Ideal 2018-19 Roster

[Son of Robert]

Quite frankly, we are all fans and by definition live in the present. Dan’s job is to rebuilt the program and if that means he thinks we can score with elite 2019/2020 recruits, why would he give up 4 year scholarships for mediocre recruits available this late in the season?
Of course, he us working on a couple unique situations but as far as the big fishing net it’s cast for 2019/2020.

Well, I surely was not suggesting he tie up 4 year scholarships on lesser players, and you do confirm a a valid point, that if we don't get the guys we want for freshman, we mix it up with top tier transfers or grad transfers.
We'll have to see how it plays out.

 

[bigknight3]

Winning now our showing some incremental improvement will help with 2019/2020 recruiting won't it. Another year similar to last won't be blame on the carryover players. It'll be seen simply add the current state of our program.

 

[intlzncster]

You show me a coach who plays a kid more than he should just because he won't be happy and I'll show you a bad coach.

You think most guys in D1 are happy if they're not starting? Of course they're not. You don't want them to be anyway. If CV isn't starting he's still going to get good minutes coming off the bench.

Best thing that could happen for CV's game is to have to fight for minutes. I guarantee he'll become a smarter player that way. And we know he's hungry.

 

[Chief00]

Best thing that could happen for CV's game is to have to fight for minutes. I guarantee he'll become a smarter player that way. And we know he's hungry.

I certainly don’t claim to speak for Dan, I won’t try to do that. My sense is he plans on coaching and conditioning up his current players with Tom Moore mapping out targets for 2019/2020. True, many will be players Dan or Young have the inside with - but Tom will map it all out, priorities will be set by Dan and yes plan B’s will be formulated. I think one issue with Stone and Diallo under KO was we didn’t have a plan B all along - so by the time they rejected us, KO had to go to plan D. That’s one of the things we discussed at Blaze the summer of 2017, but never got the chance to see it play out. Contrary to what some casual fans might think - you should always have a plan B and C going. Most top targets will pick another school even if you are great at recruiting saved maybe Duke and UK.

That mapping out the plan based on Dan’s direction is a real strength of Tom’s.

 

[champs99and04]

you would think after two seasons with last year being a massive improvement for him that he would be really let down by being relegated to the bench for a prospective freshman in lecque.

I wouldn't call last year a massive improvement. The massive improvement really came in conference play during his freshman year. Last year, he played like a guy with the greenest light in America. I don't want to say he didn't improve at all, but honestly, they were so bad, and developed so many bad habits, that it's tough to feel good about any of them after last season. Most of the remaining hope I have tied up in that Adams/Vital back court still stems from three days in Hartford last March. Aside from that, it was like watching the pro am. I don't put much stock into the raw numbers.

 

[HuskyBoi]

I wouldn't call last year a massive improvement. The massive improvement really came in conference play during his freshman year. Last year, he played like a guy with the greenest light in America. I don't want to say he didn't improve at all, but honestly, they were so bad, and developed so many bad habits, that it's tough to feel good about any of them after last season. Most of the remaining hope I have tied up in that Adams/Vital back court still stems from three days in Hartford last March. Aside from that, it was like watching the pro am. I don't put much stock into the raw numbers.

we are looking at grad transfers, for the very reason of , drumroll! "raw numbers." and then we look at these grad transfers to probably fill in a starting role gap left behind by Larrier

 

[joober jones]

Trey Porter. Adding him could be a real game changer.

I wonder if Terry Porter has any eligibility left

 

[Captbluefin]

You show me a coach who plays a kid more than he should just because he won't be happy and I'll show you a bad coach.

You think most guys in D1 are happy if they're not starting? Of course they're not. You don't want them to be anyway. If CV isn't starting he's still going to get good minutes coming off the bench.

My point was misunderstood. The point was that CV would not be happy.. I believe that the players who have the best chance of bringing sucess should be on the floor regardless of what class they are.. If its 5 freshman who have the best chance of winning then lets do it..

 

[Edward Sargent]

Quite frankly, Dan’s focus is 2019/2020. He is not spending time obsessing about his 2018/2019 starting line up. Of course, he will try to win every game and we can expect he will try to pull off a reclassification surprise. However, his focus is talent for 2019/2020.
As far as the current group of players, they need to exhibit dramatic strength and conditioning improvement - and that starts with Jalen.
Dan’s observing the same weakness Chief has been preaching about for a few years and even Dan Sr noted at the press conference.

