This tell me a lot about Napier and his leadership potential!

[ctchamps]

In the Journal Incquirer artitcle about RB, Shabazz discusses RB propensity to talk smack and run at the mouth:

Napier said Boatright’s personality is fine with his teammates, because he went about introducing himself the right way.

“Ryan’s from Chicago — even more, he’s a street basketball player, that’s what he was raised as,” the sophomore said. “Him telling everybody ‘You can’t guard me,’ or stuff like that, it’s not disrespectful, it’s just to get everybody else going. Where he comes from, when you play street ball and you go by somebody and you lay it up, you tell them, ‘You got to put in the work, or you better shut up.’ That’s lettin’ them know that you want them to keep pushing hard. We don’t look at it as disrespect, we look at it as he’s hot, trying to get us going, and we all come back at him.

“Ryan’s talkin’ trash, it’s never negative, it’s always positive. He lets people know it. He just didn’t come straight here this summer talking smack, he let everybody know what type of person he was by his personality and when he got comfortable with us, which we wanted him to do, and he put in the work, and he started telling us how he feels. That’s a great thing — you don’t want to play on the same team with somebody and misunderstand him, you want to know what to know what they’re talking about all the time.”

I expect there will be some fans who will be upset with RB. His personality will be either foreign to these people or unacceptable. And they will try to compromise Ryan, by getting people to join them in marginalizing Ryan. If the team struggles these individuals will point out team chemistry issues surround RB. This article says otherwise. The coach and team are perfectly comfortable with who Ryan is. Any projection by a fans discomfort towards Ryan onto the team will be a fabrication.

I'm really pleased the way Shabazz handled the interview. He really has a handle on personalities. And he is diplomatic how he approaches the media regarding his players. That will serve the team well and gain the respect of his team mates.

Link to article: http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2011/10/17/sports/doc4e9c4f34043b0095228037.txt

 

[EricLA]

that's some good stuff. keep that link handy for midseason misunderstandings by fans!!

 

[ctchamps]

that's some good stuff. keep that link handy for midseason misunderstandings by fans!!

I would but for the fact that it is our nature to alter any evidence that doesn't fit our distorted perspective of reality when an issue hits our hot button. Just consider this a useless preemptive strike on an inevitable future event.

 

[tykurez]

I like the quotes from Shabazz ... he seems to be mature beyond his years and I think he demonstrated that very early on last year.

As far as Boatright ... I see no issues there. Kemba was cocky on the court, and he showed it. You need to have a certain level of confidence to truly be successful in sports. I know this board can go overboard sometimes, but I'm curious about you jumping the gun about his personality being a hot subject around here. Perhaps it's inevitable that if this team were to struggle, part of the blame would fall on the new guys ... but I'm not sure I would jump to those conclusions just yet.

 

[ctchamps]

I like the quotes from Shabazz ... he seems to be mature beyond his years and I think he demonstrated that very early on last year.

As far as Boatright ... I see no issues there. Kemba was cocky on the court, and he showed it. You need to have a certain level of confidence to truly be successful in sports. I know this board can go overboard sometimes, but I'm curious about you jumping the gun about his personality being a hot subject around here. Perhaps it's inevitable that if this team were to struggle, part of the blame would fall on the new guys ... but I'm not sure I would jump to those conclusions just yet.

Obviously my hope and expectation is the team does well. And then you are correct, this would be a non issue and therefore premature.

I brought up three points. First, how well SN understands a complex personality like Ryan. Second, how Shabazz, the team and JC not only support RB's personality, but appreciate it and recognize the value it gives Ryan and the team. And third, there are some fans who can't relate to a personality like Ryan's and in their dislike for that type of personality will try to make a bigger issue than a personal distaste for him. They can't limit their distaste to a simple they don't like him, they would want to marginalize him.

I'm not looking for trouble, although it might appear otherwise. I was offering teaching points. I figure if the worst case scenario happens where expectations aren't met, RB would be a person who would be a lightening rod for attack by fans. If that scenario occurs, we will be too emotional about events and very little will be learned by anyone. I'm hoping one or two people who are trying to figure out how we act towards each other, will get a heads up about behavior.

