C Zach Brown

[Tampahusky]

Sorry if I upset a few here but I'm not a fan of Brown. I just see a big body, good college player like Hibbert, not a game changer.

 

[nomar]

Sorry if I upset a few here but I'm not a fan of Brown. I just see a big body, good college player like Hibbert, not a game changer.

You wouldn't want a guy like Hibbert?

 

[CTBasketball]

Sorry if I upset a few here but I'm not a fan of Brown. I just see a big body, good college player like Hibbert, not a game changer.

When Hibbert hit that 3 against us in DC I punched a hole through my wall. I would love a 4 year player like Hibbert in Storrs, also an All-American in 2008. I'd sign up for that.

 

[Tampahusky]

You wouldn't want a guy like Hibbert?

Yes I would but I hear some thinking he's going to come here and just dominate is just a little too much. I think part of his high ranking in high school is bc he just grew faster than his classmates.

 

[Matrim55]

Sorry if I upset a few here but I'm not a fan of Brown. I just see a big body, good college player like Hibbert, not a game changer.

All-Big East first team, led the Hoyas to their first Big East title since '89, and to their only Final Four since Ewing.

If that's not a difference-maker, what is?

 

[Tampahusky]

All-Big East first team, led the Hoyas to their first Big East title since '89, and to their only Final Four since Ewing.

If that's not a difference-maker, what is?

Yes I would like him to come here but if he decides elsewhere I'm ok with that bc we can find someone else to fill the void. He has good touch around the rim,big body, long arms. Looks slow and non athletic. You win games in college on the perimeter. Like I said sorry if it's not popular but I can't like every recruit we're after.

 

[Tampahusky]

I was the same way w Jesse Govan. Let's see how he turns out w GTown

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I was the same way w Jesse Govan. Let's see how he turns out w GTown

I haven't followed Govan except that he did appear to improve his body a great deal...did that translate to better quickness and jumping ability? Perhaps ZB could do the same.

 

[upstater]

As of late, the trend for top guys who are legit NBA prospects, much like Brown, is that they desire the following: exposure (strongly correlated with conference and branding), recent history in the draft, and getting the "star treatment". All three of those factors are not UConn's forte.

You made this point recently and were blown out of the water by people who showed you that in the last 2 years, UConn was on ESPN and CBS a total of 15 or 16 times, which is far ahead of most schools, and only behind 4 or 5 of them at most.

UConn also has Jeremy Lamb, Kemba Walker and Andre Drummond in the lottery the last 4 years. And Shabazz Napier a 1t round pick. That compares well with the vast majority and it beats anyone not named Kansas, Duke or Kentucky.

 

[Matrim55]

Yes I would like him to come here but if he decides elsewhere I'm ok with that bc we can find someone else to fill the void. He has good touch around the rim,big body, long arms. Looks slow and non athletic.

He's a 16-year-old who's getting used to his body literally every day. Most young bigs look slow and athletic because they are, but by age 20 (or so) they grow into it.

You win games in college on the perimeter.

Yes, but also with rim protection and rebounding.

It's fair to point out flaws in any of our recruiting targets, btw, and I don't think anybody here is attacking you. But saying that Hibbert wasn't a difference-maker or that games are strictly won on the perimeter makes no sense, and you should expect people to challenge your orthodoxy there.

 

[BUConn10]

You made this point recently and were blown out of the water by people who showed you that in the last 2 years, UConn was on ESPN and CBS a total of 15 or 16 times, which is far ahead of most schools, and only behind 4 or 5 of them at most.

UConn also has Jeremy Lamb, Kemba Walker and Andre Drummond in the lottery the last 4 years. And Shabazz Napier a 1t round pick. That compares well with the vast majority and it beats anyone not named Kansas, Duke or Kentucky.

UConn being on ESPN a good deal doesn't really change anything in my opinion. if anything, the Drummond example proves my point further. Look at the draft profiles of Drummond and Embiid at their one years at their respective programs, near identical numbers, same positions while Drummond id say was an even more impressive physical specimen than Embiid. Come draft day, Drummond is getting non-sense, unquantifiable reviews from analysts like "weak motor" or whatever the hell that means. Meanwhile Embiid is being rumored to go ahead of even Wiggins who has been considered an NBA phenom-lock since 9th grade, even WHILE Embiid is entering the draft with major injury that won't let him play his entire first year!

