Rakim Lubin Commits to UConn!!!
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Did you get a chance to speak to any of his coaches?
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2 of them and his mother.
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damn you move fast 3, good job
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I'm amazed at some of the negative assumptions some have landed on in this thread. As pointed out, one recruiting site had him ranked as high as 43 and someone posted some impressive stats that he had put up, both before he was injured.
Like many here, I've followed recruiting for a long time, and it's not unusual for a player to be outside the top 100 because of being out-of-sight out-of-mind, due to an injury, which seems to be the case with Lubin.
The fact that he showed up at number 43 on a top 50 recruiting list means he's not a complete unknown who just came out of nowhere.
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I reached out to Schwartz after I found these rankings when Lubin first came on the radar. I posted his response before, but it's appropriate for this thread, too:
Those are actually my rankings from last year. I have not seen Lubin play in quite some time, probably over two years. Haven't really heard his name much either, to be honest. That said, when I did see him, I was certainly impressed. I just can't really speak to his development since my last viewing of him a while back. Sorry I can't be of more help on the matter.
Dogbreath2U
RIP, DB2U
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We could definitely use more than one player with some size to bang inside. Hope that Ollie can sell Ray that we have room for him.
Jaybo
I hate you
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As for past recruits that were outside the top 100 that turned out to be pretty good, I could go and dig out some of my old printed top 100 lists that go way back and add some facts to this debate. But it's too late for me to bother to do so and some have already pointed out a few names. Many that were mentioned were in fact outside the top 100 when they gave their verbal commitments. Some of them eventually found their way into the top 100. I don't recall where these guys ultimately landed but Jake, Emeka, Boone, Donnie, Hilton were not top 100 when they committed. In fact, none of them showed up in any top 100 list, never mind a top 50 before they gave their verbals, like Lubin did.
I have a feeling that he's going to make this whole thread look silly when it's all said and done and turn out to be a really nice get. The numbers that he put up before he was hurt tells me that he can ball. He's not like some uber-raw big like Jon Mandeldove who didn't turn out to be very good. Based on the fact that he showed up in that top 50 list and the numbers that he put up before he got hurt, makes me wonder that he would have landed somewhere in the top 100 if he had stayed healthy.
If you've ever attended one of these summer hoops events, you know how hard it is to begin to distinguish a player in the 50s from a player in the 150s. There are so many kids to watch, and the ones that get ranked in the top 100 are either ones that found their way into some top 50 or 100 list back when they were underclassmen or ones that really blew up over the summer. Have you ever found yourself watching some low or mid-major kid kick ass in the NCAAs and ask yourself, "Where the h*ll did this kid come from and how did the big-boys miss out on him?" It happens a lot! Ranking this kids is such a crap shoot. Hundreds attend each of these events, not to mention some of the bigger ones overlap and those who contribute to this lists just can't watch all of them.
One good example is how low Jeremy Lamb was ranked, especially early on, but even in the end he did not move up to anywhere close to where he deserved. When JC was deciding between Jeremy and Doron, J-Lamb was hands down his first choice, and the so called experts never elevated him over Doron, even though they had a lot of good things to say about his game. Part of this was most of them had Doron high atop their lists early on, and probably didn't want to look like they made a mistake and bump him down too much and Jeremy too high. Now I don't follow recruiting like I have in the past, and it seems those who put these lists together on the various networks (Scout, Rivals, ESPN, etc...) seem to be more willing to shuffle the deck and add kids coming out of nowhere more often than they did in the past. Even so, it's still such a crap shoot.
Anyhow, no matter where he lands, I think he's going to be very good and land somewhere between a Jeff Adrien/Kevin Freeman type talent and a Josh Boone/Hilton Armstrong. Since he's listed at 6-8, he's probably more like 6-7 or shorter and will likely end up closer to the first list. Unless you're highly skilled and an uber-athlete, you're not going to get a sniff in the NBA if you're an under 6-9 PF. Boone and Hilton, although they were still raw, had enough athleticism and size to get drafted, both higher than they should have, but that's another story. When it comes to NBA bigs, it's a crap shoot to see which ones make it a long career regardless where they're drafted. There have been plenty of high lottery pick Bigs that have flamed out, and probably close to as many late first round to second round bigs who turned out to be late bloomers and nice surprises.
