PF/C Juwan Durham (Signed LOI on 11/11)

[zls44]

I do remember that and also remember Kentucky went to another Final 4 and we didn't even make the tournament. This isn't about just one year. We need to get back to making the Tourney every year and were not even close yet.

Yeah a top 40 guy really hurts the cause.

 

[superjohn]

Not trying to be a bummer, but isn't Enoch's skill set basically the same? (only less)? I'm ecstatic we have Durham. Just hope Enoch doesn't feel he made a mistake. I imagine Ollie has had a conversation with any player who feels recruited over.

No. You go to a top program and you know you are going to compete for minutes with other talented players. They will both play a ton.

 

[Samoo]

Enlighten me on all the 6'11 power forwards who are successful at the next level. To better utilize his skills , mismatching vs opposing centers seems most beneficial. Instead of him chasing around stretch 4s....lol terrible post FOH

LaMarcus Aldridge, to name one.......

 

[huskyharry]

If he is 6'11 with a plus differential wingspan , he is a 5 man and won't be playing along side any "bigs".

I think he will look great next to M. Diarra or S. Enoch!

 

[huskyharry]

Welcome Aboard Mr. Durham!

 

[TasteofUConn]

We need to get back to making the Tourney every year and were not even close yet.

Dude, what?
1. The goal is to win it all, not "make the tourni" every year.
2. If the goal was to "make the tourni" every year, you think we "are not close"? Wow.

SMH at posters who anguish and quip that "we need to get back to" or "we need to start ---" or "we can't keep relying on -----------" when we just won 2 in 5 years and are literally the envy of every fan base in the country not named Kentucky or Duke.

 

[donyell34]

Just woke up and did usual morning routine and then punched in the bone yard and wow!!!!!!! Great news and super start to the day. Welcome Juwan.

 

[AtlantaHusky]

bumping this above d00k thread. who gives a flip who d00k gets?

 

[aceboon]

Intrigued by what @Zionn, @husky99 and other insiders heard. From my uninformed pov, this came somewhat out of left field, making it even sweeter than a commit that had been a long time coming (like Gilbert).

Why not just read the quotes from Durham and his coaches, those are your insiders.

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

this guy plays 10 mins from my house...i'll have to check him out and post some clips. Is he gonna play this winter coming off the ACL injury?

 

[noeynox]

Who the is this Gblow guy? Two national titles the last 5 years and were not close? Close to what? The goal is to make the tourney every year? WTF?

 

[Drame]

Well if you would look at the rankings you would see we are already ahead of Kentucky for 2016... I am not saying that we will remain up there, but for now, yes I believe we would be number 1 if Larrier were factored into the equation.

Why does everyone want to place Larrier in the 2016 class. He's from the class of 2014 and is a transfer with three years of eligibility and probably 2 years worth of credits to fulfill before graduation. Not in the 2016 class!

 

[Huskybass]

I do remember that and also remember Kentucky went to another Final 4 and we didn't even make the tournament. This isn't about just one year. We need to get back to making the Tourney every year and were not even close yet.

Take a look at the current roster and the recruits who have committed for next year and tell me that the program isn't in great shape. Really ???

 

[Huskybass]

Why does everyone want to place Larrier in the 2016 class. He's from the class of 2014 and is a transfer with three years of eligibility and probably 2 years worth of credits to fulfill before graduation. Not in the 2016 class!

I am going to go out on a limb here and guess that it is because that's when he becomes eligible along with the incoming 2016 freshmen.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Not trying to be a bummer, but isn't Enoch's skill set basically the same? (only less)? I'm ecstatic we have Durham. Just hope Enoch doesn't feel he made a mistake. I imagine Ollie has had a conversation with any player who feels recruited over.

When you're putting together a roster of anywhere from 11-13 scholarship players you're going to have two, if not three, guys at every single position. They're not "recruiting over" people, they're trying to put together a roster.

