2023 Recruiting: Gavin Griffiths back from injury...

[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.

 

[superjohn]

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.


@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.

We aren't competing for any right now? Why was Miranda on campus today?

 

[navery12]

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.

We literally have a top 40 recruit with interest from Kentucky on campus right now

 

[Jbirdp5]

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

That’s assuming we are not on him much, which is hard to know at this point with him not playing

 

[Huskyforlife]

We aren't competing for any right now? Why was Miranda on campus today?

We literally have a top 40 recruit with interest from Kentucky on campus right now

It seems like Kentucky has moved on, maybe we’ll get lucky and nobody with a bigger bag gets/stays involved. Why did we get cut by Edwards and seemingly move on from Griffiths? Don’t give me any “Hurley doesn’t want them” nonsense.

 

[navery12]

It seems like Kentucky has moved on, maybe we’ll get lucky and nobody with a bigger bag gets/stays involved. Why did we get cut by Edwards and seemingly move on from Griffiths? Don’t give me any “Hurley doesn’t want them” nonsense.

No I don't buy the Hurley doesn't want them nonsense, I don't even buy that we've moved on from Griffiths when we were connected to him as recently as a few weeks ago. Honestly I think you're wildly overreacting to this NIL thing, the sky doesn't need to be falling every time a top 25 recruit doesn't choose UConn. Kids just aren't a match every time

 

[superjohn]

It seems like Kentucky has moved on, maybe we’ll get lucky and nobody with a bigger bag gets/stays involved. Why did we get cut by Edwards and seemingly move on from Griffiths? Don’t give me any “Hurley doesn’t want them” nonsense.

I don't believe we moved on from Griffiths. I think Corey Floyd happened with Edwards.

 

[Jbirdp5]

It seems like Kentucky has moved on, maybe we’ll get lucky and nobody with a bigger bag gets/stays involved. Why did we get cut by Edwards and seemingly move on from Griffiths? Don’t give me any “Hurley doesn’t want them” nonsense.

You seem very pessimistic about our recruiting in general, while I think our results have given us reason to be optimistic with the way we recruit.

 

[Huskyforlife]

No I don't buy the Hurley doesn't want them nonsense, I don't even buy that we've moved on from Griffiths when we were connected to him as recently as a few weeks ago. Honestly I think you're wildly overreacting to this NIL thing, the sky doesn't need to be falling every time a top 25 recruit doesn't choose UConn. Kids just aren't a match every time

I don’t think the sky is falling, the Newton and Alleyne commitments mean to me we must have something enticing in place for recruits and transfers to some extent. Not losing any of our core guys reinforces this belief.

Buuuut, on the other hand. We were cut from a kid we were recruiting very heavily for a long time out of nowhere, with the most likely explanation being we couldn't keep up with whatever he’s being offered by the Kentuckys of the world.

And even if you want to throw out the blue blood programs and their crazy booster support. Can we even compete with the type of support programs like Alabama/Michigan/LSU/etc have? Cause that’s our competition for Gavin based on recent offers.

Kids this talented always fit. I don’t believe in them being a bad fit here.

What this means to me is we’re probably going to have to pick our targets carefully. I doubt every single top 100 recruit is going to get huge NIL deals, so we compete for recruits that schools aren’t overspending on. Same with transfers. This doesn’t mean we can’t compete and contend for whatever measure of success you prefer. Id assume we’re better off than most major conference programs, but not the biggest money athletics schools. Jmo.

 

[navery12]

I don’t think the sky is falling, the Newton and Alleyne commitments mean to me we must have something enticing in place for recruits and transfers to some extent. Not losing any of our core guys reinforces this belief.

Buuuut, on the other hand. We were cut from a kid we were recruiting very heavily for a long time out of nowhere, with the most likely explanation being we couldn't keep up with whatever he’s being offered by the Kentuckys of the world.

And even if you want to throw out the blue blood programs and their crazy booster support. Can we even compete with the type of support programs like Alabama/Michigan/LSU/etc have? Cause that’s our competition for Gavin based on recent offers.

Kids this talented always fit. I don’t believe in them being a bad fit here.

What this means to me is we’re probably going to have to pick our targets carefully. I doubt every single top 100 recruit is going to get huge NIL deals, so we compete for recruits that schools aren’t overspending on. Same with transfers. This doesn’t mean we can’t compete and contend for whatever measure of success you prefer. Id assume we’re better off than most major conference programs, but not the biggest money athletics schools. Jmo.

Yeah there's a bunch of assumptions and leaps you're making in here that just don't remotely register with me. I don't think we're gonna compete for 5* guys with Kentucky anytime soon but there's no reason to think we can't keep focusing on the 30-50 ranked recruits like we've been doing recently. I think we can compete financially with the schools going after kids in that range

 

[runner11]

No I don't buy the Hurley doesn't want them nonsense, I don't even buy that we've moved on from Griffiths when we were connected to him as recently as a few weeks ago. Honestly I think you're wildly overreacting to this NIL thing, the sky doesn't need to be falling every time a top 25 recruit doesn't choose UConn. Kids just aren't a match every time

I think we have gotten carried away with this Griffiths narrative. What we have heard is that he really likes PC and is interested in playing with TBB, who we don't seem to be pursuing hard.

He may be a hard pull but we want to see a full court press.