What will it take for UConn to back into the hunt for March this upcoming season?

[DogMania]

Here's my list:

Adams has to come right in and give us something close to what Boat did last season. It doesn't have to come day one, but by tournament time, he needs to be close.

Purvis needs to build on what he did late last season. He needs to improve his handle and court awareness, the latter something he doesn't seem gifted at. Maybe another year under KO that will improve dramatically. As good as he was as a scorer at the end of the season, he doesn't seem to process quickly what's going on around him and never seems decisive when he receives the ball unless he's dead-red on driving it to the lane or jacking up the 3. If Adams turns out to be a solid play maker as well as scorer, we'll probably be fine if Purvis doesn't improve in that regard if he continues to flat out score.

Hamilton might be as equally an important player as Adams. The word that comes to mind is efficiency. He really needs to learn to reduce his turnovers. If he can continue to play aggressively while improving his shooting percentage, reducing his turnovers, continue to be a force on the glass and improve his defense, we can expect a monster year from him and a lot of Ws.

Brimah needs to hit the weightroom something he couldn't do last year due to shoulder surgery. If he can strengthen his core I think he will be a force next year. Not being able to be moved off the blocks will help reduce some of his fouls and help he establish better offensive and defensive positioning and balance. Better positioning and balance will help him not get some of the bumping fouls that were often bad calls, but will also help him take more balanced shots near the basket. He also needs to learn to not bring his arms down and not go for so many blocked shots that he has no business going after where he finds himself an bad defensive and rebounding position. He has to find ways to stay on the floor a lot longer than he did the past two seasons. If he can do those things, he's going to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Teams will be reluctant to bring the ball into the paint and he's going to get a ton more of those ally-oops. I'm hopeful.

Miller is such a welcomed addition. Having a big who I hope can play smart and stay on the floor and not the bench. A big who can hold his own on the boards and be a big that teams will have to defend both in the post and out on the perimeter. I think his 3 pt shooting is better than his numbers. I'm sure he was forces to take many that he had no business taking since he was Cornell's #1, 2 and 3 offensive option. Having a big who can play in the blocks but also stretch the floor and open things up for our guards and wings, not to mention opening things up for Amida down low, will be a huge plus and something we didn't have last season.

Omar needs to be more consistent and like Purvis, improve his handle. He showed a nice mid-range game late in the season. If he can shoot the 3 more efficiently, drive, hit mid-range floaters and dish to open teammates, he'll carve out some solid minutes off the bench.

TSam, I like him, but not large doses of him. He's a great player to bring off the bench to make plays for himself and teammates. To play some high energy D for a couple minutes to get the team's intensity amped up. His play tends to drop the more extended minutes he's given. Teams pretty much defend the other 5 on the floor, not worrying about his outside J. If he can improve his shooting where he can knock down at least open 3s or ones just inside the arc, that would be a plus. Him as our 3rd guard kinda scares me. Here is where I hope we get an upgrade between now and the start of the season.

Facey...not sure what to expect from him. He showed some nice instincts on the glass early on but disappeared as the season went along. He was good at getting the ball is good scoring position, but struggled to finish around the basket. He needs to get stronger, improve his handle so that he can maybe play a little wing if needed to spell Hamilton. I think his biggest need is with confidence and learning when to be assertive. I wonder what would happen if KO sends him in there for a couple minutes and tells him to make plays may it be taking midrange Js, taking it to the basket with more authority or dish to Brimah. He seems like a kid with a lot of upside, but I don't know if he has it in him to go after it. He's one that could surprise us the most over the next two seasons.

Nolan...huh. I had such high hopes that he would improve dramatically last season and he regressed. KO gave him a lot of minutes and kept on praising him late last season, but I rarely saw much of a contribution other than holding his own defensively at best. With the addition of Miller, I see him little more than a body off the bench when Miller and/or Brimah get into foul trouble. I sure hope we can add another big before the start of next season who can either spell Amida or share minutes at the 5.

Enoch is the biggest mystery in this 2015 recruiting class. I just don't know how D1 ready he will be. If he give us solid minutes without fouling at an alarming rate or turning it over, he could be a pleasant surprise. I don't know if many remember Josh Boone when he first arrived. Few expected much from him, but he ended up being a solid contributor right out of the gate. He struggled at times with being pushed around in the post, but he was a solid post defender, okay rebounder, efficient on offence around the basket albeit modest numbers. If he can come right in and play, then maybe my fear of lot of Nolan minutes will be squashed. Still would like to see them add a ready to play 5 or 4/5 combo. If they can add another Enoch type talent, then that's another 5 fouls and hopefully more productive minutes than what Nolan gave us last season. I hope that Nolan proves me wrong and bounces back as a solid contributor, but I didn't see any signs of such last season. I still have nightmares of Nolan getting the ball in great scoring position in the post and getting stuffed time after time. He has to have the slowest release and lack of hops from a UConn post player that I can remember. He seemed to make what looked like wide open dunks or bank shots scandered opportunities. His teammates simply lost confidence and stopped giving him the ball. Hopefully Enoch can take some of Nolan's minutes.

SCJr..hum. Not sure what he brings to the floor since he wasn't healthy last season. I remember how much Beverly struggled when playing hurt and how much he was able to contribute once he was healthy, albeit from a lesser athlete. SCJr seems like a similar player who has more scoring ability. If his lateral movement doesn't improve and he continues to show a lack of foot speed, especially with his first step or two, I don't see him getting much play. I'd like to see him show improvement in those areas but improve his consistency from shooting the 3 ball. Early on, he shot the 3 well, but that part of his game went south in a hurry. Shad wasn't exactly the most fleet of foot, but he carved out some PT and lots of great memories by knocking down big shots. Can SCJr improve his J enough to give us something close to what Shad did...not expecting nearly the shotmaking, but at least good enough to get a few minutes for some outside shooting off the bench. We just didn't see enough healthy Sam to know what he can do for us.

