Lukas Kisunas Commits to UConn

[JLock819]

It’s where the new recruiting strategy was discussed and refined. 4 recruits have signed since Blaze (8/25). A total pivot.

Haters gonna hate Chief...

 

[navery12]

I think this type of class was always gonna be a necessity. After all the defections/turmoil we needed to rebuild the program. We've got the depth pieces now to have a solid team and now for 2019 really focus on going out and getting the pieces to put us over the top and become a championship contender

 

[Chief00]

Haters gonna hate Chief...

So true.

 

[uconnbill]

Love the pick-up and think this ends this class unless we have a surprise on Oct 11th

 

[Dove]

So true.

I recently tweeted that my life needed an influx of good vibes. I wrote that I must check out this Blaze Pizza. 10 minutes later Blaze Pizza urged me to stop in!

 

[Dove]

Has it not yet occurred to you that @Chief00 isn't a human poster, but rather an IBM Watson project that generates revenue for The Boneyard? Enjoy the ride...

A Bonebot?

 

[lange10]

My colleague, if you only knew.

Spinzone: chief is actually KO

 

[champs99and04]

People are free to feel how they want about any recruit. But his commitment thread is a pretty lousy place to complain about him. We haven't seen him play and we his ranking isn't set in stone.

I don't know where the line about "cloaked in anti-Facey and anti-Brimah sentiments" is coming from. Did anyone bash Facey and Brimah when saying "hey let's lay off the kid in his congratulation topic."

It occurred to me that this was a bad place and a bad time to express that opinion, and while I think there is a lot more nuance to that opinion than maybe I was able to convey, I get that that I was inevitably going to come off as a wet blanket.

But it isn't as if starting a new thread would have been preferable and it isn't like I tried to be a jerk about it. It's probably a stretch to describe my post as "complaining" and if you are describing it that way then you should be able to hear me on the Brimah/Facey thing. If we're going to have a hard-line policy on not ever objecting to a signing in a commitment thread then fine, but it becomes harder to adhere to that when you read comments about how it will nice to have a big man who can set screens, rebound, etc. To the extent that I'm hesitant to celebrate this commitment is partially colored by the fact that the commentary on our recently departing seniors has been harsh. If we're in the business of critiquing basketball players, I'd lean towards being more protective of guys who have actually played here.

 

[champs99and04]

You know, I've read a few personal attacks on champs lately and I don't much care for it.

Champs deserves a lot more respect around here than this. I don't always agree with him, and I don't agree with that post, but he always makes an effort to be rational and articulate and he always focuses on basketball instead of trying for gratuitous cheap shots. I appreciate that and enjoy reading his thoughts, even when I disagree.

I also think it's more than a little silly that you're going after him when his post is simply a logical continuation of the chicken with its head cut off posts you, UCDaveD and others were making non-stop this past spring and summer.

I appreciate it. If there are any other personal attacks out there please don't tell me about them, lol. I feel like I get plenty of respect from the board and while sometimes I wish more people would read my long posts, it's tough to complain when I rarely read other posters write-ups. There are probably plenty of guys here I don't pay enough attention to and that kind of set in for me when DBU died. I respected him as a poster obviously, but I didn't realize until later that he was actually one of the best on the board.

I took John's post as a joke, but it can be tough to tell on the internet. I'd be more concerned if somebody outside the board called me a dork since that's the only time I pretend not to be.

 

[champs99and04]

I'm not the least bit surprised that recruiting would dip to something below what would align with the handle "champs99and04" and what was created and sustained through those years, and before and after.

I'm surprised that you might be surprised.

You've been here throughout, you've watched how the landscape has shifted in so many ways, and you've watched the play on the court.

It's not that you can't write, and it's not that you're not perceptive, but I question the timing and necessity of this post, within days of the first practice of a new season, when by all indications yesterday's news was far more good than not. I don't consider that to be a delusional statement, and imagine you don't either.

Of course it's not delusional. Thing is, I'd consider myself to be in the upper percentile of this board in terms of general optimism regarding the program. That can be misconstrued with somebody like me because I feel the need to have a passionate opinion about things that don't matter that much (i.e. when I kill Ollie for the two foul rule even though I think he's a great coach overall), but I'm not really any less excited heading into the season than I have been any other year.

To be clear, I don't have a problem with Kisunas. I'm not saying that to be respectful. He's a good player and can play at UConn. I simply thought, with the way our scholarships have been staggered, both by class and by position, that we needed a higher impact, higher ceiling player there.

 

[Paesano]

So true.

I love that you drive certain people insane. Crazies gonna cray.

 

[dennismenace]

Good story this morning:

Big Man Kisunas (6-10) Likes How UConn Operates, Concentrating Only On Titles

 

[Tommyboy]

A Bonebot?

