Thoughts on SMU and Next Year

[huskymagic]

Well fellow boneyarders and UCONN fanatics today was emblematic of a really dysfunctional team we had this year. The team never had good chemistry and Boat didn't have it in him to be a transcendent point guard that we are used to having. This game was ripe for the taking and Boatright had one of his most horrible games of his UCONN career. Sad way for him to go out similar to Dyson and Stanley.

Rodney Purvis was fantastic and this game would have been a huge blowout without him and his effort today. As much as I have criticized him, I like to think I have motivated him to become the player he was expected to be and that should give us hope next year. The addition of Jalen Adams(little Westbrook as I call him) and Steven Enoch and hopefully Bruce Brown along with the improvements in Purvis, Hamilton, Brimah, and Rakim Lubin and we have a team that can win it all next year. The team will have much better team chemistry next year, more focus, and more talent on the roster.

Do not despair. We are UCONN and No one will stop us from #5 next year. LET's GO!

 

[minidarren]

Oh jesus....

Where are the thoughts on SMU? Will there be a volume 2?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Unfair to Boatright. No amount of "transcendence" was taking this team anywhere.

As far as Purvis: I can safely say that anything he did had zero to do with your effort to "motivate" him. That you would even say that is, "quite frankly," insanity.

 

[superjohn]

Well fellow boneyarders and UCONN fanatics today was emblematic of a really dysfunctional team we had this year. The team never had good chemistry and Boat didn't have it in him to be a transcendent point guard that we are used to having. This game was ripe for the taking and Boatright had one of his most horrible games of his UCONN career. Sad way for him to go out similar to Dyson and Stanley.

Rodney Purvis was fantastic and this game would have been a huge blowout without him and his effort today. As much as I have criticized him, I like to think I have motivated him to become the player he was expected to be and that should give us hope next year. The addition of Jalen Adams(little Westbrook as I call him) and Steven Enoch and hopefully Bruce Brown along with the improvements in Purvis, Hamilton, Brimah, and Rakim Lubin and we have a team that can win it all next year. The team will have much better team chemistry next year, more focus, and more talent on the roster.

Do not despair. We are UCONN and No one will stop us from #5 next year. LET's GO!

Yes, it was you who motivated Purvis. You are the main reason for Rodney's success and I expect with the work you put in with him this offseason Rodney will be an All-American next season.

 

[Palatine]

Unfair to Boatright. No amount of "transcendence" was taking this team anywhere.

As far as Purvis: I can safely say that anything he did had zero to do with your effort to "motivate" him. That you would even say that is, "quite frankly," insanity.

C'mon. Love Boat. He has a ring. Why do make me do this?

But he never got that leadership thing. We needed a guy who had six assists a game. He needed to help a young team mature. He needed great body language. He needed to knock down foul shots at the end of games. He needed to stop runs that got us down double digits, like a stopper on baseball pitching staff.

Maybe that was too much to ask. But at some point you have to ask why Hamilton got Brimah dunks and Boat couldn't, when we needed someone to settle us down, to get to the free throw line to stop run, when we needed someone to take charge...

He did it sometimes. But when you think about this team being inconsistent, it's leader was inconsistent.

I respect Ryan as I respect every Husky who has donned a uniform. I wish him every success in the future. But I believe my eyes and that is what I saw this season.

Now let's win the NIT.

 

[CTBasketball]

The casual fan will brush this off as a loss and a disappointing season.

But watching Boat sit on the bench after he fouled out killed me. I almost threw up and I feel sick to my stomach. I've never wanted one UConn player to win more, and deserved to win, more than Ryan. That's life though, and it sucks.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I like to think I have motivated him to become the player he was expected to be and that should give us hope next year.

Yup it was all you son HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[BluffCityHsky]

Both my faith healer and palm reader told me Daniel Hamilton will have over 5 rebounds next game

 

[CallMeBruce]

C'mon. Love Boat. He has a ring. Why do make me do this?

