2019/20 UConn Recruiting

[Charliebball]

It will be fascinating to see how the 2019 recruiting class unfolds for UConn. With UConn graduating Lou, Pheesa & Z next year, initially I felt UConn would place a premium on frontcourt talent, thinking Brunelle, Boston and Amihere would be a nice trio of replacements.
Certainly Brunelle is still in the picture, but it would be difficult to bring in both Amihere and Boston. So more recently, Geno has been looking at wings and combo guards. I gather that Jones has been in the picture for some time, but more recently UConn has started to look at Horston, Correa and perhaps others we don’t know about.

I know Brunelle has a scholarship offer, but it would be interesting to know who else in the class of 2019 may have an offer.

Other then the CIA, nobody plays it closer to the vest then UConn when it comes to recruiting................I can imagine that other guards/wings under consideration in the 2019 class would be Breanna Beal and or Diamond Miller

 

[CocoHusky]

It will be fascinating to see how the 2019 recruiting class unfolds for UConn. With UConn graduating Lou, Pheesa & Z next year, initially I felt UConn would place a premium on frontcourt talent, thinking Brunelle, Boston and Amihere would be a nice trio of replacements.
Once UConn secured a somewhat surprising commitment from ONO, the calculus began to change. If Ezi also commits, that changes the calculus entirely.
Certainly Brunelle is still in the picture, but it would be difficult to bring in both Amihere and Boston. So more recently, Geno has been looking at wings and combo guards. I gather that Jones has been in the picture for some time, but more recently UConn has started to look at Horston, Correa and perhaps others we don’t know about.
I know Brunelle has a scholarship offer, but it would be interesting to know who else in the class of 2019 may have an offer.

It has been a long an winding road for UCONN recruiting in the class of 2019. There are a couple of additional notes besides the ones that you have already covered.
The strength of the class early on was at the wing position and I'm including Brunelle at that position. UCONN appears to be in good shape with Brunelle and Haley Jones. UCONN has room for both because of the added versatility of Jones to play the 2 and Brunelle to play the 4. Haley Jones has separated herself from the pack of 2019 wings. Despite not making the USA U16 team last summer she has been absolutely killing it since them and leading the #1 HS team in the country. When the recruiting services get around to updating their 2019 class ranking I expect Haley not to be lower than consensus Top 3.

I have always been of the opinion that UCONN was looking at bringing in a PG (maybe combo) in the 2019 to have some overlap with Crystal. In that regard UCONN has evaluated at least 3 such players( Chang, Peoples, & Cooke) and has declined on all three. There are still 3 PG/Combo guards being evaluated by UCONN (Horston, Correa, & Osborne). With the departure of AEH, the 2019 class is the first opportunity to find a replacement and might explain the renewed interest in these three players. My guess is that 1 of these 3 ends up at UCONN. Any of the three would work, Correa appears to have the inside track because of proximity to UCONN. Osborne is a longer shot because she's from California. Horston is the longest shot of all because she has already sat through too many recruiting pitches where schools are telling her she is "THE WOMAN". Horston coming to UCONN to play a lesser role than "THE WOMAN" would be a very hard sales job for the UCONN staff. NEVER underestimate Geno and this staff meaning if they decide that Horston is the best fit, they will convince her to come to UCONN. Recall that when Charli Collier decided not come, UCONN did not have a lot of time to react and was not in good shape with ONO.

Boston to UCONN also makes some sense even if Ezi still decides to come to UCONN. Boston's strong physical build is the biggest attraction to UCONN. ONO and EZI are agile PF types that may struggle with the physicality in the post- with Boston you gain physicality and not at the expense of mobility. Boston's home is 45 minutes from UCONN campus-significant because when Boston was selected for USA basketball team her family and community started a go fund me page so that her family could go to Argentina to support her. 4 years of supporting Boston at UCONN will be significantly less burdensome on the family and community than any of the other major college program (Louisville, South Carolina, Maryland) that are heavily recruiting her. Others reasons Boston to UCONN makes sense is that Camara may not be on the roster, Kyla Irwin will be a senior and Ezi becomes WNBA draft eligible after the 2021. Boston is also expanding her game to beyond the arc and that would enable her to find minutes away from the post as well.

