Rakim Lubin---our versiono f Dejuan Blair?

[scrappy2.0]

Hey man if I was Lubin I would want to be compared to Blair. Id set my personal standards high--my bet is Im sure he does too! Nothing wrong with setting a high benchmark. Im sure he didnt come in thinking well maybe Ill play a few minutes when Im a junior--its more like Ill be the next Dejaun Blair and the haters can just hate SET THE BENCHMARK HIGH IN EVERYTHING U DO!!!!!!!

 

[CL82]

dude, you got a chubby for the rock, or what? ....

Only got this far and I spit out my water. I felt like Danny Thomas.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Hey man if I was Lubin I would want to be compared to Blair. Id set my personal standards high--my bet is Im sure he does too! Nothing wrong with setting a high benchmark. Im sure he didnt come in thinking well maybe Ill play a few minutes when Im a junior--its more like Ill be the next Dejaun Blair and the haters can just hate SET THE BENCHMARK HIGH IN EVERYTHING U DO!!!!!!!

**** are you talking about? What does your constant over-hyping of this kid have to do with the standards he sets for himself?

I can say "I bet Rodney is going to be better than Michael Jordan next year" but it doesn't add much to a discussion of the team or their prospects.

 

[kcc1442]

I'll take a Patric Young. Especially if he is as well mannered and well spoken as PY.

 

[selles]

dude, you got a chubby for the rock, or what? I hope he's half of what you and his boys who showed up last spring say he is. Also it's easy to see what from watching him play? The games and clips I saw were absolutely painful in that he hardly ever saw the ball b/c his guards were terrible and Lubin didn't even consider playing hard most of the time. Obviously, high school games so it means very little. But there's no way you saw a guy who's going to average 11 and 9 (Blair's frosh stats) from those games/clips.

I generally like your stuff but you're definitely the yin to scrappy's yang on the Rock. You're always talking down about him.

You may have seen two poorly filmed high school games, but I read the local articles all season. And unless everyone in Georgia s*cks, this kid is going to contribute. Will he be Dajuan Blair? Of course not.

But for 2 years we've been screaming for a guy who can bang bodies inside. Well this kid has a monster body and is coached by Kevin Ollie. He's going to see time this year, he's going to play hard, he's going to leave some bruises on opponents, and we're going to enjoy him.

I also suspect he'll be more skilled than we anticipate, but we'll see....

 

[I Bleed Blue]

No way he's 6'8". More like 6'6". Still, should be a contributor this season.

 

[Stinger92860]

I'd be happy if he was the next Eric Hayward.

Not a good comparison, considering his post graduation issues.

 

[Silk31]

All we should be asking of Rock this season is to throw his Rock self around in the paint and grabbing boards. He at the very least gives our roster a dimension it has seriously been lacking since AO & Drummond left.

He will assume the Olander big body role off the pine so we are already improved in that area

 

[husky99]

I heard he jogged over the Himalayan s in 5th grade and scored 115 Canadian points last summer in an aau injured

 

[jibsey]

At his size and strength you just have to ask one question. After he grabs an offensive board ( which he will) can he lay it back in? He doesn't need an 8 or even 10 foot shot just a 2 footer and an ability to make a free throw which alone would give him 8 pts a game with a little PT. Plus of course the ability to use his 5 fouls.

 

[scrappy2.0]

At his size and strength you just have to ask one question. After he grabs an offensive board ( which he will) can he lay it back in? He doesn't need an 8 or even 10 foot shot just a 2 footer and an ability to make a free throw which alone would give him 8 pts a game with a little PT. Plus of course the ability to use his 5 fouls.

He's got a nice soft accurate touch. This guy is more skilled than people realize. It's going to power through people at the basket--who exactly stops a person who weighs 265 pounds who is athletic when he is sitting under the basket with the ball. He'll get his right away and by end of season this thread will look different.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

If he makes any positive impact to the team in the next 4 years it'll be a bonus. Not saying this to disparage the young man, but he's more suited for Howie and CCSU. He's the type of PF/center that they traditionally recruit and can sign...undersized (height) with muscle. A 6'6" PF playing for a top 25 program better bring a talented skillset to get playing time. Time will tell, hopefully it works out for both him and UConn. If not...

