2018 Recruiting: All 3 of our recruits got a bump up; Kisunas in particular

[UConnDan97]

Define "great things". And if none of them achieve "great things" will you write something like, "What did people expect KO to achieve with this limited talent? We are in the AAC so don't expect Chris Smith to walk through that door." Of course you will.

If you think I would write that, then you know jack feces about me, fella. So don't say "of course you will." Anyone on the Boneyard that has seen me post for more than 5 minutes, knows that I wouldn't write anything like that...

 

[mauconnfan]

read bagel and cheese above. Not exactly a glowing review

bagel & cheese is not an expert, read all of his stuff.

There are not 226 better players than Matthews in this class I promise all of you that. I like this class could care less about rankings. Add Sid Wilson to that list and it's even better. I's not over either there will be an addition by next year could come form HS, 5th year or just a transfer. No matter though, KO has to be sure he's targeting smart basketball players with size and toughness. We've fallen short on the on court intelligence side and mostly on the size. Kisunas is a breath of fresh air for his skill set and size, but we need more. I think with a work out regimen for his strength and his quickness Carlton could be a force eventually and Cobb for one more year after this size wise.

 

[Paesano]

It's hilarious to me that people still rely on these recruiting rankings and make sweeping judgments on these kids and our program before they even step foot on campus just because some nobody gave them a number.

What's even more funny is that folks here are calling for KO to get canned based on these arbitrary 'rankings' from 'experts'.

Unreal how insecure the UConn fan base has become.

Looking forward to seeing Lukas and James in UConn unis... both look like UConn guys.

Please point out Ollie's Emeka Okafor. Point me to the 100+ guy that he developed into a great college player and NBA lottery pick. Everyone knows that there have been McD AAs that were busts and Top 100-200 guys that became stars but, if you fish in the deep end, you will catch more sharks and fewer guppies and vice versa. And I have seen no evidence that Ollie can find the sharks that occasionally end up in shallow waters.

 

[Paesano]

If you think I would write that, then you know jack feces about me, fella. So don't say "of course you will." Anyone on the Boneyard that has seen me post for more than 5 minutes, knows that I wouldn't write anything like that...

Fella? What are you, 90 years old?!?!

What is funny about your unhinged response is that you felt it was OK to ASSUME what other people would write if these recruits achieved "great things" but you don't like it when the tables are turned.

 

[UConnDan97]

Fella? What are you, 90 years old?!?!

What is funny about your unhinged response is that you felt it was OK to ASSUME what other people would write if these recruits achieved "great things" but you don't like it when the tables are turned.

I've been around long enough to see it happen, I guess....'cause you know....I'm 90...

EDIT: I also said "some". Not all of them. "Some"...

 

[Paesano]

I've been around long enough to see it happen, I guess....'cause you know....I'm 90...

Provide a link...'cause you know...you claim it happened.

 

[UConnDan97]

Provide a link...'cause you know...you claim it happened.

Okay. I'll dig through thousands of posts over the next few hours because Paesano wants to see it. Hang tight, I'll be right back with it for you...

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

read bagel and cheese above. Not exactly a glowing review

Yeah, I didn't see that one when I posted it. So there was one. Mostly everything else is positive.

 

[Bagel&Cheese]

bagel & cheese is not an expert, read all of his stuff.

There are not 226 better players than Matthews in this class I promise all of you that. I like this class could care less about rankings. Add Sid Wilson to that list and it's even better. I's not over either there will be an addition by next year could come form HS, 5th year or just a transfer. No matter though, KO has to be sure he's targeting smart basketball players with size and toughness. We've fallen short on the on court intelligence side and mostly on the size. Kisunas is a breath of fresh air for his skill set and size, but we need more. I think with a work out regimen for his strength and his quickness Carlton could be a force eventually and Cobb for one more year after this size wise.

Ollie has a poor history of developing players so without top ranked recruits coming in next year it's not a good sign for things to come. Having top 50 recruits at least gives you the opportunity to turn the program around. There are always going to be exceptions and rankings aren't always correct but I would rather have 2-3 top 50 players than 2-3 top 100-150 players. He did a good job getting Adams, Hamilton, & AG but Hamilton split and AG has been hurt for 2 years and others transferred out so we are on a path to stay mediocre unless Ollie & Staff can develop these players...... just my take...not an expert.

 

[mauconnfan]

Please point out Ollie's Emeka Okafor. Point me to the 100+ guy that he developed into a great college player and NBA lottery pick. Everyone knows that there have been McD AAs that were busts and Top 100-200 guys that became stars but, if you fish in the deep end, you will catch more sharks and fewer guppies and vice versa. And I have seen no evidence that Ollie can find the sharks that occasionally end up in shallow waters.

