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I used to post a lot on the Boneyard, and maybe I'm just misremembering, using a word that Rodger Clemens made famous, but I don't remember seeing so many threads get hijacked and go so far off topic all the time!
I was reading the Akok thread and it wasn't even a page deep before it became all about Syracuse. I could give a rat's ass about Syracuse. All I want to know is the latest on our recruits and what people think about it. With that said, can we try to keep this post about these three recruits, what we know, and what people think. Let's see if we can make it past one page without someone driving this train right off the tracks. If you find that you have a related thought, please start a new topic. It's really not that hard to do. This isn't rocket surgery people! And yes that last comment was meant to combine two metaphors incorrectly.
So getting to my topic, so what do we know about the recruiting of these three Bigs?
Piecing together what has taken place so far and some of the so-called Insider information that has been posted on the Boneyard, it looks like we're in pretty good shape with Akok. Based on following recruiting for many years, it looks like this is one of those cases where a recruit wants to take all their official visits, and afterwards make as well an informed decision as possible.
This is just my opinion and not based on any Insider information, but it looks like he had a very favorable visit with UConn, which was probably the leader going into that visit. I've gotten to know Tom Moore a little bit over the years, and I'm not surprised that his relationship with Akok will turn out to be something significant to him landing in Storrs. It obviously wasn't a done deal after his visit, but UConn probably establish themselves even more so as the leader at that time.
Again just an opinion, but nothing that I've seen or read points to any other program knocking UConn off the top rung. If one of the post visit articles showed him drooling over the other schools, then I might be a little worried. But that didn't seem to be the case.
Also it doesn't seem that UConn has made a strong push or is anywhere close to pulling the trigger on any other 4s. There's that 4/5 combo Tre Mitchell, who's from Connecticut and was thought to be a Notre Dame lean, right in our own backyard, and I didn't sense that UConn was making a strong push for him. He seems like a solid and skilled offensive player, but not the ideal athlete that would fit Hurley's defensive system. Now it's just possible that all the recruits, such as Mitchell, we're recruiting have simply not been ready to decide, and that my assumptions could be very wrong, but that's what it looks like.
So just a gut feeling based on stitching all the observations together, I think this one will be a positive outcome and we'll find out right before or during the fall signing period.
As for Kofi, his recruitment couldn't be held closer to the vest if his hands were stitched to it. What bodes well is UConn has been on him for a long time and he's a New York kid right in our own backyard. We landed two very skilled and versatile guards, and if we also land Akok, it will make UConn a more desirable landing spot for him. UConn has a storied history that I'm sure remains prominent in the eyes of these recruits who grew up watching some unprecedented success. Our brand has been tainted the last few years, and our conference affiliation has been working against us, but all it takes is the beginning of a very good recruiting class, to attract even more talent. I don't know what type of influences are whispering in his ear, but as long as he continues to remain open with the UConn staff, we probably have as good as chance of landing him as the other schools on his list. Unfortunately, if he waits till the spring we'll not get a good sense of where we stand based on how tight-lipped he and his camp is about his recruitment. It will be really hard for anyone to get a good read on this until he gets close to pulling a trigger on his decision. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's probably a waste of time to spend a lot of thought or emotion on Kofi at this time. And at what point does Hurley decide to make a strong push for one of the other 5s they are recruiting? This is a position that I would not be shocked if they pulled the trigger on one of the other 5s they are recruiting, not willing to wait till spring if Kofi is planning to wait till then.
Lastly, as for Precious, he's one of those elete recruits that is in no hurry to make a decision. I can't remember if the D League or G League, whatever they call it nowadays, will be an option for 2019 recruits starting this coming season. It just provides the elite recruits yet another option. The higher the recruit is on the pecking order, the more confidence they have that they can land in a good spot no matter how long they wait.
With that said, Precious being another New York recruit, where proximity is on our side, keeps us in the game for him. He might have even grown up rooting for UConn, and had a lot of knowledge how the Huskies have developed and propelled many players at various positions into the NBA, especially long wings and stretch-4s like Donyell, Charlie and Rudy to name a few. He might also want to see how Hurley and his staff does with the cast of players he has this season even though he didn't recruit any of them. (I don't remember if we have any late signings that were attributed to Hurley. If so, I'm sorry for being remiss on that.)
What concerns me most, is the combination of his Elite status and his waiting till the spring. So often one of the elite power 5 Conference teams are looking to add one more piece to an already big-time recruiting class and their returning players, making it's so tempting for a player of his ability to want to join a program where he can win right away and have a deep tournament run during his first and possibly only year in college. That is what I think is our biggest challenge to landing him.
If we are able to land Akok this fall and Kofi next spring before Precious decides, Hurley can sell the Fab-5 type card along with proximity and land this long elite wing player.
So my conclusion is:
Landing Akok this fall looks very strong.
Landing Kofi before the fall signing period ends though more likely next spring becomes stronger once we land Akok. He's a tough read since very little seems to leak out about where he's at. We'll only get a sense of how things are going based on how often the staff remains in contact with him.
Landing Precious is going to hinge on how well and how long the staff can maintain a relationship with him, landing a very attractive recruiting class, and praying that none of the power 5 big boys make a late push and good enough case come springtime to enter the fray.
