2026 Recruiting: - Abdou Toure update from aaron torres | The Boneyard

2026 Recruiting: Abdou Toure update from aaron torres

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TheChamps990411 said:
Money is ruining cbb.
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It is and it’s a problem. But this is how I see it, I like where our program stands in this crazy financial time of CBB. We don’t have as much as some of the high paying P5 programs so we may not sway the highest seeking kids but we have enough to compensate the kids who care about winning and not just preparing for the NBA. Think we ween out the kids who still care about a national championship rather than quick stops for the big dollars.

If Toure wants the big dollars over staying home and getting better, then so be it. Not the big deal it was when JC was coaching, keeping the CT Gatorade players home days isn’t a big deal, unless he wants to.
 
It’s been clear for awhile, Toure doesn’t fit the profile that Danny and Luke look for. Talented kid, but for how we play on both ends of the floor, he is not worth the money.
 
djct1999 said:
It’s been clear for awhile, Toure doesn’t fit the profile that Danny and Luke look for. Talented kid, but for how we play on both ends of the floor, he is not worth the money.
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Are u sure? I thought that our coaching staff was interested and feels he is worth pursuing. He hasn't played on minute of D1 ball so I'm unsure how he would play on both ends, but playing defense can be taught.

I feel he should be our number one priority, only because of him being an outstanding CT high schooler. If he were from any other State I wouldn't be concerned.
 
Kitaman said:
Are u sure? I thought that our coaching staff was interested and feels he is worth pursuing. He hasn't played on minute of D1 ball so I'm unsure how he would play on both ends, but playing defense can be taught.

I feel he should be our number one priority, only because of him being an outstanding CT high schooler. If he were from any other State I wouldn't be concerned.
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He doesn't shoot or pass the rock the way our offense quite needs. He'd be a very good fit on the defensive end.
 
IIRC- Thought someone posted on BY a few weeks ago about Arkansas flying Toure's family to Europe on a private jet to watch a few games he was playing in. Crazy allocation of assets by Cal/Ark. 2025 version of HS recruiting.

No idea where he lands. Steph Castle chose player development path and it worked out pretty good for him.
 
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Who was the last New Haven County kid that went to UConn? There is a real disconnect to the program in that part of the state. I've lived there my whole life. Up until the back to back titles you'd be hard pressed to find a handful of people even talking about UConn basketball. Kids that grow up there aren't' in love with the program. He was never coming here unless we over paid.
 
AntG168 said:
Who was the last New Haven County kid that went to UConn? There is a real disconnect to the program in that part of the state. I've lived there my whole life. Up until the back to back titles you'd be hard pressed to find a handful of people even talking about UConn basketball. Kids that grow up there aren't' in love with the program. He was never coming here unless we over paid.
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Who was the last New Haven County kid who was a high major recruit who was good enough to play at UConn that we wanted? Tremont Waters is the only one I can think of in the past 25 years or so. Hurley didn't have any interest in Desmond Claude. Calhoun didn't have any interest in Ryan Gomes.
 
AntG168 said:
Who was the last New Haven County kid that went to UConn? There is a real disconnect to the program in that part of the state. I've lived there my whole life. Up until the back to back titles you'd be hard pressed to find a handful of people even talking about UConn basketball. Kids that grow up there aren't' in love with the program. He was never coming here unless we over paid.
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What New Haven kids are we even talking about? What kids out of New Haven went to high major after Earl Kelley? Scott Burrell? Are we really only talking about Tremont Waters here?
 
superjohn said:
Who was the last New Haven County kid who was a high major recruit who was good enough to play at UConn that we wanted? Tremont Waters is the only one I can think of in the past 25 years or so. Hurley didn't have any interest in Desmond Claude. Calhoun didn't have any interest in Ryan Gomes.
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upstater said:
What New Haven kids are we even talking about? What kids out of New Haven went to high major after Earl Kelley? Scott Burrell? Are we really only talking about Tremont Waters here?
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You're both correct. The point was more so if there were more New Haven high D1 talent the results would be the same. I'm in these HS/AAU circles and the interest in UConn basketball just isn't what you think it'd be in a small state that has a national power. I don't think UConn does a good job marketing to that part of the state. It's not an issue because we recruit on a national/international scale. But it's just interesting.
 
gtcam said:
If the New Haven area has a player that fits the system, UConn will look at that player.
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You're approaching it from the wrong angle. UConn looked at both Tremont and Abdou. Neither was incredibly infatuated with UConn. In this case I don't think UConn is infatuated with Abdou either. But the point still remains.
 
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Umami Zen said:
IIRC- Thought someone posted on BY a few weeks ago about Arkansas flying Toure's family to Europe on a private jet to watch a few games he was playing in. Crazy allocation of assets by Cal/Ark. 2025 version of HS recruiting.
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I know there aren't many NCAA rules left about recruiting but that doesn't sound kosher. Can you link where that came from?
 
Kitaman said:
Are u sure? I thought that our coaching staff was interested and feels he is worth pursuing. He hasn't played on minute of D1 ball so I'm unsure how he would play on both ends, but playing defense can be taught.

