Last year, the UConn Huskies won what was the most
unprecedented of their four national championships. Much of this was due to the
leadership of Shabazz Napier and key tourney play by DeAndre Daniels. Both are
gone, which presents third year coach Kevin Ollie with a new challenge.
Many fans like myself were blindsided by Daniels bolting for
the NBA, which leaves PG Ryan Boatright as the primary leader of this team. The
senior was a seminal part of last year’s title, primarily due to his defense in
the tournament. Boatright has been an extremely skilled and athletic slasher
ever since he arrived at UConn, but I always questioned his basketball I.Q. In
order for him to take the same leap that Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier took
before him, he must develop what they did; a jump shot. If he can extend his
range, it will open up the rest of his game. He averaged 12.1 ppg and 3.4 apg
last year, so he will be special if he makes these improvements.
The development of the sophomores is huge as well, primarily
C Amida Brimah. He showed flashes of Thabeet-esque dominance at times (4.1 ppg,
3.0 rpg, 2.3 blg), but he spent a lot of time on the bench because of his
inability to adapt to the speed of the game. (16.2 minutes per game) He gives
this otherwise small team a valuable anchor in the middle, but only if he can
stay on the court. He put up nice numbers in limited minutes, which is a good
sign. I am sure coach Ollie has explained to Brimah how important he is, and
improvement will likely be seen. It will not be easy, however, because running
is part of Ollie’s system. Sophomore G Terrence Samuels is important, too. He contributed
very little at the beginning of last year, but he became a key bench player in
the tournament. If he can become more of a swingman, he will become a valuable
piece. Not to mention that junior guard Omar Calhoun looks better by all
accounts.
They also lost key role players like Niels Giffey and Lasan
Kromah, but the team did a god job of retooling. The first of the new additions
is Rodney Purvis. The 6’4”, 203 lb guard from Raleigh, North Carolina had a
stellar high school career. In 2012, he was named 2012 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and
McDonald's All-American. After one year at N.C. State where he averaged 8.3
ppg, he decided to transfer to UConn because of Ollie’s guard centric offense.
He sat out during last year’s title season, but he is ready to compete this
year.
The
Huskies had two more additions, both of which have NBA family connections.
Daniel Hamilton, the 6’7” swingman from L.A., is the younger brother of former
Texas star and current Houston Rocket Jordan Hamilton. Daniel averaged 20.5
ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 5.2 apg en route to a high school state title last year. He
has natural scoring ability, and can seamlessly transition between playing SG
and SF. Although he is from the other side of the country, Hamilton does have a
connection to UConn. He played his first two years of high school at Crenshaw.
This is the same high school Kevin Ollie attended, and Ollie had been
recruiting him since ninth grade. Hamilton was also childhood friends and AAU
teammates with DeAndre Daniels. The Huskies also brought in 6’3” guard Sam
Cassell, Jr., son of longtime NBA PG Sam Cassell.
