Guard recruit ? Kendal Harris

[superjohn]

Does anyone know where we stand with Kendal Harris or any other '13 guard recruit? I think Bazz will come back but I still feel we could really use another guard. I love everything I've heard about Terrence Samuel but you can never have too many guards and capable ball handlers. I don't want to waste a scholarship so it would have to be on someone like Harris or someone similar. I'm starting to think we will be fine in the frontcourt next year, Nolan will be a player and Facey looks very impressive to me. The strength of the team is the backcourt but it seems like we pretty much have all the pieces for a run next year.

 

[Brochacho]

I don't have any insight, but I would assume considering what we can offer him in terms of being that third guard we need and the only other "big" school recruiting him is Texas I think we are sitting rather well.

 

[husky99]

I don't have any insight, but I would assume considering what we can offer him in terms of being that third guard we need and the only other "big" school recruiting him is Texas I think we are sitting rather well.

Hearing he is not leaving the state of texas

 

[aceboon]

Hearing he is not leaving the state of texas

makes sense, it seemed like he had every texas school that plays ball on his new list

 

[husky99]

Heard his parents are pushing for texas..

 

[kelde1wd]

If that is the case I hope they save the scholarship.

 

[aboogieee]

They are loaded at the Guard position (5) and an incoming PG.

 

[Danzz]

If Samuel can play, we'll be fine at guard.

 

[BearJWS]

If Samuel can play, we'll be fine at guard.

While UConn does have 3 players coming in, none are expected to be all that great. Facey is the only 1 in the top 100. Samuel & Brimah are both 3 star recruits, so don't expect a lot coming in. Hopefully they can surprise, but both are really raw right now. Mind you, they are in line with Nolan & Beverly... Just saying... I'd love for them all to succeed & do well...

 

[Horatio]

If Samuel can play, we'll be fine at guard.

I think that people that have been in favor of getting another 2013 guard are doing so for depth and having an injury back- up. Look at this years team and the recent injuries of Bazz and Niels. What if this team was BE and NCaa tournament eligible and both those guys were out. We'd have to go with RJ , Boat and Omar. We've been hurt in the past by not having enough guards/ ball handlers . If the whole team comes back Omar will probably locked into the 3 spot next year unless they bring Boat off the bench and start DD. All I'm saying is if there's a 3 Star 6'2"- 6'5" combo guard / athlete out there , they gotta recruit him.

 

[jleves]

I think that people that have been in favor of getting another 2013 guard are doing so for depth and having an injury back- up. Look at this years team and the recent injuries of Bazz and Niels. What if this team was BE and NCaa tournament eligible and both those guys were out. We'd have to go with RJ , Boat and Omar. We've been hurt in the past by not having enough guards/ ball handlers . If the whole team comes back Omar will probably locked into the 3 spot next year unless they bring Boat off the bench and start DD. All I'm saying is if there's a 3 Star 6'2"- 6'5" combo guard / athlete out there , they gotta recruit him.

If everyone is back, you can already pencil in 4 starters: Bazz, Boat, Calhoun, Daniels. As for the 5 spot - that could be interesting. If things aren't as bad as originally reported and Wolf is back, he's probably the best option. Lots of options with that team when you can slide DD to the three spot and go really big, slide him to the 5 and go small and fast. That's a lot of kids with at least some to a ton of experience. Seems that Nolan has made a case for minutes. Pretty deep team. But I definitely see the need for a combo guard to develop and as insurance.

 

[Hi-Low]

While UConn does have 3 players coming in, none are expected to be all that great. Facey is the only 1 in the top 100. Samuel & Brimah are both 3 star recruits, so don't expect a lot coming in. Hopefully they can surprise, but both are really raw right now. Mind you, they are in line with Nolan & Beverly... Just saying... I'd love for them all to succeed & do well...

I won't kill you but you are a little unfair about the class...You can't just go by ESPN rankings....Facey much higher on Rivals top 100 board, Samuel just outside top 100 on Rivals and Brimah is only a spot removed from 4 stars/top 100 on ESPN as the #13 center overall. Who knows how they'll translaste to college but they could all end up being big time players.

 

[aboogieee]

The addition of KYH makes for a better transition from 2013 to 2014 post Napier and Boatright* for our back court ... Can't undervalue a year of development for Samuel and possibly KYH behind our lead guards and Coach Ollie and then the opt to take over once they depart..

 

[BearJWS]

I won't kill you but you are a little unfair about the class...You can't just go by ESPN rankings....Facey much higher on Rivals top 100 board, Samuel just outside top 100 on Rivals and even Brimah only a spot removed from 4 stars at ESPN as the #13 center overall. Who knows how they'll translaste to college but they could all end up being big time players.

