Donny quote on this year's team

[the Blades]

"I get the unfiltered Ollie because of our relationship. He is optimistic because now he has players with leadership qualities to go with players who can score and understand how to play defense," Marshall said. "They were lacking some leaders last year. I think we can see UConn get back to where we want them to be."

 

[northdakotahusky]

Kind of a slam of Boat

 

[northdakotahusky]

not "kind of"

 

[Dominicfrank]

So I love Ollie but having no leaders when you have a Senior in Boat is just as much a leadership problem with Ollie than it is the kids.

 

[UConnFamily]

Ollie can only do so much from the sidelines. They need a general on the floor (shabazz, kemba, adrian, etc).

It's possible Boat lacked that quality and that's not a knock on Boat. Some players have it and some don't

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

During the course of the season a friend of mine who went to some games with me but is only a casual UConn fan commented to me that he thought the team's talent was good but leadership was lacking.

One of the problems was that Boatright was NOT a point guard, he was a 5'10" shooting guard, and when Samuel was called upon to play point guard in big minutes his deficiencies as a shooter were exposed. How can a back up point guard not make a 3 for a whole season? And how can the starting point guard have the stats Boat had on assists and turnovers? The real problem is that Boat has a scoring mentality and it is hard for guys like that to adapt in one year to a new role entirely.

The problem is the senior leader was placed in a role he wasn't suited for and surrounded with talent that was mostly young and inexperienced, and the other guards were simply not good ball handlers or, in the case of Samuel, couldn't shoot a jump shot at all.

Most fans ignored these issues most of the season but by the end of the season they were obvious, as was the poor production out of the 4 position. Ollie has addressed each and every one of those issues in his offseason recruiting. It's still not clear if Gibbs is not any more of a combo guard at best than Boat was, but between him and Adams there should be a point guard production that is better than Boat-Samuel last year. We know that Gibbs is a much better shooter and has more experience playing point guard than Boatright did prior to last year.

Also, in Brimah and Purvis, you have two very experienced juniors who seem ready to improve their games significantly, and a sophomore in Hamilton who is very likely to be better as well. All of this will make the team better. Personalities will determine who leads the team on the court.

 

[the Blades]

I think we discussed it during the season....Boat was a great Robin to Shabazz being Batman..... and he was also a great scorer by himself...but that doesn't mean that you can make those around you better. Boat was more of a Dyson when handed the keys than a Kemba or Shabazz. Who were able to take just "good" regular season teams to a NC because they had great vision and developed as leaders when it mattered the most. If KO says Uconn has added leaders in Gibbs, Adams and Miller ( because everyone else has been here)...I'm intrigued.

 

[the Blades]

Speaking of Rodney, I guess he's been working on his FT's....saw this on his twitter:
Rodney Purvis ‏@rpurvis44 Aug 15 Aye if anybody care I made 51 free throws in a row today.

And this was also on his twitter too regarding the other guy:

Next Best Basketball ‏@NBBSquad Aug 16
" UConn center, Amida Brimah showing off the full arsenal this Summer! "

 

[northdakotahusky]

Everyone will be better for sure. But we don't need Brimah to improve his ability to catch alley-oops over 6' dudes. We need him to not get knocked out of every play against players his height/weight...which at this point is obvious.

 

[northdakotahusky]

Also, I also developed a skeptical view of Boat's leadership ability over the entire season. For that matter, his playing ability. I was not happy that he bailed on the NIT game after admitting he would have played a NCAA tournament game. That said, I don't really want to pile on Boatright.

 

[northdakotahusky]

So I love Ollie but having no leaders when you have a Senior in Boat is just as much a leadership problem with Ollie than it is the kids.

Boat's problem was more than just leadership, but he was not a great one. Boat was/is not a great PG in my opinion. Vision, handle, shooting, speed variation...none of those things he did as well as Bazz. He certainly was better athlete and probably a better defender, but most of Boat's skills did not improve others. Almost all of Bazz's skills improved others. Even Nolan's screens looked brilliant.

 

[northdakotahusky]

by the way, do you guys ever think Donny/Ray will ever be more involved with the program. I'm not suggesting they aren't involved. I'm just wondering/hoping they may be coaches someday. I'm not really sure where Donny fits in, but I kinda think Ray would make a really good strength/conditioning coach. He might actually do it. His workout obsession/disorder is pretty well documented. He probably will not need much money, but I suspect that position pays ok. Maybe he becomes some kind of strength/conditioning assistant. I'd like to see him on the sidelines during games.

 

[the Blades]

Everyone will be better for sure. But we don't need Brimah to improve his ability to catch alley-oops over 6' dudes. We need him to not get knocked out of every play against players his height/weight...which at this point is obvious.

True.... which would make me happy with one improvement: REBOUNDING !!!

 

[the Blades]

by the way, do you guys ever think Donny/Ray will ever be more involved with the program. I'm not suggesting they aren't involved. I'm just wondering/hoping they may be coaches someday. I'm not really sure where Donny fits in, but I kinda think Ray would make a really good strength/conditioning coach.

Ray I look at as an off the court guy, he's a millionaire like 180 times over ..... Last I recall Ray was on Board of Directors for the Uconn Foundation and Donny was a BOT member. Don't know if their outside businesses interests would allow it or make it worth their while. Always thought Donny would be a great head coach for Uconn if KO ever went pro . I also read he sold his Golf course last year that probably kept him busy besides his TV work...

