2023 Recruiting: Gavin Griffiths back from injury...

[Hungryhusky99]

Coleman maybe? I am not willing to roast Hurley yet either but Gavin seemed teed up and he is a specialist at our biggest need.

We have offered two team Melo guys, but not Coleman yet.

 

[Mooch82]

Yeah would seem to be really silly if we've back off here. Athletic, local shooter in the top 50? What's not to like?

I guess I'm also a bit confused about the class of 2023 in general. We've been told by a few insiders that Castle was just the start of a monster 2023 class...but it almost seems like we are starting over with a ton of new names that we've been tied to lately. The guys that I thought were going to make up the "monster class" after Castle (Edwards, TBB, Griffiths, Miranda, etc.) all seem to be out of the picture or there are conflicting reports in regards to our interest level (Griffiths and TBB). Anyone have any thoughts here?

 

[Jbirdp5]

If I recall the perception was also that we weren’t really recruiting karaban either and then he turned into a commitment. I’ll let it play out a bit longer before I’m gettin g pissed at Hurley.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

I'm gonna wait until we actually stop recruiting him and miss on him before I start complaining. I know that's a crazy concept

Seriously. The Hurley haters and "objective critics" will take the smallest crumbs of potential info (whether ultimately true or not) and use them to fuel the same tired complaints, piss&moan sessions. Its exhausting to read.

Unfortunately (fortunately) , some of these posters can post good/very good things more than occasionally so I find it hard to block them.

 

[husky429]

If I recall the perception was also that we weren’t really recruiting karaban either and then he turned into a commitment. I’ll let it play out a bit longer before I’m gettin g pissed at Hurley.

We watched everyone one of his games last summer. This isn't quite accurate.

 

[navery12]

If I recall the perception was also that we weren’t really recruiting karaban either and then he turned into a commitment. I’ll let it play out a bit longer before I’m gettin g pissed at Hurley.

We watched everyone one of his games last summer. This isn't quite accurate.

That's why it'll be interesting to see who we focus on during the summer, those are the guys the staff is usually pushing for an OV and commitment for in August. But this time last year the overwhelming feeling on the board was we dropped the ball on Karaban

2022 Alex Karaban

@Ricker, just keeping you updated.

the-boneyard.com

 

[Jbirdp5]

We watched everyone one of his games last summer. This isn't quite accurate.

That is true, but before the we got hot for him at the end the prevailing feeling was we weren’t putting that much effort into him. Wouldn’t you say that is accurate?

 

[husky429]

That is true, but before the we got hot for him at the end the prevailing feeling was we weren’t putting that much effort into him. Wouldn’t you say that is accurate?

Sure. And playing catch-up like that isn't going to work for many (or most) recruits.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Something to consider...roster makeup is so fluid with the transfer market that it might start taking a bit longer for recruiting strategies and priorities to shake out because even coaches don't know what the gaps in the roster will look like 6-12 months from now.

Coaches (hurley in particular after Floyd bouncing) might not be spending as much effort on that mid-top 100/fringe contributor out of HS because they might be available again in a year or 2 after they're a bit more tested and polished...just a thought before we get our collective panties in a twist

That said I'm a big fan of GG and want him here as a husky! And speaking of shooters...what happened to the Gtown kid who blew up in peach jam(?) last year that we were after hard then cooled on right at the end? I'm assuming everyone transferred out of there so is he available again?

 

[olehead]

Am I being to greedy to ask for Griffiths and Coleman? Their games are distinct.

Love Griffiths and his stroke is a thing of beauty. Coleman is a sheer bucket-getter, he has no fear. He's 6'6" and long, wingspan is impressive. Have to get both of these guys who claim UConn is/was their dream school. How can we mi$$ on these two??

There are other factors of course impacting Griffiths decision, one of which being Bol Bowen going somewhere else and convincing Griffiths to do likewise. Coleman is now being looked at as a possible pro/OTE as his play is beginning to outsize our top 40-100 recruiting footprint. Oh welp, guess we'll just wait and see.

 

[bendm]

And speaking of shooters...what happened to the Gtown kid who blew up in peach jam(?) last year that we were after hard then cooled on right at the end? I'm assuming everyone transferred out of there so is he available again?

he's still there. gtown looks to have a decent squad.

 

[Mooch82]

Something to consider...roster makeup is so fluid with the transfer market that it might start taking a bit longer for recruiting strategies and priorities to shake out because even coaches don't know what the gaps in the roster will look like 6-12 months from now.

Coaches (hurley in particular after Floyd bouncing) might not be spending as much effort on that mid-top 100/fringe contributor out of HS because they might be available again in a year or 2 after they're a bit more tested and polished...just a thought before we get our collective panties in a twist

That said I'm a big fan of GG and want him here as a husky! And speaking of shooters...what happened to the Gtown kid who blew up in peach jam(?) last year that we were after hard then cooled on right at the end? I'm assuming everyone transferred out of there so is he available again?

Denver Anglin...pretty sure he stayed committed. Was thinking he may de-commit if Ewing left, but that didn't happen.

