Watched Wahab play last night

[CL82]

Boone is way better than anyone in our frontcourts, way better.

Boone had a great freshman year. I'd take that again in heartbeat.

 

[RichZ]

always give the left-right-left,etc side shakes

That's just inviting travel calls.

I see him being too raw offensively to start Day 1.

Please check out our current front court. We have been starting 5s much less ready than him for several years now.

 

[Son of Robert]

Josh Boone was tough inside. Tough! Olde school UConn player. Real physical player who battled for rebounds and put backs. Kind of like Voskhul inside; didn't score all that much, but contributed mightily in every other aspect of power 4/5 post play. We're not winning without them. Both these guys had really good basketball IQ, had the strength to hold their position, and pass the ball.

We need guys like Boone to get back to winning.

 

[Mister P]

Nice ... no ... awesome 1st post. I think he sounds like a Brimah, which was also my thought after seeing his video.

I don’t sound anything like Brimah and I’m only 5’-11”.

 

[LStudfellow]

Actually, if it was not for Josh Boone in the National Semi-Final game against Duke, we would not have won our 2nd title in 2004.

To recap: not only did he have 9 points and much more importantly 14 rebounds (14 rebounds... In a Final Four game... as a freshman!), he helped keep us within shouting distance while Emeka sat out much of the first half with 2 fouls.

Furthermore, during our amazing comeback at the end of that game, he made several awesome BB IQ plays that led directly to us winning... the fact Calhoun even had him in the game over Charlie Villanueva throughout that run says a heck of a lot right there, as Calhoun would rarely play a freshman at the end of big games:

1. With the score 75-72 Duke and 1:35 left, he dove on the floor (on defense), grabbing a loose ball off of a block by Emeka and called timeout before sliding out of bounds or allowing a Duke player to get their hands on the ball causing a tie up and a jump ball (the possession arrow was in Duke's favor at that point).

2. With score 75-74 he played excellent D against Luol Deng on a 3-pointer, forcing Deng to alter his shot just enough so that it hit iron. Good guys rebound with 45 seconds left.

3. Then, on that next trip down the floor, on our most important offensive possession of the game, Emeka misses a contested 6-foot fade away... but who is johnnie on the spot? Josh Boone, who out-positions Deng to tip the ball back over to Emeka, who makes a strong move to the hoop off the scramble and hits a lay-in to give us our first lead since early in the first half.

In fact, going back and re-watching it reminded me of just how important Josh Boone was to us winning that 2nd National Title. 3 HUGE plays in that game against Duke, all of which illustrated his high level of skill and mental acuity.

So, I would say yes... in fact, EMPHATICALLY YES, we would all love it if Wahab were to be like Josh Boone, particularly next year in his freshman year.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

There ain’t nothing wrong with Boone....kid was under appreciated in terms of defense and rebounding. I will never forget how he held down middle during 2004 early rounds of big east tournament with okafor hurt. I would sign up for another Boone in a heartbeat.

Even with no semblance of a jump shot Boone would be light years better than anyone we have in the front court. Defends like hell, runs like a deer, pounds the glass, screens well, you can throw it in to him and he knows what to do with it.

 

[djct1999]

In summary, Josh Boone was very good and our current frontcourt not so much.

 

[Towney007]

Anyone comparing anyone in our current front court to Josh Boone needs a lobotomy.

 

[RichZ]

In fact, going back and re-watching it reminded me of just how important Josh Boone was to us winning that 2nd National Title. 3 HUGE plays in that game against Duke, all of which illustrated his high level of skill and mental acuity.

So, I would say yes... in fact, EMPHATICALLY YES, we would all love it if Wahab were to be like Josh Boone, particularly next year in his freshman year.

Not to mention how important he was (16 boards!) in the BE semifinal against the evil leprechauns from the golden shower err, dome, while Mek rested his troublesome back.

 

[mussels]

Even with no semblance of a jump shot Boone would be light years better than anyone we have in the front court. Defends like hell, runs like a deer, pounds the glass, screens well, you can throw it in to him and he knows what to do with it.

He also had a particularly beautiful and fluid free throw stroke.

 

[Dove]

Thanks Mauconnfan. Gonna try and get to Alexandria today to catch the second of his back to back games and get my other sons to come and wear their UConn gear. To paraphrase Chief from a previous thread “it doesn’t hurt to wear your UCONN gear to help recruiting” I’m sure Q knows who is committing to but I want to show him that we want him.

