Best Early Signing Class in Years | The Boneyard

Best Early Signing Class in Years

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Why all the panic and pessimism. UConn has signed LOIs in the early signing period from a top 5 PG and a top 15 and rising PF. Without doing any research, I can't think of a better early signing period recruiting in recent years.
 
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It's a good start but there aren't many top 100 guys left and we struck out on every wing. A very important position in this class in my opinion. Again, we get Stone and this becomes a top 10 class no doubt. But going 0-3 on some of our top targets in the same day is a tough one to take, especially since they turned down KO and defending champs. No one is saying we won't be fine, but it's disappointing for sure.
 
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It's a good start but there aren't many top 100 guys left and we struck out on every wing. A very important position in this class in my opinion. Again, we get Stone and this becomes a top 10 class no doubt. But going 0-3 on some of our top targets in the same day is a tough one to take, especially since they turned down KO and defending champs. No one is saying we won't be fine, but it's disappointing for sure.

A lot of this depends on what happens with Hamilton. If he turns out to be a one and done, then not getting a wing in this class could hurt. If he sticks around for another year, then it's not a huge deal. We'll be fine though.
 

UConnSwag11

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It's a good start but there aren't many top 100 guys left and we struck out on every wing. A very important position in this class in my opinion. Again, we get Stone and this becomes a top 10 class no doubt. But going 0-3 on some of our top targets in the same day is a tough one to take, especially since they turned down KO and defending champs. No one is saying we won't be fine, but it's disappointing for sure.
who cares, we got burned by brandon knight and all them and looked how that turned out, twice...
 

HuskyHawk

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It's a good start but there aren't many top 100 guys left and we struck out on every wing. A very important position in this class in my opinion. Again, we get Stone and this becomes a top 10 class no doubt. But going 0-3 on some of our top targets in the same day is a tough one to take, especially since they turned down KO and defending champs. No one is saying we won't be fine, but it's disappointing for sure.

How is a wing critical? Hamilton is a freshman, and likely will be back at least one more year. Calhound is a Jr and definitely won't be going to the NBA after this year. Purvis could play it if needed and has three years of eligibility. Ollie will run a three guard offense regularly anyway, it isn't a problem. Next year we need to get a wing.
 

nomar

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Yes, we were fortunate that Shabazz was underrated. That doesn't mean we're better off losing recruiting battles.

We're not, I agree, but I think the takeaway from past history is that often the #70 kid is flat-out better than the #20 kid. All things being equal, you want the higher-rated kid but we seem to have a knack for getting a consolation prize that's better than our #1 choice. Gordon. Okafor. Bazz. Etc.
 
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It's a good start but there aren't many top 100 guys left and we struck out on every wing. A very important position in this class in my opinion. Again, we get Stone and this becomes a top 10 class no doubt. But going 0-3 on some of our top targets in the same day is a tough one to take, especially since they turned down KO and defending champs. No one is saying we won't be fine, but it's disappointing for sure.

We all said the same thing about a big guy in the 2013 class and we ended up with Brimah. There are guys out there that will more than adequately fill the wing. It will likely be somebody mentioned in passing or not even known yet. That is why too much time analyzing recruiting rankings can drive you crazy. Lamb was our best wing in recent years and he wasn't top 100 when found. He ended up being ranked 76 by TOS. Napier in the same class was 98.

Enoch was a mid major, maybe top 150 recruit until this summer. Not everybody has their final ticket punched before their senior season in HS.
 
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And, personally, I'm a little more comfortable with losing recruits to Kentucky, Kansas and Texas, as opposed to VCU, UNLV and Virginia Tech. But that's just me.

I feel you on this but if you think about it those guys going to those programs will probably the best player on the roster the star while if at UConn they would just be one of the guys.
 

Chin Diesel

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Yes, we were fortunate that Shabazz was underrated. That doesn't mean we're better off losing recruiting battles.


Bazz wasn't underrated. He was a 4/5* recruit who reclassified to a class one year before he was originally anticipated to graduate. He was a top-30 player in his original class and was a high major recruit.
 

nomar

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We all said the same thing about a big guy in the 2013 class and we ended up with Brimah. There are guys out there that will more than adequately fill the wing. It will likely be somebody mentioned in passing or not even known yet. That is why too much time analyzing recruiting rankings can drive you crazy. Lamb was our best wing in recent years and he wasn't top 100 when found. He ended up being ranked 76 by TOS. Napier in the same class was 98.

Enoch was a mid major, maybe top 150 recruit until this summer. Not everybody has their final ticket punched before their senior season in HS.

We can get a hundred more Okafors and Lambs but people here will still cry about losing the Melvins and Macks of the world. Frankly, for every time we steal a kid late from a mid-major or lesser high-major and it works out (Hilton), there's two where it doesn't (Bradley, Wise). But it doesn't matter, we can win 12 straight championships but if Shaka Smart (a great coach with a winning personality -- of course he recruits well) beats us out for another kid, the sky will be falling. But I guess if people here couldn't find something to cry about then I guess they'd just have to be satisfied with 4 titles in 15 years and the best young coach in the country, which I guess is cold comfort.
 
