Hamidou Diallo Graduates

[King Husky]

I think the subtextual argument is that Ollie's ceiling as a recruiter is higher than Calhoun's. And if we get into a better conference, there's a chance we'll see as much.

FWIW I tend to agree with that sentiment.

Exactly. Calhoun did the dirty work. We are now a team with 4 recent championships and an extremely likable player's coach, who happened to have a long NBA career. If we were in a good conference, there's no reason we wouldn't have recruiting classes up there with Duke and Kentucky now.

 

[upstater]

I can probably name every UConn recruiting class from the past 20 years. Our history of recruiting classes has absolutely nothing to do with the AAC holding Ollie back from recruiting at the level of Cal and K.

It seems the AAC has not YET impacted Ollie's recruiting classes, and it's been 5 years already. Before that, we had Charlie V., Rudy Gay, AJ Price, and.... ?? 3 top guys in the 2000s. Rip Hamilton and Donyell Marshall are the only ones from the previous decade, though I think you can also count maybe KEA.

 

[mauconnfan]

I guess you didn't see the last game.

Last 2 he looks better now with the doo. Like it and he's a good player who will eventually be a solid player, already has shown signs not sure why people hammer on him? He was just thrust into more minutes than he should have been as a frosh, as is CV.

 

[upstater]

I think the subtextual argument is that Ollie's ceiling as a recruiter is higher than Calhoun's. And if we get into a better conference, there's a chance we'll see as much.

FWIW I tend to agree with that sentiment.

It's a tough argument to make. Storrs is always a challenge--but so is Syracuse and Lansing, Michigan.

Calhoun was a magnet for recruits because of all the top talent he sent to the pros. Add in the Big East and the Big East tournament and top rankings.

UNC, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas always drew the top kids--through the ages.

I suppose you can look at Arizona as a school Ollie should be beating, but there too it is tough to compete against weather and social life.

I suppose it is a credit to Ollie that he can recruit these classes while in the AAC, and yes of course, outside the AAC his recruiting would be easier, but when someone says the conference is dragging recruiting down, I take it to mean down from the UConn standard.

More precisely, I would agree with, the AAC is preventing UConn recruiting from reaching new heights.

 

[mauconnfan]

Oz just did say to temper the expectations and that Diallo will probably make at least 1 other official visit before deciding. But in the end he still thinks he's going to choose UConn.

Don't let him leave could get ugly!

 

[UConn990411]

I think it's absurd to assume Ollie would recruit on the Duke/Kentucky level in a P5 because, well, UConn simply isn't a Duke or Kentucky. It's reasonable to think he'd outrecruit then in a single year, but overall? Doubtful.

 

[superjohn]

It seems the AAC has not YET impacted Ollie's recruiting classes, and it's been 5 years already. Before that, we had Charlie V., Rudy Gay, AJ Price, and.... ?? 3 top guys in the 2000s. Rip Hamilton and Donyell Marshall are the only ones from the previous decade, though I think you can also count maybe KEA.

IMO it has negatively impacted Ollie's recruiting. He has still been able to reel in his top guard targets because we are looked at as a guard school, Ollie had a decade plus long career in the league as a guard who wasn't supposed to make it and we have Kemba and Bazz in our very recent history. He hasn't been able reel in the top bigs he's wanted and isn't beating out Cal and K for recruits head to head. With Ollie's pedigree, relationships with LeBron and Durant, strong Christian faith, being a young black role model and his dynamic personality I fully believe he would be right there with Cal and K in recruiting under a different conference situation. It shows how badarse a recruiter he is despite our dumpster heap of a conference and coming off the NCAA nonsense. Don't see at all how past Calhoun classes has anything to do with what Ollie could do as a recruiter if he was in one of the best conferences.

 

[upstater]

IMO it has negatively impacted Ollie's recruiting. He has still been able to reel in his top guard targets because we are looked at as a guard school, Ollie had a decade plus long career in the league as a guard who wasn't supposed to make it and we have Kemba and Bazz in our very recent history. He hasn't been able reel in the top bigs he's wanted and isn't beating out Cal and K for recruits head to head. With Ollie's pedigree, relationships with LeBron and Durant, strong Christian faith, being a young black role model and his dynamic personality I fully believe he would be right there with Cal and K in recruiting under a different conference situation. It shows how badarse a recruiter he is despite our dumpster heap of a conference and coming off the NCAA nonsense. Don't see at all how past Calhoun classes has anything to do with what Ollie could do as a recruiter if he was in one of the best conferences.

We'll disagree on this.

As for big men, his strong Christian faith isn't really going to help given the names of our big men recruits over the last few years.

 

[Matrim55]

I think it's absurd to assume Ollie would recruit on the Duke/Kentucky level in a P5 because, well, UConn simply isn't a Duke or Kentucky. It's reasonable to think he'd outrecruit then in a single year, but overall? Doubtful.

I think it's doubtful but not absurd. I think it's probable that he'd be able to recruit at the level of, say, Arizona or Michigan State or even Kansas if we were in the ACC or B1G or even the Big East.

YMMV of course. And regardless, it's a fact that each of KO's recruiting classes has been better than the one before it. That's the trend we're all looking for and what will return us to season-long dominance a la '94-'06.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You should go back and look at the top 10 rankings over the last several years.

For every Karl Towns, you have 5 guys like Cliff Alexander.

Rodney Purvis. #14 overall, #4 shooting guard per 247. It's not safe to assume any HS kid will be an instant impact player.

 

[7774]

Exactly. Calhoun did the dirty work. We are now a team with 4 recent championships and an extremely likable player's coach, who happened to have a long NBA career. If we were in a good conference, there's no reason we wouldn't have recruiting classes up there with Duke and Kentucky now.

