Last evening we learned that UConn center Amida Brimah will miss upwards of two months due to a broken finger. As Russ detailed in the article, this is bad news for the Huskies for a host of reasons. Brimah is arguably the hardest player on the roster to replace and coach Kevin Ollie will be tasked with doing just that, and with the conference season looming no less.
After having some time to digest the news we can take some educated guesses on what will happen next. Jalen Adams, who started in place of Brimah on Sunday, is the favorite to maintain that spot. It gives UConn a relatively small lineup, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For one, there is a ton of offensive firepower on the court with Sterling Gibbs, Adams, Rodney Purvis, Daniel Hamilton and Shonn Miller. You might as well play your five best players until the opponent proves they can stop you.
It also helps mitigate the newfound front-court issues if you can steal enough minutes for the starters that you don’t need to adjust the bench usage that much. Kentan Facey will inevitably see his average of 13.9 minutes per game increase but if Ollie can get his starters to play good enough defense, Facey’s roll may not be too different. He’ll be tasked with spelling Miller or to come in and provide rebounding — something he’s proved very effective at.
Senior Phil Nolan, who is averaging only 6.5 minutes per game this year, will also get more opportunities based on foul trouble and Facey’s productivity.
From a strategy perspective, it will be crucial for Ollie to keep at least one of Hamilton and Miller on the floor at all times. Not only are they the team’s top rebounders, but the offensive drop-off from them to Facey and Nolan is too severe to risk, again barring foul trouble or other unforeseen circumstances.
There is one wild card in the deck, however, in the form of freshman Steve Enoch. Enoch has, somewhat quietly, averaged more minutes than Nolan this year. His 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds aren’t particularly inspiring, but he has shown enough strength and athleticism to earn his status as an exciting prospect.
Facey and Nolan are proven commodities. At this point in their careers, we have a relatively good idea of what to expect from them on the court. Enoch is a lottery ticket. He could be completely overmatched against Texas, SMU and Cincinnati. Or maybe he harnesses his abilities and performs well when given a longer leash and more opportunities to adjust to the college game.
Ollie should try to find out. And there’s no better time than Wednesday when UConn will host one of the worst teams in college basketball, Central Connecticut. While Adams should, and likely will, earn the start, Ollie should let Enoch run 15-20 minutes with the starters. If the Huskies are going to build a resumé worthy of tournament selection, they’re going to need several things to start breaking right for them, and the highest-reward place to start is by giving Enoch a chance to prove himself. Even if he fails, the experience will be important as he continues his UConn career and, hopefully, develops into the player the program needs him to become.
Time to scratch that lottery ticket.
