2024 Recruiting: Liam McNeeley, the Second of His Name, 2.0

[KembaRunner]

Would we want Roach? I don’t know anything about him.

 

[auror]

Would we want Roach? I don’t know anything about him.

Roach is a perfectly cromulent player. He did take a pretty big step last season. We'd likely lose somebody if we brought him in to start at the 2.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Would we want Roach? I don’t know anything about him.

I wouldn’t hate it tbh, I like the idea of having another facilitator on the floor. We are clearly targeting a wing and a shooter, but some more experience at point would be beneficial in my eyes if you miss out on Liam, Koby or hausen.

 

[August_West]

I wouldn’t hate it tbh, I like the idea of having another facilitator on the floor. We are clearly targeting a wing and a shooter, but some more experience at point would be beneficial in my eyes if you miss out on Liam, Koby or hausen.

We have ( praying for it) Diarra. Thats our experience. Which developing program player do you want to alienate all the way to the portal in exchange for Jeremy Roach?

He’s a good player and seems like a good kid, it’s just tough maintaining a roster.

I too wish fantasy hoops was real and that any player you want to sign or want to keep is happy sitting on the bench “ in case of emergency” , but real world doesn’t really work like that.

And for the record I personally think Hass is better than Roach.

 

[KemBuckets21]

We have ( praying for it) Diarra. Thats our experience. Which developing program player do you want to alienate all the way to the portal in exchange for Jeremy Roach?

He’s a good player and seems like a good kid, it’s just tough maintaining a roster.

I too wish fantasy hoops was real and that any player you want to sign or want to keep is happy sitting on the bench “ in case of emergency” , but real world doesn’t really work like that.

And for the record I personally think Hass is better than Roach.

Don't disagree with you, Cam and Newton and Hass was an experienced backcourt trio. Hass, Ball, and Ross isn't very experienced and, as much as I like ball, he doesn't feel like he has much playmaking chops at this point in his development. Electric scorer and athlete for sure, but in my eyes I see him as energy off the bench in a 6th man role when you need the second unit to beat up on the opponents (presumably) weaker second unit. Perhaps Coach has a different view, this is just my perception of what I've seen from Ball. If we bring in Brea, perhaps he can reasonably fill the Cam void. Whether it's Brea or Roach or someone else, Ross or Ball might get squeezed for starter minutes.

 

[FearThePups]

I don’t like that Cal showed up there. I’m afraid he made Liam a large $ offer(say $1.5 million) that we can’t come close to matching(Dauster reporting we can offer 750k). I do think money matters to some degree here. Single mother, sole proprietor of a startup.

Calipari’s a snake. A smart kid finally sees value incoming to UConn with the back to backs. Clearly, we’re doing something right and it’s something money can’t buy. Let Squid, Self and the rest continue their failed strategy that money will buy championships. Grounded talented kids will take less cash in return for what we can offer.

 

[87Xfer]

No. They most definitely are. No one actually thinks Flagg is decomitting. They’re doing it to piss off Duke fans. You must not spend much time on twitter?

How would this piss off Duke fans? In reality it just makes the UConn posters look kinda pathetic.

 

[mauconnfan]

We have ( praying for it) Diarra. Thats our experience. Which developing program player do you want to alienate all the way to the portal in exchange for Jeremy Roach?

He’s a good player and seems like a good kid, it’s just tough maintaining a roster.

I too wish fantasy hoops was real and that any player you want to sign or want to keep is happy sitting on the bench “ in case of emergency” , but real world doesn’t really work like that.

And for the record I personally think Hass is better than Roach.

I hate Duke too but I think Roach is a better player than Diarra. Having said that, this doesn’t mean he’s a better fit by any means. If Diarra isn’t coming back I’d take Roach in a second.

 

[That Guy]

Don't know if this has been mentioned on the Yard or not. Supposedly Mark Pope had a Zoom call with Liam yesterday(Wed night). His OV in Storrs can't happen soon enough for me.

Edit:247 Sports reporting-- per Matt Jones-Kentucky Sports Radio

Can't imagine Kentucky being in play here. They arrived way late to the party and the fact that he got off that zoom call without scheduling a visit is a great sign. Literally the only thing they can promise him is money and playing time. They have like 2 players on their roster right now and an unproven head coach in his first year on the job. We're in such a better state as a program than they are right now that I'm fully convinced anyone that would pick them over us is solely in it for the $$$, in which case we want nothing to do with those types of guys.

