We invested is Hasheem, why not Amida?

[dogpause]

I understand he's got some major holes in his game right now, but he's also got more upside than Nolan. His shot blocking alone makes our defense much better, I think he'll improve his rebounding and scoring at a reasonable pace if KO just puts him in there and lets him play.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Tyler at the 4 with Brimah at the 5. Neither DD, nor Gifey is ever going to be anything but a liability at the 4. They are at the position on the scorecard only, IMO. It's time to let Brimah get some OJT.

 

[James]

I understand he's got some major holes in his game right now, but he's also got more upside than Nolan. His shot blocking alone makes our defense much better, I think he'll improve his rebounding and scoring at a reasonable pace if KO just puts him in there and lets him play.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Tyler at the 4 with Brimah at the 5. Neither DD, nor Gifey is ever going to be anything but a liability at the 4. They are at the position on the scorecard only, IMO. It's time to let Brimah get some OJT.

If Brimah plays an extended amount of minutes our defense actually turns to . He has a high center of gravity , gets pushed around too much. Often out of position. Olander might be the only hope, he's got actual girth.

 

[Ts5034]

I agree. I think Brimah will get better with in game experience. I feel the same about Facey as well and I said this in another thread.

 

[mauconnfan]

Let's just not suggest any more to have 2 bigs in at the same time unless we are playing a zone……Tyler/AB or PN/Tyler etc etc……no good! None of them sparkle on man defensively and our options are down to very little on the offensive end and we're easier to guard at that point……..

 

[UConn990411]

I don't think we should be comparing Brimah with Hasheem, considering Thabeet was about 1,000 times better as a freshman. Just look at the numbers:

Thabeet: 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 2.6 fouls per game in 24.5 minutes.
Brimah: 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.4 fouls per game in 12.9 minutes.

So, to summarize, Brimah has about as many fouls as he has blocked shocks through 13 games, and he's averaging a pitiful 5 rebounds per 36 minutes.

With Thabeet, you knew right away he would be an elite starting center because of his defensive presence, even if he never developed into a good offensive player. With Brimah, on the other hand, there's no guarantee he turns into anything more than a backup.

(And that's not even mentioning that the 2006-07 team had all freshmen and sophomores, so they had no choice but to develop players for the future. This year's team is in win-now mode, and at the moment Nolan is the better option at center.)

 

[TheChamps990411]

I don't think we should be comparing Brimah with Hasheem, considering Thabeet was about 1,000 times better as a freshman. Just look at the numbers:

Thabeet: 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 2.6 fouls per game in 24.5 minutes.
Brimah: 2.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.4 fouls per game in 12.9 minutes.

So, to summarize, Brimah has about as many fouls as he has blocked shocks through 13 games, and he's averaging a pitiful 5 rebounds per 36 minutes.

With Thabeet, you knew right away he would be an elite starting center because of his defensive presence, even if he never developed into a good offensive player. With Brimah, on the other hand, there's no guarantee he turns into anything more than a backup.

(And that's not even mentioning that the 2006-07 team had all freshmen and sophomores, so they had no choice but to develop players for the future. This year's team is in win-now mode, and at the moment Nolan is the better option at center.)

I find it hard to believe Thabeet put up those numbers as a freshmen. All i remember of him as a Fr is him getting off the floor several times a game after being knocked over lol!
I think people need to be patient with Brimah because he is going to become a very solid player. The talent is there but he is just soooo green right now. The problem is the guys that should be holding down the 5 while he develops (Nolan,Olander) absolutely stink!

 

[dsturdy5]

The two teams were vastly different. That 07 UConn team was starting over with, what, 7 frosh? The investment was not only in Thabeet but also Dyson, Wiggins, Robinson, Kelly, etc. This team is much more balanced with regards to experience. The investment in those frosh was truly an investment in the future which yielded a final four two years later. It was necessary. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it with Brimah, but the comparison isn't as clean as you'd like to think it is.

 

[intlzncster]

The two teams were vastly different. That 07 UConn team was starting over with, what, 7 frosh? The investment was not only in Thabeet but also Dyson, Wiggins, Robinson, Kelly, etc. This team is much more balanced with regards to experience. The investment in those frosh was truly an investment in the future which yielded a final four two years later. It was necessary. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it with Brimah, but the comparison isn't as clean as you'd like to think it is.

Not only that, but Hasheem was playing next to Jeff Adrien. 1. more mistakes could be absorbed and 2. JA made HT 'better' as well. The other team HAD to account for JA down low and on the boards. Big difference compared to this year.

 

[gtcam]

I understand he's got some major holes in his game right now, but he's also got more upside than Nolan. His shot blocking alone makes our defense much better, I think he'll improve his rebounding and scoring at a reasonable pace if KO just puts him in there and lets him play.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Tyler at the 4 with Brimah at the 5. Neither DD, nor Gifey is ever going to be anything but a liability at the 4. They are at the position on the scorecard only, IMO. It's time to let Brimah get some OJT.

I disagree about Giffs - while not a natural 4 by any means he has shown he can handle it
DD couldn't handle the 5, 4 , 3..... You need to want to get ugly and sweat a little on D - definitely not a DD trait

 

[Gurleyman]

The two teams were vastly different. That 07 UConn team was starting over with, what, 7 frosh? The investment was not only in Thabeet but also Dyson, Wiggins, Robinson, Kelly, etc. This team is much more balanced with regards to experience. The investment in those frosh was truly an investment in the future which yielded a final four two years later. It was necessary. I'm not saying I wouldn't do it with Brimah, but the comparison isn't as clean as you'd like to think it is.