The lack of size and strength is the only thing we’ve heard about the team from Dan Sr, which is telling. Like JC Dan Sr., is a HOF coach who isn’t shy

 

[zepfan]

Jalen Adams liked this Jalen Lecque video on his IG

I apologize if I am out of the loop, but do we have a shot at Jalen Lecque? He looks like he's being recruited by many top schools. Does Hurley have an in?

 

[Chief00]

The lack of size and strength is the only thing we’ve heard about the team from Dan Sr, which is telling. Like JC Dan Sr., is a HOF coach who isn’t shy

One of those HOF coaches told me you can beat an opponent or be beaten a number of ways (having a perfect APR was never mentioned). Better conditioning for his teams was always both a fact and a psychological advantage at the end of games. Size and explosive strength down low was also mentioned and how that translated into fast breaks, second chance points and quite frankly intimidation.

Of course, he also mentioned skill, game prep and desire. But, giving everyone
the benefit of the doubt on those traits since Jim’s last year of involvement (2014) - strength and conditioning have clearly been missing. These HOF coach’s have an eye test which works in a nano second. If a current player wants playing time next year - he better realize that now and start working - not on catchy phrases but real workouts. For the Hurley’s an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree - Dan will be seeing things the way his Dad did.

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[UConnSwag11]

If Adams returns, we get Lecque and Smith, and Hurley goes hard for 2019 recruits we'll be good

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

One of those HOF coaches told me you can beat an opponent or be beaten a number of ways (having a perfect APR was never mentioned). Better conditioning for his teams was always both a fact and a psychological advantage at the end of games. Size and explosive strength down low was also mentioned and how that translated into fast breaks, second chance points and quite frankly intimidation.

Of course, he also mentioned skill, game prep and desire. But, giving everyone
the benefit of the doubt on those traits since Jim’s last year of involvement (2016) - strength and conditioning have clearly been missing. These HOF coach’s have an eye test which works in a nano second. If a current player wants playing time next year - he better realize that now and start working - not on catchy phrases but real workouts. For the Hurley’s an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree - Dan will be seeing things the way his Dad did.

I think you make some real valid points in general as it relates to S & C. A friend of mine is closely connected to one of the best S & C coaches in the country. This guy is so ingrained into the culture of the program that the teams success last year according to the head coach was highly attributable to the S & C coaches performance not just in the off season but more importantly during the season as well.

It is clear the facilities @ URI were not exactly P5 worthy but it was always concerning to me seeing the conditioning of Andre Berry during his tenure at URI. URI's defensive efficiency #'s took a real hit with him starting at the 5. Hopefully Berry is more of an outlier. After Martin graduated it seemed Hurley was pressed into rolling with Berry for extended minutes which ultimately cost URI significantly on the defensive end. The development of an alternative was not on the table for last year either. Berry had always struggled with weight and conditioning issues. It seemed however he ended his career (4 years later) quite frankly in terrible condition.

Maybe with an uptick in recruiting/resources this will give Hurley more leverage looking forward?

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

I apologize if I am out of the loop, but do we have a shot at Jalen Lecque? He looks like he's being recruited by many top schools. Does Hurley have an in?

Yeah, we have a very good shot. Lots of talk surrounding the possibility right now. May or may not be a package deal with Omar Silvero. Ever since Hurley came aboard this whole Lecque thing started. I don't have any info myself, just passing along what others have said.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

The lack of size and strength is the only thing we’ve heard about the team from Dan Sr, which is telling. Like JC Dan Sr., is a HOF coach who isn’t shy

For the purposes of this upcoming year the idea of being a bit more inclusive and casting a wider net made sense to me. I understand the optimism surrounding the prospects of the 2019 class (all warranted and hopefully comes to fruition). When you are looking at immediate need based talent to put the 2018/19 team in a position to make the tournament and maybe win a game or 2...it helps to reach out to kids like an Austin Trice. In the alternative of course a solid GS big. All of our front court players lack the development and skill right now to be an integral part of an NCAA Tourney team next year. If we overload with talent in the back court it may mitigate some of the grave deficiencies up front.

