I do largely agree with most of this assessment of our program (although that 17-14 team in 2007 did not make the NIT), but I do think that this season could fit into the first phase of the cycle. We lost a ton from our championship team a year ago, and while Boat did come back, everyone else on the roster got their first taste of being relied upon as a consistent contributor at UConn. We are a young team. According to KenPom, we are 284th in the country in average experience. I envision next year playing out similar to 2008; a group of emerging players realizing how good they can be after a disappointing year.
We have some good things going for us. We all expect Hamilton to be a stud, starting as soon as next year. Purvis has played great basketball in March, and perhaps this is overly optimistic, but when Boat went out yesterday and we needed someone to step up, it seemed to finally "click" with Purvis how talented he is when he slashes to the hoop. Brimah has some major flaws in his game, but he's also already an elite shotblocker and finisher of lobs and dump-offs (#1 Block% and #3 True Shooting% in the entire country). Keep in mind that Brimah did not get a full summer of development due to offseason shoulder issues. In my opinion, most of Brimah's issues stem from his lack of physical strength. He will finally get an offseason to really focus on putting on weight (I also think players like Hamilton, Facey, etc. will greatly benefit from adding weight/strength in the offseason). It's tough to judge incoming freshmen, but Jalen Adams looks like a bonafide stud equipped with the swagger that we've had from our most recent championship winning PGs.
If we keep our core in tact (which granted, could be a big if), we should have one of the best starting lineups in the country in 2017, regardless of what recruits we bring in. This will be the phase 3 of our development:
2017 Starting 5
PG: Sophomore Jalen Adams
SG: Senior Rodney Purvis
SF: Junior Daniel Hamilton
PF: Senior Facey/Sophomore Enoch/Junior Lubin
C: Senior Brimah
It's unclear who our 4 of the future is at this point, but that team would be loaded if our players follow the traditional development curve. There's always a chance that Hamilton, Purvis, Adams, or Brimah could leave early for the NBA, but this season showed that they all still have a lot of work to do.
I'm as disappointed with some of our recent recruiting misses as anyone, but the "sky is falling" types are off base. We still have a great core of young players who should continue to improve and develop together. I'll be excited to watch them grow every step along the way.
