Montez Mathis

[UC1995]

We are at that time were a "P5" school like Rutgers is more important than a 4 time National Champion in the eyes of recruits. Playing B1G vs play AAC is a much bigger stage even if at Rutgers. We are also not competing with coaches like they have had in the past who have no idea what they are doing. It is a different world then even a year ago and competition is that much harder until AAC basketball schools get it and devote some serious time into basketball resources, scheduling, recruiting... we are going to live this scenario over and over.

 

[Hi-Low]

What happened last night at 7:30 pm for RU to get all the Crystal Balls.....did the kid crap red and post it on instagram.

 

[KembaStepback]

Question is, do we start ignoring crystal balls forever if we chooses UConn instead??

The fact that you haven't already started ignoring them worries me. It's COMPLETE garbage. They know as much as you and I. Nothing.

 

[HawkHusky]

Now that we got Randy Edsall back, who really cares about this basketball shmasketball business? In 2 years time, we'll matter in the sport that actually matters. Future is bright.

 

[Rocktheworld]

When the dust settles, wherever he goes, the first year is just a test run anyhow. Have you seen the transfer list today vs 5 or 10 yrs ago? All you need is a bad record, less playing time than expected, or even a few negative tweets, and their off to new a new school anyhow. Times have changed.

A commitment really isn't a commitment anymore. RU has another season as the B1G punching bag, KO starts to turn things around this season, it would be far from unexpected for him to re-open his recruitment.

 

[HawkHusky]

The fact that you haven't already started ignoring them worries me. It's COMPLETE garbage. They know as much as you and I. Nothing.

This. Even on the Rutgers board, someone posted that Rutgers had a 100% crystal ball prediction for a recruit who ended up choosing Georgia Tech. One "expert" makes a pick via hearsay and then the rest of them jump on board like lemmings off a cliff.

 

[husky99]

These kids are weird if that works. I'd find it annoying as hell.

Are you 17 years old. Ego is very different at that age

 

[UConnRock]

I saw he tweeted that he wont be deciding now, taking some more time to consider.

Everyone go tweet respectful, kind, nice thoughtful words about how he should take his time but go with UConn!!

Enough time for another school to swoop in so mom and Montez can agree to go somewhere else.

Montez leans to commit to UConn based on social activity. The Cam Reddish top 5 also may have been a factor as he saw that a top 10 guy still sees UConn as a top choice. Chill and Ollie have some work to do, but I would rather be in UConn's position than Rutgers'. If mom and AAU coach were going to get their way it would have been sooner rather than later.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are you 17 years old. Ego is very different at that age

I once was. Would have hated it. I like to make my own decisions and react negatively to any attempts to "sell me". Always have.

 

[GemParty]

Usually you have one top of tbe board...MM is up there but not top

I'd argue he is the top, because anytime you have a two dog race for a top100 kid, & your the superior school you need to win.

Nobody's scared of who we view as our top anymore. Carey has lots of suitors.

 

[KingAG]

I'd argue he is the top, because anytime you have a two dog race for a top100 kid, & your the superior school you need to win.

Nobody's scared of who we view as our top anymore. Carey has lots of suitors.

This isnt true or realistic

 

[GemParty]

This isnt true or realistic[/QUOTE

I respect your opinion. That's all it is.

 

[pj]

Carey is obviously #1. I don't think Mathis is even #2. Maybe 4th on our board behind Reddish and Carrigan? Yes/No?

I would think Mathis is top two. He's certainly our top shooting guard candidate. Carey is #1 at point guard then Akinjo. We need a small forward and there we are recruiting Reddish, Mucius, Nolley, etc but don't lead for any candidate as good as Mathis. I would think a three guard lineup with Alterique, Carey, Mathis, and Vital sharing the minutes of 3 spots in 2018-19 looks like a perimeter we would love to have and can feasibly recruit.

Carrigan would be nice but we are well stocked with big men. He is certainly not as important as Mathis.

 

[KembaStepback]

Do people really get swayed by phone calls? There is no way anyone in MM's inner circle thinks Rutgers is a better basketball school than UConn. So lets get that out of the way right now.
What can be swaying the decision? Playing time? MM would be behind a Jr Vital at the 2 and depending on who else commits could be 4th guard. At Rutgers he's the man from day 1. The other issue is conference. BIG or AAC. AAC got better with Witchita St. but still not BIG. However - theres a choice. Would you rather go consistently lose at Rutgers or be involved in a proven winner at UConn (regardless of the last few yrs) He even has said himself that without the injuries last yr UConn would have been good. I agree. I don't see this as an advantage. What good is conference if you're consistently getting pummeled every night? He'd never see an NCAA tournament. He'd never see the weekend of a conference tournament.

