Do we lose Boston area recruiting with Hobbs gone?

[Chelo]

Now with Hobbs gone to Rutgers, do we lose some influence in recruiting Boston area players? Hobbs is from Roxbury, where Shabazz and Jalen are from, and had many connections in the area. Does Ollie now look at maybe a Taliek as a assistant to help establish connections with the NYC AAU programs to make up for the Boston area?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Doomed

 

[BUConn10]

I've been wearing my UConn gear double time in Southie lately so I will try to pick up the slack for Hobbs' departure.

 

[mauconnfan]

I've seen other requests for Taliek, is he coaching somewhere now?

 

[Matrim55]

I've seen other requests for Taliek, is he coaching somewhere now?

AAU ball in NYC.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Hobbs wasn't even on the staff when we recruited Napier.

 

[dogpause]

Whoever replaces Hobbs will be from somewhere too.

 

[mauconnfan]

Whoever replaces Hobbs will be from somewhere too.

Wow dp never though of that one thanks.

 

[rip7774]

Someone who has some good contacts into the program told me he loves Hobbs but he's older and is more collecting paychecks now than he used to.

I was at a game where a friend of Hobbs told him about a recruit that had opened up recruitment and he was really excited and said he will be all over the kid and when I researched it, it seemed like the recruit was a done deal to another school and that Hobbs wasn't really on top of it.

I love what Hobbs did for us over the years but this is a win-win. I often felt Andre LaFleur had slipped a bit later in his time here as well. Change is often good after a long period of time. Ricky Moore and KO are our best recruiters. Miller you hear mixed reviews but I like him as I think he is a bit of the Blaney that JC had. As some have asserted, get an offensive-minded guy to come in here and help who is a solid recruiter and it only can help all around to a strong foundation KO has put into place.

 

[mauconnfan]

Someone who has some good contacts into the program told me he loves Hobbs but he's older and is more collecting paychecks now than he used to.

I was at a game where a friend of Hobbs told him about a recruit that had opened up recruitment and he was really excited and said he will be all over the kid and when I researched it, it seemed like the recruit was a done deal to another school and that Hobbs wasn't really on top of it.

I love what Hobbs did for us over the years but this is a win-win. I often felt Andre LaFleur had slipped a bit later in his time here as well. Change is often good after a long period of time. Ricky Moore and KO are our best recruiters. Miller you hear mixed reviews but I like him as I think he is a bit of the Blaney that JC had. As some have asserted, get an offensive-minded guy to come in here and help who is a solid recruiter and it only can help all around to a strong foundation KO has put into place.

Maybe we should let Karl leave without hammering him on the way out. Without facts I'm not into these "I heard.." especially a good guy who's been true to his university. He did a nice job for us time for a change from both ends maybe huh?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Where are the top Boston area kids going to go? BC is a basket case. I suppose PC remains competitive, but UMass is down and BC can't get lower. Since JC arrived UConn has had a national recruiting game, and relies more on NY than Boston, but will always be strong with both.

 

[upstater]

Where are the top Boston area kids going to go? BC is a basket case. I suppose PC remains competitive, but UMass is down and BC can't get lower. Since JC arrived UConn has had a national recruiting game, and relies more on NY than Boston, but will always be strong with both.

Wayne Selden went to Kansas, Wenyen Gabriel went to Kentucky. Surely, Jalen Adams had some options.

 

[RichZ]

KFree is from Springfield, and played his HS ball in Mass before moving to Jersey to you know, play with Tim Thomas, so the TV announcers would have a bit of trivia to mention whenever he dove for a loose ball.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Last i checked we were still called Uconn! The name speaks for itself. So we dont loose any influence in the area if you ask me. Besides, Napier is still from there, and Jalen too. They'll still be in our corner and show that guys from that area can do well at Uconn.

 

[gtcam]

Hobbs played well at UConn, coached well at UConn and was a good ambassador for UConn.
As I remember, when he went to GWU, did the program regress?
I appreciate everything Hobbs did for UConn. This could be a huge win/win for everyone.
The sun will rise again and UConn will still reach kids in Boston

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wayne Selden went to Kansas, Wenyen Gabriel went to Kentucky. Surely, Jalen Adams had some options.

Of course. But the fact that Hobbs is from Boston isn't making some big difference there anyway. Anybody with those offers will have choices to make.

 

[Devland]

Now with Hobbs gone to Rutgers, do we lose some influence in recruiting Boston area players? Hobbs is from Roxbury, where Shabazz and Jalen are from, and had many connections in the area. Does Ollie now look at maybe a Taliek as a assistant to help establish connections with the NYC AAU programs to make up for the Boston area?

We can hire Jim Sullivan. Wasn't he the all-time leading scorer in Mass (or at least close to it) when he came here? That didn't quite work out.

 

[businesslawyer]

Someone who has some good contacts into the program told me he loves Hobbs but he's older and is more collecting paychecks now than he used to.

I was at a game where a friend of Hobbs told him about a recruit that had opened up recruitment and he was really excited and said he will be all over the kid and when I researched it, it seemed like the recruit was a done deal to another school and that Hobbs wasn't really on top of it.

I love what Hobbs did for us over the years but this is a win-win. I often felt Andre LaFleur had slipped a bit later in his time here as well. Change is often good after a long period of time. Ricky Moore and KO are our best recruiters. Miller you hear mixed reviews but I like him as I think he is a bit of the Blaney that JC had. As some have asserted, get an offensive-minded guy to come in here and help who is a solid recruiter and it only can help all around to a strong foundation KO has put into place.

In any organization, you can have too much senior level management and not enough workers. Having one of Hobbs or Miller -- experienced coaches who can be trusted to consult with you on in game management -- is fine. Having two of them is unnecessary. Beyond having one grey hair with experience on the bench, you need coaches who can relate to recruits and to the players in their development. Good luck to Hobbs at Rutgers -- lord knows he will need it -- but we will be fine without him.

 

[rip7774]

In any organization, you can have too much senior level management and not enough workers. Having one of Hobbs or Miller -- experienced coaches who can be trusted to consult with you on in game management -- is fine. Having two of them is unnecessary. Beyond having one grey hair with experience on the bench, you need coaches who can relate to recruits and to the players in their development. Good luck to Hobbs at Rutgers -- lord knows he will need it -- but we will be fine without him.

Said it better than me. That's a perfect summation!

 

[Matrim55]

Where are the top Boston area kids going to go?

Noel went to Kentucky, Vonleh went to Indiana, MCP & Joseph went to Syracuse, Abu to NC State, Terrell to URI, Mann to Florida State, Selden to Kansas, Niang to Iowa State, Connaughton, Auguste & Colson to Notre Dame, Okonoboh to UNLV.

Not every guy on that list worked out, but we recruited all of them.

This isn't the '90s or '00s when we could afford to ignore New England. The talent level at home has come way up over the last 8 or 9 years, and recruiting Boston in particular is arguably as important to our long-term success as keeping a presence in NYC.

FWIW we're aiming for two top-50 players (Makai Ashton-Langford and Jermaine Samuels) from greater Boston in the Class of 2017.

This post is not a "we're doomed!" post btw - I suspect we'll be just fine even after Kayleigh Heckel's departure. But the idea that these kids have nowhere to go and will have to choose us is really, really misguided.

 

[dogpause]

Wow dp never though of that one thanks.

LOL, I was so proud of that one.