Isaiah Whaley Commits Tonight

[Mooch82]

Neither was Okafor, and Hilton wasn't a total stringbean. College kids have great metabolisms and have a tendency to be thin but UConn has had trouble attracting bigs with flesh let alone muscle. When we play Cincy and SMU we see plenty of them.

Hilton wasn't a "total" string bean...but was pretty damn skinny as a freshman. He's the biggest body transformation at UConn I've seen from freshman to senior year.

 

[aceboon]

Neither was Okafor, and Hilton wasn't a total stringbean. College kids have great metabolisms and have a tendency to be thin but UConn has had trouble attracting bigs with flesh let alone muscle. When we play Cincy and SMU we see plenty of them.

Hilton was rail thin when he got here, he definitely worked a ton on his body during his time at UConn tho. Having someone like Emeka to follow around certainly helped.

 

[Tommyboy]

Hilton was rail thin when he got here, he definitely worked a ton on his body during his time at UConn tho. Having someone like Emeka to follow around certainly helped.

I love when I went to search for a picture of Hilton at UConn to remind myself what he looked like early on in his career this is one of the results. Calhoun was the best.

 

[Fishy]

I don't know how tall Whaley actually is, but he looks good bit slimmer than Hilton was as a senior at Peekskill. Hilton was slim, but not quite that stringbeany - he was a legit 6'11" in shoes and weighed about 205-210.

He easily put on 30 pounds at UConn.

 

[CL82]

@Tommyboy, lol at that picture.

I'm not a big fan of the KO bashers, but his game presence does bug me a bit. He has no idea of when or how to work the refs, or get in a kids face. Often he seems petulant, more than anything else.

The great JC was a master on the sidelines, tactically, working the refs and working the emotions of his kids. It is an area that KO needs to develop, in my humble opinion.

 

[CTBasketball]

Just because we can now field a 5v5 scrimmage, this is a solid sign.

 

[Horatio]

I love when I went to search for a picture of Hilton at UConn to remind myself what he looked like early on in his career this is one of the results. Calhoun was the best.

Classic. Probably included some motivational profanity

 

[Obrero]

Isaiah Whaley
GASTONIA, NC - 2017
NCClass2017

National Rank#138State Rank#8

Complete Rankings:

• Player Grade: 86 (3-Star)
• National Rank: 138
• Position Rank: 33
• State Rank: 8

Skills Review:

• Shooting: Good
• Dribbling: Good
• Passing: Average
• Rebounding: Excellent
• Intangibles: Good

SIMILAR POWER FORWARDS

• Malik William, PF - Orlando, FL (2017)
• O'Shae Brissett, PF - Henderson, NV (2017)

You had me at "Rebounding: Excellent" !

 

[dennismenace]

When I hear the words "special kid with great character who comes from humble beginnings" I could not be happier. That's a great set of attributes to come into a program like Uconn with and one will enhance the other. It's another reason to look forward to watching these kids develop next year. Another Hungry Husky is just what the program needs. Welcome Isaiah!

 

[intlzncster]

I love when I went to search for a picture of Hilton at UConn to remind myself what he looked like early on in his career this is one of the results. Calhoun was the best.

Calhoun lookin like Anne Ramsey from Goonies right there.

 

[CL82]

Not everyone can be like another person just because we want them to be

 

[Thirty Three]

Hilton was rail thin when he got here, he definitely worked a ton on his body during his time at UConn tho. Having someone like Emeka to follow around certainly helped.

Exactly. Hilton told me himself that when he got here and saw some of the guys, particularly Emeka and Ben, and how hard they worked in the weight room, he knew he had to get with the program and put in the work if he wanted to compete at this level with those guys.

It was certainly nice for him to have guys like that ahead of him to push and motivate him, and show him what it takes to be great. Of course the individual has to be motivated and realistic enough to realize how important it is to put in the extra work. Too many kids think they're so special that they're just magically going to be great.

 

[Travelman6]

Welcome sir.

