Koby Brea entered the portal. Please please Coach Hurley

[EBonz30]

I think our roster is good- now I am guessing Hurley will wait to see what happens with Karaban & Diarra (?)- think if Karaban decides to stay in the draft can see a late pickup like Spencer from last year…..

 

[DogMania]

I do wonder if, with Mahaney committing, we'll get quick resolution one way or another, whether that's the staff cooling on Brea or putting on the full-court-press to complete our 2024-25 roster.

Although there's a little crossover between the two which is both can knock down 3s, albeit Brea shots them at a crazy high percentage, they both fill different roles. Mahaney provides lead guard depth, ball handing, 3 level scoring while Brea has been predominantly a 3 Pt 2/3 specialist.

If Brea lands here as well, he'll need to be coached up. Word is he's not a good defender.
But the clips show he's got solid athleticism so maybe he didn't get the coaching he needed, or just didn't want to learn. He won't get the minutes he wants if he doesn't learn to play Hurley's team D and rebounding. A big part of executing on both ends is instincts and BBIQ. If he learns to defend, rebound, pass, cut, screen, drive and score both midrange and at the rim, he'll turn out to be a big surprise. His stats were very much lacking in many of those areas and he was relagated to the 6th man role for a reason. If he contributes just as a 3 Pt specialist off the bench and shots it around that 50% clip, he'd still be an asset to the team, but improving in these other areas would not only benefit the team, it would definitely improve his next level career wherever that takes him.

BTW, many want to compare him to Johnny Cal, but he was more than just a 3pt specialist, who could pass and beat his man off the dribble and get some points inside. Though he buttered his bread from beyond the arc.

 

[FlexOnEm]

Unless Karaban doesn’t come back I don’t see where Brea fits on this roster. It’s already 9 deep without any holes.

 

[Fishy]

The bag Kentucky is going to drop on Brea tomorrow is going to choke a horse. The kid just profited bigly on his UConn visit and the fact that Kentucky were also big players in the McNeeley and Mahaney sweepstakes. They absolutely HAVE to close on Brea now to save face after losing the first two to us , and it's going to cost them. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I am thinking that Hurley absolutely knows this too, and loves sticking it to them.

I think Hurley doesn’t care about Kentucky and that Brea’s leverage and asking price just took a major hit when the St. Mary’s kid came off the board to UConn.

I would be mildly surprised to see us pursue Brea now. A spot shooter really does not fill a hole that we have - we have better players on the roster already.

And that’s without Karaban who I think is 80/20 for the NBA.

 

[DogMania]

Where has it been reported that Brea will be visiting UK? I've only seen that someone from UK will be visiting him in NY.

With that said, maybe UConn doesn't have a spot for him or maybe they wanted both he and Mahaney, and Brea is just weighing his options still. Don't we have enough ships even if Hass and Alex return?

I wouldn't mind a crazy deep bench where the minutes get distributed more broadly if the chemistry between the different lineups works okay and allows them to play with incredible intensity and less likely to be in serious foul trouble. Not saying that would be the case, but it would be fun to witness.

We're all simply speculating. We'll all find out soon enough.

 

[FlexOnEm]

Starting to swing towards Kentucky, per Trilly.

 

[Mookson]

So according to the rumors, Brea is a bag chaser that essentially created his own hype with a list of blue bloods, of which only one or two of the schools were actually interested him. Sounds like a dodged bullet.

 

[Huskyforlife]

So according to the rumors, Brea is a bag chaser that essentially created his own hype with a list of blue bloods, of which only one or two of the schools were actually interested him. Sounds like a dodged bullet.

He literally visited.

 

[Bboy Lace]

So according to the rumors, Brea is a bag chaser that essentially created his own hype with a list of blue bloods, of which only one or two of the schools were actually interested him. Sounds like a dodged bullet.

I don't mind bag chasers. Get your money. I just mind them on our team.

 

[Mookson]

He literally visited.

I’m aware…. I’m saying his whole process has been strange.

 

[Mookson]

I don't mind bag chasers. Get your money. I just mind them on our team.

That is my point haha.

 

[OceanDoggie]

So according to the rumors, Brea is a bag chaser that essentially created his own hype with a list of blue bloods, of which only one or two of the schools were actually interested him. Sounds like a dodged bullet.

It can't be conjured hype if he visited Uconn, is visiting U.K tomorrow, and has been confirmed to have canceled an invite from Duke.

 

[bjc42]

I think Hurley doesn’t care about Kentucky and that Brea’s leverage and asking price just took a major hit when the St. Mary’s kid came off the board to UConn.

