2025 Recruiting: Braylon Mullins update 7/13/24

[Mr. French]

Finally got that Duke offer…Scheyer always a bit late, thinks he can swoop in for the white guys!

 

[KemBuckets21]

Looks like we made his top 10 along with IU, Tenn, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Mich, Bama, Purdue, and UK

 

[Mooch82]

Looks like we made his top 10 along with IU, Tenn, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Mich, Bama, Purdue, and UK

If we didn’t make his top 10 that’d be a big problem given the time we’ve put in watching him lately.

 

[Mr. French]

Looks like we made his top 10 along with IU, Tenn, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Mich, Bama, Purdue, and UK

Pretty high level list.

 

[RuffRuff]

Who’s the last Midwest frosh we got? I feel like it’s been awhile. I feel like they tend to stay there.

Reed is St Louie but UM originally, case in point. Feel like it’s the region we typically have the least success, as most of our guys are NE, south or west coast. Even in Calhouns days it felt the same. Not a lot of big named rust belters/corn field kids at UConn to my immediate recollection.

Khalid was Minnesota.

 

[HooperScooper]

Who’s the last Midwest frosh we got? I feel like it’s been awhile. I feel like they tend to stay there.

Reed is St Louie but UM originally, case in point. Feel like it’s the region we typically have the least success, as most of our guys are NE, south or west coast. Even in Calhouns days it felt the same. Not a lot of big named rust belters/corn field kids at UConn to my immediate recollection.

Khalid was Minnesota.

Ryan Boatright was from Illinois. Caron Butler was Wisconsin (although played prep in Maine). Lyman DePriest was Michigan.

I'm sure there has to be more but you're right, we haven't had a lot of players from the midwest. There are a lot of major schools out that way so you're competing with a lot of closer options. But it's a new era now. UConn is probably on even better footing for recruits than during the prime Calhoun era.

 

[DogMania]

Who’s the last Midwest frosh we got? I feel like it’s been awhile. I feel like they tend to stay there.

Reed is St Louie but UM originally, case in point. Feel like it’s the region we typically have the least success, as most of our guys are NE, south or west coast. Even in Calhouns days it felt the same. Not a lot of big named rust belters/corn field kids at UConn to my immediate recollection.

Khalid was Minnesota.

Although he arrived in Storrs as a JC Transfer and not a HS or Prep route, Johnnie Selvie heralded from Flint MI. He was pretty good and a high effort 4. I think he was sort of a black hole where the ball went to him and rarely found its way back out. But was pretty good at finishing around the rim.

He's the only recruit that I can remember off top my head coming from the midwest. The competition is usually fierce for the very good ones, either ending up at one of the premier Big10 or Big12 programs or one of the out-of-region historical Blue Bloods. It would be nice to see some success recruiting that region.

I wonder why we haven't had much success in that region considering we've done well all the way as far as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, California and Washington State. Part of it might be due to not heavily recruiting many players from that region.

 

[navery12]

This quote is gonna drive some UConn fans crazy

 

[KemBuckets21]

This quote is gonna drive some UConn fans crazy

I can't access the article, but a little surprised that pitching him as a one and done is part of the strategy.

 

[auror]

I can't access the article, but a little surprised that pitching him as a one and done is part of the strategy.

Since he rose so quickly and so recently in the rankings, some coaches may have an anchoring bias and talk to him like a 4* recruit who nonetheless has a bright future.

Positioning ourselves as "you'll be the feature 5* one and done wing like Castle, McNeeley" could be a winning strategy in a very competitive recruitment.

 

[awy]

how many recruits understand how much better uconn offense is vs other colleges, and how it's a future NBA trend. McNeeley clearly seems to understand, maybe Reibe, but I think AJ also.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Since he rose so quickly and so recently in the rankings, some coaches may have an anchoring bias and talk to him like a 4* recruit who nonetheless has a bright future.

Positioning ourselves as "you'll be the feature 5* one and done wing like Castle, McNeeley" could be a winning strategy in a very competitive recruitment.

This is a good point and makes sense.

 

[RuffRuff]

Ryan Boatright was from Illinois. Caron Butler was Wisconsin (although played prep in Maine). Lyman DePriest was Michigan.

I'm sure there has to be more but you're right, we haven't had a lot of players from the midwest. There are a lot of major schools out that way so you're competing with a lot of closer options. But it's a new era now. UConn is probably on even better footing for recruits than during the prime Calhoun era.

That is some damn good recall. Tip of the hat.

 

[RuffRuff]

Although he arrived in Storrs as a JC Transfer and not a HS or Prep route, Johnnie Selvie heralded from Flint MI. He was pretty good and a high effort 4. I think he was sort of a black hole where the ball went to him and rarely found its way back out. But was pretty good at finishing around the rim.

