Amida Brimah to UConn

[huskyharry]

He is an excellent pickup - I was just kidding about you guys being whores, lol.

Frankly, he reminds me of Georgui Dieng in a million ways. First, he shows effort. Secondly, he runs the floor - or maybe that's part of the first. From the video, that is one good-looking prospect. Later on, those swats he will control better at the next level, bringing them down instead of knocking them in the cheap seats. Secondly, the fact that he makes good grades cannot be underestimated. You guys once again prove you are not UK, lol. You're just more successful.

Thanks, Senore...give him two years and UConn fans will be thrilled to see Dieng part dieu

 

[huskyharry]

Welcome aboard Amida...you won't regret it!

Ten toes in baby!

 

[TheChamps990411]

6`11 7`6 wingspan,athletic,17 and only playing hoops for 5 years? forget what your seeing now no one has any idea what this kid is going to be right now. in 3 years he could be anywhere from mandledove to kevin garnett. we just got to give this kid a chance to develop before judging him. i dont care who recruited him im glad to have him. good in the classroom and works hard on the court. the rest will take care of itself.

 

[6NCsMORE2Go]

At this point, with his potential, and with what's available, a very solid gamble and one that could play dividends. You can't teach that height and length. He will only get stronger.

 

[len0322]

Welcome aboard. I'm hoping that KO takes his time with this kid and uses a redshirt if necessary. I think this kid could be the type of player that makes a 4 yr contribution with potentially bigger dividends in his final couple of yrs.

 

[freescooter]

We out-recruited Lasalle for a guy named Hilton Armstrong. Who the hell cares who else he was looking at? Whatever he is now will not define what he will be at UConn.

So every big man who is a project is going to be Hilton Armstrong...except most of them aren't...Hope this kid develops into a very strong player. If he can be another Hilton that will be terrific, but this is another kid who is a project. Given who else is recruiting him it wasn't exactly like Duke, North Carolina Louisville and Kansas and Kentucky were knocking on his door. And we probably won't know what kind of player he'll be until his Junior year. Anything before that will be gravy. I'd call him a low rated recruit, but everyone knows recruits love Ollie and people here get mad when I say we have mostly landed modest "project" guys on his watch.

 

[Pmurph678]

So every big man who is a project is going to be Hilton Armstrong...except most of them aren't...Hope this kid develops into a very strong player. If he can be another Hilton that will be terrific, but this is another kid who is a project. Given who else is recruiting him it wasn't exactly like Duke, North Carolina Louisville and Kansas and Kentucky were knocking on his door. And we probably won't know what kind of player he'll be until his Junior year. Anything before that will be gravy. I'd call him a low rated recruit, but everyone knows recruits love Ollie and people here get mad when I say we have mostly landed modest "project" guys on his watch.

By "his watch" you mean about 4 months? It's shocking that we don't a few five star commits by now....

 

[alexd]

So every big man who is a project is going to be Hilton Armstrong...except most of them aren't...Hope this kid develops into a very strong player. If he can be another Hilton that will be terrific, but this is another kid who is a project. Given who else is recruiting him it wasn't exactly like Duke, North Carolina Louisville and Kansas and Kentucky were knocking on his door. And we probably won't know what kind of player he'll be until his Junior year. Anything before that will be gravy. I'd call him a low rated recruit, but everyone knows recruits love Ollie and people here get mad when I say we have mostly landed modest "project" guys on his watch.

Did Ollie land a 2nd or 3rd recruit? I must have missed that.

 

[CL82]

UConn's cafeteria ice sculpture deficit is one of the reasons we haven't gotten an ACC invite.

But the good news is that Pres. Herbst has a three year plan to make us among the top ice sculpture institutions in the nation.

 

[TheRogers]

Don't know either except that Missouri didn't think anything expense-wise to sending one of their athletic dept. Chefs to a school in Fresno for a one day one-on-one class to improve his skills.

We got them beat. Our AD flew halfway around the world to experience and monitor authentic Cantonese and Sechuan cuisine....

 

[freescooter]

Did Ollie land a 2nd or 3rd recruit? I must have missed that.

hey, I was giving him credit for Facey and Samuel both of whom were at least Top 150 recruits. If you don't want to include them then his recruiting has been, well lets just say modest.

 

[caw]

hey, I was giving him credit for Facey and Samuel both of whom were at least Top 150 recruits. If you don't want to include them then his recruiting has been, well lets just say modest.

Modest is an improvement. Can we just agree to hold of judgement on Ollie's recruitment until A) the recruits play and B) he get's someone in 2014?

 

[freescooter]

I will if the "Ollie is great crowd" stops calling every modestly talented big man the next Hilton Armstrong. Just because a guy is big and isn't highly rated doesn't make him Hilton. He could just as well turn out to be the next Mandledove as the next Hilton Armstrong.

 

[LIUCHusky]

I will if the "Ollie is great crowd" stops calling every modestly talented big man the next Hilton Armstrong. Just because a guy is big and isn't highly rated doesn't make him Hilton. He could just as well turn out to be the next Mandledove as the next Hilton Armstrong.

Free, the difference is most of us want him to be the next Hilton. With you it seems you are routing for him to become the next Jonathan.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I will if the "Ollie is great crowd" stops calling every modestly talented big man the next Hilton Armstrong. Just because a guy is big and isn't highly rated doesn't make him Hilton. He could just as well turn out to be the next Mandledove as the next Hilton Armstrong.