 

[Stinger92860]

If he makes any positive impact to the team in the next 4 years it'll be a bonus. Not saying this to disparage the young man, but he's more suited for Howie and CCSU. He's the type of PF/center that they traditionally recruit and can sign...undersized (height) with muscle. A 6'6" PF playing for a top 25 program better bring a talented skillset to get playing time. Time will tell, hopefully it works out for both him and UConn. If not...

Having never seen him play, how can you make that assessment and ccsu comment? I have much faith in KO. He is not recruiting ccsu players.

 

[Inyatkin]

Hey maybe we could stop conflating physical appearance with basketball ability

 

[CallMeBruce]

Hey maybe we could stop conflating physical appearance with basketball ability

Yeah, I'm not sure why he's automatically DeJuan Blair or Jeff Adrien rather than Ed Nelson.

 

[Rocktheworld]

If he makes any positive impact to the team in the next 4 years it'll be a bonus. Not saying this to disparage the young man, but he's more suited for Howie and CCSU. He's the type of PF/center that they traditionally recruit and can sign...undersized (height) with muscle. A 6'6" PF playing for a top 25 program better bring a talented skillset to get playing time. Time will tell, hopefully it works out for both him and UConn. If not...

Well thank goodness UConn happened to steal Jeff Adrien from Central.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Well thank goodness UConn happened to steal Jeff Adrien from Central.

Good comparison, to a certain degree. Both about the same height, 6'6", smallish for a PF. Both well-built, physical players. But I don't think that Rakim is coming to UConn with the same developed BB talent and skillset that Jeff Adrien had coming out of HS. It was a tough recruiting year for UConn and KO dealing with the NCAA ban and transition from JC. That helped Rakim get an offer from UConn. Would he have gotten an offer this year? Probably not.

We're all Husky fans, so we're all pulling for him. But it's going to be an uphill climb. I think he's doing exactly the right thing to get PT and make a contribution, carve a niche out in rebounding, something many frontcourt players don't necessarily embrace.

 

[jibsey]

Good comparison, to a certain degree. Both about the same height, 6'6", smallish for a PF. Both well-built, physical players. But I don't think that Rakim is coming to UConn with the same developed BB talent and skillset that Jeff Adrien had coming out of HS. It was a tough recruiting year for UConn and KO dealing with the NCAA ban and transition from JC. That helped Rakim get an offer from UConn. Would he have gotten an offer this year? Probably not.

We're all Husky fans, so we're all pulling for him. But it's going to be an uphill climb. I think he's doing exactly the right thing to get PT and make a contribution, carve a niche out in rebounding, something many frontcourt players don't necessarily embrace.

I could not disagree more, even though we are national champions, we were out rebounded and pushed around a good deal last couple years and we've been needing a player like him to provide some muscle. I trust KO's assessment that he's going to be of some value for 4 years no matter what recruiting situation we're in. I can't wait to see him on the floor.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I don't know whether to ignore the OP, make a lame Kasongo reference, or just mention that Steely Dan will be at Oakdale tonight. Or all 3.

 

[prankster]

We got Adrien and Rocky, let's find Apollo

Maybe we need a new trainer, too!

 

[superjohn]

The expectations are ridiculous, Blair was one of the best players in the country and Adrien became on of the best pf's in the country. Lubin is actually bigger and stronger than Adrien coming into UConn but he's not going to have the skill and polish Adrien had as a freshman.

 

[Waquoit]

.....or just mention that Steely Dan will be at Oakdale tonight.

I'm goin' and yes there's gas in the car!

 

[Jluc]

If he makes any positive impact to the team in the next 4 years it'll be a bonus. Not saying this to disparage the young man, but he's more suited for Howie and CCSU. He's the type of PF/center that they traditionally recruit and can sign...undersized (height) with muscle. A 6'6" PF playing for a top 25 program better bring a talented skillset to get playing time. Time will tell, hopefully it works out for both him and UConn. If not...

This post is even worse than the one comparing him to Blair. Let the kid play, then you all can decide how good he will be and who is comparison is and all that crap.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I'm goin' and yes there's gas in the car!

On the set list, I believe

 

[Justin M]

Last year our biggest problem rebounding was that Brimah would chase shots, he wasn't a disciplined shot blocker, which comes with experience. A guy like Lubin allows Brimah to use his motor and chase shots all in the paint while having Lubin on the weak side blocks rebounding the absolute hell out of the ball. IE: Jeff Adrien and Hasheem, that team was pretty decent.... a lot of similarities this year