Looking over what I just wrote, I just don't know what that will translate to. Will there be any players that step up to be wining time scorers? Will they defend like they did last season, which kept them in games when the struggles greatly to score. I can see next years team being not much better than last season, but I have a feeling they'll be better by the end of the season. Will they be good enough to make a F-4 run? I don't know. I think the league will be a little better. Our OOC schedule will be challenging. It's just one of those seasons that I just don't know what to expect.

 

[8893]

We're already there imo. Adding another quality ball handler will greatly enhance our chances of an extended run.

 

[Kitaman]

Now that's the DM I remember. I'll respond in a couple of days when I finish reading your post.

Glad to see you feeling posting like your old self. Could only mean good things!

 

[Huskybass]

Brimah needs to learn how to stay on the court for at least 30 minutes per game. That alone would result in a much improved interior defense and change the complexion of many games.

 

[tdrink]

Brimah needs to learn how to stay on the court for at least 30 minutes per game. That alone would result in a much improved interior defense and change the complexion of many games.

At the beginning of last season people were saying Brimah needed to learn how to stay out of foul trouble so he could stay on the floor. By the end of the season people were saying Brimah needs to learn how to rebound so he could stay on the floor.

 

[James]

brimah isnt the problem, in fact we would have struggled to win 15 games last year without him. its the offense. Purvis and hamilton cannot continue their wildly inconsistent ways. Purvis had planned to enter his name into this years draft from what I hear, that was the entire plan when he transferred here. not sure what his camp is feeding him, KO actually had to convince him this was a bad idea. but he desperately needs to work on his floor game for a chance at the pro's, right now he is a high volume shooter and thats about the size of it.

I have hopes for cassell to come back in better shape so he can snatch tsams minutes.

 

[raf46]

Here's my list:

Adams has to come right in and give us something close to what Boat did last season. It doesn't have to come day one, but by tournament time, he needs to be close.

Purvis needs to build on what he did late last season. He needs to improve his handle and court awareness, the latter something he doesn't seem gifted at. Maybe another year under KO that will improve dramatically. As good as he was as a scorer at the end of the season, he doesn't seem to process quickly what's going on around him and never seems decisive when he receives the ball unless he's dead-red on driving it to the lane or jacking up the 3. If Adams turns out to be a solid play maker as well as scorer, we'll probably be fine if Purvis doesn't improve in that regard if he continues to flat out score.

Hamilton might be as equally an important player as Adams. The word that comes to mind is efficiency. He really needs to learn to reduce his turnovers. If he can continue to play aggressively while improving his shooting percentage, reducing his turnovers, continue to be a force on the glass and improve his defense, we can expect a monster year from him and a lot of Ws.

Brimah needs to hit the weightroom something he couldn't do last year due to shoulder surgery. If he can strengthen his core I think he will be a force next year. Not being able to be moved off the blocks will help reduce some of his fouls and help he establish better offensive and defensive positioning and balance. Better positioning and balance will help him not get some of the bumping fouls that were often bad calls, but will also help him take more balanced shots near the basket. He also needs to learn to not bring his arms down and not go for so many blocked shots that he has no business going after where he finds himself an bad defensive and rebounding position. He has to find ways to stay on the floor a lot longer than he did the past two seasons. If he can do those things, he's going to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Teams will be reluctant to bring the ball into the paint and he's going to get a ton more of those ally-oops. I'm hopeful.

Miller is such a welcomed addition. Having a big who I hope can play smart and stay on the floor and not the bench. A big who can hold his own on the boards and be a big that teams will have to defend both in the post and out on the perimeter. I think his 3 pt shooting is better than his numbers. I'm sure he was forces to take many that he had no business taking since he was Cornell's #1, 2 and 3 offensive option. Having a big who can play in the blocks but also stretch the floor and open things up for our guards and wings, not to mention opening things up for Amida down low, will be a huge plus and something we didn't have last season.

Omar needs to be more consistent and like Purvis, improve his handle. He showed a nice mid-range game late in the season. If he can shoot the 3 more efficiently, drive, hit mid-range floaters and dish to open teammates, he'll carve out some solid minutes off the bench.

TSam, I like him, but not large doses of him. He's a great player to bring off the bench to make plays for himself and teammates. To play some high energy D for a couple minutes to get the team's intensity amped up. His play tends to drop the more extended minutes he's given. Teams pretty much defend the other 5 on the floor, not worrying about his outside J. If he can improve his shooting where he can knock down at least open 3s or ones just inside the arc, that would be a plus. Him as our 3rd guard kinda scares me. Here is where I hope we get an upgrade between now and the start of the season.

Facey...not sure what to expect from him. He showed some nice instincts on the glass early on but disappeared as the season went along. He was good at getting the ball is good scoring position, but struggled to finish around the basket. He needs to get stronger, improve his handle so that he can maybe play a little wing if needed to spell Hamilton. I think his biggest need is with confidence and learning when to be assertive. I wonder what would happen if KO sends him in there for a couple minutes and tells him to make plays may it be taking midrange Js, taking it to the basket with more authority or dish to Brimah. He seems like a kid with a lot of upside, but I don't know if he has it in him to go after it. He's one that could surprise us the most over the next two seasons.

Nolan...huh. I had such high hopes that he would improve dramatically last season and he regressed. KO gave him a lot of minutes and kept on praising him late last season, but I rarely saw much of a contribution other than holding his own defensively at best. With the addition of Miller, I see him little more than a body off the bench when Miller and/or Brimah get into foul trouble. I sure hope we can add another big before the start of next season who can either spell Amida or share minutes at the 5.

