2025 Recruiting: Niko Bundalo Update

[aburks41]

I am curious if maybe the staff feels like they’re having to toe the line of pure talent and experience. Maybe the thought is, for what will be a relatively young roster in ‘25, the better approach is to wait for a more experienced portal guy at the 4 to pair with Stewart.

We have Abraham in the mix too. And if we have a junior year Stewart then the best option to pair him with is a 5* freshman. It would be very difficult to get a high level portal add to compete with Stewart for minutes.

It will be a young roster but a damn good one. Nowell and Mahaney both will be experienced guards. Ball too but I suspect he may be NBA bound after this year. Reed and Stewart in the front court with experience. These recruits were bringing in are all 5* caliber guys. They're more or less going to be ready on day 1, like McNeeley and Castle.

 

[AllHusky]

What the hell are these guys talking about?

ridiculousness, lets never post these idiots again

 

[nomar]

A young 50!!! One of the most relevant classes I ever took. Can probably out type most Gen Zs, which is scary. I see some dudes my age hunting and pecking and I cringe.

Entering the summer (1998) before my senior year in college, I was encouraged by a family friend to apply for a summer job at his law firm. But rather than hire me as an intern, they had me apply to be a word processor, which required a typing test! I passed and worked there for two summers. No hunting & pecking here.

 

[Sonofabeach]

You would think Creighton would be all over this kid when they lost out on Reibe

 

[AllHusky]

We have Abraham in the mix too. And if we have a junior year Stewart then the best option to pair him with is a 5* freshman. It would be very difficult to get a high level portal add to compete with Stewart for minutes.

It will be a young roster but a damn good one. Nowell and Mahaney both will be experienced guards. Ball too but I suspect he may be NBA bound after this year. Reed and Stewart in the front court with experience. These recruits were bringing in are all 5* caliber guys. They're more or less going to be ready on day 1, like McNeeley and Castle.

Yes, with experienced talented guards, makes the young big guys inexperience less of a factor. Guards that know and have been successful in the system. I can see Nowell or Mahaney pointing at Bundalo and Rye bah and telling them to get their butts where they belong just prior to giving them an entry pass that leads to a resounding dunk or a pass over the top for a 3 pointer,. Does a 7 footer even need a screen to take a 3?

Regarding Furphy(assuming Bundalo already), don't you think that GM Tom Moore and Hurley already have gamed that and have a "personnel management plan" if that is a desired outcome?

 

[DogMania]

..
. Vb. Bonn mz2w1

Abraham is not a big. He plays on the perimeter and is probably 6' 5.5" w/o shoes. Hurley might have a rule which I havent heard about keeping only 3 bigs on the roster at any one time. Maybe its better to take Furphy, if we're only taking one more, instead of Bundalo. Furphy, more than any other recruit we've seen, reminds me of Cam, but at a younger age. IQ, shooting, playing at his own pace, passing.

What makes this a challenging decision for the staff is not knowing which players and how many will make the leap to the next level creating greater need. Will there be a need for a guard like Furphy or a big forward like Bundalo? Which creates too much competition for PT?

Also, as noted by others, is it better to keep a ship open for an experienced portal transfer. What's the NIL impact of adding a freshman vrs adding a portal transfer, if any?

Looking at the likely 2025/26 roster, I think we have enough who can man the 1, 2 and 3 and 5, but the 4 might be one position where we could absorb another talented player if both Karaban and McNeeley enter the Draft.

The key here is, are most of the players willing to wait their turn for a more significant role, may it take 2 to 4 years in the system before that happening for them. That's the culture that the staff needs to and wants to protect as they bring in more talented recruits than ever before.

 

[aburks41]

Yes, with experienced talented guards, makes the young big guys inexperience less of a factor. Guards that know and have been successful in the system. I can see Nowell or Mahaney pointing at Bundalo and Rye bah and telling them to get their butts where they belong just prior to giving them an entry pass that leads to a resounding dunk or a pass over the top for a 3 pointer,. Does a 7 footer even need a screen to take a 3?

Regarding Furphy(assuming Bundalo already), don't you think that GM Tom Moore and Hurley already have gamed that and have a "personnel management plan" if that is a desired outcome?

Furphy looks like he would be a really good player but I honestly don't know how you even would find minutes for him. I think if we're taking 1 more guy it has to be Bundalo just based on positional need/minutes available next year.

My guess is that Furphy was always plan B for Mullins

 

[Samoo]

Great take. And if Hurley wants to remain on the perch and evolve to stay ahead of the sport, what’s his move? Sports are copycat leagues. If something is working, be confident the competition is watching and will try to duplicate. Winning the tourney is HARD, becoming “bullet proof” is HARD. So when you have the clout to get special kids, have to maximize.

Saw UKs shot chart from their scrimmage - basically looked like an Oats chart. This concept of spacing and taking 3s or layups is the new trend. Shooters and stretch bigs, position-less hoops is in. It’s why Nikos skillset is particularly interesting.

