2025 Recruiting: Meleek Thomas Watch | Page 8 | The Boneyard

2025 Recruiting: Meleek Thomas Watch

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RuffRuff said:
There is just nothing “collegiate” about how this kid feels. There is no school growing up, no desire to win, no being part of a team or program. It’s as stepping stone as I have felt with a top recruit. So sure his dad is transparent, but it doesn’t even feel like they give an f other than $$. Seems like the kind of kid better suited for the Ron Holland route.
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It sounds like Ace Dybantsa is screening based on NIL, and then with a final 8 or whatever it is he'll let AJ evaluate the schools and pick his favorite. He was quoted in one of the posts here as saying if AJ's favorite school offered $8 million NIL and another offered $10 million NIL, they'd go with AJ's favorite for $8 million. Based on that, AJ hasn't had a say yet, and AJ may care about non-financial considerations.
 
bjc42 said:
saying that a kid is a bag-chaser is an objectively true statement if what Trilly has said is true. Now I know the dad is kind of a weirdo and wants to do everything in the recruitment, so I guess that could be it. Honestly a lot of the bag-chasers that really don't care about winning aren't bad kids, but as basketball players, they are more focused on money than improving their game or winning. On the other hand, if it is all the dad, than obviously it isn't the kid's fault. I would actually feel a bit of empathy. it seems weird that he isn't allowed to do anything in the recruitment.
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Some kids actually are just that good though that they can do that. There’s been a few situations where a kid went to a school like Oklahoma State or LSU and did just fine.

In some cases they may do themselves a favor by doing so if a coach can’t mesh them correctly with a team ala Cam Reddish.
 
olehead said:
Wondering where we are with Aristode? Have not heard his name brought up among BY'ers in a while.
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I don't think we're recruiting him. His performance at Brewster this past season wasn't wow'ing anybody
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
Some kids actually are just that good though that they can do that. There’s been a few situations where a kid went to a school like Oklahoma State or LSU and did just fine.

In some cases they may do themselves a favor by doing so if a coach can’t mesh them correctly with a team ala Cam Reddish.
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May be that good but not sure any one freshman can be that valuable to a teams success. These kids at 18 all have limitations when going up against men in their first year. We shall see with Flagg this year.

AJ is probably a great kid. His recruitment has just felt entirely transactional without a shred of soul in it. His apparent top choice is due to NIL and the coach having just come from being an NBA assistant.
 
The visibility that the average fan has into any particular kid's recruiting is virtually nil. The narratives and counter-narratives being spun out of a few random articles by people who may or may not have any more information that anyone on here has are ridiculous. I get that UConn fans want kids to come to UConn but some of the conclusions being drawn by adults about these kids are nuts. And I have no idea what a recruitment with "soul" would look like - maybe some Jimmy Chitwood quotes about "I've always dreamed about having ice cream at the Dairy Barn after wearing the uniform of good old State U."
 
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RuffRuff said:
May be that good but not sure any one freshman can be that valuable to a teams success. These kids at 18 all have limitations when going up against men in their first year. We shall see with Flagg this year.

AJ is probably a great kid. His recruitment has just felt entirely transactional without a shred of soul in it. His apparent top choice is due to NIL and the coach having just come from being an NBA assistant.
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You’re looking at it from a team point of view.

When looking at it from the kids point of view and doing what is best for them and there family. Winning a knockout tournament in one year probably isn’t going to be that high on the list.

Especially when they have much better odds of taking care of their families now in college, while also still looking at the best long term option of the NBA and making more money there. That’s most kids ultimate goal. Justifiably.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
You’re looking at it from a team point of view.

When looking at it from the kids point of view and doing what is best for them and there family. Winning a knockout tournament in one year probably isn’t going to be that high on the list.

Especially when they have much better odds of taking care of their families now in college, while also still looking at the best long term option of the NBA and making more money there. That’s most kids ultimate goal. Justifiably.
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I get this but when you are associating yourself with a college program, that has fans, alumni and pride, you can strike a balance in the approach. It’s bigger than the individual and that recognition is part of good character.

Who is going to walk away feeling like they have an actual relationship with a university that they can always lean on, Stephon or Isiah Collier?

Maybe I’m asking for too much here, but like Dan Hurley, would like to see a kid that has a little bit invested in helping a program in some meaningful way, versus just helping themself.
 
