Ngongba Cuts UCONN

[husky429]

It's interesting. It takes away some of the surprise of the announcement, for sure, but there's a phenomenon that's been studied about movie/tv show spoilers. Knowing a spoiler first and then watching on average leads to higher enjoyment ratings than just watching the work unspoiled. Humans are weird.

Spoiler alert: spoilers make you enjoy stories more

Did someone spoil the next episode of "Game of Thrones"? They might have done you a favor.

www.universityofcalifornia.edu

I would imagine that for teams who are going to get the recruit, the actual announcement will be much more enjoyable for the fans if they know in advance he's coming. He'll probably get fewer views on the announcement with less rival fans, but it'll go from tense to jubilant for some.

This is super interesting (and kind of surprising), but I'm also not really concerned with fan experience until the kid winds up on campus. If it was the NBA, I'm all for spoiling the announcement. But if the kids want their moment with a surprise let them have it.

What Trilly's doing is super disrespectful and reeks of a fragile, sad ego to me.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Jeez Duke's 2024 class may have more five stars than UConn has ever had.

That class will definitely have size. Currently, it's four "small forwards" and then add Pat to the mix.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That class will definitely have size. Currently, it's four "small forwards" and then add Pat to the mix.

I think Cooper will be a 4, but still, it's overloaded at forward. Would not be surprised if we see a decommit from one of the two 5 star SFs. This is what they got in 2023. They might all be back. Duke 2023 Basketball Commits

 

[NotADime89]

I just don't understand what sold him on Duke over UConn if player development is important to him and his camp. Duke doesn't even come close to being elite in developing bigs . If he didn't pick KState because of the family connection I would've figured UConn was a no brainer because of the great tack record Dan Hurley and staff have with player development. Would love to know what happened behind the scenes here for UConn to not even make his final 3.

 

[nomar]

I just don't understand what sold him on Duke over UConn if player development is important to him and his camp. Duke doesn't even come close to being elite in developing bigs . If he didn't pick KState because of the family connection I would've figured UConn was a no brainer because of the great tack record Dan Hurley and staff have with player development. Would love to know what happened behind the scenes here for UConn to not even make his final 3.

For these guys, the Duke corniness is a feature not a bug. Flagg always wanted to be a Dukie and Pat probably did too. We did our best but if somebody thinks holding a plastic baby in a sea of dorks is cool, what can you do about it?

I don't have an answer to the question of why we didn't make the top-3 but it probably doesn't matter because he's got a top-1.

 

[superjohn]

For these guys, the Duke corniness is a feature not a bug. Flagg always wanted to be a Dukie and Pat probably did too. We did our best but if somebody thinks holding a plastic baby in a sea of dorks is cool, what can you do about it?

I don't have an answer to the question of why we didn't make the top-3 but it probably doesn't matter because he's got a top-1.

Agreed, I'll never understand how that dorkfest appeals to so many kids.

Something clearly happened that didn't sit right with Hurley and the kid intentionally cut us from his list making a final 3 when he already knew he was going to Duke.

 

[TheHorde]

Agreed, I'll never understand how that dorkfest appeals to so many kids.

Something clearly happened that didn't sit right with Hurley and the kid intentionally cut us from his list making a final 3 when he already knew he was going to Duke.

Something was off with the recruiting net not being cast more widely. The feel the staff had on is think multiple recruits seems to have given them more optimism than perhaps they should have had. We probably will never know if that’s from one or more recruits not being totally honest with their intentions, but it didn’t and doesn’t make sense.

 

[kansashusky]

Something was off with the recruiting net not being cast more widely. The feel the staff had on is think multiple recruits seems to have given them more optimism than perhaps they should have had. We probably will never know if that’s from one or more recruits not being totally honest with their intentions, but it didn’t and doesn’t make sense.

They dont like the 24 class. No one does. Not worth spending our NIL on a wide net that will probably transfer.

 

[TheHorde]

Something was off with the recruiting net not being cast more widely. The feel the staff had on is think multiple recruits seems to have given them more optimism than perhaps they should have had. We probably will never know if that’s from one or more recruits not being totally honest with their intentions, but it didn’t and doesn’t make sense.

Don’t know why that’s funny but sure ok. I’d love an alternate explanation of why there are only two commits and why more offers didn’t go out. And why we weren’t a finalist for PN. I’m all ears.

 

[TheHorde]

They dont like the 24 class. No one does. Not worth spending our NIL on a wide net that will probably transfer.

We didn’t like Ngongba or Betsey? Why did we offer them and why did Pat get invited to our first night?

 

[navery12]

Don’t know why that’s funny but sure ok. I’d love an alternate explanation of why there are only two commits and why more offers didn’t go out. And why we weren’t a finalist for PN. I’m all ears.

Because we just had this conversation literally 3 days ago about why there weren't a ton of offers in the 24 class. So I'm not convinced you're all ears

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

We didn’t like Ngongba or Betsey? Why did we offer them and why did Pat get invited to our first night?