I feel he should be our number one priority, only because of him being an outstanding CT high schooler. If he were from any other State I wouldn't be concerned.
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If he wasn’t from CT, this staff would literally spend 0 minutes on him. Sure a local courtesy has been shown from both sides. Neither are that interested.
 
HooperScooper said:
I know there aren't many NCAA rules left about recruiting but that doesn't sound kosher. Can you link where that came from?
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@HooperScooper .. I chose my verbiage carefully and was hesitant to even post anything. Used IIRC for a reason. I would prefer to take any exchange offline (DM) if I can identify what I was referring to. More a comment on the state of affairs re: HS recruiting than anything.
 
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husky429 said:
He doesn't shoot or pass the rock the way our offense quite needs. He'd be a very good fit on the defensive end.
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While that is probably true, I really think our roster misses that athletic slasher type who can get downhill and just take people to the hole.

And, no, I don't think Jaylin is that guy, even though he probably has the ability.
 
If we lose a bidding war for a Top 30 to 40 recruit, how're we getting Top 5 or Top 10 recruits in the current landscape? I see this as a matter of which school values him the highest. I think he's very undervalued, but kids always want to go where they're promised the world. Ego massaging is still a thing....with some NIL $$$ thrown in.
 
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UCTitleTown said:
If we lose a bidding war for a Top 30 to 40 recruit, how're we getting Top 5 or Top 10 recruits in the current landscape? I see this as a matter of which school values him the highest. I think he's very undervalued, but kids always want to go where they're promised the world. Ego massaging is still a thing....with some NIL $$$ thrown in.
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What UConn and specifically the coaching staff is willing to invest financially is going to vary wildly from player to player based on their perceived skill level, fit with the program skill wise and mentally, what the staff is looking for and what the player is looking for (when I say looking for I mean in terms of skill development, what they believe to be their length of time at the level, and how they view their game).

Not securing a top 40 player has nothing to do with going for a top 10 player and vice versa. They may like a kid more than the rest of marketplace does (Cloer) and like another kid less than the marketplace is showing (number of examples here). It's how they made is such a competitive fight for Flagg. It's been clear for awhile there is a mismatch in terms of what UConn values him to be and how he perceives himself. Time will tell who is correct on that bet.

UConn is throwing a lot of cash around, I am sure, but they have never really gone after the guys solely focused on money as the top criteria. Guys are getting paid well here but generally if that is 1a and 1b what a recruit is focused on during their pitch they won't be a priority of this staff. And to be clear there is nothing wrong with a player looking to get max compensation but that is not something this staff looks for in terms of mental makeup and fitting the program's goals to get kids to the league (which brings way more money than any NCAA NIL rate) and doing so in such a way that it brings more national titles to UConn.
 
Storrs South said:
UConn is throwing a lot of cash around, I am sure, but they have never really gone after the guys solely focused on money as the top criteria. Guys are getting paid well here but generally if that is 1a and 1b what a recruit is focused on during their pitch they won't be a priority of this staff. And to be clear there is nothing wrong with a player looking to get max compensation but that is not something this staff looks for in terms of mental makeup and fitting the program's goals to get kids to the league (which brings way more money than any NCAA NIL rate) and doing so in such a way that it brings more national titles to UConn.
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Agreed. Hurley has mentioned this a few times so it's not like anyone should be guessing what the staff is doing. I think it's a good strategy and I trust they are doing the right thing and going after the right kids.
 
UCTitleTown said:
If we lose a bidding war for a Top 30 to 40 recruit, how're we getting Top 5 or Top 10 recruits in the current landscape? I see this as a matter of which school values him the highest. I think he's very undervalued, but kids always want to go where they're promised the world. Ego massaging is still a thing....with some NIL $$$ thrown in.
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The word on the street is exactly the opposite - that he think his value is far more than the Uconn staff sees. Not sure why any of us get raptured by a kid we've never seen live, just because he's local. They're going to put their budget where they think they'll get the most value back. If 3 years from now, he's leading Arkansas to an NC, then we can question it. Until then, I'm 100% trusting the staff.
 
UCTitleTown said:
If we lose a bidding war for a Top 30 to 40 recruit, how're we getting Top 5 or Top 10 recruits in the current landscape? I see this as a matter of which school values him the highest. I think he's very undervalued, but kids always want to go where they're promised the world. Ego massaging is still a thing....with some NIL $$$ thrown in.
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If we lose him it means we didn't have any interest in getting into a bidding war, it doesn't mean we aren't capable of getting in and winning a bidding war.

This staff is very selective in who they truly go after and if it's all about money there's very little chance they will go down that road. They felt Flagg was worth it, we didn't lose that recruitment over money.

I want Toure because I think he's a diamond that just needs polishing and we have the best staff to do it. The force he plays with and his athleticism is something the program could really use an infusion of but we aren't going to overextend ourselves for him.
 
husky429 said:
PC is willing to overpay for a kid because it will boost the credibility of their program. We are not overpaying for anyone.
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Plus, Kim English really, really, needs a win to sell to the fanbase so he will probably open up the bank to Toure. FWIW, I think English is a solid coach, but was absolutely snake bitten by the Bryce Hopkins situation.
 
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