You certainly are not one of those people who need my advice.

 

[warbler1055]

RB's play will determine his standing with the fans. Players in a championship team have to have ego and confidence. Whether they can back it up with their play is the main factor.

 

[61cygni]

I'm not gonna lie, I had some unease about Boatright's personality based on admittedly very few videos/interviews, and quotes from/about him. I think it's mostly because we haven't quite had a kid like this in a while. As long as it meshes with the coaches and players there's no problem though.

 

[Kitaman]

I think he heard this about himself last year from Kemba. Bazz is from Boston so he knows city ballers very well.

It really proves he listened and learned from the master.

 

[DieHardHusky]

DOOOOOOOOOMED if he talks like that in games...(sarcasm)

 

[DogMania]

I like the quotes from Shabazz ... he seems to be mature beyond his years and I think he demonstrated that very early on last year.

As far as Boatright ... I see no issues there. Kemba was cocky on the court, and he showed it. You need to have a certain level of confidence to truly be successful in sports. I know this board can go overboard sometimes, but I'm curious about you jumping the gun about his personality being a hot subject around here. Perhaps it's inevitable that if this team were to struggle, part of the blame would fall on the new guys ... but I'm not sure I would jump to those conclusions just yet.

I'm with you on this one, tykurez. UConn has had its share of trash talkers and many were revered. Donny Marshall, Khalid ElAmin, etc. The ones that do it lightheartedly where the teammates know they're just having some fun, have no problem with it. The ones that have big egos and a chip on their shoulder, on the other hand, can be disruptive to a team, particularly if the team is losing. When teams win, most players simply tune it out.

Based on what we saw during First Night, Boatshow, is exactly that. He's a fun exuberant personality that is the type that just can't help himself from talking and talking, but backs it up with his play. I think he's going to be refreshing for the team and not an issue with his teammates or the fans.

Let me contrast that with Dyson. Now I only observed Jerome from afar, but I noticed he often trash talked and seem to pick on some of his teammates. Some of them would go along with it, but it seemed to get under the skin with some of them and got a bit old. I'm not saying Dyson was a bad kid or had a chip on his shoulder. He was just seem to come across cold and unemotional, which I don't think played well with his teammates and fans particularly when they were losing and Dyson was playing poorly.

I'm not a big fan of trash talking, but realize it's part of sports culture now. As long as those who talk trash also talk up their teammates when they do good things or need some picking up, it's all good. It's when a player is always and only in their teammates' faces it can become a chemistry killer.

 

[DogMania]

There's a lot more to the article, which by the way was a nice read. Boy does that get me hoops juices going. I can't wait to see this team play, even if it's just the first exhibition game.

I'm sure most here are very familiar with the Day-1 killer Box-out drill that JC has used since day-1. A buddy of some of us who used to cover the men's team for an online-mag once told us that he and another writer watched the drill through a window at Gampel a number of years ago. He said it was brutal for some of the players especially when one of the little guys happened to be matched up with a string of big guys abusing them during the drill.

You can easily imagine someone like Boatright completely losing his legs after facing a few teammates who don't want find themselves completely spent out on the floor having to face teammate after teammate. Little to no mercy on this drill. I wonder against whom he was able to get those 3 consecutive rebounds and if that person eased off a bit. Probably wasn't the case.

If there ever was a group to watch go through this drill, this one is it. I would have loved to see AD and Alex go after it. I would love to see the length guys like Lamb, Roscoe and Daniels battle hard for rebounds.

As for the leadership talk in the article, I think the team is in good hands with Bazz & Ryan. We've had our share of good teams that lacked vocal leaders. Having vocal guys for your PGs is the best case scenario since they're the ones who usually have the ball in their hands leading the other 4 on the floor. It seems they have some quiet guys on the floor, though Lamb and Roscoe get a bit animated at times. I have a feeling this team, like last year, has the right mix of personalities to make for good chemistry on and off the court. Props to the coaching staff for recruiting the right mix of talent and personalities that should translate to another exciting and successful season.