I hate to even respond to you but you're complaining that we didn't cast a wider net, someone tells you that the staff doesn't like the class generally, and your response is "well then why did we offer the guys we offered"? Did you take a second to think that beyond the guys we recruited and offered there weren't many players the staff was excited about?

I'm starting to think this is a bit. If so, kudos.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Agreed, I'll never understand how that dorkfest appeals to so many kids.

Something clearly happened that didn't sit right with Hurley and the kid intentionally cut us from his list making a final 3 when he already knew he was going to Duke.

I can only guess, but Hurley isn't promising anybody playing time or a starting spot.

 

[TheHorde]

Because we just had this conversation literally 3 days ago about why there weren't a ton of offers in the 24 class. So I'm not convinced you're all ears

Swartz was offered too right? Betsey? Flagg? Ngongba? Edgecombe? There might be others I’m forgetting at the moment. Perhaps in comparison to other cycles it wasn’t many. But there were a lot. Might we have gotten a guy like Swartz if we had prioritized time and resources there? I’m not sure. You yourself made a reference to PN being the villain and seemed to give credence to some validity around posts on Hurley’s social media rant the day of us being cut from the list. So yes a haha react is misplaced.

 

[TheHorde]

I hate to even respond to you but you're complaining that we didn't cast a wider net, someone tells you that the staff doesn't like the class generally, and your response is "well then why did we offer the guys we offered"? Did you take a second to think that beyond the guys we recruited and offered there weren't many players the staff was excited about?

I'm starting to think this is a bit. If so, kudos.

How about in terms of THE GUYS WE PRIORITIZED RESOURCES ON? Go with your gut and stop responding to me. Please. Lol

 

[TheHorde]

UConn offered 22 players in the 2023 class while offering 15 in the 2024 class. Clearly the staff did like 2024 less. It’s fair to say the staff wanted at least a 4 man class, since Flagg and Ngongba would have been Huskies if they committed. We could have taken a fifth.

 

[KingAG]

UConn offered 22 players in the 2023 class while offering 15 in the 2024 class. Clearly the staff did like 2024 less. It’s fair to say the staff wanted at least a 4 man class, since Flagg and Ngongba would have been Huskies if they committed. We could have taken a fifth.

They didn’t want 24 guys in the 2024 class. I think you’re missing the point. You’re digging when Hurley already told us

 

[navery12]

Swartz was offered too right? Betsey? Flagg? Ngongba? Edgecombe? There might be others I’m forgetting at the moment. Perhaps in comparison to other cycles it wasn’t many. But there were a lot. Might we have gotten a guy like Swartz if we had prioritized time and resources there? I’m not sure. You yourself made a reference to PN being the villain and seemed to give credence to some validity around posts on Hurley’s social media rant the day of us being cut from the list. So yes a haha react is misplaced.

I have no idea what you're even rambling on about now. Sorry for incorrectly using the laugh emoji, it's pretty funny coming from the guy who spent 5 straight days reacting to everything in the Cooper Flagg thread with a laugh emoji.

And since you apparently need everything spelled out for you, saying Patrick Ngongba should be a villain and commit to UConn while at Duke is pretty blatant sarcasm. I do not think Patrick is a villain, I'm sure he's a very nice kid

 

[TheHorde]

I have no idea what you're even rambling on about now. Sorry for incorrectly using the laugh emoji, it's pretty funny coming from the guy who spent 5 straight days reacting to everything in the Cooper Flagg thread with a laugh emoji.

And since you apparently need everything spelled out for you, saying Patrick Ngongba should be a villain and commit to UConn while at Duke is pretty blatant sarcasm. I do not think Patrick is a villain, I'm sure he's a very nice kid

You didn’t like it any more than I did it seems. Casting a wider net is probably wrong. Casting the net at different targets offered earlier in the process and prioritizing staff time and resources there? Is that better? You said this isn’t what I had in mind about Pat being the villain after Hurley posted on social media and when we were cut from the list. Does it not strike you as odd to have a recruit at our first night and then maybe ten days later cut us from a final list of 3? Not saying we should have gotten him or were favorites, but do you at least agree that there was a communication breakdown or different level of understanding of interest level?

 

[navery12]

You didn’t like it any more than I did it seems. Casting a wider net is probably wrong. Casting the net at different targets offered earlier in the process and prioritizing staff time and resources there? Is that better? You said this isn’t what I had in mind about Pat being the villain after Hurley posted on social media and when we were cut from the list. Does it not strike you as odd to have a recruit at our first night and then maybe ten days later cut us from a final list of 3? Not saying we should have gotten him or were favorites, but do you at least agree that there was a communication breakdown or different level of understanding of interest level?

No, I'm good with the guys we targeted this cycle. We got the most important spot filled with Nowell at PG and nobody I can think of off the top of my head I wish we offered but didn't like in years past. Would I have loved it if Betsey or Ngongba chose UConn, absolutely. But these are kids with their own priorities and interests and we can't make them like UConn.

