We Have Found The [boat]RIGHT Leader

[husky711]

If Boatright doesn't start at the point, and play ~35 minutes a game (if not more) then it will be a very poor decision by the coaches. Boatright is the leader we need and is the facilitator/distributor that this offense has been lacking all year. Shabazz should be playing at the 2 when he is in the game, getting some time at the 1 only to give Boat a break. Boatright has the heart, the attitude, the VISION, and the talent to get this team out of its slump and fill the gaping hole Kemba's departure left in this team. He isn't Kemba, obviously, but he is as close as anyone can come to him in their freshman year. Not only is he an awesome talent with the skills that a PG needs (i.e. he understands how to draw the defenders to get his teammates open and then hit those OPEN teammates with the pass), but he simply has the attitude and leadership skills this team has been lacking.

Unfortunately I missed the first half and the first 6-7 minutes or so of the second half, so I don't know how things were in that period of time that I missed... but I know Boatright clearly showed that he is the PG we need to be using and following from here on out. He knows how to CREATE for his teammates and especially for the bigs. With Oriakhi and Drummond, we should have one of the best front courts in the nation... but it has been the exact opposite for much of the year thus far. Hopefully with a PG that knows how to reward his big men for getting in good position this team will be able to re-establish itself immediately! Not only does he know how to reward his teammates for getting position, but he knows how to get his teammates in good position without them even knowing it (i.e. the dish to Oriakhi for the dunk from the side today... he drew multiple defenders into the paint on him and dished it right to an open Oriakhi about 5 feet away for the dunk). That is a characteristic of a great PG who understands the game and understands he needs to make his teammates better.

The season ain't over yet ladies and gentlemen! Let's GO! Yeah yeah, I know the offense could've looked better today, but right now I'll take any positive I can get. Nearly every game we have from here on out is going to be a very tough one (Syracuse twice especially), so this team has no choice but to bring it EVERY night and to allow Boat to lead us in the right direction.

 

[FeedTheDove]

That spin pass to AO shows just how miles ahead the boat is from shabazz at being a PG. Hes spectacular. His shooting will click too.

 

[RuffRuff]

When I watch the interaction between Boatright and Nappier, it looks a lot more like Boatright who is leading Nappier. The kid just has natural presence on the floor and plays at a speed that the rest of the team feeds off of. He has the fast twitch quality as opposed to Shabazz, who just moves at a slower cadence. If that slower cadence resulted in a controlled, well run/lead team, it could work, but it doesn't. This team needs to push the tempo to generate offense.

 

[superjohn]

He's clearly our point guard and the leader of the team.

 

[caw]

I don't think Boatright knows the offense or defense as well as Napier, but (and it's a bit one) he is much more explosive and athletic which allows him that latitude.

I'm OK if Napier turns into a more offensively dangerous Ricky Moore.

 

[huskymagic]

If Boatright doesn't start at the point, and play ~35 minutes a game (if not more) then it will be a very poor decision by the coaches. Boatright is the leader we need and is the facilitator/distributor that this offense has been lacking all year. Shabazz should be playing at the 2 when he is in the game, getting some time at the 1 only to give Boat a break. Boatright has the heart, the attitude, the VISION, and the talent to get this team out of its slump and fill the gaping hole Kemba's departure left in this team. He isn't Kemba, obviously, but he is as close as anyone can come to him in their freshman year. Not only is he an awesome talent with the skills that a PG needs (i.e. he understands how to draw the defenders to get his teammates open and then hit those OPEN teammates with the pass), but he simply has the attitude and leadership skills this team has been lacking.

Unfortunately I missed the first half and the first 6-7 minutes or so of the second half, so I don't know how things were in that period of time that I missed... but I know Boatright clearly showed that he is the PG we need to be using and following from here on out. He knows how to CREATE for his teammates and especially for the bigs. With Oriakhi and Drummond, we should have one of the best front courts in the nation... but it has been the exact opposite for much of the year thus far. Hopefully with a PG that knows how to reward his big men for getting in good position this team will be able to re-establish itself immediately! Not only does he know how to reward his teammates for getting position, but he knows how to get his teammates in good position without them even knowing it (i.e. the dish to Oriakhi for the dunk from the side today... he drew multiple defenders into the paint on him and dished it right to an open Oriakhi about 5 feet away for the dunk). That is a characteristic of a great PG who understands the game and understands he needs to make his teammates better.

The season ain't over yet ladies and gentlemen! Let's GO! Yeah yeah, I know the offense could've looked better today, but right now I'll take any positive I can get. Nearly every game we have from here on out is going to be a very tough one (Syracuse twice especially), so this team has no choice but to bring it EVERY night and to allow Boat to lead us in the right direction.

excellent post husky711 and this is so clear that there should not even be a discussion, debate,etc about who the leader and point guard of this team is and that man is Ryan Boatright who needs to play all 40 minutes if possible at the point. Boatright elevates the play of everyone around him and Oriakhi and Drummond were happy, playing hard, making shots because of Boat's visions, explosiveness, elite penetration ability etc.
Also Roscoe and Drummond were key catalysts on defense with their intensity and effort that helped propel our offense. No question that Boat, Lamb, Roscoe, Oriakhi and Drummond should all play 30 minutes and more every single game for us if we want to win a title which we can still do this year with these 5 guys. There should be no questions anymore as to who are our best and most important players are. The curse of the Scoe has been lifted. When Roscoe is playing big minutes, smiling and playing with the effort and intensity he showed today, that always bode well for UConn.