Not one person has called him the next Hilton Armstrong.

 

[Gurleyman]

I will if the "Ollie is great crowd" stops calling every modestly talented big man the next Hilton Armstrong. Just because a guy is big and isn't highly rated doesn't make him Hilton. He could just as well turn out to be the next Mandledove as the next Hilton Armstrong.

A kid like this is about as good as we can do at this stage for the 2013 class. These days, 95 percent of the top recruits commit in the fall.

I'll do you one better that Hilton - at this stage, Okafor was on nobody's radar until he tore it up at a camp in Pittsburgh in March or April with JC watching. Then we got him, and he barely snuck into the top 100 in the final rankings (I believe his consensus ranking was 99). Turned out OK.

Of course I'm not expecting another Okafor, but at least we should wait and see what happens before pissing in everyone's corn flakes about a signing that fills a need well, especially for this late stage of the recruiting game. Never mind a shot blocker, we don't have anyone in the post who even bothers shots right now.

 

[CTBasketball]

I will if the "Ollie is great crowd" stops calling every modestly talented big man the next Hilton Armstrong. Just because a guy is big and isn't highly rated doesn't make him Hilton. He could just as well turn out to be the next Mandledove as the next Hilton Armstrong.

This. I have seen too much of this. Gavin Edwards, Charles Okwandu, Phil Nolan, and now Brimah. The kid hasn't even stepped on the floor yet and we're already calling him a 3 year dud, then a 4th year hero. Who knows the kid may average 20pts and 10reb per game next season. Then jump to the NBA.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Nobody knows what this kid will turn out to be. But i choose to welcome him with open arms and be excited that he could fill a need we have. i remember a few years ago when people were whining about us getting "the other Lamb" as part of a recruiting class that wasnt up to uconns standards. things turned out ok didnt they?

 

[CL82]

Not one person has called him the next Hilton Armstrong.

I would, just for entertainment value, but I hoping that he'll be the next Emeka.

 

[Ts5034]

I agree with people who cringe a little bit when the coaching staff goes after these kids who are projects. In this case with Amida Brimah i think that was a no brainer. I think he can help the team from day 1. Somebody like Michael Bradley was going to be a project and we knew that as soon as he signed. Mandeldove is another example of somebody we knew would be a project. Look how it worked out with those two. Sometimes they will work out but every questionable big man recruit isnt going to be an Armstrong or Okafor.

 

[sledog]

Great physical stats, but a project. Give time period, not bad. Maybe he can throw a few elbows to the teeth, etc. ie, be aggressive

Given Emeka, Hilty, Josh, etc, etc, doesn't anyone want UConn??

 

[Gurleyman]

I agree with people who cringe a little bit when the coaching staff goes after these kids who are projects. In this case with Amida Brimah i think that was a no brainer. I think he can help the team from day 1. Somebody like Michael Bradley was going to be a project and we knew that as soon as he signed. Mandeldove is another example of somebody we knew would be a project. Look how it worked out with those two. Sometimes they will work out but every questionable big man recruit isnt going to be an Armstrong or Okafor.

Ah, but there were reasons for both of those signings.

Mandeldove was the first signing in the year when we had 10 scholarships available at once. All we had was Adrien, Austrie and AJ Price. That was our roster. We needed warm bodies. Later, we pulled in Curtis Kelly, and in the spring, Hasheem Thabeet (plus another project - Gavin - who developed into a starter). Had we not gotten Thabeet, Mandeldove might have actually had a larger role here. Once he was relegated to backup duty by players in his own class, he apparently turned his attention to enjoying college life.

Bradley - I think partially anyway - was signed when we were in the middle of our APR woes. He was a very bright kid brought in to be a backup with the idea that he may develop, but if not, we'll at least improve our APR scores. I can't prove that, but it seems to make a lot of sense. And we still don't know how he would have panned out with good health and an opportunity this year. I was bummed to see him go.

He was a different sort of a project, but Beverly was a reach at guard who was brought in when we had our entire roster coming back and it was impossible to recruit anyone (no playing time available). So we took a flyer on kid who could be a good fit without needing a lot of playing time (we were really, really lucky the next year to sign a willing-to-be-patient kid named Kemba Walker, who knew he would sit for a year behind a Price-Dyson backcourt).

Point is, every signing can't be treated equally. There's often a back story or extenuating circumstances that explains why you might reach a little to a kid who you hope might be a diamond in the rough. That's the case with this class - it was tough to recruit late this year with the sudden coaching turnover, and we needed immediate help in a few places (backup guard, post defender).

 

[mauconnfan]

Put this kid back in the zone Monday night RIGHT NOW and I bet Smith and Siva get less lay ups!!!! Not saying Dieng and Behenan don't get 26 and 24 between them but I will say he can make a difference holding up the fort around the rim as we speak.........good get by KO and the staff at this point

 

[James]

 

[freescooter]

Not one person has called him the next Hilton Armstrong.

We out-recruited Lasalle for a guy named Hilton Armstrong. Who the hell cares who else he was looking at? Whatever he is now will not define what he will be at UConn.
uconngb, Monday at 4:17 PM Report
#47 Like Reply