Akoy Agau's Dream School?

[NOTaDIME]

It is not very often that I get to watch UConn recruits up close and personal considering I live in Lincoln, NE. That being said, Akoy Agau is one hell of a prospect and could be a great player at the next level. Before I start in about it, I would like to say that there are much better prospects for UConn, but this is the type of player that we have seen JC get and turn into special players.

I was born and raised in Nebraska so I have been a huge Husker football fan. I am subscribed to the main message board for football recruiting on Rivals. Recently they have tried to branch to other sports and they just posted a link to an interview with Agau about the recruiting process and Nebraska's new coaching hire. Without giving away the legitimacy of the premium site I will just pass along some tidbits.

Akoy Agau, 6-foot-9 230 pounds, Omaha Central
-He loves the power conferences, especially the Big East.
-He has over 20 Division 1 offers
-Says UConn is his dream school and they have been after him "pretty hard"
-Has a great deal of respect for Coach Calhoun and mentioned him as a HOF coach that makes players better
A few quotes: "I really like their style and the players that they've had and developed. I just like everything about the guys they've worked withand that have moved on. Then obviously with Coach Calhound he's a hall of famer and a really good coach."
"The Big Ten and the Big East are some of the best conferences out there and they've produced the best guys. When you see the numbers in those leagues compared to the Missouri Valley, no offense, but it's a little higher."
"Just the competition they play against in those leagues is a lot better. I just think the players are a lot different in the Big Ten and Big East. I'm really just interested in where I think I fit in the best. Where I feel that I'm the most comfortable and where I can play at with the team and where I get along with the coaches."

 

[DogMania]

Interesting. Is he class of 2012 or 13?

Are you sure he's not confusing Huskies with Huskers.

Lastly, I like the misspelling of Calhoun as Calhound (as in Husky hound) in one of the instances.

I hope he's 2012 since we need some bigs with the impending departure of Alex and likely departure of Andre.

We obviously would like the best possible skilled and athletic bigs, but at this late stage we simply need some big bodies that can at least stay on the floor w/out fouling out in 10 minutes, rebound, set screens and defend. Anything more than that would be gravy.

 

[NOTaDIME]

He is class of 2013 and I agree we could use guys like this, especially in our unique circumstance looming ahead of us. I'm glad you caught my mistake, but since it can be a fitting play on words I will leave it. It would be a huge get for my alma mater, but an okay get for UConn simply to fill needs.

 

[DogMania]

He is class of 2013 and I agree we could use guys like this, especially in our unique circumstance looming ahead of us. I'm glad you caught my mistake, but since it can be a fitting play on words I will leave it. It would be a huge get for my alma mater, but an okay get for UConn simply to fill needs.

He's 2013. Unfortunately we need one or two bigs from the 2012 class. If he's a legit high major prospect, JC really likes him and sees him as a late bloomer he can develop, I would not be shocked to see him lock him up if he really wants to come here. He's got good size. He probably wouldn't scare higher rated bigs from signing with UConn. JC does have a track record with late-blooming bigs such as Emeka, Hilton, Boone, Hash, etc. I wonder if UConn would still be attractive if JC ends up hanging 'em up between now and the time he signs or would arrive on campus.

Anyhow, thanks for giving us the heads-up. He sounds like a recruit to keep an eye on. I always like the hungry hardworking bigs over the more highly rated ones that dominated weaker and smaller bigs in HS and never seem to learn that you have to amp up that motor to even come close to dominating at this next level unless you are some uber-talent. Hum...now that sounds like some big that has played for UConn, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

 

[NOTaDIME]

I agree with the million dollar question being if Coach Calhoun(d) retires would UConn be as attractive to him. Who knows with kids that are this age, but from the sounds of it all it will take for him to become a Husky is an offer. That is a good feeling to know that if we want some decent recruits we can have them. I think he could be a solid player with a couple years of growing and learning. Also a side note, my main concern with him has been the level of competition he has played against here in Nebraska. Many people (including myself) will get their wish because they are set to play Oak Hill Academy in Grand Island, Nebraska sometime next year. That will be a great opportunity to see what he looks like against other big time Division 1 prospects. I will definitely be making the trip to see that game.

