Samson Johnson Off Season

[Conndog]

Don't do any hedging

 

[businesslawyer]

He also gets abused by guys just ramming into him with shoulders. Refs should call it but He should take some charges to force them to.

Same as when Karaban was guarding Edey. When you get whacked in the chest by the shoulder of the offensive player, some times you just have to go down and dare the refs not to call it.

 

[Palatine]

He's not able to put on the weight needed to hold his own against the big guys. What he needs to do is work on what he has.

He has insane athleticism and length. Working on not fouling and setting proper screens should be priority one.

With his length, the next thing should be working on post moves, face-ups, passing, and free-throws.

Last thing should be his handle.

He might be able to put on a few pounds. But I agree he should play to his strengths. Getting stronger is much more important then adding bulk.

 

[ThabeetDown]

There's no reason he can't be the starting center. Honestly, I will be shocked if he isn't. I trust him to put in the work necessary.

What's awful on this board is so so so many of you discounting the current players on the roster for shiny new transfers. Not wanting Solo Ball to have a chance so you can get a guy from Dayton or UMass. C'mon now. Show some respect.

 

[alphasigko]

Gain weight, talk to Hass to understand what he did last off season, and WORK DAMN HARD to improve his game!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Do what Rodman did. Get in the gym and have a couple of guys just shoot thousands of shots to learn how to track and move in to position for rebounds. He has zero instincts on how to move and get position while the shot is on the air.

 

[JohnnyJr]

There's no reason he can't be the starting center. Honestly, I will be shocked if he isn't. I trust him to put in the work necessary.

What's awful on this board is so so so many of you discounting the current players on the roster for shiny new transfers. Not wanting Solo Ball to have a chance so you can get a guy from Dayton or UMass. C'mon now. Show some respect.

That’s how it is now with the portal, you don’t have to have down years waiting for players to develop. You don’t really think we’d be a title contender next year by sticking with only our current players do you?

 

[Greedo]

Put on weight. Work on boxing out.

 

[kansashusky]

Learn how to score without alley oops. Learn how to catch a pass. Not foul every thirty seconds. Boom.

 

[JungleLobo]

Move him to the 2, take 8-12 3’s a game from the edge of the big Husky insignia.

 

[JesusAllen11]

Eliminate foul trouble and he’s one of the most versatile defenders in college

 

[Doctor Hoop]

What does he need to do to be a legitimate BE starting Center?

How much can he realistically transform his body?

Were going to need him to make a leap next season

Get one post move that he can reliably make going left, and one going right.
Improve his upper body strength.
Work on holding position on D without fouling
Make free throws.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I don't think he's a center, but he has played well there for us. I think maybe he'd be better as a PF and would like to see him work on his shooting and handle.

 

[Agent0]

Rebounding

 

[Dove]

Put on weight

Work on his handle

You don't like "Slamson?"

 

[August_West]

Don't want him adding weight, just fix 3 things and he'll be more than adequate.

Cut down on the fouls, don't mind the aggressiveness but too often his fouls are meaningless touch fouls that achieve nothing

Care about rebounding. Too often he just seems completely uninterested in getting a rebound. That's an easy fix with the coaches yelling at him all summer

Improve the FT shooting. Not much to say here, get it to 60% instead of 40% and it'll make a big difference

This. Its all we need

 

[August_West]

For the put on weight crowd, how’d that work out for Clingan and Carlton?

Answer. Terrible.

Why you would want him to sabatoge his two best assets ( speed and spinginess) boggles my mind.

Those assets can make him a better rebounder if used the right way.

 

[SubbaBub]

Defend without fouling. He's not AS or Clingan but he doesn't have to be. Just be a killer defender. Ne can already protect the rim and dunk.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Don't do any hedging

This makes zero sense as a recommendation.

 

[TheChamps990411]

What does he need to do to be a legitimate BE starting Center?

How much can he realistically transform his body?

Were going to need him to make a leap next season

He is an explosive athlete but very raw skill wise. What id like to see from him:

Learn to set a screen without fouling.
Better box out.
Stop hacking at the ball two feet from the floor. Get your hands straight up.
Improve footwork and learn a couple reliable post moves.
HIT THE WEIGHTS!!!

 

[3rdbass]

Put on a little more muscle and work on his lateral quickness so he won't have to grab with his hands on defense all the time. He needs to stop using his hands on defense so much to stop a move. If he is stronger he can survive some physical play without reaching.

 

[Scottobot]

What does he need to do to be a legitimate BE starting Center?

How much can he realistically transform his body?

Were going to need him to make a leap next season

#1 needs to be able to box out strong players and grab contested defensive rebounds

#2 needs to not pick up stupid fouls

#3 needs to shoot FTs at > 60%

#bonus to be a pro player needs to either develop a black to basket scoring game, or be able to face up and shoot.

 

[mauconnfan]

It’s simple but then again it’s not. How do you train someone to stop reaching on D and quit moving while setting a screen? Need his quickness and athletic ability that change the dynamic, available a few more minutes without foul trouble.

But he can learn to turn and box out proactively. Absolutely needs to rebound a lot better!

 

[Chief00]

It’s simple but then again it’s not. How do you train someone to stop reaching on D and quit moving while setting a screen? Need his quickness and athletic ability that change the dynamic, available a few more minutes without foul trouble.

But he can learn to turn and box out proactively. Absolutely needs to rebound a lot better!

I agree, Samson needs to learn to play from the inside out. His current game is from the outside in. That explains his step behind the play fouls. Boxing out also assumes he starts the play in the preferred position, but so often Samson’s guy unfortunately is the one in position to do that. It is hard to box out a guy who’s starting point is being closer to the basket. True, much of this goes back to high hedging, something you can do at URI when most games you are not going against a good Big Man.
Danny has said that good big men are the primary difference between UConn’s level and URI’s level. The one resulting adjustment that still needs to be made is stop having 6-10 235pd guys stop trying to chase 6-1 point guards 23 feet from the basket - the risk /reward is just not there. Foul problems is often the result either 23 feet from the basket or being a step behind recovering to the post and being inherently out of position on post defense or rebounding.

 

[August_West]

This makes zero sense as a recommendation.

Yup. The kid is great at it and getting better all the time. His speed to recovery is tremendous. He will never be the wrench on that front, because the wrench had some instinctual ball hawking chops and great hands on top of the physical ability, but Samson really has been a plus defender in that specific area and will continue to improve.

Hurley obviously loves the ball pressure and disruptiveness the hedge brings. He’s played it with every 5 man more times than not except for Clingan. And even Clingan would show from time to time. It’s not going away, and it shouldn’t as long as you have players whose attributes call for it. Johnson’s absolutely do.