2025 Recruiting: Dwayne Aristode

[runner11]

i dont think that's necessarily news. there's thousands of high school players that want to play for UConn but they have to be good enough to be recruited in the first place.

having said that you gotta make time for recruits like aristode. Hurley cast too small a net in 2024 and we're gonna have to strike gold in the transfer portal for the 3rd time in 3 years to make up for it.

My guess is Hurley realizes most good teams are old. And after signing a 5 person class we can’t bring in a bunch more freshman. We don’t want to be looking at 8 underclassmen on the roster. That is a recipe for transfers and potentially poor culture. Recruiting over every kid every cycle is untenable in the modern game. And so we only targeted kids that could play immediately, save or Abraham. We have an amazing pitch to the ever increasing portal talent and often these kids are looking for something different than HS recruits.

 

[bendm]

@temery Really need a smh emoji

Which part do you disagree with Cause these are all facts: 1) we lost out on 2 of our top 3 targets, 2) we only have 2 commits, 3) we’re losing at least 4 starters, 4) we’ll need at least 2 elite transfers if we want to replace that production…
…listen I wouldn’t trade Hurley for anyone but that doesn’t mean he walks on water and we can’t have honest discussions about recruiting. Heck maybee it was a calculated decision to go all in on Flagg and ngingba and pivot to transfers if we didn’t get them

 

[UCTitleTown]

I’m not worried about recruiting right now Hurley knows how to identify his kids. On a side those coaches who are getting teams loaded with one and dones aren’t winning nattys anytime soon. Transfer portal is where it’s at.

You fill holes from the portal, you don't build a roster with it. We have a stud in Nowell and a project in Abraham coming in. If we can grab a 5 star, we need to do it.

For portal, Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers with two years of eligibility left (he'd be 25 in two years). If we can shake Patrick Ngongba away from Duke, that'd be OK too.

 

[Tampahusky]

You fill holes from the portal, you don't build a roster with it. We have a stud in Nowell and a project in Abraham coming in. If we can grab a 5 star, we need to do it.

For portal, Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers with two years of eligibility left (he'd be 25 in two years). If we can shake Patrick Ngongba away from Duke, that'd be OK too.

So you’re agreeing with me. I’m going to enjoy my back2back championship and worry about recruiting later. Everyone is too hyped about Duke’s class of freshman which won’t win next year.

 

[navery12]

Which part do you disagree with Cause these are all facts: 1) we lost out on 2 of our top 3 targets, 2) we only have 2 commits, 3) we’re losing at least 4 starters, 4) we’ll need at least 2 elite transfers if we want to replace that production…
…listen I wouldn’t trade Hurley for anyone but that doesn’t mean he walks on water and we can’t have honest discussions about recruiting. Heck maybee it was a calculated decision to go all in on Flagg and ngingba and pivot to transfers if we didn’t get them

You'd think after 4 straight years of making the same complaint every spring and then having a good recruiting class you'd learn. It's almost like Dan Hurley had a plan and after a huge 5 man recruiting class he didn't want another big one...

 

[bendm]

You'd think after 4 straight years of making the same complaint every spring and then having a good recruiting class you'd learn. It's almost like Dan Hurley had a plan and after a huge 5 man recruiting class he didn't want another big one...

Dude I’m not attacking him just trying to have a discussion on recruiting strategy. But contrary to what you’re saying he Was prioritizing two other freshmen so we could very well have had a big 4 recruit class. I hypothesized in my last post maybe he thought cooper and pat were the only freshmen he’d rather have than transfers. Do you buy that?

 

[Deleted at users request]

You'd think after 4 straight years of making the same complaint every spring and then having a good recruiting class you'd learn. It's almost like Dan Hurley had a plan and after a huge 5 man recruiting class he didn't want another big one...

Hurley is an amazing recruiter. I don’t think 2024 went how he wanted it too.

Not going according to plan is getting a top 30 player and another close to top 50 player though with winning traits though.

 

[navery12]

Dude I’m not attacking him just trying to have a discussion on recruiting strategy. But contrary to what you’re saying he Was prioritizing two other freshmen so we could very well have had a big 4 recruit class. I hypothesized in my last post maybe he thought cooper and pat were the only freshmen he’d rather have than transfers. Do you buy that?

I don't buy that when you say the same thing every year. And yes, I believe you can never pass up 5 star talent that fits and has interest in UConn, so yeah I think it was more Cooper and Pat than wanting freshman.

