2024 Recruiting: Patrick Ngongba

[superjohn]

probably losing at minimum 5 players. Hurley has never been huge in the portal, so I guess I don’t follow your logic.

Dude, you're posting crazy stuff lately. Since we're living in these new portal days we brought in Newton, Joey, and Alleyne. They weren't the building blocks of the championship but we don't win it without them. The one hole on paper we had for this year was starting shooting guard, we brought in Cam Spencer.

Recruiting and creating a roster that works shouldn't be a concern with this staff.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Dude, you're posting crazy stuff lately. Since we're living in these new portal days we brought in Newton, Joey, and Alleyne. They weren't the building blocks of the championship but we don't win it without them. The one hole on paper we had for this year was starting shooting guard, we brought in Cam Spencer.

Recruiting and creating a roster that works shouldn't be a concern with this staff.

Yeah, I feel like Dan has avoided going full Pitino (you never go full Pitino) or even what Self did this year in driving off last year’s class. Dan is using the portal wisely. He keeps options open, like Newton coming back. Way better than what the portal would have offered.

Alex is no sure thing to get drafted. Flagg is in play. Johnson could break out and Singare could show great promise. The other freshmen could really impress. I don’t think we even know what we need aside from PG and we locked that down first. Abraham gives us another versatile forward.

 

[upstater]

This is the recruitment that intrigues me most. After seeing Sanogo develop an incredible array of offensive moves, deft footwork, modern NBA style offense, inside out, I should think that UConn would be the first place a mobile big man would want to come.

 

[kansashusky]

Dude, you're posting crazy stuff lately. Since we're living in these new portal days we brought in Newton, Joey, and Alleyne. They weren't the building blocks of the championship but we don't win it without them. The one hole on paper we had for this year was starting shooting guard, we brought in Cam Spencer.

Recruiting and creating a roster that works shouldn't be a concern with this staff.

Obviously looking way ahead here, but after this year there will be some serious holes. I guess I was just expecting a little more momentum with the HS kids following a championship.

Dan has said several times that Cam was almost a freak accident and almost a miracle we got him. Main target was Timberlake and we whiffed. Portal is mainly $ driven and that is not our strength here. It is our coaches and their ability to create relationships.

I guarantee if you polled the boneyard and said our class is going to be a top 30 guard and fringe 100 SF following a ship, everyone would say that is dissapointing. Still time left with PN, but I have no idea where they go from here. I’ll try to take some more Xanax.

 

[Scrutineer]

The opponents could be telling kids UConn has two sophomores and five freshmen among their top nine players. Where do you see yourself fitting in?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

The opponents could be telling kids UConn has two sophomores and five freshmen among their top nine players. Where do you see yourself fitting in?

They could (and should be saying that in the realm of negative recruiting) but any kid that is smart enough/getting good advise will realize that in this day and age of the portal that most teams also open up and or have openings occur to the point where most programs will have multiple slots open for the taking.

 

[businesslawyer]

Obviously looking way ahead here, but after this year there will be some serious holes. I guess I was just expecting a little more momentum with the HS kids following a championship.

Dan has said several times that Cam was almost a freak accident and almost a miracle we got him. Main target was Timberlake and we whiffed. Portal is mainly $ driven and that is not our strength here. It is our coaches and their ability to create relationships.

I guarantee if you polled the boneyard and said our class is going to be a top 30 guard and fringe 100 SF following a ship, everyone would say that is dissapointing. Still time left with PN, but I have no idea where they go from here. I’ll try to take some more Xanax.

That would be a rational argument IF WE HAD FINISHED THE RECRUITING CYCLE. We haven't. Not one player who will come in next fall has signed a piece of paper to go anywhere. If you want to whine about recruiting, you can only do so fairly when recruiting for the year is done. It's not.

 

[NJHoops]

That would be a rational argument IF WE HAD FINISHED THE RECRUITING CYCLE. We haven't. Not one player who will come in next fall has signed a piece of paper to go anywhere. If you want to whine about recruiting, you can only do so fairly when recruiting for the year is done. It's not.

At least he’s not trashing recruits right after they verbal to UConn, like he did with Jayden Ross. Progress!

 

[kansashusky]

That would be a rational argument IF WE HAD FINISHED THE RECRUITING CYCLE. We haven't. Not one player who will come in next fall has signed a piece of paper to go anywhere. If you want to whine about recruiting, you can only do so fairly when recruiting for the year is done. It's not.

For a lawyer, you don’t read very well. The first sentence literally says looking way ahead.

 

[Deleted at users request]

For a lawyer, you don’t read very well. The first sentence literally says looking way ahead.

If you say anything critical people fall over themselves on this board and lose rationality to defend, idek what they’re even defending.

No other board is like this. Should read an Alabama football board.

 

[superjohn]

If you say anything critical people fall over themselves on this board and lose rationality to defend, idek what they’re even defending.

No other board is like this. Should read an Alabama football board.

People respond to you when you say insane things like Cooper Flagg's visit was to troll UConn. They tell you it's insane because it's insane.

