Cameron Reddish

[Huskyforlife]

Hopefully we didn't waste our time here as well. Kid would be a huge lift for the program.

 

[Huskyforlife]

We must have read different things then.

He posted the article he wrote on the Nova forum, but he didn't say they were leading.

 

[aceboon]

We need to break through and get one of these top 10 kids. We've finished top 3-5 with tons of kids but Ollie has yet to seal the deal with one.

*shrugs*, my feeling is if Duke and UK is after the kid why even waste time, just get as many 20-100ish kids as you can. That's how UConn won in the past, no reason why they can't do the same in the future. JC got his ass kicked by Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and then Calipari at the end for top 10-15 kids all the time, this is nothing new.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

*shrugs*, my feeling is Duke and UK is after the kid why even waste time, just get as many 20-100ish kids as you can. That's how UConn won in the past, no reason why they can't do the same in the future. JC got his ass kicked by Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and then Calipari at the end for top 10-15 kids all the time, this is nothing new.

We need a season or two of 27-5 (14-2) to start getting some big recruits. Can't expect to get them with the last couple seasons we've had.

 

[aceboon]

We need a season or two of 27-5 (14-2) to start getting some big recruits. Can't expect to get them with the last couple seasons we've had.

Maybe, maybe not, I just don't think its as a big a deal as you guys make it out to be. Top 25 guys like Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert(DHam as well and he probably would have finally shot better in year 3) are big recruits to me, those are the type of guys under that type of recruiting profile that have won UConn titles and delivered Final Fours, keep pulling in those guys. Even JC's top 10 recruits were fortunate circumstances/"different" recruitments. Donyell would have went to Cuse if not for their NCAA issues, El-Amin was originally committed to Minnesota and had no desire to go to your typical blue blood program, Villanueva was originally committed to Illinois before Self left and was another case of a kid who wasn't chasing a blue blood, Drummond was homegrown and grew up a UConn fan. Maybe one of those type of players eventually lands KO's way but I'm not stressing over top 10 kids who got UK and Duke at the top of their list and I hope KO isn't either. I'd be more than happy with getting someone like AJ Reeves at that posiition instead of trying to chase someone like Reddish and then coming up empty handed as Reeves goes elsewhere.

 

[superjohn]

Maybe, maybe not, I just don't think its as a big a deal as you guys make it out to be. Top 25 guys like Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert(DHam as well and he probably would have finally shot better in year 3) are big recruits to me, those are the type of guys under that type of recruiting profile that have won UConn titles and delivered Final Fours, keep pulling in those guys. Even JC's top 10 recruits were fortunate circumstances/"different" recruitments. Donyell would have went to Cuse if not for their NCAA issues, El-Amin was originally committed to Minnesota and had no desire to go to your typical blue blood program, Villanueva was originally committed to Illinois before Self left and was another case of a kid who wasn't chasing a blue blood, Drummond was homegrown and grew up a UConn fan. Maybe one of those type of players eventually lands KO's way but I'm not stressing over top 10 kids who got UK and Duke at the top of their list and I hope KO isn't either. I'd be more than happy with getting someone like AJ Reeves at that posiition instead of trying to chase someone like Reddish and then coming up empty handed as Reeves goes elsewhere.

Calhoun was also one of the 5 best coaches to ever coach the sport.

 

[aceboon]

Calhoun was also one of the 5 best coaches to ever coach the sport.

He was, but you don't need to be one of the GOATs to do well if you consistently land top 20-100ish kids, which KO is on his way to doing. What planet am I on where some of you folks think having top 10 players is the only way to be successful? I only check in every few days now but is that the theme ya'll are slanging now?

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Maybe, maybe not, I just don't think its as a big a deal as you guys make it out to be. Top 25 guys like Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert(DHam as well and he probably would have finally shot better in year 3) are big recruits to me, those are the type of guys under that type of recruiting profile that have won UConn titles and delivered Final Fours, keep pulling in those guys. Even JC's top 10 recruits were fortunate circumstances/"different" recruitments. Donyell would have went to Cuse if not for their NCAA issues, El-Amin was originally committed to Minnesota and had no desire to go to your typical blue blood program, Villanueva was originally committed to Illinois before Self left and was another case of a kid who wasn't chasing a blue blood, Drummond was homegrown and grew up a UConn fan. Maybe one of those type of players eventually lands KO's way but I'm not stressing over top 10 kids who got UK and Duke at the top of their list and I hope KO isn't either. I'd be more than happy with getting someone like AJ Reeves at that posiition instead of trying to chase someone like Reddish and then coming up empty handed as Reeves goes elsewhere.