Plus like others have mentioned, their skillsets are plenty different. Enoch's physicality should allow him to play plenty of minutes at the five over the course of his career.

 

[UChusky916]

Enlighten me on all the 6'11 power forwards who are successful at the next level.

Off the top of my head... 2 of the most dominant PFs of all time, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, are both 6' 11".

You clearly don't know . Quit while you're behind man.

 

[Excalibur]

Enlighten me on all the 6'11 power forwards who are successful at the next level.

I can't believe that this is even possibly a serious question, but

Kevin Garnett
Chris Bosh
Chris Webber (listed as 6'10 in some places)
Tim Duncan
Lamarcus Aldridge
Dirk (listed as 7'0 in some places)

 

[Danzz]

I agree that Durham is the better prospect, but Bradley is the better center prospect. I'd love to bring in a true center who doesn't need to gain 30 pounds.

With Durham, what really impresses me is his hands, his footwork, and his finishing. I think he's going to be a really outstanding player. The play he makes at 1:10 is incredibly for a guy his size, and he never looks out of control with the ball.[/QUOTE
Not many true centers out there. Love Durham's skill set and an outstanding recruiting year from a staff that can't recruit.

 

[DCUconnfan]

I do remember that and also remember Kentucky went to another Final 4 and we didn't even make the tournament. This isn't about just one year. We need to get back to making the Tourney every year and were not even close yet.

“Somebody told me we were Cinderellas, and I was like, 'No, we're UConn,'" Ollie said. “I mean this is what we do. We are born for this. We’re bred to cut down nets. We’re not chasing championships, championships are chasing us." - Kevin Ollie, April 7, 2014

 

[Brochacho]

I can't believe that this is even possibly a serious question, but

Kevin Garnett
Chris Bosh
Chris Webber (listed as 6'10 in some places)
Tim Duncan
Lamarcus Aldridge
Dirk (listed as 7'0 in some places)

Kevin Love, Serge Ibaka

 

[tcf15]

I think people are getting confused about the next level comment - for Durham, next level refers to CBB, not NBA.

And, what I think @James was saying, is that Durham will most likely will be playing the 5 in college, which is probably true.

 

[tcf15]

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/bask...forward-juwan-durham-commits-to-uconn/2243733

Initially, Durham, a 6-foot-9 power forward, was going to name a list of his top five schools this week. But he made his decision after taking an official visit to the school over the weekend and after having a lengthy discussion with his family.

"I wanted to go to a school that felt like a close-knit family and I got that at UConn when I was there," Durham said. "Coach (Kevin) Ollie is great, and I know he can get the job done and help me get to that next level."

Durham is ranked a four-star recruit and a top 25 prospect in the 2016 class by nearly every major recruiting service. He is one of the rare bay area basketball stars who has committed to a national title contender in the past decade.

Others in that elite group include former Gibbs/Admiral Farragut star Marreese Speights (Florida 2006-08), former Plant standout Michael Frazier (Florida 2012-15) and former Sickles star John Henson (North Carolina 2009-12).

Durham picked the Huskies over offers from more than a dozen major schools, including Indiana, Florida, Florida State, Miami and Louisville. UConn has won four national titles, the last coming in 2014.

Now Durham is focusing on getting back to full strength after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Feb. 17. He is going through shooting drills and waiting for doctors to clear him to make cuts on the floor. That will likely happen in October, Terrapins coach Joe Fenlon said.

"The goal is to have him ready by the time the district tournament rolls around, not at the beginning of the season," Fenlon said. "If he is ready then, that's great. But he's at a good pace now and we're not going to rush him. He has a long career ahead of him."

 

[CL82]

Do we know exactly (or somewhat) how severe the ACL injury was? How bad was the tear? It's a double edge sword having it happen so early; yes, he has time to recover before he hits D1 play, but now that knee is fragile for life. Can it limit his development over the next year and years to come?

I'm not so sure that his knee is fragile for life. People come back from that surgery pretty routinely now.