Drummond plummets to #9 while Embiid with serious injury concerns goes #3. The difference? Analysts and scouts actually watch KU much more closely for assessing potential prospects than they do UConn.

Another example, this past season we had Daniel Hamilton, who in my opinion was one of the true Top 5 impact freshman in his entire class with size and stellar NBA length. Yet has anyone even heard a peep about his draft prospects outside of srappy's posts here on the boneyard? To me DHam has similar prospects as a guy like Justise Winslow at Duke but no one in the media would tell you that. Granted UConn's bad season didn't help DHam's stock but that's EXACTLY my point.

The blue blood programs in question here like UK, Duke, KU, etc bring in so much elite talent each year that they essentially reload and are rarely in danger of missing the post season which is huge for prospect exposure (see Deandre Daniels in 2014). Thus, these guys can showcase their talent better than UConn because they are consistently elite on a national level. Meanwhile UConn does things differently, we go after tough, hard nosed guys that are raw and require a couple years of play before they are ready for the big scene, which partially explain UConn's cyclical nature and roller coaster performances over 5 year periods.

It's not that scouts and analysts don't SEE UConn, it's because they don't percieve UConn in the same way as we are a fundamentally different type of program, our means of achieving our goals of a title differ from the other elite programs. UConn is more akin to Michigan State in this regard than Duke/UK despite our success, and MSU isn't exactly a destination spot for elite NBA-focused talent.

 

[stick]

I think Josh Selby & Cliff Alexander would like a word with you. Selby was considered by some to be the #1 PG his sr year ahead of Joseph, Knight, Irving, etc. After a sub par season he declared and got drafted in the 2nd round and lasted less than 50 games in the NBA. Cliff Alexander was a a top 5 high school player and a lock lottery pick going into this season and will now be lucky to be a late 1st round pick after a lackluster freshman season. Both played for Self at KU.

There's no question that Andre Drummond was and is a physical specimen, but in his lone season in college that's all he showed with limited basketball skills. Embiid on the other hand in his lone season showed he had the best "feel" for a big man in a long, long, time. If he didn't have the injury scares, he would have been a no-brainer 1st pick. Prior to the draft, Drummond was considered a poor man's Dwight Howard and Embiid was considered a 7 foot poor man's Olajuwon. Exposure had absolutely nothing to do with their relative draft positions. Elfrid Payton was the 10th pick last year playing for Louisiana-Lafayette.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Hamilton shot 38% this season to Winslow's 49%. Winslow was a much, much better player.

 

[BUConn10]

I think Josh Selby & Cliff Alexander would like a word with you. Selby was considered by some to be the #1 PG his sr year ahead of Joseph, Knight, Irving, etc. After a sub par season he declared and got drafted in the 2nd round and lasted less than 50 games in the NBA. Cliff Alexander was a a top 5 high school player and a lock lottery pick going into this season and will now be lucky to be a late 1st round pick after a lackluster freshman season. Both played for Self at KU.

There's no question that Andre Drummond was and is a physical specimen, but in his lone season in college that's all he showed with limited basketball skills. Embiid on the other hand in his lone season showed he had the best "feel" for a big man in a long, long, time. If he didn't have the injury scares, he would have been a no-brainer 1st pick. Prior to the draft, Drummond was considered a poor man's Dwight Howard and Embiid was considered a 7 foot poor man's Olajuwon. Exposure had absolutely nothing to do with their relative draft positions. Elfrid Payton was the 10th pick last year playing for Louisiana-Lafayette.

Both Alexander and Selby's college careers were tarnished by improper benefits and and character allegations that certainly didn't help their stock.

 

[businesslawyer]

I would blame that more on our inability to close many talented big-bodied recruits. AO had potential, but never made the jump to a college stud. Drummond was a one and done talent. Since then we hit big on a sleeper in Brimah, but we haven't had any bruiser type bigs that could contribute major minutes.

See, with all due respect this is what makes it so hard to be on the board these days. Let me translate exactly what you said into a statement that did not set out to be unbelievably pessimistic just for the sake of being so.