 

[Donyell]

Well done fleud.

 

[Yonick]

I do believe Boatright will be a lot like Pete Rose. If he's on your team the players & fans will love him. If he's not on your team the opposition, players & fans, will hate him.

 

[intlzncster]

I do believe Boatright will be a lot like Pete Rose. If he's on your team the players & fans will love him. If he's not on your team the opposition, players & fans, will hate him.

Like JC too, albeit in a different fashion.

 

[alexd]

I do believe Boatright will be a lot like Pete Rose. If he's on your team the players & fans will love him. If he's not on your team the opposition, players & fans, will hate him.

Sorta like Khalid El-Amin. I can't think of too many fans of other BE teams that "liked" him...

 

[ctchamps]

I'm with you on this one, tykurez. UConn has had its share of trash talkers and many were revered. Donny Marshall, Khalid ElAmin, etc. The ones that do it lightheartedly where the teammates know they're just having some fun, have no problem with it. The ones that have big egos and a chip on their shoulder, on the other hand, can be disruptive to a team, particularly if the team is losing. When teams win, most players simply tune it out.

Based on what we saw during First Night, Boatshow, is exactly that. He's a fun exuberant personality that is the type that just can't help himself from talking and talking, but backs it up with his play. I think he's going to be refreshing for the team and not an issue with his teammates or the fans.

Let me contrast that with Dyson. Now I only observed Jerome from afar, but I noticed he often trash talked and seem to pick on some of his teammates. Some of them would go along with it, but it seemed to get under the skin with some of them and got a bit old. I'm not saying Dyson was a bad kid or had a chip on his shoulder. He was just seem to come across cold and unemotional, which I don't think played well with his teammates and fans particularly when they were losing and Dyson was playing poorly.

I'm not a big fan of trash talking, but realize it's part of sports culture now. As long as those who talk trash also talk up their teammates when they do good things or need some picking up, it's all good. It's when a player is always and only in their teammates' faces it can become a chemistry killer.

I would disagree that Jerome ever trash talked. The most I saw him do was stare an opposing player down. Jerome was not about talking on the court. This was his achilles heel. He closed up on the court. Leadership requires being present to others as well as yourself. He just tuned everyone and everything out. And this created the very demeanor you described. He did appear cold and mean.

And I feel that a lot of people mistakenly took this appearance as someone who was a bully or a punk and transferred their own distaste for punks and bullies onto Jerome. Furthermore if a fan felt this about Jerome he illogically concluded that Jerome appeared this way to his team mates.

Interestingly some of those same individuals who hated Jerome because he impacted his team mates on the court with his cold demeanor indicated he partied too much with his team mates off the court. That is a cross rough that makes no sense. If he was an irritable or frightening person his team mates wouldn't have associated with him off the court. Even if his persona switched off the court, people don't readily want to relate to other people that they find offensive.

I believe that Jerome was understood a lot better by his team mates than the fans.

Jerome was guilty of smoking pot and getting caught. His lifestyle habits did not agree with some people. It didn't matter that some of those people criticizing Jerome had similar lifestyles to Jerome. Put all this together and factor in a losing season where expectations are high and you get the vitriol that was directed at Jerome. He still gets marginalized by people, some of who can't give him credit for the positive things he did, and still love to point out his negatives.

Jerome is the exact person I had in mind in making my statement about Ryan. Ryan won't exhibit the same appearance on the court as Jerome. But he might very well display irritating behaviors to an observing fan, that, if he does, will be disapproved. And if the team struggles, the natural tendency is to find fault and blame. This is a lot different than critiquing. Ryan strikes me as someone who can become UConn's next scapegoat.

Which is why I'm impressed by Shabazz and that he clearly articulated the nature of Ryan and how that nature relates to the team. Shabazz gets that people might not understand Ryan and could come away with a different perspective than the coaches and team mates. I can't understate the importance this perception and declaration is by Shabazz regarding Ryan. JC could not articulate this as well because he has a flaw with oral communication. And none of the players who were Jerome's team mates had this skill either.