Biggest recruiting losses

[Guapo]

Why would you post this?

I apologize @andredrummond

 

[tcf15]

Garnett

Honestly - there was a center back in the day that chose FSU over us back in the Calhoun days. That one stung.

 

[Pgh2Storrs]

Bynum, Durant, Diallo, Kofi for me. We’ve certainly missed on better players, but within the context of everything going on around the program at the time, losing Diallo in the fashion that we did felt like such a gut punch.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Diamond Stone on that 15-16 team would have been nice too. This hurts up there for me, cause it really was the beginning of the huge lean top 10-15 kid that last minute went somewhere else. (Even tho it’s confirmed he got $$$)

 

[Bobol]

Posh Alexander

 

[UCTitleTown]

Andrew Bynum and Valdemort.

 

[Waquoit]

I always thought this was a no-brainer, it's Billy Curley. People forget what a force he was. He made BCU good and they went to the Elite 8 beating UNC with Curley and 4 guards. Dean Smith was crying that they were too physical. He would have fit those teams that lost to FL and UCLA like a glove. Our starting lineup would have been Curley, Marshall, Marshall, Ollie and Ray Allen. Who's beating that?

 

[uconndogs]

I always thought this was a no-brainer, it's Billy Curley. People forget what a force he was. He made BCU good and they went to the Elite 8 beating UNC with Curley and 4 guards. Dean Smith was crying that they were too physical. He would have fit those teams that lost to FL and UCLA like a glove. Our starting lineup would have been Curley, Marshall, Marshall, Ollie and Ray Allen. Who's beating that?

I think Curley played on the last team to ever win a basketball game at BC

 

[wheelerdog]

How about “big time” recruits we could give back? I’ll nominate Drummond.

I've never understand the Drummond hate on this board. I loved the guy.

 

[AdamaNation]

Camby, it would've been one of the best college teams ever and UConn would've had a title or 2 before '99.

Add Anthony Harris

 

[AdamaNation]

It's Durant for me.

As well as Lawson and Ellington. Weren’t we in on all 3 until we signed sticks?

 

[ClifSpliffy]

View attachment 68160

this would be a good opportunity to encourage the audience to re-immerse their daily language in the use of the highly underrated term 'bet.' it's utility is both wide and deep. in schooldaze, it was so common that some marms would yell at us to 'find another word!,' bringing whispers from us that 'miss wormwood is mad!' followed by 'bet!'
mebbe william safire can pull a lazurus.
next up -'you got served.' bet.

back on topic. john bagley (bc retired his number) and kris dunn. gminski would have been nice, too. all poy's in their conferences. and don't forget charles smith cuz, yeah, he was a conference poy, too. that's a lot of poy's.

 

[SoFla Steve]

Posh Alexander

I don't think we ever recruited him. In high school he was ranked around 300.

 

[Lefty2one]

I never believed Diallo was coming here, and it was probably for the best. He would have been anointed by our fanbase and then killed for an underwhelming single season in Storrs.

 

[UCDaveD]

Donovan Mitchell

 

[BigEastCT]

Dan Hurley=Kofi
Jim Calhoun=Camby

 

[Ewekon]

Looking back, what are some of the biggest “what ifs” you can think of when it comes to recruits choosing another school over the good guys?

In the "what if" category, I would have to say Aju Aju Deng or Ater Majok. "What if" they were even half as good as expected?

 

[Fishy]

Yeah, it was between UConn, UNC and Texas at the end of his recruitment. He took an official to all three.

We really didn’t have much of a chance. He took an unofficial here with Ty Lawson, I think, but it was going to be Texas.

Curtis Kelly was the Plan B there.

 

[HooperScooper]

Did we have a legit shot at Durant? I was like 11 when he was getting recruited so I have no knowledge on the subject at all.

I've posted this here before, but I was told from a source very close to the situation that he actually told the staff on his visit that he was committing to UConn. Of course this person also said Durant told the UNC staff that he was committing to them too, and then spurned both of them when he committed to Texas. So maybe he just didn't like to say no to anyone.

 

[Waquoit]

I've never understand the Drummond hate on this board. I loved the guy.

I'll never understand the love. Nice guy, I guess.

 

[Brochacho]

Yeah F Drummond. He only battled multiple injuries to average 10/8/3 as a freshman and become a lottery pick.

 

[uconngb]

We really didn’t have much of a chance. He took an unofficial here with Ty Lawson, I think, but it was going to be Texas.

Curtis Kelly was the Plan B there.

I played golf with his agent back when he first went to the league. He said that KD wanted to come to UConn but was steered to TX (pardon the pun). For whatever that's worth.

 

[Horatio]

Garnett

Honestly - there was a center back in the day that chose FSU over us back in the Calhoun days. That one stung.

Yep. Randell Jackson. That one stung. I think he was from Boston

 

[Fishy]

Yep. Randell Jackson. That one stung. I think he was from Boston

He was a lock to go to UConn until he wasn’t - it was one of those situations that UConn just was his leader for so long that it almost got stale. His mom did not want him at UConn - she wanted him at UNC. Kid kinda split the difference and went somewhere else.

UConn played at FSU in his freshman season and beat FSU senseless - lost to them later that season in the NIT though.

But like with Turner, losing Jackson brought the players who won the first title here.

 

[SportsFan88]

I remember us being in Ty Lawson final 3 and him having heavy interest in us. Also do y’all remember Ramar Smith from Detroit? I know he was committed to us at one point but I liked him at Tennessee and didn’t know what happened with that recruitment. I also remember us having a lead in the recruitment of Rico Pickett who I thought was a very good college player. I also feel like Ronnie Brewer being a legacy recruit for Arkansas was the reason for him not picking UCONN. KD gotta but up here as well as we were in his final 3