Emeka Okafor? LOL please he was already considered a great get and under the radar guy before he walked into Gampel. Stanford didn't have room or didn't offer JC got him. Luck is also a wonderful thing not saying JC didn't deserve him because he did just not a good comparison. Kid was brilliant on and off he court, already a monster and already getting better every time he stepped on the court. They taught him, he listened and was able to transition his practice and hard work to the court. Not so much as of late and that's two fold, bad judge of court intelligence while recruiting and being desperate for recruits all too often.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

That pretty much sums it up. The problem isn't the AAC. At least, it isn't JUST the AAC and the AAC alone can't limit recruiting. KO is struggling in recruiting now because, as you said, he failed to do anything with his recruits. He was handed a great situation where we were the big fish in the small pond. Our history allowed us to pull in big recruits even though we were in the AAC. But since none of his guys are achieving much, the big recruits are disinterested or concerned. This is a classic downward spiral.

Logically it makes no sense. "The conference stinks and is killing our program and recruiting" is the argument.

BUT, we have been recruiting at a much higher level than our conference foes, while also failing to win the conference, much less dominate it. Finishing in 5th or 6th and under performing the same teams who we have recruited better than. It is just a very weak argument.

The conference has been an easy excuse on here to justify all sorts of things.

It has definitely played a part, but the people who blame everything on the conference are not paying attention very closely or just lack analytical skills.

 

[superjohn]

bagel & cheese is not an expert, read all of his stuff.

There are not 226 better players than Matthews in this class I promise all of you that. I like this class could care less about rankings. Add Sid Wilson to that list and it's even better. I's not over either there will be an addition by next year could come form HS, 5th year or just a transfer. No matter though, KO has to be sure he's targeting smart basketball players with size and toughness. We've fallen short on the on court intelligence side and mostly on the size. Kisunas is a breath of fresh air for his skill set and size, but we need more. I think with a work out regimen for his strength and his quickness Carlton could be a force eventually and Cobb for one more year after this size wise.

Don't know how any of these players will turn out and neither do you, what I do know is always saying you don't care about rankings and these kids are better than their rankings is a sign that recruiting ain't going so well.

 

[mauconnfan]

Ollie has a poor history of developing players so without top ranked recruits coming in next year it's not a good sign for things to come. Having top 50 recruits at least gives you the opportunity to turn the program around. There are always going to be exceptions and rankings aren't always correct but I would rather have 2-3 top 50 players than 2-3 top 100-150 players. He did a good job getting Adams, Hamilton, & AG but Hamilton split and AG has been hurt for 2 years and others transferred out so we are on a path to stay mediocre unless Ollie & Staff can develop these players. just my take...not an expert.

He has a poor history of developing players unable to develop I would agree as I said above. That is also totally on him I don't deny that. And he's recruited the wrong kind of players that's on him. In his defense he needed to take a Brimah, but without defense for him is the fact he didn't get another big man during his tenure, besides Enoch who was equally as bad when it came ti understanding the game. He's put himself in this hole I agree and I can't deny that.

 

[superjohn]

It's hilarious to me that people still rely on these recruiting rankings and make sweeping judgments on these kids and our program before they even step foot on campus just because some nobody gave them a number.

What's even more funny is that folks here are calling for KO to get canned based on these arbitrary 'rankings' from 'experts'.

Unreal how insecure the UConn fan base has become.

Looking forward to seeing Lukas and James in UConn unis... both look like UConn guys.

Recruiting is pretty far down the list for the fire Ollie crowd. Doesn't mean recruiting isn't trending in the wrong direction.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

It's hilarious to me that people still rely on these recruiting rankings and make sweeping judgments on these kids and our program before they even step foot on campus just because some nobody gave them a number.

What's even more funny is that folks here are calling for KO to get canned based on these arbitrary 'rankings' from 'experts'.

Unreal how insecure the UConn fan base has become.

Looking forward to seeing Lukas and James in UConn unis... both look like UConn guys.

Nobody is calling for KO to get canned because of recruiting rankings. People are calling for him to get canned because we stink and his teams have the same flaws every single year.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

I've been around long enough to see it happen, I guess....'cause you know....I'm 90...

EDIT: I also said "some". Not all of them. "Some"...

I see you call people out a lot.

You support KO and I respect that.

Rather than argue back and forth about it, I will ask you directly.

1. What gives you your optimism?
2.Which areas related to coaching do you think KO is doing a good job at (offense, defense, roster management, recruiting, player development, motivation, x&o's, game planning/strategy, in game adjustments etc).

3. What makes you think he will turn it around? What do you think he will use as the basis of the turnaround? Whats the focus/foundation?

Rather than just mocking/arguing with people for their views, maybe share yours so we can get a better understanding of where you are coming from.

 

[Danzz]

bagel & cheese is not an expert, read all of his stuff.

There are not 226 better players than Matthews in this class I promise all of you that. I like this class could care less about rankings. Add Sid Wilson to that list and it's even better. I's not over either there will be an addition by next year could come form HS, 5th year or just a transfer. No matter though, KO has to be sure he's targeting smart basketball players with size and toughness. We've fallen short on the on court intelligence side and mostly on the size. Kisunas is a breath of fresh air for his skill set and size, but we need more. I think with a work out regimen for his strength and his quickness Carlton could be a force eventually and Cobb for one more year after this size wise.