I would be mildly surprised to see us pursue Brea now. A spot shooter really does not fill a hole that we have - we have better players on the roster already.

And that’s without Karaban who I think is 80/20 for the NBA.

If we think Karaban is gone we will have to fill that. A late add like Spencer last year would be almost necessary imo

 

[Mookson]

It can't be conjured hype if he visited Uconn, is visiting U.K tomorrow, and has been confirmed to have canceled an invite from Duke.

Is the rumor not that Duke cancelled on him?

 

[JohnnyJr]

If we think Karaban is gone we will have to fill that. A late add like Spencer last year would be almost necessary imo

We’re not gonna have a June entry in the portal they gotta be in by Wednesday

 

[UC0NN]

Enter the portal by Wednesday. Pick them up before semester begins.

 

[Ricker]

I'd like Brea, and I think the staff was open to both. However, it sounds like it upsets the applecart with both money and minutes. I wasn't worried about the minutes because a 6'6 49% deep shooter is a real value, but not at a price that creates even more problems. I'd still like him, and I expect he will be here on our terms if he were to choose us, but I agree that does not seem likely. He could not expect to be featured and top paid here.

 

[Fishy]

If we think Karaban is gone we will have to fill that. A late add like Spencer last year would be almost necessary imo

Did you hear about Liam McNeeley?

 

[TheHorde]

We’re not gonna have a June entry in the portal they gotta be in by Wednesday

What if for example a college coach took an NBA head coaching job? Would that enable recruits to decommit or current players to enter the portal? Or no?

 

[CTBasketball]

In my head, signing up for hopeful recruitment bits from Storrs Central and Tilly’s Discord is the same as subscribing to your local towns’ mistress’s Only Fans page.

Everyone’s an insider now!

 

[Fishy]

So according to the rumors, Brea is a bag chaser that essentially created his own hype with a list of blue bloods, of which only one or two of the schools were actually interested him. Sounds like a dodged bullet.

I hate these takes. They’re just vapid.

Like, he spent four years at Dayton, won the A10’s Sixth Man Award and he’s visited UConn and Kentucky - how in the world is that creating his own hype?

UConn got someone they wanted more and now Kentucky has a better shot at him. If Kentucky got Mahaney, UConn would have a better shot at Brea. That’s how it works.

Your take is mean, stupid and pointless.

 

[Fishy]

In my head, signing up for hopeful recruitment bits from Storrs Central and Tilly’s Discord is the same as subscribing to your local towns’ mistress’s Only Fans page.

Everyone’s an insider now!

Well, no. Also, your town has a local mistress? How does she handle that? Anyway.

I think Trilly definitely has terrific sources. Whether it’s worth money to get his information three minutes before everyone else gets it, that’s up to you.

Storrs Central is an NIL play that almost 25 years of familiarity with the network model makes me somewhat skeptical of long-term, but you cannot doubt the sincerity of the effort of those involved.

 

[August_West]

I think Hurley doesn’t care about Kentucky and that Brea’s leverage and asking price just took a major hit when the St. Mary’s kid came off the board to UConn.

I would be mildly surprised to see us pursue Brea now. A spot shooter really does not fill a hole that we have - we have better players on the roster already.

And that’s without Karaban who I think is 80/20 for the NBA.

I always thought we had to have 2 out of the 3 and that was the aim going in. I still think we would take Brea though, we just don't have to be aggressive any longer. 3 out of 3 presents other potential issues as well, but Kentucky thinks this is still a 2 horse race. And I don't think anyone on UConn or Brea's end will do anything to dissuade Kentucky of that right now, thus they are going to pay.

 

[Fishy]

I always thought we had to have 2 out of the 3 and that was the aim going in. I still think we would take Brea though, we just don't have to be aggressive any longer. 3 out of 3 presents other potential issues as well, but Kentucky thinks this is still a 2 horse race. And I don't think anyone on UConn or Brea's end will do anything to dissuade Kentucky of that right now.

Two out of the three?

Who are the three? Mahaney, Brea….

 

[August_West]

Two out of the three?

Who are the three? Mahaney, Brea….

McNeeley, Not a portal obviously but a roster need. All three came up in a quick window for decision times (although weve been on McNeeley since decommit and I think we were in great shape the whole time, nothing is a given in this arena) and provisions for different scenarios need to be planned for, like what if we didn't get McNeeley, then the press on landing BOTH Brea and Mahaney becomes more important.