"Wow, look at what we've produced for Bigs in just the last half decade. We had AO, who was a stud. Was at worst the third most important (and probably the second most important) player in our national championship run, and was studly enough to be drafted despite having let his ego and problems with Coach Calhoun interfere with his further development. Then we brought in Andre Drummond, who was a total freak and a lottery pick with a bright NBA future ahead of him. And now we have Brimah, who came in barely having played and after two years is already a serious draft prospect and a conference DPOY. Join the party young man.

There is no difference in what I just said and what you said, except that unbelievably you've turned what should be three drafted Centers in a half decade into a negative. Other than Kentucky, exactly where is he going to go whose story on Centers is materially better than ours?

 

[stick]

Both Alexander and Selby's college careers were tarnished by improper benefits and and character allegations that certainly didn't help their stock.

You think the NBA cares at all about that. It's their play on the court that caused their stock to drop.

 

[BUConn10]

Hamilton shot 38% this season to Winslow's 49%. Winslow was a much, much better player.

You can't just pick one stat to declare a player as better. Hamilton played more minutes and was relied on to take more shots which led to a lower FG%, although I would agree JW is a better finisher at this point. DHam was a far superior rebounder, ball handler and was exceptional at setting up his teammates with easy baskets which translates to significant out-of-position assists, which is a valuable indicator of his future outlook in the NBA.

Winslow is a better player right now and deserves to be drafted ahead of DHam. Yet, my point is more of how he wasn't even considered as a valuable prospect all season long.

 

[businesslawyer]

UConn being on ESPN a good deal doesn't really change anything in my opinion. if anything, the Drummond example proves my point further. Look at the draft profiles of Drummond and Embiid at their one years at their respective programs, near identical numbers, same positions while Drummond id say was an even more impressive physical specimen than Embiid. Come draft day, Drummond is getting non-sense, unquantifiable reviews from analysts like "weak motor" or whatever the hell that means. Meanwhile Embiid is being rumored to go ahead of even Wiggins who has been considered an NBA phenom-lock since 9th grade, even WHILE Embiid is entering the draft with major injury that won't let him play his entire first year!

Drummond plummets to #9 while Embiid with serious injury concerns goes #3. The difference? Analysts and scouts actually watch KU much more closely for assessing potential prospects than they do UConn.

Another example, this past season we had Daniel Hamilton, who in my opinion was one of the true Top 5 impact freshman in his entire class with size and stellar NBA length. Yet has anyone even heard a peep about his draft prospects outside of srappy's posts here on the boneyard? To me DHam has similar prospects as a guy like Justise Winslow at Duke but no one in the media would tell you that. Granted UConn's bad season didn't help DHam's stock but that's EXACTLY my point.

The blue blood programs in question here like UK, Duke, KU, etc bring in so much elite talent each year that they essentially reload and are rarely in danger of missing the post season which is huge for prospect exposure (see Deandre Daniels in 2014). Thus, these guys can showcase their talent better than UConn because they are consistently elite on a national level. Meanwhile UConn does things differently, we go after tough, hard nosed guys that are raw and require a couple years of play before they are ready for the big scene, which partially explain UConn's cyclical nature and roller coaster performances over 5 year periods.

It's not that scouts and analysts don't SEE UConn, it's because they don't percieve UConn in the same way as we are a fundamentally different type of program, our means of achieving our goals of a title differ from the other elite programs. UConn is more akin to Michigan State in this regard than Duke/UK despite our success, and MSU isn't exactly a destination spot for elite NBA-focused talent.

You think that DAniel Hamlton had a comparable year to Winslow? You think that scouts -- who keep their job by finding prospects in Europe and South America and Davidson and the Big Sky -- don't evaluate players at UConn and Kansas based on nothing more than their NBA prospects? Seriously, stop posting.

 

[BUConn10]

You think that DAniel Hamlton had a comparable year to Winslow? You think that scouts -- who keep their job by finding prospects in Europe and South America and Davidson and the Big Sky -- don't evaluate players at UConn and Kansas based on nothing more than their NBA prospects? Seriously, stop posting.

