any news on 2014 big men?

[HuskyNationJE]

We all keep talking about McLaughlin, Perkins, Oubure, Robinson and so on. What's the word with guys like Kevon Looney, Myles Turner and Goodluck Okonoboh?

Not that I wouldn't love to land all the above players, but I feel with Hamilton and Purvis we look pretty solid already, but what about any of these bigs. Where do we stand with them? Feel like we were on Myles Turner really early before he blew up. We gotta land a solid big.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Abu is our best chance at a big.

 

[CTBasketball]

Abu is our best shot at a big. Anyone after that is a crap shoot.

 

[tcf15]

Kevon Looney isn't considering us anymore. Myles Turner's list is still at 26 schools, so who knows. Goodluck Okonoboh seems to be favoring Indiana or Duke. Out of the three you mentioned, I'd say our best shot is with Okonoboh, but the chances we land him are slim.

But out of all the bigs that we are chasing, Abu is our top priority and losing out on him would hurt.

 

[3uconn]

^^^Perfect response.

 

[HuskyNationJE]

Would love to land Abu! I've seen a bunch of his highlight reels. Kid can shoot, get to the hoop, athletic and looks strong. But he's only 6"8, so he'd be our 4. So we're banking on Brimah/Nolan stepping up big or hopefully landing Chukwu then I'm guessing. However a Perkins/McLaughling, Purvis, Hamilton, Abu, Center sounds like a fantastic lineup to me already.

 

[CTBasketball]

I wouldn't be surprised if we underperform on getting a big this year and then go all-in for Ivan Rabb, Zimmerman, etc.

 

[HuskyNationJE]

Rabb looks like he's going to be terrific. Would love to land him.

 

[david]

Kevon Looney isn't considering us anymore. Myles Turner's list is still at 26 schools, so who knows. Goodluck Okonoboh seems to be favoring Indiana or Duke. Out of the three you mentioned, I'd say our best shot is with Okonoboh, but the chances we land him are slim.

But out of all the bigs that we are chasing, Abu is our top priority and losing out on him would hurt.

People have been saying Looney isn't considering us anymore but I can't find the source for this. All I have been able to find is that Duke and Michigan are leading and that he will be getting down to a top in the next few days.

Does anyone have a link to something showing he's not considering Uconn anymore?

 

[tcf15]

Might be behind a paywall, but here is an article from TOS dated 7/17: http://goo.gl/bUARRq

While many schools hope to be his final choice, he said 10 schools are currently in the mix and hopes to cut his list to five by the end of the month.
“Yeah, I got 10 schools I am considering right now,” Looney said. “Michigan, Florida, Duke, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgetown and Stanford. I don’t know if I left anybody out, but they are the main ones right now.”

 

[3uconn]

I think Looney's offer was just to see how much interest he had in UConn.

 

[pj]

I'm OK with Facey/Brimah/Nolan as a center trio in 2013-4 and 2014-5 and then going after an elite center in the class of 2015. We're in with a number of top centers in that class. It seems a prudent way to manage scholarships; another center in 2014-5 would take up a lot of roster space with big men who can't play on the perimeter and aren't scorers. Okonoboh is so good, you can always make space for him. But it seems we're not going to reach beyond the elite centers this year.

Abu of course can do everything on the court, and fits Ollie's desire for a versatile offense that can play 4 on the perimeter. He would be a fantastic replacement for Deandre. We have a ton of minutes available for that versatile scoring 4.

 

[david]

Might be behind a paywall, but here is an article from TOS dated 7/17: http://goo.gl/bUARRq

He said he is considering 10 schools...he listed 8 but forgot to list UCLA and Uconn who are also in his top 10.

It's certainly not a good sign that we were one of only 2 schools he forgot about, but a tiny chance is still a chance

 

[HuskyBballFan]

He said he is considering 10 schools...he listed 8 but forgot to list UCLA and Uconn who are also in his top 10.

It's certainly not a good sign that we were one of only 2 schools he forgot about, but a tiny chance is still a chance

Dave Telep had some informative tweets today where he said that at this point no 2014 kid who's any good has 10 schools that actually have a chance to sign him. They may list 10 when asked, but only 4-5 at most have a real chance.

The fact that Looney didn't even think to mention us when asked is a pretty good indication of where we stand there.

 

[Kemballin']

I hope we get all three, but my number one priority would have to be Okonoboh because you know, how could you not love having a guy named Goodluck on your team? Just a moral booster if nothing else.

