Paschal Chukwu Inside Info

[UConNick]

First off, I'd just like to say how excited I am to finally be on the Boneyard. I remember quite a few of you guys from the good old ESPN recruiting forums back in the day. Anyways, on to Paschal. A boy on my brothers baseball team this year is good family friends with Paschal's guardians, so obviously I spent a lot of time talking to the father about Paschal and his recruiting. Earlier in the Summer, he said he was pretty sure he would come to UConn. However, about a week ago, he told me that if he was a betting man, he would say Providence. However, he said not to count UConn out. Interestingly enough, he said Kansas was starting to get involved, and that Paschal really liked them.

 

[Palatine]

First off, I'd just like to say how excited I am to finally be on the Boneyard. I remember quite a few of you guys from the good old ESPN recruiting forums back in the day. Anyways, on to Paschal. A boy on my brothers baseball team this year is good family friends with Paschal's guardians, so obviously I spent a lot of time talking to the father about Paschal and his recruiting. Earlier in the Summer, he said he was pretty sure he would come to UConn. However, about a week ago, he told me that if he was a betting man, he would say Providence. However, he said not to count UConn out. Interestingly enough, he said Kansas was starting to get involved, and that Paschal really liked them.

If he wants to disappear, PC is an excellent choice.

 

[Husky1964]

Sorry to disagree but the way PeeCee is recruiting they will become relevant in a very short time. Cooley might not be a great coach but the players they are involved with show me that climbing out of the Welch, Keno abyss is near. Add to that they don't have to play former BE heavyweights going forward. Agree?

 

[7774]

Sorry to disagree but the way PeeCee is recruiting they will become relevant in a very short time. Cooley might not be a great coach but the players they are involved with show me that climbing out of the Welch, Keno abyss is near. Add to that they don't have to play former BE heavyweights going forward. Agree?

It really comes down to how well Cooley can coach. Recruiting is somewhat overrated. Rick Barnes would take the talent Cooley has assembled and probably make the tourney and lose in the first round. Calhoun could win a title with that same group. Obviously they won't be one of the worst teams in all of basketball, if you want to call that an accomplishment.

 

[sdhusky]

Obviously they won't be one of the worst teams in all of basketball, if you want to call that an accomplishment.

That would be a MASSIVE accomplishment for PC.

 

[Scot-e]

If he is not coming to UCONN then I do not care where he goes- nor do I care about Pc and how they will fair over the next several years- we will play them again (ever) if we are in the same region in the NCAAT.

I do not wish Pc any ill will- and I know that 90% of the kids we follow this time of year never really had real chance of winding up here- but if there is going to be more then 1 Pc thread a week (and that is what this is)- someone is going to pay and right now it is the newbie who started this soon to be "hot steamy pile" of Pc news.

 

[caw]

Cooley is far from the worst D1 basketball coach, but he hasn't shown he deserves a 2 million dollar salary either. I would prefer not to offer 2 million to a coach who has never made a NCAAT appearance in 8 years. As a recruiter he is showing he can sell something, it's actually a minor miracle that he is getting all these top kids interested in PC.

As for Chukwu, I'll wait to hear something from his mouth directly.

 

[Hoophound]

I like what he's doing at PC but I'll wait to see who he actually gets. It is hard to close the deal when your targets see the trophy cases in Storrs and Lawrence and compare them to what they find in Providence.

 

[champs99and04]

If PC hauls in this kid then it's time to start taking them seriously.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If PC hauls in this kid then it's time to start taking them seriously.

I guess I'm in the minority but I can't get too excited about these huge, raw centers, and I certainly can't think of them as "must haves." Every couple years there's some 7 footer we have to have who looks dominant in his suburban prep school league and then he gets to college and trips over the three point line for his first two seasons.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Sorry to disagree but the way PeeCee is recruiting they will become relevant in a very short time. Cooley might not be a great coach but the players they are involved with show me that climbing out of the Welch, Keno abyss is near. Add to that they don't have to play former BE heavyweights going forward. Agree?

they'll be exactly like memphis. recruiting does not always = winning.

 

[Scot-e]

If PC hauls in this kid then it's time to start taking them seriously.

I don't see why we have to "take them" at all. We no longer play them -are not in the same conference and if KO loses a few players to them so be it. We will see who the better coach is in years to come - but getting kids to come to your school is the start not the end game- PC did a pretty good job kicking our ass on a reg basis and I expect them to be good in years to come-but- who cares? That is now a Catholic problem.

 

[seanmc94]

By Memphis, you mean the school that has won 85% of its games in the past 10 years and had 3 elite 8 runs?

 

[champs99and04]

I guess I'm in the minority but I can't get too excited about these huge, raw centers, and I certainly can't think of them as "must haves." Every couple years there's some 7 footer we have to have who looks dominant in his suburban prep school league and then he gets to college and trips over the three point line for his first two seasons.

