Early season struggles are to be expected of young teams. UConn — despite its defending champion status — isn’t immune to growing pains. That much was obvious after consecutive losses against West Virginia and Texas that exposed flaws in UConn’s game. Injuries have also contributed, sapping the Huskies of needed backcourt depth.
Yet, some positives have shone through. Ryan Boatright has proven himself a legitimate star, and freshman Daniel Hamilton has displayed flashes of immense talent on both ends of the floor. Equally as important, coach Kevin Ollie has seemingly found roles for each player on his roster. Defined roles create continuity and help manage expectations, an especially crucial milestone for a team starting four underclassmen.
Boatright is the anchor on both ends of the court. He is averaging over 20 points per game, and leads the team in assists and steals. He’s doing his job extremely well, and will need to continue his stellar play as the season progresses.
Hamilton has emerged as the trusty sidekick to Boatright. He’s shown he can score in bunches and is UConn’s only three-point threat at the moment, hitting an even 50 percent. Hamilton still plays like a freshman at times. Against West Virginia’s pressure defense, he committed eight (mostly preventable) turnovers, but he’s proved a very capable number two option on UConn’s offense.
The most pleasant surprise of the young season has been sophomore Kentan Facey, who is a dynamic rebounder. His 7.2 rebounds per game are the best on the team, and he’s managed to top 20 minutes in each contest of the season. If he can avoid foul trouble (especially in the first half), all he needs to do is rebound and play tough defense to be an asset for UConn.
Here’s where things get a little tricky.
Rodney Purvis is capable of being the third scorer that UConn desperately needs. He scored 19 points in the Huskies’ victory over Dayton and has displayed speed and power in his time on the court. Unfortunately, that time has been limited. Purvis was suspended for UConn’s season opener for violating an arcane NCAA rule, and missed most of the West Virginia game and all of the Texas game with an ankle injury. With UConn averaging only 65.6 points per game, Purvis will need to shoulder a large portion of the scoring load immediately upon his return.
UConn was hoping center Amida Brimah would be contributing more offensively. He opened the season with 12 points against Bryant and 14 against the College of Charleston, but has struggled mightily against better competition, culminating in a 1-7 shooting performance and only four points against Texas. Ideally, Brimah and Purvis would each be contributing double-figure scoring outputs each game — alleviating the pressure on Boatright and Hamilton.
Brimah has also struggled on the glass. Facey’s emergence has helped mask the problem, but Brimah’s 3.6 rebounds per game (fourth on the team) are far too low given UConn’s dependence on him down low.
The best part of Brimah’s game continues to be his defense, and he has not disappointed in that category. He is blocking 3.2 shots per game (15th in the nation) and is an undeniably intimidating presence in the paint. He will need to bring that success to the other aspects of his game to meet his expectations.
With Purvis and guard Omar Calhoun injured, Ollie has depended on Sam Cassell, Jr. and Terrence Samuel for a lot of minutes. Once the roster gets healthy, they should see less time, but in more focused roles. Samuel provides good defense and a change of pace with his hard-charging drives to the basket. Cassell has shown a decent shooting stroke at times, though it has yet to manifest itself during games.
Ollie showed last year that he has a good feel for managing a roster. The pieces are in place for UConn to win a lot of games this season, but the players on the roster have to embrace their roles and produce in them.
Honestly, Brimah isn’t here to score. He is no Okafor. He is a big body on the defensive end. He will develop low post offense in time, but not on a college squad. With that, I am not offended that he cant score against top tier inside talent. What does offend me, is his lack of rebounding! How can you be the tallest guy on the court and grab 4 rebounds a game?? Can you maybe do some digging and post an article on that fact? I don’t attribute his lack of rebound for his lack of muscle, as anyone can grab rebounds as long as you are in position to do so, which I have found more and more that he is never there. Last year, I thought his potential was sky high, not because of his size or stats, but because of how fast he progressed from game 1 to the tourney. This year, I see a regress in rebounding, and I would want to know why!