But he never got that leadership thing. We needed a guy who had six assists a game. He needed to help a young team mature. He needed great body language. He needed to knock down foul shots at the end of games. He needed to stop runs that got us down double digits, like a stopper on baseball pitching staff.

Maybe that was too much to ask. But at some point you have to ask why Hamilton got Brimah dunks and Boat couldn't, when we needed someone to settle us down, to get to the free throw line to stop run, when we needed someone to take charge...

He did it sometimes. But when you think about this team being inconsistent, it's leader was inconsistent.

I respect Ryan as I respect every Husky who has donned a uniform. I wish him every success in the future. But I believe my eyes and that is what I saw this season.

Now let's win the NIT.

This is all so monumentally stupid, I don't even know where to start. Boat was a tire fire today, but this team lost games because he was flying solo far too often this season. He can't make shots for other people, and that's all there is to it. All of the bonehead husky magic garbage about "making other people better" can only go so far, and it's so frustrating to read this kind of crap all the time. This team was a disappointment this year because we didn't get what we needed from Brimah, Purvis, Hamilton, Nolan, Calhoun, or Samuel with any consistency. If any one of those guys had stepped up the way that Boatright did this year, we wouldn't be in the NIT.

 

[buddy]

I thought that everyone tried their very best and we need to continue to support them. The season is not over, they can win the NIT and give the world a chance to see the support that UConn has at MSG. I suspect that the remaining players will develop over the summer and next year will be fantastic. I can't wait to see the tremendous improvement that our bigs will make by next year, as well as the experience that our head coach has gained this year. Congratulations to Ryan Boatright for the outstanding year that he had. I believe that he will have a great future in the NBA. Let's bring home the NIT trophy. ( A lot of the teams in the NIT are a lot better than those in the NCAA tourney after all.) Things look very promising for the future of UConn basketball and athletics in general. Let's win the NIT and carry it over to next year. A new beginning is on the horizon.

 

[nycscooby]

I thought that everyone tried their very best and we need to continue to support them. The season is not over, they can win the NIT and give the world a chance to see the support that UConn has at MSG. I suspect that the remaining players will develop over the summer and next year will be fantastic. I can't wait to see the tremendous improvement that our bigs will make by next year, as well as the experience that our head coach has gained this year. Congratulations to Ryan Boatright for the outstanding year that he had. I believe that he will have a great future in the NBA. Let's bring home the NIT trophy. ( A lot of the teams in the NIT are a lot better than those in the NCAA tourney after all.) Things look very promising for the future of UConn basketball and athletics in general. Let's win the NIT and carry it over to next year. A new beginning is on the horizon.

Things look very promising for the future of UConn basketball? What world do you live in?

 

[pnow15]

As Jack Nicholson might say, "Sell crazy elsewhere."

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

C'mon. Love Boat. He has a ring. Why do make me do this?

But he never got that leadership thing. We needed a guy who had six assists a game. He needed to help a young team mature. He needed great body language. He needed to knock down foul shots at the end of games. He needed to stop runs that got us down double digits, like a stopper on baseball pitching staff.

Maybe that was too much to ask. But at some point you have to ask why Hamilton got Brimah dunks and Boat couldn't, when we needed someone to settle us down, to get to the free throw line to stop run, when we needed someone to take charge...

He did it sometimes. But when you think about this team being inconsistent, it's leader was inconsistent.

I respect Ryan as I respect every Husky who has donned a uniform. I wish him every success in the future. But I believe my eyes and that is what I saw this season.

Now let's win the NIT.

This is a tremendous pile of horse____ on a number of different levels, but the first two points, that he "never got that leadership thing" - absurd - and didn't have enough assists on a team that was as offensively limited as any UConn team I've ever seen are just so ridiculous that it's not worth it to respond. Agree to disagree. I suppose maybe had he gotten the hang of driving and kicking out to himself the assist numbers would have been better.

