Best Pickup of Hurley Era

[Chin Diesel]

That might be because I said, "Karaban has a higher collegiate floor..."

I personally did not expect Hawkins' sophomore leap. It was talked about, but his play last year gave no such indication. Kudos to him for his hard work (and visit from Ray Allen .).

Well, I feel like an ass.

Apology accepted.

 

[jayteeman]

Andre.......we do not win without him. We can get away without anyone else, but no one brings to the table what Andre does.

 

[Kolumbo]

To me it's not about the best player at UConn. It's about getting a highly recruited kid to pick UConn over the competition. That award no question goes to:

 

[husky429]

Possibly … but most posters also had Samson Johnson starting over him and thinking he’d be lucky to get 10-12 minutes per game. It’s true we didn’t know what Clingan would give year 1, but you also can’t teach 7’2”. Those stats that, I think, @husky429 provided that showed Karaba’s improvement second time around the league are remarkable.

IMO if we take this vote in 3 years, Karaban will be close to a runaway favorite. I genuinely think he's the kind of player who will average 18/7/4 on ridiculous efficiency as an upperclassmen with the right off-season development and a killer mentality. It is so rare for freshman to play like he is.

It's going to take a lot of growth to get there, but it's possible. S&C over this summer will be huge. Tightening up his footwork driving the ball (learning to make layups off one foot will be key), and building his versatility as a shooter. It's a tall task, but the pieces are clearly there.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I was fairly confident Hawkins was going to be very good right away. After he got hurt he was tentative. Concussions can do that to you. In fact I think he started slow this year because he was tentative then he took a hit to the head and I thought oh boy. But he recovered quickly and from that point on just his ability to get so high so quickly on his jump shot and how fluid it is stood out. When Kellog saw it in person he was shocked. If we make a run and Hawkins hits some big shots he will be a lottery pick. Most experts are calling him the best shooting guard in the country. That is what Ben Gordon was called. He is at that level. Ray, Rip, Gordon and Hawkins our the Rushmore of UConn shooting guards.

 

[gsmooth]

Given how Brad Underwood swooped in and outmaneuvered Hurley for Kofi Cockburn, Sanogo was a super solid response, not only out maneuvering Seton Hall but also securing his reclassification, so that there was a quality big a year earlier.

The book is still out on Johnson, but it's still worth noting that he was a Sanogo teammate at the Patrick School.

I remember recruiting websites crystal ball predictions had Sanogo at 80% going to Seton Hall. Great pickup by Hurley, Kimani Young, and the rest of the staff.

 

[Husky25]

You went to Algonquin? When did you graduate? Not many Husky fans around here.

Are you a Tomahawk? Did you grow up nearby? A Coloniel? Ranger? Panther perhaps?

 

[HooperScooper]

I did indeed. Not sure how much else I want to divulge. While another student transferred in, I recall being the only one from my graduating class that matriculated all 4 years.

Paraphrasing Mission: Impossible, but "anonymity is like a warm blanket."

Then again, I graduated from both schools over 20+ years ago and doubt you have a Harbinger from that era lying around (at least not the one where college choices were published...).

My 2 kids graduated in 2016 and 2020 from Algonquin so there's no way I would know you. My younger son is a year older than Karaban and played on a team with him when they were in middle school.

 

[Husky25]

My 2 kids graduated in 2016 and 2020 from Algonquin so there's no way I would know you. My younger son is a year older than Karaban and played on a team with him when they were in middle school.

Yes, I graduated in the 90s.

 

[HuskyHawk]

IMO if we take this vote in 3 years, Karaban will be close to a runaway favorite. I genuinely think he's the kind of player who will average 18/7/4 on ridiculous efficiency as an upperclassmen with the right off-season development and a killer mentality. It is so rare for freshman to play like he is.

It's going to take a lot of growth to get there, but it's possible. S&C over this summer will be huge. Tightening up his footwork driving the ball (learning to make layups off one foot will be key), and building his versatility as a shooter. It's a tall task, but the pieces are clearly there.

Yeah, I see him like Perry Ellis at KU, different position, but by the time he’s a junior or senior he’s just going to be schooling these young kids. It‘s easy to forget how often experience and savvy destroys athletic ability in college basketball. No matter how talented some of these 5 stars are, they don’t know how to play the way a player who is smart, talented and experienced does. Shabazz showed that. Brady Manek was another.

 

[jdb50]

I voted Donovan. If he was not on the team this year our record would have been .500 in league or worse. If he was on another Big East team Hurley would be on a piping hot hotseat. Bouknight was a revelation but in 2020 Vital was the man on that team and that kid hated losing. Will always be bummed he did not get a NCAA Tourney game. Cole got us back to respectability in the Big East and Adama has been a consistent solid player all teams have to gameplan for. It is year 2 for Hawk and he is rising but he needs to come back for year 3. The coaching staff knew they needed to land Donovan. He is 2022 Chris Smith.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I love it that Sanogo and Clingan are even in this poll! It gives the by credibility. We have our opinions…or should I say our convictions

 

[jdb50]

I forgot to mention Andre. I have had UConn men's tickets since 1979 and Andre is the best athlete I've seen. Anyone who has not seen him play live yet needs to get to a game next season. TV does not do it justice.

