Entering the portal - 2026 | Page 25 | The Boneyard

Entering the portal - 2026

upstater said:
We always need 3 PGs regardless, but the highly recruited #37 player has been the backup-future-starting PG in training since forever. And they've been ranked anywhere from #15 (Kemba) to #65 or so (Napier). But we've seen a long string of them from Marcus Williams to AJ Price to Kemba Walker to Napier to Boatright. Things may have changed under Hurley but I will note that he has always recruited a PG to come in (but of course, they've been somewhat underwhelming and transferred twice after their first season, and once before they even got here). That's a scouting problem, but I sense it's still part of the philosophy.
Expand ...
Yeah I would like it if the train of thought was we need to recruit a 3rd Millender level insurance PG, who may actually be the Euro we already have.

Rather than it be we need to recruit over the 36th ranked guard in the country that could’ve went to half of the schools in the Sweet 16 this year. Quite literally had offers from 8 of those schools.

Really don’t want to go through another year of sitting a highly ranked guard on the bench man.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
Yeah, only two.........

LMFAO
Expand ...
Do you watch a lot of JUCO ball? Not going to fault a kid for transferring up (like Stirtz). Not sure what's entirely funny about it. When I tune into D1 hoops and see AJ Storr or PJ Haggerty on their 4th high D1 team, nausea sets in. At least Yaxel was always upgrading competition.
 
HW611 said:
Yeah I would like it if the train of thought was we need to recruit a 3rd Millender level insurance PG, who may actually be the Euro we already have.

Rather than it be we need to recruit over the 36th ranked guard in the country that could’ve went to half of the schools in the Sweet 16 this year. Quite literally had offers from 8 of those schools.

Really don’t want to go through another year of sitting a highly ranked guard on the bench man.
Expand ...
Much more curious as to who we retain in the current than who we're getting.
 
.-.
HW611 said:
Yeah I would like it if the train of thought was we need to recruit a 3rd Millender level insurance PG, who may actually be the Euro we already have.

Rather than it be we need to recruit over the 36th ranked guard in the country that could’ve went to half of the schools in the Sweet 16 this year. Quite literally had offers from 8 of those schools.

Really don’t want to go through another year of sitting a highly ranked guard on the bench man.
Expand ...
You referring to Nowell? He was awful.
 
RuffRuff said:
Expand ...

1775668184525.png

2nd time leaving his dad
 
boog204 said:
You referring to Nowell? He was awful.
Expand ...
Nowell, Diggins, etc. it’s been 8 years. Would like for this to be the year we have a successful guard we’ve identified, recruited, and planned to play for us.
 
HW611 said:
Nowell, Diggins, etc. it’s been 8 years. Would like for this to be the year we have a successful guard we’ve identified, recruited, and planned to play for us.
Expand ...
Who cares with this developing PG stuff - Michigan just won it by finding someone else's bad goods at PG. Many ways to skin a cat and that way doesn't seem like the one that works most often, and it's not 2011 anymore. Imposing your preference for how it was done in an era long ago isn't called adapting, it's called holding on.

We came within 4 awful calls of winning a title with a new PG from the portal. Clayton, portal. Newton, portal.

Let's see how we do against Michigan here for what I would think is a real rim protector - haven't seen him, but 7'3".

 
.-.
RuffRuff said:
Who cares with this developing PG stuff - Michigan just won it by finding someone else's bad goods at PG. Many ways to skin a cat and that way doesn't seem like the one that works most often, and it's not 2011 anymore. Imposing your preference for how it was done in an era long ago isn't called adapting, it's called holding on.

We came within 4 awful calls of winning a title with a new PG from the portal. Clayton, portal. Newton, portal.

Let's see how we do against Michigan here for what I would think is a real rim protector - haven't seen him, but 7'3".

Expand ...

Does this account mean anything? It has 450 followers
 
RuffRuff said:
Do you watch a lot of JUCO ball? Not going to fault a kid for transferring up (like Stirtz). Not sure what's entirely funny about it. When I tune into D1 hoops and see AJ Storr or PJ Haggerty on their 4th high D1 team, nausea sets in. At least Yaxel was always upgrading competition.
Expand ...
What I find funny is the idea that you're holding up a kid who in six months could steal the line "seven years of college down the drain" as some bastion of virtue.

He spent three years at a two year (junior) college, then two years at another school prior to transferring Michigan.

Yes, it was completely allowable per the NCAA so I am not about to claim he did anything wrong. Claiming (as you did) that Michigan (unlike the brothels as you called them) didn't have anyone who played for three plus teams is completely disingenuous.



RuffRuff said:
Would love a one time transfer rule - the worst part of the portal is seeing players on 3+ teams. It feels like a basketball brothel. At least Michigan didn't have any of that.
Expand ...
 
Kemba15 said:
Does this account mean anything? It has 450 followers
Expand ...
The info is correct, but more so useful for sorting out players we’ve contacted via different sources. He has no insider info himself as far as I’m aware.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
What I find funny is the idea that you're holding up a kid who in six months could steal the line "seven years of college down the drain" as some bastion of virtue.

He spent three years at a two year (junior) college, then two years at another school prior to transferring Michigan.

Yes, it was completely allowable per the NCAA so I am not about to claim he did anything wrong. Claiming (as you did) that Michigan (unlike the brothels as you called them) didn't have anyone who played for three plus teams is completely disingenuous.
Expand ...
Do up think he moved from JUCO to UAB for NIL? He's not some privelaged kid looking for the highest bidding on an annual rotation. If anything, he has a good story. His story is not Rob Wright's story - a Montverde kid going on his third High D1 school in 3 years.
 
