Too High Expectations

[Kitaman]

Not sure how to put this but what player did you have high expectations for but for whatever reason they did not reach 'your' expectation?


For me I would say Jalen Adams. In high school he was the shizzle (liked him over Briscoe), and he did had a good college career. I just felt he was AA material coming in.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Drummond. Ajou Deng.

 

[NowInStorrs]

Does Akok count? After a few games, I was sold. Then unfortunately that injury happened.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Marc Suhr.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

got a funny Marc Suhr story

was studying at Babbidge library all day, and then went into bathroom

most people think you only have 5 senses, but we also have a definite sense when someone is staring at us

im sitting in stall, and then person in stall next to me finishes and gets up...it was Marc Suhr...I realized this because he was far taller than the stall, so his head was towering above me...Im sitting on toliet in stall next to him, now looking up at him

his sixth sense kicked in, and he sensed he was being looked at, by me, still on toliet...

he looks down at me, and awkwardly says "Hallo" lol

had forgotten about that

 

[UofCT]

Majok
Brimah
Gilbert
Larrier

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I was at UConn 2004-05 though 2007-08, so in general, my expectations were super high all the time, especially since the team won the tournament my senior year of HS, going to every home game in the front row, feeling that energy....

That being said, I had very high expectations for Ed Nelson.

When you hear "ACC Rookie of the Year" you don't expect a guy to average less than ten minutes per game and, don't mean to be rude, someone who is more known today for his rap music than his work on the court.

That being said, I can't blame the guy for an underwhelming performance when he was fighting for playing time with the likes of Boone, Villanueva, Hilton, and my favorite player while at school: Jeff Adrien.

Looking at his per-40 stats, however, Nelson remained very consistent with his production, even with his lack of PT:

 

[Ricker]

Brimah? Defensive Player of the Year out of no ranking? I'll go Ajou Deng who I saw many times and was a believer.
Drummond I expected more from based on elite ranking. Gilbert but maybe he gets a pass due to injuries.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

There was a lot of hype from Ater Majok based on what he did to some chairs.

 

[RichZ]

Ajou Deng​

 

[imno1]

Rodney Purvis “The Ferrari in the garage“

 

[Sibeerian]

Ajou Deng for sure. On national TV, when he was redshirting or something, the camera found him on the bench in street clothes and the announcer said "And there's the next great one." Kind of heightens your expectations when that happens.

 

[willie99]

Majok
Brimah
Gilbert
Larrier

At least Brimah won a title, the others were overhyped and belong on this list

Along with AD, we stunk in 2012

Maybe Cohen-Minz (?). Afer Dove, I suppose he didn't have a chance

Suhr

Scott Hazelton? One of our few Burger Boys

 

[Vancat]

I’ll probably get flak for this, but Bouknight

 

[gtcam]

I’ll probably get flak for this, but Bouknight

Without a doubt

 

[aburks41]

I’ll probably get flak for this, but Bouknight

? He averaged nearly 19 points and 6 boards per game as a sophomore lol. That’s incredible

 

[Waquoit]

I'll go with Marcus Cox. He had a 5-star attitude with a 3-star game.

 

[alexd]

Ajou Deng for sure. On national TV, when he was redshirting or something, the camera found him on the bench in street clothes and the announcer said "And there's the next great one." Kind of heightens your expectations when that happens.

And that was during the 1999 title game!! Jim Nantz said the "next great one" comment and Billy Packer was a little more non-commital with his "He sure looks like a good one to me" response..

 

[alexd]

At least Brimah won a title, the others were overhyped and belong on this list

Along with AD, we stunk in 2012

Maybe Cohen-Minz (?). Afer Dove, I suppose he didn't have a chance

Suhr

Scott Hazelton? One of our few Burger Boys

Yes, but we all knew Hazelton got picked because he was from MA since the McD_AA game was in Boston.
Gilad Katz came in the fall after Nadav's one season. Tons of pressure there.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Majok
Brimah
Gilbert
Larrier

Majok I knew had a high bust potential -- he's exactly the sort of guy who's rated very highly on individual skills without much regard for whether or not (usually not) they translate into 5 on 5.

Brimah surprises me on this list. I expected nothing from him and he actually overperformed as a freshman. He just disappointed after that because he basically never improved.

Gilbert is tough because you don't know how he would have been without injury and I feel it's unfair to call that "too high expectations."

Larrier I also knew would disappoint. Way too many people put stock in his high school ranking and overlooked the fact that he averaged like 6 ppg on 35% shooting in a mid-major conference while showing bad decision-making. Again, a tweener who wows you in workouts and then it predictably doesn't translate to games.


For me personally, it has to be Drummond. Through-the-roof hype, physical gifts were clear, but it was also obvious that he had basically never been coached and was simply not a winning player. He's lucky he came out when he did -- 5-10 years later he might not even be a 1st round pick.

 

[Yankees32123]

I’ll probably get flak for this, but Bouknight

This is a wild take. Why? You expected the #69 recruit on ESPN to exceed 19ppg as a sophomore and being an NBA lottery pick?

 

[gtcam]

Not sure how to put this but what player did you have high expectations for but for whatever reason they did not reach 'your' expectation?


For me I would say Jalen Adams. In high school he was the shizzle (liked him over Briscoe), and he did had a good college career. I just felt he was AA material coming in.

Tough to say JA
Kid put the team on his back so many times

 

[gtcam]

This is a wild take. Why? You expected the #69 recruit on ESPN to exceed 19ppg as a sophomore and being an NBA lottery pick?

Smoke and mirrors
Yeah the kid had the goods but way too much baggage and many knew about it but decided to turn a blind eye.
He let the team down in so many ways - the story will come out some day.
I feel sorry for the kid but he is his own worse enemy and shame on those who knew and didn't step in.

 

[BattersonB]

Drummond. Ajou Deng.

Drummond was The Real Deal. It just took so long to get him processed and enrolled in school until he had no time to learn the system; no summer to practice with them, etc…He was just thrown into the mix. Had he been here early, we would have seen a much different Drummond, and the coaches may have had a chance to help him develop more offensive and defensive skills….but, of course, we will never know.

 

[uchuskies2009]

Curtis Kelly