Georgios Papagiannis (No College - Playing Pro Overseas)

[CTBasketball]

Well in fairness, UConn fans would be less scared because we've seen Brimah for 2 years and understand his limitations and everything he needs to work on. Someone from the outside sees a junior who was just AAC Defensive Player of the Year and is on most NBA mock drafts for 2016. That would scare away most centers who want to play a lot this coming season.

AAC Defensive Player of the Year doesn't have that great of a ring to it...

 

[TheChamps990411]

If this kid is smart he comes to the states and plays college ball for a year with the nba on the very near horizon.

 

[Kitaman]

If he can get more than 4 freaking rebounds per game , he has no reason to "fear" Brimah already being here

I don't think its 'fear' per se, maybe a path of least resistance. He doesn't know if Brimah (who is a Captain) has favor with the coaches or the level of UConn's investment in him. If he does a pros and cons lists Brimah is on the con side.

Its one of the downside of taking on 'projects' as recruits. They could be a four year project.

Why take the chance IF a more desirable opportunity exists?

 

[CallMeBruce]

AAC Defensive Player of the Year doesn't have that great of a ring to it...

It means that he's an entrenched starter, and if the guy wouldn't take that award seriously, why would he want to come play in that league?

 

[Huskyforlife]

It means that he's an entrenched starter, and if the guy wouldn't take that award seriously, why would he want to come play in that league?

Because were Uconn, you would hope we would outshine our league. You're probably right, a kid might see that and think there's no playing time. If that's the case that sucks.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Because were Uconn, you would hope we would outshine our league. You're probably right, a kid might see that and think there's no playing time. If that's the case that sucks.

In his case, as a one-and-done, he's probably looking for someplace that has an obvious opening at center, rather than a team with two-year starter who just won his league's DPOY award. It's just not a great fit.

 

[James]

AAC Defensive Player of the Year doesn't have that great of a ring to it...

This post is ridiculous. maybe brimah should stop bothering protecting the rim, since its so pointless. it isn't just the DPOY, go look at all the numbers. he had a monster 2nd year for a guy so new to the game. 14/7/5 blocks per 40 minutes, while reducing his fouling. he is not a great rebounder for his position but that doesn't diminish his impact. uconn probably would have went 15-20 without him playing this year, and things next year would look much bleaker.

All that said, he played poorly down the stretch, therefore people have a bad taste in their mouth so I get it. This might not be a bad thing though, if he stays 4 years and makes the same statistical jumps yearly.

 

[Stainmaster]

Don't forget that Brimah ranked 2nd in blocked shots in the entire country. That stat stands out to kids, especially kids who don't watch him on a game-by-game basis and see how inconsistent he is in all other areas of the game.

 

[tcf15]

Have we gotten official confirmation that Amida Brimah isn't going to the NBA? I know that his guardian said he wasn't considering it, but Brimah is still showing up on some lists indicating he hasn't officially announced yet. And this tweet, too:

 

[James]

Have we gotten official confirmation that Amida Brimah isn't going to the NBA? I know that his guardian said he wasn't considering it, but Brimah is still showing up on some lists indicating he hasn't officially announced yet. And this tweet, too:

yeah things have been pretty quiet, too quiet on that front. I would say the same for hamilton but i believe his mom told borges he was returning.

 

[tcf15]

yeah things have been pretty quiet, too quiet on that front. I would say the same for hamilton but i believe his mom told borges he was returning.

Yeah, DHam's mom's quote was definitely reassuring about him returning:

"He'll be going back to school," Karen said, matter-of-factly.

And yes, that means UConn, not another program.

"He's definitely happy," she continued. "He wants the opportunity to continue to get better. He wants to concentrate on his studies. Those are the types of things that we care about."​

But Brimah's guardian, looking back, didn't really say if Brimah would be back or not, but he did confirm Brimah wouldn't transfer:

On Transfer: "Nobody’s thought about anything like that at all. That stuff is not … I don’t know how that stuff got out there,"

On NBA: "Shoot, honestly I don’t know. I don’t think so. He just took a couple of days off, we haven't had that discussion at all. It's not on our minds. We're not even close to that at all."​

Not trying to stir anything up at all. Just think we need to wait for an official announcement/confirmation from Brimah.

 

[James]

Yeah, DHam's mom's quote was definitely reassuring about him returning:

"He'll be going back to school," Karen said, matter-of-factly.

And yes, that means UConn, not another program.

"He's definitely happy," she continued. "He wants the opportunity to continue to get better. He wants to concentrate on his studies. Those are the types of things that we care about."​

But Brimah's guardian, looking back, didn't really say if Brimah would be back or not, but he did confirm Brimah wouldn't transfer:

On Transfer: "Nobody’s thought about anything like that at all. That stuff is not … I don’t know how that stuff got out there,"

On NBA: "Shoot, honestly I don’t know. I don’t think so. He just took a couple of days off, we haven't had that discussion at all. It's not on our minds. We're not even close to that at all."​

Not trying to stir anything up at all. Just think we need to wait for an official announcement/confirmation from Brimah.