Like these?

 

[Scrutineer]

Wow, in that Raw video (don't know when it was filmed) he seemed to have more
bad moments than good. While he did have good moments, it almost seemed the
game was too fast for him or the opponents too athletic.

Having said that, we should all relax and wait to see how he develops this year. The
coaches are paid the big money to see the good and find the Jeremy Lamb or Rod
Sellers type players that turned out to be way better than advertised by the recruiting
experts.

I vividly remember the Rod Sellers story Howie Dickenman told. When the coaches
went to see him play he excelled on the stat sheet with exactly Zero Points and Zero
Rebounds, but showed good footwork and hands. Seems they were right.

And, I'll never forget my original thoughts when it was announced we had signed a
5 foot 10, 220 pound point guard from Minnesota. Can't dismiss heart and all the other
intangibles brought by a player, especially one named Khalid El-Amin, and there's
nothing to prevent the same outcome from any player the staff recruits......we hope.

 

[tcf15]

ESPN just created a profile for him and they made him a 4*

Lukas Kisunas - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN

 

[mauconnfan]

Wow, in that Raw video (don't know when it was filmed) he seemed to have more
bad moments than good. While he did have good moments, it almost seemed the
game was too fast for him or the opponents too athletic.

Having said that, we should all relax and wait to see how he develops this year. The
coaches are paid the big money to see the good and find the Jeremy Lamb or Rod
Sellers type players that turned out to be way better than advertised by the recruiting
experts.

I vividly remember the Rod Sellers story Howie Dickenman told. When the coaches
went to see him play he excelled on the stat sheet with exactly Zero Points and Zero
Rebounds, but showed good footwork and hands. Seems they were right.

And, I'll never forget my original thoughts when it was announced we had signed a
5 foot 10, 220 pound point guard from Minnesota. Can't dismiss heart and all the other
intangibles brought by a player, especially one named Khalid El-Amin, and there's
nothing to prevent the same outcome from any player the staff recruits.we hope.

Like the Sellers analogy certainly one of the 4 year players I think about when people look at video and find little to be happy about. But KEA, can't really throw him in there as he was ranked 19th I believe and was a McD's AA I think. But as far as size and heart he was the guy.

 

[boog204]

And, I'll never forget my original thoughts when it was announced we had signed a
5 foot 10, 220 pound point guard from Minnesota. Can't dismiss heart and all the other
intangibles brought by a player, especially one named Khalid El-Amin, and there's
nothing to prevent the same outcome from any player the staff recruits.we hope.

Umm, you know that KEA was universally considered one of the top 15 players in the country, right?

 

[Waquoit]

ESPN just created a profile for him and they made him a 4*

That's unpossible!

 

[Jimdish255]

Looks like a player with good instincts. Moves well, good hands and good size. Possibly underrated and possibly better than Enoch. Glad to have him.

 

[ctchamps]

ESPN just created a profile for him and they made him a 4*

Lukas Kisunas - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN

They must have thought he gave a verbal to Duke.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

They must have thought he gave a verbal to Duke.

Maybe ESPN needs a non-corrupt flagship program to attach themselves to, and this is sign that Duke an UK will be stung? Nah, too much to hope for.

 

[MSGSeven]

They must have thought he gave a verbal to Duke.

No he'd be a 5* if that was the case

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

And here is the Insider scouting report, ICYWW:

ESPN Analyst
Updated 10/04/2017

Strengths:
Kisunas is a rugged and physical post presence who throws his body around and embraces contact on both ends of the floor. He's a very well-schooled and savvy screener and also a good passer who rewards cutters. He has good hands, polished footwork, and the ability to turn either shoulder when able to establish deep position in the post. Defensively, he is effective guarding the block and an enforcer of sorts in the lane who punishes drivers, makes good use of his fouls, and rebounds his area.

Weaknesses:
He doesn't have a ton of lift in the lane, isn't a floor spacer offensively, and probably most comfortable as a complimenting piece offensively. He's much more of an enforcer in the lane than rim protector on the defensive end. Offensively, he's not much of a scoring threat beyond six feet or so and isn't an overly quick or instinctive finisher either.

Bottom Line:
His physicality, toughness, screening, post defense, and even his ability to pass, can impact the game at any level and so he can definitely be a valuable role player. What he isn't though is a volume scorer or dynamic athlete around the rim.

 

[UConnStats]

I’ll take an “enforcer” over the matador post defenders we’ve seen the past 3 years.

 

[Chief00]

I’ll take an “enforcer” over the matador post defenders we’ve seen the past 3 years.

Every team needs an enforcer aka Jeff Adrian