2025 Recruiting: Amarri Monroe: UConn in final 6

[ec33]

In retrospect, we thought Hass, Aidan, and Ahmad would be more than enough to cover the PG/ballhandler/creator roles this year. We ended up playing Hass on freaking one leg because his backups were so ineffective. Our reliance on two guys who had never played Big East/UConn basketball was a bad assumption on the staff's part.

With Silas in the fold, I'm hoping/assuming we go and find a senior PG with experience who can handle, play D, and create. Not sure who that guy is, but I think Hurley knows he cannot depend on guys with little to no experience (Ball, Adams) to be his backup this year. If it turns out that Ball or Adams are fine as the backups. Great. But we were so limited this year with options and got to a point where the depth we thought we had was just the opposite.

It isn't just "back-up" and play maybe 10 minutes. Players can get injuries (like tendinitis) where you need close to starter-level quality and not "this freshman could maybe be capable sometime in the future" level play. Sure it is unlikely and hasn't happened since 2025, but agreed, they need a capable upper-classman point guard willing to play the backup role and they need an emergency center of some kind.

 

[Mike Honcho]

This times a million. Give me the closest thing to Marcus White you can find. Someone athletic, tough, and wants to grab every board out there. Whether AK comes back or not, we do not have a great rebounding team on paper. Stew averaged 2.4 boards/gm in 18 minutes. That's not particularly good for a 6-7 3/4. Q Hardnett gave us 3/gm in less time back in the day and Diarra gave us 3/gm off the bench in the same amount of time in 24 as a backup guard. We will need Stew to replace McNeeley's rebounding and hope that Silas can be a good defensive rebounder as a guard. Our championship teams had excellent rebounding guards to mask that our PF (AK) was below average in that area.

Love the Monquencio reference! He was a JUCO. Played steady ball, ~15 min/game.

 

[Slim Marlo]

If Monroe comes to Storrs he will want to start. UConn probably won’t pay him starter $ to sit on the bench during the opening tap. It’s a tweaner situation. Would love get a legit 6’10” kid with a handle and can hit jumpers

Those kind of guys go pro

 

[444JR]

 

[superjohn]

Wow, that's pretty cool.

 

[RichCTBB]

Wow, that's pretty cool.

Wow. Maybe he didn’t want to sit behind AK

 

[JCSuperstar]

The Q comin’ through, keeping players in their garments.

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Anyone get Shonn Miller vibes here?

Without knowing much about the guy that's exactly what I was gonna ask.

 

[auror]

Quinnipiac finished 15-5 last 2 years in MAAC and lost in the conference tournament both years. I can see somebody trying to get over that hump with the team if the offers out in the portal weren't what he wanted.

 

[CTBasketball]

Small schools have NIL at the ready if they so desire.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Good for him but I don't get it. Even if QU had won their tournament they would have been a 16 and gotten scraped by Florida. I would think they must be getting much better next year for him to return

 

[Chin Diesel]

Fish and pond stuff.

 

[REB1094]

Good for him but I don't get it. Even if QU had won their tournament they would have been a 16 and gotten scraped by Florida. I would think they must be getting much better next year for him to return

My guess is that a real contender wasn’t willing to give him a huge bag and starting spot. If so, huge props to him for staying at QU and trying to get them over the hump and into the tournament

 

[Magic32]

Strange because he didn't include them as an option in his Top 6. No idea if he had said a return to QU was possible when he announced he was entering the portal.

 

[storrsroars]

One dude's take on that news:

 

[Matrim55]

One dude's take on that news:

That's what I was thinking, too.

 

[superjohn]

One dude's take on that news:

Don't know about the connection but it wouldn't surprise me. Not certain but I think Karaban will announce he's coming back, no testing the waters.

 

[scotty0330]

Can you test the waters multiple times?

I guess if you can I shouldn’t be surprised as there are no rules anymore.

 

[3rdbass]

I guess most big clubs saw him as a backup?

 

[3rdbass]

That's what I was thinking, too.

Well Karaban did post his love for season 3 on Instagram yesterday.

 

[imno1]

I heard Cuse offered but he was looking to move up not down

 

[navery12]

Can you test the waters multiple times?

I guess if you can I shouldn’t be surprised as there are no rules anymore.

Yes, you can test and return to college 2 times

 

[dennismenace]

Tough to say. According to @tcf15 's grid, the roster needs 5 more players minimum (Karaban dependent). I'm projecting 2-3 walk-ons, but with so many open slots it is tough to project a rotation, let alone the starting 5 right now, other than a 4G, 1F(C) lineup. Hurley has a long history of avoiding two centers at the same time, so they need players in the 6'-7" - 6'-9" range. More importantly, players to guard other teams' players in that range.

Monroe would get 6th man minutes, at a minimum, on this team in its present form.

I really agree with this assessment. Ideally we can really use one or two exceptional defenders in that size range. They will automatically have to have speed to qualify as very good defenders which enhances transition offense. Rebounding essential as well. Reach back to the JC era and try to snag a Lyman Depriest or Jeff Adrien type or more recently Tyrese Martin as mentioned above. We need some tough guys to go with the shooters.

 

[LIuconn]

rare. Good for him

 

[UCLJ0211]

The teams he was playing against..
Remember that guy Mahaney?

Yeah but remember RJ Cole? He played in the MAAC and turned into a first team All Big East player.