He's the only recruit that I can remember off top my head coming from the midwest. The competition is usually fierce for the very good ones, either ending up at one of the premier Big10 or Big12 programs or one of the out-of-region historical Blue Bloods. It would be nice to see some success recruiting that region.

I wonder why we haven't had much success in that region considering we've done well all the way as far as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, California and Washington State. Part of it might be due to not heavily recruiting many players from that region.

Historically lots of those kids came to us from the south/west because both are really football regions. That may be changing.

As for Mullins, surprised to the one and done pitch too. On paper doesn’t seem like one, as 6’4” kid just rising up the lists. Kid would seem at least partially developmental, where if so his list should be with the best coaches (certainly not IU).

 

[husky429]

Historically lots of those kids came to us from the south/west because both are really football regions. That may be changing.

As for Mullins, surprised to the one and done pitch too. On paper doesn’t seem like one, as 6’4” kid just rising up the lists. Kid would seem at least partially developmental, where if so his list should be with the best coaches (certainly not IU).

He's really fricken' good. One-and-done good? Well, idk. We'll get a better sense during the hs season. But he is VERY, very talented and has the single most important skill for an NBA player (elite shooting).

 

[david]

Almost feels like a misquote or there’s additional context we’re missing. Outright telling a player to come to UConn to be a one and done seems antithetical to everything we know about DH and how he recruits.

 

[awy]

it's a sign of how much he is sought after. i'm surprised by the message but it may be response to what the player wants

 

[Mooch82]

Almost feels like a misquote or there’s additional context we’re missing. Outright telling a player to come to UConn to be a one and done seems antithetical to everything we know about DH and how he recruits.

Agreed. I don’t doubt that it came up that maybe he COULD be a one and done or that he was talented enough to potentially be one…but I doubt that is necessarily the expectation here.

 

[pj]

Almost feels like a misquote or there’s additional context we’re missing. Outright telling a player to come to UConn to be a one and done seems antithetical to everything we know about DH and how he recruits.

If you were DH, wouldn't you want to replicate the Stephon Castle experience as frequently as possible?

 

[donyell34]

Johnie Selvie joins the party. Every so often he comes up in a post one of our more entertaining players. I liked big john.

 

[Huskyforlife]

One and done pitch is aggressive. But that tells us how Dan feels about Mullins.

 

[SoCalCanine]

I think we may be hearing the idea Dan presented, filtered by the mind of a teenager. Perhaps Dan said something like "We envision developing your game like we developed Stephen Castle, who was just a lottery pick after one year here". The teen may have mentally translated that to "We think you're a one-and-done". A reasonable possibility?

 

[awy]

as far as one and done goes, he is more of a liam

 

[KeyWestUC]

I think we may be hearing the idea Dan presented, filtered by the mind of a teenager. Perhaps Dan said something like "We envision developing your game like we developed Stephen Castle, who was just a lottery pick after one year here". The teen may have mentally translated that to "We think you're a one-and-done". A reasonable possibility?

There ya go! Until we hear the actual words.

 

[DogMania]

Since he rose so quickly and so recently in the rankings, some coaches may have an anchoring bias and talk to him like a 4* recruit who nonetheless has a bright future.

Positioning ourselves as "you'll be the feature 5* one and done wing like Castle, McNeeley" could be a winning strategy in a very competitive recruitment.

Hum...I'm okay if we have 1 one-and-done in a class. But as much as I like landing as talented recruits as possible that fit Danny's system, I like getting to watch our players develop over 2 to 4 years. Plus, rolling over key parts of the roster with having few returning players that got solid PT, has proven not to be a formula to win a NC.

The staff is targeting a lot of top tier recruits. We'll find out this coming fall which recruits decide to come here. I hope we land Thomas and Mullins to restock our backcourt, maybe an athletic wing (not sure what targets fit that) and one or two of the 4/5 Combos such as Reibe and one of the other bigs we've been linked to. We seem to have a lot of interest with 2Gs and combo guards.

I wonder if Hurley will look to add just one big this fall and look to the Portal to add an older and more physically mature player, like Reed. I don't know if Singare will develop into a viable plug and play 5 next season. I think Samson has just one year left, though did he have a medical redshirt year? Reed is just a junior, so unless he blows up or decides to move on for whatever reason, he'll be around for another go in 2025/26 season.

We've seen over the years, many of the recruits they land are not the names we kept on hearing about in the spring and early to mid summer, but maybe that will be different this fall. I would hope back-to-back championships and a chance to Three-peat would yield big time results.