Akok starting to fill out a little. Scary thought.

[UconnU]

 

[Son of Robert]

8 months later looking quite a bit stronger. Good for us, bad for everybody else.

 

[ToolzieFan]

Getting him to enroll in the middle of last year was so important. I'm excited to watch him play!

 

[jibsey]

We need him to be strong enough to be durable and play day in and out all season long. That’s my modest wish list for him.

 

[UconnU]

We need him to be strong enough to be durable and play day in and out all season long. That’s my modest wish list for him.

I like the fact that he’s adding weight because that will give us more flexibility at the 5. We really need him to be able to play the 5 with our depth issues there.

 

[husky429]

View attachment 43975

I believe the goal is for him to go into the season around 220-225. I haven't asked to see what he's at now.

Lower body weight is the key with him though. He could be a super versatile defender if he can start banging too

 

[bazz&boujee]

AAC Rookie of the year

yeah i heard about penny

SO WHAT

 

[TMB4405]

I don’t follow the recruits to close and rather wait until I see them in a Uconn uniform. This guy is very intriguing. Is his game like a Donyell Marshall? He was so versatile and one of my favorite Huskies of all time.

 

[Wordbomar]

I just logged on to post this. He is starting to look chiseled. This is GREAT news!

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Not optimistic...it’s obvious they used the “muscles” Instagram filter

/endsarcasm

 

[TheChamps990411]

I really hope he gives us two solid years. If he plays with his eyes set on the NBA it could hurt the team if he thinks "me first" to impress the scouts. Hope thats not the case and I hope if DH is the man I think he is he will put an end to that rather quickly. Im really looking forward to this season as I think this is the season this program starts its ascension back to prominence.

 

[Kembacity]

Akok is getting engorged? UConn fanbase is about to be fully satisfied

 

[polycom]

We some side by side pictures

 

[gtcam]

His arms and his face is definitely fuller than when I last saw/spoke with him in March
This is great
He needed weight and more importantly - muscle
Great Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rocktheworld]

Stand tall, Akok!

 

[rip7774]

I saw him the other day and did a double take. He's not skinny. Exciting stuff. Strength seemed to be his only limitation (maybe inexperience). Been a while since we had a baller like him at the 4!

 

[CL82]

Here's the thing about really long arms, there is a whole lot real estate for the muscle to occupy. It's a lot easier for little guys to get "Popeye arms." I'm impressed with what Akok and Sal have achieved in a relatively short period of time, starting pretty much from zero in terms of core strength and fitness. Really impressed, actually, as I think he'll play stronger than looks. That said, my bigger concern was always his base. That's where the strength to bang comes from. It that's not there the upper body strength won't help all that much. We'll see.

#Trusttheprocess
#TrustinSal

 

[Rocktheworld]

Here's the thing about really long arms, there is a whole lot real estate for the muscle to occupy. It's a lot easier for little guys to get "Popeye arms." I'm impressed with what Akok and Sal have achieved in a relatively short period of time, starting pretty much from zero in terms of core strength and fitness. Really impressed, actually, as I think he'll play stronger than looks. That said, my bigger concern was always his base. That's where the strength to bang comes from. It that's not there the upper body strength won't help all that much. We'll see.

#Trusttheprocess
#TrustinSal

Well when you have a “blank slate” per se you can actually accomplish a lot very fast, especially with a professional like Sal. Well-understood concept of “noob gains”, young guys can explode their first 12-18 months of training before their body adjusts and returns begin diminishing.

This leads to the average, half-lay person commonly expecting kids to gain 15-25 pounds of muscle per off season. They see some high school kids, testosterone through the roof, bust ass and blow up, and just figure it’s a linear progression

 

[CL82]

Well when you have a “blank slate” per se you can actually accomplish a lot very fast, especially with a professional like Sal. Well-understood concept of “noob gains”, young guys can explode their first 12-18 months of training before their body adjusts and returns begin diminishing.

This leads to the average, half-lay person commonly expecting kids to gain 15-25 pounds of muscle per off season. They see some high school kids, testosterone through the roof, bust ass and blow up, and just figure it’s a linear progression

It was really interesting seeing Sal's approach. A lot of body weight exercises as Akok built his core. A lot of time ingraining technique. It's not flashy but it is an intelligent patient approach that will payoff in the long run. I'm excited to see the results on the court.

 

[GoDAWGS]

Getting to him enroll in the middle of last year was so important. I'm excited to watch him play!

So important, dude had an extra 5 months with Hurley and learning the system, im for one very excited to watch him play

 

[FartMan69]

6 to midnight my sources are saying

 

[Rocktheworld]

It was really interesting seeing Sal's approach. A lot of body weight exercises as Akok built his core. A lot of time ingraining technique. It's not flashy but it is an intelligent patient approach that will payoff in the long run. I'm excited to see the results on the court.

Well “body weight” when you’re already 200lbs with no muscle is a load in itself. And like I said with Carlton, when you’re super inexperienced, a good coach will facilitate you learning your body, your baseline and target end ranges of motion, how your body feels, building proprioceptive and kinesthetic awareness, challenging muscles that may not have been “turned on” through just basketball skill training alone. You do all that with slow, controlled, eccentric movements; and when someone has never picked a barbell in their life, it’s best to just start with their own body weight.

There’s simply no point in throwing loads on a kid who probably struggled with pushups and has never tried to get in to a body weight squat, especially in this case where you had the whole semester to get him ready for college loads. Was Akok even allowed to participate in basketball activities? Or were they able to just focus on the gym? I recall the latter

 

[HobokenHusky]

A beefy Akok is going to be a key for us to be able to punish the rest of the AAC

 

[Rocktheworld]

Akok chasing that pump!

Okay I’m done

 

[UConNation]

That's one firm Akok. Looks rock hard in that picture.