 

[dogpause]

If he visits and likes what Hurley has to say and likes the culture Hurley built he will pick UConn. If he is just fishing the the biggest pot of gold, Alabama or Arkansas will be his pick. Either way UConn wins. The guys chasing the bags of money don’t care about anything but landing the next bag of money. They tend to be selfish, ball hogs, and bad teammates and it’s why all these 5 star laden teams almost always under achieve.
I am optimistic McNeeley is not that type of person, giving us a legit shot

I believe McNeeley views himself as a UConn type player and that his gaols and outlook mesh with ours. At this point Hurley's player profile has been widely and repeatedly publicized by Hurley himself, in every interview he does, without fail. Players now need to convince him; not the other way around. I love McNeeley, and beleive he will be a Husky, but if not, we'll find another player who fits.

 

[FearThePups]

Don't know if this has been mentioned on the Yard or not. Supposedly Mark Pope had a Zoom call with Liam yesterday(Wed night). His OV in Storrs can't happen soon enough for me.

Edit:247 Sports reporting-- per Matt Jones-Kentucky Sports Radio

Pope is a parasite.

 

[UCTitleTown]

1.2 million units of penicillin in each cheek. Aw many Marines with that affliction

"Filthy bastards, they go from port to port."

 

[jibsey]

I believe McNeeley views himself as a UConn type player and that his gaols and outlook mesh with ours. At this point Hurley's player profile has been widely and repeatedly publicized by Hurley himself, in every interview he does, without fail. Players now need to convince him; not the other way around. I love McNeeley, and beleive he will be a Husky, but if not, we'll find another player who fits.

Don't want to be overconfident but I think this is true. They gotta show they should be here.

 

[CTBasketball]

Diarra fits 10x better than Roach, who should not even be considered. We don't need to turn into the Cashman Yankees.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

We have ( praying for it) Diarra. Thats our experience. Which developing program player do you want to alienate all the way to the portal in exchange for Jeremy Roach?

He’s a good player and seems like a good kid, it’s just tough maintaining a roster.

I too wish fantasy hoops was real and that any player you want to sign or want to keep is happy sitting on the bench “ in case of emergency” , but real world doesn’t really work like that.

And for the record I personally think Hass is better than Roach.

To Threepeat we’re gonna need as much good karma & mojo as possible.

The kid is a good player and could be a great person, but I just wouldn’t want to tempt things by taking any Duke players from the portal.

Comfortable riding with our current guys, McNeeley, and maybe one more mid-budget portal sharpshooter Cam/Joey-like guy

 

[dennismenace]

I'd have to think that this kid, who is probably ready to get on a college campus ASAP and already went through an entire recruitment process knows very well what he is looking for in a program.

Hurley shouldn't let him leave campus once he gets here for the visit. Throw him right into summer workouts lol. Have Cam coach him while the coaches are in a no practice period lol

LOL!

 

[Scottobot]

I think it’s over simplistic to dismiss a young man’s goals or work ethic because they are moved by the offer of more money. Some young people are in situations where more money sooner is extremely important. If it was my son he could afford to be worried about long term earning potential the wanting to win and be part of a team while he had the choice, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that choice.

We should go easier on young men who are moved primarily by the offer of more money when they need the more money at the present time.

They are not making a choice between no money and a lot of money. it is a choice of decent money, plus a good place to play, vs a mountain of money … and then next year portalling again looking for an even bigger bag of money.
If all a program has to offer is the biggest bag of money, they will lose players as soon as someone can offer more money.
The perfect analogy to this is Hurley not chasing the dump truck of money to Kentucky. He would rather make good money at a place he wants to be. UConn got the right coach. UConn still needs to help recruits get decent NIL deals, but should worry about not being the top bidder.
I would not want to play with a bunch of bad attitude ball hogs who chuck up a shot every time they touch the ball and don’t pass.

 

[Scrutineer]

Saw this yesterday at On3 and posted it in another thread. Who knows if we want Roach but it appears we have definitely made contact with Mahaney:
Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s) So. G | 6-3, 180

• Kentucky is one of many schools to reach out to Saint Mary’s transfer guard Aidan Mahaney, according to Recruits Zone. The likes of Duke, UConn, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, St. John’s, and plenty more have done the same.

 

[dennismenace]

Could the foreign player be the French Center?

 

[Hurlees4hed]

Has UConn landed any other players from Montverde? Boyle used to have a hell of a rivalry with Bob Hurley Sr. when Boyle was at St. Patrick's

 

[Scrutineer]

As for McNeeley, if 750k is being bandied about as what he's worth or what he's looking for, I don't see him getting that here and it may offer a hint as to why the guy from Maine didn't come here (shall remain unmentionable so I don't trigger anyone).

