NBA Scout: Huskies are Better Than You Think

The Huskies begin their basketball life without Shabazz Napier

UConn is regularly undervalued in October when preseason polls are all we have to judge how good or bad a team might be, but once we get to February and March, the Huskies often exceed expectations. It happened during Shabazz Napier's freshman season, when junior Kemba Walker led the team to a national title.

It happened two years ago when UConn, facing sanctions that kept them out of the postseason, still won 20 games in Kevin Ollie's first season. And it certainly happened last season, when then-senior Napier reenacted Walker's march to a championship three years before and the Huskies did it again.

And now, with Napier gone, it's perfectly reasonable to expect the Huskies to be something less than they were in 2013-14. But according to on NBA scout, this team is stacked. Not just with good college players, but potential NBA players. From

ZagsBlog.com's Adam Zagoria, who got the scouting report on three Huskies:

Amida Brimah, 7-0, So., C: “Brimah has improved 100 percent, maybe 150 percent, from last year. He’s blocking shots, runs the floor. Sensational dunker. Has a beautiful shooting stroke, beautiful form which is very surprising.”

Daniel Hamilton, 6-7, Fr, G/F: “He’ll be one of the better young players in the country. Really shoots the ball well. Good handle. Floaters, runners, pull-up jump shots, shoots the 3. He’ll be one of the best freshman in that league without a doubt, one of the best freshman in the country.”

Ryan Boatright, 6-0, Sr., G: “For two-thirds of the season, he could not play against [Napier], but Kevin [Ollie] did a great job with him to convince him to play with him and not against him. He’s a two-way player. He’s a tremendous on-the-ball defender, as Kentucky’s guards found out last year. He’s the point guard, penetrates and dishes and kicks for 3’s. He’s bought into the program.”

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