I'm sure it's too late but breaking out into the Big Red chant would have been sweet as hell.

 

[UconnFanDC]

Went to QWs game last night in Richmond against Trinity Episcopal and sat right behind his bench. My son and I had on our UCONN gear which he saw and looked at us many times. Unofficial head stats had him at 23-13-3-3. Played against 6’-7’ 4*Henry Coleman ( UVA and VT heavy on him ) and 6’-11” Burke Smith ( Ivies and other VA schools looking at him ). Both class of 2020. Coleman is the real deal. Scored from all over the floor.

What I liked...very vocal on offensive posssesions calling for the ball. Nice soft touch from 12’ and in. He looked to score when in the paint with the ball. Made foul shots. He had a baby jump hook shot from 6’ and in that was unstoppable when he had single coverage on him. Contested shots on D when given the chance. Played all 32 minutes and held up well.
Needs work on...beefing up. Not as wide and solid as I thought he would be. Still growing so this can be accomplished. Offensive moves. When he had the ball down low he would always give the left-right-left,etc side shakes trying to get his defender to commit one way or the other. At times, this gave enough time for the guards to drop back down and strip the ball from him or force him to abandon his shot. Coachable. Foot work on D was ok just needs to work a little bit on positioning.
The opposition team was taking mainly perimeter shots so he wasn’t as dominant on D in this game.
I see him as a 4 yr guy with plenty of upside. Not a starter his freshmen year but someone who can get minutes and contribute.
I shook his hand after the game and said “ good game Q. I’ll be watching on the 30th and hoping that you choose the good guys “ as I pointed to my husky shirt. He then grinned.

This is how we as fans can make a difference. Fans gotta do more then complain on BY for things we can't change.

 

[Mister P]

Even with no semblance of a jump shot Boone would be light years better than anyone we have in the front court. Defends like hell, runs like a deer, pounds the glass, screens well, you can throw it in to him and he knows what to do with it.

Totally agree. He knew what his roll was and parlayed that to being a 1st round NBA pick after only 3 yrs of CBB. IF, we get Wahab and there’s comparisons between him and JB then I will take that player any day of the week.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Did anyone in this thread say Boone was bad? He was a first round pick.

 

[StepbackCity]

If this team wants to be an NCAA team next year, Carlton needs to be a backup center not our starter.

The rate he’s growing right now makes this a stretch. He’s only going to get better and was the best big on the court during the Cincy and SMU game.

 

[Matrim55]

The rate he’s growing right now makes this a stretch. He’s only going to get better and was the best big on the court during the Cincy and SMU game.

He was really good 3 of the last 4 games. It's nice to see.

But there's no guarantee he's going to keep that up, or that he can do this consistently against top 25-level teams. Fingers crossed.

 

[gampelcrazies]

The rate he’s growing right now makes this a stretch. He’s only going to get better and was the best big on the court during the Cincy and SMU game.

I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it

 

[UconnU]

I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it

I hope he gets motivated during the off season and works with Sal nonstop on his strength, agility, & conditioning because he has really good basketball instincts and is technically sound.

 

[gtcam]

Boone had a great freshman year. I'd take that again in heartbeat.

Agreed
But it didn't hurt Boone to have the cast he had around him that 1st year
He got a lot of garbage bounds and was able to do more because the attention paid to others but he was better all around as a frosh than the bigs UConn has now
Booney was a really good fit for UConn
This is the type of kid that UConn needs

 

[2Infinity]

I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it

Josh is growing right before our eyes. Growth is rarely linear, it happens in spurts, but something is starting to click for him and he’s riding with it. Setbacks will still happen, as they do with most, but IMO, I think he’s just climbed another rung on the ladder.

 

[Ewekon]

I am with @Matrim55 with this one. I see him being too raw offensively to start Day 1. He would play at least 20 minutes next year because of his defense/rebounding, and maybe he is a starter late in the year.

Need a grad transfer big with QW, Precious and some addition by subtraction.

 

[glastonbury50]

Have we offered QW yet?

 

[HooperScooper]

Have we offered QW yet?

Huh?

 

[glastonbury50]

Huh?

have we made Wahab an offer?

 

[CAHUSKY]

have we made Wahab an offer?

Huh?