Enoch is the biggest mystery in this 2015 recruiting class. I just don't know how D1 ready he will be. If he give us solid minutes without fouling at an alarming rate or turning it over, he could be a pleasant surprise. I don't know if many remember Josh Boone when he first arrived. Few expected much from him, but he ended up being a solid contributor right out of the gate. He struggled at times with being pushed around in the post, but he was a solid post defender, okay rebounder, efficient on offence around the basket albeit modest numbers. If he can come right in and play, then maybe my fear of lot of Nolan minutes will be squashed. Still would like to see them add a ready to play 5 or 4/5 combo. If they can add another Enoch type talent, then that's another 5 fouls and hopefully more productive minutes than what Nolan gave us last season. I hope that Nolan proves me wrong and bounces back as a solid contributor, but I didn't see any signs of such last season. I still have nightmares of Nolan getting the ball in great scoring position in the post and getting stuffed time after time. He has to have the slowest release and lack of hops from a UConn post player that I can remember. He seemed to make what looked like wide open dunks or bank shots scandered opportunities. His teammates simply lost confidence and stopped giving him the ball. Hopefully Enoch can take some of Nolan's minutes.

SCJr..hum. Not sure what he brings to the floor since he wasn't healthy last season. I remember how much Beverly struggled when playing hurt and how much he was able to contribute once he was healthy, albeit from a lesser athlete. SCJr seems like a similar player who has more scoring ability. If his lateral movement doesn't improve and he continues to show a lack of foot speed, especially with his first step or two, I don't see him getting much play. I'd like to see him show improvement in those areas but improve his consistency from shooting the 3 ball. Early on, he shot the 3 well, but that part of his game went south in a hurry. Shad wasn't exactly the most fleet of foot, but he carved out some PT and lots of great memories by knocking down big shots. Can SCJr improve his J enough to give us something close to what Shad did...not expecting nearly the shotmaking, but at least good enough to get a few minutes for some outside shooting off the bench. We just didn't see enough healthy Sam to know what he can do for us.

Looking over what I just wrote, I just don't know what that will translate to. Will there be any players that step up to be wining time scorers? Will they defend like they did last season, which kept them in games when the struggles greatly to score. I can see next years team being not much better than last season, but I have a feeling they'll be better by the end of the season. Will they be good enough to make a F-4 run? I don't know. I think the league will be a little better. Our OOC schedule will be challenging. It's just one of those seasons that I just don't know what to expect.

Here's my list:

Adams has to come right in and give us something close to what Boat did last season. It doesn't have to come day one, but by tournament time, he needs to be close.

Purvis needs to build on what he did late last season. He needs to improve his handle and court awareness, the latter something he doesn't seem gifted at. Maybe another year under KO that will improve dramatically. As good as he was as a scorer at the end of the season, he doesn't seem to process quickly what's going on around him and never seems decisive when he receives the ball unless he's dead-red on driving it to the lane or jacking up the 3. If Adams turns out to be a solid play maker as well as scorer, we'll probably be fine if Purvis doesn't improve in that regard if he continues to flat out score.

Hamilton might be as equally an important player as Adams. The word that comes to mind is efficiency. He really needs to learn to reduce his turnovers. If he can continue to play aggressively while improving his shooting percentage, reducing his turnovers, continue to be a force on the glass and improve his defense, we can expect a monster year from him and a lot of Ws.

Brimah needs to hit the weightroom something he couldn't do last year due to shoulder surgery. If he can strengthen his core I think he will be a force next year. Not being able to be moved off the blocks will help reduce some of his fouls and help he establish better offensive and defensive positioning and balance. Better positioning and balance will help him not get some of the bumping fouls that were often bad calls, but will also help him take more balanced shots near the basket. He also needs to learn to not bring his arms down and not go for so many blocked shots that he has no business going after where he finds himself an bad defensive and rebounding position. He has to find ways to stay on the floor a lot longer than he did the past two seasons. If he can do those things, he's going to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Teams will be reluctant to bring the ball into the paint and he's going to get a ton more of those ally-oops. I'm hopeful.

Miller is such a welcomed addition. Having a big who I hope can play smart and stay on the floor and not the bench. A big who can hold his own on the boards and be a big that teams will have to defend both in the post and out on the perimeter. I think his 3 pt shooting is better than his numbers. I'm sure he was forces to take many that he had no business taking since he was Cornell's #1, 2 and 3 offensive option. Having a big who can play in the blocks but also stretch the floor and open things up for our guards and wings, not to mention opening things up for Amida down low, will be a huge plus and something we didn't have last season.

Omar needs to be more consistent and like Purvis, improve his handle. He showed a nice mid-range game late in the season. If he can shoot the 3 more efficiently, drive, hit mid-range floaters and dish to open teammates, he'll carve out some solid minutes off the bench.

TSam, I like him, but not large doses of him. He's a great player to bring off the bench to make plays for himself and teammates. To play some high energy D for a couple minutes to get the team's intensity amped up. His play tends to drop the more extended minutes he's given. Teams pretty much defend the other 5 on the floor, not worrying about his outside J. If he can improve his shooting where he can knock down at least open 3s or ones just inside the arc, that would be a plus. Him as our 3rd guard kinda scares me. Here is where I hope we get an upgrade between now and the start of the season.

Facey...not sure what to expect from him. He showed some nice instincts on the glass early on but disappeared as the season went along. He was good at getting the ball is good scoring position, but struggled to finish around the basket. He needs to get stronger, improve his handle so that he can maybe play a little wing if needed to spell Hamilton. I think his biggest need is with confidence and learning when to be assertive. I wonder what would happen if KO sends him in there for a couple minutes and tells him to make plays may it be taking midrange Js, taking it to the basket with more authority or dish to Brimah. He seems like a kid with a lot of upside, but I don't know if he has it in him to go after it. He's one that could surprise us the most over the next two seasons.

Nolan...huh. I had such high hopes that he would improve dramatically last season and he regressed. KO gave him a lot of minutes and kept on praising him late last season, but I rarely saw much of a contribution other than holding his own defensively at best. With the addition of Miller, I see him little more than a body off the bench when Miller and/or Brimah get into foul trouble. I sure hope we can add another big before the start of next season who can either spell Amida or share minutes at the 5.

