November 2020

[AfgHusky15]

Why no mention of Gaffney?

I did refer to him as being part of the 3 stud recruits coming in this year. All of whom would get a year's worth of experience before the '20-'21 season

 

[tcf15]

Probably going abroad before 2020 season.

UConn hopes Sid Wilson can make a ‘splash’ this season

BRANFORD — It’s been an up-and-down start to Sid Wilson’s college basketball...

www.nhregister.com

UConn could be heading overseas in the summer of 2020. The Huskies are eligible for a foreign trip and are hoping to do so next summer, most likely in Europe. Such trips, which usually last 7-10 days, are seen as excellent team-bonding opportunities.

 

[Ts5034]

Probably going abroad before 2020 season.

UConn hopes Sid Wilson can make a ‘splash’ this season

BRANFORD — It’s been an up-and-down start to Sid Wilson’s college basketball...

www.nhregister.com

UConn could be heading overseas in the summer of 2020. The Huskies are eligible for a foreign trip and are hoping to do so next summer, most likely in Europe. Such trips, which usually last 7-10 days, are seen as excellent team-bonding opportunities.

I love it. People have been saying for years that they should do a summer trip. Its a great opportunity to play against decent competition and see what the team and each individual player needs to improve on before the season starts.

 

[NJHoops]

The article mentions the URI trip to Italy in 2013. They also went to the Bahamas (was originally supposed to be London and Paris) in 2017.

 

[AfgHusky15]

With UConn’s move to the Big East, the hype for November 2020 has grown tremendously. If things continue to go in the right direction for the Huskies both in the team development and recruiting over next 18 months, and Alterique returns there will be a ton of national buzz at Storrs in November 2020. This is fun!

 

[AfgHusky15]

For me everything UConn does from now, through the 2019-2020 season, and up until the first game of the 2020-2021 season, I will be looking at through the perspective of is the team/program in a better position to make a deep run (FF type run) in the 2020-2021 season.

We added 3 studs in '19 class and they will get a year's worth of experience before the key 2020-2021 season. By March 2020 our starting 5 could very well be:

1) Alterique
2) Bouknight (yes I know many think Vital will be a starter here, but based on talent Bouknight may take his spot by the end of the year)
3) Polley or Sid
4) Akok
5) Carlton

The big key will be whether Alterique decides to return one more year. If he is healthy and does return for one more year, we could return all of our starters on what should be a pretty good team, and we will be adding more firepower with the addition of RJ Cole, and potentially some other '20 stud recruits (we are in a good position with studs such as Andre Jackson, Cam Thomas, Cliff Omoruyi, Jabri Abdur Rahim, and Hassan Diarra).

We have not made the postseason in 3 straight years, and to return UConn to where it should be the team really does need to make a deep run in the tournament. UConn as a program is made for March/April (that is why Hurley came here). In my opinion we have that potential, if things align right and we add some more studs, to make that goal a reality as soon as March 2021. If we do make a FF type run, it would also have a tremendous immediate impact for our 2021 recruiting because we are going hard after top 10 recruits in the 2021 class like Kuminga, Griffin, and Moussa Cisse. Then UConn should be back back.

Yes, I am looking ahead by 1.5 years, but everything the team, coaches, and program does in between now and then can really build the hype for the 2020-2021 season and hopefully make a deep run more of an expectation and not a fantasy.

A few things to monitor (most of which we all know):

- Can Carlton continue to build on his growth he showed during his sophomore year
- Can Alterique stay healthy for a full season and will he come back one more year after this season
- Is the '19 class as talented as we expect them to be
- Can Sid play to his potential
- Can Polley continue to build off of his growth shown during his sophomore year
- Can we add a few more studs in the 2020 class

Those questions will be answered over the next 1.5 years (there are other questions as well), if most of the responses are positive then we should have a heck of a team.

At this point what UConn has accomplished to make a FF type run possible in March 2021 are:

- Hurley has positively changed the culture of the program
- Hurley was able to recruit a talented '19 class
- Hurley added a talented guard that can contribute right away starting in November 2020

I'm excited to see UConn continue to build up to the 2020-2021 season. This does not mean I don't think we will have a good season this year as well, but I think its more realistic to envision having a big year starting in November 2020.

The hype will only continue to grow.