I would. Guys like Zionn and 3uconn seem to think that we might be the favorite. I think we have a real shot to land him.
One thing we have to keep in mind is who does KO want. Say Stone, Enoch and Koumadje all want UConn. If KO decides he'll only take one big...just an example and not implying that will be the case...he might prefer one of the lesser ranked bigs over Stone. Maybe he would prefer players who are more likely to stick around longer if he thinks the lesser ranked recruit will be ready to play even though might not be quite as mature early on hoping he'll be a long longer. Also it wouldn't be the first time that some late-bloomers end up developing into better players than high ranked kids. These rankings are far from an exact science, though they often come close with the very top ranked ones.
I've said this before, you can often take a band of 15 to 20 recruits in any section of a top 100 to 150 list, shuffle the deck and get it just as right as the so called experts. And of course there are always some that fall and rise dramatically in each class. I'd love to see someone take a stab at re-ordering a class 4 years later based on how they've developed in college and/or in the NBA as well and compare that to how they were ranked in these top 100 to 150 lists that we keep hanging our hats on.
So far based only on what I've read and a handful of video clips, I'd love to see KO take some combination of 5 recruits (1 over since at least one additional ship opens up each year):
Stone (5) or Koumadje (5) - Stone is likely a 1 to 2 year player unless he's not as good as most believe while Koumadje will take time to develop ala Thabeet & Brimah, but should be very good during some point of his sophomore season. Like most 7 foot plus bigs, staying out of foul trouble and on the floor will be an early challenge for him. Has to learn to move those puppies and not pick up silly contact fouls.
Enoch (4/5) - this kid will be firing up the rankings. Seeing he's a local kid, we must protect our turf and make sure he doesn't leave the state.
Jones (3) or Smith (3) even though he just blew out his ACL - Jones sounds like a perfect fit for UConn and KO. I great athlete who simply needs someone to teach him the game so that he'll both produce at the college level and be prepared for a long and successful NBA career.
Malik Newman (2) or Isiah Briscoe (1) - Newman sounds like a beast of a 2G and would be a nice compliment to Adams. If not him, having a second PG-Combo on the floor has been a staple at UConn for years.
Adams (1/2 Combo) - Already locked him up and seems cut from the same mold as Bazz who can play on or off the ball
There's a whole slew of other potential recruits that could jump in the above. Some that might be more talented but longer-shots while some might be not quite as talented or as ready, but would be just fine for keeping the winning tradition going and going for years to come.
As mentioned a number of times, I've never seen so many really good irons in the fire at this point in the summer and the list only seems to be growing, not shrinking, which is often what we've seen as recruits further begin to cut their lists to 5 or less.