 

[Fishy]

The only thing that remains to be seen is how some of you will find a way to blame Napier for Boat's next bad performance.

 

[Giddyup5]

I think all this talk of the "leader of the team" is a little exaggerated from our perspective as fans. I think sometimes we confuse passion with leadership. Boat plays with great passion and I believe all the players feed off him and Roscoe. He has great body language on the court and as a fan many times we interpret that as "leadership."

True leadership is what happens in the huddles, off the court behind closed doors, after tough losses, when your head coach takes a medical leave. These are things that we as fans don't see first hand.

So I am going to to stop worrying about who the "leader" of the team is because quite honestly, only the players and coaching staff know what is going on when they are not on the court.

I just want our guys to play hard every night and Boat (along with Scoe) consistently plays with the kind of passion that can rally the team every night. Beyond that, I believe Boat has the physical tools to be what this team needs out of the PG position. I like having Bazz as the SG.

 

[Kitaman]

I don't think he has to lead or be the leader this season. He simply needs to energize this team, which he does very well.

Bazz is fine when his game is on, and along with AO have some idea of what it takes. They need to play well to earn the 'leadership' respect. But both are qualified but to date seem too focused on their ineffective play.

However I would be surprised if RB is not named a captain next year.

 

[rw005]

I'm down with 3 guards in the lineup.

If Virginia can do it, we can.

 

[willie99]

Boat had a great game, but the entire team just played with more energy

 

[dogpause]

I agree with Willie. The thing I notice is that when Boatright is in the game, the bigs are more active. They know their efforts will be rewarded if they get into position to receeive a pass in scoring position.

 

[husky711]

The only thing that remains to be seen is how some of you will find a way to blame Napier for Boat's next bad performance.

In all fairness, I haven't bashed Napier at all in any of my posts stating how I want to see Boat play the point more. Not sure where you came up with this comment... but I haven't blamed Napier for anything. If anything, I've tried to make it very clear in my posts that I don't see Napier as the main issue. The main issue is the ENTIRE team not playing together, Lamb shooting poorly at times, etc. However, it is very easy to see on the court that Boatright is a vocal leader and has a strong will to win. Not only this, but his presence at the point almost instantly gets the offense much more productive. Yeah, everyone on the team had an increased level of energy... but that is a product of Boatright running the point. When you have a kid that is hustling his ass off and working to get you in good position, then hits you with the pass when you are wide open... you are going to be much more willing to play with high energy to help make plays. It is like a contagious quality. I'm not saying I don't want Napier on the court at all... I'd just rather see him at the 2 for the most part and only at the 1 when needed to relieve Boatright. Napier just doesn't understand the concept of making his teammates better, and that is NOT an insult toward him. Some people just aren't as good at it as others... and Boatright, thus far, seems to be pretty darn good at it. I know for a fact that Napier wants to be the leader and the PG that we need right now... it just doesn't seem that he has the natural instincts of Boatright to do so. And when Boatright has a bad game... I surely won't blame it against Napier. However, if it is because Napier ran the point for the majority of the game and Boat didn't get much time at the point... then I will blame the coaching staff as that isn't the best way to utilize either of their talents.

 

[husky711]

I agree with Willie. The thing I notice is that when Boatright is in the game, the bigs are more active. They know their efforts will be rewarded if they get into position to receeive a pass in scoring position.

BINGO! Exactly what I've noticed recently. People say that we are playing better because the entire team is more energized... yet they don't seem to correlate that "team energy" with Boat running the point. The team is more energized because they know they will be rewarded for their efforts more often. Heck, they're rewarded even when they don't work for position (i.e. Boat's spin pass to Oriakhi who was standing off to the side... Boat drew all the defenders in on him and then dished it to an open Oriakhi... THAT type of play is what will get your teammates playing for you).

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Nice post. The Boat can dock in New Orleans. Just glad he has the keys.

 

[baldinghusky]

It's kind of unreal to me how quickly people have forgotten just how good Napier was a couple of months ago. I'm not a huge fan of his -- never liked the long shots early in the clock, or the gambling on D -- but how anyone can miss that he simply does not look like the same player he did early is beyond me.

 

[Prezidint]

The only thing that remains to be seen is how some of you will find a way to blame Napier for Boat's next bad performance.

Napier advised Boatright to solicit body-control and ball-valuation advice from Jerome Dyson. 2 birds. 1 stone.

 

[ctchamps]

It's kind of unreal to me how quickly people have forgotten just how good Napier was a couple of months ago. I'm not a huge fan of his -- never liked the long shots early in the clock, or the gambling on D -- but how anyone can miss that he simply does not look like the same player he did early is beyond me.

Ah grasshopper! There are people who need constant gratification and if they can't get that, they have to find something to blame. This is not a new development. It has been going on "like" forever and the Boneyard has had examples of it since before my time! It would be beyond me that anyone would be surprised by this if I hadn't already observed that people have already expressed your incredulousness over similar things many times over.

If you don't get I'm just having some fun at your expense, I apologize in advance. Not everyone is tuned in to human behavior, so behavioral patterns will slip by many people. It is something I have focused on for some time now.

 

[ctchamps]

Napier advised Boatright to solicit body-control and ball-valuation advice from Jerome Dyson. 2 birds. 1 stone.

I had a small wager with myself that you or chief would come out with something like this. Glad you didn't disappoint. If the team continues to lose, Shabazz will be given the Dyson treatment by a lot of Boneyarders. We need to scapegoat.