Exactly. Newton was a very good rebounder for a guard. He’s taller than Thomas but Thomas likely has an edge with hops and overall athleticism.
i want thomas and a wing like Mullins. i dont think we need another PG/CG like lewis especially since we'll still have Mahany and Nowell. (plus a stretch 4 and a 5)
That's fair, I agree that 2 wings like Thomas and Mullins would be preferable. But I definitely want Lewis or another PG, I think we should be taking a PG every year and always have at least 3 on the roster
diarra and samson are gone after this season and hopefully Karaban, Liam, and Stew all get drafted 1st round after we 3peat. if everyone else returns our 2025 depth chart would look like this:
Agreed. I don’t like the idea of recruiting over Nowell. I can support the idea of a solid veteran portal PG for more depth but I think recruiting over your own guys with high end 5 star one and done types is exactly the formula that’s held Kentucky and Duke back in recent years from winning.
I stopped listening. Representing UConn basketball, yawns, butchers players names regularly, and because he's forced to podcast every day, in the off-season, there's mostly speculation and random what if scenarios presented as fact that l than actual news.
Would this recruit likely to be a one and done player? Either in their mind or in the minds of most recruiters and recruiting services? If so, would this recruit be content with a backup/understudy role for a year? I don’t think he’d be at all satisfied with that role and would want to start and play big minutes as a freshman. So either he’d be unhappy in that scenario or Nowell would be if demoted or relegated to a 20 minute/20 minute a game time share. I think a portal guy or a developmental low to mid four star that views themself as a 2-4 year player.
I’m not sure who you’re referring to but Thomas is a top 5 player so he would start over almost anyone. Lewis would be a third string PG behind Mahaney and Nowell. Staff already recruited over some guys (Diarra and Ball and Nowell) by bringing in Mahaney and McNeeley
I’m not referring to Thomas. It’s really about Acaden Lewis or any similar point guard. Thomas is not a point guard. I think it would be reasonable for Lewis to expect 15 or 20 minutes a game as a freshman, and with Nowell and Mahaney here, I don’t see that as realistic. We don’t know what Mahaney was promised in terms of minutes or a role I.e. a guarantee to start or play 25-30 plus minutes a game. Diarra has already exceeded the playing time and role he had after coming here through the portal, so I don’t view any of that as recruiting over him. McNeeley doesn’t play the same spot as Ball or Diarra.
Lewis is not a 5 star but he is a fast/late rising high four star top 30 player that might end up in the top 20-25. He’s currently the #6 ranked PG in his class on On3. I don’t see a kid like that wanting to be an understudy. But hey if he buys in and wants to stay 3 years I’d absolutely love to have him. I don’t view Nowell as a one year player or necessarily even only a 2 year player. I really think finding a Diarra 2.0 type Guard in the portal that can play a role and give you 10-15 minutes behind Nowell and Mahaney fits this roster best. Just my opinion.
I don’t think Acaden sees himself as a one-and-done that is expecting to start out the gate, which is why we’re targeting him. Acuff/Fears probably do which is why we stopped recruiting Acuff and never actually offered Fears.
He could fit depending on what he views his own role being. If Nowell stays more than 2 years, then he’d overlap with a 2025 like Acuff for multiple seasons. Mahaney has two years of eligibility remaining, I believe. So he’d only overlap with a 2025 for one year. There would be a path to 20-25 minutes a game to be available starting in 2026, in my opinion.
But that's exactly the position Nowell was recruited into, and nobody was complaining about that. There would be plenty of minutes available for Lewis as a freshman even with Nowell and Mahaney here between both guard spots. Both are likely 2-3 year guys
What about Ball? I’m not sure what plenty of minutes would be defined as in this scenario. Lewis isn’t a five star or necessarily a one and done or thought of that way. But I honestly don’t see more than 10 minutes or so a game being available if Solo is on the roster during his freshman year. If Lewis is willing to be patient and take a longer view then I can certainly see 20-25 minutes a game being available in his sophomore year.
Ball will play tons of minutes too, and Thomas and Ball would both be big enough to get minutes at the 3 spot as well. Plenty of minutes would be about what we expect from Nowell this year as the 3rd PG, 15-20 minutes a game depending on matchups.
I guess we’ll see how it plays out
I’m not counting him out at all. I’d love to see him focus on driving to the basket and getting in the lane more. He seemed to do that more regularly early in the season and had success with it. In my humble opinion, he settled for too many three point attempts during the latter part of the season.
That’s a big haul. Not sure Hurley is going to go that many frosh in one single class as you always want to leave some openings for the portal. This wouldn’t be the right balance.