Pascal Chukwu

[RipCity]

I thought Cassell came as a JUCO? No. Doesn't that mean 2 years?

As for Purvis, I can easily see him leaving with a good year. He will have spent 4 years in college. The one least likely to leaver, IMO, is Brimah. He needs way too much work right now.

Cassell was given three eligible years.

I think Purvis has exposed his shortcomings to the extent that if he does have a great year, he'll be like Gibbs in the way of NBA scouts not buying into him. Purvis is athletic, but he isn't long, doesn't board well at all, and hasn't proven to have a reliable BBIQ. Just my opinion, I think he's a college player who will have to really grind to work his way either in the back end of the draft or through the D-League/Europe. Love him though.

 

[selles]

Not remotely true.

The only guy we recruited who truly had no other DI offers was Gavin Edwards. He had one offer from Southern Utah...I figured out how that happened when I spoke to his high school coach. We were with Scout at the time and never heard of Edwards, so I called his school and chatted with the coach. He was...not a good person.

That's really interesting, I remember a bunch of seemingly odd quotes from Gavin's coach. Did it seem like something personal against the Edwards clan, or was the guy just a miserable fellow in general?

 

[Fishy]

That's really interesting, I remember a bunch of seemingly odd quotes from Gavin's coach. Did it seem like something personal against the Edwards clan, or was the guy just a miserable fellow in general?

He definitely did not like the Edwards and had no interest in seeing Gavin succeed in spite of him - he flat-out told me that Edwards wasn't good enough to play at UConn.

My own hunch back then was that he didn't seem to like certain segments of the population.

 

[CallMeBruce]

He definitely did not like the Edwards and had no interest in seeing Gavin succeed in spite of him - he flat-out told me that Edwards wasn't good enough to play at UConn.

My own hunch back then was that he didn't seem to like certain segments of the population.

Tall people?

 

[upstater]

Cassell was given three eligible years.

I think Purvis has exposed his shortcomings to the extent that if he does have a great year, he'll be like Gibbs in the way of NBA scouts not buying into him. Purvis is athletic, but he isn't long, doesn't board well at all, and hasn't proven to have a reliable BBIQ. Just my opinion, I think he's a college player who will have to really grind to work his way either in the back end of the draft or through the D-League/Europe. Love him though.

Kid is a good defender. Super athletic, needs to get his shot down a little more. Midrange especially. Doesn't board well? Ollie had him leaking out on fast breaks, not staying back for boards. Ive seen the kid go high for rebounds when in.

 

[upstater]

Tall people?

Weirdly enough, there is a twitter out there with Gavin Edwards' sister just ripping apart UConn and Jim Calhoun specifically.

 

[tzznandrew]

Weirdly enough, there is a twitter out there with Gavin Edwards' sister just ripping apart UConn and Jim Calhoun specifically.

That is strange. It seems like UConn gave him a chance he otherwise wouldn't have had.

 

[Fishy]

Weirdly enough, there is a twitter out there with Gavin Edwards' sister just ripping apart UConn and Jim Calhoun specifically.

Edwards had a tough time at UConn adjusting to Calhoun's style - I don't think they were exchanging Christmas cards when he left, but all's well now.

 

[UConn Dan]

Weirdly enough, there is a twitter out there with Gavin Edwards' sister just ripping apart UConn and Jim Calhoun specifically.

Yes, I remember seeing this awhile back. Maybe telling one of our recruits not to come?

 

[champs99and04]

I feel badly for Kris Dunn. He passed up millions of dollars to return to school and play with no one. Losing Chuckwu is a huge blow for that program.

 

[James]

Kid is a good defender. Super athletic, needs to get his shot down a little more. Midrange especially. Doesn't board well? Ollie had him leaking out on fast breaks, not staying back for boards. Ive seen the kid go high for rebounds when in.