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Bazz wasn't underrated. He was a 4/5* recruit who reclassified to a class one year before he was originally anticipated to graduate. He was a top-30 player in his original class and was a high major recruit.

Bazz was a solid 4 star but not top 30 anywhere.
 
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Remember when we struck out on every center and landed this no namer Amidah Brimah....hahaha you guys stress too much
 
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Smart offered Mack stardom. Talk of being a 2000 point scorer. Ollie offered him an opportunity to potentially compete against Hamilton and to earn PT against top competition. This says more about the player than the program. I look at a guy like Samuel who had numerous offers to schools where he would be the #1 PG. He chose UCONN knowing Bazz was there for a year and Boat for 2 and also knowing that UConn would get other top PG candidates. He wanted to battle with and learn from the best competition. That is what Ollie wants
 
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Smart offered Mack stardom. Talk of being a 2000 point scorer. Ollie offered him an opportunity to potentially compete against Hamilton and to earn PT against top competition. This says more about the player than the program. I look at a guy like Samuel who had numerous offers to schools where he would be the #1 PG. He chose UCONN knowing Bazz was there for a year and Boat for 2 and also knowing that UConn would get other top PG candidates. He wanted to battle with and learn from the best competition. That is what Ollie wants
Well seeing as Ollie made a huge push for Mack, I would say that he is also the kind of player Ollie wants.
 
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Well seeing as Ollie made a huge push for Mack, I would say that he is also the kind of player Ollie wants.

Talent wise he is a player Ollie wanted, but the other intangibles can't be judged as easily as talent. Ollie tod him what UConn was and he opted for an easier track to PT.
 
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Talent wise he is a player Ollie wanted, but the other intangibles can't be judged as easily as talent. Ollie tod him what UConn was and he opted for an easier track to PT.
Got it, so if the person doesn't pick UConn then it's obviously not that they chose a school closer to home, with better weather, or that had been recruiting them for a much longer time, etc., it was automatically that they were just afraid to compete. Got it. Honestly, the worst part about losing a recruiting battle isn't losing the battle, it's the hundreds of posts where posters convince themselves that he wasn't good enough or didn't have the right intangibles for UConn. Just stop.
 
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Briscoe is a guard, we already have a stacked back court and were probably his third option. SJU is crying harder. And his commit may have caused strife with Adams. Still a nasty player, but not needed and ultimately not expected.
Jones is a academic liability, and an unpolished super athlete. A wing would have been nice but not the end of the world.
Mack is a 50-75 recruit that wanted to stay close to home. Good shooter but also not the end of the world.
The wing situation hurts because we missed Clarke also and there aren't many wings left. However, 3 guard option, Hamilton possibly staying another year, or a post grad may solve the problem. Will be more intriguing to a top '16 wing recruit.

Consensus: Yesterday stung because it was 0 for 3, BUT we have two recruits I couldn't be more than happy with, who are signing early btw (no Hamilton type speculation) and 50-50 chance with an top 5 recruit. Today I am ok with it. Life is still much better than this time last year.
 
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Got it, so if the person doesn't pick UConn then it's obviously not that they chose a school closer to home, with better weather, or that had been recruiting them for a much longer time, etc., it was automatically that they were just afraid to compete. Got it. Honestly, the worst part about losing a recruiting battle isn't losing the battle, it's the hundreds of posts where posters convince themselves that he wasn't good enough or didn't have the right intangibles for UConn. Just stop.

Everything I mentioned about Mack were words that came directly from Mack. He fully analyzed PT competition and said Smart told him he could be a 2000 point scorer.
 
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Everything I mentioned about Mack were words that came directly from Mack. He fully analyzed PT competition and said Smart told him he could be a 2000 point scorer.
And yet that still is not even close to the indictment of his "intangibles" that you think it is. I just don't understand this obsession with putting down the recruits for some made up reason after they choose not to come to Storrs.
 

CTBasketball

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"I took Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb. They're not bad. I can't take every player, we have 13 scholarships. When I saw him, he was 4'5" 120 or 130lbs. When he graduated, we took Jeremy. He then waited to get his SAT score in the spring. It took Calipari, I believe, 15 months to sell the kid to Kentucky. Same thing Calipari saw, except we happened to get Shabazz and they didn't. And we happened to get Jeremy, and they didn't. We also got 2 national championships."

-2010 on Brandon Knight/Doron Lamb.
 
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And yet that still is not even close to the indictment of his "intangibles" that you think it is. I just don't understand this obsession with putting down the recruits for some made up reason after they choose not to come to Storrs.

I honestly don't think I "put him down" in any manner. UConn couldn't offer what he wanted (PT and immediate spotlight) so he went to VCU. End of story.
 
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