Enoch is the biggest mystery in this 2015 recruiting class. I just don't know how D1 ready he will be. If he give us solid minutes without fouling at an alarming rate or turning it over, he could be a pleasant surprise. I don't know if many remember Josh Boone when he first arrived. Few expected much from him, but he ended up being a solid contributor right out of the gate. He struggled at times with being pushed around in the post, but he was a solid post defender, okay rebounder, efficient on offence around the basket albeit modest numbers. If he can come right in and play, then maybe my fear of lot of Nolan minutes will be squashed. Still would like to see them add a ready to play 5 or 4/5 combo. If they can add another Enoch type talent, then that's another 5 fouls and hopefully more productive minutes than what Nolan gave us last season. I hope that Nolan proves me wrong and bounces back as a solid contributor, but I didn't see any signs of such last season. I still have nightmares of Nolan getting the ball in great scoring position in the post and getting stuffed time after time. He has to have the slowest release and lack of hops from a UConn post player that I can remember. He seemed to make what looked like wide open dunks or bank shots scandered opportunities. His teammates simply lost confidence and stopped giving him the ball. Hopefully Enoch can take some of Nolan's minutes.

SCJr..hum. Not sure what he brings to the floor since he wasn't healthy last season. I remember how much Beverly struggled when playing hurt and how much he was able to contribute once he was healthy, albeit from a lesser athlete. SCJr seems like a similar player who has more scoring ability. If his lateral movement doesn't improve and he continues to show a lack of foot speed, especially with his first step or two, I don't see him getting much play. I'd like to see him show improvement in those areas but improve his consistency from shooting the 3 ball. Early on, he shot the 3 well, but that part of his game went south in a hurry. Shad wasn't exactly the most fleet of foot, but he carved out some PT and lots of great memories by knocking down big shots. Can SCJr improve his J enough to give us something close to what Shad did...not expecting nearly the shotmaking, but at least good enough to get a few minutes for some outside shooting off the bench. We just didn't see enough healthy Sam to know what he can do for us.

Looking over what I just wrote, I just don't know what that will translate to. Will there be any players that step up to be wining time scorers? Will they defend like they did last season, which kept them in games when the struggles greatly to score. I can see next years team being not much better than last season, but I have a feeling they'll be better by the end of the season. Will they be good enough to make a F-4 run? I don't know. I think the league will be a little better. Our OOC schedule will be challenging. It's just one of those seasons that I just don't know what to expect.

Very well thought out. If it all comes together we could be good. Good news is that playing in the AAC gives our kids time to improve without getting hammered. LETS GO HUSKIES !

 

[B1GEast]

this team has to be a good free throw shooting, rebounding and 3pt shooting team, if we can fix those things we'll make a deep run. I think we will

 

[FfldCntyFan]

In no specific order of importance:

Adams needs to have some KEA in his personality.

D Hamilton needs to have some Rip Hamilton in his game.

Brimah needs an excellent summer working on his body and his game (he missed out on this last summer due to shoulder surgery).

Purvis needs to be consistently what we saw a good amount of very late this past season.

Samuel, Omar Cassell Jr, (hopefully he'll be ready) Enoch, and a little Facey and Nolan need to be focused and productive in the minutes they contribute off the bench.

The injury bug (which while not cruel to us last season was also not exactly kind) needs to stay away from our roster.

 

[mauconnfan]

brimah isnt the problem, in fact we would have struggled to win 15 games last year without him. its the offense. Purvis and hamilton cannot continue their wildly inconsistent ways. Purvis had planned to enter his name into this years draft from what I hear, that was the entire plan when he transferred here. not sure what his camp is feeding him, KO actually had to convince him this was a bad idea. but he desperately needs to work on his floor game for a chance at the pro's, right now he is a high volume shooter and thats about the size of it.

I have hopes for cassell to come back in better shape so he can snatch tsams minutes.

Brimah is the problem. But you're also right in that so are Dham and Rodney. And TSam and Kentan for that matter.

Dham and Rodney seemed to both improve on their inconsistencies while Amida did not. No matter, they all need to be better from the beginning. Rodney needs to be the player he was most of the last 10-12 games consistently. Daniel need to continue to rebound while making much better decisions with the ball and taking solid shots. Amida needs to rebound the ball and block shots, while learning when to and when not to. Also defensively better understanding of where to be. Kenyan needs to do pretty much the same, good news as a back up to Miller. The 3 new guys, while really unknown, are certainly key in each of their areas. Too early to worry about all of this but the summer is really important for all of the returnees in improving on their weaknesses.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

The three players with potential to elevate their game the most from last year are Omar, KF, and Cassell. All three played well below their ceiling. Cassell should be moved fulltime to PG as TSam is simply not an answer as backup PG.

I don't really see Purvis getting any better than he was at the end of last season...if he can consistently bring the high level he ended last season with that'd be more than enuf.

Brimah should improve somewhat, but I don't think we'll see a dramatic difference. Mostly an improved offensive game, but his body type limits his ability to improve much on the boards. DHam...like Purvis, he's already there...just needs to play consistently and eliminate the mistakes.

I'm betting big, all in, on Adams living up to the hype. Next great UConn PG.

Miller I'm seeing as another Giffey, with more of an inside game and a little less outside, but just like Giffey having a huge impact as the "glue" senior.

Enoch is a bit of a mystery. Physically he appears ready at 6'10" and 235lbs. Moves really well on the court but average jumping ability at best. Might get his shot blocked ala Nolan, but unlike Nolan has strong hands and inside/outside game. I'm guessing he'll struggle early on with confidence and conditioning. Hopefully he's on campus early summer and hooks up with the strength coach. Could have a KF freshman type year or, conversely, he could put things together late. With his size and skillset he's the wild card that can put UConn in the hunt for another NC.

Next years team will look a lot more like two years ago than last year. They'll bring experience to every position on the floor except PG. They'll also bring talent to every position, including PG. The bench will include three players who started more than 20 games in their careers, plus TSam, plus Cassell, and a potential season changer in Enoch.

 

[huskyharry]

I think the front court is set up for success as is.

We know that AB has a very good work ethic, so he will put in the work and show incremental improvement in his game. That being said, he will likely still be on the thin side and pushed around inside, if the refs allow the opponents to do that. He can certainly cut down on his turnovers and improve his passing and I expect him to do both.

