were having serious offensive problems putting Scoe at the 3 will not help things. However Daniels and Giffey aren't much better.

I think we gotta start Boat Bazz Lamb Scoe/AO and AD. Tell Bazz and Jeremy they are playing off the ball and to get out and run.

Has anyone noticed we always have three guys waiting to see if they should bring the ball up? Jeremy always stands around in the backcourt

Dont you know by now that the two little guard lineup wont work on good teams who have bigger guards who will expose our two little guards on defense particularly Napier. When you play like that Napier will end up guarding a guy who is usually 3-6 inches taller than him and who is quicker than him. That won't work and rarely works unless you have great defensive front court players who can block shots or bother the opposing wing players shots like we had in Thabeet.

 

[caw]

Your questioning my basketball iq when I have already correctly predicted 2 months in advance since the beginning of the year about starting Boatright, about Napier being a limited player who was going to get exposed by opposing teams, about Daniels not being any good and Harkless being a big loss for us lol. You obviously don't know enough about basketball, but let me enlighten you. Roscoe was a three but the reason he played in the post was to get rebounds because last year's team was awful rebounding and Roscoe was suited to get rebounded and play good defense when we needed him to match up inside. Majority of time in the post was with Oriakhi and Okwandu.

Roscoe was on the perimeter most of the time shutting down the opposing team's best perimeter player, and also crashing the rebounds because the team needed him to do that because he was the best pure rebounder on that team. Roscoe was hitting 3's last year on the perimeter.

Boatright didn't really show much outside of the first 3 minutes as a starter (or when GT went to zone). I hope either he or Napier gets it together because they are both struggling. He played about 20 minutes and didn't score a point.

Napier is limited, but I'm not so sure the last two games are indicative of how limited he is. He is better than the last two games showed.

I still think Daniels has shown a ton of potential just not ready this year, but I know we just disagree on this point.

Roscoe was both the 3 and the 4 last year, it really changed depending on the game and in the game itself. He is just a very versatile defender and last year he was hitting from the 3 (this year he's not even attempting them).