 

[johnhuskies95]

If you don't mind me asking, what is your user name on rivals? I post over there a fair amount and UConn gets some abuse on the main board, so it's nice to have another huskies hoops fan over there.

 

[husky99]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/102637/akoy-agau

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/basketball/recruiting/player-Akoy-Agau-109947

http://hswisconsin.scout.com/a.z?s=382&p=8&c=1&nid=4615565

 

[DogMania]

I agree with the million dollar question being if Coach Calhoun(d) retires would UConn be as attractive to him. Who knows with kids that are this age, but from the sounds of it all it will take for him to become a Husky is an offer. That is a good feeling to know that if we want some decent recruits we can have them. I think he could be a solid player with a couple years of growing and learning. Also a side note, my main concern with him has been the level of competition he has played against here in Nebraska. Many people (including myself) will get their wish because they are set to play Oak Hill Academy in Grand Island, Nebraska sometime next year. That will be a great opportunity to see what he looks like against other big time Division 1 prospects. I will definitely be making the trip to see that game.

If he can find his way onto some AAU program that travels to some of the big time summer events, if he hasn't done so already, you might get a sense to where he stands if someone writes about him. It's nice to be 6-9, 230, if in fact those are anywhere close to accurate, but does that come with athleticism, length, good hands, good BBIQ, good rebounding skills, etc.

One thing I've come to learn is that there are a lot more players out there than most realize. Just look at some of the very talented players on some of the low to mid-major programs that made the NCAA this year and in years past. We often think that if we can't get one of the top 10 to 15 players at a given position or top 100 to 150 player, there just isn't anyone else that's all that good out there. These very good mid to low major kids (Not talking about the handful of ranked ones that ended up at a Mid-major like the McDermott kid) had to come from somewhere.

 

[hooskies]

 

[Dann]

looks more like a forward. how tall is he really? 6'8 maybe?
great looking prospect tho. has some touch on his post moves and seems to handle the ball ok for his size. any one else watch that video and think his body could develope in the weight room to look like a rudy gay type. not sure where his game could develope to really but he has the size/lenght body wise it looks like.

 

[UCONNfan1]

that's some good stuff. sounds like a good kid with a lot of upside. i have a feeling if we don't get the post season ban reversed, we may lose Drummond and Lamb, and with Alex going, it looks like next season may be a true rebuilding/down year.

try to develop Wolf (god help us if we have to seriously rely on him), Bradley, Olander, and Giffey. Smith, Boat and Bazz would be solid and Omar could add some spice, but our front court would be really weak. if the NCAA ban stays in effect, i can't see how we get any more top level kids to come. maybe kids who play on staying at least 2, and probably 3 years, but if those types are "bigs", they probably won't impact much the first year.

by that i mean a kid like Drummond who technically should be a 1 and done would never consider UCONN if we have a post season ban. a kid who's a project or has a lot of potential won't really help us much next year as post players take longer to develop in general anyway. just my $.02...

 

[NOTaDIME]

It said in the article that he was going to play on either the AAU Nebraska team he played on last year or play for an Iowa team. He also said he would try to play in some tournaments for both teams.

 

[NOTaDIME]

If you don't mind me asking, what is your user name on rivals? I post over there a fair amount and UConn gets some abuse on the main board, so it's nice to have another huskies hoops fan over there.

Bo Bridges

 

[Scot-e]

I have said it many times. You only need one NBA type player on a team to get to the FF. Chemistry goes a long long way. Look at us in 1999 as a classic example.

 

[NOTaDIME]

I posted this information back in March. I thought it would be relevant again.