Another big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.Just for comparison's sake, last year for ESPN it was:
Stephon Castle #12
Solomon Ball #33
Jayden Ross #84
Jaylin Stewart #95
Youssouf Singare UNR
So McNeeley would be higher ranked than Castle, and Nowell is nearly the same ranking as Ball.
It's clear that ESPN underranked Stewart, who appears more ready to contribute next year than Ross. But who knows, Ross might surprise us all next year after another offseason of work.
McNeeley would be the highest ranked player on ESPN's list to commit to UConn since Andre Drummond (#2) in 2011.
Another big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.
He showed several glimpses of what is to comeAnother big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.
Isaiah Abraham seems to be regarded as an afterthought when posters speculate about rosters, rotations, and playing time.
The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated. A final ranking of 58 seems to have gotten more of a ho-hum response, I suppose, because his offensive stats & skills haven't leaped out. I'm interested in seeing how he fits with the program.
Seems like he had a good few months to close out his HS career, but the narrative hasn't quite caught up yet. He was ranked #79 by ESPN when he committed to us, now 58th. But the portal players are shiny yet experienced things, so it's easy to get enamored. That and he has some positional overlap with McNeeley, so presumably he's getting lowered down 1 rung if McNeeley commits.Isaiah Abraham seems to be regarded as an afterthought when posters speculate about rosters, rotations, and playing time.
The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated. A final ranking of 58 seems to have gotten more of a ho-hum response, I suppose, because his offensive stats & skills haven't leaped out. I'm interested in seeing how he fits with the program.
I agree, Hans. Most of these so called experts on here had similar reactions to Clingan just a couple years ago.Isaiah Abraham seems to be regarded as an afterthought when posters speculate about rosters, rotations, and playing time.
The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated. A final ranking of 58 seems to have gotten more of a ho-hum response, I suppose, because his offensive stats & skills haven't leaped out. I'm interested in seeing how he fits with the program.
I admittedly only saw him twice but both games against HS teams that were sending most of their players to D-1, the best competition. He’s a better player than we think we’re getting I think. Obviously small sample but he does a lot well while being very physically and athletically gifted. Think he finds minutes next year. But of course that depends on the portal hits too.
I agree was easily one of the best players on the court during his teams games in the Chipotle National Championships. He was effective on offense and was a really talented player on defense. He will be a major contributorIsaiah Abraham seems to be regarded as an afterthought when posters speculate about rosters, rotations, and playing time.
The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated. A final ranking of 58 seems to have gotten more of a ho-hum response, I suppose, because his offensive stats & skills haven't leaped out. I'm interested in seeing how he fits with the program.
Another big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.
i think the days of hoping that our 3 and 4* recruits are actually good enough to beat out our returning players are over. now we reserve that optimism for our 5* recruits and transfers.The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated.
Another big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.
There's definitely some truth in this.i think the days of hoping that our 3 and 4* recruits are actually good enough to beat out our returning players are over. now we reserve that optimism for our 5* recruits and transfers.
Donovan was ranked something like 72, right?I agree, Hans. Most of these so called experts on here had similar reactions to Clingan just a couple years ago.
He showed several glimpses of what is toAnother big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.
clingan 56 actuallyDonovan was ranked something like 72, right?
But, on the overall topic of roster construction, I do expect the landscape to change every year for the foreseeable future. Look at the many ways this coaching staff could have gotten caught flat-footed every single year, and look at how it has absorbed surprises, pivoted, anticipated, adjusted, acted, and grown...and then look at the many other programs that haven't.
The predictions and speculations that based on incomplete information continue pretty much like it's just another off-season.
Anxious impatience, high ambitions, and higher expectations are the new normal. Not for everybody of course, but for many. Probably too many.
I won’t. Anyone that says Ball was a miss is a moron. Tell me who he was gonna play over? We went 37-3 and won a NC. Tell me exactly where he was supposed to fit in once Castle came back healthy.Going to avoid insults here, but the answer is just so screamingly obvious. So, so obvious.
Ball plays the same position as Stephen Castle. Castle is pretty good.
Ball got a lot of minutes when Castle was injured and you can go right to the Butler game to see where he handed those minutes back to Castle - once Castle was ready to go 30-36 minutes a night, those minutes came from Ball.
To answer the anticipated response, “But Jaylin got minutes…”, Jaylin Stewart is a 6’7” wing playing an entirely different game. With Cam, Tristen, Stephon….another combo guard was not going to see time.
I just looked and 24/7 showed 73rd, which is what I was recalling.clingan 56 actually
Abraham is going to be a good player. I think people minimize him thinking he was only part of failed package dealI just looked and 24/7 showed 73rd, which is what I was recalling.
Still, in addition to ESPN showing 56, I just saw Rivals and On3 both higher than ESPN. I'm not going to bother to look for a consensus. I agree with you, and my greater interest was noting that Abraham at 58 is pretty good .
Isaiah Abraham seems to be regarded as an afterthought when posters speculate about rosters, rotations, and playing time.
The common Boneyard inclination is to regard many UConn recruits as underrated, and rarely overrated. A final ranking of 58 seems to have gotten more of a ho-hum response, I suppose, because his offensive stats & skills haven't leaped out. I'm interested in seeing how he fits with the program.
Not a question at all and certainly not a “big” question.Another big question is whether Ball was a miss or whether he was just buried behind other guys who out-performed him.