This "Boatshow" is Going to be like...

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Larry Ellison's 200 Million Yacht named the "Rising Son". As I said months ago he is probably the most talented and athletic player on this team. Let me rephrase that the country.

 

[bear]

I'm excited about Boat too but I think that's a pretty bold statement considering we haven't even seen the kid play against Division 1 competition yet

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

bazz is the #1. he's a leader, and a ballplayer. i love the idea of the boat, but bazz is the key this season....imo.

boat will have his time soon enough though. and i expect he will be great as well.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I'm excited about Boat too but I think that's a pretty bold statement considering we haven't even seen the kid play against Division 1 competition yet

I like the bear because I am calling for a Baylor/UConn final in New Orleans. As to RB...you either have "it" or you don't. I have seen him play live. I love his game. More importantly he has major swag. It is my opinion he has more talent and god given ability then Kemba right now. He does not have the leadership skills of KW of course but should be given that opportunity soon. Not sure if that will happen or not. Again Baylor Bears vs. UConn in the final. I think that's bold.

 

[Scot-e]

While you may be right- until you see a player on the floor in a real D1 game you really do not know what you have. He seems to have a great set of skills and we sure could use another guard that is good enough to challenge Bazz- however he would have to be " top 3" good for JC to take the rock out of Bazz's hands and give it to Boat. I do not see that happening. If it does we are Doomed!

 

[Waquoit]

The talent is there but he has to prove he can play within the team concept.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

While you may be right- until you see a player on the floor in a real D1 game you really do not know what you have. He seems to have a great set of skills and we sure could use another guard that is good enough to challenge Bazz- however he would have to be " top 3" good for JC to take the rock out of Bazz's hands and give it to Boat. I do not see that happening. If it does we are Doomed!

LOL doomed cool stuff! I like Bazz, Boat, JL, RS or DD and AO down the stretch of games as an option. I like the smaller quicker line up with good free throw shooters in the last 4 minutes of close games.

 

[61cygni]

Bazz and Boatright in consecutive years might be the most swagger-iffic freshman we've gotten since KEA. He knows he'll be behind Bazz, so no ego, no problem.

Not sure I'm reading you correctly, are you are saying RB should probably get the starting position at some point during the year, or that he should be on the floor in tight end-game situations?

If so, can't say I agree at this time, but hope he develops as you say!

 

[Kitaman]

Bazz is taking a back seat to no one. His free throws against UK prove he has what it takes. He was at the helm for our Championship runs, making a name for himself. He's our pg for the next 3 years and I am excited about that.

RB hasn't shown what Bazz has, please don't get too hyped by the RB highlights. Being POY in Chicago does mean that the kid will be an asset at the 1 and the 2.

 

[James]

Yall need to relax. most talented and athletic player on the team? Baylor Uconn Final!??!

 

[ctchamps]

BlueDog has seen RB play in person which is different than a person who has only seen highlight tapes. And he has demonstrated on this forum a degree of sophistication regarding players. He is not a run of the mill forum poster regarding evaluations imo.

So his statements regarding RB have credence and this bodes well for the Huskies. At the very least RB should be getting SN type minutes of last season and SN averaged 24 minutes/game. If BlueDog is correct, there will not be a letdown when Shabazz is on the bench. I love this possibility.

I have no doubt JC will love this development as well and knows exactly how to handle playing both SN and RB to keep both happy.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

BlueDog has seen RB play in person which is different than a person who has only seen highlight tapes. And he has demonstrated on this forum a degree of sophistication regarding players. He is not a run of the mill forum poster regarding evaluations imo.

So his statements regarding RB have credence and this bodes well for the Huskies. At the very least RB should be getting SN type minutes of last season and SN averaged 24 minutes/game. If BlueDog is correct, there will not be a letdown when Shabazz is on the bench. I love this possibility.

I have no doubt JC will love this development as well and knows exactly how to handle playing both SN and RB to keep both happy.

Thanks fleud...best to you. You are a great poster and very knowledgeable.

 

[61cygni]

I don't know about 24 minutes, and getting SN freshman-year quantity of minutes. Is the coaching staff looking at sliding either over to the SG position? I didn't think we'd see much of any lineups with both Bazz and Boatright in it.

Bazz had the benefit of Kemba at the 2 and DB only eating up 9 minutes a game.

Agree that JC will do what's best!

 

[intlzncster]

I don't know about 24 minutes, and getting SN freshman-year quantity of minutes. Is the coaching staff looking at sliding either over to the SG position? I didn't think we'd see much of any lineups with both Bazz and Boatright in it.

Bazz had the benefit of Kemba at the 2 and DB only eating up 9 minutes a game.

Agree that JC will do what's best!

No idea what kind of minutes RB will get, but I do think he and Bazz will play together often. KW and SN worked out well for us last year. RB is a little like Kemba in being able to score and not being all that big.

Whatever happens, we've got three really good guards. Hopefully Giff can take some minutes at the 2 and give us a 4th.

 

[Dann]

don't forget in all the bazz and boat talk that this should have been bazz's freshmen year. he has come a long way quick.

 

[jibsey]

I have not seen Boat in person or against competition, but the tapes from last year showed flashes of skills that Kemba had only last season, and he has more hops. We will know soon enough though.

 

[Dann]

in one video from last night i saw bazz lamb and boat standing next to each other. if bazz is 6ft then boat is no taller then 5'10. he was clearly 2 inches shorter

 

[61cygni]

Yeah I think most articles and reports have him at 5'10"

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I love Bazz. He was the perfect complimentary player to EZ pass last year. The great chemistry on last years team was attributable to having a player like the unselfish Bazz as Kemba's understudy. The team dynamic most likely was much stronger without the recruits that bypassed UConn ( Cory Joseph/Texas, Josh Selby/Kansas, Brandon Knight/Kentucky). Based on how last year turned out SN deserves the support of the whole UConn fan base. He is a smart kid and very likeable. I am simply taking a counter position as it relates to our incoming recruit Ryan Boatright and his ability to take over games regardless of his Freshman status. Of course this is speculation considering the fact the season has yet to start.