Having Boston , Amihere & Brunelle does not make a lot of sense for UCONN if Ezi decides to come to UCONN, for many of the reasons that have already been stated: Camara may still be on the roster, Brunelle has the versatility to play the 4, Kyla Irwin will still be on the roster. Amihere would also be somewhat duplicative of both ONO and Ezi.

For 2019 my wish list has evolved and the operative word is versatility.
Boston (5/4)
Brunelle (3/4)
Jones (2/3)
Correa(1/2)

 

[BobbyJ]

2/14

Haley Jones: 25 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals

In 32 minutes? That's all?

 

[oldude]

It has been a long an winding road for UCONN recruiting in the class of 2019. There are a couple of additional notes besides the ones that you have already covered.
The strength of the class early on was at the wing position and I'm including Brunelle at that position. UCONN appears to be in good shape with Brunelle and Haley Jones. UCONN has room for both because of the added versatility of Jones to play the 2 and Brunelle to play the 4. Haley Jones has separated herself from the pack of 2019 wings. Despite not making the USA U16 team last summer she has been absolutely killing it since them and leading the #1 HS team in the country. When the recruiting services get around to updating their 2019 class ranking I expect Haley not to be lower than consensus Top 3.

I have always been of the opinion that UCONN was looking at bringing in a PG (maybe combo) in the 2019 to have some overlap with Crystal. In that regard UCONN has evaluated at least 3 such players( Chang, Peoples, & Cooke) and has declined on all three. There are still 3 PG/Combo guards being evaluated by UCONN (Horston, Correa, & Osborne). With the departure of AEH, the 2019 class is the first opportunity to find a replacement and might explain the renewed interest in these three players. My guess is that 1 of these 3 ends up at UCONN. Any of the three would work, Correa appears to have the inside track because of proximity to UCONN. Osborne is a longer shot because she's from California. Horston is the longest shot of all because she has already sat through too many recruiting pitches where schools are telling her she is "THE WOMAN". Horston coming to UCONN to play a lesser role than "THE WOMAN" would be a very hard sales job for the UCONN staff. NEVER underestimate Geno and this staff meaning if they decide that Horston is the best fit, they will convince her to come to UCONN. Recall that when Charli Collier decided not come, UCONN did not have a lot of time to react and was not in good shape with ONO.

Boston to UCONN also makes some sense even if Ezi still decides to come to UCONN. Boston's strong physical build is the biggest attraction to UCONN. ONO and EZI are agile PF types that may struggle with the physicality in the post- with Boston you gain physicality and not at the expense of mobility. Boston's home is 45 minutes from UCONN campus-significant because when Boston was selected for USA basketball team her family and community started a go fund me page so that her family could go to Argentina to support her. 4 years of supporting Boston at UCONN will be significantly less burdensome on the family and community than any of the other major college program (Louisville, South Carolina, Maryland) that are heavily recruiting her. Others reasons Boston to UCONN makes sense is that Camara may not be on the roster, Kyla Irwin will be a senior and Ezi becomes WNBA draft eligible after the 2021. Boston is also expanding her game to beyond the arc and that would enable her to find minutes away from the post as well.

Having Boston , Amihere & Brunelle does not make a lot of sense for UCONN if Ezi decides to come to UCONN, for many of the reasons that have already been stated: Camara may still be on the roster, Brunelle has the versatility to play the 4, Kyla Irwin will still be on the roster. Amihere would also be somewhat duplicative of both ONO and Ezi.

For 2019 my wish list has evolved and the operative word is versatility.
Boston (5/4)
Brunelle (3/4)
Jones (2/3)
Correa(1/2)

Nice analysis. I’m good with your wish list, particularly if Ezi ends up in Storrs. Still, there are potential logjams at a number of positions, when you add in MW, Mikayla & CW. I guess I’ll let Geno worry about that.