I don't consider him a "must have" myself, however he's certainly a kid UConn has displayed a fair amount of interest in and would love to have. While I'm sure he's awfully raw currently, he's only a junior in high school and the fact that he's ranked in the top 50/60 on ESPN causes me to believe he at least has some semblance of basketball ability. I won't be heartbroken if he does not come here as we clearly have a lot of other kids on the roster who can play, however my comments were more directed at PC and their program, which appears to be on the rise and gaining credibility with every recruiting season. If they lock him up in addition to Dunn, Austin, Lindley, and whoever else they attract from the 2014 class, I would certainly consider them a formidable foe for top New England talent moving forward.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

If PC hauls in this kid then it's time to start taking them seriously.

This kid is going to be very very special. I hope UConn gets him.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I don't consider him a "must have" myself, however he's certainly a kid UConn has displayed a fair amount of interest in and would love to have. While I'm sure he's awfully raw currently, he's only a junior in high school and the fact that he's ranked in the top 50/60 on ESPN causes me to believe he at least has some semblance of basketball ability. I won't be heartbroken if he does not come here as we clearly have a lot of other kids on the roster who can play, however my comments were more directed at PC and their program, which appears to be on the rise and gaining credibility with every recruiting season. If they lock him up in addition to Dunn, Austin, Lindley, and whoever else they attract from the 2014 class, I would certainly consider them a formidable foe for top New England talent moving forward.

I guess I'm in the minority but I can't get too excited about these huge, raw centers, and I certainly can't think of them as "must haves." Every couple years there's some 7 footer we have to have who looks dominant in his suburban prep school league and then he gets to college and trips over the three point line for his first two seasons.

Raw compared to who? Have you seen him play in person? In the LL Tournament Prep plays against the best teams in the state.

 

[superjohn]

By Memphis, you mean the school that has won 85% of its games in the past 10 years and had 3 elite 8 runs?

Yes that's the Memphis he was talking about. In a UConn fans eyes Memphis has been a big disappointment in the tournament over the years, in Providence fans eyes it is amazing what Memphis has done in the tournament through the years. We aspire to win championships, PC aspires to be like Memphis.

 

[Huskyforlife]

By Memphis, you mean the school that has won 85% of its games in the past 10 years and had 3 elite 8 runs?

Yes that's the Memphis he was talking about. In a UConn fans eyes Memphis has been a big disappointment in the tournament over the years, in Providence fans eyes it is amazing what Memphis has done in the tournament through the years. We aspire to win championships, PC aspires to be like Memphis.

could not have said it better myself

 

[7774]

Yes that's the Memphis he was talking about. In a UConn fans eyes Memphis has been a big disappointment in the tournament over the years, in Providence fans eyes it is amazing what Memphis has done in the tournament through the years. We aspire to win championships, PC aspires to be like Memphis.

Sean would be better off posting that comment on the Cuse board. Their constant choke jobs when it counts has forced them to pretend like regular season winning percentage is incredibly important.

 

[seanmc94]

could not have said it better myself

So if in the next decade KO wins 85% of his games and gets to the elite 8 three times(including the NC game); you will be disappointed?

 

[CTBasketball]

So if in the next decade KO wins 85% of his games and gets to the elite 8 three times(including the NC game); you will be disappointed?

I will. People on here will probably still label him the second coming of Christ though

 

[UConNick]

What National Championship game? It's not in the NCAA record books... So they've only been to 2 elite eights, while we've won two NATIONAL TITLES over the same span. And PC won how many NCAA games during that span? So yeah. I would be disappointed with only 2 elite eights over the next decade.

 

[SixRings]

I guess I'm in the minority but I can't get too excited about these huge, raw centers, and I certainly can't think of them as "must haves." Every couple years there's some 7 footer we have to have who looks dominant in his suburban prep school league and then he gets to college and trips over the three point line for his first two seasons.

I couldnt agree more. One could argue the opposite even - If I remember correctly, Emeka was not even a top 100 recruit.

 

[7774]

So if in the next decade KO wins 85% of his games and gets to the elite 8 three times(including the NC game); you will be disappointed?

Well we went 0 for 10 in achieving our goal, so of course it will be disappointing. The 1 final four would be nice. The regular season winning % doesn't mean anything. Our program has reached a level where no amount of regular season winning is going to impress anyone or elevate our status. We're at the level where only final 4's and championships do that.

 

[seanmc94]

What National Championship game? It's not in the NCAA record books... So they've only been to 2 elite eights, while we've won two NATIONAL TITLES over the same span. And PC won how many NCAA games during that span? So yeah. I would be disappointed with only 2 elite eights over the next decade.

I'm a little confused what PC basketball has to do with the argument...please explain.