I mean they are big recruits, mostly top-30, but this thread and what most people have been complaining about is that we aren't getting the top-10 players. Those players are the ones that aren't jumping at the opportunity to come to us because we haven't been very successful for a few years.

 

[ctchamps]

He was, but you don't need to be one of the GOATs to do well if you consistently land top 20-100ish kids, which KO is on his way to doing. What planet am I on where some of you folks think having top 10 players is the only way to be successful? I only check in every few days now but is that the theme ya'll are slanging now?

Not me.

 

[superjohn]

He was, but you don't need to be one of the GOATs to do well if you consistently land top 20-100ish kids, which KO is on his way to doing. What planet am I on where some of you folks think having top 10 players is the only way to be successful? I only check in every few days now but is that the theme ya'll are slanging now?

I'm not saying you need top 10 guys to be successful I was just pointing out that saying Ollie should just do the same things as Calhoun and he will have similar type success is a bit silly. Calhoun had the best eye for talent I've ever seen and he developed that talent like no other. If Ollie can also do that it would be awesome but it shouldn't be expected. We have had a dearth of players in the NBA lately, if Ollie pulled in a top 10 or two that would change. Our alumni presence in the NBA is of paramount importance.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Calhoun had the best eye for talent I've ever seen and he developed that talent like no other.

This is a bit of UConn fan hyperbole on the "eye for talent" part. Calhoun coached the hell out of them, but as Ace pointed out, a decent number of UConn all-timers ended up in Storrs under some pretty fortuitous circumstances. Ben Gordon wanted to go to Duke, Okafor wanted to go to Stanford, etc.

 

[BUConn10]

*shrugs*, my feeling is if Duke and UK is after the kid why even waste time, just get as many 20-100ish kids as you can. That's how UConn won in the past, no reason why they can't do the same in the future. JC got his ass kicked by Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and then Calipari at the end for top 10-15 kids all the time, this is nothing new.

People keep saying this but ignore the fact that all those guys your talking about happened under one particular HoF coaching staff. That "winning formula" can't just be replicated because our coaches are wearing UConn gear at recruiting trips.

 

[KembaStepback]

Ok. We get it. Ollie isn't Calhoun. No one is! Calhoun wasn't Calhoun until ~1990. He got some good in-state talent (Chris Smith, Scott Burrell) who happened to lift the program to where it is. Conference is part of it too.

I'm just not ready to throw Ollie under the bus. Those of you who complain about his offense...all the games this yr, UConn has gotten a LOT of good looks and just don't make shots.

We do need another solid big man recruit with some touch around the rim. Durham looks like a freshman, but you can tell he's got some finesse. He will be a very good player for us, hopefully by next yr.

It does seem like Ollie is starting to focus on some shooters. Vance has taken a huge step forward recently, and it's been wonderful to watch. We weren't ever going to get Reddish. I don't think it's a waste of effort. We will land one of these guys eventually. Ollie will continue on Team USA and will get a kid to buy in.

 

[Matrim55]

Ok. We get it. Ollie isn't Calhoun. No one is! Calhoun wasn't Calhoun until ~1990.

Meh, even this glosses over some stuff. The worst coaching job I've seen in the 40 years I've been watching UConn basketball was 1992/93. That team had three first-round draft picks (including a lotto pick), two other guys who'd make the league (KO & Donny), a top-50 recruit in his sophomore year at SG, and a bench full of high-level recruits (Cormier, Rudy, Hayward), and we were brutally bad in what was and still is the worst year for Big East basketball, ever. There was not a single team that made it to the second weekend.

That team, which on balance was super-talented, absolutely quit on Calhoun.

I'm just not ready to throw Ollie under the bus.

I'm with you. I think the sane part of the fanbase is as well.