Too disruptive to the culture and a slap in the face to guys like Karaban who've proved themselves and are probably not getting 750K and if that's the scale for McNeeley level players the guy from Maine probably wanted $1.5 M and I don't care how good he is he becomes a negative in the locker room.

 

[Scrutineer]

Clouseau?

 

[mauconnfan]

"Filthy bastards, they go from port to port."

 

[controlfade]

i do not want any Duke players ever!!!!!!! this is just me

 

[UconnU]

Has UConn landed any other players from Montverde? Boyle used to have a hell of a rivalry with Bob Hurley Sr. when Boyle was at St. Patrick's

No, never landed an MV kid. Which is surprising, I know Danny is close friends with KB Jr.

 

[ctbro1999]

As for McNeeley, if 750k is being bandied about as what he's worth or what he's looking for, I don't see him getting that here and it may offer a hint as to why the guy from Maine didn't come here (shall remain unmentionable so I don't trigger anyone).

Too disruptive to the culture and a slap in the face to guys like Karaban who've proved themselves and are probably not getting 750K and if that's the scale for McNeeley level players the guy from Maine probably wanted $1.5 M and I don't care how good he is he becomes a negative in the locker room.

I was watching an interview Hurley did with Dan Patrick recently, and Patrick asked him what a "ridiculous NIL ask" has been, and Hurley said that someone wanted $1.2 or $1.3M, which they passed on. I think $750k NIL is probably something UConn could cough up, but it better be damn worth it!

 

[Mr. French]

To Threepeat we’re gonna need as much good karma & mojo as possible.

The kid is a good player and could be a great person, but I just wouldn’t want to tempt things by taking any Duke players from the portal.

Comfortable riding with our current guys, McNeeley, and maybe one more mid-budget portal sharpshooter Cam/Joey-like guy

I'm here too, 100%.

If we get a McNeeley commit, he is a starter/6th man level player instantly. We have 2 starting-level handlers, multiple wing players with different roles, and 2 bigs to tag team.

One more bench shooter would be great, but I think with Ross, Ball, Stewart, Abraham development, that's a really good team.

If we get multiple years out of a Nowell/McNeeley/Stewart core, adding in '25 recruits ... sheesh.

 

[3rdbass]

I was watching an interview Hurley did with Dan Patrick recently, and Patrick asked him what a "ridiculous NIL ask" has been, and Hurley said that someone wanted $1.2 or $1.3M, which they passed on. I think $750k NIL is probably something UConn could cough up, but it better be damn worth it!

Sounds like we passed on Ballo!

 

[KingAG]

You wouldn’t know if I did or didn’t. Let’s put it this way, I’m on there enough to watch you embarrass yourself making the same definitive statements you’re making now. And no they are not all just doing it to piss off Duke fans. Not even close. Some are. Some aren’t .

Embarrass? Lmao. Nothing on twitter makes me feel “embarrassed”. I’m very comfortable in my skin. We’re both making definitive statements. I haven’t seen anyone seriously insinuate that Flagg was decommiting. Not one. Maybe we follow different people.

What’s embarrassing is how you think anything posted on twitter by fans bears any consequence on anything. Nobody actually cares except uptight boneyard posters.

Loosen up. It’s not that serious

 

[WallyPuds]

Has UConn landed any other players from Montverde? Boyle used to have a hell of a rivalry with Bob Hurley Sr. when Boyle was at St. Patrick's

I think Emmett Hendry was from Montverde, but definitely not the typical player coming out of there

 

[businesslawyer]

They are not making a choice between no money and a lot of money. it is a choice of decent money, plus a good place to play, vs a mountain of money … and then next year portalling again looking for an even bigger bag of money.
If all a program has to offer is the biggest bag of money, they will lose players as soon as someone can offer more money.
The perfect analogy to this is Hurley not chasing the dump truck of money to Kentucky. He would rather make good money at a place he wants to be. UConn got the right coach. UConn still needs to help recruits get decent NIL deals, but should worry about not being the top bidder.
I would not want to play with a bunch of bad attitude ball hogs who chuck up a shot every time they touch the ball and don’t pass.

I have no problem with Hurley's recruiting strategy. I do have a problem with how many here so easily assume that someone who feels the need to take the most money offered is a "bad attitude ball hog ...." Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra would have been the same player if their family situation was such that they needed to take the most money they could get for that year. Any implication to the contrary is just fans from their thrones willing to throw young men under the bus because it makes them feel superior by being UConn fans.