Kenya Hunter Potential Replacement | Page 14 | The Boneyard

Kenya Hunter Potential Replacement

Chin Diesel said:
Well, you'd expect an employee to grow over a two year period and be able to handle tasks now they weren't fully able to do 2 years prior.

I'd feel much differently if KFree was a 55 year old assistant with 25 years coaching two years.
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Some don't seem to understand that when Kevin was here before he was not in a coaching position and was prohibited from recruiting. Hurley liked what he saw of Kevin's work and offered high praise when he left, but he could not afford to hire someone with no track record as a coach (and as a recruiter) for a staff facing a critical turnaround project.

Kevin did what he had to do. Got a coaching job. Gained two years coaching and recruiting experience, including recruiting a guy who the knowledgeable people here believe has great upside.

Now with the program stabilized and on a rapidly rising trajectory, does anyone believe Hurley wants to be recruiting for one third of his staff every other year? He said when he hired them that all have what it takes to be head coaches and while it's great to have that level of staff, he now also has to think about stability and continuity and not have to repeatedly integrate new people into the culture.

Kevin fits the mold.
 
7774 said:
What struck me is how hard you're trying to make Kenya Hunter seem like something other than a great assistant and recruiter for some odd reason. His body of work at Xavier, Georgetown, Nebraska, and UConn speaks for itself.
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Can we all admit we lost a great assistant? It happens. We have an amazing crop of talent for 2-3 years which doesn’t require an immediate star recruiter. Give Kevin some experience. He would absolutely rave to recruits how much the Big East meant to him and playing for Jim Calhoun. Less turnover in future years as Tom Moore and he wouldn’t go anywhere. Give Kimani a raise because he’s put the most work in, pay Kevin 140-150 k. It all makes sense.
 
7774 said:
What struck me is how hard you're trying to make Kenya Hunter seem like something other than a great assistant and recruiter for some odd reason. His body of work at Xavier, Georgetown, Nebraska, and UConn speaks for itself.
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I'm just being objective and suggesting that all the weeping and gnashing of teeth about how will we ever replace him for recruiting may not be as troubling as some make it out to be.
Look at the ratings of the Nebraska recruits. Maybe he was in a slump, maybe Nebraska isn't an appealing place, maybe they didn't like the head coach, maybe this, maybe that. But the ratings speak for themselves. And to give him sole credit for the 4 players in the top 150 requires believing that all the low rated players were recruited by the other coaches.
If he gets Sallis to go to Indiana it'll prove we lost a great recruiter. Till then, the results of the past seven years don't bear it out.
 
An important thing to remember here is that Tom and Kimani remain. That gives us 3 excellent recruiters plus Kevin. We have some leeway to train him and nurture him with this staff.

We aren’t one of these schools with one bag man guy that the whole thing hinges on.
 
Hoophound said:
We have some leeway to train him and nurture him with this staff.
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C'mon, it's not like we're dealing with Baby Tenderlove here. I'm not sure he needs all that much care and feeding. He knows and loves the place. He went elsewhere for a couple of years, had success and made new contacts outside the one's they have now. He fits this staff like a glove. And remember, he wasn't just a warrior he has a high BB IQ and displayed it in the heat of battle here in one of UConn's most famous plays (skip to 1:00):


Both announcers called out Freeman for grabbing the ball before it went out. After the game, Kevin said he knew they had a better chance to score it they didn't let Pitt set up. He was right!
 
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This thread is peak BY, the program is in great hands under Hurley. Tons of talent on the current team and in the pipeline for 2021. Reading this thread makes it seem like the sky is falling. Assistants come and go, but what matters is having Hurley steer the ship, so sit back and enjoy! Whoever ends up being the next assistant, I fully expect them to do a great job, they have Hurley to show them the way.
 
KFree was an absolute warrior as a player. He can learn so much under Hurley in terms of coaching. I would welcome him back to the staff without and hesitation.
 
Deuce said:
You’re ‘lol’ing’ and arguing for a guy WHO IS NOT IN COACHING. I’m sure eventually EO could go to med school and become a surgeon but I don’t want him currently being a candidate to slice into me at the moment. Look I get it man you thought of the best academic big man former player we had but it just doesn’t necessarily translate into coaching whosoever. EO Smith JV yes I agree with you but again when looking for potential coaches at UConn one requirement is that they atleast are coaches.
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Pseudo-sarcasm:), I can stand behind Kelis Fisher for sure.
 