 

[Deleted at users request]

People respond to you when you say insane things like Cooper Flagg's visit was to troll UConn. They tell you it's insane because it's insane.

Lol people were responding to me well before that. And this is the falling over themselves I’m talking about. Moving goalposts to defend, idek what. Not being honest at all.

And I never said it was a troll. It just feels like one when you see what we got compared to everyone else.

But yes, continue to fall over yourself to try and make a point that’s not there over something that’s valid.

 

[Rico444]

Lol people were responding to me well before that. And this is the falling over themselves I’m talking about. Moving goalposts to defend, idek what. Not being honest at all.

And I never said it was a troll. It just feels like one when you see what we got compared to everyone else.

But yes, continue to fall over yourself to try and make a point that’s not there over something that’s valid.

The problem is, you're panicking about something that it's way too early to panic about. We have one of the best coaches in the country that is great at recruiting. There are players as good as Cam Spencer in the portal every year. If it comes to having to utilize the portal, we will be fine. The thing is though, it's so early that we don't know if we're going to need to do that.

Castle, Donovan, Spencer, Newtown, and Diarra will definitely be gone after this upcoming season. That's all we know for sure. Assuming everyone else stays we most likely have our starting lineup from that group. That's without adding a single person. I would assume we're going to bring in additional pieces, and I feel very confident in this coaching staff doing that.

 

[husky429]

I think some of the old guard (me included, and I'm not that old) are not really adapting to the recruiting landscape with the portal.

Every year, we can expect 2 or more transfers. Hurley has said he isn't big on the portal, but we obviously aren't afraid of using it. Why swing for some low-ceiling 3* when we could get a transfer proven on a D1 court already?

Our roster is NOT set until June of 2024 when transfers mostly are done.

 

[kansashusky]

I think some of the old guard (me included, and I'm not that old) are not really adapting to the recruiting landscape with the portal.

Every year, we can expect 2 or more transfers. Hurley has said he isn't big on the portal, but we obviously aren't afraid of using it. Why swing for some low-ceiling 3* when we could get a transfer proven on a D1 court already?

Our roster is NOT set until June of 2024 when transfers mostly are done.

This is true, but the staffs strengths are the exact opposite of the portal. As more and more coaches rely on the portal with large bags of cash, it will get harder and harder to land real talent out of it.

 

[caw]

I think some of the old guard (me included, and I'm not that old) are not really adapting to the recruiting landscape with the portal.

Every year, we can expect 2 or more transfers. Hurley has said he isn't big on the portal, but we obviously aren't afraid of using it. Why swing for some low-ceiling 3* when we could get a transfer proven on a D1 court already?

Our roster is NOT set until June of 2024 when transfers mostly are done.

One "problem" will be when the number of transfers drops a bit with fewer COVID years available starting next year. Then again, Hurley filled the roster last year with two Euro guys, so I could see him doing that again also.

 

[Deleted at users request]

The problem is, you're panicking about something that it's way too early to panic about. We have one of the best coaches in the country that is great at recruiting. There are players as good as Cam Spencer in the portal every year. If it comes to having to utilize the portal, we will be fine. The thing is though, it's so early that we don't know if we're going to need to do that.

Castle, Donovan, Spencer, Newtown, and Diarra will definitely be gone after this upcoming season. That's all we know for sure. Assuming everyone else stays we most likely have our starting lineup from that group. That's without adding a single person. I would assume we're going to bring in additional pieces, and I feel very confident in this coaching staff doing that.

I’m not panicking over recruiting. I never insinuated that.

All I did was express frustration on the timing of Flagg’s visit (in general, not at the coaches because I have no idea how the conversations around when he would come went) for us to be able to give him our best shot to wow him. The current visit did not seem like a case where we’d be able to pull out all the stops for him.

Am I worried about overall recruiting? Absolutely not. I’ve said plenty of times this is one of the best recruiting staffs in the country, which adds to my frustration on the timing of his visit because it doesn’t seem like they’ll get a fair shot. (If I failed to make this part clear my apologies)

Even if we miss out on our top targets, this staff has a great eye for talent to try and scoop up some sleepers later.

To steer this thread somewhat back on track it’s disappointing how PN’s recruitment is going but Hurley development of bigs has probably been his best work since he’s been here (Whaley, Carlton, Akok (before injury), Sanogo, Clingan, etc.). So I’m not worried there either. Singare’s a freshman with good tools to work with long term.

 

[Rico444]

I’m not panicking over recruiting. I never insinuated that.

All I did was express frustration on the timing of Flagg’s visit (in general, not at the coaches because I have no idea how the conversations around when he would come went) for us to be able to give him our best shot to wow him. The current visit did not seem like a case where we’d be able to pull out all the stops for him.

Am I worried about overall recruiting? Absolutely not. I’ve said plenty of times this is one of the best recruiting staffs in the country, which adds to my frustration on the timing of his visit because it doesn’t seem like they’ll get a fair shot. (If I failed to make this part clear my apologies)

Even if we miss out on our top targets, this staff has a great eye for talent to try and scoop up some sleepers later.