I legitimately don't understand what you are trying to say here. What the hell else would they evaluate prospects on?

I'll stop posting once you do us all a favor and stop trying to communicate with other living organisms all together.

 

[Fishy]

Yes I would but I hear some thinking he's going to come here and just dominate is just a little too much. I think part of his high ranking in high school is bc he just grew faster than his classmates.

He's only half-way through his high school career.

Maybe it's a little too soon to start making definitive statements about his abilities, especially given that bigs develop slower than guards.

 

[caw]

Winslow is a better run/jump athlete which will always garner the upside label. Hamilton probably is a better ball handler and mid-range shooter but Winslow was a better finisher at the rim while being a good spot up shooter. Hamilton was also a better passer. Hamilton would have looked much better (then he did) next to Okafor, in general as a shooter/finisher.

As for Drummond vs Embiid, in relation to Brown, I'm not sure you can simply look at draft position and say Embiid got more scout looks. Embiid did one thing Drummond didn't in college: show a post game. For as athletic as Drummond looked he also showed very little post game his one year at UConn. It could be noted their relative ages in their one year in college also. Drummond is about 7 months older and has been in the NBA 2 full seasons longer. As such, it's not surprising Drummond got the immature label and Embiid didn't.

 

[johnhuskies95]

UConn being on ESPN a good deal doesn't really change anything in my opinion. if anything, the Drummond example proves my point further. Look at the draft profiles of Drummond and Embiid at their one years at their respective programs, near identical numbers, same positions while Drummond id say was an even more impressive physical specimen than Embiid. Come draft day, Drummond is getting non-sense, unquantifiable reviews from analysts like "weak motor" or whatever the hell that means. Meanwhile Embiid is being rumored to go ahead of even Wiggins who has been considered an NBA phenom-lock since 9th grade, even WHILE Embiid is entering the draft with major injury that won't let him play his entire first year!

Drummond plummets to #9 while Embiid with serious injury concerns goes #3. The difference? Analysts and scouts actually watch KU much more closely for assessing potential prospects than they do UConn.

Another example, this past season we had Daniel Hamilton, who in my opinion was one of the true Top 5 impact freshman in his entire class with size and stellar NBA length. Yet has anyone even heard a peep about his draft prospects outside of srappy's posts here on the boneyard? To me DHam has similar prospects as a guy like Justise Winslow at Duke but no one in the media would tell you that. Granted UConn's bad season didn't help DHam's stock but that's EXACTLY my point.

The blue blood programs in question here like UK, Duke, KU, etc bring in so much elite talent each year that they essentially reload and are rarely in danger of missing the post season which is huge for prospect exposure (see Deandre Daniels in 2014). Thus, these guys can showcase their talent better than UConn because they are consistently elite on a national level. Meanwhile UConn does things differently, we go after tough, hard nosed guys that are raw and require a couple years of play before they are ready for the big scene, which partially explain UConn's cyclical nature and roller coaster performances over 5 year periods.

It's not that scouts and analysts don't SEE UConn, it's because they don't percieve UConn in the same way as we are a fundamentally different type of program, our means of achieving our goals of a title differ from the other elite programs. UConn is more akin to Michigan State in this regard than Duke/UK despite our success, and MSU isn't exactly a destination spot for elite NBA-focused talent.

If you followed Drummond's recruitment you would know there were those questions about him before he ever committed to UConn. Obviously it's BS, but basketball scouts are notorious for getting caught up in a herd mentality.

There are a couple cases where exposure probably comes into play for guys at other schools, particularly UK(Daniel Orton should've never been close to a first rounder). But overall I don't think UConn's players are hurt at all by exposure.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I think if AD was a true Husky, he would have been drafted higher.

 

[pnow15]

DHam is still a boy. Has a rail thin body. No one knows what happens when he puts on weight if he puts on weight.
Winslow has an NBA body now He physically can play with anyone. Hugh difference.

 

[Rocktheworld]

DHam is still a boy. Has a rail thin body. No one knows what happens when he puts on weight if he puts on weight.
Winslow has an NBA body now He physically can play with anyone. Hugh difference.

I think the theme of this season should be

KILL THE BOY, DHAM