 

[Golden Husky]

It has been a long an winding road for UCONN recruiting in the class of 2019. There are a couple of additional notes besides the ones that you have already covered.
The strength of the class early on was at the wing position and I'm including Brunelle at that position. UCONN appears to be in good shape with Brunelle and Haley Jones. UCONN has room for both because of the added versatility of Jones to play the 2 and Brunelle to play the 4. Haley Jones has separated herself from the pack of 2019 wings. Despite not making the USA U16 team last summer she has been absolutely killing it since them and leading the #1 HS team in the country. When the recruiting services get around to updating their 2019 class ranking I expect Haley not to be lower than consensus Top 3.

I have always been of the opinion that UCONN was looking at bringing in a PG (maybe combo) in the 2019 to have some overlap with Crystal. In that regard UCONN has evaluated at least 3 such players( Chang, Peoples, & Cooke) and has declined on all three. There are still 3 PG/Combo guards being evaluated by UCONN (Horston, Correa, & Osborne). With the departure of AEH, the 2019 class is the first opportunity to find a replacement and might explain the renewed interest in these three players. My guess is that 1 of these 3 ends up at UCONN. Any of the three would work, Correa appears to have the inside track because of proximity to UCONN. Osborne is a longer shot because she's from California. Horston is the longest shot of all because she has already sat through too many recruiting pitches where schools are telling her she is "THE WOMAN". Horston coming to UCONN to play a lesser role than "THE WOMAN" would be a very hard sales job for the UCONN staff. NEVER underestimate Geno and this staff meaning if they decide that Horston is the best fit, they will convince her to come to UCONN. Recall that when Charli Collier decided not come, UCONN did not have a lot of time to react and was not in good shape with ONO.

Boston to UCONN also makes some sense even if Ezi still decides to come to UCONN. Boston's strong physical build is the biggest attraction to UCONN. ONO and EZI are agile PF types that may struggle with the physicality in the post- with Boston you gain physicality and not at the expense of mobility. Boston's home is 45 minutes from UCONN campus-significant because when Boston was selected for USA basketball team her family and community started a go fund me page so that her family could go to Argentina to support her. 4 years of supporting Boston at UCONN will be significantly less burdensome on the family and community than any of the other major college program (Louisville, South Carolina, Maryland) that are heavily recruiting her. Others reasons Boston to UCONN makes sense is that Camara may not be on the roster, Kyla Irwin will be a senior and Ezi becomes WNBA draft eligible after the 2021. Boston is also expanding her game to beyond the arc and that would enable her to find minutes away from the post as well.

Having Boston , Amihere & Brunelle does not make a lot of sense for UCONN if Ezi decides to come to UCONN, for many of the reasons that have already been stated: Camara may still be on the roster, Brunelle has the versatility to play the 4, Kyla Irwin will still be on the roster. Amihere would also be somewhat duplicative of both ONO and Ezi.

For 2019 my wish list has evolved and the operative word is versatility.
Boston (5/4)
Brunelle (3/4)
Jones (2/3)
Correa(1/2)

Thanks for the analysis, Coco. With Van Lith and Bueckers possibilities for 2020, if you had to lose one from your 2019 wish list, would it be Correa?

 

[Charliebball]

It's nice to finally have a geographic advantage with a big time recruit like Boston................it would be the irony of all ironies if she turns out to be one of those players that wants to get as far away as possible from home...............seems unlikely based on the close family relationships she seems to have.........regarding Correa, as good as she is. I have not viewed her as quite a UConn level player but I haven't seen her play this year as she was injured for the Manasquan game last month............I'm going to try and get out to watch her play in the next few weeks to see where she has improved her game..........

 

[CocoHusky]

Thanks for the analysis, Coco. With Van Lith and Bueckers possibilities for 2020, if you had to lose one from your 2019 wish list, would it be Correa?

I would think so.

 

[Dillon77]

Other then the CIA, nobody plays it closer to the vest then UConn when it comes to recruiting......I can imagine that other guards/wings under consideration in the 2019 class would be Breanna Beal and or Diamond Miller

Well, until the gathering of some dozen players/prospects in South Bend last fall (which I refer to as "Nielefest"), I used to think Muffet kept things under wraps pretty tight, as well. It's harder in this day and age to not be documented in gyms, airports, etc., so coaches are just coming (a bit more) clean on it if the subject comes up.