Ryan will have to earn it and I think he will before BE play starts. A 3 guard set for extended periods of time with Bazz, Boat & JL is what excites me about this season. Three great guards will equal a Final appearance in NO (JMHO). Lets take a step back to the year 2005 and the Illinois team. Deron Williams averaged a mere 12ppg and was arguably the best player in the country. Dee Brown was the face of college hoops that year and Luther Head always got the other teams #1 defender. In the regional final down by 15 with less then 4 minutes to go this 3 guard line up came storming back to beat a loaded Arizona team and eventually play NCAR for the championship. I am a strong proponent of using the 3 guard line up in college bball. With 3 guards the intent is to destroy the other team by simply wearing them out. Arizona's best player after that game was so worn out he couldn't take his jersey off and finally collapsed. Memphis will play very fast this year and I hope UConn implements it incorporating RB into the mix with big minutes. We shall see. Just my humble opinion of course.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

No idea what kind of minutes RB will get, but I do think he and Bazz will play together often. KW and SN worked out well for us last year. RB is a little like Kemba in being able to score and not being all that big.

Whatever happens, we've got three really good guards. Hopefully Giff can take some minutes at the 2 and give us a 4th.

I thought it was great the Bazz was the one setting up RB for the dunks. That they seem to get along is an important thing and I hope that it continues. Right now the leadership is in Bazz's hands and I hope he has the maturity to handle it positively. It would be awesome to see Bazz run the same backdoor plays for Ryan that he set up for Kemba. It would be hard to see how RB starting at PG would be a good thing for this team even if he is the more talented player. This team is still young and they will need a clear and accepted leader/floor general.

 

[60'sfan]

The talent is there but he has to prove he can play within the team concept.

He also has to show that he can defend. You don't play for Jim Calhoun unless you can defend.

 

[DogMania]

While you may be right- until you see a player on the floor in a real D1 game you really do not know what you have. He seems to have a great set of skills and we sure could use another guard that is good enough to challenge Bazz- however he would have to be " top 3" good for JC to take the rock out of Bazz's hands and give it to Boat. I do not see that happening. If it does we are Doomed!

I agree Scot-e, but based on his swagger from last night and what I've seen from him on TV playing for his high school team, I have a great deal of confidence that he's going to play with maturity beyond his years and at a very high level sooner than later. I'm not saying he's going to beat out Bazz at the point, but I'd say by the time it's all said and done, Boatright looks to me as the more overall talented player.

But lets all keep in mind that Ryan needs to show that he can defend in the half-court, keeping in front of his man and handling high screens which tends to be a struggle for most guards never mind the small ones. He will also show that he has learned the half-court offense if he's going to be the floor general at times. I have a feeling he's going to excel more off the ball initially than at the point.

Bazz not only has a year of experience on him, but one where he help lead the team to a national championship.

I think we'll be fine as far as guard play is concerned with those two and Lamb.

 

[hungry husky]

I think many of you are overhyping this guy...and unfortunately you'll initially probably be disappointed by the actual results of Boatright, Daniels, and Drummond. This a TEAM game...and Calhoun is going to be putting the onus on SB, AO, and JL for the first few months of the season. Unfortunately, there aren't enough basketballs for all of these guys to succeed, so I'm looking for the veterans to be the stars and the freshmen to slowly work their way up as primary options. IMO, the best we can hope for is 4-5 legitimate big time threats that can put up 20 points on any given night, but don't be surprised if RB, DD, or AD go 6-7 silent games.

 

[ctchamps]

I don't know about 24 minutes, and getting SN freshman-year quantity of minutes. Is the coaching staff looking at sliding either over to the SG position? I didn't think we'd see much of any lineups with both Bazz and Boatright in it.

Bazz had the benefit of Kemba at the 2 and DB only eating up 9 minutes a game.

Agree that JC will do what's best!

I can't see Shabazz playing Kemba's minutes this season. I'm guessing he will be 30-32 minutes a game. Same with Jeremy. So that would mean 18-20 minutes minimum for RB if he does the things which satisfies JC. I expect RB to be the 2 guard when he and Shabazz are playing together. I can easily see the three guard line up for 5-7 minutes a game when Lamb plays the 3, particularly against teams with great guard play or towards the end of the game when teams employ full court pressure to get back into games. But I'm just guessing.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I think many of you are overhyping this guy...and unfortunately you'll initially probably be disappointed by the actual results of Boatright, Daniels, and Drummond. This a TEAM game...and Calhoun is going to be putting the onus on SB, AO, and JL for the first few months of the season. Unfortunately, there aren't enough basketballs for all of these guys to succeed, so I'm looking for the veterans to be the stars and the freshmen to slowly work their way up as primary options. IMO, the best we can hope for is 4-5 legitimate big time threats that can put up 20 points on any given night, but don't be surprised if RB, DD, or AD go 6-7 silent games.

this is why they scheduled a weak ooc to prepare them for the big east. all the freshmen will have a tremendous impact. boatright will be on a shorter leash bc he's really only the other ball handler, maybe lamb too but bazz will have to mold him quickly. i don't think drummond will start off too slow, especially 6-10 275 with more talent and skill then any big man in recent years to come in as a freshman. i think daniels will be a nightmare match up for teams and he said he loves to run and thats great for a uconn team who loves to get out in transition