2018 Recruits | The Boneyard

2018 Recruits

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imno1 said:
Thought I’d start a thread to keep tabs on how our recruits are doing. Please post any news or game results here
Brewster, UConn-bound Kisunas hold off St. Thomas More

I believe EMjr’s season starts tomorrow
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Thanks for initiating this. Always good to read about incoming recruits and follow their progress. Even curmudgeons like me get a warm and fuzzy as well as an optimistic feeling about the future. What little I've read about Kisunas I like.
 
I'm high on EM. He has length, athleticism and can shoot. Outplayed ALOT of talent this summer.

I don't think kisunas will contribute early, if ever, personally. He is a good screener and defender, but a roleplayer at best. Very few other skills.

Akinjo is 5050 for me. Really bad shooting percentages, but he plays with heart.
 
husky429 said:
I'm high on EM. He has length, athleticism and can shoot. Outplayed ALOT of talent this summer.

I don't think kisunas will contribute early, if ever, personally. He is a good screener and defender, but a roleplayer at best. Very few other skills.

Akinjo is 5050 for me. Really bad shooting percentages, but he plays with heart.
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Akinjo’s 2P% was horrendous before Peach Jam, but he’s a good 3PT shooter and he’s a true point guard, which we haven’t had in a while. Good defensive reputation too, albeit in a Gilbert/Ulis type of way as he lacks size.
 
How tall is Kisunas? We need length up front. I like mixing in the big bodies like Cobb and Diarra but they need length too.

Matthews is a shooter, right? We need more shooters and some length up front. This was evident v SU
 
Nice thing about Matthews is his hands and feet are quick, suggesting he can be a very good defender. His length will be especially meaningful on the perimeter.
 
Glad you started this discussion, as I've been meaning to offer some comments about Kisunas. I've watched videos of all three players and saw Kisunas play last month at the tournament at Albertus Magnus. I am no expert, and only see some of what many of the rest of you see when you watch a game or player, but I'm only hoping for the best with Kisunas and liking what I've seen on videos of Matthews and Akinjo.

Of the three, Akinjo has to have something special going for him to have been named the MVP of the Peach Jam. That tournament seems to be the one that has virtually all the best players in one place each year and he was a star. If he was a Duke or Kentucky or other ESPN favored teams' recruit he'd be listed a lot higher in the rankings based on how he performed against the best of the best. And, it wasn't one game so it's hard to say it was a fluke (like Dan Cyrulik's performance against St. John's in the opening game of Gampel Pavilion in 1990). I was wrong about what I thought the rest of Dan's career would be like and hope I'm not wrong about my extrapolation about Akinjo. And, so what if he's not a big guard. We seemed to do pretty well with motivated 6 footers in the past and he seems motivated. Let's hope he honors his commitment if this year doesn't end well. Akinjo may well be the first example of a recruit somewhat overlooked by others but who Chillious and Ollie thought could be special for UConn.

Matthews looks to be pretty versatile and seems to have all the shots you want to see from a big guard/small forward. And he doesn't seem reluctant to take shots when his team needs a big basket. Tyler Polley needs the confidence Matthews shows. Still, it's only high school and the videos aren't showing him against the top level competition Akinjo faced at the Peach Jam, but he sure looks like he could be the kind of scorer UConn needs.

Kisunas is another story and looks like a "reach" to me. He is nowhere near 6 feet 10 inches and has no offensive skills in the one game I saw him in and in the two videos I saw. He moves his feet fast and holds onto the ball if he gets to it, but showed zero touch on his shots (even close to the basket). Opposing players scored over him time and again and he spent a lot of time on the bench because he fouled a lot. Hopefully he'll turn out to be our next Rod Sellers who, according to ancient lore, scored zero points and had zero rebounds when Calhoun and Dickenman went to see him play in high school. They liked his footwork (Kisunas too) and hands (Kisunas maybe) and he turned out to be a good center who did all the dirty work that helped UConn reach its first national prominence.