Due to transfers out, transfers in, injuries and possible extended eligibilities, ND's recruiting focus has changed a bit. For instance, MM and staff saw enough of Mik Vaughn before she was injured to be pleased with her performance in the low post. And she got injured early enough in her frosh season that there's a very good chance she'll have eligibility for four more years. That takes some pressure off to get multiple suitable posts in one year (2019).

ND addressed point (Nixon) and off guard (Gilbert, Prohaska) in 2018, but with 2019 will have to look for Jackie Young's successor, which is why they've been looking at Jones, Beal and Miller.
The Irish will also have to look at the high post position to augment the Danielles (Patterson, Cosgrove). Brunelle is, of course, a focus but I'm sure there are several alternative plans given Brunelle is in the driver seat.

UConn and ND have looked at several of the same players over the years, but it just seems there will be some critical prospects at key positions --in 2019, 2020 & 2021 -- that are being considered by both schools. Should be interesting....nail-biting from time to time, but interesting.

 

[CocoHusky]

Nice analysis. I’m good with your wish list, particularly if Ezi ends up in Storrs. Still, there are potential logjams at a number of positions, when you add in MW, Mikayla & CW. I guess I’ll let Geno worry about that.

I guess I don't necessarily see it as logjams as much as I see it as healthy competition at certain positions. Regarding MW, and Mikayla specifically it will essentially juniors competing against freshmen (Correa & Brunelle) . Should be a huge advantage for the Juniors with two years in the UCONN system & quite frankly if those juniors haven't figured "it" out by then UCONN is in much bigger trouble. CW, ONO & Ezi (hopefully) will also be sophomores competing against freshmen (Jones & Boston).

 

[oldude]

I guess I don't necessarily see it as logjams as much as I see it as healthy competition at certain positions. Regarding MW, and Mikayla specifically it will essentially juniors competing against freshmen (Correa & Brunelle) . Should be a huge advantage for the Juniors with two years in the UCONN system & quite frankly if those juniors haven't figured "it" out by then UCONN is in much bigger trouble. CW, ONO & Ezi (hopefully) will also be sophomores competing against freshmen (Jones & Boston).

I’m all for players competing. It makes everyone better. The bigger issue is as you load up on players, do you potentially lose the opportunity to recruit even better players. As you intimated, if Collier doesn’t decommit, maybe we don’t get ONO, who I believe is a better athlete.

If UConn starts bringing in combo guards in 2019, how does that impact Bueckers in 2020, or Azzi in 2021. All of the players that UConn recruits have been stars since their freshman or sophomore years. Not everyone is willing to wait 2 or more years to start.

But as I said, I’ll let Geno worry about that.

 

[jaundicedeye]

It has been a long an winding road for UCONN recruiting in the class of 2019. There are a couple of additional notes besides the ones that you have already covered.
The strength of the class early on was at the wing position and I'm including Brunelle at that position. UCONN appears to be in good shape with Brunelle and Haley Jones. UCONN has room for both because of the added versatility of Jones to play the 2 and Brunelle to play the 4. Haley Jones has separated herself from the pack of 2019 wings. Despite not making the USA U16 team last summer she has been absolutely killing it since them and leading the #1 HS team in the country. When the recruiting services get around to updating their 2019 class ranking I expect Haley not to be lower than consensus Top 3.
For 2019 my wish list has evolved and the operative word is versatility.
Boston (5/4)
Brunelle (3/4)
Jones (2/3)
Correa(1/2)

CocoHusky. Thank you for your post. It is exciting thinking about all of that talent.
How would you handicap the Haley Jones - UCONN prospects?

 

[connboy77]

CocoHusky. Thank you for your post. It is exciting thinking about all of that talent.
How would you handicap the Haley Jones - UCONN prospects?

Does UCONN really have a chance to sign Haley Jones? Everything I'm hearing says no!

 

[CocoHusky]

If UConn starts bringing in combo guards in 2019, how does that impact Bueckers in 2020, or Azzi in 2021? All of the players that UConn recruits have been stars since their freshman or sophomore years. Not everyone is willing to wait 2 or more years to start.

