Roscoe Smith makes the Lakers Training Camp Roster

[RayRay19]

Whatever....loved what he brought to the team but gotta say who knows if we had him we probably would not have won the chip....loved the way it played out

 

[intlzncster]

If I recall correctly, Roscoe got himself in trouble before the first game of the 2012 season and sat the entire first half. Olander and Daniels played well in that game and all of a sudden Roscoe had broken the record for quickest detour into Calhoun's doghouse. It took longer than expected for Olander to be exposed (since he actually played pretty well in the cupcake portion of the schedule) and Roscoe was the odd man out of the rotation all too often.

By the end of the year, we knew who Olander was, we knew Daniels wasn't ready, and we knew Oriakhi was already dreaming about Phil Pressey. So Roscoe finally got minutes (at the 4, where he belongs) and started looking like Roscoe again.

I don't know, it seemed pretty clear who Tyler Olander was, taking into account his freshman year work and who he was playing against during the cupcake portion of the season. He was always slow, never athletic, and basketball-wise, didn't seem like he belonged at a high major program. JMO though.

 

[mauconnfan]

Actually I thought Tyler belonged as a bench player early on but he really peaked early. Never added much to his game but that 3 against Maryland was pretty big and that performance vs ND was also something pretty special and proved he was capable.

 

[James]

Olander had offers from florida, wake, virginia and ND. He was very much worthy of a high d1 offer. the dude just had a terrible work ethic, typical for 18 year olds. Just because a prospect doesn't pan out doesn't mean he didn't belong, he probably would have been lackadaisical at a div II school as well.

 

[champs99and04]

The thought that Tyler Olander was a mid-major basketball player needs to be buried. He played damn near 2,000 minutes for a program that was the best in the country during his four years. He played seventeen minutes in the final four, 62 minutes in the NCAA Tournament, and went 9-1 in 10 career tournament games (he DNP'd vs. 'Nova, Iowa State, and Kentucky this year). No, he wasn't the primary or even secondary basis for that success, but the mere fact that a Hall of Fame head coach, and then later, perhaps a future Hall of Famer, trusted him to play crucial minutes on the largest possible stage is in itself a huge accomplishment.

It's interesting. As a fan base, we're boastful, even sometimes conceited when we're measuring our success against other programs. But yet when it's time to appraise the talent and ability of the players that are responsible for that success, that context occasionally gets neglected. I can promise you that everyone who gets a scholarship from this place is really f'in good at basketball, and those that play extensive, significant minutes are on the court for a reason.

Is Tyler Olander as good as Roscoe Smith? Obviously not. He's not as good as Alex Oriakhi, either. But for a good portion of the 2012 season, he was better than those two. During the first 15 games that year - roughly half the season - he averaged 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block per game. In addition, his passing skills from the high post made him a better fit with Drummond, and he defended the perimeter better than Oriakhi. Tyler Olander played a role on a championship team as a freshman, worked hard over the summer, and earned the minutes he was given as a sophomore. He was recruited as a power forward and showed glimpses of excelling in a certain role before being pressed into duty as a center following the mass exodus of 2012. For some reason, this always gets discounted - the kid had his flaws and his work ethic is questionable, but he never did get the credit he deserved for playing the role of sacrificial lamb at center his final two years when he was always better suited as a four.

Roscoe Smith was a great Husky, but the player he would become at UNLV was not the guy he was as a sophomore at UConn. He averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds per game while shooting 42% from the field and 24% from three, and her per minute numbers for that season were actually a little worse than Olander's. On a team that was spacing-deprived all season, Smith was a complete zero offensively, and as a result, the things he did do well - defending, running the floor, grabbing tough rebounds - were mortgaged.

When Olander hit the wall in the middle of the year, Smith inherited those minutes and was back to playing like his old self by the end of the year. I don't blame him for transferring and will always hold him in a high regard. But spare me the revisionist history BS about how he got a raw deal here.

 

[Inyatkin]

It doesn't help Olander's reputation that he made a really poor closing impression. His minutes in the Florida game were absolute agony, and his defense on Patric Young was about the only time after the opening minutes that Florida looked like they had a shot.