About Ngongba, no it doesn't strike me as even remotely odd that he would visit UConn for First Night and then cut us a week later. If it was just UConn being cut then I'd get it, but going from 8 to 3 a few weeks before an announcement doesn't seem odd. Especially when the final 3 are the school he visited the weekend before and then the 2 weekends after UConn

 

[TheHorde]

No, I'm good with the guys we targeted this cycle. We got the most important spot filled with Nowell at PG and nobody I can think of off the top of my head I wish we offered but didn't like in years past. Would I have loved it if Betsey or Ngongba chose UConn, absolutely. But these are kids with their own priorities and interests and we can't make them like UConn.

About Ngongba, no it doesn't strike me as even remotely odd that he would visit UConn for First Night and then cut us a week later. If it was just UConn being cut then I'd get it, but going from 8 to 3 a few weeks before an announcement doesn't seem odd. Especially when the final 3 are the school he visited the weekend before and then the 2 weekends after UConn

I like Nowell and Abraham a lot and are glad they’re coming. I will also say for the folks piling on me that Duke appears to have liked the class of 2024 very much.

 

[kansashusky]

I like Nowell and Abraham a lot and are glad they’re coming. I will also say for the folks piling on me that Duke appears to have liked the class of 2024 very much.

Yes they liked the same five stars we did..... the difference is they landed their first options at all positons. We pivoted once, from Pettiford to Nowell. We dont need another developmental big, which is what we would have gotten after missing on Ngongba. We can get a shooting guard in the portal with some seniority. We just brough in three freshman at that position.

 

[navery12]

I like Nowell and Abraham a lot and are glad they’re coming. I will also say for the folks piling on me that Duke appears to have liked the class of 2024 very much.

You're missing my point, I'm saying we didn't want/need a ton of role players in this class. We brought in a bunch of them in 2023 and we need to give them minutes. Duke's class is filled with the top of the class guys, which are the ones we targeted and missed on

 

[TheHorde]

You're missing my point, I'm saying we didn't want/need a ton of role players in this class. We brought in a bunch of them in 2023 and we need to give them minutes. Duke's class is filled with the top of the class guys, which are the ones we targeted and missed on

I’m not missing your point. I agree we don’t want role players. I don’t look at guys like Swartz or Richmond as a role player. I don’t know if we would have gotten them with an earlier full court press or not. But we won’t know. Speaking of the class of 2024, it’s very interesting when you look at the volume of offers. Duke offered 14 2024s compared to 11 2023s and 10 2022s. Kentucky offered 17 2024s compared to 19 2023s and 14 2022s.

 

[auror]

I’m not missing your point. I agree we don’t want role players. I don’t look at guys like Swartz or Richmond as a role player. I don’t know if we would have gotten them with an earlier full court press or not. But we won’t know. Speaking of the class of 2024, it’s very interesting when you look at the volume of offers. Duke offered 14 2024s compared to 11 2023s and 10 2022s. Kentucky offered 17 2024s compared to 19 2023s and 14 2022s.

We weren't really late on those guys though. It didn't click, they were probably looking for something else than we could provide. So I don't see any indication that we could have done more and had it work out.

 

[TheHorde]

We weren't really late on those guys though. It didn't click, they were probably looking for something else than we could provide. So I don't see any indication that we could have done more and had it work out.

Maybe not. Hopefully we can recruit one of our existing guys, Karaban, to stay a third year in Storrs. All or some of that NIL money that would have gone to Flagg and Ngongba can hopefully be steered Alex’s way to make it a very difficult decision to leave after this year.

 

[superjohn]

Maybe not. Hopefully we can recruit one of our existing guys, Karaban, to stay a third year in Storrs. All or some of that NIL money that would have gone to Flagg and Ngongba can hopefully be steered Alex’s way to make it a very difficult decision to leave after this year.

That's not how Hurley operates, if Alex is ready to go after this season Hurley will tell him to go. Unless he shows he can put it on the deck a lot more and score he'll be back IMO. He started to do it a little at the end of last season.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Don’t know why that’s funny but sure ok. I’d love an alternate explanation of why there are only two commits and why more offers didn’t go out. And why we weren’t a finalist for PN. I’m all ears.

I do not have a substantive answer for you, and the question I ask is not intended to belittle you. I'm responding to your having written, "I'm all ears" above.

I'm assuming that the sentence below contains a typo, an autocorrect error, a missing word, or something else that prevents me from making sense of it. If you're willing, I'd appreciate a corrected rewrite, so I can assess what you intended to write in comparison to what others have written. Thanks in advance.

The feel the staff had on is think multiple recruits seems to have given them more optimism than perhaps they should have had.

 

[TheHorde]

That's not how Hurley operates, if Alex is ready to go after this season Hurley will tell him to go. Unless he shows he can put it on the deck a lot more and score he'll be back IMO. He started to do it a little at the end of last season.

If he can make the leap similar to Hawkins, then more power to him. But if there’s doubt, if he’s on the fence, or if he’s in a position where Hurley thinks another year would benefit him, then I could see this coming into play. If we were going to allocate NIL to recruits who haven’t been here and won a title here, then why wouldn’t we for someone like AK?

 

[cap10dingus]

That's pretty surprising to me. Still find it weird he went to Kansas State afterwards but I guess @cap10dingus was onto something

Does it count that despite knowing I still wanted to be wrong?