 

[intlzncster]

For the purposes of this upcoming year the idea of being a bit more inclusive and casting a wider net made sense to me. I understand the optimism surrounding the prospects of the 2019 class (all warranted and hopefully comes to fruition). When you are looking at immediate need based talent to put the 2018/19 team in a position to make the tournament and maybe win a game or 2...it helps to reach out to kids like an Austin Trice. In the alternative of course a solid GS big. All of our front court players lack the development and skill right now to be an integral part of an NCAA Tourney team next year. If we overload with talent in the back court it may mitigate some of the grave deficiencies up front.

This is one year, I would love two solid grad transfers. Being able to have those scholarships open for next year is critical. But I want to win some this year*, if only to put the new regimes 'we are here' stamp on the program.

*I still think the tournament is an outside shot. Highly dependent on who comes in for next year. And more importantly, how well they gel. Given our conference, and the need to front load, it's tough to incorporate a lot of new pieces every year. They've got to be in sync early.

 

[champs99and04]

we are looking at grad transfers, for the very reason of , drumroll! "raw numbers." and then we look at these grad transfers to probably fill in a starting role gap left behind by TL

I'm not sure what this has to do with my point. By no means is Vital a bad player, but the reality is that he was inefficient last year. Some of that will improve by virtue of playing alongside better players, but a lot of it was his own doing. He took some of the most reckless shots I've seen a UConn player take last season.

Whoever we target as a grad transfer is a separate issue. The only way I see Vital coming off the bench this season is if we sign a player like Lecque out of high school, and even then, he may very well start at the three.

 

[Ricker]

Bumped this thread to make an observation re 2019 recruiting that might impact people's thinking re who we embrace for 2018-2019 and how attractive a particular 3* guard might be.

I looked closely at 247's composite listing. 15 of the Top 45 in 2019 are Centers and only 3 are point guards, and, only 2 of those are uncommitted. From #45 to #100 there are 8 other PG's with 5 of them uncommitted. The implication with 7 modestly rated point guards in the top 100, is that the pickings are very thin that any program is going to improve themselves at point guard in 2019. Certainly suggests Akinjo is a more hurtful loss because there is less than a handful of equally regarded point guards to pursue. Also might suggest that we have a good chance to improve our frontcourt based on numbers as well as the connections to particular kids. Some competition will be satisfied elsewhere. FWIW

 

[KembaStepback]

Maybe im missing it...but did Lecque reclass to 18?

 

[JimHurley]

Maybe im missing it...but did Lecque reclass to 18?

It's mostly speculation at the point. As of right now, he has not reclassified to 18.

 

[YoungFree]

It would be great if Lecque and Akok reclassed to 18 and we picked up both.

 

[YoungFree]

Don't know if this post deserved a whole other thread but I wanted to, with all of the recent news and changes, sum up a list of prospective recruits that have the most buzz/interest on our end with the new staff in place. Would love to hear some debate on the players we'd like to get and any additions I am forgetting.

In my eyes ideally it would be Lecque, Silverio if its a package and Smith/Carr. (wouldn't mind at all bringing back Akinjo in replacement of the latter two/three). If that was the case we could focus on bigs and a wing in 2019. With my realistic sights being on Delaire, Achiuwa, Akok. Love Bouknights game though if we whiff on Lecque. And love Colemans inside and out game with his size if we lose any big due to attrition of any kind.


2018 Recruits

Jalen Lecque
Omar Silverio
Serrel Smith
Brendan Adams
James Akinjo

Regular Transfers

Isaiah Washington
Marcus Carr
Jamir Harris

Grad Transfers

Joe Cremo
James Scott
Joseph Chartouny

2019

Precious Achiuwa
Jaiden Delaire
Kofi Cockburn
Akok Akok
James Bouknight
Tre Mitchell
Sherif Kenney
Charles Coleman
Tyrese Samuel
Khalif Battle
(Jalen Lecque) **If no reclass


Unlikely Crew

Brandon Williams
Jermaine Harris

I honestly feel people are dreaming about Jalen Lecque. He would be the school's best recruit in almost 7-8 years. I don't see him passing up a UNC or Duke offer. I also think we lost the Chol Marial contest when he left Connecticut for Florida.