IMO Miller doesn't need to be a consistent 3-pt shooter...just be a credible threat from mid-range (elbow jumpers etc.) as well as be able to finish plays inside when not double-team. He has proven himself already to be successful at both in the Ivy League.

PN, Steve Enoch and KF don't need to be superstars or play huge chunks of minutes, just play hard when they are in the game and play to their strengths.

Nolan can and will be more successful that he was for much of last season. Plantar fasciitis can really limit how a player is able to compete and Phil looked much better over the last 3 games of the season. Solid position defense, good pick & roll coverage and continue to draw charges (although hopefully, he will be a bit more selective on when he tries to draw them).

Kentan has a good mid-range jumper and can be a very good offensive rebounder when he is playing aggressively (not worrying about foul calls and hanging his head from the previous play). He really needs to hit the weights and improve his strength...we cannot afford to have small guards rip the ball out of his hands like happened too often last season.

SE has a lot of talent. He will, of course, make some freshman mistakes but he should be a capable reserve at both the 4 and 5 and may earn more time as the season goes on.

DHam can also play the 4 from time-to-time, so recruiting another big would only seem to contribute to a log jam, unless Coach KO would plan to red-shirt someone.
DHam will have a great season. I expect his shooting percentages to markedly improve. His floaters in the lane will be money and when the defense takes these away, either the lob at the rim is open or someone on the perimeter will be wide open.

RP needs to continue to play with the confidence and aggression that he showed at the end of the season. The unforced turnovers from a lack of concentration (stepping out of bounds, taking steps before dribbling etc) need to stop. He also needs to focus on what he is good at (taking jumpers after getting a rhythm dribble and driving to the hoop when the lane is there), but the offense should not involve him trying to make plays for others (too many weak, telegraphed-passes that led to layups or dunks by the opponent).

Jalen Adams needs to be a solid play-maker/distributor and lead the offense at a faster pace. He does not need to match RB in production and shouldn't try to match his style of play. There should be much more sharing on the ball and quicker execution/less pounding of the ball in one place.

TSam will be a capable backup, but I agree that it should not be for prolonged minutes and I also agree that he should not shoot any shots from outside his range unless the clock is nearly expired. He needs to focus more on the getting into a good defensive stance and containing the other team's guards...which he seemed to do more of during his freshman year. He also should not be attempting to set-the-table for others, as his passing instinct is also an area of weakness.

SC Jr. is the big question mark. He did play well at the very start of the season, albeit against weaker competition. How much of his play will improve just with better health? He did handle the ball and pass the ball pretty well. If he can consistently hit 35% from 3 and move his feet well enough to not be a liability on defense, he will earn a good chunk of minutes as a reserve guard.

Omar will never be a great ball-handler but he also needs to accentuate the positive aspects of his game and avoid trying to do things for which he is not well-suited. He developed a nice floater off the drive last season. I would definitely like to see more of that. Also, he needs to bring the defensive intensity that he has shown in some games and be more consistent when he has an open jumper (also perhaps but less effort into making the call-me sign and rather bust his butt to get back on transition D).

So, I agree that a very solid ball-handler who can drill the open 3 pt shot would seem to be the top priority in recruiting (unless Coach KO is confident that SC Jr. will be able to step it up). Perhaps Niels knows of a 20-22 year-old European player who could fit the bill?

 

[pnow15]

Good health.

Brimah's shoulder, Purvis' leg, Sam Jr.'s stress fracture, Boat getting kneed and then clocked.
All cost development and games.

 

[David 76]

I think Hamilton and Brimah will take a big step forward. Miller will be a great addition. Purvis just needs to do what he did in the last month.
Out of all the guys who won't start, we need a couple to give us a pop of the bench. If I were to to guess I'd say Enoch Facey orSamuel are most likely (unless we haven't seen SCJr. yet)
If Adams is half as good as he will become, we are a good team.
If Gibbs (or someone as good) joins us we are a very good team

 

[James]

Brimah is the problem. But you're also right in that so are Dham and Rodney. And TSam and Kentan for that matter.

Dham and Rodney seemed to both improve on their inconsistencies while Amida did not. No matter, they all need to be better from the beginning. Rodney needs to be the player he was most of the last 10-12 games consistently. Daniel need to continue to rebound while making much better decisions with the ball and taking solid shots. Amida needs to rebound the ball and block shots, while learning when to and when not to. Also defensively better understanding of where to be. Kenyan needs to do pretty much the same, good news as a back up to Miller. The 3 new guys, while really unknown, are certainly key in each of their areas. Too early to worry about all of this but the summer is really important for all of the returnees in improving on their weaknesses.

mau by far ab was our best defensive player. its not him. its the supporting cast thats inconsistent. AB might have 'obvious' weaknesses, but he contributes so much on BOTH ends. the supporting cast needs to step up

 

[caw]

With Brimah and Miller (presumably) starting the frontcourt defense should be very good and with Hamilton next to them the rebounding should be solid.

I don't expect a 40% shooter from 3 from Miller but if he can shoot 30-33% that should open the middle more than last year also.

 

[Horatio]

We need another point guard but the absolute X factors , wildcards have to be
Omar and Sam jr. Next season Omar should be healed from all prior injuries enough to salvage his Uconn career. He should be a junior with all the injuries and time missed. It was supposed be better but he can at least be a major factor off the bench and push for sixth man minutes, hopefully. Sam Jr. Has a name to carry and live up to. I expect both these guys to have dignity enough to improve and contribute.

 

[Towney007]

I think the two of the three biggest weaknesses have been addressed on this team and they were:

1.) A real, genuine... like *actual* point guard - This team is STUFFED with SG's who can handle the ball well. Flexibility is nice, but really isn't a replacement for having an actual ball handler. I feel like if I've seen it here once, I've seen it a thousand times where even middling point guards help talented 2's and 3's come off screens, move off the ball, etc. I can't really throw any numbers down - just my observations while I watched - but this team seemed instantly better with someone else OTHER THAN Boat running the offense. Allowed him to move, create and more importantly - engaged everyone else in the offense. With the ball in Boat's hands, they'd snap into a spread and it'd be Boat vs another basketball team. I think Adams really changes the dynamic here and will allow Purvis, Miller, DHam, etc.

