Great shining recap
- Thread starter the Blades
- Start date
I have seen Springs variously called “Richie” and “Rickie” in news article. Does anyone know which name he goes by or prefers?
Also interesting quote on next years roster from Borges:
"UConn currently has no scholarships open for next season, but that is expected to change. ...........The Huskies could fill those spots with a Class of 2020 player, but more likely a transfer. There is at least one potential grad transfer from a (now former) AAC opponent that UConn would consider, along with Quinnipiac’s Kevin Marfo, the nation’s leading rebounder. "
Wonder who and what team that could be ?
"UConn currently has no scholarships open for next season, but that is expected to change. ...........The Huskies could fill those spots with a Class of 2020 player, but more likely a transfer. There is at least one potential grad transfer from a (now former) AAC opponent that UConn would consider, along with Quinnipiac’s Kevin Marfo, the nation’s leading rebounder. "
Wonder who and what team that could be ?
That’s an easy one- Christion Thompson of Tulane who Hurley coached at URI. 14.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG
However I would prefer a big man like Marfo. 13.3 rebounds per game on the college level is a very manly total! A really pure 4. And he averaged 28 minutes per game collecting all those boards. Was also good for 1.2 blocks per game
Wrong..his time is up....guess again.... Thompson already played 3 full years at URI and his 4th at Tulane
Christion Thompson College Stats
I just searched every article in the Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, New London Day and Journal Inquirer and the only article he was called Rickie is this one in the Courant linked below. So obviously just a one time mistake by Dom Amore. Where else have you seen him called Rickie?
https://www.courant.com/sports/ucon...0200315-h7h4q6gtajgwlmtiztqfiajsa4-story.html
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In the article you linked Amore calls him "Rickie" Springs, did not know whether that was correct or not.
Nice job on the highlights TCF.... the one thing casual fans don't understand is how important JG was to Uconn turning the season around and the poise he played with as a true FR. Especially after the whole pre-season he missed with his injury and just getting back to full strength and learning the offense.. The thing he has already, that some players never get, is BB IQ ( how to move the ball around to search out good shots) while not forcing his own unless it's there. And how to drive & stop on a dime to draw the D away from the man he's passing to....or kick it out to the 3 pt line....Guys like this are easy for their team mates to play with on offense....Plus at 6-2+ he can see over traffic. I expects big things with him and RJ running the offense (if Cole's as good as advertised)
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Nice job on more highlights from TCF......The job Whaley did is exactly what I called about him before the season started. The work he did in the off season on his shot and his body was a big plus & obvious to anyone with decent basketball knowledge right from the St Micheals exhibition game that I mentioned in this thread: Starters, coaches show & first game (Wed @ The XL Center
He was part 2 of the Uconn turnaround. What I saw was a quick twitch athlete who lost no quickness as he got up to 225lbs, with a better lower base than guys like Brimah in the past or Akok, Wilson and Polley.... who rebounds, goes after the ball, moves on D and switches as a cheaper version of Dennis Rodman or a better version of former Husky Marcus White ( who finished up @ Purdue)
Plus IW knows how to stay within his game ( it's known as playing within your effective limitations) and was great at creating second chance points for his team and on hustle plays which makes him a plus-plus player. I think Akok had more upside so Dan went with him more often originally, but Whaley proved he could do everything better from a team standpoint but shoot 3's. And he did show flashes even b4 Akok's injury like the double -double @ Houston.
Isaiah was the best hedge defender by far, hit a team best 54 FG% (...Akok was 41%), was much better on FT's (73.3%) than Akok ( 59%) or Gilbert (67%) for that matter. And had more than his share of blocks covering for his guys who let their men by them. All of these things lead to winning because basketball is about knowing your role, not everyone trying to do it all. To bad Akok might miss most (all) of next year because a D tandem with more of him and Whaley ( and 3 guard line-ups in DH's full court pressure) could give teams fits with those 2 guarding the backline.
So I have to give Isaiah props for the work he did last summer, especially with all the crap it was reported he received on social media, telling him to leave, last spring. I'd say he looked pretty lost on offense his soph year, but when you only get the 83 minutes DH gave him his 1st year as HC (despite the good job he did when he actually played vs. USF in the AAC tourney ).... it sure can't help your confidence. Looking back seeing that Eric Cobb couldn't guard a chair and as Dan said "he should have used Isaiah more in 2018-19 " ...sometimes you don't know what you have until you use it.
He was part 2 of the Uconn turnaround. What I saw was a quick twitch athlete who lost no quickness as he got up to 225lbs, with a better lower base than guys like Brimah in the past or Akok, Wilson and Polley.... who rebounds, goes after the ball, moves on D and switches as a cheaper version of Dennis Rodman or a better version of former Husky Marcus White ( who finished up @ Purdue)
Plus IW knows how to stay within his game ( it's known as playing within your effective limitations) and was great at creating second chance points for his team and on hustle plays which makes him a plus-plus player. I think Akok had more upside so Dan went with him more often originally, but Whaley proved he could do everything better from a team standpoint but shoot 3's. And he did show flashes even b4 Akok's injury like the double -double @ Houston.
