2025 Recruiting: Niko Bundalo Update

[navery12]

Yeah but Reed is a lot better athlete with elite shooting ability. I wasn't that high on Reed but I could see why he was drafted. Mahaney seems more of a player who will be in the Euro Legues without anything to distinguish him. He is a goood player at everything but defense but not great in anything from what we have seen. I think he is a great get for our team and fully expect him to be here for 2 years. If he can get drafted and stick with an NBA player I would love it even if I don't see it currently.

I don't disagree, but I'd also say give Mahaney time with Hurley before writing him off. You'd likely have been saying the same thing about Cam Spencer last year and Joey Calcaterra 2 years ago, and both of them got NBA chances. And Mahaney will have 2 years here to develop

 

[Drame]

Bringing this back to Nick Bundalo - yeah, as a '4' we are fairly deep now, but next year, if we're really looking at the '4', Abraham is our guy if (a) he stays, and (b) develops. If we get Reibe at the 5, then perhaps Singare shifts to a '4' so we would have 2 power forwards if Bundalo does not commit to UConn, pending other players committing or transferring in.

On3 has us ~ 11.8% chance, but I have not heard of his timeline on when he will commit.

I'm not too worried...let's enjoy AK's last season and see how the development of Abraham goes.

Abraham is a bit undersized for the 4. Closer to 6'6" in height. Would prefer him at the 3, And have more length at the 4.

 

[Orc]

I hope we also get Bundalo. He looks amazing from the highlights I’ve seen. Reminds me of Chet Holmsgreen like.

 

[444JR]

View attachment 104236 ESPN’s #19 #23 #24 & #25 would be quite the haul. Best ever?

You almost have to go for it looking at that. Potentially losing a lot. Diarra and Johnson, Karaban and McNeeley to the draft, potential of Solo and Stewie to the draft as well(if a third straight national championship looms)!

 

[JerseyAlum]

What the heck are you talking about. Stew is our starting 4 next year and Abe is the backup. Reibe can also play some 4 with his shooting ability if we wanna go twin towers but you have a better chance of playing the 4 than Singare

Stew is more like a 3 than a 4. Heck he can be a 2. We have 4x 6'7" guys (McNeeley, Stewart, Ross, Abraham) within 5 lbs of each other so very right for small forward. Reibe at 7'0" is a 5 though he could stretch to a 4 maybe.

Though Hurley likes position less players, it means he likes guys who can be 1 or 2, or 3 or 4 or even 2-3-4. If Stew is back next year, I see him at 3.

 

[awy]

the big hurdle to getting more playing time seems to be ability to shoot at an elite level, at least when it comes to stewie. the mental game is really the big challenge, can he keep being confident.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Stew is more like a 3 than a 4. Heck he can be a 2. We have 4x 6'7" guys (McNeeley, Stewart, Ross, Abraham) within 5 lbs of each other so very right for small forward. Reibe at 7'0" is a 5 though he could stretch to a 4 maybe.

Though Hurley likes position less players, it means he likes guys who can be 1 or 2, or 3 or 4 or even 2-3-4. If Stew is back next year, I see him at 3.

I believe every single minute stewart has played for UConn has been at the 4...maybe some at the 3... definitely none at the 2

 

[RuffRuff]

I believe every single minute stewart has played for UConn has been at the 4...maybe some at the 3... definitely none at the 2

Standard here for a 4 size is pretty high at the college level. Abraham looks a legit 6’7”. Think about some of the 4s of the past here (Freeman, Adrien). KJ Adams is 6’7”, Jwan Roberts is a 6’8 center.

If we brought Bundalo on could see him playing the Grant Nelson type role, but it might be at the cost of retooling and pushing someone out.

 

[navery12]

I believe every single minute stewart has played for UConn has been at the 4...maybe some at the 3... definitely none at the 2

Stew is more like a 3 than a 4. Heck he can be a 2. We have 4x 6'7" guys (McNeeley, Stewart, Ross, Abraham) within 5 lbs of each other so very right for small forward. Reibe at 7'0" is a 5 though he could stretch to a 4 maybe.

Though Hurley likes position less players, it means he likes guys who can be 1 or 2, or 3 or 4 or even 2-3-4. If Stew is back next year, I see him at 3.

Stewart played 553 possessions last year, only 129 were with Alex Karaban also on the court. But 59 of those 129 were also with no center on the court, so Karaban or Stewart were at the 5. Probably some nuance in there but as a rough estimate, he only played ~12% of his time at the 3 last year

 

[JerseyAlum]

Stewart played 553 possessions last year, only 129 were with Alex Karaban also on the court. But 59 of those 129 were also with no center on the court, so Karaban or Stewart were at the 5. Probably some nuance in there but as a rough estimate, he only played ~12% of his time at the 3 last year

Thanks - my 4 vision is biased for Karl Malone type bodies so would have thought "more weight" needed for our 6'7"...but as Ruff put it the standard in college is pretty high. Ultimately it is what a 4 does: back down other big men close to the rim, turnaround 6' baselines, blocks, rebounding. I liked our big 4s, like Adrien, Boone...even Freeman looked like a mean boxer type body. Not saying Stewart fits that mold (maybe he's more athletic which strikes me as a 3, but I digress).