So to recap - the only reasons he'd go to Rutgers is for playing time/being the man and his mom is "close" with SP. (Lets see how close they remain once he commits there or elsewhere...my guess is the calls would stop pretty quickly.

If he has that mindset, then I don't think he's the type of guy we want. I would understand choosing a team with less reputation in a better conference if they at least have a shot. Rutgers is trash.

 

[HawkHusky]

Do people really get swayed by phone calls? There is no way anyone in MM's inner circle thinks Rutgers is a better basketball school than UConn. So lets get that out of the way right now.
What can be swaying the decision? Playing time? MM would be behind a Jr Vital at the 2 and depending on who else commits could be 4th guard. At Rutgers he's the man from day 1. The other issue is conference. BIG or AAC. AAC got better with Witchita St. but still not BIG. However - theres a choice. Would you rather go consistently lose at Rutgers or be involved in a proven winner at UConn (regardless of the last few yrs) He even has said himself that without the injuries last yr UConn would have been good. I agree. I don't see this as an advantage. What good is conference if you're consistently getting pummeled every night? He'd never see an NCAA tournament. He'd never see the weekend of a conference tournament.

So to recap - the only reasons he'd go to Rutgers is for playing time/being the man and his mom is "close" with SP. (Lets see how close they remain once he commits there or elsewhere...my guess is the calls would stop pretty quickly.

If he has that mindset, then I don't think he's the type of guy we want. I would understand choosing a team with less reputation in a better conference if they at least have a shot. Rutgers is trash.

This is crazy on-point. Couldn't agree more.

 

[husky99]

Carey turning into a long shot. Schools like ku and others are calling.

 

[Fishy]

Carey turning into a long shot. Schools like ku and others are calling.

Schools 'like ku' have always been calling.

 

[temery]

Do people really get swayed by phone calls

Yes. Even the best players want to be courted.

 

[upstater]

I know everyone's Family dynamic is different, but these parents choosing their kids school for them REALLY bothers me. I would tell my kid what school I would prefer, but it wouldn't go any further than that. I would feel like such a loser making my kid go to the school of my choice, when he wants to go elsewhere. Especially when his choice isn't a bad one. My son is only 9 and it's gonna kill me if be goes away, but it's his life. My wife has to live with it also.

You're right that the family situation might be totally different. Different socioeconomic backgrounds, different neighborhoods, different prospects and levels of security. Do I think she is making the wrong decision? Of course. But sometimes giving a kid the choice is a luxury some parents can't afford.

 

[UCfor3]

So being the better basketball school matters to Carey but not Mathis.....or Wilson....or italian guard....

If people are worried about this coming season, wait until Adams and Larrier leave after this season. If we don't pull in a good recruiting class, we will be Gilbert, Vital and ...crickets in 2018. Maybe Carlton, Diarra and Polley develop into decent players but that is far from a foregone conclusion. The guy with fancy dunks won't save the ship from sinking. Even if Uconn has an unexpected great season this year, it may be too late in the 2018 recruiting cycle for them to benefit from it.

 

[TRest]

Now that we got Randy Edsall back, who really cares about this basketball shmasketball business? In 2 years time, we'll matter in the sport that actually matters. Future is bright.

Signed in just to laugh at this.

 

[upstater]

We are at that time were a "P5" school like Rutgers is more important than a 4 time National Champion in the eyes of recruits. Playing B1G vs play AAC is a much bigger stage even if at Rutgers.

Not really, not if you're Rutgers.

Look at the OOC. Arizona, Villanova, etc. Nike Tournament.
Then UConn is on CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 a bunch of times.

The level of exposure is night and day between UConn and Rutgers, and UConn is well ahead in terms of marquee games.

 

[methodology]

Carey turning into a long shot. Schools like ku and others are calling.

Carey like option #4 for Kansas and self hasn't even called and spoken to him yet

 

[UCfor3]

Does Rutgers still play at the RAC? That place isn't exactly a palace to put it nicely.