To steer this thread somewhat back on track it’s disappointing how PN’s recruitment is going but Hurley development of bigs has probably been his best work since he’s been here (Whaley, Carlton, Akok (before injury), Sanogo, Clingan, etc.). So I’m not worried there either. Singare’s a freshman with good tools to work with long term.

My bad, I was thinking of Kansas Husky's posts when I typed up my response to you.

 

[kansashusky]

My bad, I was thinking of Kansas Husky's posts when I typed up my response to you.

I am a little worried.

Who do we have left on our target list that you feel good about? (please dont respond with "I have faith.....")

 

[Rico444]

I am a little worried.

Who do we have left on our target list that you feel good about? (please dont respond with "I have faith.....")

Flagg and Ngongba are our two major targets and it doesn't look like we're in great shape with either. So we'll likely have to pivot.

I'm not really sure what to say since you don't seem to think my argument is valid. You can read my last post above showing why I'm not too concerned. If that doesn't sway you then we can just agree to disagree.

 

[Thunderbird]

The problem is, you're panicking about something that it's way too early to panic about. We have one of the best coaches in the country that is great at recruiting. There are players as good as Cam Spencer in the portal every year. If it comes to having to utilize the portal, we will be fine. The thing is though, it's so early that we don't know if we're going to need to do that.

Castle, Donovan, Spencer, Newtown, and Diarra will definitely be gone after this upcoming season. That's all we know for sure. Assuming everyone else stays we most likely have our starting lineup from that group. That's without adding a single person. I would assume we're going to bring in additional pieces, and I feel very confident in this coaching staff doing that.

Diarra could be back next year btw

 

[Rico444]

Diarra could be back next year btw

I didn't realize that, thanks for clarifying. Either way I would imagine he won't be a starter.

 

[husky429]

This is true, but the staffs strengths are the exact opposite of the portal. As more and more coaches rely on the portal with large bags of cash, it will get harder and harder to land real talent out of it.

We've recruited the portal exceptionally well today, though. Yeah $$$ might become an issue, but there's no indication it will yet.

 

[superjohn]

This is true, but the staffs strengths are the exact opposite of the portal. As more and more coaches rely on the portal with large bags of cash, it will get harder and harder to land real talent out of it.

Nova #2 transfer class, Gonzaga #3, St. John's #7.

UConn- Newton, Joey, Alleyne, Cam

 

[Rico444]

We've recruited the portal exceptionally well today, though. Yeah $$$ might become an issue, but there's no indication it will yet.

This. Cam Spencer left Rutgers and said flat out that he was looking to make more through NIL, and he ended up here. So I don't see that becoming an issue.

 

[Samoo]

We've recruited the portal exceptionally well today, though. Yeah $$$ might become an issue, but there's no indication it will yet.

Money will become an issue for players who don't believe they have an NBA future and are looking to cash in. For those who think that they need a better place to prove their worth, NIL may not be the be all to end all.

 

[navery12]

This. Cam Spencer left Rutgers and said flat out that he was looking to make more through NIL, and he ended up here. So I don't see that becoming an issue.

Yeah if we're stuck choosing between the top 15-20 transfers of the top 5 guys who are out of our price range we'll be fine

 

[pj]

We've recruited the portal exceptionally well today, though. Yeah $$$ might become an issue, but there's no indication it will yet.

Yeah, some schools have more NIL money than us, eg Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and some others (Alabama, LSU, Miami, a few others seem to have plenty of NIL money), but they only have so many roster spots and we should be able to find good players even if recruitment comes down to bidding wars.

Once the universities and conferences can pay players, then we'll be in more trouble. But as of now, UConn's fan base is competitive on the NIL side with most of college basketball.

 

[Jbirdp5]

I’m not panicking over recruiting. I never insinuated that.

All I did was express frustration on the timing of Flagg’s visit (in general, not at the coaches because I have no idea how the conversations around when he would come went) for us to be able to give him our best shot to wow him. The current visit did not seem like a case where we’d be able to pull out all the stops for him.

Am I worried about overall recruiting? Absolutely not. I’ve said plenty of times this is one of the best recruiting staffs in the country, which adds to my frustration on the timing of his visit because it doesn’t seem like they’ll get a fair shot. (If I failed to make this part clear my apologies)

Even if we miss out on our top targets, this staff has a great eye for talent to try and scoop up some sleepers later.

To steer this thread somewhat back on track it’s disappointing how PN’s recruitment is going but Hurley development of bigs has probably been his best work since he’s been here (Whaley, Carlton, Akok (before injury), Sanogo, Clingan, etc.). So I’m not worried there either. Singare’s a freshman with good tools to work with long term.

Upset with the timing of the visit? You want him here for first night? Has @Chief00 taught you nothing, that’s when all the casuals will be there. Flagg is not a casual and won’t be picking his school based on a gimmicky night

 

[Huskyforlife]

This. Cam Spencer left Rutgers and said flat out that he was looking to make more through NIL, and he ended up here. So I don't see that becoming an issue.

Cam never actually said that, it was a rumor started by a Rutgers slanted website. Just sayin.