"They're all so smart" | The Boneyard

"They're all so smart"

lonsharkin51

lonsharkin51

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Waiting for the Masters to start, so I was rewatching the second half vs. Purdue, and Raf made a comment that I think we all sensed from the get-go. "They're all so smart." Newton, Spencer, Karaban and Castle are four of the highest BBIQ players I've ever seen, and Clingan and Diarra aren't far behind. I think this is the smartest UConn team (or any college hoops team, TBH) ever, and it got me thinking. Who are some of your other favorite UConn basketball brainiacs?
 
I rewatched both the Alabama and Purdue games and have to give Cam the edge on Nadav. Just countless plays where he did something a little extra to tilt the outcome in our favor, plus seemingly always knowing where to be for a key rebound.

I noted that in the second half of both games Cam executed the exact same play on a shooter that was close to the OOB line, tipping the ball up, then sending it OOB off the shooter. Could've been an instant replay except with different opponent jerseys.

Even with that, Karaban might still have the highest BBIQ, although what he does is far more nuanced as it's his off-ball movement that makes this thing go.

Newton's improvement in limiting TOs was impressive. It wasn't all that long ago that we'd watch Alterique or CV (pre-Hurley) just foolishly go at the hoop and get destroyed repeatedly. Newton's ability to get into the paint, then dish out or hit a cutter was marvelous for a PG.

And Castle might be the most coachable frosh Dan Hurley has ever had, no disrespect to Donovan or anyone else.
 
Seeing how they always took extra time inbounding the ball, like passing it to the ref or letting it bounce a few extra times before picking it up, wasted 6-7 seconds every possession and that adds up and helps preserve 10 point leads. Heady plays.
 
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One guy I was just thinking about who I think is chronically underrated in Husky history is AJ Price. He was a very heady ballplayer, and had fate broken differently for him, he could easily have been part of two natties that we could have won. If we'd had a sophomore-year AJ on the 2006 squad to complement Marcus Williams, we'd have been unstoppable, and if Dyson didn't get hurt in 2009, that squad likely would have won it all.
 
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I was bummed we didn't get an "Onions" or "Send it in Jerome!" out of Raf during the game. I think the producers told him to tone it down.
 
Travelman6 said:
Isn't Karaban a genuis who got accepted to several Ivy schools and MIT?
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He didn’t get accepted to any of those schools because he never applied to any of those schools. He committed to UConn in August before his senior year. He’s definitely a smart kid who had offers from Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard and Notre Dame just to name a few. Don’t think I would call him a genius though. If he wasn’t a basketball player I’m not sure he would have gotten accepted to any of those schools. Maybe ND.
 
HooperScooper said:
He didn’t get accepted to any of those schools because he never applied to any of those schools. He committed to UConn in August before his senior year. He’s definitely a smart kid who had offers from Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard and Notre Dame just to name a few. Don’t think I would call him a genius though. If he wasn’t a basketball player I’m not sure he would have gotten accepted to any of those schools. Maybe ND.
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Ok then
 
HooperScooper said:
He didn’t get accepted to any of those schools because he never applied to any of those schools. He committed to UConn in August before his senior year. He’s definitely a smart kid who had offers from Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard and Notre Dame just to name a few. Don’t think I would call him a genius though. If he wasn’t a basketball player I’m not sure he would have gotten accepted to any of those schools. Maybe ND.
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Bulletin board materia...if he weren't so chill.

It's a shame he didn't get a single digit uniform number. It’s a little too clunky to call him "Agent Double-O 11," but that's who he is.
 
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Hans Sprungfeld said:
Bulletin board materia...if he weren't so chill.

It's a shame he didn't get a single digit uniform number. It’s a little too clunky to call him "Agent Double-O 11," but that's who he is.
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Well, you could call him "snake eyes" in a non-pejorative connotation.
 
DblCrossbar said:
Emeka is up there. And Doron Sheffer too.

Maybe on the court Marcus Willams, but, uh…not so much off it. :oops:
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Have to say no to MW. I vividly remember a couple games in the 2005-2006 season where we were trying to comeback in a close game and instead of attempting to score quickly, he wasted quite a bit of clock (granted, in the sweet sixteen against Washington they bailed him out by fouling him on a drive) and possibly cost us a game or two. I never undertood why he didn't ever seeem to grasp the occasional sense of urgency.
 
The Dove is the all-time BB IQ guy I think, but I’ve got to say CAM and AK are in the same club.
 
aburks41 said:
Shabazz had the highest basketball IQ of any player to ever step foot in Storrs and I will die on that hill
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Cannot argue with that. But when it’s all said and done, Alex and Bazz will be 1a and 1b in terms of basketball smartness.

Just how many times Hurley openly called Alex the Brain center of his offense? I’m a non believer at first but after watching games and games and paying attention to Alex’s movement, I’m totally convinced that without Alex, this team and all our offense sets are looking less impressive and successful.
 
I can’t ever put anyone above Shabazz in almost any way…

Given the circumstances, though, Cam is as close to a perfect player to coach as it gets. AK is there too. I bet Shabazz drove Calhoun nuts plenty in his early days especially. Not to take away his IQ.

AK took a maaaaybe too early 3 when we were winning against Purdue and I actually said “that might be the first time he gets yelled at by a coach for a mistake in his career.”

Cam might be more unique because he’s also incredibly crafty with footwork, passing, etc. AK is always in the right spots but Cam does next level high IQ things with his pivots, shot fakes, etc.

This team was truly, truly unique.
 
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Mr. French said:
I can’t ever put anyone above Shabazz in almost any way…

Given the circumstances, though, Cam is as close to a perfect player to coach as it gets. AK is there too. I bet Shabazz drove Calhoun nuts plenty in his early days especially. Not to take away his IQ.

AK took a maaaaybe too early 3 when we were winning against Purdue and I actually said “that might be the first time he gets yelled at by a coach for a mistake in his career.”

Cam might be more unique because he’s also incredibly crafty with footwork, passing, etc. AK is always in the right spots but Cam does next level high IQ things with his pivots, shot fakes, etc.

This team was truly, truly unique.
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Cam's bball IQ is off the charts.
 
storrsroars said:
Well, you could call him "snake eyes" in a non-pejorative connotation.
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Or, "The name's Bond...KaraBond," gentleman assassin by license, but does his work more often in subtler ways. His ability to avoid awards this year was unprecedented. I don't get the impression it bothered him as much as it did me and others.

In one post-Finals interview, he talked about preparing himself for the possibility of guarding Edey. Part of it included an overall game plan that deemphasized shooting & point production in favor of defense & rebounds, which was also part of his overall seasonal development plan. He was happy with how he went stronger to the basket this year, and would like to shoot more next year (a hint?).

His 5 points scored on 2-7 shooting on Monday somewhat obscured the impact of his 6 rebounds, uncommonly high 4 assists, 2 blocks, and zero fouls committed...as though he didn't have a good game.
 
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