I think purvis is an exceptional scorer, but as far as defense he has a long way. he needs to take that step this year... we trash AB on this board a bunch but atleast he anchors defense when he is on the floor. in person he shouts picknroll coverage at the aloof guards, among them purvis/boatright. I'm as excited as anybody about this coming year, but gibbs + adams are most likely not plus defenders... should be interesting .

Miller will help because he apparently is an excellent defender with great hands / defensive win shares, if uconn is a top 10 team miller has be an anchor. causing weakside turnovers, guarding the best big man while letting AB roam... thats totally possible.

 

[SirHypeAlot]

I'm an alum of prep and watched Paschal play many games during his junior and senior year. he showed marked improvement, great motor and an eagerness to learn. He's a very coachable and respectful young man with a very supportive host family. If he wants to come to UConn he'll come here.
I know he originally was looking for the small school feel which is why he was down to PC (Cooley) and St Joes (his host family had a daughter there). That mindset has obviously changed. Paschal was also very tight with Bob Simon who left PC for Alabama. Couple that departure with what has already been discussed regarding team chemistry and it's understandable why he would want to leave. As a fan of his personally I'm bummed for him it didn't work for him at PC because i thought that was a good fit but he can most certainly play at the UConn level if he so chooses. I know some people close to his situation and have reached out for some info.
How anyone could pass on him boggles my mind. He continued to improve while at PC and would have another entire season to work with our staff before he even takes the court. We HAVE to make an effort here.

His senior mixtape for those that need a refresher:


And to the idiot who questioned his vert:

 

[3rdbass]

I think purvis is an exceptional scorer, but as far as defense he has a long way. he needs to take that step this year... we trash AB on this board a bunch but atleast he anchors defense when he is on the floor. in person he shouts picknroll coverage at the aloof guards, among them purvis/boatright. I'm as excited as anybody about this coming year, but gibbs + adams are most likely not plus defenders... should be interesting .

Miller will help because he apparently is an excellent defender with great hands / defensive win shares, if uconn is a top 10 team miller has be an anchor. causing weakside turnovers, guarding the best big man while letting AB roam... thats totally possible.

Aloof guards? Huh both RB and RP played great d last year. RP is a great on the ball defender and was always giving max effort there if you watched games. I don't even know how you can question RB on D. Some fans like to make things up in thin air to support their posts.

 

[James]

Aloof guards? Huh both RB and RP played great d last year. RP is a great on the ball defender and was always giving max effort there if you watched games. I don't even know how you can question RB on D. Some fans like to make things up in thin air to support their posts.

How about you just chill and take a gander at purvis defensive rating/defensive box plusminus, which accounts for opponents scoring when he is on the floor.

 

[3rdbass]

How about you just chill and take a gander at purvis defensive rating/defensive box plusminus, which accounts for opponents scoring when he is on the floor.

You are the one that grouped RB with him also which pretty much made your post worthless. Why don't you do the eye test when Purvis is in the game and isn't getting beat off the dribble because he is right on his man.

The problem with RP is his offense and particularly his dribbling and being able to dish out to assists to other teammates. He can be a black hole on offense at times. If he learns to trust his teammates and also can create better off the dribble and develop his mid-range game he can go to the next level which would be best for the team.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

I'm an alum of prep and watched Paschal play many games during his junior and senior year. he showed marked improvement, great motor and an eagerness to learn. He's a very coachable and respectful young man with a very supportive host family. If he wants to come to UConn he'll come here.
I know he originally was looking for the small school feel which is why he was down to PC (Cooley) and St Joes (his host family had a daughter there). That mindset has obviously changed. Paschal was also very tight with Bob Simon who left PC for Alabama. Couple that departure with what has already been discussed regarding team chemistry and it's understandable why he would want to leave. As a fan of his personally I'm bummed for him it didn't work for him at PC because i thought that was a good fit but he can most certainly play at the UConn level if he so chooses. I know some people close to his situation and have reached out for some info.
How anyone could pass on him boggles my mind. He continued to improve while at PC and would have another entire season to work with our staff before he even takes the court. We HAVE to make an effort here.