Isaiah was the best hedge defender by far, hit a team best 54 FG% (...Akok was 41%), was much better on FT's (73.3%) than Akok ( 59%) or Gilbert (67%) for that matter. And had more than his share of blocks covering for his guys who let their men by them. All of these things lead to winning because basketball is about knowing your role, not everyone trying to do it all. To bad Akok might miss most (all) of next year because a D tandem with more of him and Whaley ( and 3 guard line-ups in DH's full court pressure) could give teams fits with those 2 guarding the backline.
So I have to give Isaiah props for the work he did last summer, especially with all the crap it was reported he received on social media, telling him to leave, last spring. I'd say he looked pretty lost on offense his soph year, but when you only get the 83 minutes DH gave him his 1st year as HC (despite the good job he did when he actually played vs. USF in the AAC tourney ).... it sure can't help your confidence. Looking back seeing that Eric Cobb couldn't guard a chair and as Dan said "he should have used Isaiah more in 2018-19 " ...sometimes you don't know what you have until you use it.
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Blades,
Your post made me think of what guys in UConn history were riding the bench and were suddenly inserted in games and became big time difference makers from that point on, and not just one game, like Whaley this season.
There were 2 guys I immediately thought of who, like Whaley, were suddenly inserted into action and became difference makers. Unlike Whaley, they were both freshmen.
The first one was Rashad Anderson, who was in Calhoun's doghouse to start the season because of a preseason incident in which he was arrested because of a Halloween prank that went awry. Calhoun only played Rashad because UConn was down 25 to UMass- in the 2nd half of a game at Hartford Civic Center, 2002-2003 season. Down 25, Calhoun was just shaking things up, benching the starters and looking for energy. Anderson then proceeded to come off the bench and make a bunch of 3s, and UConn came back from 25 down in the second half and won by 12. It appeared that Anderson was the guy who sparked the team and after that his ass never saw a "long term bench kiss" again.
The other guy was a freshman in the early 1990s, thickly built 6'6"-6'7" power forward from Florida, whose name escapes me. He was glued to the bench for almost his whole freshman year. Then some bigs got in foul trouble in the Big East tournament and this kid came off the bench and was a force, particularly inside on offense. He was powerful and could create space to get off his shots. It was then looking like he might be one of the better players on the team and the starting power forward the next year, and he suddenly left the team very mysteriously and went back to Florida. I don't think he ever played basketball again. Which was a shame, because he was a good player.
Edit: just remembered his name- Toraino Walker. And he was apparently a sophomore when that unbenching happened and left UConn during his senior year.
The only other guy I can think of was Hilton Armstrong who actually suddenly morphed into a meaningful player his senior year.
Your post made me think of what guys in UConn history were riding the bench and were suddenly inserted in games and became big time difference makers from that point on, and not just one game, like Whaley this season.
There were 2 guys I immediately thought of who, like Whaley, were suddenly inserted into action and became difference makers. Unlike Whaley, they were both freshmen.
The first one was Rashad Anderson, who was in Calhoun's doghouse to start the season because of a preseason incident in which he was arrested because of a Halloween prank that went awry. Calhoun only played Rashad because UConn was down 25 to UMass- in the 2nd half of a game at Hartford Civic Center, 2002-2003 season. Down 25, Calhoun was just shaking things up, benching the starters and looking for energy. Anderson then proceeded to come off the bench and make a bunch of 3s, and UConn came back from 25 down in the second half and won by 12. It appeared that Anderson was the guy who sparked the team and after that his ass never saw a "long term bench kiss" again.
The other guy was a freshman in the early 1990s, thickly built 6'6"-6'7" power forward from Florida, whose name escapes me. He was glued to the bench for almost his whole freshman year. Then some bigs got in foul trouble in the Big East tournament and this kid came off the bench and was a force, particularly inside on offense. He was powerful and could create space to get off his shots. It was then looking like he might be one of the better players on the team and the starting power forward the next year, and he suddenly left the team very mysteriously and went back to Florida. I don't think he ever played basketball again. Which was a shame, because he was a good player.
Edit: just remembered his name- Toraino Walker. And he was apparently a sophomore when that unbenching happened and left UConn during his senior year.
The only other guy I can think of was Hilton Armstrong who actually suddenly morphed into a meaningful player his senior year.
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Yeah...IIRC.. Toraino was an undersized 4 in about the 6-6/240 range as a FR who played a big role @ the 5 in the Henefeld year /dream season, like you said during the BE tourney win. Then after 1 game as a SR he left and Calhoun had to use Travis Knight, who he said he would of redshirted if Walker stayed. Unfortunately he quit hoops and "transferred" back to FLA to a "role" he didn't really enjoy much, a few years later...