2.) Complimentary piece up front who can score a little, rebound a little and stretch the offense a bit - Miller just does all those things. He's seriously the most perfect piece they could have possibly added this offseason. I can't add anything else smarter posters around here have already pointed out.


The third is underperformance from talented secondary pieces. Nolan, Facey, TSam, Cassell Jr, Callhoun... I dunno if it was bad luck, lack of improvement, laziness in the offseason or simply not being good enough - but for whatever reason those pieces didn't perform as well as we hoped. That being said, Of that group, I find that it'd be virtually impossible for one or two of them to NOT find their way. If Adams and Miller are as good as advertised and Enoch can give them quality minutes off the bench; they really need only one or two of those guys to hit to be good. I'm optimistic, too - largely because of the health issues many of these guys had last year... And who knows what else this team brings in.

I'm very bullish on this team on the whole. If they can add one more big piece - like a Gibbs... then wow. Look out.

 

[caw]

I'll also say the main thing is just winning more close games. Losing 4-6 games by a point or two killed the season. There were three games where UConn was winning and lost on a last second shot by the opponent. I'm not saying they were world beaters last year, but that's really all the difference between a solid season and a disappointing one.

 

[Stainmaster]

It's been said before, but improvement from bench players will be key. And the scary thing is, there's very little concrete evidence to make us optimistic. Sure, with Facey we can point to natural athleticism, but Samuel, Cassell, Omar, and Nolan (to a lesser degree) will need to step it up and be a lot more consistent within their roles. And there's not much more that we can do besides blindly hoping and wishing that they're spending a lot of time in the gym this summer.

 

[mauconnfan]

mau by far ab was our best defensive player. its not him. its the supporting cast thats inconsistent. AB might have 'obvious' weaknesses, but he contributes so much on BOTH ends. the supporting cast needs to step up

He gives back what he taketh away though. He needs to not do that - between foul trouble and not showing up vs good teams he is PART of the problem and as much as anyone. At times the hole in the front court with he and Facey was our biggest weakness. DHam almost filled that from the 3 spot with his rebounding so if anyone is not deserving, his improvement was tremendous as we could lean on him.

We need another player pulled out of a hat, a ball handler type to help but if Cassell was injured all season and maybe we never saw the real deal, then maybe we already have the answer, who knows. Miller is a key addition to bring experience and just knowing how the play the game to the front court, a glaring weakness. If he knows how to play defense, can guard people and rebound the ball we already are ahead of the game while still hoping returning players improve. Rodney has to be more consistent on both ends. It would be great if Omar and TSam improve their games over the summer and come back ready to help off the bench. If Enoch can score and rebound the ball, while learning to play D we also are ahead. Remember, our front court guys didn't score or guard too well so if he can throw in 8-12 minutes of something, we're a little better. Nolan, just has to be Phil - 5 fouls, smart D, a couple charges and being in position.

Real key is Jalen - is he the real deal. There is pressure on him being that man, I believe he's more than up to it. We will see.

 

[willie99]

D Ham = C But

 

[willie99]

if Hamilton emerges has a stud, so many things will fall into place

from where I'm sitting, we're already in the mix for March

after all, we are UConn and we do have enough horses already, time will do it's thing

 

[Greathusky]

Here's my list:

Adams has to come right in and give us something close to what Boat did last season. It doesn't have to come day one, but by tournament time, he needs to be close.

Purvis needs to build on what he did late last season. He needs to improve his handle and court awareness, the latter something he doesn't seem gifted at. Maybe another year under KO that will improve dramatically. As good as he was as a scorer at the end of the season, he doesn't seem to process quickly what's going on around him and never seems decisive when he receives the ball unless he's dead-red on driving it to the lane or jacking up the 3. If Adams turns out to be a solid play maker as well as scorer, we'll probably be fine if Purvis doesn't improve in that regard if he continues to flat out score.

Hamilton might be as equally an important player as Adams. The word that comes to mind is efficiency. He really needs to learn to reduce his turnovers. If he can continue to play aggressively while improving his shooting percentage, reducing his turnovers, continue to be a force on the glass and improve his defense, we can expect a monster year from him and a lot of Ws.

Brimah needs to hit the weightroom something he couldn't do last year due to shoulder surgery. If he can strengthen his core I think he will be a force next year. Not being able to be moved off the blocks will help reduce some of his fouls and help he establish better offensive and defensive positioning and balance. Better positioning and balance will help him not get some of the bumping fouls that were often bad calls, but will also help him take more balanced shots near the basket. He also needs to learn to not bring his arms down and not go for so many blocked shots that he has no business going after where he finds himself an bad defensive and rebounding position. He has to find ways to stay on the floor a lot longer than he did the past two seasons. If he can do those things, he's going to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Teams will be reluctant to bring the ball into the paint and he's going to get a ton more of those ally-oops. I'm hopeful.

Miller is such a welcomed addition. Having a big who I hope can play smart and stay on the floor and not the bench. A big who can hold his own on the boards and be a big that teams will have to defend both in the post and out on the perimeter. I think his 3 pt shooting is better than his numbers. I'm sure he was forces to take many that he had no business taking since he was Cornell's #1, 2 and 3 offensive option. Having a big who can play in the blocks but also stretch the floor and open things up for our guards and wings, not to mention opening things up for Amida down low, will be a huge plus and something we didn't have last season.

Omar needs to be more consistent and like Purvis, improve his handle. He showed a nice mid-range game late in the season. If he can shoot the 3 more efficiently, drive, hit mid-range floaters and dish to open teammates, he'll carve out some solid minutes off the bench.