 

[Deadrody]

1) Your Hall of Fame who has had health issues isn't sure if he's ready to decide if he's coming back yet. So, let's transfer to a program with a first time head coach. Both are unknowns.

2) He got in the dog house for whatever reason, but he ended up gaining his minutes back and was back to playing come the end of the season.

3) Banned from the postseason. Transfer banned from the whole season.

4) Even with realignment, and coaching uncertainty at UConn, transferring to a MWC School with a new coach, 1 sweet 16 in twenty seasons and their best and only impact nba in twenty years is what shawn Marion?

Look, I harbor no ill will to roscoe. I loved him at UConn and I hope he sticks with LA.

I won't buy the narrative that it's our fault he transferred and to transfer to unlv of all places was stupid.

No need to bad mouth the kid, but certainly no need to bad mouth JC.

I'm honestly not following the logic here. Deciding to leave and picking a destination are two entirely different things. It would be against NCAA regulations for there to be any useful information out there for a player to use to decide what his possible destination might be while deciding IF he should leave or not.

Furthermore, due to the limited time with their new team and the forced year off, not a lot of major D1 teams consider or take transfers, much the way most high level programs don't typically take JUCO players.

You have to separate Roscoe's decision from his ultimate destination. You really can't fault him for leaving under the circumstances, and once he decided to leave, how many schools do you actually think were interested ? UNLV is a pretty good landing spot if you ask me.

 

[Joobie]

I am not sure what happened with Roscoe & it bothers me to this day! When it became public knowledge that Alex was bailing, I asked Roscoe TO HIS FACE if he was also planning to leave. He assured me that he was staying. Once it was announced he was transferring, I saw him again. He looked miserable: like he lost his best friend. I think the guy got bad advice. I think he wanted to stay, but listened to the wrong people. Would love the opportunity to ask him what happened, but I think he needs to get the benefit of the doubt. Wish him well & hope his NBA dreams come true~!

 

[Waquoit]

I think he had less of a grip on the flakier kids like Curtis, Roscoe, etc. I think DeAndre might have driven him to the funny farm.

That's so true about DD. JC got so pissed at him against Rutgers he threw a punch at him. Only time i ever saw that.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm honestly not following the logic here. Deciding to leave and picking a destination are two entirely different things. It would be against NCAA regulations for there to be any useful information out there for a player to use to decide what his possible destination might be while deciding IF he should leave or not.

Furthermore, due to the limited time with their new team and the forced year off, not a lot of major D1 teams consider or take transfers, much the way most high level programs don't typically take JUCO players.

You have to separate Roscoe's decision from his ultimate destination. You really can't fault him for leaving under the circumstances, and once he decided to leave, how many schools do you actually think were interested ? UNLV is a pretty good landing spot if you ask me.

Isn't that exactly what I said though?

I don't fault him for leaving, I just think he made a dumb decision.

 

[Kembacity]

I am not sure what happened with Roscoe & it bothers me to this day! When it became public knowledge that Alex was bailing, I asked Roscoe TO HIS FACE if he was also planning to leave. He assured me that he was staying. Once it was announced he was transferring, I saw him again. He looked miserable: like he lost his best friend. I think the guy got bad advice. I think he wanted to stay, but listened to the wrong people. Would love the opportunity to ask him what happened, but I think he needs to get the benefit of the doubt. Wish him well & hope his NBA dreams come true~!

No clue, wasn't there and didn't ever talk to him around this time, but the reason he may have seemed so distraught is he was likely being grilled by fans all the time about whether or not he was staying, and responded the way he responded to you. After making the decision to leave... he was probably treated like crap by everyone who passed by him on campus, which is somewhat to be expected.

Being ridiculed all day about a personal decision (but moreso about lying before that personal decision to calm fans) has got to wear on a young man's psyche

 

[Joobie]

I honestly believe when he told me he was staying, he meant it. Afterwards, I think he was persuaded to leave, prolly by the same person who convinced him he wouldn't have to sit out a year at another D1 school.