I agree, he is kind of old for a junior next season, even though he is new to the game. Somebody could take a flyer on him in the second round no question. I'd be surprised given how he ended the year.

 

[CL82]

This post is ridiculous. maybe brimah should stop bothering protecting the rim, since its so pointless. it isn't just the DPOY, go look at all the numbers. he had a monster 2nd year for a guy so new to the game. 14/7/5 blocks per 40 minutes, while reducing his fouling. he is not a great rebounder for his position but that doesn't diminish his impact. uconn probably would have went 15-20 without him playing this year, and things next year would look much bleaker.

All that said, he played poorly down the stretch, therefore people have a bad taste in their mouth so I get it. This might not be a bad thing though, if he stays 4 years and makes the same statistical jumps yearly.

People seem to forget that surgery took away Amida's opportunity to workout in the off season last year. I strongly believe that had he been able to workout, he would have looked much better last year. The same isn't true this year, so I'm expecting that "sophomore" jump in ability for next year. We'll see.

 

[asuwish]

I agree. And with Brimah here is he really going to be interested in UConn? I'm sure if he goes to college he's picking a school where he is absolutely guaranteed to be the starting center and getting 35 minutes a game.

The kid shoots 3's and and has a varied game so I don't think Brimah is a problem when it comes to spacing. This is not AO and Drummond clogging up the middle. Big front court, one for offense one for defense.

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, I have been fairly quiet on recruiting since there really hasn't been much to talk about. Offering scores of guys scholarships to me really isn't news worthy since there doesn't appear to be much differentiation about it or minimal follow-through. I guess the only thing in recruiting that matters is who you sign.
It's not a fair comparison to compare our 2015 class with Mullins since he has been in his job for a week. But I can tell you - given the assistants he has hired - that won't be a favorable comparison for us unless we make some meaningful changes. Working hard is nice if that's what's actually happening despite a lack of recent success - but at some point someone needs to say strategically and tactically what are we doing wrong? And how do we improve?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Quite frankly, I have been fairly quiet on recruiting since there really hasn't been much to talk about.

It's been very much appreciated.

 

[Stainmaster]

Okay Chief, we'll just forget that you've recently started to derail unrelated threads with your views on recruiting. Water under the bridge, no? http://the-boneyard.com/threads/uconn-in-2015-battle-4-atlantis.68717/page-2#post-1295581

 

[Chief00]

Okay Chief, we'll just forget that you've recently started to derail unrelated threads with your views on recruiting. Water under the bridge, no? http://the-boneyard.com/threads/uconn-in-2015-battle-4-atlantis.68717/page-2#post-1295581

With something like 9 on scholarship - a one sentence comment that Ollie got to sign some guys - is derailing threads. You need to get out more!

 

[BlueMAB]

Quite frankly, I have been fairly quiet on recruiting since there really hasn't been much to talk about. Offering scores of guys scholarships to me really isn't news worthy since there doesn't appear to be much differentiation about it or minimal follow-through. I guess the only thing in recruiting that matters is who you sign.
It's not a fair comparison to compare our 2015 class with Mullins since he has been in his job for a week. But I can tell you - given the assistants he has hired - that won't be a favorable comparison for us unless we make some meaningful changes. Working hard is nice if that's what's actually happening despite a lack of recent success - but at some point someone needs to say strategically and tactically what are we doing wrong? And how do we improve?

What would Andre do?

 

[Stainmaster]

Apologies for linking to Zagoria, but check the last sentence. The suspense continues.

 

[Leebo]

Heh, I like how the topic started with "He may decide soon in June!" and now we're at "He may not decide until June"

 

[James]

oregon is the favorite? dorsey and this kid makes an awesome class. Both impact players immediately.

 

[mauconnfan]

oregon is the favorite? dorsey and this kid makes an awesome class. Both impact players immediately.

You know it's funny, you would think most parents understand basketball and the coaching aspect right? Yet there are parents that allow their kids to play for coaches like Altman and Rice who will NEVER even sniff a National Championship. Makes you wonder?

 

[Stainmaster]

You know it's funny, you would think most parents understand basketball and the coaching aspect right? Yet there are parents that allow their kids to play for coaches like Altman and Rice who will NEVER even sniff a National Championship. Makes you wonder?

Some parents just don't care about titles.

 

[James]

You know it's funny, you would think most parents understand basketball and the coaching aspect right? Yet there are parents that allow their kids to play for coaches like Altman and Rice who will NEVER even sniff a National Championship. Makes you wonder?

True , I think its just the nike thing. Also Oregon is a nice spot for cali kids, out of state but close enough, so theres that at play as well. great campus/environment as well. basically the same recruiting pitch as zona, and even unlv to an extent. Cali is serious hotbed for talent right now, and really for the past decade.