With that said, landing Kofi Cockburn, Akok Akok, and James Bouknight should be our priorities IMO with Akok Akok looking like one of Hurley's top targets right now. If we can't land Bouknight then getting Sherik Kenney would be a good back-up but has Hurley's new staff talked to him? I thought the last interaction was with Ollie's staff.

I am not 100% sold on Tre Mitchell, Jaiden Delaire, or Paul Mulcahy compared to the above top III but I would love to see in-state boys Mitchell and Delaire in a Husky jersey. It seemed like Ollie overlooked the talent in his own backyard and Hurley is playing it close to home.

Has Hurley reached out to Precious Achiuwa? I think that would be a coupe if we could steal him from the big schools. I can't even imagine a roster with Jalen Lecque, Precious Achiuwa, Brendan Adams, and Akok Akok. Through Kofi Cockburn or Sherif Kenney in the mix and that would be a sight to see. I am still trying to be realistic and say that we are probably 2-3 years away from Hurley pulling in a top 10-15 recruiting class.

 

[YoungFree]

And are we totally writing off the following guys:

Isaiah Wong
John Bol Ajak
Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd
Dimon Carrigan

 

[Ricker]

@YoungFree, Have you seen Sherif Kenney in person? When I watched him twice, Sherif Kenney was literally awful. As a guard, his handle was the equal of Terry Larrier. His dribble got away from him 1 out of every 3 times he put the ball on the floor. He pounded the ball into the floor as he went hard in some direction and inevitably when he spun or changed direction the ball would be chest high and get away from him. Sometimes this was at mid court when he was bringing the ball up against token pressure, and sometimes when he tried to take it to the hole. At least 6-8 times in one game, and possibly without a defender ever touching the ball or defending hard enough to be the cause of the mishandle. He chased the ball down and didn't lose the possession every time the ball got away from him, but I was stunningly unimpressed. In terms of style, he seemed like Eric Ayala lite when he didn't lose the ball. If my 2 game sample happens to be an aberration then take it for what it's worth.

 

[YoungFree]

@YoungFree, Have you seen Sherif Kenney in person? When I watched him twice, Sherif Kenney was literally awful. As a guard, his handle was the equal of Terry TL. His dribble got away from him 1 out of every 3 times he put the ball on the floor. He pounded the ball into the floor as he went hard in some direction and inevitably when he spun or changed direction the ball would be chest high and get away from him. Sometimes this was at mid court when he was bringing the ball up against token pressure, and sometimes when he tried to take it to the hole. At least 6-8 times in one game, and possibly without a defender ever touching the ball or defending hard enough to be the cause of the mishandle. He chased the ball down and didn't lose the possession every time the ball got away from him, but I was stunningly unimpressed. In terms of style, he seemed like Eric Ayala lite when he didn't lose the ball. If my 2 game sample happens to be an aberration then take it for what it's worth.

Nope I haven't. I appreciate your observations as I didn't review tape all that well .I thought he was a little raw but not that bad . I totally don't want another Larrier on the team. He is one guy I was happy to see go.

 

[SwingDog]

Winning now our showing some incremental improvement will help with 2019/2020 recruiting won't it. Another year similar to last won't be blame on the carryover players. It'll be seen simply add the current state of our program.

Agreed. For the benefit of the program as a whole, 2018-2019 needs to be a year in which things are clearly headed in the right direction. That means competitive play and more wins, hopefully at least 20. That would be incremental and marked improvement and would bolster our ability to attract quality recruits going forward. You're right- another season like last will be damaging and I am certain Coach Hurley is not writing off next season as a rebuilding one. I think he's looking and expecting to be competitive and win from day one with what he has.

 

[YoungFree]

Agreed. For the benefit of the program as a whole, 2018-2019 needs to be a year in which things are clearly headed in the right direction. That means competitive play and more wins, hopefully at least 20. That would be incremental and marked improvement and would bolster our ability to attract quality recruits going forward. You're right- another season like last will be damaging and I am certain Coach Hurley is not writing off next season as a rebuilding one. I think he's looking and expecting to be competitive and win from day one with what he has.

20? I'm just hoping to hit that elusive .500....to me that would be a success for a team under a first year coach