2025 Recruiting: Niko Bundalo Update

[Huskyforlife]

I don’t think that account knows anything.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Wrote this a while ago and never posted. I watched a couple more games yesterday and edited...

15.6 PTS
5.8 REB
0.8 AST (1.0 potential)

1.6 TO
0.4 STL
2.0 BLK

54% 2FG (7.4 attempts)
21% 3FG (4.8 attempts)
90% FT(2.5 attempts)

Overall:
I watched 7 games and a bunch of highlights from over the past 9 months or so. 6’9/6’10 and 215lbs sounds about right. Skilled for his size and rapidly improving. Athleticism is on the lower-end of our normal recruits. Shooting is not very good right now, but his free throws are pretty, and he’s getting tons of reps from deep with good form, so I expect in a year or two he’ll be an asset on limited volume. He’s in the mold of that Akok/Samson PF recruit we used to be after, but instead of prioritizing speed/hops, we are after some skill. Very different role than AK. I think anyone calling him a pure 4 probably hasn’t watched him play that much. He’s going to need to play both in college as he transitions to a 4 in the league–it will take time. I haven’t loved his attitude on the court at times. Fiery competitiveness is great…but he whines like a Dukie at the refs when things get emotional in games.

Offense:

• His calling card is his skill at 6’10. Driving, shooting, etc at his height is a rare ability. However, that perimeter skill is definitely still growing and needs work. The polish is not there. I see his as someone who could dominate in the NBA, but may not have a huge impact in college. Bigs develop late, especially the ones who are essentially learning guards skills while being 6’10+.
• Nice ball mover and doesn’t turn it over when passing, but doesn’t have really any consistent advanced passing reads. He isn’t hitting shooters when he drives, finding cutters, or posting up and kicking to shooters consistently. Would like to see him take more risks finding his cutters, kicking to shooters, etc.
• I think we need to dial is back on how much of a shooting asset he will be. FT form has improved tremendously and his % is great, so the indications are there he will be an asset in time. But like many young bigs the answer here is TIME. Even many of his two-point land misses are mid-range shots that he missed.
• Really like his shooting %s at the rim. Looks his best doing the dirty work inside. Has a basic jump hook with either hand and a 1-2 dribble post up that, while not polished, is effective enough to get the job done well as an inside-out presence.
• From what I can tell, he is an ambidextrous finisher. Plenty of baby hooks and layups with both hands.
• Loves to drive in the half-court, and since last HS season has gotten much more physical on his drives. IMO the best part of his game long-term and the skill that will get him to the league is his ability to take a big 1v1 to the rim. Seems to do his damage mostly at the left side of the rim.
• Does a lot of screen setting and rolling/popping like you’d expect from a stretch 5. Still learning the intricacies of creating space and sealing, but I see the potential.
• The other place where I see him being a huge asset is in his ability to rebound and run with the ball. Pushes the pace, defense on their heels, and can more the ball up the court well enough to find a guard to attack.
• Not sure if it’s just the teams he’s played for or an IQ/foot speed thing, but I haven’t seen much in the way of successful cutting from him.

Defense:

• He looks his best contesting shots on the drive or helping his teammates (he plays the 5 for his HS and quite a bit in AAU). He does a fantastic job of contesting without fouling. At one point he must have contested 15-20 shots in a half at the rim and only fouled once. Stays straight up almost religiously it seems.
• 1v1 post defense is not good. Both fundamentally with his footwork and balance, and in his size. He gets bullied, falls for fakes, and isn’t stopping even low-ranked bigs.
• His rebounding is improving rapidly. Last HS season I wrote a lot of “he’s soft” and “not violent enough”... he’s not quite there yet (bigs develop late), but I see a clear mental shift in his willingness to sacrifice the body to get the board. More boxing out and hitting people.
• What I don’t see the potential for right now is out-of-area rebounding. His feet are just not quick enough.
• Those not-so-quick feet on the perimeter shows up when he gets switched onto quicker players than him, even some PFs. He can get beat to the rim frequently. He’s got the length to still contest, but would like to see him stay in front more.

I do remember you commented on someone we were recruiting a couple months back that you didn't like their body language, but you didn't reveal who it was. Maybe Ruff's tea leaves werent a bad strain. I def think Furphy has a whole different attitude.

 

[444JR]

Total stud - and talk about bringing some character to the table. The kid looks like when he’s not banging threes, he’s killing people on the rugby field.

To little surprise you can definitely see Dan Hurley is shaping his roster with position-less tall guards that can shoot, around a versatile big/rim protector. Then to also have a true PG on roster as a change of pace, and in the event they need to break pressure.

