looks like official visit to uconn: Oct. 10-12th by Melvin Swift
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swift or kosongo? at the PF
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No nothing about swift other than his crazy rise. Looks like a more explosive roscoe. Either one delightful
CTBasketball
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Reminds me of a poor man's Edmund Saunders...
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If my memory serves me, we've done quite well with players from the Houston area. Wasn't both Jake and Emeka from that part of Texas.
It's nice to see that KO and the staff continue to come up with options. I don't know what the different projected level of talent there is between forwards like Lubin, Kasongo and Swift, but if it doesn't seem to be much, I'm assuming KO simply is going to take the first two bigs and then move on from there. Now I'm not including Robinson with this group. I'm assuming KO sees Robinson as a highly skilled 3/4 combo. Maybe Swift is his fall-back plan to Robinson or maybe KO sees enough in these other bigs that at this stage the stakes for Robinson are too high and he'll take the bird-in-the-hand over the Robinson-in-the-bush. I have no idea what the staff is thinking and how they are grading this kids.
JC would take this approach at this stage in the recruiting period where he'd tell a set of recruits the first to say "yes" gets the ship, or in some cases the first 2 to say "yes" get the ships when he needed multiple players at a given position. One example of this was when he told...my gosh I can't remember any more...the 3 guards they were recruiting when they got Taliek. Oh, I got it, Andre Barrett, Omar Cook and Taliek Brown. TB said yes, and JC told the others to pound sand. Now, I don't know if KO is taking this approach, but I think he did, and that's why Lubin said yes, Kasongo felt pressure and will feel even more pressure if KO made him aware that he's bringing in Swift for a look and will take his verbal if Kasongo remains undecided. Again, maybe Swift is a 3/4 option and is no longer willing to wait on Robinson, though since Robinson is still scheduled for their First Night event, and the level of talent he possesses, I think KO is going to hold out a ship for him if he wants to be a Husky. Examples of JC taking this approach were the cases with Rudy (who we got), Jason Alexander, Bass and of course my all time favorite near-miss Ike Diogu. JC, held ships for these recruits while passing on lessor players. It worked with Rudy, but not so good with the others, at least as far as signing someone in the Fall. I don't remember who we ended up landing on in the spring, but in some of the cases we got better ones and in others, we didn't and could really have used some of them.
One thing to keep in mind, there are only so many ships KO can offer up and it wouldn't be the first time a coach signed more recruits than open spots, knowing that someone would leave early for one reason or another. That can be a tad dicey, but I think we can count on Daniels moving on after the season unless he doesn't pick up where he left off or gulp, sustains a significant injury that cuts his season short. I don't know the exact count, I stopped worrying about that this year for whatever reason, but I would not be shocked to see KO sign some combination of these X players:
PG - just one yet to be determined
2-3 Combo - Hamilton
3-4 Combo - Robinson
4 (or 4-5 Combos) - 2 of them - Lubin plus either Swift or Konsongo
--------------
5 recruits in total in this class.
Note added to this group for 2014 is the Transfer Combo Guard, Purvis and whoever returns from the current group. Purvis, depending on his ability to learn to play the 1 as well as improve his play at the 2, means the team could have little drop off at either the 1 or 2 depending on how things shake out. KO's options might be Boatright, Samuels, Purvis, Hamilton, Omar and some 2014 PG who's not a High-Major reach, which I'm a tad concerned about.
At the wing KO has plenty of options with Omar, Hamilton and hopefully Robinson splitting time. (I think the 2 & 3 position will be interchangeable when you look at all the players who have the skill set to play both positions. It will turn out to be more a defensive match-up decision as far as who guards the opposing 2G and Wing.)
At the 4 spot - there might be loads of options between Nolan, Facey, Tolksdorf, Lubin and some combination of (Kasongo, Swift, Robinson)
And at the 5 we have Brimah, Nolan and depending on which undersized 4 can burn a few minutes at the 5, I'd Lubin and Kasongo since both are physical beasts.
Okay, I need to get back to the new-and-improved DM who had been leaving shorter posts lately. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to return to MBA (Message Boards Anonymous).
"Hello! My name is DogMania and I can't seem to step away from the keyboard."
