2026 Recruiting: Abdou Toure update from aaron torres

[Huskyforlife]

Well in case anyone was wondering why this kid wasn’t a priority, they made it super obvious…

 

[boog204]

This is actually super interesting. Toure wanted to be treated as a priority and get the red carpet treatment. I don’t blame him for that. We either don’t do that or weren’t willing to do that for him. Whether that triggers the “not a UConn kid” crap is up to you. I have zero issue with the kid wanting to get $$ and have the Bentley treatment. I also respect our staff for “knowing”’what they’re willing to do for a recruit. I will say, I think our fan base would be really annoyed if Mingo said this. Totally get different class of player, but still.

 

[Mike Honcho]

This is actually super interesting. Toure wanted to be treated as a priority and get the red carpet treatment. I don’t blame him for that. We either don’t do that or weren’t willing to do that for him. Whether that triggers the “not a UConn kid” crap is up to you. I have zero issue with the kid wanting to get $$ and have the Bentley treatment. I also respect our staff for “knowing”’what they’re willing to do for a recruit. I will say, I think our fan base would be really annoyed if Mingo said this. Totally get different class of player, but still.

Hard to argue with this. Toure was clearly UConn's 2nd or 3rd option. His family felt that, and decided to go where he felt more valued. Had we prioritized him, it might have been a different conversation. I suspect our lack of interest was based more off of play style/fit and where we stand with other prospects, and less because he's "not a UConn kid" or had outrageous NIL demands. He seems like an upstanding kid with a bright future ahead of him.

 

[navery12]

This is actually super interesting. Toure wanted to be treated as a priority and get the red carpet treatment. I don’t blame him for that. We either don’t do that or weren’t willing to do that for him. Whether that triggers the “not a UConn kid” crap is up to you. I have zero issue with the kid wanting to get $$ and have the Bentley treatment. I also respect our staff for “knowing”’what they’re willing to do for a recruit. I will say, I think our fan base would be really annoyed if Mingo said this. Totally get different class of player, but still.

I think it should be pretty clear he's not a UConn kid based on his comments. Which is not a knock against him at all, but he literally said he watched UConn the last 2 years and decided it wasn't a good fit for him. I'd say by definition that makes him not a UConn kid

 

[Mike Honcho]

I think it should be pretty clear he's not a UConn kid based on his comments. Which is not a knock against him at all, but he literally said he watched UConn the last 2 years and decided it wasn't a good fit for him. I'd say by definition that makes him not a UConn kid

Read between the lines. What's he gonna say, UConn backed off? (Which his dad did say.) It's a defensive mechanism.

 

[navery12]

Read between the lines. What's he gonna say, UConn backed off? (Which his dad did say.) It's a defensive mechanism.

He's gonna say nothing and talk about Arkansas, the school he committed to

 

[Duncan Idaho]

UConn really needs a small airport near campus.

Windham Airport?

 

[Mike Honcho]

He's gonna say nothing and talk about Arkansas, the school he committed to

He's 17 and reporters keep asking him about his hometown school.

 

[navery12]

He's 17 and reporters keep asking him about his hometown school.

And there's a good way to answer those questions. That quote made it very clear to me that UConn made the right choice here

 

[Mike Honcho]

And there's a good way to answer those questions. That quote made it very clear to me that UConn made the right choice here

You must have been a precocious teenager.

 

[navery12]

You must have been a precocious teenager.

Has nothing to do with me. Braylon Mullins seemed to be able to talk to the Indiana media in a normal way last year

Braylon Mullins bets on himself, picks UConn over IU basketball. He explains his decision.

Braylon Mullins, a five-star prospect coveted by Indiana basketball fans, announced his commitment to two-time defending national champion UConn.

www.indystar.com

 

[Go_Huskies]

Don’t think I saw this article from Mike Anthony posted…gets into some comments from dad…UConn only offered 1/2 of what Cal paid

Link

Alternative access

His reaction makes sense now. He really wanted to go to uconn but the intensity of the desire was not reciprocal. If you have ever seen a pretty girl rejected, you understand. A blue chip recruit is like a pretty girl.

 

[bendm]

Arkansas already had a commitment from 14th ranked JJ Andrews a 6’6 SF. Guessing Cal sold Toure on being their starting SG?

 

[jibsey]

I think it should be pretty clear he's not a UConn kid based on his comments. Which is not a knock against him at all, but he literally said he watched UConn the last 2 years and decided it wasn't a good fit for him. I'd say by definition that makes him not a UConn kid

UConn kid? We know this from a couple comments? What makes a UConn kid and what makes him not one?

 

[navery12]

UConn kid? We know this from a couple comments? What makes a UConn kid and what makes him not one?

The fact that he looked at the UConn program and decided it was not a good fit for him. That's it

 

[boog204]

The fact that he looked at the UConn program and decided it was not a good fit for him. That's it

If you’re framing this as a player, then sure. But I feel like the majority of posters here default to the “not a UConn” kid BS when a recruit chooses another school from a character standpoint. Any recruit, in this landscape, who goes to the highest bidder is doing what 95% of us would’ve done at the same age.

 

[KingAG]

Abdou is a fantastic kid. Like help your grandmother bring the groceries in her house type of kid. Without being asked. His parents raised a phenomenal young man. Full stop. End thread.