I'm not going just by ESPN but others... plus I've seen some videos & read reviews on them. Facey is still a Top 100 recruit ( maybe 80-100, no a lot of difference). He's a skinny shot blocker at 6'9". Samuel is not just outside the Top 1oo. He's lower. He seems to be more athlete than skilled at this point, combo guard. Brimah is extremely raw. If you saw today's Cincy game, Brimah is on par with David Nyarsuk of Cincy... similar build & skill... very raw. All are defensive players. None are guys you can look to put the ball in the hoop.

 

[jleves]

All are defensive players. None are guys you can look to put the ball in the hoop.

With Bazz, Boat, Calhoun, DD and Giffey, none of the new comers need to be guys who can't put the ball in the hoop next year. Play good D, rebound and for the guard(s), be able to bring the ball up without turning it over is all you need from them.

 

[Hi-Low]

I'm not going just by ESPN but others... plus I've seen some videos & read reviews on them. Facey is still a Top 100 recruit ( maybe 80-100, no a lot of difference). He's a skinny shot blocker at 6'9". Samuel is not just outside the Top 1oo. He's lower. He seems to be more athlete than skilled at this point, combo guard. Brimah is extremely raw. If you saw today's Cincy game, Brimah is on par with David Nyarsuk of Cincy... similar build & skill... very raw. All are defensive players. None are guys you can look to put the ball in the hoop.

Facey is #65 on Rivals, Samuel is #115 on Rivals, and Brimah is essentially #110 or so on ESPN as #13 center (#12 center is 4 stars in top 100). I have only seen Facey play a full game and he will contribute next year, all we need from Samuel is some quality minutes if Bazz and Boat back.

I wasn't killing you dude but to say "none of them are expected to be all that great" is unfair....if we didn't expect them to be good we wouldn't have signed them.

 

[Horatio]

All are defensive players. None are guys you can look to put the ball in the hoop.

That's probably all we need these three guys to be next year. Hopefully Wolf comes back.

 

[upstater]

Samuel plays like Kris Dunn. Why is Dunn top 10 and Samuel outside the 100?

 

[caw]

Samuel plays like Kris Dunn. Why is Dunn top 10 and Samuel outside the 100?

Dunn is a bit more athletic and was more aggressive looking for his in high school. Similar players though Dunn is flashier.

 

[caw]

That's probably all we need these three guys to be next year. Hopefully Wolf is innocent and comes back

Fixed

 

[Horatio]

Fixed

Of course.

 

[BearJWS]

Samuel plays like Kris Dunn. Why is Dunn top 10 and Samuel outside the 100?

This comparison to Dunn is so unfair to Samuel. Dunn was a High School All American. He was probably the #2 PG in the country last year. Dunn is super athletic, a tremendous defender & was an excellent scorer. Samuel is not in that class. Hopefully Samuel can contribute some next season with energy. No need to start comparing him to Dunn, because that just puts unneeded pressure on the kid from himself & fans.

Put it this way, Darius Smith, Jamal Trice, Scotty Haralson came in as higher recruits than Samuel. His ranking is similar to Donnell Beverly's. Let's hope he does better than these guys. I do hear read he's fairly athletic, but his game needs refining.

 

[upstater]

This comparison to Dunn is so unfair to Samuel. Dunn was a High School All American. He was probably the #2 PG in the country last year. Dunn is super athletic, a tremendous defender & was an excellent scorer. Samuel is not in that class. Hopefully Samuel can contribute some next season with energy. No need to start comparing him to Dunn, because that just puts unneeded pressure on the kid from himself & fans.

Put it this way, Darius Smith, Jamal Trice, Scotty Haralson came in as higher recruits than Samuel. His ranking is similar to Donnell Beverly's. Let's hope he does better than these guys. I do hear read he's fairly athletic, but his game needs refining.

I've watched a few games by Samuel. The kid is very athletic. Calling him a Beverly level athlete is wrong. He doesn't have Dunn's handle, but body control and leaping and explosiveness are there. Both are not good outside shooters. Dunn can run point while Samuel's handle isn't good enough right now.

Look at this:

#5

 

[upstater]

Check out minute 3:35 here:

 

[BearJWS]

I've watched a few games by Samuel. The kid is very athletic. Calling him a Beverly level athlete is wrong. He doesn't have Dunn's handle, but body control and leaping and explosiveness are there. Both are not good outside shooters. Dunn can run point while Samuel's handle isn't good enough right now.

Look at this:

#5

I didn't say he was a Beverly "level athlete". I said they had a similar ranking coming out of High School. Upper 70's. 3 Star. I said he's fairly athletic. He's not in Dunn's athletic league yet. I'm hoping I'm wrong. I was just going on the the poster who was saying he's similar to Dunn, when that's far off.