RuffRuff said:
I get this but when you are associating yourself with a college program, that has fans, alumni and pride, you can strike a balance in the approach. It’s bigger than the individual and that recognition is part of good character.

Who is going to walk away feeling like they have an actual relationship with a university that they can always lean on, Stephon or Isiah Collier?

Maybe I’m asking for too much here, but like Dan Hurley, would like to see a kid that has a little bit invested in helping a program in some meaningful way, versus just helping themself.
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I think this is a reasonable viewpoint for multi year players and college football players. Not one and done super recruits.

And it’s not a reflection of their character if they don’t take that into account. At most, you join the NBA alumni fraternity that school (or coach in Cal’s case) has.

As far as helping the program, it’s like anybody else searching for a job. You look for the best fit and who pays the most. Once you find that you offer your services to the best of your abilities. You can do both. The 5*s are just super confident in the services they offer.

… like any other job seeker who is really talented.
 
We were really lucky with guys like Castle (late riser) and Liam (super late decommit) in getting highly talented guys to come without having to be the super bag guys.

Castle is a testament to the staffs eye for talent in recruiting. But when guys are known talents upfront, it should probably be expected they’ll value themselves in a certain way.

Our staff is either going to have to keep finding those diamonds in the rough like Hawkins, Castle, Clingan, and more or play the game eventually.
 
RuffRuff said:
I get this but when you are associating yourself with a college program, that has fans, alumni and pride, you can strike a balance in the approach. It’s bigger than the individual and that recognition is part of good character.

Who is going to walk away feeling like they have an actual relationship with a university that they can always lean on, Stephon or Isiah Collier?

Maybe I’m asking for too much here, but like Dan Hurley, would like to see a kid that has a little bit invested in helping a program in some meaningful way, versus just helping themself.
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If the conversation is Stephon Castle vs Isaiah Collier that's a completely different conversation than AJ Dybantsa. If the NBA didn't have their stupid rule he wouldn't even have to go through this charade.

He's a generational player who is going to have half the NBA tanking to try to get him. There's no reason for him to care about a relationship with a college program, he'll have everything he needs and more with the NBA support system
 
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RuffRuff said:
Trilly on his discord says Dysbantsas choice will be to the highest bidder, and why BYU and KSt are in it. Apparently he heard KSt has mega type donors willing to write checks and it’s why they appear on so many top recruit lists (they paid Coleman Hawkins 2mm).

Interesting intel because now fairly obvious why Hurley tapped out with Dysbantsa. Beyond the dad being odd and controlling, college is 100% just a bag to the NBA for that kid. Thomas also has KSt on his short list, which is an indicator that NIL is a major driver (despite playing KSt off as an all diverse coaching staff). I mean what top recruit goes to Manhattan, KS for any other reason than NIL? Even though he went Dukes way, Cooper handled his recruitment is such a more authentic way than AJ, who is a one year cash mercenary - hard to route for.

NIL should be important but if it’s clear that it’s far and away the most important and you’re willing to go to a second rate program for it, Godspeed.
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And even harder to ROOT for
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
You’re looking at it from a team point of view.

When looking at it from the kids point of view and doing what is best for them and there family. Winning a knockout tournament in one year probably isn’t going to be that high on the list.

Especially when they have much better odds of taking care of their families now in college, while also still looking at the best long term option of the NBA and making more money there. That’s most kids ultimate goal. Justifiably.
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Winning a knockout tournament?.... It's more than a knockout tournament. Its the pinnacle of the sport, that greatly greatly enhances the value of the players that succeed in it. From the viewpoint of the kids they should want that.
 
Drame said:
Winning a knockout tournament?.... It's more than a knockout tournament. Its the pinnacle of the sport, that greatly greatly enhances the value of the players that succeed in it. From the viewpoint of the kids they should want that.
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I love the tournament, but succeeding in there is not the end all be all from a strictly long term vantage point. It’s a luxury more than anything. Kevin Durant didn’t even make it out the round of 32. Reed and Dillingham both just went top 10 (non top 10 recruits by the way) after getting upset in the 1st round.

Would you personally give up over 1 million to increase your chances at winning a title?
 
AntG168 said:
Ummm Meleek Thomas?
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Fwiw, that's what I came here for, starting off by jumping myself to a couple pages ago.

Pretty much, there's not much more here than a lot of posters jockeying for the best combination of nuanced lens, attempted prescient thinking, and targeting the strongest claim to a values-based last-word analysis of which teenager & family gets it most 'right' ... as if there really is such a thing.

