A Little Recruiting History

[HuskyBballFan]

No question that the near misses in the last couple of months have been frustrating. I actually think it would be easier to take if these kids were just writing off Uconn from the start - the fact that so many of them are keeping us on their short list makes it even worse. But when I hear people say that "we already whiffed" or "there's nobody left" in this class, it makes me think that people either have very short memories or just haven't been paying attention in recent years.

Of our 13 current scholarship players, there were only three recruitments (Calhoun, Facey, and Samuel) that you could consider "typical" - meaning we knew they were on Uconn's radar early, they never commited anywhere else, and they signed with Uconn early and without any drama or surprise. Here are the other 10:
1) Napier - Commited in April, and only after reclassifying. We knew Uconn was recruiting him, but never thought he was a candidate to reclassify until he did. Most were disappointed that he was the point guard we landed.
2) Boatright - Commited in November, but only after decommitting from WVU. Wasn't really in play for Uconn until he decommitted.
3) Daniels - Commited in June (as in next June). A complete, 100% surprise to everybody. The first DeAndre Daniels thread on the boneyard was entitled "DeAndre Daniels commits to Uconn"
4) Nolan - Commited in May. Pretty much the same story as Daniels. Nobody even knew we were recruiting him.
5) Olander - Commited in March. Nothing really noteworthy.
6) Brimah - Commited in January. Nobody knew his name at this time.
7) Giffey - Commited in June. Obviously a surprise.
8) Tolksdorf - Commited in May. Same as Giffey.
9) Purvis - Transfer
10) Kromah - Transfer

And this collection of players, which is a complete hodgepodge from a recruiting standpoint, is expected to be one of the best 15-20 teams in the country going into this year. So the fact that we only have Hamilton (and Purvis) at this point, while frustrating, isn't all that unusual. It could be because of the AAC or because we have a new head coach. Or it could just be another year in Uconn recruiting.

 

[ctchamps]

Nice write up.

From my perspective it is hard to get ones hopes up only to have them continually dashed, but I rather have the chance for the score than be totally irrelevant.

So put me in the category of the fan who wants to be on numerous top players short list year in and year out with the hope of getting one or two top recruits as opposed to being on no top players short list just so that I don't have to face disappointment. I'll just have to figure out a way to be tough like JC and KO.

 

[caw]

Olander was also a reclassifier

 

[EricLA]

Thanks for the update. I'd also like to add that one reason we are seeing so many swings and misses is because it seems that he staff is casting an incredibly wide net. Clearly they are looking for a 1-2 and a 4'ish player, hence the continuance of offers going out to seemingly almost everyone who's uncommitted. In the past, it seems that JC recruited either under the radar, or limited his focus to less players, or we just didn't hear about the recruiting as much (or a combo of all 3).

I'm mildly disappointed we've had so many swings and misses, but not at all discouraged. The opposite in fact. I'm psyched to see Ollie and the staff not only recruiting so many kids but also getting great reviews from everyone involved on the reruits' side of the equation. Some seem to forget a bit that Ollie is brand new at this. He's off to a fantastic start in my book.