Lukas Kisunas Commits to UConn

[Peacefrog]

The kid wants to be at UConn. The staff wanted him and got him. He has a good offer list. I'm happy.

 

[80shusky]

Welcome aboard Lukas!! Looking forward to some face smashing screens!

 

[Thirty Three]

Great. Alexd is going to beyond excited!

I knew his Lithuanian mojo shirt would work. Way to go Alex.

 

[Kenny11]

Watching his highlight video, its very apparent he's been coached well. He runs the floor from rim to rim and uses his big ass very well. Other teams are going to hate this guy.

 

[Fishy]

You never know but Matthews and Wilson could be gone before 4 years.

I'd be surprised, but if they became early-entry candidates, all the better.

 

[mauconnfan]

The one thing I do like from watching the video is LK seems to do quite well in the pick and rolls which JV became very adept at when he was a senior at UCONN. Sure beats AB being thrown to the floor when trying to pick someone. LOL!

Hey 3rdbass you already calling him "LK" is huge.

 

[Okafour rings]

Think of all the project players we've had, hoping they would learn the basic skills to be effective players on the college level. Now consider Kisunas:
> looking at the two tapes which were 1 year apart, he went from laying the ball up to dunking emphatically, going up very strong;
> he shows a great left hand - there's going to be a lot fewer missed 'bunnies' than we've seen recently;
> his footwork under the basket is excellent, and he can play with his back to the basket or facing it;
> he's got a good shooting touch and likes the bank shot;
> looks to be a solid passer;
> only negative is that he's not fleet of foot, but at 6'10" 256, who cares?

He's so solid fundamentally and he's bringing these skills the minute he steps on campus. I think he'll contribute like Giffey did, only sooner. It may take him til sophomore year to get 20-25 minutes per game, but I can see 10 pts, 8 reb, 2 blocks and 2 assists per game from him.

 

[auror]

I know we need to get the official mausurements from @mauconnfan, but just FYI this kid seems to be bigger than what he's generally listed as at the recruiting sites:



Of course, Brewster might be lying (I certainly would if I was in their shoes). But he's definitely not undersized for a college center.

Objective analysis: Great size and good height. Standing reach is a little short for his height.

He's basically Marvin Bagley + 40 pounds.

 

[husky99]

I know we need to get the official mausurements from @mauconnfan, but just FYI this kid seems to be bigger than what he's generally listed as at the recruiting sites:



Of course, Brewster might be lying (I certainly would if I was in their shoes). But he's definitely not undersized for a college center.

I want to sign the 7 foot plus guy taking the pic... haha

 

[MSGSeven]

I guess recruiting has really changed when we are excited by composite recruiting number 101, 173 and 303 joining us. It sucks we aren't even sniffing the top 50 recruits. I know these guys fit a role on the team but these aren't the normal recruits we were getting even when we got DHAM, Adams and Gilbert.

Akinjo is ranked 75 by ESPN and Carey who hasn't decided yet is a consensus top 50 and has UConn in his final two schools.

 

[Chief00]

So who's the next part of this Brewster package? @Chief00 Timetable?

Yeah, the Blaze strategy is blazing hot. Let’s celebrate the moment and enjoy. This is the night after the win - only thinking one thing - time to party!

I will say the time horizon is longer than most are comfortable with on this board for step 2 - but as Chief predicted step 1 in is the books and step 2 will come.

 

[Chief00]

Welcome aboard Lukas!! Looking forward to some face smashing screens!

Oh my, the concussion police are going to have a field day - LOL

 

[Chief00]

Well at least KO understands most of the big names aren't going to come here at the present condition we are in (record, conference and uncertainty of the coach). KO is spreading a wider net to get the guys he can and who want to play at UCONN. I do agree this is a lot better than missing on all our targets since we were concentrating on the top 100 guys and then having to scramble to put together a roster like this past off season.

Trust in the Blaze!

 

[RichZ]

Everybody keeps talking about his toughness, bulk, screening abilities, etc. You know what I like about him? Passes his his hands and don't bounce off. That's what I like. He catches the damn ball and he sticks it in the hole.

