2026 Recruiting: Dylan Mingo Official Visit this weekend!

[SoCalCanine]

This argument doesn't make a lot of sense either.

Not making sense is a time-honored Boneyard tradition.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Portal not great if you need a specific player. Given we don't know who Hurley and staff actually wanted, we just know who they got, suffice to say we got Silas, Malachi, Alec and Dwayne and 3 of the 4 aren't starting and 2 are possibly beyond the 10 person cut line. We then went and got 2 euro recruits to backfill even more. If the portal was great we would have gotten better players and would be in the top 10 of transfer recruits - we are not.

This is a legitimately weird observation. First, the staff targeted Demery right out of the gate for the specific purpose of playing the Tristen Newton role and they got him. I think it's fair to say by all available measures that they "wanted" him.

Smith was recruited to back up Demery and be a change of pace guy off the bench so to imply that wasn't a success when that's the role he's going to be playing is a bit strange. Ditto for Millender and Koroma who were recruited to provide insurance in a crowded backcourt and a front court with a starting 4 and 5 and backup 5 (and probably 4) already penciled in. In other words the staff targeted all these guys for specific roles and they are filling those roles. That's about as ideal as it gets in terms of using the portal.

You must be one of those people who thinks a really good team is going to sign 4 starting caliber major conference players at each position out of the portal. You don't really seem to pay any attention to the fact that it's a roster that's being built, not a fantasy team.

 

[fatlucy]

Can they play together like Newton and Castle, leaning more towards two point guards?

This is probably a major selling point they’ll emphasize. We have a record breaking national championship to prove it.

 

[RuffRuff]

It would just be nice to keep the streak of annual burger boy going. 3 years running & counting.

 

[ec33]

If you are raising an Abraham, Nowell, Diggins, and Floyd, I am calling. It's pretty clear for HS recruits you want top 20, even top 10 like a Castle or a Liam or Mullins - every HS recruit carries risk, but less so the more highly rated and reviewed.

Portal not great if you need a specific player. Given we don't know who Hurley and staff actually wanted, we just know who they got, suffice to say we got Silas, Malachi, Alec and Dwayne and 3 of the 4 aren't starting and 2 are possibly beyond the 10 person cut line. We then went and got 2 euro recruits to backfill even more. If the portal was great we would have gotten better players and would be in the top 10 of transfer recruits - we are not. So while for HS recruits we all are in the know on who the team wants, we are not for transfers. For those reasons, the portal is good, not great.

Portal not good for insurance: We get our recruits first (Mullins, Furphy, Reibe, Adams) for 2025-2026. Then comes the season and at the end guys transfer out, or go NBA and you hit the portal. You are both running the risk of bringing in talent that makes a HS recruit leave (a la Adams), but you also know the top 10-15 guys by position and you make your pitches for the ones you need and want. Then it's musical chairs for the most part and players go where they like (we didn't get Haggerty, didn't get Stirtz, but we got Silas and Malachi). We got Koroma and Millender who are really cheap as insurance goes with not a lot of upside if they get thrown into action. If the portal was great for insurance we wouldn't have gotten the 2 Euro recruits. I can remember vividly the calls for another big from the portal and it just wasn't happening. That's why I said it cannot be used for insurance.

They got exactly what they wanted out of the portal and pretty much knocked it out of the park:
-- They wanted a starting PG and they got the starting PG at the top of the major programs lists.
-- They wanted a backup PG and it is hard to complain about getting an A10 PG to come off the bench (and I don't think we yet appreciate how big of a piece Smith is going to be).
-- They wanted a 3rd string Singare replacement and they brought in a guy who scored more points in one game against UConn than Singare scored for UConn in two years. (Any complaints about not being a 7' with middle school basketball proficiency were addressed in the last round of roster fillers.)
--And if Karaban had gone pro, they would have simply brought in one of the half-dozen European pros they checked in on.