In 2020 UCONN will graduate 3 (Dangerfield, Bent, & Irwin) or 4 (Camara) seniors.
In 2021 UCONN will graduate 3 (Walker, Coombs, & Gordon) seniors.
So the UCONN rosters spots will be available. Even with the addition of Ezi in 2018 and the addition of a 4 player class in 2019 you would still need to add a minimum of 3 players in 2020 and 3 more in 2021 for UCONN roster to reach the size (13) it was at the beginning of the 2017-18 season. For this season UCONN had 13 players and not enough quality according to some people including Geno. My approach is to add quality player as players are available because that is really the only thing within your control. What is not within your control is players changing their minds (transfers) and the availability of playing time at other schools. If in the future someone like Paige and/or Azzzi were to look at the UCONN roster and say you know what, "I'm not going to UCONN because UCONN already have enough quality players at my position",I'd be ok with that because:1) This is not the type of player UCONN wants 2) This happens to UCONN every year anyway.
Any recruit, regardless of how highly rated that expects to come in and start at UCONN as a freshmen is not being realistic i.e., NOT a UCONN recruit.
Good players want to play with other good players. One of the reasons Megan Walker came to UCONN is she wanted to play with a top tier PG like Crystal Dangerfield, Ditto for Christyn Williams.

 

[oldude]

Does UCONN really have a chance to sign Haley Jones? Everything I'm hearing says no!

This is the 2nd time this season Geno’s been out to see her play, once when the Huskies made their early season trip to play at UCLA and again this week. I would be very surprised if Geno was putting in that much time on a recruit if he didn’t believe he had a realistic chance of getting her to come to UConn.

 

[CocoHusky]

CocoHusky. Thank you for your post. It is exciting thinking about all of that talent.
How would you handicap the Haley Jones - UCONN prospects?

I like the chances because Geno was watching her play last night and she put on a show.

Does UCONN really have a chance to sign Haley Jones? Everything I'm hearing says no!

Please share with us what you have been hearing. And maybe drop a note to Geno, so he's not flying to the West Coast wasting his time like that.

 

[jaundicedeye]

This is the 2nd time this season Geno’s been out to see her play, once when the Huskies made their early season trip to play at UCLA and again this week. I would be very surprised if Geno was putting in that much time on a recruit if he didn’t believe he had a realistic chance of getting her to come to UConn.

That logic works for me. Thanks.

 

[jaundicedeye]

I like the chances because Geno was watching her play last night and she put on a show.

Please share with us what you have been hearing. And maybe drop a note to Geno, so he's not flying to the West Coast wasting his time like that.

Thanks Coco. Fingers crossed on this versatile wing prospect.

 

[meyers7]

If in the future someone like Paige and/or Azzzi were to look at the UCONN roster and say you know what, "I'm not going to UCONN because UCONN already have enough quality players at my position",I'd be ok with that because:1) This is not the type of player UCONN wants 2) This happens to UCONN every year anyway.

and 3) UCONN has enough quality players at the position. Which means the recruiting has gone very well.

 

[Go/huskies]

Uconn can't take everyone, if Ezi hops on the Uconn train, I expect Amihere to look elsewhere. I would like to see Boston, Brunelle, Jones and Horston signed this year followed by the blonde trio of Brink, Van Lith, and Bueckers in 2020.

 

[jaundicedeye]

Uconn can't take everyone, if Ezi hops on the Uconn train, I expect Amihere to look elsewhere. I would like to see Boston, Brunelle, Jones and Horston signed this year followed by the blonde trio of Brink, Van Lith, and Bueckers in 2020.

With a wish list like that I would make sure to get it up to the North Pole right away so Santa can get working on it!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

2/13

Paige Bueckers scored 21 points on Tuesday.

21 points, 11 assists, 4 steals in front of Geno.

 

[jdubct]

With a wish list like that I would make sure to get it up to the North Pole right away so Santa can get working on it!

Well, Santa has been very kind to Uconn in the past. For example, the Bird, Jones, Williams, and Cash recruiting class about 20 years ago. Could history repeat? I would hope so.

