Freshmen Standouts Outplaying their Rankings

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Evans Seven: Freshmen outplaying their Rivals rankings

These seven players were all held in high esteem, but they're proving to be even better than expected.

basketballrecruiting.rivals.com

bouk #2

rivals had him in the 80s which is crazy. 247 had him in the 60s and that's still too low.

 

[my2cents]

He is an incredible talent, nothing else to say.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This morning I temember a First Night segment devoted to an acrobatic dunk by Bouk. He failed to make the basket 5 or 6 times before finally succeeding. With each miss, it was clear that there was support from teammates to give it another try. The persistence seemed initially odd, but eventually became a, "They must think it's worth it" thing. I took this as a huge vote of support for a freshman during his first introduction, and filed that impression away.

In retrospect, this is all the more meaningful because the incident that shortly after First Night came out in the media had occurred before First Night. Clearly it had not diminished enthusiasm & excitement by coaches and players for his skills.

 

[intlzncster]

One of the keys to the Hurley rebuild was getting lucky with a few mid range recruits who turn out to be studs.

1. Bouk: got injured and was under-recruited by top schools. Kimani Young already had a connect with him before being hired. Both worked in our favor
2. Andre Jackson: Appears to be an absolute stud. The shot keeping him from being a Top 20, maybe even Top 10 guy.

Getting dudes like this on the roster early is critical for a quicker rebuild.

 

[Citrusdog]

I guess we should trust Hurley and staff. They know what they are doing.

 

[Apollo]

He is an incredible talent, nothing else to say.

Post/ handle. Nailed it!

 

[rayrayfor3]

This morning I temember a First Night segment devoted to an acrobatic dunk by Bouk. He failed to make the basket 5 or 6 times before finally succeeding. With each miss, it was clear that there was support from teammates to give it another try. The persistence seemed initially odd, but eventually became a, "They must think it's worth it" thing. I took this as a huge vote of support for a freshman during his first introduction, and filed that impression away.

In retrospect, this is all the more meaningful because the incident that shortly after First Night came out in the media had occurred before First Night. Clearly it had not diminished enthusiasm & excitement by coaches and players for his skills.

I literally forgot about the incident until you just mentioned it. Seems like forever ago. We are now in the bouk era and there's no looking back.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I guess we should trust Hurley and staff. They know what they are doing.

King Kofi as #4 on the list. Hurley seems to have his eye on the right surprise recruits. What else does he know, JFK's assassin perhaps?

 

[UconnU]

King Kofi as #4 on the list. Hurley seems to have his eye on the right surprise recruits. What else does he know, JFK's assassin perhaps?

Coach Hurley’s recruiting style seems to be polar opposite of Kevin’s. He seems to offer far less kids putting more time and resources into each one, he recruits for roles rather than general talent/rankings, the kids he recruits seem to have better heads on their shoulders.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Coach Hurley’s recruiting style seems to be polar opposite of Kevin’s. He seems to offer far less kids putting more time and resources into each one, he recruits for roles rather than general talent/rankings, the kids he recruits seem to have better heads on their shoulders.

I don't disagree with you, but Bouk already got in trouble. We all know Kevin flew too close to the sun, but he did have some tough bounces on the recruiting trail. Point is, what Hurley is doing seems to be working so far. Bouk has well exceeded my expectations.

 

[UconnU]

One thing that should help us with recruiting is that when you look around the high majors in the northeast we are one of the better situations right now. Cuse, BC, Providence, St John’s, Rutgers, G-Town... all question marks or flat out bad situations. Our only real competition for high major talent who want to stay close to home are Seton Hall and Nova.

 

[UConnSwag11]

There was an article from ESPN about the freshman. Anyone have it?

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[HooperScooper]

There was an article from ESPN about the freshman. Anyone have it?

This one?

Better than expected

James Bouknight, UConn: After missing the first three games of the season due to suspension, Bouknight has provided much-needed scoring pop for the Huskies. He had 19 points, including several clutch baskets, in a double-overtime loss to Xavier, and he has totaled 28 points over his past two outings. Bouknight is averaging 13.8 points thus far.

College basketball freshman scorecard: Standouts and surprises

College basketball's top freshmen are again creating a lot of buzz, but some under-the-radar youngsters are thriving as well.

www.espn.com

 

[sledog]

Akak???

 

[Kitaman]

Akak???

Akok is not putting up numbers to gain national attention (sans blocks) right now. You just have to see him play to realize his talents and potential. But looking at the box score, game recap or post game write-ups he's not the focus. To me I don't mind cuz it will help keep him here longer.