2025 Recruiting: Acaden Lewis, UConn visit.

[Mooch82]

I don’t think assists = PG. Cam is more of a combo guard than the true points like Newton and Castle.

If he was a PG he would’ve been playing that role and be in lined to do so in the draft given his size. It’d probably be more proper to say we had 3 great playmakers on the court last year.

One of the reasons we were able to do so is because 2 of them were 6’5+. Castle was legitimately the same size as one of the best perimeter scorers in the country and played elite defense. I’m not sure if these smaller (in comparison to Castle) could do the same thing if they had to play the 3. Especially defensively.

Castle was just a great chess piece to have for the team who was somehow amazing playing out of position.

Exactly the point I was trying to make. No one was questioning whether Spencer can play and did play some PG. But someone posted “We started 3 point guards last year” and all I said was “no we didn’t”…because no one with a brain would call Cam Spencer a primary PG (take the UConn system out of it).

 

[awy]

how are you taking the system out of it? hurley and co are still here.

 

[Mr. French]

Exactly the point I was trying to make. No one was questioning whether Spencer can play and did play some PG. But someone posted “We started 3 point guards last year” and all I said was “no we didn’t”…because no one with a brain would call Cam Spencer a primary PG (take the UConn system out of it).

It’s also exactly the point the guy you’re arguing with was making. So your point is fine, but irrelevant.

“Call” him what you want, we had 3 guards who can play the 1 role starting last year.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Getting too caught up in labels. It's about skill set, not traditional positions.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Exactly the point I was trying to make. No one was questioning whether Spencer can play and did play some PG. But someone posted “We started 3 point guards last year” and all I said was “no we didn’t”…because no one with a brain would call Cam Spencer a primary PG (take the UConn system out of it).

Not interesting enough to belabor but your argument basically boils down to "If we were conceiving of the lineup in a traditional 1 through 5 sense" we wouldn't have three defined point guards in the starting lineup which is true but completely irrelevant to the point of the initial observation, which was that we had three guys in the starting lineup who essentially functioned as a point guard in the context of a largely positionless offense. It seems like a strange thing to refute for anyone who watched the team play but, like I said, not really an interesting enough idea to continue debating.

 

[Mooch82]

Not interesting enough to belabor but your argument basically boils down to "If we were conceiving of the lineup in a traditional 1 through 5 sense" we wouldn't have three defined point guards in the starting lineup which is true but completely irrelevant to the point of the initial observation, which was that we had three guys in the starting lineup who essentially functioned as a point guard in the context of a largely positionless offense. It seems like a strange thing to refute for anyone who watched the team play but, like I said, not really an interesting enough idea to continue debating.

I'm exhausted trying to explain myself here so this is my last post on the subject as we have gotten way off track.

"We started 3 PGs this year. Our 3rd most prolific PG might get drafted in the top 5. Not really an issue for me, I hope it's not an issue for recruits."

The above was the initial statement. It was in response to the potential challenge of selling our program to multiple PG's, as players who consider themselves PGs may have particular expectations about handling the ball, running an offense, etc. I actually think Lewis is the only kid we are currently recruiting who considers himself a pure PG, so it may be irrelevant. But the quote above made it seem like we needed to sell the idea of a 3 PG type system to guys we recruited for last year's team, which I don't believe to be the case at all in the case of Spencer. Steph - absolutely...we needed to sell the idea to him that he could still carve out a PG type role playing aside Tristen. But for Cam - even though he did end play some PG and having some PG responsibilities in a position-less offense - never would have considered himself a PG and had any of these expectations, as SG is clearly his traditional position.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[auror]

 

[aburks41]

So many banners they all don't even fit in the frame anymore. I love this school

 

[pj]

It’s also exactly the point the guy you’re arguing with was making. So your point is fine, but irrelevant.

“Call” him what you want, we had 3 guards who can play the 1 role starting last year.

What's more, they'll all play the 1 role in the NBA. Witness Cam's 8 assists to 1 turnover and Steph's 5 assists to 1 turnover in their recent summer league games.

 

[GoConn]

x.com

All great programs and then there is Syracuse.

 

[Zionn]

All great programs and then there is Syracuse.

was exactly my thought.......

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I'm exhausted trying to explain myself here so this is my last post on the subject as we have gotten way off track.

"We started 3 PGs this year. Our 3rd most prolific PG might get drafted in the top 5. Not really an issue for me, I hope it's not an issue for recruits."

The above was the initial statement. It was in response to the potential challenge of selling our program to multiple PG's, as players who consider themselves PGs may have particular expectations about handling the ball, running an offense, etc. I actually think Lewis is the only kid we are currently recruiting who considers himself a pure PG, so it may be irrelevant. But the quote above made it seem like we needed to sell the idea of a 3 PG type system to guys we recruited for last year's team, which I don't believe to be the case at all in the case of Spencer. Steph - absolutely...we needed to sell the idea to him that he could still carve out a PG type role playing aside Tristen. But for Cam - even though he did end play some PG and having some PG responsibilities in a position-less offense - never would have considered himself a PG and had any of these expectations, as SG is clearly his traditional position.

Hope this makes sense.

FWIW, I don’t think we ever sold Castle on the idea of carving out a PG role during his recruitment. When he committed all the way up until he signed I think he was expecting for Newton (who was a senior and had senior day) to be moving on and for the PG job to be fully up for grabs.

We didnt learn Newton would be back until end of May when Castle was days away from being on campus. That situation was not something sold to him and more something he had to deal with unexpectedly because of circumstances. And he took it in stride and made the most of it!

 

[TheHorde]

All great programs and then there is Syracuse.

I would imagine that if he committed here that the Syracuse message boards would be filled with posts talking about how “lucky” we got again.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

We definitely got the highest praise out of the 8.

UConn: “UConn just felt different when I went on my visit. It was amazing. The players are really bought in over there. The coaching staff is super serious but they know when to joke. It just felt different. The practices were really quick. It felt kind’ve pro-ish. It felt different. So that was a really good unofficial and just a great school in general. They win, and you want to be in a winning culture.”

I love everything about this quote, not only with how Acaden perceived the program, but also in how his perceptions provide a little spotlight into his own awareness of his wants and needs in college. Seems like a great kid.

 

[Umami Zen]

Thanks for posting those quotes from Acaden. Hadn't seen them before. Sounds very encouraging. Gotta say-As talented as Acuff is-- Lewis as a 2025 PG in a UConn uniform sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Waquoit]

See how they treat their managers and everyone in the program.

I think this is a strength of the program. I remember Shabazz giving a sincere shout-out to the managers when he accepted his ACC PoY award.

 

[awy]

impressed by his whole of program mentality for someone so young. seems like a really good culture guy.

 

[Scrutineer]

Way more thoughtful than your average person, let alone a high school kid. He's a winner and seems to understand the values of the UConn program and how he will benefit from playing here.

 

[ddent68]

Smart and wise beyond his years.

 

[kansashusky]

Kentucky is the first school on the list.

whoops. need more coffee.

 

[Mr. French]

I wanted Lewis and Thomas, if looking at our top targets. Those quotes did NOT dissuade me!

 

[HooperScooper]

I think this is a strength of the program. I remember Shabazz giving a sincere shout-out to the managers when he accepted his ACC PoY award.

Freudian slip?