 

[bendm]

the only player hurley has brought in over the last 2 years that can't legit shoot is clingan... literally everyone else can: newton, alleyne, karaban, johnson, hawkins. most of these guys are expected to be terrific shooters.

just b/c GG isn't a priority anymore doesnt mean hurley doesnt want anymore shooters. maybe it's b/c hurley has gotten the sense GG just doesnt wanna come here for whatever reason?

according to these articles we were 1 of the 5 schools prioritizing him most between last july and this past february. who knows what else happened in the last couple months besides the obvious NIL crap

Class of 2023 Gavin Griffiths names five schools working hardest | Zagsblog

By RYAN McMULLEN Gavin Griffiths, the 6-foot-7 […]

www.zagsblog.com

Class of 2023 four-star forward Gavin Griffiths looking to take visits in the spring, says recruitment is 'completely open' | Zagsblog

By JACOB POLACHECK Top-70 forward Gavin Griffiths […]

www.zagsblog.com

 

[Huskyforlife]

If we backed off it’s because of NIL competition. You guys can’t seriously think Hurley suddenly doesn’t want the kid? The bidding war for one of the best shooters in the class is going to be much higher than you’d think, we probably don’t have that much in the tank, unless he’s wants to be here enough to take less.

 

[superjohn]

Something to consider...roster makeup is so fluid with the transfer market that it might start taking a bit longer for recruiting strategies and priorities to shake out because even coaches don't know what the gaps in the roster will look like 6-12 months from now.

Coaches (hurley in particular after Floyd bouncing) might not be spending as much effort on that mid-top 100/fringe contributor out of HS because they might be available again in a year or 2 after they're a bit more tested and polished...just a thought before we get our collective panties in a twist

That said I'm a big fan of GG and want him here as a husky! And speaking of shooters...what happened to the Gtown kid who blew up in peach jam(?) last year that we were after hard then cooled on right at the end? I'm assuming everyone transferred out of there so is he available again?

Griffiths isn't a fringe kid though, he's ranked around 30th and has a shot at being a 5 star.

 

[superjohn]

If we backed off it’s because of NIL competition. You guys can’t seriously think Hurley suddenly doesn’t want the kid? The bidding war for one of the best shooters in the class is going to be much higher than you’d think, we probably don’t have that much in the tank, unless he’s wants to be here enough to take less.

If we back off a CT. kid who has been around the program a long time because of competition than maybe we should all seriously adjust our expectations for UConn basketball.

I also think this is a ridiculous theory.

 

[KingAG]

Where is this coming from? If it isn’t coming from @BFieldHusky @Zionn @Matrim55 then relax. And I mean that as no shade to anyone, as I don’t actually know who it is coming from

 

[HuskyHawk]

That’s the word on the recruiting scene side… not fun to hear. Hard to play 4 out when you favor dynamic athletes over shooters every year.

No idea what goes on in the recruiting scene. Dynamic athletes vs shooter is often as simple as defense vs offense. You then hope the dynamic athlete becomes a shooter. So it wouldn't surprise me in Hurley's case.

 

[superjohn]

Where is this coming from? If it isn’t coming from @BFieldHusky @Zionn @Matrim55 then relax. And I mean that as no shade to anyone, as I don’t actually know who it is coming from

I think Zionn is the only one getting really good info these days.

 

[superjohn]

No idea what goes on in the recruiting scene. Dynamic athletes vs shooter is often as simple as defense vs offense. You then hope the dynamic athlete becomes a shooter. So it wouldn't surprise me in Hurley's case.

Easier to teach defense/turn a kid into a good defender than an elite shooter.

 

[Slick]

Griffiths isn't a fringe kid though, he's ranked around 30th and has a shot at being a 5 star.

From the little I have seen of Griffiths he looks like a better shooting Neils Giffey coming in to his freshman year

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Where is this coming from? If it isn’t coming from @BFieldHusky @Zionn @Matrim55 then relax. And I mean that as no shade to anyone, as I don’t actually know who it is coming from

The only way we'd back off is if he told us to. Probs not.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Easier to teach defense/turn a kid into a good defender than an elite shooter.

Disagree completely. Shooting is easier to learn. All the lower level teams and Ivy teams are loaded with shooters. They can't defend the way we'd want. The athleticism isn't there. Obviously, I am not saying Griffiths is that kind of player, he wouldn't be so highly rated. But there are great shooters that will end up at Yale, U Maine etc.

 

[navery12]

Easier to teach defense/turn a kid into a good defender than an elite shooter.

Not even arguable. Hurley should be loading up on shooters and teaching them defense. He's coached plenty of questionable guys into good defenders already, not so much the other way around

 

[Huskyforlife]

If we back off a CT. kid who has been around the program a long time because of competition than maybe we should all seriously adjust our expectations for UConn basketball.

I also think this is a ridiculous theory.

It’s not “competition” in the traditional sense. We can keep hoping and praying that some rich dude/s want to invest millions of dollars over time into 17 year olds to play at their favorite university, but until we see proof of that, I’m skeptical it’s happening for us. The Edwards and Griffiths recruitments are telling a very obvious story imo. I think we’re in for a reality check pretty soon, unless we suddenly start pulling top 40 kids again, but we aren’t competing for any right now.

Where is this coming from? If it isn’t coming from @BFieldHusky @Zionn @Matrim55 then relax. And I mean that as no shade to anyone, as I don’t actually know who it is coming from

@UConnStats is very reliable. I don’t see why you’d put any insider over another on this board as of right now. It’s very clear nobody is getting direct info like we did during the Ollie days.