Best Pickup of Hurley Era

[KingAG]

Bouk was at times clearly the best player of this bunch.

 

[superjohn]

Hoping that's the answer in a year or so. But it's not now.

5 stars attract more 5 stars. He's working on Boogie.

 

[HuskyHawk]

5 stars attract more 5 stars. He's working on Boogie.

And 4 stars lead to wins more than 5 stars. I hope and expect Castle will have a big impact, but great players you get for 2-3 years are more impactful than one and done guys.

 

[elmcityboy]

i picked bouknight, but my votes changes if we make a run this year. could also see clingan, karaban, or castle swinging it in the future.

bouknight actually wasn't rated crazy high (at least for a lottery pick) -- his final 5 was uconn, indinia, va tech, vcu, and miami. hurley and kimani found a diamond in the rough, went all-out to get the commitment when we were still in the aac, and gave us our first nba first-rounder in close to a decade. huge recruit.

 

[superjohn]

And 4 stars lead to wins more than 5 stars. I hope and expect Castle will have a big impact, but great players you get for 2-3 years are more impactful than one and done guys.

5 stars help future recruiting immediately, 5 stars have a much higher chance of not only making the NBA but being big impact players in the NBA. They immediately increase eyeballs, and pay dividens down the road. UConn being a major presence in the NBA again will be huge for the program.

 

[HuskyHawk]

5 stars help future recruiting immediately, 5 stars have a much higher chance of not only making the NBA but being big impact players in the NBA. They immediately increase eyeballs, and pay dividens down the road. UConn being a major presence in the NBA again will be huge for the program.

Yeah, we're splitting hairs. Without Bouk, Sanogo, Cole, Martin and Hawkins, Castle doesn't come here. The HS recruits that did the most to legitimize the program again were Bouknight and Sanogo. But obviously there's no one answer really.

5 stars are rare. I don't expect one every season. Don't want to become Kentucky or Duke. We never were with Calhoun.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I went with Sanogo because it did come in Seton Hall's backyard and was right after losing Cockburn. Righted the ship.

 

[Husky25]

Karaban has a higher collegiate floor than Hawkins, but he is a tweener right now. It's still an unknown what he'll be at a next level, let alone THEE next level.

Hawkins showed glimpses last year as a freshman, but they were few and far between. Karaban is averaging 30 MPG, including crunch time. Given all the Hawkins love, I choose Karaban and hopefully he can be worked into the wing rotation next year, as well.

He's also a fellow former-Tomahawk, albeit for one season.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Karaban has a higher collegiate floor than Hawkins, but he is a tweener right now. It's still an unknown what he'll be at a next level, let alone THEE next level.

Hawkins showed glimpses last year as a freshman, but they were few and far between. Karaban is averaging 30 MPG, including crunch time. Given all the Hawkins love, I choose Karaban and hopefully he can be worked into the wing rotation next year, as well.

He's also a fellow former-Tomahawk, albeit for one season.

Not even close. Hawkins is first team AA material if he comes back next year (Which I don't expect to happen).

Big fan of the Karaban Caravan but he will never be so good offensively that teams game plan entirely about stopping him. And that's one of his strengths. Karaban will become more and more lethal as teams get better but can only play him straight up.

 

[HooperScooper]

Karaban has a higher collegiate floor than Hawkins, but he is a tweener right now. It's still an unknown what he'll be at a next level, let alone THEE next level.

Hawkins showed glimpses last year as a freshman, but they were few and far between. Karaban is averaging 30 MPG, including crunch time. Given all the Hawkins love, I choose Karaban and hopefully he can be worked into the wing rotation next year, as well.

He's also a fellow former-Tomahawk, albeit for one season.

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

 

[Brochacho]

I voted Hawkins - i think he is the best combination of recruiting hype, college production and pro potential (so far).

 

[Husky25]

Not even close. Hawkins is first team AA material if he comes back next year (Which I don't expect to happen).

Big fan of the Karaban Caravan but he will never be so good offensively that teams game plan entirely about stopping him. And that's one of his strengths. Karaban will become more and more lethal as teams get better but can only play him straight up.

