Jordan Bell

[3uconn]

UConn will watch him Friday.

 

[husky99]

i was just going to post
https://twitter.com/KevinRDuffy/status/252935454280794114

 

[aceboon]

 

[huskiesnyc]

If the staff is going out to watch him I assume that means we are finally offering him. All indications are he will commit if offered

 

[UConn2SF]

wow..looks to be an elite athlete and defender. must be completely raw offensively if uconn hasnt offered yet

 

[Kurt]

Kenneth Faried lite.

 

[len0322]

Seems like a great athlete....In a worse case scenerio, looks like he could be a high energy sub off the bench to add depth to the front court. If grades are good, I hope they offer this kid.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

wow..looks to be an elite athlete and defender. must be completely raw offensively if uconn hasnt offered yet

Pretty sure that's the case. He's very raw offensively and is almost the same player as Kentan Facey.

 

[ktuck911]

Kenneth Faried lite.

We need that energy big desperately up front... that's always been a staple of UCONN basketball....

 

[uchusky32]

We need a big who can play right away. Seems like we have offensive projects or players who need to bulk up already. I would think we need some offensive production from the post.

 

[aceboon]

We need a big who can play right away. Seems like we have offensive projects or players who need to bulk up already. I would think we need some offensive production from the post.

Eh, there's only a handful of those types each year in college ball, most post players usually enter college as projects/live bodies. I'd be concerned if Boat doesn't come back because it seems like we're gonna lose out on XRM and then we's suddenly be thin at guard too, but if we could have a rotation of Boat/Bazz/Omar with DeAndre & Giff on the wing(and hopefully another addition like Austin or pray for Parker) I would be straight with having bigs who attack the glass, play with energy, and hopefully set decent screens(unlike this past year). I think Facey and Bell could provide that with hopefully a Senior Olander and Soph Nolan able to carry most of the load up front.

 

[arnie3]

ESPN has him as 3 star , 6'6" 190; Rivals has him in their top 100 (#67) at 6'7" and 205. Does anyone know what his size is?

 

[CTBasketball]

ESPN has him as 3 star , 6'6" 190; Rivals has him in their top 100 (#67) at 6'7" and 205. Does anyone know what his size is?

Probably 6'6.5" 197.5lbs

 

[Danzz]

Hmmm, not 1 shot in the video that wasn't a dunk. Good athlete though.

 

[CTBasketball]

Hmmm, not 1 shot in the video that wasn't a dunk. Good athlete though.

He took one jumper and it looked god awful. I'm more worried about his post moves or lack thereof.

 

[uchusky32]

Eh, there's only a handful of those types each year in college ball, most post players usually enter college as projects/live bodies. I'd be concerned if Boat doesn't come back because it seems like we're gonna lose out on XRM and then we's suddenly be thin at guard too, but if we could have a rotation of Boat/Bazz/Omar with DeAndre & Giff on the wing(and hopefully another addition like Austin or pray for Parker) I would be straight with having bigs who attack the glass, play with energy, and hopefully set decent screens(unlike this past year). I think Facey and Bell could provide that with hopefully a Senior Olander and Soph Nolan able to carry most of the load up front.





There's one Noah Vonleh. If we have a shot i would wait. But if not I guess we pull the trigger.

 

[aceboon]

yea I forgot about Vonleh, obviously him as well, Parker is really a college 4 also, you could use him like Syr used Melo.

 

[DogMania]

Pretty sure that's the case. He's very raw offensively and is almost the same player as Kentan Facey.

When do we ever get a big that isn't raw offensively? Granted there are different levels of rawness, but most big kids fit into the score by put backs or simple close range shots category. Other bigs in the raw cat struggle with even that but due to their length and athleticism they slip from mid-major to high-major prospect. Few come out of high school with much if any post-up moves or discipline in the rebounding game. Many pull down tons of RBs because they are almost always bigger, longer, stronger and more athletic than whoever they're playing against.

As much as I wouldn't mind seeing some athletic freshman big who has some offensive skills come to UConn, I'm okay with the Emeka, Boone, Hilton, Jake, etc. type bigs who can usually come in and contribute something right away but have a high ceiling. The types that go from servicable season one, to a first or even second round NBA draft pick after 3 to 4 years.