Prediction: Carlton is going to be a stud for us. He is only a freshman and we should expect to see him get a bit stronger and likely put on some bulk. He has a nice touch around the basket and seems to have a good basketball IQ.

 

[upstater]

That pretty much sums it up. The problem isn't the AAC. At least, it isn't JUST the AAC and the AAC alone can't limit recruiting. KO is struggling in recruiting now because, as you said, he failed to do anything with his recruits. He was handed a great situation where we were the big fish in the small pond. Our history allowed us to pull in big recruits even though we were in the AAC. But since none of his guys are achieving much, the big recruits are disinterested or concerned. This is a classic downward spiral.

He's been the head coach since 2013.

He won a national championship, where he actually DID develop several players on that team.

The recruiting bump for the NC was supposed to come last year and the year before. It didn't.

The current class have seen UConn struggle for 2 years (2015 and 2016) but the classes prior to that had only seen success.

Your timeline is off.

 

[UConnDan97]

I see you call people out a lot.

You support KO and I respect that.

Rather than argue back and forth about it, I will ask you directly.

1. What gives you your optimism?
2.Which areas related to coaching do you think KO is doing a good job at (offense, defense, roster management, recruiting, player development, motivation, x&o's, game planning/strategy, in game adjustments etc).

3. What makes you think he will turn it around? What do you think he will use as the basis of the turnaround? Whats the focus/foundation?

Rather than just mocking/arguing with people for their views, maybe share yours so we can get a better understanding of where you are coming from.

Unreal.

I didn't call anyone out. You asked me to use the quote function to show you posts that were negative on this batch of recruits (as if you hadn't already read them), and I obliged. It's not my style, but I obliged.

Everything that I'm hearing about Akinjo is a rave review from either some press clipping or some Twitter post. I've not seen him play in person, but man if he is even half of what people are saying out there, we'll be in good shape with him. I'm also hearing very good things about the other two recruits as well, even if not as much as Akinjo. Would I have even more confidence if they were ranked #1, #2, and #3 in the country respectively? Yes, of course. But when you hear about a future Husky dominating a tournament, etc., you get the warm fuzzies.

Why people feel the need to continue to gripe on a thread that is clearly designated for these three recruits is beyond me. So maybe you should take some of your own advice; rather than just mocking / arguing with people for their views, maybe share yours so we can get a better understanding of where you are coming from. And maybe even try to do it in threads that aren't about a specific topic whereby your views are off-topic...

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Unreal.

I didn't call anyone out. You asked me to use the quote function to show you posts that were negative on this batch of recruits (as if you hadn't already read them), and I obliged. It's not my style, but I obliged.

Everything that I'm hearing about Akinjo is a rave review from either some press clipping or some Twitter post. I've not seen him play in person, but man if he is even half of what people are saying out there, we'll be in good shape with him. I'm also hearing very good things about the other two recruits as well, even if not as much as Akinjo. Would I have even more confidence if they were ranked #1, #2, and #3 in the country respectively? Yes, of course. But when you hear about a future Husky dominating a tournament, etc., you get the warm fuzzies.

Why people feel the need to continue to gripe on a thread that is clearly designated for these three recruits is beyond me. So maybe you should take some of your own advice; rather than just mocking / arguing with people for their views, maybe share yours so we can get a better understanding of where you are coming from. And maybe even try to do it in threads that aren't about a specific topic whereby your views are off-topic...

Did I mock you at all? I wasn't trying to be confrontational. I am interested in having a discussion.

So you wont answer a single one of those simple questions? I have shared my views on here. Read this thread to get some of them.

I am asking for yours. Why can't you answer any of those questions? Why is that hard to do? This is a common theme I am seeing. People call posters out for being "haters" but refuse to share/support their views.

 

[superjohn]

He's been the head coach since 2013.

He won a national championship, where he actually DID develop several players on that team.

The recruiting bump for the NC was supposed to come last year and the year before. It didn't.

The current class have seen UConn struggle for 2 years (2015 and 2016) but the classes prior to that had only seen success.

Your timeline is off.

Yes, those last recruits he did have some development with weren't his recruits though.

 

[donyell34]

We had a top ten recruiting class in the country last year in the same conference.

Please explain.

Maybe on paper but didn't pass the eye test just saying.

 

[donyell34]

Why would Matthews drop 17 spots when it seemed he was trending up. I agree with Mau there can't be 227 players better.

 

[pj]

Yes, those last recruits he did have some development with weren't his recruits though.

Actually, it's more impressive to develop somebody else's recruits than your own. Just like it's more impressive for a business executive to successfully manage someone else's hires than his own.

 

[80shusky]

Good gravy. We can't even have a positive thread about our incoming recruits without it turning in to a s-show? Do you people have to masturbate in every single thread? We get it already cripes.