TSam, I like him, but not large doses of him. He's a great player to bring off the bench to make plays for himself and teammates. To play some high energy D for a couple minutes to get the team's intensity amped up. His play tends to drop the more extended minutes he's given. Teams pretty much defend the other 5 on the floor, not worrying about his outside J. If he can improve his shooting where he can knock down at least open 3s or ones just inside the arc, that would be a plus. Him as our 3rd guard kinda scares me. Here is where I hope we get an upgrade between now and the start of the season.

Facey...not sure what to expect from him. He showed some nice instincts on the glass early on but disappeared as the season went along. He was good at getting the ball is good scoring position, but struggled to finish around the basket. He needs to get stronger, improve his handle so that he can maybe play a little wing if needed to spell Hamilton. I think his biggest need is with confidence and learning when to be assertive. I wonder what would happen if KO sends him in there for a couple minutes and tells him to make plays may it be taking midrange Js, taking it to the basket with more authority or dish to Brimah. He seems like a kid with a lot of upside, but I don't know if he has it in him to go after it. He's one that could surprise us the most over the next two seasons.

Nolan...huh. I had such high hopes that he would improve dramatically last season and he regressed. KO gave him a lot of minutes and kept on praising him late last season, but I rarely saw much of a contribution other than holding his own defensively at best. With the addition of Miller, I see him little more than a body off the bench when Miller and/or Brimah get into foul trouble. I sure hope we can add another big before the start of next season who can either spell Amida or share minutes at the 5.

Enoch is the biggest mystery in this 2015 recruiting class. I just don't know how D1 ready he will be. If he give us solid minutes without fouling at an alarming rate or turning it over, he could be a pleasant surprise. I don't know if many remember Josh Boone when he first arrived. Few expected much from him, but he ended up being a solid contributor right out of the gate. He struggled at times with being pushed around in the post, but he was a solid post defender, okay rebounder, efficient on offence around the basket albeit modest numbers. If he can come right in and play, then maybe my fear of lot of Nolan minutes will be squashed. Still would like to see them add a ready to play 5 or 4/5 combo. If they can add another Enoch type talent, then that's another 5 fouls and hopefully more productive minutes than what Nolan gave us last season. I hope that Nolan proves me wrong and bounces back as a solid contributor, but I didn't see any signs of such last season. I still have nightmares of Nolan getting the ball in great scoring position in the post and getting stuffed time after time. He has to have the slowest release and lack of hops from a UConn post player that I can remember. He seemed to make what looked like wide open dunks or bank shots scandered opportunities. His teammates simply lost confidence and stopped giving him the ball. Hopefully Enoch can take some of Nolan's minutes.

SCJr..hum. Not sure what he brings to the floor since he wasn't healthy last season. I remember how much Beverly struggled when playing hurt and how much he was able to contribute once he was healthy, albeit from a lesser athlete. SCJr seems like a similar player who has more scoring ability. If his lateral movement doesn't improve and he continues to show a lack of foot speed, especially with his first step or two, I don't see him getting much play. I'd like to see him show improvement in those areas but improve his consistency from shooting the 3 ball. Early on, he shot the 3 well, but that part of his game went south in a hurry. Shad wasn't exactly the most fleet of foot, but he carved out some PT and lots of great memories by knocking down big shots. Can SCJr improve his J enough to give us something close to what Shad did...not expecting nearly the shotmaking, but at least good enough to get a few minutes for some outside shooting off the bench. We just didn't see enough healthy Sam to know what he can do for us.

Looking over what I just wrote, I just don't know what that will translate to. Will there be any players that step up to be wining time scorers? Will they defend like they did last season, which kept them in games when the struggles greatly to score. I can see next years team being not much better than last season, but I have a feeling they'll be better by the end of the season. Will they be good enough to make a F-4 run? I don't know. I think the league will be a little better. Our OOC schedule will be challenging. It's just one of those seasons that I just don't know what to expect.

Guard the corner from last second three pointers then we are in.

 

[zymurg]

Here's my list:

Adams has to come right in and give us something close to what Boat did last season. It doesn't have to come day one, but by tournament time, he needs to be close.

Purvis needs to build on what he did late last season. He needs to improve his handle and court awareness, the latter something he doesn't seem gifted at. Maybe another year under KO that will improve dramatically. As good as he was as a scorer at the end of the season, he doesn't seem to process quickly what's going on around him and never seems decisive when he receives the ball unless he's dead-red on driving it to the lane or jacking up the 3. If Adams turns out to be a solid play maker as well as scorer, we'll probably be fine if Purvis doesn't improve in that regard if he continues to flat out score.

Hamilton might be as equally an important player as Adams. The word that comes to mind is efficiency. He really needs to learn to reduce his turnovers. If he can continue to play aggressively while improving his shooting percentage, reducing his turnovers, continue to be a force on the glass and improve his defense, we can expect a monster year from him and a lot of Ws.

Brimah needs to hit the weightroom something he couldn't do last year due to shoulder surgery. If he can strengthen his core I think he will be a force next year. Not being able to be moved off the blocks will help reduce some of his fouls and help he establish better offensive and defensive positioning and balance. Better positioning and balance will help him not get some of the bumping fouls that were often bad calls, but will also help him take more balanced shots near the basket. He also needs to learn to not bring his arms down and not go for so many blocked shots that he has no business going after where he finds himself an bad defensive and rebounding position. He has to find ways to stay on the floor a lot longer than he did the past two seasons. If he can do those things, he's going to impact the game on both ends of the floor. Teams will be reluctant to bring the ball into the paint and he's going to get a ton more of those ally-oops. I'm hopeful.

Miller is such a welcomed addition. Having a big who I hope can play smart and stay on the floor and not the bench. A big who can hold his own on the boards and be a big that teams will have to defend both in the post and out on the perimeter. I think his 3 pt shooting is better than his numbers. I'm sure he was forces to take many that he had no business taking since he was Cornell's #1, 2 and 3 offensive option. Having a big who can play in the blocks but also stretch the floor and open things up for our guards and wings, not to mention opening things up for Amida down low, will be a huge plus and something we didn't have last season.