We'll have at best 4 returning players with any real playing time and 6 guys without any experience. And Samson and Jaylin would be in extremely different roles of those 4 returning guys. If we want to be competitive again that team needs transfers, not more young unproven freshmen

 

[HooperScooper]

Dude I’m not attacking him just trying to have a discussion on recruiting strategy. But contrary to what you’re saying he Was prioritizing two other freshmen so we could very well have had a big 4 recruit class. I hypothesized in my last post maybe he thought cooper and pat were the only freshmen he’d rather have than transfers. Do you buy that?

I do believe that. Hurley has said a few times recently that he's only taking recruits that he thinks can help the team win that have the characteristics he's looking for. Said he doesn't care about rankings and isn't going to fill a class for the sake of filling the class. I don't think he could have done that before the portal era. He'll now pivot to the portal and fill the holes. I believe that's why after missing on Ngongba and Flagg we really haven't heard much of anything about 2024 recruits.

UConn will be pretty attractive to a lot of transfers. Should be interesting to see who they target.

 

[Drame]

We”ll already have four 6’7” 6’8” guys on the team next year. Think we need other positions.

 

[caw]

We”ll already have four 6’7” 6’8” guys on the team next year. Think we need other positions.

If he can play the two/three he could still fit, theoretically.

 

[Umami Zen]

This staff has shown that they are very successful identifying program matches in their recruiting targets and then closing them. NIL and the portal has obviously changed the landscape for recruiting in the last few years. Dan Hurley has shown that he can pivot and adjust to this new environment.

Any recruit or target who does not understand (or appreciate) the focus our staff/team is putting on achieving our season goals is probably not a fit for us.

We'll be fine. Let's beat Providence and enjoy a fun week in NYC.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Gotta love this place. We are looking at another potential run and going back to back and we have throat punching going on about recruiting. I understand recruiting is now a 365 day situation, but when you are a fan of the countries best team, perhaps it would be good to enjoy the ride and the worry about next year when it’s time.

 

[aburks41]

There are very very few freshman who could come in next year and make an immediate impact. Even freshman year Hawkins wasn't anywhere close to what he gave us his sophomore season. We'll have a great core of Ball, Diarra (I assume he's back), Karaban (hopefully), Stewart, and Nowell. We'll need to go out to the portal and find another Cam Spencer and a veteran starting center. I love Samson but he isn't a starting caliber center in such a physical conference. He'll be a strong backup again though.

That would put us at 8 deep, and then we can still probably find a shooter to come off the bench which would get us to 9. I'm not sure how much Abraham or Ross would play next year so I'm not really counting them in the rotation depth. Next years roster is really going to come down to what we do at Center and how we can replace Cam. We got the best staff in the country. They'll find the perfect fit just like they always do

 

[Tenspro2002]

Karaban clone?

 

[kansashusky]

i dont think that's necessarily news. there's thousands of high school players that want to play for UConn but they have to be good enough to be recruited in the first place.

having said that you gotta make time for recruits like aristode. Hurley cast too small a net in 2024 and we're gonna have to strike gold in the transfer portal for the 3rd time in 3 years to make up for it.

I cannot stress enough, the staff didn’t love the talent pool of the 24 class and acted accordingly. Did we miss on targets, yes? But in this day and age, why reach for a kid and use resources if you don’t have to.

 

[jibsey]

Karaban clone?

Everybody will want him, wonder how we stand?

 

[dennismenace]

"In 30 games this season, he averaged 12.7 points (51% shooting), 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He also shot 46% from 3-point range (64 of 139) and was an 80% free throw shooter (56 of 70).15 hours ago

Oh yeah.

 

[jibsey]

You fill holes from the portal, you don't build a roster with it. We have a stud in Nowell and a project in Abraham coming in. If we can grab a 5 star, we need to do it.

For portal, Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers with two years of eligibility left (he'd be 25 in two years). If we can shake Patrick Ngongba away from Duke, that'd be OK too.

Duke has 4 five stars and 2 four stars coming next year on top of all the ones that are still on the roster. My question is simple. With some of their 5 and 4 star bigs certainly getting limited minutes and doing a lot of bench sitting, why wouldn’t you come to play for Hurley where you are guaranteed starting and big minutes?
Don’t we have room for 2 quality players aside from our class?

 

[superjohn]

Duke has 4 five stars and 2 four stars coming next year on top of all the ones that are still on the roster. My question is simple. With some of their 5 and 4 star bigs certainly getting limited minutes and doing a lot of bench sitting, why wouldn’t you come to play for Hurley where you are guaranteed starting and big minutes?
Don’t we have room for 2 quality players aside from our class?