What evidence do you have that kids even care about what conference they play in to any significant degree?

 

[Huskybass]

I think it's doubtful but not absurd. I think it's probable that he'd be able to recruit at the level of, say, Arizona or Michigan State or even Kansas if we were in the ACC or B1G or even the Big East.

YMMV of course. And regardless, it's a fact that each of KO's recruiting classes has been better than the one before it. That's the trend we're all looking for and what will return us to season-long dominance a la '94-'06.

Wtf is YMMV? Honest question.

 

[superjohn]

We'll disagree on this.

As for big men, his strong Christian faith isn't really going to help given the names of our big men recruits over the last few years.

It seems you actually do kind 0f agree but are getting hung up on me bringing up Cal and K. Originally you said Ollie's recruiting hasn't been weighed down by our conference but you seem to have changed your stance on that. Don't see how anyone can deny conference affiliation hasn't weighed recruiting down at all when we've actually had a couple recruits say as much, well that and it's just common sense.

 

[King Husky]

What evidence do you have that kids even care about what conference they play in to any significant degree?

It's about the quality of the teams they play against, and the level of national attention the games get. You can be sure that the other coaches who Ollie competes against for recruits tell the kids what a conference schedule looks like if they play at UConn, compared to in their league. (Tulane, USF, East Carolina, UCF, etc.)

Example: 3pm.are you kidding me????

 

[husky99]

Looks like he's eligible

Love it. So guess zag might have been correct in his blog ... who is eating crow

 

[Jimdish255]

What evidence do you have that kids even care about what conference they play in to any significant degree?

You could probably look at the recruiting rankings for the top 20 schools and go from there.

 

[huskymagic]

So he's taking an official visit tomorrow and on record for going to the auburn game from espinosa? When you add in all the buzz from recruiting guys, i just don't see how its possible he is considering other schools at this point. but we'll see tomorrow.

Diallo is coming to UCONN with all of the buzz and official visit tomorrow and he will be at the Auburn game. Think of the 2 words his coach Espinosa used about other teams and visits " he MIGHT SQUEEZE them in". Kentucky is our only competition and they already are loaded with guards and wings and cant offer Hami the same amount of minutes. Hami wants instant playing time playing 25-30 minutes a game and wants to be a go to guy which along with Jalen he will be here with us. I have to say I haven't been this excited for a UCONN recruit since Drummond and Lamb. Hamidou is in the Rudy Gay mold in terms of talent level.

P.S. Hamidou brings the "NASTY" dunking and ferocity to the game similar to UCONN players of old.

 

[UConnSwag11]

You could probably look at the recruiting rankings for the top 20 schools and go from there.

Where has uconn been? Top 7 last year. Top 20-25 this year?

 

[formerlurker]

@AfgHusky15 is a saint! enjoyed reading your posts over there (and over here as well)

Likes aren't enough. Much love and respect to both of you.

 

[auror]

Wtf is YMMV? Honest question.

"Your mileage may vary"

 

[UCweCONN]

He is definitely a starter - if not immediate by game 3.

He's a great penetrator and he and Jalen would be deadly. Send RP to the bench and solves our depth problem overnight. Please let this happen!

 

[upstater]

It seems you actually do kind 0f agree but are getting hung up on me bringing up Cal and K. Originally you said Ollie's recruiting hasn't been weighed down by our conference but you seem to have changed your stance on that. Don't see how anyone can deny conference affiliation hasn't weighed recruiting down at all when we've actually had a couple recruits say as much, well that and it's just common sense.

I didn't change my stance at all.

Several points here.

1. I don't think UConn recruiting is down. Can it be better in a P5? Yes, because the conference wouldn't be used against Ollie...
2. BUT, in basketball, you don't need a slew of stars. Grabbing one a year is good. Clearly, the 4 guys I mentioned above were not intimidated by the prospect. The point is, you only need one.
3. Context is important. We were talking about UConn recruiting going south from where it is now. That's what I disagreed with. You're not even discussing this in context. The original discussion was about UConn recruiting going DOWN in the future.

 

[7774]

It's about the quality of the teams they play against, and the level of national attention the games get. You can be sure that the other coaches who Ollie competes against for recruits tell the kids what a conference schedule looks like if they play at UConn, compared to in their league. (Tulane, USF, East Carolina, UCF, etc.)

Example: 3pm.are you kidding me????

Again, what is the evidence that the players actually care and it influences their decision to a significant degree?

 

[UChusky916]

Can't wait to see this thread when Diallo leaves without enrolling and takes a UK visit.

I still think he ends up here by the Houston game, but he has always seemed like a kid who enjoys going through the whole recruiting process. Why shouldn't he take his officials?

 

[superjohn]

I didn't change my stance at all.

Several points here.

1. I don't think UConn recruiting is down. Can it be better in a P5? Yes, because the conference wouldn't be used against Ollie...
2. BUT, in basketball, you don't need a slew of stars. Grabbing one a year is good. Clearly, the 4 guys I mentioned above were not intimidated by the prospect. The point is, you only need one.
3. Context is important. We were talking about UConn recruiting going south from where it is now. That's what I disagreed with. You're not even discussing this in context. The original discussion was about UConn recruiting going DOWN in the future.

Somebody posted how Ollie being stuck in the AAC will weigh down his ability to compete with Cal for top 10 recruits, you responded to that poster saying something to the effect of Ollie has been here 5 years why hasn't our conference situation weighed down his recruiting yet. I then responded that it has already weighed down his recruiting. Subsequent posts you seem to allude to the AAC weighing down Ollie's recruiting from the heights it could be at. Your little lesson on context is nice, I wish you would apply it to yourself.