It's nice to see that KO and the staff continue to come up with options. I don't know what the different projected level of talent there is between forwards like Lubin, Kasongo and Swift, but if it doesn't seem to be much, I'm assuming KO simply is going to take the first two bigs and then move on from there. Now I'm not including Robinson with this group. I'm assuming KO sees Robinson as a highly skilled 3/4 combo. Maybe Swift is his fall-back plan to Robinson or maybe KO sees enough in these other bigs that at this stage the stakes for Robinson are too high and he'll take the bird-in-the-hand over the Robinson-in-the-bush. I have no idea what the staff is thinking and how they are grading this kids.
JC would take this approach at this stage in the recruiting period where he'd tell a set of recruits the first to say "yes" gets the ship, or in some cases the first 2 to say "yes" get the ships when he needed multiple players at a given position. One example of this was when he told...my gosh I can't remember any more...the 3 guards they were recruiting when they got Taliek. Oh, I got it, Andre Barrett, Omar Cook and Taliek Brown. TB said yes, and JC told the others to pound sand. Now, I don't know if KO is taking this approach, but I think he did, and that's why Lubin said yes, Kasongo felt pressure and will feel even more pressure if KO made him aware that he's bringing in Swift for a look and will take his verbal if Kasongo remains undecided. Again, maybe Swift is a 3/4 option and is no longer willing to wait on Robinson, though since Robinson is still scheduled for their First Night event, and the level of talent he possesses, I think KO is going to hold out a ship for him if he wants to be a Husky. Examples of JC taking this approach were the cases with Rudy (who we got), Jason Alexander, Bass and of course my all time favorite near-miss Ike Diogu. JC, held ships for these recruits while passing on lessor players. It worked with Rudy, but not so good with the others, at least as far as signing someone in the Fall. I don't remember who we ended up landing on in the spring, but in some of the cases we got better ones and in others, we didn't and could really have used some of them.
One thing to keep in mind, there are only so many ships KO can offer up and it wouldn't be the first time a coach signed more recruits than open spots, knowing that someone would leave early for one reason or another. That can be a tad dicey, but I think we can count on Daniels moving on after the season unless he doesn't pick up where he left off or gulp, sustains a significant injury that cuts his season short. I don't know the exact count, I stopped worrying about that this year for whatever reason, but I would not be shocked to see KO sign some combination of these X players:
PG - just one yet to be determined
2-3 Combo - Hamilton
3-4 Combo - Robinson
4 (or 4-5 Combos) - 2 of them - Lubin plus either Swift or Konsongo
--------------
5 recruits in total in this class.
Note added to this group for 2014 is the Transfer Combo Guard, Purvis and whoever returns from the current group. Purvis, depending on his ability to learn to play the 1 as well as improve his play at the 2, means the team could have little drop off at either the 1 or 2 depending on how things shake out. KO's options might be Boatright, Samuels, Purvis, Hamilton, Omar and some 2014 PG who's not a High-Major reach, which I'm a tad concerned about.
At the wing KO has plenty of options with Omar, Hamilton and hopefully Robinson splitting time. (I think the 2 & 3 position will be interchangeable when you look at all the players who have the skill set to play both positions. It will turn out to be more a defensive match-up decision as far as who guards the opposing 2G and Wing.)
At the 4 spot - there might be loads of options between Nolan, Facey, Tolksdorf, Lubin and some combination of (Kasongo, Swift, Robinson)
And at the 5 we have Brimah, Nolan and depending on which undersized 4 can burn a few minutes at the 5, I'd Lubin and Kasongo since both are physical beasts.
Okay, I need to get back to the new-and-improved DM who had been leaving shorter posts lately. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to return to MBA (Message Boards Anonymous).
"Hello! My name is DogMania and I can't seem to step away from the keyboard."
C
Chief00
I like these physical types Bigs - put them with some 5 star skilled players and you got a tough team to beat assuming you also have a point guard.
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Melvin Swift Jr. @ThatBoySwift
I am getting a lot of Love from University Of Connecticut Huskies they have been showing me a lot of Love from the Alumni & Fans
I am getting a lot of Love from University Of Connecticut Huskies they have been showing me a lot of Love from the Alumni & Fans
CTBasketball
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The only thing that irritates me more than stupid basketball is vigorously clapping your hands after a routine 2-handed dunk.