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I agree with that on Brimah...rebounding and not getting knocked off his spots like he was a fly being swatted away are where he needs to step up. Look at the Duke game and what Brimah did. This was right after he dropped 40 on Coppin State. Against Duke, no points, no boards, on the bench with foul trouble most of the game. When in the game easily pushed around by Duke bigs. That game was a 6 point game late and Duke was national champion. So that is how close even last year's mediocre UConn team (by UConn standards) was to being on the same level. Brimah stays in that game and holds position and grabs some boards, it is a whole different ballgame.

But someone posted some GHBL tape on him a few weeks ago and he looks bigger. So we should expect improvement. Plus, the kid works hard and has a great motor. Sometimes bigs need longer to develop. I think this will be a good year for him.

 

[the Blades]

But someone posted some GHBL tape on him a few weeks ago and he looks bigger. .

The Youtube above is from this summer too, does look a little bigger in the upper body..

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Speaking of Rodney, I guess he's been working on his FT's....saw this on his twitter:
Rodney Purvis ‏@rpurvis44 Aug 15 Aye if anybody care I made 51 free throws in a row today.

My response to this is let's see him make 51 free throws in a row during the games in the regular season or the postseason. I don't believe in heroism on Twitter- heroism only counts on the court in real games.

 

[the Blades]

My response to this is let's see him make 51 free throws in a row during the games in the regular season or the postseason. I don't believe in heroism on Twitter- heroism only counts on the court in real games.

True that goes without saying......Big picture to me is he's talkin' about it b-cause he knows it's a problem and he's workin' on it enough to try to correct it...but like you said real games...real games !

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Problem is in real games the last 2 seasons he shot about 53% on FTs! So I hope he can turn that around and make 51 in a row in real games although even 10 in a row would be nice. As long as he can get his FT% over 70% but he has a long way to go on that. We got a little spoiled with the 2014 team which shot 77% as a team regular season and then 88% in the NCAA tournament which are numbers we will not be seeing again.

 

[the Blades]

Problem is in real games the last 2 seasons he shot about 53% on FTs! So I hope he can turn that around and make 51 in a row in real games although even 10 in a row would be nice.

We all do, his 53% is hovering below Taliek Brown range....so like you said we got spoiled....remember Calipari after the NC game....John why didn't you foul them ? " They don't miss ! "

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

It is still the first time I have ever seen a team ordered not to foul in any NCAA tournament game's closing minutes, in a game that was tight and winnable. Not sure we will ever see that again. When Calipari issued that order I believe UConn was 10-10 just in that game. The order prevented UConn from possibly getting to 90% with a few more made FTs. We will NEVER see that record broken. It was like Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, a complete freak of a sports record. Joe D's record has not been touched and nobody has come close since 1941 and nobody ever will. Not with modern relief pitching.

 

[Ozzie3178]

Hahah... Blades I loved that quote from Calipari

 

[Dominicfrank]

I think we discussed it during the season....Boat was a great Robin to Shabazz being Batman..... and he was also a great scorer by himself...but that doesn't mean that you can make those around you better. Boat was more of a Dyson when handed the keys than a Kemba or Shabazz. Who were able to take just "good" regular season teams to a NC because they had great vision and developed as leaders when it mattered the most. If KO says Uconn has added leaders in Gibbs, Adams and Miller ( because everyone else has been here)...I'm intrigued.

My issue with this Blades is that Boat didn't have a Robin. Bazz had Boat, Daniels, Giff and a 5th year solid contributor in Kromah. Boat's running mate was a freshman and a first year transfer. If DD would have stayed the comparison would be better but Boat was a good leader and with HALF the supporting cast Bazz had we would have been a tremendously better team.

 

[the Blades]

My issue with this Blades is that Boat didn't have a Robin. Bazz had Boat, Daniels, Giff and a 5th year solid contributor in Kromah. Boat's running mate was a freshman and a first year transfer. If DD would have stayed the comparison would be better but Boat was a good leader and with HALF the supporting cast Bazz had we would have been a tremendously better team.

I'm all in on having a better shot if DD came back.( locked into TOR and sent to AUS instead of playing for one more shot at 1st round money was a big mistake) But aren't you big on stars and rankings ? Purvis his running mate was a 5 star MCD's...AAmerican( though an over rated one, IMO)...Boat tried and improved but couldn't carry Bazz or Kemba's jock strap as a leader. It was his turn and he lost 2 games alone at the FT line that could have got them into the Tourney conversation instead of the NIT.

Who exactly did Kemba have ?... five FR, AO, a Juco big who just learned the game and Donnell Beverly in his rotation.... Boat was a 4 year player. It was his time to pull a Kemba..... if he wanted to be the man. ( who won a NC in his 3rd year, after losing 3 Sr starters, Dyson, Edwards and S-Rob from the year B-4)..... When your handed the keys it's all on you.... the problem is that 5-11 shooting guards with poor vision who are not great passers don't translate to wins, the record doesn't lie. And I don't want to knock him because he gave it a great effort with what he does best.... Shoot......which is a valuable skill....but you are what you are....and what Donny was quoted above regarding KO and last years leadership is directly on Boat so don't take my word for it.

 

[the Blades]

Boat's problem was more than just leadership, but he was not a great one. Boat was/is not a great PG in my opinion. Vision, handle, shooting, speed variation...none of those things he did as well as Bazz. He certainly was better athlete and probably a better defender, but most of Boat's skills did not improve others. Almost all of Bazz's skills improved others. Even Nolan's screens looked brilliant.

Thanks NDH, I'm glad someone gets it.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

To summarize Boatright wasn't a good point guard and didn't have the basketball skills to pull off the leadership role.