Who will be our Jeremy Lamb this Tourney?

[Confident Carl]

Bazz is not Kemba but he is Batman, so who the hell can we count on to be Robin? We will not go far with Boatright as Robin. The possible suspects are Deandre (of course), Kromah, Giffey (going off like he lost his mind) or Brimah (unlikely). Sadly Omar would have been a good candidate but forget about him.

We need that player to step up more than ever. I want to say DD but he's not been consistent. This team is so hard to predict but if one of the above can bring a double double (and some) every tourney game then we can beat anyone. The cliche 'A Star is Born' will fit this team more than ever this Tourney as Bazz departs and someone takes the torch. I hope we will say and see this happen the next couple of weeks.

Of course as a pre-requisite, Bazz HAS to play like the best player in the nation and we have to rebound. I also know that Boat will also give us something, that I'm sure of.

I'm excited but overly cautious concerning expectations unless I see a 'Robin' emerge. We are being ignored but to a certain extent understandably. We are an elite team and we can bet we won't go down without a fight.

We are UConn dammit!!!!!

I agree with what most have said about Giffey, Kromah, Brimah, etc. Aside from Guard play our Defense could take us deep into the tourney. Tough D will result in fouls for Nolan and Brimah. So a key player will be Olander and the experience he brings to the low post. He may not play a lot of minutes but his contribution and experience will help our young bigs. He is a big body and can take some fouls and also take some pressure off.

 

[Viera Florida]

omar

 

[dogfan96]

I am worried who is going to be our 2006 Denham Brown. Please Bazz, take the last shot and do not force it to Boat or Kromah or Nolan. Pass to Niels only if absolutely necessary

I have absolutely no problem with Niels taking a shot to win the game if he's open. I expect him to make it.

 

[Alum86]

I have absolutely no problem with Niels taking a shot to win the game if he's open. I expect him to make it.

Agree. No problem with him after Shabazz. You know what, let's not have to be in this situation. Let's win big.

 

[Alum86]

You forgot to mention Omar - remember the last second pass to him vs Stanford for the win? smh....

A contested shot from Bazz is probably better than an uncontested shot from some of the others.

Re: Omar
I figure we won't need a last second shot with 14:30 left in the first half.
If he's in with 1 minute to go in the game, well, we've fouled out 6-7 folks.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I am worried who is going to be our 2006 Denham Brown. Please Bazz, take the last shot and do not force it to Boat or Kromah or Nolan. Pass to Niels only if absolutely necessary

Everyone remembers Denham missing the 3 at the end of overtime, but nobody remembers him making a wild layup at the end of regulation to even get it to overtime.

If Denham hit that 3, he goes down as one of the most clutch Huskies of all time.

 

[Waquoit]

Everyone remembers Denham missing the 3 at the end of overtime, but nobody remembers him making a wild layup at the end of regulation to even get it to overtime.

If Denham hit that 3, he goes down as one of the most clutch Huskies of all time.

He wasn't gonna make that shot in a million years. That wild lay-up was more like almost missing a bunny.

 

[Mr. French]

DeAndre would be my choice, with Giffey hopefully giving us a solid 8-10 pts a game. We also need Bazz to step up and be aggressive from the start, that doesn't mean firing away but being asserting, getting into the lane, drawing fouls, and stop with the hesitation on jumpers. The way he's played recently with the silly turnovers, passing up of wide open jumpers, and settling for long contested 3s honestly has me scared of how he's going to play in these games, we need that Bazz with that bounce in his step.

That's been my biggest (and really only) beef with Bazz since he became the "man." He's lucky to get half decent looks he's our best player and an All American, take the open 3 when it's there, no more head fakes and then a back dribble when nothing else is there.

 

[Deleted member 3149]

How cool would it be if Omar stepped up this tournament and made up for everything.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

That wild lay-up was more like almost missing a bunny.

I watched the video just to make sure that you were as off-base as I thought. You are.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I watched @tcf15 's video playlist yesterday of the 2011 tournament game highlights (if you havent, get on it). What surprised me was how many contributions we received from everyone (not just Lamb). We were a much more balanced team in 2011 than we are now. That's probably hard to understand considering we had Kemba. He scored a bunch but he did so many other things with dribble penetration and attracting double teams to free up others. Lamb definitely nailed his shots. Then Roscoe hit some next. Then Bazz hit some jumpers. Then AO got a few offensive rebounds/put-backs.

My point being... we don't need a Robin, we need all-around contributions from the team to make a run. It would be nice to have Daniels step up and be a consistent threat like Lamb, he's certainly capable of it and it would help our chances. However, we will also need Boat to string together some good games. He needs to take care of the ball, get into the lane and kick out, and get to the free throw line. Brimah can be a more intimidating/defensive Okwandu, but unfortunately, we don't have an Oriakhi to control the boards/get put-backs. We need consistency from everyone, but I think that Daniels/Boat are definitely most important. Giffey as an honorable mention wildcard... he's got a great stroke like Lamb but Lamb had a more diverse offensive skillset (that floater was deadly).

Scoring easy points is so important in the NCAAs. The best way to score easy points are in transition, from the FT line, and from the low post (this includes offensive rebounds/put-backs).

To get out in transition we have to get stops/steals, which we are capable of. We are a good free throw shooting team, so that is good too, but we have to get into the lane and get to the FT line otherwise that doesn't help us. I'm not sure we have the ability to get easy points down low. We don't have a strong banger who can get position for post-ups, get boards, and make putbacks. That is where we lack. We need to try to establish our bigs early and often in an attempt to get these easy points. Utilize Brimah's hook shot. Let Nolan bang down low. I'd rather not have Tyler shooting, but if he does it needs to be down low rather than from the elbow.

thinking the same thing... there is a lot of talent on this team besides Shabazz. he's the leader and will set the tone. but it's more than one or two beside napier stepping up....

If I have to choose a darkhorse, I'll say Olander. Experience helps in the tourney.
Ollie will go to him and he'll come out and give 5-7 points, 2-3 rebounds. But his play will spark the team.

 

[Waquoit]

I watched the video just to make sure that you were as off-base as I thought. You are.

Because all clean lay-ups bounce on the rim thrice before dropping in.

 

[Mots010]

Because all clean lay-ups bounce on the rim thrice before dropping in.

There were two GM players going for the block. Hardly a 'clean' layup.

 

[mauconnfan]

Deandre seems to have stepped it up a bit, we need him. Also Giffey doesn't want it to end………..

Bazz is really due for a 26-34 pt game breakout, or a FEW!! LOL

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Because all clean lay-ups bounce on the rim thrice before dropping in.

You should refresh your memory by actually watching the play maybe, or does Denham belong in the Kromah category for you?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What gets me about the DB complaints is this: who did they want taking the shot (either one)?

The only players who even looked like they cared about the outcome of that game while it was being played were Denham, Hilton (who was good for a putback but that was the limit of his offensive skill), Adrien and Nelson (neither of who played much if at all after halftime). Boonie and Rashad seemed to still be in a daze from the UW game while Rudy and Marcus weren't about to break a sweat. Denham Brown is the last UConn player to criticize for that game.

 

[Inyatkin]

I watched the video just to make sure that you were as off-base as I thought. You are.

Hey thanks that prompted me to watch video of that game and now I want to jump off a building.

 

[Alum86]

Deandre Daniels is Denham Brown. I have a very bad feeling he has the ball in his hands down 1 late from a pass from Bazz, with Giffey open on the wing.

Do not say you all have not thought this. Only Bazz and Niels shoots late in a close game. Can we agree on this?