 

[mauconnfan]

Meh, even this glosses over some stuff. The worst coaching job I've seen in the 40 years I've been watching UConn basketball was 1992/93. That team had three first-round draft picks (including a lotto pick), two other guys who'd make the league (KO & Donny), a top-50 recruit in his sophomore year at SG, and a bench full of high-level recruits (Cormier, Rudy, Hayward), and we were brutally bad in what was and still is the worst year for Big East basketball, ever. There was not a single team that made it to the second weekend.

That team, which on balance was super-talented, absolutely quit on Calhoun.


I'm with you. I think the sane part of the fanbase is as well.

Can't agree on 92-93 they just weren't that good and rode the shoulders of one stud. Donny wasn't Donny yet, KO was only a passer he'd later bring some offense later in his career, the other 3 were bench only players, Cormier a TO machine, Rudy not playing to his HS ranking and Eric a real nice low post back up. Just think people always overrated the talent on that team because they had the stud.

 

[pj]

Ollie is an excellent recruiter, but he's in the bootstrapping stage right now, once he establishes excellence on the court and builds a track record of getting his own recruits to the NBA, watch out.

It took JC ten years after coming to UConn to start getting top recruits. Most recruits start watching the NCAA closely at 12-13 and who they see doing well between age 12 and 16 has a big leg up in recruiting. So if we start doing well next year, we can expect our first really highly ranked incoming class in 7 years.

Fans need a little patience. I think we're in good hands.

 

[mauconnfan]

Can't agree on 92-93 they just weren't that good and rode the shoulders of one stud. Donny wasn't Donny yet, KO was only a passer he'd later bring some offense later in his career, the other 3 were bench only players, Cormier a TO machine, Rudy not playing to his HS ranking and Eric a real nice low post back up. Just think people always overrated the talent on that team because they had the stud.

I take this back as I looked at that roster on line and was confused - should have been much better I agree Matrim!

 

[Mr. Hand]

Meh, even this glosses over some stuff. The worst coaching job I've seen in the 40 years I've been watching UConn basketball was 1992/93. That team had three first-round draft picks (including a lotto pick), two other guys who'd make the league (KO & Donny), a top-50 recruit in his sophomore year at SG, and a bench full of high-level recruits (Cormier, Rudy, Hayward), and we were brutally bad in what was and still is the worst year for Big East basketball, ever. There was not a single team that made it to the second weekend.

That team, which on balance was super-talented, absolutely quit on Calhoun.


I'm with you. I think the sane part of the fanbase is as well.

I don't know if I agree with the characterization that the 92-93 team quit on Calhoun.

That team was merely the first example of a handful in Calhoun's tenure proving it takes more than talent to win. I harp on this constantly, to seemingly no avail, that it takes team chemistry slowly built over 2-3 years of games and practices, in equal measure with talent, to make a consistent dominant winner. The evidence of the truth of this is overwhelming as you cycle through the seasons on uconnhuskygames. com.

The only exception is 2011, because Kemba became legend with his back to the wall. That kind of thing is once in a generation though.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I don't know if I agree with the characterization that the 92-93 team quit on Calhoun.

That team was merely the first example of a handful in Calhoun's tenure proving it takes more than talent to win. I harp on this constantly, to seemingly no avail, that it takes team chemistry slowly built over 2-3 years of games and practices, in equal measure with talent, to make a consistent dominant winner. The evidence of the truth of this is overwhelming as you cycle through the seasons on uconnhuskygames. com.

The only exception is 2011, because Kemba became legend with his back to the wall. That kind of thing is once in a generation though.

Not to get into too much detail but there was a divisive force on that team who helped tear the locker room apart.

 

[Mr. Hand]

Not to get into too much detail but there was a divisive force on that team who helped tear the locker room apart.

Not at all surprised by that. It dovetails nicely with what I said.

 

[Matrim55]

Not to get into too much detail but there was a divisive force on that team who helped tear the locker room apart.

Right. But if you listen to some folks on this forum, those types of personalities never existed in this program under Calhoun, and if they did he'd have buried them in an instant before they effected team chemistry!

