The real biggest problem this year

[tdrink]

Our team leader is in his first year of being the team leader.

And I'm not throwing any shade in Boat's direction.

We take that leadership role somewhat for granted after seeing what Kemba and Shabazz did, but it is easy to forget that they both had disappointing seasons when they first truly took over.

I think this shows how tough of a job it is to lead a team. I think there have been very few guys who were really able to excel at it in their first year in the role.

Maybe people were keeping this in mind but had higher expectations for Boat because he is a senior, but really he is a freshman at leadership.

 

[7774]

Our team leader is in his first year of being the team leader.

And I'm not throwing any shade in Boat's direction.

We take that leadership role somewhat for granted after seeing what Kemba and Shabazz did, but it is easy to forget that they both had disappointing seasons when they first truly took over.

I think this shows how tough of a job it is to lead a team. I think there have been very few guys who were really able to excel at it in their first year in the role.

Maybe people were keeping this in mind but had higher expectations for Boat because he is a senior, but really he is a freshman at leadership.

We're just young. Outside of Boat, we play a sophomore SG that hadn't played for over a year and has battled injuries this year, a freshman SF with no college experience, a sophomore PF who is basically a freshman in terms of experience, and a sophomore C who is raw and didn't play a ton last year due to foul trouble. Our bench is a sophomore guard who was a role player last year, a true freshman guard, a junior guard who is just back to form after 1 1/2 years of injuries, a freshmen PF, and Phil Nolan who is experienced but just not very good right now. That is just a really young team.

We will improve. Players have consistently improved on our roster since KO has been on the coaching staff. We still have a chance this year if we can just reduce the ridiculous unforced turnovers, and improve the free throw shooting.

 

[UConn990411]

There isn't a "biggest" problem for this team - they have problems all over the place.

Boatright needed to be close to Shabazz/Kemba status for them to reach there potential, and he simply hasn't been. That's not a knock on Boat - you can make a case that Shabazz/Kemba are the two best UConn players ever - but it's left s void too big for the other players to fill.

On top of that...
- This team has next to no outside shooting.
- UConn's most talented player is a freshman.
- Their most talented guard (Purvis) is a year away from being good.
- They need Brimah to be on the floor to be elite defensively, but he can't help himself from committing mindless fouls that put him on the bench.
- They have no post depth to rely on when Brimah inevitably gets in foul trouble.
- And their coaching staff has been really bad. Really, really bad.

I thought this team would be able to absorb Shabazz's loss better than the 2011-12 team could absorb Kemba's because they had a senior Boat to lead them, but it just doesn't seem like it'll happen for them this year. Which is fine.

(On the bright side, I'm not as concerned as some about next season because their frontcourt could truly be great, Hamilton is going to be miles better, and I think Jalen Adams is a top 10-15 player. I don't think it's a stretch to call him the most talented PG recruit they've ever gotten.)