The two are not mutually exclusive. A couple of weeks ago, I speculated that Hawkins may benefit from a third year. I no longer believe this. Ability-wise, he's ready to move on. The only situation in which I think he'll remotely think about staying is if UConn gets to at least the Elite 8, but come up short of the ultimate hardware. Think Hamilton '98.

Karaban is having a better freshman year than Hawkins had last year.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The two are not mutually exclusive. A couple of weeks ago, I speculated that Hawkins may benefit from a third year. I no longer believe this. Ability-wise, he's ready to move on. The only situation in which I think he'll remotely think about staying is if UConn gets to at least the Elite 8, but come up short of the ultimate hardware. Think Hamilton '98.

Karaban is having a better freshman year than Hawkins had last year.

You're bringing up the exact opposite of high ceiling.

Karaban was better suited to perform as a freshman. More refined skill set and roster had tons of minutes available at the 4 spot. Hawkins needed time to adjust and had Martin front of him.

But Hawkins was always projected to have more room for improvement and higher ability to impact game.

 

[Husky25]

You're bringing up the exact opposite of high ceiling.

Karaban was better suited to perform as a freshman. More refined skill set and roster had tons of minutes available at the 4 spot. Hawkins needed time to adjust and had Martin front of him.

But Hawkins was always projected to have more room for improvement and higher ability to impact game.

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 .).

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I went with Karaban. Why? Because most of the others gaining large numbers of votes were more known quantities. Getting a guy that, somewhat unexpectedly, as a freshman is your starting power forward, shows incredible basketball IQ, learns fast and improves every game, and can shoot like that is a real coup. Hawkins we knew had a sweet stroke. He's turned that into an ability to takeover a game and beat the opponents best defender, but we knew he could shoot. Sanogo had great performances prior to coming against most of his peers at the 5. And Clingan is 7'2" with soft hands and good timing. But with Karaban it was hard to know exactly what you were getting.

Now we know.

 

[Husky25]

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

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...).

 

[superjohn]

I went with Karaban. Why? Because most of the others gaining large numbers of votes were more known quantities. Getting a guy that, somewhat unexpectedly, as a freshman is your starting power forward, shows incredible basketball IQ, learns fast and improves every game, and can shoot like that is a real coup. Hawkins we knew had a sweet stroke. He's turned that into an ability to takeover a game and beat the opponents best defender, but we knew he could shoot. Sanogo had great performances prior to coming against most of his peers at the 5. And Clingan is 7'2" with soft hands and good timing. But with Karaban it was hard to know exactly what you were getting.

Now we know.

Clingan certainly wasn't a known quantity on the board in terms of how he would play here. There were a lot of posters who viewed him as a project and thought he could be a big contributer by his junior year. There were people saying he was slow and only dominated in high school because he was a foot taller than everyone else. There was even one guy who said he was a total stiff and couldn't play at this level. He's blown away expectations.

Kid looks like a national player of the year candidate next season with offseason development.

Karaban has been great as a freshman but he also had a headstart in the program compared to most freshman and he's 20 years old. I think most people thought he would be a player this season.

 

[ucp990411]

Bouk have been the most physically talented one but not the best player. Big difference

 

[mauconnfan]

Not fair to Karaban or Clingan as of yet. I mean we may say someone now and in a year or 2 decide it's one of these 2.

But for now, Sanogo was a huge win as we have him and Seton Hall doesn't.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Clingan certainly wasn't a known quantity on the board in terms of how he would play here. There were a lot of posters who viewed him as a project and thought he could be a big contributer by his junior year. There were people saying he was slow and only dominated in high school because he was a foot taller than everyone else. There was even one guy who said he was a total stiff and couldn't play at this level. He's blown away expectations.

Kid looks like a national player of the year candidate next season with offseason development.

Karaban has been great as a freshman but he also had a headstart in the program compared to most freshman and he's 20 years old. I think most people thought he would be a player this season.

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.

 

[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.