LJ Peak top 5...

[Burnsbros23]

Peak isn't a backup plan recruit by any measure.

He's top 35 (ESPN).

Which is similar to Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, AJ Price and a few other Uconn greats.

He is rated lower by other sites. ESPN over reacted to a game he played vs simeon. Peak will finish around 50 or so. He's a wing who could hit shots and attack the rim but his ball handling needs to improve.

 

[selles]

3rd best player? WTF?

Seriously. I can't even wrap my mind around some of these comments. Kid carried UConn on his back in '08 and was the straw that stirred the drink in '09.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

He's not in the same class as guys like Gordon and Allen, but he was the third best player on a final four team - that's nothing to sneeze at.

besides hasheem, who is this other mystery player that was better than price? please don't say adrien.

 

[James]

Why are we chasing these elite wings to sit on the bench? Unless omar leaves early, the 2/3 is locked for a long time. Maybe these wings will be fine being a glue guy, who knows though.

 

[aceboon]

forget underrated, AJ might be the most disrespected player to wear a UConn jersey. I don't know if its the laptop issue or what that leads to the downplaying of his career, but his last 2 years once the rust wore off were two of the best from a UConn PG in regards to play and leadership.

 

[aceboon]

Why are we chasing these elite wings to sit on the bench? Unless omar leaves early, the 2/3 is locked for a long time. Maybe these wings will be fine being a glue guy, who knows though.

if Purvis is able to sucessfully transition to the 1 there's plenty of time available for another SG/SF, plus it would be nice to have depth again now that we have a full deck of scholarships to play with.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Looks ultra athletic and pretty polished for a high school kid. I would love getting this kid.

Wow this kid looks athletic, seems to have great body control. Looks like he could be a stud/lottery pick in a few years depending on weather or not he commits here

 

[superjohn]

Why are we chasing these elite wings to sit on the bench? Unless omar leaves early, the 2/3 is locked for a long time. Maybe these wings will be fine being a glue guy, who knows though.

Oh man, this is exactly what I was talking about.

 

[James]

Oh man, this is exactly what I was talking about.

you think top 35 kids like the idea of sitting on the bench during crunch time? there are 5 players on the court. 2 wings are filled. I do buy the idea of depth, but alot of elite recruits want to be featured(SEE RODNEY PURVIS).

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

you think top 35 kids like the idea of sitting on the bench during crunch time? there are 5 players on the court. 2 wings are filled. I do buy the idea of depth, but alot of elite recruits want to be featured(SEE RODNEY PURVIS).

There's no rule that upperclassmen start over freshmen. You think Andrew Wiggins is going to say "why would I go to school ____, they're already got a kid that plays my position"? If you're better, you play. Nothing is ever "locked for a long time." And you certainly don't stop recruiting because you've got a kid that plays that position.

 

[formerlurker]

Give me the kids who respect the history of UConn MBB, respect the caliber of NBA players we've produced and who are not afraid to compete for a job. No egos.

Different game but that's why Geno is the best recruiter the Women's game has ever seen. The young Women he brings in have bought into the history, the environment and the competitiveness of UCWBB. How many of his recruits have said they signed on because they wanted to compete every day against the best and prove to themselves they belonged?

I just Googled it and the answer is, a sh-itload.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

He's not in the same class as guys like Gordon and Allen, but he was the third best player on a final four team - that's nothing to sneeze at.

AJ Price was the best player on a final four team. Michigan State game plan was to take him out of the game and that team could not function without AJ running the show. He was one of the top few floor generals that UConn has had during the Calhoun era. He used to shred zone defenses and knew how to get the ball to his teammates where they could get easy baskets. This little bit of revisionist history (that he wasn't really that good) is by no means a consensus on the Boneyard. By the end of his UConn career, he had grown into a mature leader and the "go to" player on a Final Four team.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Are we calling AJ Price a UConn great these days?

Absolutely. Led us to a final four

 

[superjohn]

Top kids want to go to top schools and compete. Look at the other top schools they are always recruiting a bunch of burger boys every year and they always recruit at the same positions. Just because a guy started the season before at a certain position means nothing, it's all about competition at the top schools, your starting slot is never guaranteed.

 

[kcc1442]

you think top 35 kids like the idea of sitting on the bench during crunch time? there are 5 players on the court. 2 wings are filled. I do buy the idea of depth, but alot of elite recruits want to be featured(SEE RODNEY PURVIS).