As far as major players, they brought in 2 transfers and 3 freshman to go with the 5 existing pieces. I am not sure where there is room to complain about this mix. That seems a good balance (and I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't a very similar mix next year).

 

[cwh20]

The portal is not perfect and that is a huge overstatement to say it is as I raise you an Aidan Mahaney.

There’s always a chance a new player is a bust but come on. Portal guys are more proven than HS recruits so there is less risk. Let’s talk Newton, Diarra, Calcaterra, Alleyne, Cam, and Reed, Jr. They certainly did the job. I think Demary and the rest this year are going to be fine and that’s what the coaches think. Time will tell how well they actually click. Mahaney was a sought after transfer. You can’t pick him out of all the portal guys to say the portal is of little value. There was more wrong with the team last year than Mahaney. He wasn’t a great fit but of course that is going to happen sometimes.

The portal players and HS recruits are both important in filling out a roster.

 

[lateralous]

You must be one of those people who thinks a really good team is going to sign 4 starting caliber major conference players at each position out of the portal.

aka the Rick Pitino/St John's way of roster building.

 

[6&counting]

Mingo's photoshoot today

 

[RuffRuff]

There’s always a chance a new player is a bust but come on. Portal guys are more proven than HS recruits so there is less risk. Let’s talk Newton, Diarra, Calcaterra, Alleyne, Cam, and Reed, Jr. They certainly did the job. I think Demary and the rest this year are going to be fine and that’s what the coaches think. Time will tell how well they actually click. Mahaney was a sought after transfer. You can’t pick him out of all the portal guys to say the portal is of little value. There was more wrong with the team last year than Mahaney. He wasn’t a great fit but of course that is going to happen sometimes.

The portal players and HS recruits are both important in filling out a roster.

I'm pretty sure Mahaney is going to be a one time mistake - staff made that choice in a vacuum. I don't expect them to make that kind of mistake again.

I honestly don't know how truly heavily pursued the kid really was - suitors were Virginia, Creighton and I believe Kentucky (who needed a brand new roster). Staff was a little drunk off the B2B.

 

[6&counting]

Wonder if there is a way Temery could spin off the ADD arguments into a different thread when they stop being about the subject line of the thread. Right now the only recourse is to lock the thread unfortunately

 

[HW611]

Its crazy to get a recruit like this on campus and feel pretty confident we can get him.

If its not an NIL recruitment I feel really good about this staffs ability to close. He'd pretty much be Castle out there (even though I still need to watch film to see if he's as special as Castle was).

Not worried about the shooting if he can play defense, drive, and create at the level Castle did.

 

[HW611]

Film:


He definitely has the size and length to be an elite guard defender. He's on the more slight size but it won't matter at that position. Just wouldn't want him guarding strong upperclassmen 3s like a Terrance Shannon the way Castle would for example.

Offensively he seems smooth and the mid range work is butter. Don't know how it would fit in our offense but that's definitely looks to be a big strength of his. More crafty than athletic. Like he'd probably have to be on the SGA path to be an elite scorer.

When it comes to his shooting (some might hate this) its the dip in his jump shot that looks to cause the inconsistencies. If he practices a higher starting point instead of starting from his hip and below he can have a more consistent and efficient jump shot. His motion is way too long as is.

He looks like another one of those crafty score first guards in the SGA mold though leaning more on the scoring side than playmaker side.

 

[Son of Robert]

Film:


He definitely has the size and length to be an elite guard defender. He's on the more slight size but it won't matter at that position. Just wouldn't want him guarding strong upperclassmen 3s like a Terrance Shannon the way Castle would for example.

Offensively he seems smooth and the mid range work is butter. Don't know how it would fit in our offense but that's definitely looks to be a big strength of his. More crafty than athletic. Like he'd probably have to be on the SGA path to be an elite scorer.

When it comes to his shooting (some might hate this) its the dip in his jump shot that looks to cause the inconsistencies. If he practices a higher starting point instead of starting from his hip and below he can have a more consistent and efficient jump shot. His motion is way too long as is.