Not even sure a traditional 4 is part of the scheme any longer, as he’d rather have better
movement. I’d agree that it’s pretty clear Niko was a backup to Reibe and that chances are better than not Solo gets to the draft. No question he wants to keep sending guys to keep the recruiting steamroller moving, as to start filling the league and push the brotherhood into his rear view.

Position-less tall guards.

Newton, Spencer, Castle: all 6’4 and above, capable of playing on or off the ball. 37-3. Hurley has found his formula.

Shows how dang good Nowell is that they went away from that archetype with him. Darius Adams, Braylon Mullins, and Jacob Furphy would certainly fit that tall position-less guard mold.

 

[Waquoit]

He'd be going to UNC if they came up with that Bundelo NIL.

 

[KemBuckets21]

So bizarre. I guess that means we were recruiting him at a 5 instead of a Karaban replacement and he didn’t want to compete with Reed and Reibe for minutes.

Also, staff must feel confident that Ball is NBA bound after this season if we’re going to take Jacob Furphy. Interesting development lol

Do you believe this post? I don’t know that this handle is credible yet. Happy with furphy or bundalo, however it shakes out.

 

[Son of Robert]

Nowell, Mahaney, Ball, Adams, Mullins, Furphy. If two or three of these guys play the wing it is not too many guards. None of these guys are on the roster to sit on the bench next season. Also on the roster playing the wing and the 4 this season and maybe next are Stewart, McNeeley, Ross, and Abraham. Maybe Hurley wants to wait and see what the status of the 4 is at the end of this season before adding another big forward like Bundalo now. He can always hit the portal for exactly what we need. Reed, Singare, and Reibe, at the 5, with Reibe according to some reports also expressing interest to have some minutes at the 4, or playing two bigs at once if we want to call it that, more opportunities for Reibe who can play outside and shoot the three.

I count 13 schollies right there, with two or three possibles leaving after this season, but right now who knows for sure. Bundalo sure looked like a good fit as a big 4, but the way the roster is constructed right now for next season, Jacob Furphy may be the much better fit and too good to pass on.

And of course, are we basing our opinions on good information.

 

[husky429]

I do remember you commented on someone we were recruiting a couple months back that you didn't like their body language, but you didn't reveal who it was. Maybe Ruff's tea leaves werent a bad strain. I def think Furphy has a whole different attitude.

Your memory is astounding, lol. Yeah...I DM'd some folks that I wasn't in love with his attitude on the court. Made me wonder if that's why we were more aggressive with Reibe.

That being said...it could just be the culture of his team. If your coach doesn't hold you accountable, then kids act up. And Hurley usn't letting anyone focus on whining more than winning if they expect to play.

 

[bendm]

Mullins and Bundalo do not remotely play the same position. They have zero impact on each other’s minutes. Bundalo would have been turned off by Reibe’s commitment

most roster additions have a domino effect on everyone else’s minutes…in this case Adding Mullins could mean less time on the wing for stew and Abe and more time at PF which would impact Bundalo

 

[RuffRuff]

Your memory is astounding, lol. Yeah...I DM'd some folks that I wasn't in love with his attitude on the court. Made me wonder if that's why we were more aggressive with Reibe.

That being said...it could just be the culture of his team. If your coach doesn't hold you accountable, then kids act up. And Hurley usn't letting anyone focus on whining more than winning if they expect to play.

Twas only the messenger on that as saw it in a few places from the other suitors, and often when there’s smoke…. Watched an interview of his as well, and while you have to admire the intensity there is something unbridled about it that doesn’t match the Hurley style. The recruitment has been weird enough to make me think there’s something to it.

Really great write up from 429! As always the case will be interesting to follow the kid to see how it all plays out for him, and wish the best.

 

[bendm]

To bring in a third 6'5 guard in the same class would certainly surprise me. If it means Bundalo is going elsewhere than maybe we have decided we are playing our 6'5 guards as wings and rolling with Stewart/Ross/Abraham as our only forwards with size, at least for now.

6’5 is perfectly fine for a SF in college. It’s fine in the NBA too:
Bradley Beal 6’4
Josh Hart 6’4
Jalen Williams 6’5
Desmond Bane 6’5
Zach Lavine 6’5

 

[KemBuckets21]

Acaden Lewis just posted he’s deciding 11/2 between Kentucky, uconn, and Duke

 

[HooperScooper]

6’5 is perfectly fine for a SF in college. It’s fine in the NBA too:
Bradley Beal 6’4
Josh Hart 6’4
Jalen Williams 6’5
Desmond Bane 6’5
Zach Lavine 6’5

Not that there's much difference between SG and SF but all of those guys besides Williams are listed as guards by their team. I don't watch enough of any of their games but who is on the floor with them when they are in the games? Who are they guarding? Why are they listed as guards by their teams?

 

[auror]

Acaden Lewis just posted he’s deciding 11/2 between Kentucky, uconn, and Duke

I can tell you at least one place and probably 2 where he's not going.