 

[Northbound]

I thought that everyone tried their very best and we need to continue to support them. The season is not over, they can win the NIT and give the world a chance to see the support that UConn has at MSG. I suspect that the remaining players will develop over the summer and next year will be fantastic. I can't wait to see the tremendous improvement that our bigs will make by next year, as well as the experience that our head coach has gained this year. Congratulations to Ryan Boatright for the outstanding year that he had. I believe that he will have a great future in the NBA. Let's bring home the NIT trophy. ( A lot of the teams in the NIT are a lot better than those in the NCAA tourney after all.) Things look very promising for the future of UConn basketball and athletics in general. Let's win the NIT and carry it over to next year. A new beginning is on the horizon.

You're drunk go home.

 

[buddy]

Things look very promising for the future of UConn basketball? What world do you live in?

National flag blue and white. See you at the garden NYC for the NIT final?

 

[CL82]

As Jack Nicholson might say, "Sell crazy elsewhere."

The actual quote is more appropriate:
"Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here."

 

[UConn_Top_Dog]

Well it is up to SMU now to represent the AAC. They probably won't win it all, I mean they are not UConn. They wish they were like us, and I hope they go all the way, but I just don't see it happening. The only time the AAC has any hope of making noise in the Big Dance is when we are playing in it.

I am not expecting much from Cincinnati, but if they upset UK all the grief of missing the tourney will be gone for me. There is nothing more sickening than having to watch UK complete an undefeated run all the way to a title.

 

[zls44]

But at some point you have to ask why Hamilton got Brimah dunks and Boat couldn't

Because Hamilton is a half-foot taller?

 

[UConnDad]

Well I for one wish the OP had motivated the rest of the team along with Rodney. He did a good job with him. So regarding next season spread the motivation around a little more. Oh, and if you can do anything for the NIT don't hold back we're still playing. Thanks in advance.

 

[Kitaman]

But when you think about this team being inconsistent, it's leader was inconsistent.

Pal some things you don't do or say to a four year player who sacrificed 3 years behind an AA guard.
But I'll speak for him since he can't respond.

This is Boat looking at you and saying You!

 

[Kembacity]

Honestly, all joking aside, if you are going to say anything bad about Boatright, look at yourself and what you've done today/this week

You can't expect a kid to constantly do something bigger and better on his own than his amazing predecessors have done. Kid was huge for coming back this past year, just think about how disgusting the season would have been without him playing out his heart on the court every night. Take away game winners, and giving us excitement and a reason to keep cheering hard during the AAC tourney, think about the impact he had on the young guys being there this year in the trenches.

I'm not one to say you cant be critical of a player ever... but be objective about it, dont diminish everything he gave to the university and team, his contributions to the championship run last year which were enormous, all because he couldn't score 25 every game or hit massive 3's in a row under pressure to save game after game. This man is not Kemba Walker and he's not Shabazz Napier.

If he was 2-3 inches taller, he would be

 

[mauconnfan]

Boat was more than I thought he would ever be as a leader and PG this year. He was fantastic, I feel awful for him to have to think about his last game (minus NIT) going the way it did for him and the team. Hopefully he has a short memory and instead thinks of everything he has accomplished as a player over 4 years and even more so as a MAN.

Thank you Ryan, a special Husky for sure!

 

[tzznandrew]

This is a tremendous pile of horse____ on a number of different levels, but the first two points, that he "never got that leadership thing" - absurd - and didn't have enough assists on a team that was as offensively limited as any UConn team I've ever seen are just so ridiculous that it's not worth it to respond. Agree to disagree. I suppose maybe had he gotten the hang of driving and kicking out to himself the assist numbers would have been better.

Seriously. How many times did he kick it to an open shooter only for there to be a pump-fake rather than an open shot.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Seriously. How many times did he kick it to an open shooter only for there to be a pump-fake rather than an open shot.

This team has to hold the all-time record for passing up open shots.

 

[tzznandrew]

This team has to hold the all-time record for passing up open shots.

And the two biggest culprits, Hamilton and Purvis, can f'in shoot. 34% and 36% from 3 respectively...despite pump-faking themselves into more difficult shot attempts.