 

[auror]

What is clearly apparent is that the UConn staff didn’t prioritize Toure. I’ve never heard a staff tell a recruit in the fall they can’t visit on a weekend. Was it that all the available weekends were saved for the other recruits they were prioritizing? And not returning the phone call is kind of strange. I do wonder whether UConn would have even recruited Toure if he wasn’t a Connecticut kid.

In the end none of this matters. UConn is prioritizing who they want. Which is all I care about since I trust the staff. It’s just interesting to hear stories about the inside workings of recruiting since none of us know what goes on. Would always love to be a fly on the wall when the staff develops their recruiting strategies.

UConn's schedule for their visits is really clear. There is a recruiting dead period until the first week of September where no visits are allowed. The first exhibition game for the season is Oct 13th on a Monday and presumably the coaches need to prep the weekend right before (and there is a USA basketball mini camp and other events that weekend too so you might not be able to get high end recruits anyways). And then they're in really go-go-go season mode.

So there are 5 available weekends in the window that are available for visits. They like to do 1 guy a weekend and focus on them. The staff clearly picked their top 5 priorities and held the dates and got them on campus. Sayon Keita came before the dead period in early August (like Braylon did the year before). We've done some rare multiple kid weekends in the past (notably the fab five I think technically Stewart and Singare were uncommitted and visiting at the same time and a couple of the already committed guys came back), but for the most part there is a system and they stick to it.

In light of this and perhaps as consideration and respect for Toure, a midweek visit was considered. After that we get into he-said-he-said about why that visit never happened.

 

[Zonepress]

Abdou is a fantastic kid. Like help your grandmother bring the groceries in her house type of kid. Without being asked. His parents raised a phenomenal young man. Full stop. End thread.

yes!!!

 

[Nameless]

On behalf of Liam McNeeley & Steph Castle, What?!

They were both top 10-15 recruits showing up in every mock draft before the season started. Sorry, I should've been more specific, but outside of the two obvious one and done candidates no freshman has played significant minutes here for the past two years. He is not an obvious one and done candidate. Yes, I think he saw the writing on the wall and it's a pretty logical way to interpret his quote. No other player we've recruited in his range has played substantial minutes the past 2 seasons, with the exception of Ball when Castle was hurt.

I have no idea why so many people seem eager to put a negative spin on this. Again, he could've worded it better. But to trash his character, or say he chased the money when there are quotes from the family saying they didn't take the highest offer, is asinine.

As I've said numerous times in this thread, him not signing here is neither an indictment against him nor the staff. It wasn't the best fit for either party. I know the quote doesn't look good, but he's not trying to say anything negative about Hurley or the staff. He's a teenager in front of a large audience in a big moment in his life. It's not always easy to find the right words

 

[Excalibur]

I think when only one side gets to tell a public story and something sounds off, based on all other prior knowledge you have, there’s probably a bit more that’s been left unsaid or interpreted/remembered differently.

The Toure family seems happy, and UConn is still going to be great. Worked out well for everyone, I think.

This. I don’t get all of the consternation here when all parties acted reasonably given their interests.

 

[Nameless]

Liam didn’t play? Mullins won’t play? If he is top 25 and believes in his own talent I don’t see that as the reason unless Arkansas is less loaded than we are next season then maybe.

Again, I should've been more clear. But I thought it was obvious to most UConn fans we have had an elite one and done freshman here for each of the past 2 seasons that have in fact played. Toure is not the same caliber of recruit, and other top 35 players here haven't played much their freshman year the past 2 seasons.

And the point I was making, and that navery had made (which I was responding to) is he literally says just that if you read the quote a few times. It's very poorly worded, but is a logical way to interpret that statement.

What else does he mean by, "these past 2 years, I see what they're about and didn't see myself playing there"? That he doesn't see himself as a championship caliber player? Lol.

 

[Nameless]

This is a fair breakdown. Think one thing to note about their playing time is that we usually limited what they did. Pretty much when they did play they were strictly spot up 3 point shooters. It was the same way for Hawkins and Andre their freshman years.

Which just wouldn’t be a great use of Toure’s talents even if he did get on the court.

I do think this is a fair break down as well. I just also think it's fair to say:

Ball played a lot when Castle was out, then had his minutes dwindle to the point he was out of the rotation by the end of the year.

Stewart was on the bench for most of the year before becoming the 8th man in the rotation. Even so he was only guaranteed 5-10 minutes a game, while the other freshman were completely out of the rotation.

The fact that we still don't know exactly why Nowell was on the bench, despite us needing more production from the backup PG spot, is exactly the type of situation that would make a recruit think twice about signing somewhere.

As you noted, most freshmen here have had a short leash under Hurley. I'm not sure why so many people seem reluctant to acknowledge that here. It's not a bad thing, it means we don't have to rely on freshmen to build championship caliber teams

 

[Tmac4468]

Unsophisticated bunch?

If a job is recruiting you (or college for academic reasons) and you have two handle you this same way would you go to the one that’s not showing you love or valuing you?

I don’t understand how their decision making process is deemed unsophisticated. Arkansas checked all the boxes for them effort wise and results wise they were looking for. We didn’t check any boxes for them effort wise.

I don’t understand your grammar.