 

[businesslawyer]

I wonder what is going on with Enoch with this.

There are 13 players on a roster. Only five start. What in the world does continuing to bring in talent at all positions have to do with Enoch or anyone else.

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'm not so sure that his knee is fragile for life. People come back from that surgery pretty routinely now.

I mean "fragile" in a relative sense compared to pre-injury. Not saying it's a piece of china.

But that knee simply is not what it is pre-injury. If it's 99%, great (nobody here really knows). I'm just saying it'll never be 100% again.

 

[businesslawyer]

I do remember that and also remember Kentucky went to another Final 4 and we didn't even make the tournament. This isn't about just one year. We need to get back to making the Tourney every year and were not even close yet.

WTF is this about? We won the Tourney in 11. We went in '12 (with a roster talented enough to be in the Final Four but a team that never jelled). We played our way in in '13 and only didn't go because of the NCAA ban. We won the Tourney in 14. And yes, we missed it in 15. So, over the last five years, we had a tourny team in 4 of them and a championship team in 2 of them. How many more than 4 of 5 Tourney TEams did KY have the last five years? (The question was rhetorical by the way.)

 

[Inyatkin]

WTF is this about? We won the Tourney in 11. We went in '12 (with a roster talented enough to be in the Final Four but a team that never jelled). We played our way in in '13 and only didn't go because of the NCAA ban. We won the Tourney in 14. And yes, we missed it in 15. So, over the last five years, we had a tourny team in 4 of them and a championship team in 2 of them. How many more than 4 of 5 Tourney TEams did KY have the last five years? (The question was rhetorical by the way.)

People have internalized this notion that every year we either win the championship or miss the tournament altogether. It's not true, and odd, but there are posters who sound as if they'd be happier making it every year as a 6-seed for the past five years and flaming out as opposed to our actual last five years.

 

[businesslawyer]

People have internalized this notion that every year we either win the championship or miss the tournament altogether. It's not true, and odd, but there are posters who sound as if they'd be happier making it every year as a 6-seed for the past five years and flaming out as opposed to our actual last five years.

But it's a false dichotomy. But for the ban, we were a tourney team in 4 of 5 years. And this is not the 90s, not for UConn but for everyone. There are not many schools making 7 and 8 straight tourneys. Not UNC. Not Kentucky. Not Florida. Not Duke. Certainly not UCLA and Indiana. I'm sure you can find one or two, but the point is that even bluebloods have to reload, and sometimes will misfire when reloading, given how much greater turnover is between the NBA taking on and doners, the increase in transfers generally and the total free agency of fifth year seniors.

 

[James]

Off the top of my head... 2 of the most dominant PFs of all time, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, are both 6' 11".

You clearly don't know . Quit while you're behind man.

do you know what position duncan played in college, also the position he plays in the 'modern nba?' (after 2005, the last decade), he plays center. crunch time line ups on his last title team paired him with boris diaw. The only reason lamarcus needs to play next to a defensive big like lopez is because he is crap defensively and slow footed. I would argue anthony davis best position is center also and a slough of nba writers would agree with me.He played center in college, so did kevin love, so did lamarcus aldridge.

Durham says he is a power forward, so does his coach. thats fine but i think he just wants to be able to score and showcase a versatile skillset. But 'playing up a position' ( guards who can guard pgs/sgs, and big men who can guard the tallest player on the floor while having a quickness advantage on offense) is one of the more valuable abilities in cbb and the nba.

 

[James]

I think people are getting confused about the next level comment - for Durham, next level refers to CBB, not NBA.

And, what I think @James was saying, is that Durham will most likely will be playing the 5 in college, which is probably true.

apparently its blasphemous to assume uconns tallest and longest player would be an anchor at the center position! people are bringing up garnett when in reality he is much closer to PJIII, it would be wise in durhams development to learn to be the best defensive player on the floor with the ability to freelance and block shots a la brimah.