 

[Stinger92860]

Watching the video I was expecting to witness an almost unheard of no dunk mix tape but he got one very late. Even when he's uncontested under the rim he lays it in. Guys are gonna send that back in his face if he doesn't go hard. I expect he'll make that adjustment once he starts practicing at UCONN.

I was hoping to see a mid range jumper. I stopped with 2-3 minutes to go. From what I saw good footwork, soft hand and can use both, not afraid of contract, never brings the ball down after a rebound.

 

[Chief00]

Yep, Foxen is expendable. Only need one Christian on a team, one academic elite and one white guy. Good Bye Christian Foxen.

Foxen is very well liked by his teammates. But, of course like I said be opportunist.

 

[Chief00]

Short answer - yes.

Longer answer - we needed a year like this. I know people like to pretend all was well last year, but not nearly enough effort was put into recruiting and we lost a lot of ground with those two classes. This is a good catch-up class of four-year foundation players. They'll need to add better talent in 2019 and now they're free to start recruiting that class while also keeping tabs on anything that might shake loose from another program.

Confirmed. And as was said - Chill will be shaking some trees - and see what falls from the scandal schools.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Seriously, you people who come when we get a commit and just shout "really, we're getting excited for a #X ranked player??"

Do you watch basketball or do you play a fantasy college basketball recruiting game with your friends? Like, watch the tape, see what the guy can do rather than reading his ranking and reacting...

This guy brings something I feel like we've almost never had. Ed Nelson was supposed to bring it, but he was too small, and liked to up fake too much. I would bet good money this kid is drafted into the NBA, he might be pick #50 but drafted is drafted

Unexpressed thought.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Like I said I'm not saying these are bad recruits. I'm just saying our level has fallen from the top 10 team recruiting status we had prior. It is fine because we are in the AAC and have been very mediocre program the last few years. It would be nice if we could get that top 75 guy like Carey to complete the class. I would feel a lot better about our recruiting even though I agree it is better than the reaches we had this past off season.

I get it. But we needed to stabilize the program. Winning programs are built on a mix of four year foundational players with a couple of stars around them. We have Gilbert, Larrier and Adams, who are star level players. We will lose Larrier, and the multitude of wings we have will shake itself out somehow. Adams may be gone too. Then we can target stars in 2019 who can come in and be surrounded by these guys, who will be experienced veterans. Finish ranked this season, and we are a step closer to being back.

We needed a guy exactly like this. My guess is that the recruiting services downgrade him because he's not a high flying athlete.

 

[HooperScooper]

Watching the video I was expecting to witness an almost unheard of no dunk mix tape but he got one very late. Even when he's uncontested under the rim he lays it in. Guys are gonna send that back in his face if he doesn't go hard. I expect he'll make that adjustment once he starts practicing at UCONN.

I think someone else already posted this video but he has a bunch of dunks in this one.

 

[Chief00]

Surround this kid with a couple good ballhandlers and a shooter or two and this is how you win. You need a guy who does the dirty work and doesn't need to score 15 ppg. Look at what Voskuhl did for the team.

Seems Ollie has stopped chasing the rankings (which is what I think drove his recruiting previously) and is specifically targeting recruits who have a very good work ethic and a good attitude. I like it. You obviously need talent but I think the attitude and work ethic is just as important. We'll see if it ends up working out.

You need 3 dudes with elite talent and you built around that.

 

[Chief00]

Great. Welcome aboard.

Not only mentioned "study," he put it first.

We got to Americanize his priorities some. LOL

 

[KembaStepback]

Yeah, the Blaze strategy is blazing hot. Let’s celebrate the moment and enjoy. This is the night after the win - only thinking one thing - time to party!

I will say the time horizon is longer than most are comfortable with on this board for step 2 - but as Chief predicted step 1 in is the books and step 2 will come.

Not a huge fan of this vague stuff. Is there a reason for all this posturing? Why not just say? Glad step one is complete.

 

[UConnDan97]

Welcome to the Dog Pound, Lukas!!!

 

[HooperScooper]

You need 3 dudes with elite talent and you built around that.

Depends what you mean by "elite" (1 and dones or future NBA draftees or just very good college players....?) but I don't even think you need that many. 2 surrounded by solid talent that each does 1 or 2 things well is enough. 1998-1999 team was a great example of that.