HARTFORD — Amida Brimah’s presence on the court is unmistakable. At 7 feet 1 he’s hard to miss, his booming voice can’t be ignored and the difficulty opponents have scoring when he’s “protecting the rim” is all over the stat sheets.
Equally conspicuous is Brimah’s absence when foul trouble forces coach Kevin Ollie to sub him out. Though he scored only one point against South Florida on Sunday, he blocked five shots and altered several others in 29 minutes as the Huskies earned a 66-53 victory.
“We want to make sure that his offense doesn’t dictate his defensive prowess back there,” Ollie said. “I thought he did an amazing job of protecting the rim, altering shots, getting blocks. That’s a blessing to have him back there, where it wasn’t ‘I didn’t get any shots so I’m not going to play defense.’ That’s the kind of leader he is, he’s an unselfish leader.”
That Brimah, a sophomore, is still learning the footwork and nuances of the game is clear. He was a teenager before he abandoned soccer for basketball in Ghana, and eventually moved to the United States to play high school and AAU ball.
“When I try to get physical, I get fouls,” Brimah said. “I just try to use my body more, but sometimes when I use my body more, people score a lot on me. So it’s hard to stay between playing hard and not fouling, but I’m working on that.”
Against lesser opponents, Brimah can be unstoppable on either end of the floor, such as his signature 40-point effort against Coppin State. When the Huskies saw a defense and a matchup they could exploit against Central Florida on Thursday, they went to Brimah again and again in the second half, when he scored 12 of his 14 points. The better teams, with more skilled big men such as Duke’s Jalil Okafor, or more experienced ones like Stanford’s Stefan Nastic, have been a challenge for Brimah. He was scoreless against Duke, and lasted on the floor a total of nine minutes before fouling out at Stanford, where the Huskies were outrebounded 48-24.
But his defense was an immense factor in UConn’s second-half comeback at Florida, and he had 11 blocks in the Huskies’ two American Athletic Conference victories over South Florida. For the season, it averages out to 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks over 25.2 minutes per game.
“I don’t really care about offense like that,” Brimah said. “I mean, if I have a chance to score, I’m going to score, but I don’t really base my game on scoring. If I’m getting rebounds and I’m blocking shots, I feel good about myself. I don’t really care about scoring. I just like playing hard and getting blocks and rebounds.”
At a key moment Sunday, with 11:44 to play and USF making a run while trailing by two points, Brimah got back and in position to swat Corey Allen Jr.’s potential tying shot, and the ensuing Huskies’ fastbreak resulted in two Rodney Purvis free throws. That’s a snapshot of Brimah’s impact.
“I just feel like blocking shots brings a lot of energy to the team,” Brimah said. “And it turns the game over the other way. When I’m not blocking shots, I just feel bad about myself. I feel like I’m not playing well.”
The Huskies can live with the yet-to-be-refined offense, but Brimah’s mere presence makes them a formidable defensive team, so avoiding fouls is the more important learning curve.
“I think he can get better knowing the game, knowing technique,” Ryan Boatright said. “But he if he can get his feet quicker, it will help him a lot. I think guys get him a half a step and lay into him and refs are calling it a block, or he’s leaning over a bit too much and they’re jumping right into his arms. The more that he plays, the better he understands the game the better he’s going to do.”
Brimah and the Huskies, once they get out of the snow, will face another physical challenge at Cincinnati on Thursday night. When the Bearcats came to the XL Center Jan. 10, Brimah lasted 28 minutes, getting four points and eight rebounds.
Honors for Hamilton, Boatright
Freshman Daniel Hamilton was the American Athletic Conference’s rookie of the week for the second time this season. Hamilton had 10 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the Huskies’ win over Central Florida, and seven points, 10 rebounds and four assists against South Florida. Boatright, who scored 18 against UCF and a career-high 28 against USF, and had a total of nine assists in the two games, made the league’s weekly honor roll. Nic Moore of Southern Methodist was the player of the week. … The Huskies are planning to fly to Cincinnati following practice Wednesday afternoon.