So what do you guys know and what do you think?
I was reading the Akok thread and it wasn't even a page deep before it became all about Syracuse. I could give a rat's ass about Syracuse. All I want to know is the latest on our recruits and what people think about it. With that said, can we try to keep this post about these three recruits, what we know, and what people think. Let's see if we can make it past one page without someone driving this train right off the tracks. If you find that you have a related thought, please start a new topic. It's really not that hard to do. This isn't rocket surgery people! And yes that last comment was meant to combine two metaphors incorrectly.
So getting to my topic, so what do we know about the recruiting of these three Bigs?
Piecing together what has taken place so far and some of the so-called Insider information that has been posted on the Boneyard, it looks like we're in pretty good shape with Akok. Based on following recruiting for many years, it looks like this is one of those cases where a recruit wants to take all their official visits, and afterwards make as well an informed decision as possible.
This is just my opinion and not based on any Insider information, but it looks like he had a very favorable visit with UConn, which was probably the leader going into that visit. I've gotten to know Tom Moore a little bit over the years, and I'm not surprised that his relationship with Akok will turn out to be something significant to him landing in Storrs. It obviously wasn't a done deal after his visit, but UConn probably establish themselves even more so as the leader at that time.
Again just an opinion, but nothing that I've seen or read points to any other program knocking UConn off the top rung. If one of the post visit articles showed him drooling over the other schools, then I might be a little worried. But that didn't seem to be the case.
Also it doesn't seem that UConn has made a strong push or is anywhere close to pulling the trigger on any other 4s. There's that 4/5 combo Tre Mitchell, who's from Connecticut and was thought to be a Notre Dame lean, right in our own backyard, and I didn't sense that UConn was making a strong push for him. He seems like a solid and skilled offensive player, but not the ideal athlete that would fit Hurley's defensive system. Now it's just possible that all the recruits, such as Mitchell, we're recruiting have simply not been ready to decide, and that my assumptions could be very wrong, but that's what it looks like.
So just a gut feeling based on stitching all the observations together, I think this one will be a positive outcome and we'll find out right before or during the fall signing period.
As for Kofi, his recruitment couldn't be held closer to the vest if his hands were stitched to it. What bodes well is UConn has been on him for a long time and he's a New York kid right in our own backyard. We landed two very skilled and versatile guards, and if we also land Akok, it will make UConn a more desirable landing spot for him. UConn has a storied history that I'm sure remains prominent in the eyes of these recruits who grew up watching some unprecedented success. Our brand has been tainted the last few years, and our conference affiliation has been working against us, but all it takes is the beginning of a very good recruiting class, to attract even more talent. I don't know what type of influences are whispering in his ear, but as long as he continues to remain open with the UConn staff, we probably have as good as chance of landing him as the other schools on his list. Unfortunately, if he waits till the spring we'll not get a good sense of where we stand based on how tight-lipped he and his camp is about his recruitment. It will be really hard for anyone to get a good read on this until he gets close to pulling a trigger on his decision. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's probably a waste of time to spend a lot of thought or emotion on Kofi at this time. And at what point does Hurley decide to make a strong push for one of the other 5s they are recruiting? This is a position that I would not be shocked if they pulled the trigger on one of the other 5s they are recruiting, not willing to wait till spring if Kofi is planning to wait till then.
Lastly, as for Precious, he's one of those elete recruits that is in no hurry to make a decision. I can't remember if the D League or G League, whatever they call it nowadays, will be an option for 2019 recruits starting this coming season. It just provides the elite recruits yet another option. The higher the recruit is on the pecking order, the more confidence they have that they can land in a good spot no matter how long they wait.
With that said, Precious being another New York recruit, where proximity is on our side, keeps us in the game for him. He might have even grown up rooting for UConn, and had a lot of knowledge how the Huskies have developed and propelled many players at various positions into the NBA, especially long wings and stretch-4s like Donyell, Charlie and Rudy to name a few. He might also want to see how Hurley and his staff does with the cast of players he has this season even though he didn't recruit any of them. (I don't remember if we have any late signings that were attributed to Hurley. If so, I'm sorry for being remiss on that.)
What concerns me most, is the combination of his Elite status and his waiting till the spring. So often one of the elite power 5 Conference teams are looking to add one more piece to an already big-time recruiting class and their returning players, making it's so tempting for a player of his ability to want to join a program where he can win right away and have a deep tournament run during his first and possibly only year in college. That is what I think is our biggest challenge to landing him.
If we are able to land Akok this fall and Kofi next spring before Precious decides, Hurley can sell the Fab-5 type card along with proximity and land this long elite wing player.
So my conclusion is:
Landing Akok this fall looks very strong.
Landing Kofi before the fall signing period ends though more likely next spring becomes stronger once we land Akok. He's a tough read since very little seems to leak out about where he's at. We'll only get a sense of how things are going based on how often the staff remains in contact with him.
Landing Precious is going to hinge on how well and how long the staff can maintain a relationship with him, landing a very attractive recruiting class, and praying that none of the power 5 big boys make a late push and good enough case come springtime to enter the fray.
So what do you guys know and what do you think?
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