2026 Recruiting: Caden Pierce (Transfer) potential interest

[boog204]

I know we sit on the talent and hidden "potential" here, waiting for it, but I'm seeing it less and less. I think we're holding on. He'll be a solid bench piece in his Uconn career here, is my call.

Oh, I agree... That was my original point when someone posted that bringing in Pierce wouldn't make sense since we'll have Stew at the 4. I don't think we'll ever see the potential and talent totally click. But, he's a very useful player off the bench and has been much less of a defensive liability this year to my eye.

 

[mauconnfan]

I'll give Painter a lot more credit getting "lucky" with Edey (recruited/developed) than I would Hurley backing into Spencer. Can anyone say Nick Timberlake? Give Painter his due. They are both excellent coaches. I'm sure Hurley would tell you the same.

Like it or not this is a fair reply. It takes luck no matter but to find luck you have to be a real good coach in the world of college hoops these days.

Matt Painter is a top 6-7 coach no matter where you want to throw him in there. These aren’t huge recruiting names when they get to Purdue either, he does real good things with players. He’s had as good or better success than Scheyer with a lot less rankings walking through his doors.

 

[KingAG]

That people should be more charitable to Painter on this board. He’s a great coach, he’s winning consistently at a non traditional basketball power, saying he’s great isn’t a threat to Hurleys superiority.

It’s also a broader point about how we judge success. Championships are the most important metric by which we judge success, but is it the only metric we should use? Do we agree that Painter is a great coach, despite the rocky tournament results?

He absolutely a great coach.

My point got lost. My original objection was comparing his trajectory at Purdue to Hurleys at UConn was a bad comparison. I was never passing judgement on his ability as a coach.

I just objected to the fact that he was somehow unlucky. He’s coached incredible talents. That other coaches wish they could’ve had. He’s had great teams underachieve. I don’t see that as unlucky. He just hasnt gotten it done yet.

Doesn’t mean he isn’t great.