 

[RuffRuff]

This one is pretty inevitable, and will be fun to see how Acadien plays out as well. Good luck to the kid. I think Pope is going to do some good things with UK. Curious to who moved off who on this one as it felt like we were in a really good spot with him. Oddly it felt like things turned a little right after the whole Caleb Wilson UK visit tweet exchange. Maybe coincidence, maybe enough for staff to feel like it wasn’t in the cards or maybe they were turned off by it. It did feel like his profile was a bit redundant with Nowell here and the Hurley profile moving to the bigger guard profile, less dribble.

 

[superjohn]

I can tell you at least one place and probably 2 where he's not going.

Kids automatically put UConn on their short list every time now even if UConn has moved on from them and they know where they're going. We're the it school.

 

[HooperScooper]

Kids automatically put UConn on their short list every time now even if UConn has moved on from them and they know where they're going. We're the it school.

It wasn't that long ago that UConn visited him at his high school. They were recruiting him hard. But things changed recently. If he takes UConn officially off his list, and probably Duke too, then what kind of an announcement on On3 would it be with only 1 school left on his list?

 

[TheHorde]

I’m here in Glastonbury too and haven’t heard a thing but then I’m in South Glastonbury. Have been hanging around Sayulita’s bathroom, not a peep!

I doubt you’re hearing not a peep in the bathroom of a Mexican restaurant.

 

[ec33]

Mullins and Bundalo do not remotely play the same position. They have zero impact on each other’s minutes. Bundalo would have been turned off by Reibe’s commitment

If a team were to be relatively "position-less" (outside of the post), there is 160 available minutes. Any player's PT impacts everyone else's PT.

But if Hurley was able to convince Bundalo to hold off until Reibe's decision in order to see if UConn desired him to come in and play exclusively out of position, then our head coach is on fire.

 

[bendm]

Not that there's much difference between SG and SF but all of those guys besides Williams are listed as guards by their team. I don't watch enough of any of their games but who is on the floor with them when they are in the games? Who are they guarding? Why are they listed as guards by their teams?

Because it’s ok to start three Gs. They all start alongside the Gs listed below so I just referred to them as SFs to differentiate here. All the guys below can just be referred to as wings:

Devin Booker / Bradley Beal 6’4
Mikal Bridges / Josh Hart 6’4
Alex Caruso / Jalen Williams 6’5
Marcus Smart / Desmond Bane 6’5
Josh Giddey / Zach Lavine 6’5

 

[runner11]

Acaden Lewis just posted he’s deciding 11/2 between Kentucky, uconn, and Duke

This must be how UNC felt going into the Mullins commitment stream.

 

[navery12]

If this is true it means UConn, Michigan State and Ohio State are no longer considering adding Bundalo.

Yeah the whispers about the red flags have gotten a little louder, feel like that's too much of a coincidence when his top 4 are all suddenly out

 

[FreeKlaiber]

Your memory is astounding, lol. Yeah...I DM'd some folks that I wasn't in love with his attitude on the court. Made me wonder if that's why we were more aggressive with Reibe.

That being said...it could just be the culture of his team. If your coach doesn't hold you accountable, then kids act up. And Hurley usn't letting anyone focus on whining more than winning if they expect to play.

it was a discussion of the real good freshman out of new haven, and his propensity to chirp. I don't like the tendency some have to smear recruits so I respected it when you didnt throw his name out. No need for dirty laundry with these 17 year olds. Not to mention the kid out of New haven who is 15?

 

[Mooch82]

Bundalo going to be a Husky. Don’t see how we turn him away…unless Wembanyama reclassified to 2025

Nope

 

[AllHusky]

Dang, I was excited for Niko Bundalo to be a Husky

The poster who said “we’d be unguardable” was the hook line and sinker for me

 

[RuffRuff]

it was a discussion of the real good freshman out of new haven, and his propensity to chirp. I don't like the tendency some have to smear recruits so I respected it when you didnt throw his name out. No need for dirty laundry with these 17 year olds. Not to mention the kid out of New haven who is 15?

Not to advocate for smearing, but to play some devils advocate, should they be treated much differently than professional athletes these days? I realize these are 17 year olds, but they’re also signing up for 7 figures to play a game .

AJ was mixing it up with the Lakers last night, clearly living it up to the fullest sitting near their bench. And good for him, as he’s seeing privileges very few kids his age get. Have some skepticism to the level of humility there to warrant the price tag for one year we’re hearing. It feels like a one year expo coming more than a contribution to team hoops. Will be really curious to how that one lands and plays out.

Tangientally as don’t feel like starting a new topic, but interesting thread on Rupp talking about UK rival list, with the Huskies popping up. Always interesting to see how we are perceived by “fellow” blue blood fan bases.

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