 

[champs99and04]

Seems like from my limited knowledge there is a good chance we'll at least make it to the final 3 or 5 with Abu. Anybody else is a real shot in the dark. BTW - is there a reason we backed off on Leron? I know he wasn't as high a priority as Abu, but it seems odd that the staff seemed to stop recruiting him entirely.

 

[tcf15]

Seems like from my limited knowledge there is a good chance we'll at least make it to the final 3 or 5 with Abu. Anybody else is a real shot in the dark. BTW - is there a reason we backed off on Leron? I know he wasn't as high a priority as Abu, but it seems odd that the staff seemed to stop recruiting him entirely.

It was probably either Abu or Black, and Ollie pushed all his chips in the middle for Abu. We shall see if the gamble pays off.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

After next season ends, assuming DD & Boat are gone, we will have:

Facey, Nolan, Brimah, and Tolk (3/4) for the 4/5 spots

Omar at the 3

Purvis, D Hamilton (2/3), & T Samuel at the 1/2

Our bigs are not highly rated right now, but 2 years from now, i expect we will be in much better shape up front. I dont see any reason they dont all develop into at least good players (i expect great from Facey and one of AB/Nolan)

We will likely have 5 available ships. We will be in need of a player at every position. BUT....there is a chance we could be in better shape up front than anywhere else -- especially depth-wise. We need best available, no matter the position. KO showed that he will play an unconventional lineup, if it puts the 5 best guys on the floor.

That being said.....i would kill to get Abu, Turner, or Chuckwu. But if we dont, we will get someone else, or "plan B". We have been known to win championships with a lot of "someone else" or "Plan B".

just my 0.02

 

[Matrim55]

I want Abu and either Okonoboh or Chukwu.

Why? Because I want us to be New England's school, one that kids from Boston and Worcester and Providence think of as the biggest kid on the block, and one that people tune in to watch during tournament time as a representative of the region.

You don't get that if you don't get the best kids from the region. And once you set a precedent for that, you don't miss out on the next Nerlens Noel, or Noah Vonleh or even Patrick Ewing.

If we get Abu and Okonoboh, we get the Nos. 1 and 2 recruits in New England. If we get Abu and Chukwu, we get the No. 2 in New England and No. 4/5 in New England (No. 1 in Ct). Either is acceptable to me.

Of course, I won't throw a fit if we miss out on Goodluck & Chukwu, then just stash the scholarship and end up with Zimmerman or Rabb or Stone or the like. But I think it's in our long-term interest to be to New England what IU is to Indiana. And this is as good a year to start as any.

 

[HuskyNationJE]

wish we could have landed Vonleh. Agree, we can't miss out on these guys.

 

[aceboon]

*shrugs*, as long as the players are good/great they can come from the North Pole, its not like our great teams have been dominated by players from NE.

 

[superjohn]

I want Abu and either Okonoboh or Chukwu.

Why? Because I want us to be New England's school, one that kids from Boston and Worcester and Providence think of as the biggest kid on the block, and one that people tune in to watch during tournament time as a representative of the region.

You don't get that if you don't get the best kids from the region. And once you set a precedent for that, you don't miss out on the next Nerlens Noel, or Noah Vonleh or even Patrick Ewing.

If we get Abu and Okonoboh, we get the Nos. 1 and 2 recruits in New England. If we get Abu and Chukwu, we get the No. 2 in New England and No. 4/5 in New England (No. 1 in Ct). Either is acceptable to me.

Of course, I won't throw a fit if we miss out on Goodluck & Chukwu, then just stash the scholarship and end up with Zimmerman or Rabb or Stone or the like. But I think it's in our long-term interest to be to New England what IU is to Indiana. And this is as good a year to start as any.

Agreed, every year is going to have top kids coming out of New England and we have to make it known you are going to have a huge fight on your hands if you want to come into our backyard and get recruits. New England hoops has had a huge resurgence and I now consider it the best talent pool in the country. There are several really good AAU programs and the Prep schools are bball factories, looking down the road you can already tell there are a bunch of studs coming up from Mass and Connecticut. We need to let the other top programs know this is UConn country.

 

[Matrim55]

We need to let the other top programs know this is UConn country.

Exactly.

Sure would help if Drummond blows up in the NBA and Bazz has a Kemba-type of final season of NCAA ball!

 

[huskiesnyc]

Bonzie Colson is another guy to keep an eye on if we miss out on Abu. He's an undersized 4 but has a 6 11" wingspan and consistently puts up huge numbers.

 

[uconnbill]

I'd be happy with any of the big men though I don't believe center is a must