Simply untrue, of course. Even JC had a few bad seasons, and 92/93 was the worst of them.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

I don't know if I agree with the characterization that the 92-93 team quit on Calhoun.

That team was merely the first example of a handful in Calhoun's tenure proving it takes more than talent to win. I harp on this constantly, to seemingly no avail, that it takes team chemistry slowly built over 2-3 years of games and practices, in equal measure with talent, to make a consistent dominant winner. The evidence of the truth of this is overwhelming as you cycle through the seasons on uconnhuskygames. com.

The only exception is 2011, because Kemba became legend with his back to the wall. That kind of thing is once in a generation though.

Sort of until Napier A few years later.

 

[Mr. Hand]

Sort of until Napier A few years later.

Not at all.

Daniels, Giffey, and Boatright teamed up with Napier to comprise perhaps the best example of the kind of veteran team chemistry I'm talking about.

Switch Napier '14 with Kemba '11 and we have one less championship.

 

[BUConn10]

Meh, even this glosses over some stuff. The worst coaching job I've seen in the 40 years I've been watching UConn basketball was 1992/93. That team had three first-round draft picks (including a lotto pick), two other guys who'd make the league (KO & Donny), a top-50 recruit in his sophomore year at SG, and a bench full of high-level recruits (Cormier, Rudy, Hayward), and we were brutally bad in what was and still is the worst year for Big East basketball, ever. There was not a single team that made it to the second weekend.

That team, which on balance was super-talented, absolutely quit on Calhoun.


I'm with you. I think the sane part of the fanbase is as well.

What if you also aren't ready to throw KO under the bus, because you know it's a factor of injuries out of his control, the fact you can't fire a NC coach after 3 years, and the cold truth that at this moment in this landscape UConn probably couldn't do much better, but simply feel like significant improvement isn't really in the cards for the immediate to near future? I consider myself intuitive with patterns and trends and what we are seeing now is in a way in line with how this program has performed each year post-Shabazz. I think it's going to be at least 2-3 years before this team gets back to the standard UConn expectation, a team that can resist "WTF" losses every other week in a weak schedule. /rant

 

[Matrim55]

What if you also aren't ready to throw KO under the bus, because you know it's a factor of injuries out of his control, the fact you can't fire a NC coach after 3 years...

Bringing up firing him is, in and of itself, irrational.

and the cold truth that at this moment in this landscape UConn probably couldn't do much better, but simply feel like significant improvement isn't really in the cards for the immediate to near future?

I won't begrudge you that feeling, even though I believe you're wrong.

I consider myself intuitive with patterns and trends and what we are seeing now is in a way in line with how this program has performed each year post-Shabazz.

The only pattern/trends that are worth noting IMO:

• Our recruiting bottomed out in 2013&2014, and now our on-court performance is bottoming out as a result
• We have lost our best player after every season since 2014, and lost our 3 best players after last season
• This is the first season we've had a true PG since Shabazz, and our true PG is still learning the position

I think it's going to be at least 2-3 years before this team gets back to the standard UConn expectation, a team that can resist "WTF" losses every other week in a weak schedule. /rant

I think that's pessimistic, but to each their own. As long as we keep pulling in good classes and the guys we do have on hand improve, I'm good.

As I've said before, if we're only mediocre next season then I'll start to get concerned, and would agree that 2018/19 would be a "prove it" year for Ollie. But I don't think we'll get to that bridge, much less have to cross it.

 

[BUConn10]

Bringing up firing him is, in and of itself, irrational.


I won't begrudge you that feeling, even though I believe you're wrong.


The only pattern/trends that are worth noting IMO:

• Our recruiting bottomed out in 2013&2014, and now our on-court performance is bottoming out as a result
• We have lost our best player after every season since 2014, and lost our 3 best players after last season
• This is the first season we've had a true PG since Shabazz, and our true PG is still learning the position

I think that's pessimistic, but to each their own. As long as we keep pulling in good classes and the guys we do have on hand improve, I'm good.

As I've said before, if we're only mediocre next season then I'll start to get concerned, and would agree that 2018/19 would be a "prove it" year for Ollie. But I don't think we'll get to that bridge, much less have to cross it.

Irrational? It was the topic of conversation which I entered, im just adding my thoughts.