Luckily Hurley gets to scheme against and his players get to play against the best offense everyday at practice

 

[Citrusdog]

Luckily Hurley gets to scheme against and his players get to play against the best offense everyday at practice

Actually, that is true and it’s a bit scary. He is running on offense in college (with specific players) that is noticeably different than anything seen at that level. Hence - 68-11 and two national championships. The ball is rolling - and others see it. I wonder what Tobacco Road thinks of this?

 

[temery]

Actually, that is true and it’s a bit scary. He is running on offense in college (with specific players) that is noticeably different than anything seen at that level. Hence - 68-11 and two national championships. The ball is rolling - and others see it. I wonder what Tobacco Road thinks of this?

I'm a Hurley fan, but I don't buy into the 'Hurley is a magician' stuff. How many years did he coach before he got here, with mid major success at best?

No back-2-back without Hurley, that I believe. But he wouldn't have won even one championship without UConn (fan base, staff, AD support, etc).

 

[HooperScooper]

A young 50!!! One of the most relevant classes I ever took. Can probably out type most Gen Zs, which is scary. I see some dudes my age hunting and pecking and I cringe.

I definitely pegged you as a recent retiree in the 65 to 70 range. My theory was that after 13 years here and only posting about 600 times you just started posting prolifically a few months ago and reading lots of tweets, articles, and message boards and watching podcasts. I asked before why but you didn't want to answer. Yeah I know, you hate when I ask personal questions.

 

[Vancat]

I definitely pegged you as a recent retiree in the 65 to 70 range. My theory was that after 13 years here and only posting about 600 times you just started posting prolifically a few months ago and reading lots of tweets, articles, and message boards and watching podcasts. I asked before why but you didn't want to answer. Yeah I know, you hate when I ask personal questions.

Funny I was curious too, as I hadn’t seen him/her until lately, and yes, very prolifically.

 

[RuffRuff]

I definitely pegged you as a recent retiree in the 65 to 70 range. My theory was that after 13 years here and only posting about 600 times you just started posting prolifically a few months ago and reading lots of tweets, articles, and message boards and watching podcasts. I asked before why but you didn't want to answer. Yeah I know, you hate when I ask personal questions.

I like to keep you on your toes HS. Typing classes in HS were basically me and a buddy having races as to who could type most words a minute. Most useful skill ever learned. Can probably type as fast as I talk, which makes me dangerous on a message board .

Any drought here was likely just more about the Kevin Ollie disaster, and wanting to close my eyes till it was over. And just picking things back up when it was safe to come back outside again.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

You would think Creighton would be all over this kid when they lost out on Reibe

They decided it'd be easier to seek an 8th yr of eligibility for Kalk

 

[DogMania]

You would think Creighton would be all over this kid when they lost out on Reibe

You make a good point. You'd think McDermott would be reaching out to him seeing that he might open up his recruitment again. I'd rather see him land here, but if that doesn't happen, him Landing in the Big East is a good thing for our conference.

 

[huskyblooz]

wait for the portal

 

[AllHusky]

Furphy looks like he would be a really good player but I honestly don't know how you even would find minutes for him. I think if we're taking 1 more guy it has to be Bundalo just based on positional need/minutes available next year.

My guess is that Furphy was always plan B for Mullins

Makes sense, you just never know whats on the minds of the staff. If they see something that is special about Furphy, they will find a way. Not advocating, just spitballing.

 

[alexd]

I like to keep you on your toes HS. Typing classes in HS were basically me and a buddy having races as to who could type most words a minute. Most useful skill ever learned. Can probably type as fast as I talk, which makes me dangerous on a message board .

Any drought here was likely just more about the Kevin Ollie disaster, and wanting to close my eyes till it was over. And just picking things back up when it was safe to come back outside again.

LOL.... my parents made me take typing in high school. But the female to male ratio in class was like 5-1. So that was good. But I did get a "deficiency report" sent home mid semester because I was looking at my fingers and it was a "touch typing" course. I can still hear my dad, "how the hell do you screw up in a typing class?".... In the long run it was worth it when I had to type all those college papers. So I guess my parents knew what they were doing all along.

 

[Glastonhusky]

If all signs pointed to Furphy, he'd already have committed.

It's just what I'm hearing. Like I said, I think Bundalo is a better fit, but we'll have to trust the staff on this one.

 

[Fishy]

At 59 followers, take with a grain of salt. But he is "hearing".

We have open scholarships.

 

[Waquoit]

I sucked at typing. Hurt my class rank.

 

[Fishy]

I thought we go to 15 scholarships in 2025-26

Yep.

 

[Citrusdog]

I'm a Hurley fan, but I don't buy into the 'Hurley is a magician' stuff. How many years did he coach before he got here, with mid major success at best?

No back-2-back without Hurley, that I believe. But he wouldn't have won even one championship without UConn (fan base, staff, AD support, etc).

True. Additionally, his support team is pretty good. To me that would include: JC, Dan’s father and I think even Geno to some extent. A fair amount of coaching wisdom there. The pipeline to eastern kids recruiting has also added to the success. Fan base support? Absolutely. To what extent - I don’t know. It (probably) is the combination of all of these good things. I’ll just remain a supportive fan and enjoy the ride.

 

[alexd]

You mean someone on the internet isn't being truthful???

 

[Fan1978]

We have open scholarships.

Exactly, hot line sports really bad at simple math