My wife says I'm an insufferable optimist about the Huskies, but here's hoping all these players turn out to be real diamonds in the rough.
 
KembaStepback said:
How tall is Kisunas? We need length up front. I like mixing in the big bodies like Cobb and Diarra but they need length too.

Matthews is a shooter, right? We need more shooters and some length up front. This was evident v SU
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I saw him at Albertus Magnus' tournament last month and he looks like he's 6 foot 8, not the 6 foot 10 he's shown as in lots of articles.
 
UConnDan97 said:
As a UConn fan, your advice to prospective UConn players is to NOT become UConn players???

This board....unreal...
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Pretty sure that was tongue in cheek, but this board is on eggshells lately
 
uconngb said:
Pretty sure that was tongue in cheek, but this board is on eggshells lately
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I didn't get the "tongue in cheeck" from the second sentence explaining the first sentence. I'm pretty sure I got the gist of the message...
 
Akinjo better be ready to go from the moment he steps on campus, he might start if Adams leaves.

Mathews is weird. What is he? A tall sg? Small ball 4? Or a natural 3? It’ll be interesting to watch him and Polly fight over the “versatility” role.

Kisunas? Don’t have high hopes for him, doesn’t seem to have any skills/athletic ability. I’ll be shocked if he plays as a freshman.
 
UConnDan97 said:
I didn't get the "tongue in cheeck" from the second sentence explaining the first sentence. I'm pretty sure I got the gist of the message...
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The post was probably tongue in cheek, but the opinion is probably serious. I don't think he actually wants recruits to de-commit and go elsewhere.

If you were giving honest advice to a recruit, would you really advise them that this is the best place for them to develop?
 
Whtdmd said:
you need to ban. Complaining about Ollie is one thing but actively telling committed recruit s not to come is over the line
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The "ban" thing is way too much, but I'll make him a deal; delete his post and I'll delete mine. This way, if prospective student athletes come to this thread, they don't have to see any of it...
 
Ollie (or whoever ends up coaching next year) should be recruiting Adams and Larrier to stay one more year each. They’ve fallen out of the second round mocks and they’ve got plenty of time to make money in Europe in their mid to late 20s.

It’s been a while since UConn had high upside guys play through their senior year, get as good as they can, and get a degree while they’re at it. I know they want to go pro, but the pro career they’d start in 2018 would not be glamorous (as of today).
 
Scrutiner said:
I saw him at Albertus Magnus' tournament last month and he looks like he's 6 foot 8, not the 6 foot 10 he's shown as in lots of articles.
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You forgot to add Hilton units. The height of a lot of recruits is exaggerated.
 
RipCity said:
Ollie (or whoever ends up coaching next year) should be recruiting Adams and Larrier to stay one more year each. They’ve fallen out of the second round mocks and they’ve got plenty of time to make money in Europe in their mid to late 20s.

It’s been a while since UConn had high upside guys play through their senior year, get as good as they can, and get a degree while they’re at it. I know they want to go pro, but the pro career they’d start in 2018 would not be glamorous (as of today).
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I think Larrier goes and Adams comes back unless Jalen blows up this season.
 
HawkHusky joins the boorish thread hijacking to remind us he doesn't like Ollie. Because we don't know that already.
 
I personally don't care about Kisunas' scoring in his first year. If he rebounds, defends, pass out of the post without fumbling the ball and set a screen without getting called for a foul, he's going to play and would probably be an upgrade to some of the options we have now.
 
JimOllie said:
Matthews will see minutes right away. Might be the best shooter on the team as a freshman next year. Also love Akinjo. Kid will be a stud.
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I like next year's class, all things considered. I agree about Akinjo, he knows how to play. I don't foresee a stagnant offense with him and Gilbert down the line (fingers crossed).

Considering the trajectory of this season, although it's probably unlikely, I get excited about this year's core with next year's class.

I can dream that they forego their professional plans for one more go.
 
If there is new info on any recruit, it deserves its own thread. Ongoing megathread are a disaster.
 
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