Spot on. Zero expectations that year. We could have been title contenders - in the NJCAA, the entire team was freshmen and sophomores.

This year, we have expectations. If Brimah is our best option in a given game, he plays. If the matchup is better for PN, TO or a small lineup, then thats what we'll do. He'll get minutes, but in terms of long term development for the kid, this is a key offseason to get stronger and develop some post presence beyond shot blocking. We can't use game time right now for that.

 

[gtcam]

We need an effective 5 so very bad
Had to laugh at KO's quote in the Courant today when asked about playing in Texas where UCONN has lured some nice big men- Jake, Okafor and Thabeet - KO is hoping some 7thy grader in Houston will like the style of play and "We've gotten some bigs from Houston, maybe we can some guards down the road".
KO - love you but WE NEED BIGS!!!!!!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Wasn't Houston (the city, not school) also Hasheem's last stop before UConn?

 

[ZenConn]

Not only that, but Hasheem was playing next to Jeff Adrien. 1. more mistakes could be absorbed and 2. JA made HT 'better' as well. The other team HAD to account for JA down low and on the boards. Big difference compared to this year.

I would die for a JA right now.

 

[tentoes4rings]

I would die for a JA right now.

I think we all would. Other than stretches by AO, and thankfully one at the perfect time, we haven't had a bruising, high quality big man since JA.

 

[joober jones]

The alternative to Brimah is Nolan.
The alternative to Thabeet was Mandeldove.

 

[huskyharry]

Brimah needs more time on the court, at least 15 minutes every game. Even if that means switching to zone for a while to keep him from collecting fouls, we have to have him develop if we would have any chance in March and his progression is a key to next year's success.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Brimah needs more time on the court, at least 15 minutes every game. Even if that means switching to zone for a while to keep him from collecting fouls, we have to have him develop if we would have any chance in March and his progression is a key to next year's success.

We can't rebound in man to man can you imagine us playing zone?

 

[huskyharry]

We can't rebound in man to man can you imagine us playing zone?

Good point, but perhaps the extra space would actually help AB learn how to pursue the ball on rebounds.

Also, IMO aiding his development as a player is worth the cost.

 

[uconn_jack]

Brimah is not the answer this year no matter how desperately many of you want him to be. He does not need more court time until he is ready and able to produce something other than just blocks against cupcakes. He needs to continue to learn in practice, and more importantly IMO, being coached while on the bench watching games. I think he will be a special player by his junior year - he has the right attitude, motor, and athleticism - but right now he doesn't gain much by being in games where he is seriously overwhelmed by the skill of opposing players. Some game time is important of course, but it should be mostly against inferior opponents with only limited time seen against quality competition. His game time should supplement his coaching and learning at this point, its not what's going to make him a better player yet until he has mastered the fundamentals in practice - remember he has only been playing basketball for a few years.

Brimah should be the 3rd center option behind TO and PN, in that order. I don't think it matters who starts (I think KO should base it on who plays better off the bench vs. starting), but I think average minutes over the year for these three should be something like 15 (TO), 12 (PN) and 7 (AB) with KF and DD filling in the last 5 minutes at center when going small. I know hating TO is the cool thing to do on this board, but he is our most experienced and best big man overall right now. He certainly has his shortcomings, but I think the sum of everything he does and can do outweighs the things AB and PN have shown to date. If PN (who does have some offensive moves - 720 spin moves notwithstanding), AB, or even KF have an epiphany and start producing at a higher level, by all means increase their minutes.

 

[dogpause]

Brimah is the only 5 we have that has an upside. Glad to see Ollie finally recognizing this.

 

[SixRings]

Brimah is not the answer this year no matter how desperately many of you want him to be. He does not need more court time until he is ready and able to produce something other than just blocks against cupcakes. He needs to continue to learn in practice, and more importantly IMO, being coached while on the bench watching games. I think he will be a special player by his junior year - he has the right attitude, motor, and athleticism - but right now he doesn't gain much by being in games where he is seriously overwhelmed by the skill of opposing players. Some game time is important of course, but it should be mostly against inferior opponents with only limited time seen against quality competition. His game time should supplement his coaching and learning at this point, its not what's going to make him a better player yet until he has mastered the fundamentals in practice - remember he has only been playing basketball for a few years.

Brimah should be the 3rd center option behind TO and PN, in that order. I don't think it matters who starts (I think KO should base it on who plays better off the bench vs. starting), but I think average minutes over the year for these three should be something like 15 (TO), 12 (PN) and 7 (AB) with KF and DD filling in the last 5 minutes at center when going small. I know hating TO is the cool thing to do on this board, but he is our most experienced and best big man overall right now. He certainly has his shortcomings, but I think the sum of everything he does and can do outweighs the things AB and PN have shown to date. If PN (who does have some offensive moves - 720 spin moves notwithstanding), AB, or even KF have an epiphany and start producing at a higher level, by all means increase their minutes.

Agree with much of this but find that AB's defensive presence on the court is something real now. If AB is on the bench opponents drive to the basket at will with only occasional help from DD or the other 5. Not so when AB is in the game. Right now he cant rebound, catch or play offense yet with any reliability so he is a liability. But during certain points of certain games he has to be in there a lot to stop the dribble drive. And, there is nobody better than him on this team for that.

 

[Excalibur]

Harvard was stuck on 39 for a long time. Brimah was on the court for much of that.