I have a feeling that he's going to make this whole thread look silly when it's all said and done and turn out to be a really nice get. The numbers that he put up before he was hurt tells me that he can ball. He's not like some uber-raw big like Jon Mandeldove who didn't turn out to be very good. Based on the fact that he showed up in that top 50 list and the numbers that he put up before he got hurt, makes me wonder that he would have landed somewhere in the top 100 if he had stayed healthy.
If you've ever attended one of these summer hoops events, you know how hard it is to begin to distinguish a player in the 50s from a player in the 150s. There are so many kids to watch, and the ones that get ranked in the top 100 are either ones that found their way into some top 50 or 100 list back when they were underclassmen or ones that really blew up over the summer. Have you ever found yourself watching some low or mid-major kid kick ass in the NCAAs and ask yourself, "Where the h*ll did this kid come from and how did the big-boys miss out on him?" It happens a lot! Ranking this kids is such a crap shoot. Hundreds attend each of these events, not to mention some of the bigger ones overlap and those who contribute to this lists just can't watch all of them.
One good example is how low Jeremy Lamb was ranked, especially early on, but even in the end he did not move up to anywhere close to where he deserved. When JC was deciding between Jeremy and Doron, J-Lamb was hands down his first choice, and the so called experts never elevated him over Doron, even though they had a lot of good things to say about his game. Part of this was most of them had Doron high atop their lists early on, and probably didn't want to look like they made a mistake and bump him down too much and Jeremy too high. Now I don't follow recruiting like I have in the past, and it seems those who put these lists together on the various networks (Scout, Rivals, ESPN, etc...) seem to be more willing to shuffle the deck and add kids coming out of nowhere more often than they did in the past. Even so, it's still such a crap shoot.
Anyhow, no matter where he lands, I think he's going to be very good and land somewhere between a Jeff Adrien/Kevin Freeman type talent and a Josh Boone/Hilton Armstrong. Since he's listed at 6-8, he's probably more like 6-7 or shorter and will likely end up closer to the first list. Unless you're highly skilled and an uber-athlete, you're not going to get a sniff in the NBA if you're an under 6-9 PF. Boone and Hilton, although they were still raw, had enough athleticism and size to get drafted, both higher than they should have, but that's another story. When it comes to NBA bigs, it's a crap shoot to see which ones make it a long career regardless where they're drafted. There have been plenty of high lottery pick Bigs that have flamed out, and probably close to as many late first round to second round bigs who turned out to be late bloomers and nice surprises.
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Freeman was ranked 35th by at least one rating service and not an obscure one, at that. We were pretty pumped up to get him, at the time. Seems like we had good cause because he ended up contributing a lot for us and was probably more responsible for our beating Gonzaga to get to our first final four (and thus our first national championship) than anyone on the team. Not too shabby!
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At least you don't hate him...
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I'm sure all the programs that Kasongo and Robinson are interested in have returning bigs on their rosters and maybe even some 2014 verbals. Since Lubin is somewhat of an unknown, he might not be scared off by Lubin. Though if he reads the Boneyard he probably now knows by now the kid was once ranked somewhere and might be a player of his caliber. Hopefully he realizes that wherever he goes he's going to have to compete with 2 to 3 other bigs for PT, and that there is usually plenty of PT, especially here at UConn, for a player who works hard and improves. Both he and Lubin sound like the type of players who are going to need a few years of development, and what better program to develop their skills than UConn, under KO and his experienced staff. All he has to do is look at the improvement of the players from last season (as well as prior seasons) to see UConn's track record of developing players. Compare that to some programs, such as NC State, that turn McD AAs into ground beef...why any recruit would choose them over UConn is beyond me...while UConn turns table scraps into filet mignon.
Mark my words, Lubin is going to turn out to be a better player than Abu when it's all said and done. Okay, I'm just guessing, but knowing Gottfried's track record, it's probably a good bet.