HW611 said:
The narrative of non-elite freshman PG not being able to contribute is a false one that is only based on a UConn centric view. I suggest you do research and see what the actual hit rate for those guys are as rotational players. I think you’d be surprised.
Expand ...
In year one? No, I don’t think I would be.
 
We need 3-4 portal players depending on Mullins right? With the number of high quality players declaring it sounds like a tough task to get your own roster players back.
 
.-.
Excalibur said:
In year one? No, I don’t think I would be.
Expand ...
Yes, in year 1.

Then follow up that research to see how those guys who got on the court year one played the following year after having the chance to get their feet wet.

It’s a pretty consistent pattern. But guys have to actually play to be put in position to make that jump.
 
dennismenace said:
Hurley saw 6-5 Tristen Newton at East Carolina who lit us up. He has now seen Wilkins. He already knows if he wants this young man. Patience is a virtue.
Expand ...
And so is the "Early bird catches the worm!"

Portal hoppers are already coming off the board. I'm sure some staff members were hard at work figuring out what Portal prospects would be good fits and likely available.

I would think our brand is sky high still after playing in the championship game.

Identifying prospects that fit what we need and our culture is one thing, landing them with so much competition and NIL money being thrown around is another.

Also, keep in mind what potential UConn returning players decide to do factors in with what the staff will prioritize as well as what type of competition for PT a prospective portal prospect perceives when making their decision.

While most program staffs have had their conversations with one another as well as their potential returning and departing players, UConn, along with the the other Final 4 programs were left little time to focus on this and have those challenging discussions with their players who still have eligibility left before the portal opened up.

Also note the time some of the players need to evaluate their situations. I'd imagine Mullins needs to...well...mull over his options, and it might take a while to gage the level of NBA interest and how high he could potentially get drafted in the upcoming draft.

I'm sure some of the others who have eligibility are weighing their options. Note I'm not suggesting or predicting what any of them will decide or what the coaching staff will do.

It's got to be an extremely difficult situation for all involved, coaches and players alike. Add to that the timing challenge, which I am responding to. I wish they had the following:

A portal entry start and end date.

A portal signing start and end date that doesn't start till a couple weeks after the portal opens up.

And a Portal close date that ends a little before the signing period ends.

I'm not aware what they have in place. A couple years ago we were fortunate to lose out on a player who chose KU over us and we ended up picking up afterwards Cam Spencer instead who was a late portal entry and we all know how that worked out.
 
One thing everyone needs to realize is Dan Hurley is not going to cast a wide net.

His standard operating procedure with the portal is:

a) assess the team's needs
b) identify players who appear to fit those needs
c) seriously pursue a narrow, focused short list of players to add to the program

Our results have been borderline exceptional using this approach.

The only thing preventing it from being an immaculate track record is the result from recruiting Mahany. Dan Hurley basically stated that prior success (Calcaterra, Spencer) had him believing that he could target anyone of that profile and the kid would overperform once he got here. Fortunately for us, Dan Hurley has been very good (since the 2022 tournament) at identifying his own misjudgements and taking steps to correct them.
 
.-.
The portal is a feeding frenzy with sharks in the water. The share number of players entering the portal is like a frickin bate ball. I just don't know how the coaching staffs keep their sanity trying to figure out what they are losing, who they might want to add and who they can actually get and afford. It's absolute madness. I'm surprised more coaches don't just quite and find another profession.

I'm all for the players making money from their NIL. They should share part of the pie, but there has to be a better way to navigate all this.

What I do find fascinating is what you actually get based on what a players prior performance at their prior programs. My guess is Cam provided more than we and even the staff ever imagined. Similar with what Lendeborg brought to the table for Michigan, as an example. Some players under perform based on their past while others exceed.

When it comes to the portal it is buyer beware.
 
FfldCntyFan said:
One thing everyone needs to realize is Dan Hurley is not going to cast a wide net.

His standard operating procedure with the portal is:

a) assess the team's needs
b) identify players who appear to fit those needs
c) seriously pursue a narrow, focused short list of players to add to the program

Our results have been borderline exceptional using this approach.

The only thing preventing it from being an immaculate track record is the result from recruiting Mahany. Dan Hurley basically stated that prior success (Calcaterra, Spencer) had him believing that he could target anyone of that profile and the kid would overperform once he got here. Fortunately for us, Dan Hurley has been very good (since the 2022 tournament) at identifying his own misjudgements and taking steps to correct them.
Expand ...
Well said. Another hurdle for Dan/UConn during this year's portal period. He's got a coaching spot open vacated by Luke. Limits broadband on player searches/evals until filled.
 
Last year, the portal was open from March 24 to April 22 with the national Championship played on April 7. This year, the portal is open from April 7 to April 21 with the National Championship on April 6. Thus, a more condensed time period to enter the portal.

Last year, Smith entered the portal on 3/24 and committed on 4/14. Demary entered the portal on 3/27 and committed on 4/3.
 
DogMania said:
The portal is a feeding frenzy with sharks in the water. The share number of players entering the portal is like a frickin bate ball. I just don't know how the coaching staffs keep their sanity trying to figure out what they are losing, who they might want to add and who they can actually get and afford. It's absolute madness. I'm surprised more coaches don't just quite and find another profession.

I'm all for the players making money from their NIL. They should share part of the pie, but there has to be a better way to navigate all this.

What I do find fascinating is what you actually get based on what a players prior performance at their prior programs. My guess is Cam provided more than we and even the staff ever imagined. Similar with what Lendeborg brought to the table for Michigan, as an example. Some players under perform based on their past while others exceed.

When it comes to the portal it is buyer beware.
Expand ...
Lendeborg was the #1 rated player in the portal. He would've been a 1st round pick if he had declared. Cam was a top 50, somewhere in the 30s out of the portal.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,335
Messages
4,565,171
Members
10,465
Latest member
agiglax


Top Bottom