 

[mauconnfan]

Kid averaged 22/11 (40 game season) at Mt Zion for a tough Coach Harrison who said he probably gained 15lbs the year under him. He also caught some nice praise from Coach Espinoza of Putnam Science after getting 38 points against them the 2nd time around, saying he noticed a major improvement.

Never know, his Mt Zion coach said he needs Kevin Ollie he's perfect. And they talked how the new strength coach sealed the deal because he wants to improve his strength immediately. Got in a little trouble at his HS in 2015 and seemingly turned the corner as a kid since. Like his attitude a lot, could be one of those we got lucky with. We will see.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-men-recruit-0513-20170512-story.html

 

[Mano]

I'm Whaley happy that you're gonna be a Husky Isaiah! Congrats!

 

[intlzncster]

I'm Whaley happy that you're gonna be a Husky Isaiah! Congrats!

Jesus mano

 

[donyell34]

Isaiah to serial and cat killers only on the boneyard. Welcome aboard Isaiah.

 

[selles]

Damn, he put up some crazy numbers against top Prep schools.

Here's some video of Mt. Zion. Whaley is #25. He is a scoring machine in this game, he had 19 in this half if I counted right. He appears to have a pure post mindset, not a stretch. Very active on the offensive glass, very smooth around the rim. On the defensive glass, he looked for a body to box out most of the time. He seems to have a very good feel for the game, even had a couple nice passes.

He definitely needs to add weight and strength, but I was impressed by the video. It may take a couple years, but we may have something here.

 

[Coach J]

Here's some video of Mt. Zion. Whaley is #25. He is a scoring machine in this game, he had 19 in this half if I counted right. He appears to have a pure post mindset, not a stretch. Very active on the offensive glass, very smooth around the rim. On the defensive glass, he looked for a body to box out most of the time. He seems to have a very good feel for the game, even had a couple nice passes.

He definitely needs to add weight and strength, but I was impressed by the video. It may take a couple years, but we may have something here.

Aggressive on the offensive glass and nice stroke from the line. I like that!

 

[Coach J]

From an article written by Ed Daigneault in the Waterbury Republican American this morning, Mount Zion assistant coach Cortez Brown described Whaley as a high-energy player who is thrives in the open-court game Ollie wants the Huskies to play.

“He’s got a motor,” said Brown, who has known Whaley since he was in middle school. “He has all the intangibles. He can block shots, run the court, rebound, protect the rim, all the things you want a guy with his athletic ability to do. He’s also a high-character kid. I’ve seen him mature a lot in the past few years. He just puts his head down and goes to work.”

“He’s a double-double machine, but he knows he has to get stronger to play like that at the Division I level. He’s going to put his head down and do the work he needs to do to get there.”

 

[navery12]

From an article written by Ed Daigneault in the Waterbury Republican American this morning, Mount Zion assistant coach Cortez Brown described Whaley as a high-energy player who is thrives in the open-court game Ollie wants the Huskies to play.

“He’s got a motor,” said Brown, who has known Whaley since he was in middle school. “He has all the intangibles. He can block shots, run the court, rebound, protect the rim, all the things you want a guy with his athletic ability to do. He’s also a high-character kid. I’ve seen him mature a lot in the past few years. He just puts his head down and goes to work.”

“He’s a double-double machine, but he knows he has to get stronger to play like that at the Division I level. He’s going to put his head down and do the work he needs to do to get there.”

One of the things I've liked from all these quotes from him and coaches is the sense of reality in there. Seems like often coaches/players talk about how they're going to come in and help the team and dominate. With Whaley it seems like he realizes he's going to have to work to make that happen, so some struggles early on won't discourage him

 

[tcf15]

 

[TheDude]

Aggressive on the offensive glass and nice stroke from the line. I like that!

Needs to develop a 7-10 footer, but he moves well enough in the low post. With UConn point guards penetrating and passing he could have dunks all day.

 

[junglehusky]

View attachment 22243

That was my exact thought!

That and the Whale(y) will be back at the Civic, er -- XL -- Center

 

[UC1985]

I for one am pretty optimistic with the frontcourt replacements.

Cobb, Whaley, Diarra, Carlton? I can live with it. I was so done with Brimah, absolutely loved Durham but it is what it is.