Maybe I'm wrong, but if Kasongo still prefers KO and UConn after his Oregon visit, I still like our chances of landing him as well. You can never have too many Bigs and so far Lubin is the only one we have in the 2014 class so far.
As for Robinson, he's a different type of player. From the sounds of it, he's more a 3/4 combo, in the mold of Daniels, from what I understand. Maybe he's more 4 than 3, while DD is more 3 than 4, though DD has shown to be effective both in the paint and beyond the arc. I'm sure KO points to how well they were able to develop Daniels this past season and how he can do the same for him. I doubt that Lubin's commit, nor Kasongo's would scare him off. The fact that we have a bucket-load of 2014 ships to offer, KO will continue to recruit both, will take both if interested. I'm not so sure who we'll land in the end, but the following class would not be out of the realm of possibility:
Lubin (4), Kasongo* (4-5 combo), Robinson (3-stretch-4 combo), Hamilton (2-3 combo wing), ? (PG-2 Combo)
* I'm only guessing that Kasongo is big/long enough to play some 5. Maybe Lubin since he seems like a muscular athletic 6-8 (or 6-7) could burn some minutes at the 5 as well. You can get away with a 6-8 5 against most high-major teams. Not many can throw one 6-11 or 7 footer out there after another, like we have been able to do at times in the past.
As for the PG position, I hope that KO waits to see what shakes out or shakes loose in the spring unless it's Lyle or Graham (if he's released from his LOI any time soon). Unless they find some international gem, they should wait to see if someone who isn't a reach presents themselves. If there is one position that you don't want to reach on, it is at the point. Granted 2014 looks a little scary if Boatright doesn't return for his senior season. Samuel might just be a bit of a stretch and no more than a back-up point and Purvis might be much more 2 than 1. It just doesn't help if you burn a ship on a kid who just can't play at this level. I'm sure KO will get it right one way or the other.
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on his grind
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Maybe found a video of the kid. If he was wearing #4 as a Sophomore he makes two shots in a row starting with a fast break layup at 1:25 then a dunk rebound. http://Post original url/164Ynp0
He also had a monster game beating the 5A top ranked team last season 27-7-4-3 http://Post original url/1bhZeDo
He also had a monster game beating the 5A top ranked team last season 27-7-4-3 http://Post original url/1bhZeDo
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I think we should add a new thread called, "Guess their ranking!" and list a bunch of players from the past and see who can come close to their rankings. I saved some of the pre (Scout, Rivals, etc.) rankings that pre-date the .coms. Maybe one of these days I'll dust them off and see how close people get.
You'd be surprised at how high and how low some of our recruits were ranked. For example, most would not expect how high Rudy Johnson was ranked, I think #23.
I don't remember his ranking, but I think Ray was in the 30s somewhere. I think Ben was an other that was ranked in the 30s (maybe late 20s). Neither got a lot of AAU exposure, which explains some of it. Coming out of South Carolina back then, Ray didn't get a lot of exposure, but JC knew he had something special. Ben was similar in that JC had to have him, got him early, and Ben played little AAU ball during his summer between his junior and senior year. As I posted above, out-of-sight out-of-mind is the equation for getting a much lower (higher number) ranking than one deserves.
Another way to get ranked lower than deserved is by playing on a stacked AAU team behind too many better known highly ranked players. I can't think of any specific names, but I bet some here could provide a few.
Reclassifying up can also garner a lower ranking than deserved. For example, Bazz, slotted in as the 14th best PG in 2010 class in one of the recruiting sites and 62nd overall. In that same class, Jeremy Lamb was ranked 88 behind not just one Lamb but 2, Doron (28-Kentucky) & Tyler (47-UCLA).
Just look at some of these recruiting site lists and you'll realize how much of a crap shoot it turns out to be. You can probably shuffle the names up and down about 20 spots, even more as you go toward the lower portion of the top 100 and beyond, and turn out to be no worse predicting where they should have landed.
You'd be surprised at how high and how low some of our recruits were ranked. For example, most would not expect how high Rudy Johnson was ranked, I think #23.
