Mamoudou Diarra update

[the Q]

You don't remember Boo, the shame of it.

It's going to be a long year if UConn can't land one more big at least.

I love Boo!!

When I was like 8 another kid and I finagled our way into the locker room after a game and Boo signed his wrist band for me and gave me a coke. lol

Love that guy.

 

[intlzncster]

You don't remember Boo, the shame of it.

It's going to be a long year if UConn can't land one more big at least.

He might not even have been born at that stage.

I looked up Boo to see exactly what age he was these days, and this was the first link (from The Courant). Hilarious caption:

 

[upstater]

Based on the accuracy of past predictions from boneyard knowitalls, my guess is this year is going to be great.

The greatest obstacle is you idiots doing your best to convince anyone considering UConn that it'll be a waste of their time.

Best post in many weeks. No one really needs to do any negative recruiting against UConn.

 

[superjohn]

Based on the accuracy of past predictions from boneyard knowitalls, my guess is this year is going to be great.

The greatest obstacle is you idiots doing your best to convince anyone considering UConn that it'll be a waste of their time.

Yup, that's why we aren't getting recruits.

 

[mauconnfan]

Based on the accuracy of past predictions from boneyard knowitalls, my guess is this year is going to be great.

The greatest obstacle is you idiots doing your best to convince anyone considering UConn that it'll be a waste of their time.

^^^Brilliant!^^^

 

[mauconnfan]

Who is that? Maybe I'm too young.

Boo's the 6'10" guy you see somewhere behind the UConn bench at so many away games including all of their Maui and alike trips. He's also at many home games great friends with KO, Ray and Donny and a true Husky, loves him some Huskies.

 

[upstater]

^^^Brilliant!^^^

Some people have literally done what Temery has said they've done. "Don't come here, you won't improve."

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Ater Majok would start for us next season.

Yeah probably but he certainly wouldn't be doing it as a swingman, which I think might demonstrate the point. Maybe you're being obtuse on purpose, I don't know.

 

[Kembacity]

Am I the only one who thinks Majok would have been a great asset as a senior if he stayed? He probably had something fishy with his transcripts or something and I know he didn't pan out for the Lakers, but he showed some flashes of that Deandre/Neils type of great all around player

 

[temery]

Some people have literally done what Temery has said they've done. "Don't come here, you won't improve."

The good news is any recruit is free to search the archives for the past 15 years. In the spring and summer before each championship, they will see the same negativity, with a different spin.

Ollie has to get his act together - on that, I agree. But he's proven at his best, UConn is THE BEST.

UConn bounces back. That's the bottom line.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah probably but he certainly wouldn't be doing it as a swingman, which I think might demonstrate the point. Maybe you're being obtuse on purpose, I don't know.

What don't you get about we desperately need players and Ollie constantly preaching positionless basketball? This kid wouldn't be all that comfortable at the wing or at center next year. His skills are more 3 than 5 right now but 4 is more the more natural fit. He needs development but he has good upside and he is a body we could certainly use next season where we lack so much. If chev and 99 are right that Ollie is telling a kid who was all but coming here that we will only play him as a center at UConn then Ollie has officially lost it.

You seem to know a fair amount of basketball but you know very little about high school players and recruiting if you don't realize a ton of kids talk about what position they are and end up playing a different position in college.

 

[boog204]

Am I the only one who thinks Majok would have been a great asset as a senior if he stayed? He probably had something fishy with his transcripts or something and I know he didn't pan out for the Lakers, but he showed some flashes of that Deandre/Neils type of great all around player

He did? He had good size and was pretty athletic but I do not remember him showing any real skill (besides shotblocking) in games. I know there was some rust, but he was a 2ppg, 3rpg player who shot 40% from the field and line. I know, he absolutely brutalized that chair and maybe some of those skills were there. But in real life, he was not a very good player. I'd of course take him now and there was potential but comparing him to Deandre in any way is insane.

 

[pj]

We may need bigs, but that doesn't make everyone we recruit a center. This kid isn't a 5, and if we told him that it's no wonder he's still looking.

There's no reason to think anyone told him he's a 5 - only Boneyard fantasies. It's quite likely they see him as a stretch 4 a la Deandre Daniels. Defend PFs and provide offense from anywhere on the court (interior, perimeter, transition).

Offensively this is a world of difference. Playing with your back to the basket on offense is a totally different skill set than playing facing the basket. Mamoudou has spent nearly all his time on offense facing the basket, and you can see in his practice videos he's facing the basket.

Defense is much more a position-independent capability. If he wants to be a good player, he has to learn how to defend all kinds of players. Switching is rampant so perimeter guys end up defending big men close to the basket. As a stretch 4, you're not really asking him to do anything a 3 wouldn't do, just differences in the proportions of activities.

That's why players who get fixated on a position ("I'm a 3", "I'm a PG") are really doing themselves a dis-service. They should aim to be versatile. Basketball players, as KO says, not position players.

 

[Kemba'sYogurt]

Taking his last visit to Missouri today.

 

[Wordbomar]

Taking his last visit to Missouri today.

Don't like this.

 

[TopDogs]

I'm not entirely sold that him saying "I'm not a big man" refers to himself playing the 5. If you read through his past Tweets it seems to imply humility and a willingness to learn rather than physical stature or his position on the court. He even reTweeted and commented on a Tweet from a former coach that called him a "big" and he said he "appreciated the love". Maybe I'm reading it wrong but it really doesn't seem to me that he's actually talking about his position.

 

[pj]

Don't like this.

I like this. It means a decision will come soon. Will provide KO some clarity on 2017 recruiting.

 

[Storrs South]

 

[Doctor Hoop]

I, like @pj, find it hard to believe he would be told he's a 5. If they did tell him that, it's a huge and inexplicable mistake. Diarra may sign elsewhere anyway, but I hope OZ is wrong about the reason.

 

[UCDaveD]

Wow, he's such an insider.

 

[BaZZnBOAT]

This is probably more than he doesn't want to play the 5, since theoretically he'd be playing a more fluid position than what we consider a 5. But it is what it is.

 

[husky429]

I, like @pj, find it hard to believe he would be told he's a 5. If they did tell him that, it's a huge and inexplicable mistake. Diarra may sign elsewhere anyway, but I hope OZ is wrong about the reason.

Why would the Lie to the kid? If the coaches believe he will play the 5 in our system, that's that. Could we have used him? YES. But it would be dishonest and squid-like to tell the kid he's going to play 4 here if he never will.

We really need bodies, but this kid isn't some world-changer. I'm nervous that we're running out of options, but I bet KO and Co. can pull something off

 

[superjohn]

I, like @pj, find it hard to believe he would be told he's a 5. If they did tell him that, it's a huge and inexplicable mistake. Diarra may sign elsewhere anyway, but I hope OZ is wrong about the reason.

Chev, Husky99, and Oz are all saying the same thing. Ollie was recruiting him as a 5.

 

[Lefty2one]

Really bizarre. The kid may not be a wing but he sure as hell isn't a five either. I think they were wasting each other's time if that was case.

 

[husky99]

Chev, Husky99, and Oz are all saying the same thing. Ollie was recruiting him as a 5.

Ya. This recruit turned the corner from us.. 2 weeks ago it waa done deal....Hearing we are out or close to out.