I think they all did as well, and I think it’s true that it had a positive impact. I also think it’s telling that when Jordan Hawkins wrote an article in his own words titled “This is why I committed to Connecticut”, conference is brought up exactly 0 times. It’s all about his relationship with the staff, his belief they can get him to the league, and his chance to play with other players on the team.
Hawkins picked Connecticut over Notre Dame, Texas, Georgia, Wake Forest LSU and others
www.si.com
Every recruit is going to be asked if UConn going back to the BE mattered, because it’s a major narrative in college basketball this year, and they are all going to answer yes, because I’m sure it did matter, just not to the degree people try to pretend it does. Jordan Hawkins could have said anything in his article, and he never brought it up even once.
I think we know how this staff would recruit in the AAC, because we watched them do it. They signed Akok (247 composite rank 31), Bouknight (composite rank 65), and Gaffney (composite rank 105). Not much different from this year’s class, and as long as we won on the court and put guys in the league, I’m not sure why that would change.