I don't remember his ranking, but I think Ray was in the 30s somewhere. I think Ben was an other that was ranked in the 30s (maybe late 20s). Neither got a lot of AAU exposure, which explains some of it. Coming out of South Carolina back then, Ray didn't get a lot of exposure, but JC knew he had something special. Ben was similar in that JC had to have him, got him early, and Ben played little AAU ball during his summer between his junior and senior year. As I posted above, out-of-sight out-of-mind is the equation for getting a much lower (higher number) ranking than one deserves.
Another way to get ranked lower than deserved is by playing on a stacked AAU team behind too many better known highly ranked players. I can't think of any specific names, but I bet some here could provide a few.
Reclassifying up can also garner a lower ranking than deserved. For example, Bazz, slotted in as the 14th best PG in 2010 class in one of the recruiting sites and 62nd overall. In that same class, Jeremy Lamb was ranked 88 behind not just one Lamb but 2, Doron (28-Kentucky) & Tyler (47-UCLA).
Just look at some of these recruiting site lists and you'll realize how much of a crap shoot it turns out to be. You can probably shuffle the names up and down about 20 spots, even more as you go toward the lower portion of the top 100 and beyond, and turn out to be no worse predicting where they should have landed.
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It does happen a lot they just don't all come here. You watch any other college basketball besides UConn 91???? How many times you see a kid on a UTEP or somewhere and say wow would love him to be at Storrs? Many of these same kids you watch on other programs came form the Top 200 and they turn out to be players, so yes it does happen a lot.
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Kasongo and Lubin can probably both play together in the UConn system without a true center later on in their careers anyway. I'm guessing if the staff really like Ray they are letting him know they can be interchanged at PF/C in UConns system so this shouldn't push him out. But who knows what anyone is thinking?
No matter love that Ricky got the kid here and he loved Storrs and is now going to be a Husky!! All that matters........
No matter love that Ricky got the kid here and he loved Storrs and is now going to be a Husky!! All that matters........
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Wow is this anyway to welcome a new recruit? Numbers, stars, stats, rankings, etc.. being analyzed with projections and assumptions.... Who the hell cares? Its too late for that as we are not recruiting him anymore.
Geezz he'll be wearing a UConn uni, that uniform is not available to anyone, and our coaches who are family, treasure and respect the uni.
So should we start a new 'welcome to UConn' thread or fix/redirect this one?
Geezz he'll be wearing a UConn uni, that uniform is not available to anyone, and our coaches who are family, treasure and respect the uni.
So should we start a new 'welcome to UConn' thread or fix/redirect this one?
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Anyone who doesn't like the fact this kid wants to play at UConn and KO/Ricky think he can and be an impact kid, then they should be banned from the board! Especially without knowing who the hell he is.......
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Happy to have Rakim in blue and white. An excellent decision on his part. It is difficult to understand the reluctance of other recruits to follow suit. But I'll take the guys that want to be here and appreciate the opportunity. His decision has certainly added some energy to the board.
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Well said. Who cares about rankings, about him being our 4th or 5th option, or how most other major programs fell off hard on this kid. It is simply nice and reassuring to know that there are still some kids out there who spend a weekend in Storrs and view the opportunity as can't miss. Welcome aboard Rakim.
Dove
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Now if we can just land Eric B then KO can rap this recruiting class up!
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Lets see. My guess is that we still win a championship without Chuck and especially Wane. I do agree that its always good to have a player who brings his lunch pail or has the ability to grow into himself the way Armstrong did. That is not the message I am getting here. I have no idea whether or not Rakim will be the next coming of Jeff Adrien or Michael Bradley because I have never seen him play. I do know that giving the swings and misses over the last few months and how late we were to offer this kid, that this is not a "hidden gem" type situation, this is desperation.
Mr. Wonderful
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:::rolls eyes:::
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yeah huh.........what a ridiculous, hypocritical post. Can't say I have no idea then turn it around to be a desperation get.........some of these fans! It's not desperation in September, they know he can play from what I guess. Too much time left on the '14 recruiting table to just offer anyone at this point!!
Again truthfully we know very little but that Top 43 prior to an injury at least let's you now he was on the radar and a pretty good one!!
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