Waquoit said:
C'mon, it's not like we're dealing with Baby Tenderlove here. I'm not sure he needs all that much care and feeding. He knows and loves the place. He went elsewhere for a couple of years, had success and made new contacts outside the one's they have now. He fits this staff like a glove. And remember, he wasn't just a warrior he has a high BB IQ and displayed it in the heat of battle here in one of UConn's most famous plays (skip to 1:00):


Both announcers called out Freeman for grabbing the ball before it went out. After the game, Kevin said he knew they had a better chance to score it they didn't let Pitt set up. He was right!
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Don’t be a drama queen. That’s clearly not what I meant. KFree has a lot to learn from guys like Tom Moore. I learn stuff from old timers in my business every day and I just turned 47. He isn’t an experienced recruiter. He should work out well and I’ve stated it in other posts. My point is, we have an excellent staff that can afford to bring on a coach that isn’t a proven, big time recruiter, as we already have 3 of them.
 
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All Kelis Fisher has to do is be able to relate to young players to be a good recruiter. He seems to be in that sweet spot, not too young nor too old.

He can also personally attest to the fact that you can win a NC at UConn, something just about all the other recruiters can't.
 
king conn said:
All Kelis Fisher has to do is be able to relate to young players to be a good recruiter. He seems to be in that sweet spot, not too young nor too old.

He can also personally attest to the fact that you can win a NC at UConn, something just about all the other recruiters can't.
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It certainly helps a lot but in recruiting connections and relationships to coaches, AAU, etc. matter even more these days.
 
Screenshot_20200831-165002_Twitter.jpg
 
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Waquoit said:
Me? You're talking about nurturing a 40+ year-old man making 6 figures.
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Given that he is family and has little recruiting experience, nurture was a fair word choice. Again, I think KFree will succeed and am happy with the choice.
 
king conn said:
To you and any others who disagree, we shall see then won't we?

I'll be taking names.
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Disagree with what? That way more goes into recruiting than just relating to young players? You're factually wrong to a massive degree, even if Kevin Freeman becomes the greatest recruiter in the history of college basketball. So we probably don't need to wait, we can just call it now.

Also, you don't need to have been on the team to personally attest to the fact that you can win a NC at UConn, that's not how it works. And Tom Moore was on the team for 2 championships anyway.
 
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UKemba15 said:
I hear he pulled in three Top 100 news stories for Lancaster Newspapers last year (per 247), and he’s won Best Mustache in the Lititz, PA metro area for a decade running. I’m sure Hurley sees the potential there.
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Excellence is excellence...
 
I think Kevin will do a great job if selected. How many guys get a P5 assistant gig without any coaching experience unless maybe you're a former NBA star. I thought he was a top candidate when I read the minimum qualifications, 2 years coaching at a P5
 
I am fascinated by the notion that young Bigs could not benefit from a someone who played as an undersized PF in the OBE and was a warrior for JC on the Boards..And then applying his skills professionally.. Learning how to have the warrior mentality/be a warrior gets you to the next level.. OK..Folks seem to think you can "learn" how to be a Bigs coach even if you never played the position at any level.. If I was a 7' freshman about to compete in the BE.. It would be more credible to me to learn from someone who has walked the walk.. As for recruiting.. It's networking..Communicating .. Working the Rolodex.. Anyone with business experience who has been transferred into a new territory/geography knows this drill.. Outworking the competition makes up for some "apparent" shortcomings..
 
7774 said:
Disagree with what? That way more goes into recruiting than just relating to young players? You're factually wrong to a massive degree, even if Kevin Freeman becomes the greatest recruiter in the history of college basketball. So we probably don't need to wait, we can just call it now.

Also, you don't need to have been on the team to personally attest to the fact that you can win a NC at UConn, that's not how it works. And Tom Moore was on the team for 2

Is this a serious post?
If he becomes the greatest recruiter in college basketball, and doesn't have those other great connections or experience you think he needs, how do you think he would have reeled in those recruits? Brand of toothpaste?

Factually wrong? Do you know what a fact actually is or means? What you are saying is no coach without those things you think he needs would ever succeed in recruiting. Which would mean there were never any rookie coaches or those who never recruited before that succeeded. Which is of course as false as can be.
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king conn said:
Is this a serious post?
If he becomes the greatest recruiter in college basketball, and doesn't have those other great connections or experience you think he needs, how do you think he would have reeled in those recruits? Brand of toothpaste?

Factually wrong? Do you know what a fact actually is or means? What you are saying is no coach without those things you think he needs would ever succeed in recruiting. Which would mean there were never any rookie coaches or those who never recruited before that succeeded. Which is of course as false as can be.
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You said "All Kelis Fisher has to do is be able to relate to young players to be a good recruiter." That is objectively false.

KFree is going to be great here but it's not because all he has to do is relate to young kids. If that's true half this board would be qualified to become the next assistant coach
 
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