 

[Bascomfan]

Well, Santa has been very kind to Uconn in the past. For example, the Bird, Jones, Williams, and Cash recruiting class about 20 years ago. Could history repeat? I would hope so.

I hope so too. You just never know.

 

[HopJim]

It has been a long an winding road for UCONN recruiting in the class of 2019. There are a couple of additional notes besides the ones that you have already covered.
The strength of the class early on was at the wing position and I'm including Brunelle at that position. UCONN appears to be in good shape with Brunelle and Haley Jones. UCONN has room for both because of the added versatility of Jones to play the 2 and Brunelle to play the 4. Haley Jones has separated herself from the pack of 2019 wings. Despite not making the USA U16 team last summer she has been absolutely killing it since them and leading the #1 HS team in the country. When the recruiting services get around to updating their 2019 class ranking I expect Haley not to be lower than consensus Top 3.

I have always been of the opinion that UCONN was looking at bringing in a PG (maybe combo) in the 2019 to have some overlap with Crystal. In that regard UCONN has evaluated at least 3 such players( Chang, Peoples, & Cooke) and has declined on all three. There are still 3 PG/Combo guards being evaluated by UCONN (Horston, Correa, & Osborne). With the departure of AEH, the 2019 class is the first opportunity to find a replacement and might explain the renewed interest in these three players. My guess is that 1 of these 3 ends up at UCONN. Any of the three would work, Correa appears to have the inside track because of proximity to UCONN. Osborne is a longer shot because she's from California. Horston is the longest shot of all because she has already sat through too many recruiting pitches where schools are telling her she is "THE WOMAN". Horston coming to UCONN to play a lesser role than "THE WOMAN" would be a very hard sales job for the UCONN staff. NEVER underestimate Geno and this staff meaning if they decide that Horston is the best fit, they will convince her to come to UCONN. Recall that when Charli Collier decided not come, UCONN did not have a lot of time to react and was not in good shape with ONO.

Boston to UCONN also makes some sense even if Ezi still decides to come to UCONN. Boston's strong physical build is the biggest attraction to UCONN. ONO and EZI are agile PF types that may struggle with the physicality in the post- with Boston you gain physicality and not at the expense of mobility. Boston's home is 45 minutes from UCONN campus-significant because when Boston was selected for USA basketball team her family and community started a go fund me page so that her family could go to Argentina to support her. 4 years of supporting Boston at UCONN will be significantly less burdensome on the family and community than any of the other major college program (Louisville, South Carolina, Maryland) that are heavily recruiting her. Others reasons Boston to UCONN makes sense is that Camara may not be on the roster, Kyla Irwin will be a senior and Ezi becomes WNBA draft eligible after the 2021. Boston is also expanding her game to beyond the arc and that would enable her to find minutes away from the post as well.

Having Boston , Amihere & Brunelle does not make a lot of sense for UCONN if Ezi decides to come to UCONN, for many of the reasons that have already been stated: Camara may still be on the roster, Brunelle has the versatility to play the 4, Kyla Irwin will still be on the roster. Amihere would also be somewhat duplicative of both ONO and Ezi.

For 2019 my wish list has evolved and the operative word is versatility.
Boston (5/4)
Brunelle (3/4)
Jones (2/3)
Correa(1/2)

Interesting post. Glad some are commenting on need for true point guards. The great UConn teams have had "Stewie and Stewie-like" talent, but also had the Jeffersons to run the team and shut down opposing guards. Personal opinion-if we had a shut down guard last year (Kia was hurt), would have beaten Miss St. by 15.

 

[ballhawk]

I saw Haley Jones, a couple of weeks ago play in San Francisco. She's the most exciting girl's high school player I have ever seen and I saw Sabrina Ionescu nine times in high school. When Haley wanted to take over the game she was unstoppable. She reminds me of Sidney Wiese but better. Others have described her as a female Magic Johnson. I read that Geno flew out to Mountain View, Ca. on Wed. to see her play. Her current high school, Archbishop Mitty, is ranked no. 1 in the U.S. She would be a phenomenal addition to UConn.