He looks like another one of those crafty score first guards in the SGA mold though leaning more on the scoring side than playmaker side.

Mingo plays both crafty and athletic, what could be better? Right off the rip reminds me of how Tristen Newton plays. On this level he finds the spaces, the room to drive or shoot, and he uses that wingspan length well.

 

[RuffRuff]

Mingo plays both crafty and athletic, what could be better? Right off the rip reminds me of how Tristen Newton plays. On this level he finds the spaces, the room to drive or shoot, and he uses that wingspan length well.

Love the fit - also have to think LIL Ross is selling it. I like our chances. Weird group of schools, maybe the big names are backing off knowing he’s a done deal. Second tier schools with $$ think they can buy him.

 

[HW611]

Mingo plays both crafty and athletic, what could be better? Right off the rip reminds me of how Tristen Newton plays. On this level he finds the spaces, the room to drive or shoot, and he uses that wingspan length well.

I don't see much above the rim athleticism. More so length like you said. Castle was a big athlete that was both explosive and powerful. See more graceful from Mingo (which to harper back to SGA is more how he plays anyways).

If he comes here he'd definitely need to have the ball in his hands to be effective. Castle was just really special when it came to making his off ball ability work without a jump shot.

 

[PAHusky]

Who lot of talk in this thread and not a word about who’s camped out at the Capital grille or posted at the car wash, getting soft

 

[pj]

When it comes to his shooting (some might hate this) its the dip in his jump shot that looks to cause the inconsistencies. If he practices a higher starting point instead of starting from his hip and below he can have a more consistent and efficient jump shot. His motion is way too long as is.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but the only cases I saw 'starting from his hip' were off the dribble. He has long arms and a low dribble which is good, and starting low off the dribble is good for deception. As long as he can pass so he has multiple options in the time it takes to get the ball up, this may be the perfect way for him to play. And he can pass.

 

[Mister P]

Mingo plays both crafty and athletic, what could be better? Right off the rip reminds me of how Tristen Newton plays. On this level he finds the spaces, the room to drive or shoot, and he uses that wingspan length well.

Mingos overall play, especially the crafty and methodical way he penetrates the defense, gives me Kadary Richmond vibes. If he can also play defense as well as Kadary did, he could be star for us.

 

[auror]

Love the fit - also have to think LIL Ross is selling it. I like our chances. Weird group of schools, maybe the big names are backing off knowing he’s a done deal. Second tier schools with $$ think they can buy him.

I have no insight into what he is thinking. But say I was a top recruit, and I had a few high level coaches/schools I really liked (say a UConn, UNC, Alabama top 3). Would I visit them first, or visit a few schools with big bags willing to pay at the top end of the market first so that I can take those offers to the better programs and get myself some negotiating leverage at the places I actually wanted to be? I don't know if the NIL agents are this sophisticated with their planning, but it's a possible scenario.

 

[HW611]

Perhaps I'm missing something, but the only cases I saw 'starting from his hip' were off the dribble. He has long arms and a low dribble which is good, and starting low off the dribble is good for deception. As long as he can pass so he has multiple options in the time it takes to get the ball up, this may be the perfect way for him to play. And he can pass.

Nah man thsts not how shooting works.

Like a pass in football, its best for passers to have throwing motions that are short, compact, and repeatable.

The elongated release just leaves more margin for error and makes it harder to be repeatable.

I know its a running joke on the board but there's real physics and reasoning to why its best to remove “dips” from jump shots. There's multiple NBA players these days that won't even bring it down to their chest now when they shoot sometimes (and I don't have the numbers but those shots seem to go down often).

 

[drayenob]

Who lot of talk in this thread and not a word about who’s camped out at the Capital grille or posted at the car wash, getting soft

Flemings this time

 

[Kembacity]

Love that we’ve got a top 10 kid on campus and old farts are here leaving their dissertations explaining that after watching some tape they DO think the kid’s good enough to play at UConn.

Thank God Hurley and staff got the go ahead from you guys!