If they are athletic enough and can play the 2-4 which isn't difficult in college ball. Then you can start 3 and have at least 3/4 off the bench that play at anywhere from 6-3 to 6-7 or 6-8....Even the subs will get their time....Athletic wings are the best as long as they can defend all 3 positions. It's not like the pro's where you need to be able to defend a 6-10 245 lb monster at the 4 with an array of post moves every night. Athletic wings rarely get exploited at the D1 level. I don't see anyone in Lexington complaining about signing up for playing time lately.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Why are we chasing these elite wings to sit on the bench? Unless omar leaves early, the 2/3 is locked for a long time. Maybe these wings will be fine being a glue guy, who knows though.

We have at least 4 maybe 5 more scholarship openings for 2014. You don't think 1 out of 4/5 should be used on a stud wing?

 

[Burnsbros23]

Give me the kids who respect the history of UConn MBB, respect the caliber of NBA players we've produced and who are not afraid to compete for a job. No egos.

Different game but that's why Geno is the best recruiter the Women's game has ever seen. The young Women he brings in have bought into the history, the environment and the competitiveness of UCWBB. How many of his recruits have said they signed on because they wanted to compete every day against the best and prove to themselves they belonged?

I just Googled it and the answer is, a sh-itload.

Yah lets not compare the mens and womens game.

 

[david]

One thing I'd like to get people's opinion on is: Is it a coincidence that his drop in the rankings coincided with his move from a school in Chicago playing with kids like Jahlil Okafor to a school in South Carolina? If you look at his AAU stats with CP3 he is shooting over .500 from the floor and over .600 from 3 (with a decent amount of shots). I feel like the school you play for ends up being more important than how well you're actually playing for a lot of these rankings.

 

[aceboon]

One thing I'd like to get people's opinion on is: Is it a coincidence that his drop in the rankings coincided with his move from a school in Chicago playing with kids like Jahlil Okafor to a school in South Carolina? If you look at his AAU stats with CP3 he is shooting over .500 from the floor and over .600 from 3 (with a decent amount of shots). I feel like the school you play for ends up being more important than how well you're actually playing for a lot of these rankings.

Are you sure that the rankings have been re-done since the HS season ended? Either way you're right that playing for certain schools does influence your ranking and exposure, I believe that is part of the reason he moved to Chi but I'm not 100% on that.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Undisputed leader of a Final Four team, yes, AJ Price is a UConn great. He accomplished more than Donyell, Ray, Rudy, and a host of others. When Dyson got suspended in 2008, he secured the reins and never looked back.

 

[superjohn]

Here is a video of his team from 1 game this season, LJ is a serious athlete has like 6 great dunks.

 

[david]

Are you sure that the rankings have been re-done since the HS season ended? Either way you're right that playing for certain schools does influence your ranking and exposure, I believe that is part of the reason he moved to Chi but I'm not 100% on that.

He moved between his sophomore and junior year from Chicago to SC. From what I can tell that's when he was highest in the rankings. Now he's been moving down during his junior year while he played HS ball in South Carolina

 

[aceboon]

He moved between his sophomore and junior year from Chicago to SC. From what I can tell that's when he was highest in the rankings. Now he's been moving down during his junior year while he played HS ball in South Carolina

He moved from SC to Chi b/w his soph & junior year, he played last year with Whitney Young as a junior. He just moved back to SC and hasn't played yet with his old HS team.

 

[formerlurker]

I'm obviously in the minority here but I consider the UConn greats to be on par with the Huskies of Honor members. I just don't see how AJ's overall body of work qualifies him.

I'm a Yankee fan and I hate how the retired number has become more about warm fuzzy feelings than elite, once in a generation talent. Reggie Jackson did great things as a Yankee but his #44 should never be compared to 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16, 32 & 42. (Thurman's my favorite Yankee of all-time and tragic death aside I don't think his 15 deserves to be retired)

The Yankee retired numbers I left off fall into the same category as AJ. Solid players who deserve high praise. Not immortality.

 

[david]

He moved from SC to Chi b/w his soph & junior year, he played last year with Whitney Young as a junior. He just moved back to SC and hasn't played yet with his old HS team.

Oh damn. I'm an idiot then