[As if, further still, my, "This is a silly thing to do" aim at the perfect non-take is any better than the efforts of someone taking things more seriously and really trying to nail it.]
 
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aceboon said:
The character assassinations of kids and their families that don't go to UConn are beyond corny and lame now, it's kinda wild that some of y'all are actually adults talking like this.
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It's like you don't know us at all.

(For what it's worth, this is a phenomenon that can be found on every college fan site.)
 
RuffRuff said:
Who is going to walk away feeling like they have an actual relationship with a university that they can always lean on, Stephon or Isiah Collier?
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I don't get what Isaiah Collier has to do with this. What do we know about his relationship with USC?
 
Dybantsa is going top two no matter where he goes. If NBA did not have 1 year rule he would go PRO like Lebron and Kobe. These one and done kids do not even attend classes. Did Stephon even go into class after the Christmas break? As was pointed out KD never made it out of top 32 in the NCAA tournament. Yeah that really impacted his NBA career
 
pj said:
It sounds like Ace Dybantsa is screening based on NIL, and then with a final 8 or whatever it is he'll let AJ evaluate the schools and pick his favorite. He was quoted in one of the posts here as saying if AJ's favorite school offered $8 million NIL and another offered $10 million NIL, they'd go with AJ's favorite for $8 million. Based on that, AJ hasn't had a say yet, and AJ may care about non-financial considerations.
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Well bless his heart
 
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FearThePups said:
Well bless his heart
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Why should he not do this? He is forced to spend an extra year due to the NBA rule. All one and dones are not in college to learn. In fact most do not attend class.
 
AntG168 said:
Ummm Meleek Thomas?
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Didnt want to do it but I have to. Choo Choo
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New on3 drop here:

www.on3.com

5-star Predictions: Calling my shot on top 2025 basketball recruits

On3’s Jamie Shaw discusses the latest in the recruitment of the 14 5-star prospects in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking.
www.on3.com www.on3.com

For those with no subscription, the Thomas piece. Take it for what it’s worth but it’s the highest confidence level of the 10 or so recruits he touches. Not a lot of noteworthy UConn notes other than on Meleek.

Five-Star Plus+ SG Meleek Thomas​

Meleek Thomas recently announced he is transferring to Atlanta (GA) Overtime Elite to play his senior season. The Five-Star Plus+ guard has taken four official visits up to this point in his process. These visits were to Kentucky (with John Calipari), Auburn, Pittsburgh, and most recently UConn. Sources have consistently mentioned watching UConn here. In speaking with Thomas after his visit he spoke specifically about Dan Hurley and his style.

Thomas has announced his final seven schools, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Kansas, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, and UConn. Thomas tells me he plans to take official visits to Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama, and Kansas State in the September-October time frame with his intentions to sign during the Early Signing Period. Arkansas is a school that has been mentioned to me recently, specifically Thomas’ intrigue with Calipari. It is worth monitoring the commitment date and what – if any – future visits he goes on.


Prediction: UConn
Confidence Level: 45%
Biggest Threat: Arkansas
 
RuffRuff said:
Also an interesting NIL article out by the CBS team:

www.cbssports.com

Candid Coaches: What is the most amount of NIL money someone has asked you or your staff to pay for a player?

We asked college basketball coaches how much NIL money they are being asked to arrange to sign top recruits
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
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Yeah, I started its own thread because it's such a hot topic lately. $5 million? Any guesses who that is?

www.the-boneyard.com

Candid Coaches: How much NIL money are recruits asking for?

Figured this deserved its own thread since it's been a pretty big topic recently. Most of the coaches agreed that what everyone is hearing about NIL packages is exaggerated but since the kids and their families hear these figures they then ask for the moon. So there's a lot of negotiating for...
www.the-boneyard.com www.the-boneyard.com
 
HooperScooper said:
Yeah, I started its own thread because it's such a hot topic lately. $5 million? Any guesses who that is?

www.the-boneyard.com

Candid Coaches: How much NIL money are recruits asking for?

Figured this deserved its own thread since it's been a pretty big topic recently. Most of the coaches agreed that what everyone is hearing about NIL packages is exaggerated but since the kids and their families hear these figures they then ask for the moon. So there's a lot of negotiating for...
www.the-boneyard.com www.the-boneyard.com
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Look no further than our guy AJ. I can’t think of another player that can command that without ensuring laughter.
 
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