Christian Vital

[AntG168]

UNLV decommit. Jeff Borzello tweeted that we've been in contact with him. He plays for St Thomas Moore so something to keep an eye on. He could be that 3rd ball handler we're going to need next year

 

[AntG168]

http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/QvnHqhYq-X5hJVYpo

 

[JMick]

I called this a few days ago. Would be nice to see it come to fruition.

 

[Matrim55]

UNLV decommit. Jeff Borzello tweeted that we've been in contact with him. He plays for St Thomas Moore so something to keep an eye on. He could be that 3rd ball handler we're going to need next year

From ESPN:

ESPN Analyst
Updated 11/23/2015

Strengths:
Vital is extremely competitive and plays with a major chip on his shoulder. He refuses to back down from anyone, will defend bigger guys and raise the level of those around him. He is a good three-point shooter who can both make them in bunches as well as in big moments, which he seems to relish. He's a quality secondary ball-handler, has a good pull-up game and use of both hands around the rim. He's also a scrappy defender and good perimeter rebounder.

Weaknesses:
He's developed better control over his emotions as he's gotten older, but he plays with so much fire that it's still a fine line. He's a decent athlete but rarely plays above the rim in traffic. Earlier in his career he tried to develop into more of a lead guard, but isn't much of a distributor by nature and still needs to polish his ability to handle and pass against pressure.

Bottom Line:
He shoots the ball well, but his best attribute is his toughness. He's as competitive as they come and when push comes to shove he's a guy you want on your side in the big moments.

 

[Matrim55]

One of several exchanges between him & Enoch. They seem to be pretty tight (played at St. Thomas Moore together).

 

[Skies17]

Old video but the kid is a legitimate sniper

 

[mauconnfan]

If the kid can shoot and handle it to add to the "chip on his shoulder" toughness, would love for this to happen.

 

[allday2345]

I'll take him for his toughness and competitiveness alone. That can take you a long way in the college game...probably something this years team was missing.

 

[Horatio]

"Chip on his shoulder" , " fire" , " he refuses to back down", " will defend bigger guys", " toughness" . Sounds good.

 

[UConnStats]

@Ricker you must have seen this kid before, granted you may not have paid attention to him. Anything to share?

 

[fatlucy]

We can do better.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I know its a highlight video but I really like the form on his jump shots. If Ollie likes him and can control his emotions on the court then I'm all for him as a guy to come in off of the bench and light up 3s and open the court up. Between him and Vance Jackson it would be nice to be able to consistently spread the floor.

 

[1999.2004.2011]

Weird thing is that he's a 3* player with a scout grade of 77 who only originally had offers from UNLV and BCU. Now that he has decommitted, he is getting interest from a lot of notable programs. Did he make a significant jump during his senior year, or was he just flying under the radar?

 

[nomar]

I'm done trying to draw any conclusions from mixtapes. But I will say he has very nice rotation on his jumper. Feathery.

 

[aceboon]

Weird thing is that he's a 3* player with a scout grade of 77 who only originally had offers from UNLV and BCU. Now that he has decommitted, he is getting interest from a lot of notable programs. Did he make a significant jump during his senior year, or was he just flying under the radar?

reportedly had a very good senior year plus unsigned seniors are always in demand this time of year with teams trying to plug holes due to transfers/NBA early entrants/open schollies.

 

[UConnStats]

reportedly had a very good senior year plus unsigned seniors are always in demand this time of year with teams trying to plug holes due to transfers/NBA early entrants/open schollies.

Yup. Supply shifts down and increases the demand at that level of supply. We're back in Econ class.

I don't care about his ranking, you just have to trust that Ollie has an eye for talent. The last couple of guards we've "reached" on we're TSam and Cassell, though, which makes me a bit weary. Vital doesn't seem overly athletic, and doesn't have great size for a 2, so I'd have tempered expectations for him being able to effectively slash or defend that well. Always nice to have shooters though.

 

[CallMeBruce]

We can do better.

We're going to need at least one more guard next year, and there isn't much available at this point. He can handle and shoot, and he has the right attitude. I don't have a problem with that being the fifth player in a five-man class.

 

[boog204]

reportedly had a very good senior year plus unsigned seniors are always in demand this time of year with teams trying to plug holes due to transfers/NBA early entrants/open schollies.

This... He may have had a great season. But, now he is one of the top unsigned seniors so anyone who has a schollie opening up or has one to fill will start calling.

 

[80shusky]

With one scholarship available do we need a guard or a big more? Looking at one of the recruiting sites there seems to be a fair amount of Top 100 uncommitted people out there but we don't seem to be listed as having interest in any of them. I guess if we add a class of 2016 player a guard is probably preferable as he would be able to contribute more early rather than a big who would likely take more development?
Unless of course we could score a grad transfer big with 14 and 10 averages!

 

[CTGoonie]

What does it take to be considered a "good perimeter rebounder"?

 

[Jaker]

What does it take to be considered a "good perimeter rebounder"?

the ball comes to you, you grab it with 2 hands, you don't fumble it out of bounds?

 

[Dogbreath2U]

What does it take to be considered a "good perimeter rebounder"?

Extremely long arms. Big hands help too.

 

[Yankees32123]

Tough and can shoot. Sign him up. We have a class with a 5 * McD's AA and 3 other 4*s with nice pedigrees so another guard with a jumpshot would fill out the class nicely.

 

[Yankees32123]

With one scholarship available do we need a guard or a big more? Looking at one of the recruiting sites there seems to be a fair amount of Top 100 uncommitted people out there but we don't seem to be listed as having interest in any of them. I guess if we add a class of 2016 player a guard is probably preferable as he would be able to contribute more early rather than a big who would likely take more development?
Unless of course we could score a grad transfer big with 14 and 10 averages!

A guard is preferred at this point. We have Brimah, Enoch, Facey, Diarra, Jackson, Larrier and Durham for the frontcourt.

 

[Leebo]

Tough and can shoot. Sign him up. We have a class with a 5 * McD's AA and 3 other 4*s with nice pedigrees so another guard with a jumpshot would fill out the class nicely.

I know this is nitpicky, but while Alterique is a McD AA, he's not considered a 5-star in any of the systems.

Not that it should impact this decision, and he looks awesome, just clarifying.