 

[BaZZnBOAT]

I understand it's frustrating that we are battling with a school with the basketball pedigree of Rutgers, but others have explained just why there has been such a fight. They are all over this kid. Calling him, texting him, his mom, his his dad, his coaches every day. This is the closest they'll come to getting a Top 100 recruit. They stuck their claim with this kid and they're riding with him. This is their one recruit they can get in their eyes.

Of course this kid is a high priority recruit for the Huskies. Why would he not be and they still put in the time and effort to recruit him to the point they are 1 of 2 schools? Just think about it before you ask these questions.

The crystal balls are predictions. Some people make those choices based off of what others are choosing. You pick Rutgers, you get points. The CRystal Balls are a glorified game, if we're being honest, and we've seen them be wrong quite often before this. I wouldn't put much stock into them since whatever Slater and Meyer pick is usually the choice of most others.

Look, MM can still pick Rutgers, but 1) Rutgers is putting in an absolute direct focus on the kid, 100% of their attention now on him and has been on him for the most part the past 6 months. 2) UConn is still very close and MM obviously likes the school. 3) CB don't mean shit.

 

[EBonz30]

Like I said a week ago, one time please!!

It's been incredibly dry, can't remember the last time we came through with a top 100 recruit.

KO & Chill best of luck, I believe in you guys!!

 

[champs99and04]

This isn't an excuse as much as it is a commentary on how saturated recruiting has become, but is it possible that Ollie is simply too...normal to win these type of battles?

Because my impression is that it's easy to conflate normalcy with complacency in this profession, and my sense is that Ollie is willing to do the trench work but not at the expense of what he might perceive as a violation of a kids' personal space and privacy. Of course he has an entire staff to do the dirty work for him, but if Pikell is campaigning on the family's front porch then that is difficult to compete with.

It's a bottom line business, so ultimately there is no time for moralizing. You need players to win and if abduction is the best strategy for a particular recruit, that's the path you need to take. From afar, though, it's hard not to notice the commonality in the way these recruitments have played out. Baring that in mind, we're still only a year removed from reeling in a top ten class. I just wonder if we've been less successful in battles that have been drawn out - to my knowledge, we've had a lot of early commits in Ollie's tenure but not as many late in the game.

 

[HooperScooper]

How could you possibly know UConn ever had a huge lead? If you're basing it off of the crystal balls, I think they've been proven to be complete garbage. Yes, it sucks that we're competing with Rutgers for a recruit, but every recruit is different. If he chooses to stay home, so be it. We'll find guys who want to be Huskies.

How do I know? Because many of the recruiting analysts were told that he wanted to go to UConn by various people close to Mathis. Which is why all the so called "experts" had him pegged for UConn. But things change in recruiting as husky99 tells us all the time. So UConn had a chance to lock him up when that's what he wanted to do but for various reasons it didn't happen. That happens a lot in recruiting but a large part of recruiting is getting a commitment when you have a kid on the hook and that doesn't seem to be happening lately. Maybe he still chooses UConn in the end. But if he doesn't then it's another lost opportunity and those are happening far too frequently lately.

We'll see what happens when the book is closed on the 2018 recruiting class. Too soon to complain at this point. But I don't think anyone could say things have been trending UConn's way with recruiting lately.

 

[Blaneylover]

We are at that time were a "P5" school like Rutgers is more important than a 4 time National Champion in the eyes of recruits. Playing B1G vs play AAC is a much bigger stage even if at Rutgers. We are also not competing with coaches like they have had in the past who have no idea what they are doing. It is a different world then even a year ago and competition is that much harder until AAC basketball schools get it and devote some serious time into basketball resources, scheduling, recruiting... we are going to live this scenario over and over.

I agree. HCJC, upon arriving at UCONN (and actually recruiting Pikiell), would lure his kids to a team with no record of Big East achievement by offering the opportunity to come in and compete against the best. He convinced kids to come to a school with (then) terrible facilities and an annual date in the conference tourney "8/9 game" to come and compete against the best of the best in a big time conference. This is a tool that Pikiell can certainly use in this instance. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, but.....this conference is killing us. The PERCEPTION is that it is not as good. As a result of this, we have lost kids to Providence, St. Johns, and now, perhaps, Rutgers. Someone has to break the trend and commit. Then, a good season on the court cures a lot of what is ailing us here.

 

[KembaStepback]

My question is - if we assume RU is calling this kid and texting him non-stop (arent there NCAA regulations on this stuff?) are we assuming KO and Chill etc aren't calling/texting? I'd bet my bottom dollar they are doing the same thing RU is doing.