Hurley isn't just going to take sloppy seconds because a kid is highly ranked. You should know that's not how he operates.

 

[husky429]

I cannot stress enough, the staff didn’t love the talent pool of the 24 class and acted accordingly. Did we miss on targets, yes? But in this day and age, why reach for a kid and use resources if you don’t have to.

People here are still having a hard time wrapping their heads around how much recruiting has changed. The 2024 class isn't even halfway done. The portal has changed everything.

There's little reason to make a reach for those low 4* and 3* players any more unless they are a perfect fit for our culture and have the right skillset. Because we can get a player who's ready for big minutes through the portal anyways and not have to wonder about if a freshman will develop.

 

[PNolanFan]

Duke has 4 five stars and 2 four stars coming next year on top of all the ones that are still on the roster. My question is simple. With some of their 5 and 4 star bigs certainly getting limited minutes and doing a lot of bench sitting, why wouldn’t you come to play for Hurley where you are guaranteed starting and big minutes?
Don’t we have room for 2 quality players aside from our class?

They are honestly projected to have like 8 bigs/forwards next years that are gonna want minutes. Will wait and see how it shakes out but i foresee them forcing big lineups on the court all season with no spacing and not enough ball handling

 

[superjohn]

I cannot stress enough, the staff didn’t love the talent pool of the 24 class and acted accordingly. Did we miss on targets, yes? But in this day and age, why reach for a kid and use resources if you don’t have to.

Yep, Hurley has been candid about that.

 

[gtcam]

I cannot stress enough, the staff didn’t love the talent pool of the 24 class and acted accordingly. Did we miss on targets, yes? But in this day and age, why reach for a kid and use resources if you don’t have to.

yeah, but if you don't reach out it looks bad for the program
In recruiting you throw out a huge net in order to catch a few keepers

 

[Deleted at users request]

There are very very few freshman who could come in next year and make an immediate impact. Even freshman year Hawkins wasn't anywhere close to what he gave us his sophomore season. We'll have a great core of Ball, Diarra (I assume he's back), Karaban (hopefully), Stewart, and Nowell. We'll need to go out to the portal and find another Cam Spencer and a veteran starting center. I love Samson but he isn't a starting caliber center in such a physical conference. He'll be a strong backup again though.

That would put us at 8 deep, and then we can still probably find a shooter to come off the bench which would get us to 9. I'm not sure how much Abraham or Ross would play next year so I'm not really counting them in the rotation depth. Next years roster is really going to come down to what we do at Center and how we can replace Cam. We got the best staff in the country. They'll find the perfect fit just like they always do

Me, resisting the urge to give my freshman year Hawkins take for the 50th time.

 

[AllHusky]

Hurley is an amazing recruiter. I don’t think 2024 went how he wanted it too.

Not going according to plan is getting a top 30 player and another close to top 50 player though with winning traits though.

yeah, but if you don't reach out it looks bad for the program
In recruiting you throw out a huge net in order to catch a few keepers

Who gives a rats rearend what it looks like?? The only thing that matters is the results. If Hurley and Co swing and miss, guess what, they are going to get right back in the batters box and be ready for that 100mph fastball again.

 

[TheHorde]

Who gives a rats rearend what it looks like?? The only thing that matters is the results. If Hurley and Co swing and miss, guess what, they are going to get right back in the batters box and be ready for that 100mph fastball again.

And might well be doing so off back to back championships. The team’s success hopefully is breeding a new generation of recruits whose “dream school” is UConn.

 

[jibsey]

Hurley isn't just going to take sloppy seconds because a kid is highly ranked. You should know that's not how he operates.

Sloppy seconds? 5 star sloppy seconds? Most of these kids are highly competitive and want to play and win, AND play in the NBA. Yeah they need to have a good attitude but I’m pretty sure that Hurley would filter out any prima Donna’s to fit into his system.

 

[aburks41]

Me, resisting the urge to give my freshman year Hawkins take for the 50th time.

Not sure what your freshman Hawkins take is but we don't win the title last year with freshman year version of Hawkins. The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores. I'll take an experienced vet from the portal to plug in whatever needs we will have to fill this offseason over any freshman not named Cooper Flagg

 

[Umami Zen]

My two cents. 2024 recruiting class isn't close to being done. However, until we are through with our season and the tournaments- And season-ending exit interviews happen with eligible players. Enjoy this season with this team.

Reclassifications happen-Portal happens over the next 4 to 5 months-Coaches get fired-move on. Way too much beyond your control to speculate on until its time to worry about next year's roster.

More focused on Win#28 and beyond.