Omar needs to be more consistent and like Purvis, improve his handle. He showed a nice mid-range game late in the season. If he can shoot the 3 more efficiently, drive, hit mid-range floaters and dish to open teammates, he'll carve out some solid minutes off the bench.

TSam, I like him, but not large doses of him. He's a great player to bring off the bench to make plays for himself and teammates. To play some high energy D for a couple minutes to get the team's intensity amped up. His play tends to drop the more extended minutes he's given. Teams pretty much defend the other 5 on the floor, not worrying about his outside J. If he can improve his shooting where he can knock down at least open 3s or ones just inside the arc, that would be a plus. Him as our 3rd guard kinda scares me. Here is where I hope we get an upgrade between now and the start of the season.

Facey...not sure what to expect from him. He showed some nice instincts on the glass early on but disappeared as the season went along. He was good at getting the ball is good scoring position, but struggled to finish around the basket. He needs to get stronger, improve his handle so that he can maybe play a little wing if needed to spell Hamilton. I think his biggest need is with confidence and learning when to be assertive. I wonder what would happen if KO sends him in there for a couple minutes and tells him to make plays may it be taking midrange Js, taking it to the basket with more authority or dish to Brimah. He seems like a kid with a lot of upside, but I don't know if he has it in him to go after it. He's one that could surprise us the most over the next two seasons.

Nolan...huh. I had such high hopes that he would improve dramatically last season and he regressed. KO gave him a lot of minutes and kept on praising him late last season, but I rarely saw much of a contribution other than holding his own defensively at best. With the addition of Miller, I see him little more than a body off the bench when Miller and/or Brimah get into foul trouble. I sure hope we can add another big before the start of next season who can either spell Amida or share minutes at the 5.

Enoch is the biggest mystery in this 2015 recruiting class. I just don't know how D1 ready he will be. If he give us solid minutes without fouling at an alarming rate or turning it over, he could be a pleasant surprise. I don't know if many remember Josh Boone when he first arrived. Few expected much from him, but he ended up being a solid contributor right out of the gate. He struggled at times with being pushed around in the post, but he was a solid post defender, okay rebounder, efficient on offence around the basket albeit modest numbers. If he can come right in and play, then maybe my fear of lot of Nolan minutes will be squashed. Still would like to see them add a ready to play 5 or 4/5 combo. If they can add another Enoch type talent, then that's another 5 fouls and hopefully more productive minutes than what Nolan gave us last season. I hope that Nolan proves me wrong and bounces back as a solid contributor, but I didn't see any signs of such last season. I still have nightmares of Nolan getting the ball in great scoring position in the post and getting stuffed time after time. He has to have the slowest release and lack of hops from a UConn post player that I can remember. He seemed to make what looked like wide open dunks or bank shots scandered opportunities. His teammates simply lost confidence and stopped giving him the ball. Hopefully Enoch can take some of Nolan's minutes.

SCJr..hum. Not sure what he brings to the floor since he wasn't healthy last season. I remember how much Beverly struggled when playing hurt and how much he was able to contribute once he was healthy, albeit from a lesser athlete. SCJr seems like a similar player who has more scoring ability. If his lateral movement doesn't improve and he continues to show a lack of foot speed, especially with his first step or two, I don't see him getting much play. I'd like to see him show improvement in those areas but improve his consistency from shooting the 3 ball. Early on, he shot the 3 well, but that part of his game went south in a hurry. Shad wasn't exactly the most fleet of foot, but he carved out some PT and lots of great memories by knocking down big shots. Can SCJr improve his J enough to give us something close to what Shad did...not expecting nearly the shotmaking, but at least good enough to get a few minutes for some outside shooting off the bench. We just didn't see enough healthy Sam to know what he can do for us.

Looking over what I just wrote, I just don't know what that will translate to. Will there be any players that step up to be wining time scorers? Will they defend like they did last season, which kept them in games when the struggles greatly to score. I can see next years team being not much better than last season, but I have a feeling they'll be better by the end of the season. Will they be good enough to make a F-4 run? I don't know. I think the league will be a little better. Our OOC schedule will be challenging. It's just one of those seasons that I just don't know what to expect.

I enjoy reading long posts by DogMania, perhaps this is just part of my usual perversity. He brings up a lot of good points as per usual. Surprise the discussion which followed was largely on point; I am beginning to wonder if Mau shouldn't be renamed BrimahMania.
Still I have a different viewpoint from most who have posted on this thread. While analyzing individual players strengths and weaknesses can be thought provoking; I prefer to look at the entire team more as a unit.

What happened in the 2014 run was that UConn dramatically improved as a team in three areas: rebounding, free throw shooting, and onball defense. The free throw shooting was somewhat serendipitous; the Huskies shot very well during the season, but they were great
during the tournament. Great is a term I virtually never use, but in this case great is entirely appropriate. I don't think it is really possible
to improve mechanics in that short an interval. So what happened, I think focus and concentration got a lot better. However, I acknowledge that this is post hoc reasoning.

There is some additional evidence. Rebounding and on ball defense also dramatically improved in the tournament. I realize that we are discussing next season, and saying better focus isn't even a partial answer, but if the Huskies are able to have a season good enough to be in position to play well in the tournament, then this staff's ability to get the team to focus collectively so that performance is maximized by
Husky Team grit and will to win; we may be pleased.

The question on the table is how to we get to March. Focusing on the team, rather than individual players; I have two priorities: 1. Defensive rebounding must improve dramatically, and 2 UConn must get out in transition often and finish effectively. I am willing
to accept secondary breaks and spot up shooting off the breaks.

Is this "the answer?" Well, we are dealing with a multi-body problem, and any solutions (even mine) are likely to be jejune. Still give
fewer easy baskets by our opponents off offensive rebounds, and give the Huskies more easy baskets in transition, and our chances improve. I want these two parts of the game to be the foundation of the coming season; the stronger the foundation the more likely that the structure will be sound.