Who is going to surprise this year?

[Danzz]

Usually somebody improves more than we expected and outperforms beyond expectations. It is expected that Adams will be very good but there other players that could surprise us.
My picks are a healthy Sam Jr. and Enoch in the second half of the season.

 

[mauconnfan]

I am going to surprise everyone, I will agree with everyone on the heights listed for all players!

As far as the players it would seem to me most believe Jalen will act like a freshman a lot and will be the 6th guy. In regards to that he would surprise if he starts and I think he's going to be very hard to keep off the court.

 

[Sportsman5]

Definitely Facey. We know he can rebound at a very high rate and has a solid jump shot. It would be great to see him play the role of a tristan thompson. Extend offensive possessions, play solid defense, and finish easy offensive looks.

 

[mauconnfan]

Definitely Facey. We know he can rebound at a very high rate and has a solid jump shot. It would be great to see him play the role of a tristan thompson. Extend offensive possessions, play solid defense, and finish easy offensive looks.

I think we have a luxury with an athlete like Facey with less expectations. As a kid we needed to play 20 plus minutes last year it was too much to ask. As a key piece of the team puzzle off the bench with 10-15 minutes I think this suits him better as well as the team. Like Brimah there are details that need to improve but no doubting the potential.

 

[FartMan69]

Got to be Enoch. I'd like to say Omar but just cant. I also expect Purvis will be consistent. Not that should surprise anyone since he should have confidence after his play at the end of the year.

 

[B1GEast]

brimah

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I have a feeling Enoch is going to end up being overrated.

 

[dennismenace]

Got to be Enoch. I'd like to say Omar but just cant. I also expect Purvis will be consistent. Not that should surprise anyone since he should have confidence after his play at the end of the year.

Agree. Just a sense that Enoch will provide real help, especially on the boards. Also believe Shonn Miller will also help big on the boards and provide some leadership on the floor that will help the whole team but especially the young bigs.

 

[JimHurley]

My pick is Cassell. I promise he isn't really as bad as he played last year. He is more than capable of being a quality backup PG/SG and averging 10 PPG.

I have a feeling Enoch is going to end up being overrated.

I agree Enoch will be overrated this year. I think he's still a project and freshman projects are rarely good. But I think by the time he's a junior and he has some experience, he'll be very good.

 

[Stainmaster]

My pick is Cassell. I promise he isn't really as bad as he played last year. He is more than capable of being a quality backup PG/SG and averging 10 PPG.

You have Cassell averaging one PPG less than Rodney did last year? Ooookay.

I also wonder where this PG talk is coming from. 5-10 minutes of running the offense in the first half at USF? I need to see more to be convinced. Yeah sure he didn't make as many memorable turnovers as TSam, but that's not the standard you judge a good backup PG on. Until he can demonstrate facilitation of the offense at a UConn level against quality opponents over a multi-game period, Cassell should be our 3rd string PG who plays the position during blowouts when Gibbs and Adams are relaxing on the bench.

 

[JimHurley]

You have Cassell averaging one PPG less than Rodney did last year? Ooookay.

I also wonder where this PG talk is coming from. 5-10 minutes of running the offense in the first half at USF? I need to see more to be convinced. Yeah sure he didn't make as many memorable turnovers as TSam, but that's not the standard you judge a good backup PG on. Until he can demonstrate facilitation of the offense at a UConn level against quality opponents over a multi-game period, Cassell should be our 3rd string PG who plays the position during blowouts when Gibbs and Adams are relaxing on the bench.

He'll prove you wrong this year. I think he's best suited at SG behind Rodney though.

 

[david]

Omar will give us good minutes at the 2 & 3. I predict he will hit some big shots throughout the year and will shoot above 38% from 3.

 

[Danzz]

Agree. Just a sense that Enoch will provide real help, especially on the boards. Also believe Shonn Miller will also help big on the boards and provide some leadership on the floor that will help the whole team but especially the young bigs.

The only thing that makes me hesitant on Enoch is his age. I believe that he is currently 17 and that is why I said second half of the season.
Facey may provide some help off the bench but the kid is just too frail to play the 5. I know he can rebound some but he also gets pushed around under the boards.
The big question on Miller is how well he will produce outside the Ivy League. We'll just have to wait and see on him but he looks like a great addition based upon his game videos..

 

[FartMan69]

My pick is Cassell. I promise he isn't really as bad as he played last year. He is more than capable of being a quality backup PG/SG and averging 10 PPG.

If Cassell is getting enough minutes to average 10ppg than someone on the team would have to be seriously injured.

 

[ktuck911]

I have a feeling Enoch is going to end up being overrated.

He will only be a true frosh... gotta give him some time. By his Jr year he'll be a problem on the court for opposing teams

 

[champs99and04]

Definitely Facey. We know he can rebound at a very high rate and has a solid jump shot. It would be great to see him play the role of a tristan thompson. Extend offensive possessions, play solid defense, and finish easy offensive looks.

Facey is the guy that comes to mind for me as well. It'll be interesting to see if he plays any minutes at center when AB is on the bench with foul trouble. A frontline of Hamilton/Miller/Facey would absolutely pound teams on the boards.

 

[Sportsman5]

Facey is the guy that comes to mind for me as well. It'll be interesting to see if he plays any minutes at center when AB is on the bench with foul trouble. A frontline of Hamilton/Miller/Facey would absolutely pound teams on the boards.

I think it depends on how much weight he can add in the offseason. He was barely above 200 last year. If he can get up to 215+, then I think he will be fine against most centers.

 

[Yankees32123]

Our frontcourt will surprise. Lots of rebounders and shot-blockers.

 

[lange10]

Nolan. Not for the numbers but I just think his leadership and productivity in the 5-10 mins he gets will help this team a ton. Bash him all you want, he was our starting center on a national championship team. Experience helps.

 

[JimHurley]

If Cassell is getting enough minutes to average 10ppg than someone on the team would have to be seriously injured.

I can't wait until he proves all of you wrong next season.

 

[Brochacho]

I can't wait until he proves all of you wrong next season.

Wait.

You legitimately think Cassell averages 10 ppg when Gibbs, Adams, Purvis, and Calhoun are all ahead of him?

 

[Stainmaster]

I can't wait until he proves all of you wrong next season.

If we're playing the "make irrational assertions without any logic or reasoning to back it up" game, then I hereby predict that Nnamdi Amilo will supplant all those ahead of him on the depth chart to become our top 3-point marksman off the bench. I just have a feeling!

 

[johnhuskies95]

I can't wait until he proves all of you wrong next season.

The thing is you're basically predicting him to be at least the fourth best scorer on the team with that 10 ppg prediction, but you also seem to think that a bunch of guys will score more than he will.

I've started re-watching the games from last season, and he definitely does some nice things, but I doubt he plays more than 10 minutes a game next season.

I think he'll play better than Samuel would have as a junior and senior, but he's really just a fourth guard at this point.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Adams or nolan

 

[tcf15]

The thing is you're basically predicting him to be at least the fourth best scorer on the team with that 10 ppg prediction, but you also seem to think that a bunch of guys will score more than he will.

I've started re-watching the games from last season, and he definitely does some nice things, but I doubt he plays more than 10 minutes a game next season.

I think he'll play better than Samuel would have as a junior and senior, but he's really just a fourth guard at this point.

Actually, I think I remember his PPG predictions in another thread, which ended up being over 100 ppg. So based off that prediction, Cassell is probably the 6th or 7th best scorer, which is probably right (but not at all close to 10 ppg).