Where I'm concerned is that you usually like to have a few of these types of bigs constantly rolling in and out of your programso that you always have at least one experienced bigman. That should have been the case last season, though Alex seemed to digress and Olander was inconsistent. Those were the two experienced ones. I don't count Scoe since he didn't play much 4 last season which I'm not sure is his natural position. Bradley couldn't seem to get out of the trainer's room. As for the inexperienced ones rolling into the program, we only had AD for one season and his contribution was spotty and inconsistent. If he had returned for his sophomore season, I think we'd get a lot more from him. Bigs generally improved dramatically between their freshman and sophomore seasons. As for this upcoming season the only experienced big we return is Olander who's a 4. AO, Bradley and Scoe all bolted for greener pastures. They've been replaced by Wolf (5), Nolan (4/5), Tolksdorf (4/3).

If a few of these bigs develop into solid frontcourt players, then we'll be okay if we add one or two servicable ones that can develop over the next few years. With that said, it does seem we're thin at the 5. Wolf has the right size. I just don't know if he has high major athleticism and BBIQ potential. He seemed to move okay for a kid his size, but it's usually how quickly they process what's taking place on the court and how quickly they react to it, that separates the legit high major bigs from the ones that just can't cut it. If Nolan is a legit 6-10, he has the right height, but if he hasn't added pounds to that 200 lb frame that he is listed on one of the recruiting sites, he's not going to be able to hold his own in the post against most BE 5s. It seems our future need is greatest at the 5 and Bell doesn't sound like an aswer to that. Adding a 2013 4 is not a bad thing, but when you look at the current roster, it sure seems we need to get a 5 or at least a legit 4/5 combo.

 

[DogMania]

yea I forgot about Vonleh, obviously him as well, Parker is really a college 4 also, you could use him like Syr used Melo.

Vonleh would be a nice get, but he's a 4 and will likely be a one-and-done. Hopefully he'll be more ready to play at a consistent level than AD did last season. It would be nice to get a ready-to-play big. But IMO, the program needs to add a couple of bigs (4 & 5 or 4/5 combos) that will stick around for 2 to 3 years and begin to re-stock the program where we always have a core of experienced players that include a few that have NBA type ceilings. Of coures if we can catch lightning in a bottle with a Anthony Davis type freshman who has a huge impact on the game, I'd welcome that. But most one-hit-wonders give you an Drummond type contribution compared to Davis one. I'd like to see KO bring in the next Okafor (as in Emeka, not Jahlil though I'd love to land him) Boone, KFree, Adrien, etc. The program has been built on the backs of these types of players and not one-and-doners.

 

[uchusky32]

Vonleh would be a nice get, but he's a 4 and will likely be a one-and-done. Hopefully he'll be more ready to play at a consistent level than AD did last season. It would be nice to get a ready-to-play big. But IMO, the program needs to add a couple of bigs (4 & 5 or 4/5 combos) that will stick around for 2 to 3 years and begin to re-stock the program where we always have a core of experienced players that include a few that have NBA type ceilings. Of coures if we can catch lightning in a bottle with a Anthony Davis type freshman who has a huge impact on the game, I'd welcome that. But most one-hit-wonders give you an Drummond type contribution compared to Davis one. I'd like to see KO bring in the next Okafor (as in Emeka, not Jahlil though I'd love to land him) Boone, KFree, Adrien, etc. The program has been built on the backs of these types of players and not one-and-doners.

Good points, problem is we only have room for one more big.

 

[UConn2SF]

in an interview recently, he said he has grown to 6-8.5 and he looks taller than 6-7 in his video

 

[mauconnfan]

in an interview recently, he said he has grown to 6-8.5 and he looks taller than 6-7 in his video

In a more recent interview than that (I will try to find it) Jim Calhoun said before he retired he went to see him and he had grown to 6'11 1/2 and added 20 lbs of muscle.......obviously a must get now!!

 

[Waquoit]

In a more recent interview than that (I will try to find it) Jim Calhoun said before he retired he went to see him and he had grown to 6'11 1/2 and added 20 lbs of muscle.......obviously a must get now!!

But is it "solid" muscle? If not, no sale!

 

[pj]

If we're going to a pressure defense that's the kind of athlete we need. You only need 3 scorers on the floor at a time. We have Omar for one, not sure who the others will be once Boatright and Napier leave. Maybe not the first choice but definitely nice to have a great athlete as a backup plan.

 

[UConn Esq]

ESPN has him as 3 star , 6'6" 190; Rivals has him in their top 100 (#67) at 6'7" and 205. Does anyone know what his size is?

6'7" 200lbs according to his AAU teams website. Usually the rosters exaggerate so i would say ESPN is probably closer than Rivals.