WALKER SAYS HE TURNED CORNER BUT
WALKER SAYS HE TURNED CORNER BUT
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another one from TCF....Polley is a key piece for next year....but as chart below shows he still needs to add more rebounding for a 6-9 guy ( his final game vs. Tulane w/ 11 was double anything he did in 3 years) and no dunks at his height ?....Don't know how the ACL comeback will effect his game, but it can't help, so a role as a 3pt specialist seems about it......but :
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I have said it before: Polley would be an ideal 6th man on this team. His rebounding is inadequate to make him a stretch 4 a la D'Andre Daniels. Daniels put up 6 boards a game his junior year whereas Polley put up half of that. That is just not good enough from that position. AJ will be the starting 3 and Whaley or possibly Richie Springs will be the starting 4. The starting 5 will be between Carlton and JBF, probably Carlton with JBF coming in when Carlton has inevitable foul trouble, which more or less insures that JBF will get his minutes. It's an ideal mix of veterans and new players at the 3, 4 and 5
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I'm hoping Springs can come in and take up some decent minutes at both the 4 and 5, because I have no faith in JBF from what I've seen on tape. At least Richie competed and put up big numbers vs. top level recruits in AAU ball, where as JBF looked slow as molasses, sloppy with a bad motor moving up and down the court vs. low level Canadian HS. comp.. (but he's only 17, still growing and he is just starting weight training according to his HS coach)
Hurley on...
“Richie looks a lot like Akok did this time last year, eyes wide open, learning a lot. He’s got a couple of skills we can really use, and we’re going to use next year at the four or five position. He’s very athletic, an excellent rebounder, really developing his skill set around the basket and away from the basket. He’ s got big upside.”
Which bring us to Josh. It's imperative that he drops 15 or 20 lbs to gain whatever quickness and improved play he had as a Soph. As this article pointed out- UConn will look for him to become more lean and athletic , that'll be the goal ....so Sal (possibly) thinking of Josh as an OL in football being helped by the extra weight, in this case to bang down low, was a massive fail.
Josh didn't have the best motor coming into Uconn to begin with, so the only thing the extra weight seemed to do is make him more of "lard ass"
( I use the term affectionately, LOL) getting up and down the court and also seemed to hurt his cardio. So much... that he looked winded too often & played softer than the year before. Playing @ 240lbs again could help that alot. As was mentioned in this thread, he certainly didn't seem to add all muscle and...IMHO...his quickness up and down the court in his 2018-19 tape (and watching him in person) seemed much better.
Carlton Weight . . . Progress/Regress (2018-19 SOPH highlights)
2019-2020 highlights from TCF-
Hurley on...
“Richie looks a lot like Akok did this time last year, eyes wide open, learning a lot. He’s got a couple of skills we can really use, and we’re going to use next year at the four or five position. He’s very athletic, an excellent rebounder, really developing his skill set around the basket and away from the basket. He’ s got big upside.”
Which bring us to Josh. It's imperative that he drops 15 or 20 lbs to gain whatever quickness and improved play he had as a Soph. As this article pointed out- UConn will look for him to become more lean and athletic , that'll be the goal ....so Sal (possibly) thinking of Josh as an OL in football being helped by the extra weight, in this case to bang down low, was a massive fail.
Josh didn't have the best motor coming into Uconn to begin with, so the only thing the extra weight seemed to do is make him more of "lard ass"
( I use the term affectionately, LOL) getting up and down the court and also seemed to hurt his cardio. So much... that he looked winded too often & played softer than the year before. Playing @ 240lbs again could help that alot. As was mentioned in this thread, he certainly didn't seem to add all muscle and...IMHO...his quickness up and down the court in his 2018-19 tape (and watching him in person) seemed much better.
Carlton Weight . . . Progress/Regress (2018-19 SOPH highlights)
2019-2020 highlights from TCF-
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I am going to need to watch some tape on JBF. If UConn and Kansas both wanted him I can't imagine he is a second coming of Jon Mandeldove. They must have seen something. Plus you can't teach 7 foot, and has UConn even had a 7 footer since Enosch Wolf and Chuck Okwandu? UConn got their money's worth on the Okwandu scholarship but not really so with Wolf. He had good potential though.
I did like the tape I saw on Sanogo. You can never have too many bigs!!! As for backup wing they don't need a high profile guy. Someone who can at least play some D and snag some boards. Role players are needed at that spot on the roster.
I did like the tape I saw on Sanogo. You can never have too many bigs!!! As for backup wing they don't need a high profile guy. Someone who can at least play some D and snag some boards. Role players are needed at that spot on the roster.
I agree...it's just compared to some bigs he doesn't seem ready yet for the next level (and he is coming in a year early).....not a quick twitch guy like Cliff or a real bruiser like Sonogo. He doesn't seem to rebound out of area and he's still all arm and legs ( but I remember Josh looked real bad in his early tapes at DeMatha, so bigs do take longer)....here's a extended look:
That's a pretty good mixtape but I thought it was a little light on Kemba highlights. My uncle who is now in his 70s sent me an email the other day saying he thought what Kemba and the 2011 team did winning the 11 straight postseason games was the most remarkable record in the history of college basketball, and one that will likely never be broken along with the still jaw dropping 88% FT shooting by the team in the 2014 NCAA tournament.
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