His senior mixtape for those that need a refresher:


And to the idiot who questioned his vert:

by any chance did u watch him in the state finals his senior year of highschool?

 

[superjohn]

I feel badly for Kris Dunn. He passed up millions of dollars to return to school and play with no one. Losing Chuckwu is a huge blow for that program.

Me too, I didn't understand his decision at the time guarantee he would do it all over if he could, losing Chukwu pretty much destroys their season. After all the stuff Dunn has been through he deserved better.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Not remotely true.

Hilton had an offer from Illinois and others. If he wasn't such a dead nuts lock for UConn, he would have had more - most schools in the area became interested when they heard UConn offered him and then moved on once they found there was no point. I saw the St. John's and Seton Hall staff at Peekskill before he committed to UConn.

He was much more highly regarded than Brimah was coming out of high school - but even Brimah had offers from South Carolina and Wake. Miami would have offered if they didn't already.

The only guy we recruited who truly had no other DI offers was Gavin Edwards. He had one offer from Southern Utah...I figured out how that happened when I spoke to his high school coach. We were with Scout at the time and never heard of Edwards, so I called his school and chatted with the coach. He was...not a good person.

Josh Boone had plenty of offers - he had a bushel of mid-major offers and chose prep school over Rutgers in his senior year.

During his prep year, he committed to UConn over Kansas, Virginia and Georgetown.

When Gavin Edwards committed to UConn , out of Gilbert High school, his coach was interviewed and stated in his opinion he was not a D1 prospect.
The article might have been in The AZ republic or the late East Valley tribune.
I believe AZ Huskie ( my son) sent me the article or I might have been visiting. Apparently there was some bad blood with the coach.

 

[selles]

How about you just chill and take a gander at purvis defensive rating/defensive box plusminus, which accounts for opponents scoring when he is on the floor.

I think you're both right/wrong. Purvo's D was average at best for much of the year, but I thought it clicked for him late and that he was very, very good on D in the AAC tournament. With his body and athleticism he should be a shutdown guy. I thought he approached that level in the conference tourney, and I feel very confident that he'll reach that level consistently next year.

 

[Silk31]

I think you're both right/wrong. Purvo's D was average at best for much of the year, but I thought it clicked for him late and that he was very, very good on D in the AAC tournament. With his body and athleticism he should be a shutdown guy. I thought he approached that level in the conference tourney, and I feel very confident that he'll reach that level consistently next year.

Purvis' stellar D coincided with him getting healthy and gaining overall confidence in his game as the season wore on. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be a lockdown type perimeter defender for us this season.

 

[eos91]

I feel badly for Kris Dunn. He passed up millions of dollars to return to school and play with no one. Losing Chuckwu is a huge blow for that program.

Just because he turned down NBA money this year, doesn't mean that he doesn't do the development league or play overseas... no one can force him to show up on campus in the fall...

 

[mauconnfan]

Brimah, Enoch, Facey, Diarra and Chukwu are good with me for 2016-17 and thereafter

 

[pnow15]

Ollie is not passing on a 7'2" guy who can run the floor and block shots.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Theses posts of late are making me think that we should have an "all UConn Name" team post: Ajou Ajou Deng, Nantambu Willingham, Mamadou Diarra

 

[HuskyBballFan]

by any chance did u watch him in the state finals his senior year of highschool?

He won't play his first game at his new school until November of 2016. How is a high school game he played 2.5 years earlier relevant at all?

All 7'2'' kids are rough around the edges (if not downright terrible) in high school and it takes most of them a couple of years in college before they start to look like they have a clue at both ends of the floor. PC got him at the very beginning of a steep learning curve. We'd be getting him much further down the road.

If we don't want him, there will be about 340 other schools that would take him in a heartbeat.