 

[Apollo]

I'm frankly a bit surprised by the number of votes for Bouk. On the one hand, he did bring us out of sucking and he was a lotto pick. On the other hand, he never performed well in a big game, didn't get any tourney wins, and hasn't been a good representative of the university both during and since his time as a husky

I’m not saying he’s the clear choice but don’t forget that he was the first UConn player since Bazz to consistently show up on highlight reels and was, by far, the best player on our first ranked team in 4-5 years. For better or worse he was an NBA lottery pick and THE franchise/ narrative changing player of the Hurley era.

 

[UConnRock]

Gotta go with Sanogo. Hurley lost the recruiting battle for Cockburn very late in the process the previous year and needed a signature big man to come is and succeed.

 

[mauconnfan]

Andre.......we do not win without him. We can get away without anyone else, but no one brings to the table what Andre does.

You can say that exact same thing about Hawk, Karaban, Sanogo and even Newton I’m afraid. If you take any of their 25 minutes plus away we are in trouble. Andre can’t shoot but Hawk can. Andre can’t play with his back to the basket Sanogo can. Etc..he is a good answer no denying that he’s a key piece. The fact he’s he playing better is important as is the fact Newton is a lot better. Heck no one brings what Clingan dies off the bench and his minutes have been huge.

Lucky to have a team who is hopefully gelling at the right time, we will see.

 

[willie99]

Arguably Hawkins thus far, much better than Bouknight on the defensive and hustle part of the equation.

However, before his UConn career is over, I think it's going to be Clingan

 

[mauconnfan]

Arguably Hawkins thus far, much better than Bouknight on the defensive and hustle part of the equation.

However, before his UConn career is over, I think it's going to be Clingan

Agree willie thinking the same thing. Bouk was a drifter on D while when focused Hawk can seriously guard. His improvement on that end dramatic and he shoots it a lot better than Bouk in the sense of consistency. Wish he had some of Bouks ability to get to the basket but even that is getting better with time.

And DC, yep!

 

[RipCity]

Hawkins is a stud, but Sanogo has by far won UConn the most games. If Clingan and Karaban stay long enough, they could challenge him, but who knows if UConn would have even been as appealing of a school to them as recruits had Sanogo not helped us get back to being perennially top 25

 

[Tenspro2002]

There are a million ways to define this.

Are we talking the most impactful player on the court so far? Probably Cole or Sanogo.

The most impactful player for the reputation of the program and the effect on recruiting? Probably Bouknight.

The most impactful player on the court looking ahead? Could be Clingan.

 

[yungdowork]

I think because of the context surrounding all these guys, it's really hard to pick who is the most important. Here's my attempt at making a list that explains some of that context:

-I think failing to get guys like Rj and Rese would have made our transition back to the BE incredibly hard, and without them, we would have really struggled to compete at this level the first couple years back.
-I think Sanogo and Andre have done the most for shaping the current culture.
-I think Bouknight was important for proving we still have the pedigree to get guys drafted and drafted high.
-I think Hawkins is the best example of a player developing here under Hurley. He's become a lot more aggressive attacking the rim, and improved his handles and defense to a level that you can feel comfortable with.
-I think Castle (and really next year's class as a whole) will elevate us closer to the very top of the conference, and closer to the forefront of national college basketball discussions.

If I had to pick one, it'd probably be Castle. It has been a long time since UConn was in position to land a recruit of his caliber, and couple that with all the guys who followed him here, and that seems like it could be HUGE for the program moving forward.

 

[AntG168]

There are a million ways to define this.

Are we talking the most impactful player on the court so far? Probably Cole or Sanogo.

The most impactful player for the reputation of the program and the effect on recruiting? Probably Bouknight.

The most impactful player on the court looking ahead? Could be Clingan.

The most impactful player for reputation going forward could be Castle

 

[REB1094]

The most impactful player for reputation going forward could be Castle

A one and done coming from 1000 miles away would do wonders for recruiting. We got Castle from GA and Stewart from WA. Their success at UConn could really help make UConn a national recruiting powerhouse instead of just northeastern recruiting powerhouse

Plus if Castle is one and done, that’ll mean we have some pretty good on court success. Really rooting for this year’s squad to bring us deep into March, and next year’s squad to show recruits that UConn is the right place to be

 

[ctchamps]

Finding The Boneyard and taking our advice on recruits, rotations, schemes, in game timeouts, player substitutions and in game play.

Wouldn’t be able to coach a lick without us!

 

[millertime7774]