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Get over it. These are competitive kids. You know nothing about what was going on in that game. If you watch the video closely you can see that all the clips where he clapped and celebrated excessively were against one particular team. Could be a rivalry or very close tight knit game. Did you see how into it the fans were? He was caught up in the moment and enjoying the game. I would rather have someone be overly passionate and care rather than someone be lethargic out there like Marcus Williams used to be.
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Speaking of annoying, I love it when posters on here trash a kid who's considering UConn.
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...Yeah he gets up.
http://ballislife.com/67-melvin-swi...er-ballislife-south-dunk-of-the-year-nominee/
Love his athleticism.
I sort of agree with CT a little too though. I'm not trashing the kid at all and I'm sure CT wasn't either. But the trash talking and hand clapping business isn't going to fly in Storrs. Just imagine if JC were still coaching, LOL.
I realize these guys are intense and competitive but there's a right way to do it. For example, Ryan Boatright is probably the most intense guy on our squad but he picks and chooses times where he brings emotion out, and he does it the right way.
Other than that this kid has insane hops. Wish there were videos out there that highlighted some other aspects of his game.
http://ballislife.com/67-melvin-swi...er-ballislife-south-dunk-of-the-year-nominee/
Love his athleticism.
I sort of agree with CT a little too though. I'm not trashing the kid at all and I'm sure CT wasn't either. But the trash talking and hand clapping business isn't going to fly in Storrs. Just imagine if JC were still coaching, LOL.
I realize these guys are intense and competitive but there's a right way to do it. For example, Ryan Boatright is probably the most intense guy on our squad but he picks and chooses times where he brings emotion out, and he does it the right way.
Other than that this kid has insane hops. Wish there were videos out there that highlighted some other aspects of his game.
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Really?? Do you not remember Jeff Adrien pounding his chest and screaming after dunks!? Or better yet cursing during many rebounds? I wasn't a member then but I doubt there were many complaints about that. And seriously we have to put things into perspective here. If you look at the video he is in a small crowded gym with a very intense and probably local crowd playing against likely another Houston/local team. Could be one neighborhood vs another neighborhood. Plus the AAU setting isn't always professional. I've played in many games that were in rough parts of town (including Houston) and I've seen coaches fight fans etc. It gets very emotional sometimes and it doesn't have the level of professionalization that playing a game on national TV for a major D1 basketball team does. I think you and CT are selling the kid a little short and not considering the environment. I have no question he will be able to tame his attitude at the next level as these kids (Boatright, Adrien) usually are able to do.
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He wrote me back on Twitter to thank me for confirming to him what a great fanbase we have. He clearly seems to be a guy who is flattered by the attention he's gettting from a program as storied as ours. He has been offered, correct?
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All I'm saying is it just seemed a bit excessive. Yes I remember Jeff doing that mostly after and-one dunks. Honestly Jeff could do whatever the hell he wanted with the effort he put into each and every game. (And the fact that he was an absolute monster.)
Anyways, it was just an observation and I don't know anything about him beyond this video so for all I know those could have been the only ten or so times that he's done that. It's not like I'm saying we shouldn't try and get him lol...
Edit: Believe me I'll be promoting UConn on twitter with him every chance I get!
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Alright it's no worries, you and CT do have a point I just don't see the worth in the criticism that's all. I'm over it.
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JC was fine with it. I remember Marcus pretending to take pictures after a dunk by Rudy at the Carrier Dome .... Rip and Free bowing to each other ... If anything KO seems like he's going to tighten that stuff up, but JC let them have fun.
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Not how recruiting works.
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I agree. But bring him here and KO will help him understand the right way.........the kid has the Cleveland Melvin look on video. Great athlete, not sure if he can shoot it although the one soft little jump hook was nice. How many unknown's went to Xavier in the past which you have seen and said "Wow nice player where did he come from?"......Xavier plays good basketball and they wanted him!
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Bingo..... the Rip/Free bow was uncomfortable to me as I thought it to be a bit over the top but hey, they're kids and they celebrate. Just don't celebrate and have your guy beat you back for a lay up and I know it happened to both Jeff and Alex O a few times!! Hate that...........
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