PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14) | Page 18 | The Boneyard

PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14)

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tcf15 said:
The last two times UConn and VCU went head to head, they beat us for recruits. Which makes them think that puts them on the same level as a program with 4 national championships.

But on top of that, their fan base is just annoying. Worst thing is their mods encouraging posters on the board to engage the recruits on Twitter, which makes them think they are solely responsible for any commit they get.
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They also think their program now somehow owns the term "havoc".
 
Better thread title, "Coach Ollie hits recruiting trail, picks up Diarra." After Diarra plays here, "Is Diarra cause of Huskies' troubles inside?".
 
alexd. said:
They also think their program now somehow owns the term "havoc".
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lol to be fair, there has been a huge billboard right off of I-95 for years where VCU is generally located that reads, VCU where HAVOK lives. Granted that was provided by Shaka, but i kinda think it should be VCU's as long as they want it. I wouldnt be surprised if they stop using it in the next year or 2 inference to themselves being that they have a new coach. I'm sure he wont want the old ties.
 
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CallMeBruce said:
Actually, that's not crazy. The 2001 and 2006 recruiting classes were both absolutely loaded, and those were the classes where the guys started really looking when we were coming off a title. Maybe 2016 is going to be like that.
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I usually don't let facts get in the way of my crazy ideas, but in this case, I'll take those facts. ;)
 
Scoe said:
Nice, never been so excited to have Diarra before.
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I've had the big D for the past two days (bad clams & linguini in Rhode Island)
I took it as a sign. And sure enough at approximately 11:45 today the lower stomach pains, etcetera, just went away :D
 
Marty Jackson said:
Uconn has proven they'll play anyone anywhere... Pretty decent schedule the past couple years.
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True, but it still doesn't off set the dumpster fire that our conference scheduled provides us. I'm sure telling recruits that they would go up against this P5 program and that one, plus go to the Bahamas and Hawaii helps a lot to offset our conference, but by how much? I don't know.
 
DogMania said:
True, but it still doesn't off set the dumpster fire that our conference scheduled provides us. I'm sure telling recruits that they would go up against this P5 program and that one, plus go to the Bahamas and Hawaii helps a lot to offset our conference, but by how much? I don't know.
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Enough to convince Hamilton, Purvis, Gibbs, Miller and Diarra to come here. Not a bad start.
 
pnow15 said:
Enoch could move to center with any type of growth in his height or game.
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CallMeBruce said:
Enoch is coming in at 6'10, 220. He can definitely play center. I could definitely see Diarra ending up at the pivot as well.
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I agree with all of the above. But the nice thing about Enoch is he has an outside shot and good lateral quickness, which means he can play the 4 or the 5. And since showing that kind of versatility is best for his NBA hopes (and our offensive/defensive flexibility), I'm sure he'll get a chance to do both.
 
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TigerJ said:
Memphis got top recruits being in CUSA. Really no excuse. Your program sells itself regardless of conference affiliation
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no one is saying that KO and hi staff can't overcome this issue. We can all point to the recruiting results over the past week or so to show that they have. Who said anything about excuses? But to disregard the conference issue is blindness IMO. With that said, there's nothing that can be done about it till a P5 opportunity for UConn presents itself. As long as the KO keeps elevates the program after a disappointing 2014/15 campaign and leads the team to a deep NCAA tourney run, I think UConn will be able to win enough recruiting battles to keep the talent level high.

One thing that might be casting a negative recruiting picture is that KO seems to be targeting a lot of recruits that have a number of blue chip programs on their top 5 or so lists. JC would often drop out of those type of situations early and focus on recruits that were more winnable. I'm not saying he did that with all his recruits, but a lot. KO might be aiming a tad too high at times with a tad too many recruits. Now losing recruits to the likes of VCU and other non-P5 programs was a tad concerning, though we've recently turned the tables on them, granted a Shakaless VCU.

Anyhow, I'm not trying to make excuses for UConn, just pointing out the current situation.
 
James said:
So we aren't really looking at bruce brown anymore...who are the other new england prospects/targets? Gabriel + tyrique jones?
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We've offered both, though I doubt either will be a priority now with Diarra on board.

Our pursuit of Brown has cooled, though I'd be surprised if it's died out entirely.

One to watch: Mustapha Heron of Sacred Heart (Waterbury). Big, lefty, 5-star combo guard. St. John's is probably the favorite since his dad is tight with Slice, but I've heard several people say that we're starting to make a push.
 
I feel I shouldn't have added comments about the P5 Conf impact on our recruiting to my excitement of landing Diarra. I should have known better. Let's just enjoy this string of recruiting prosperity and hope to hear more with the likes of Gilbert, King and others. A very nice way to go into our Memorial Day weekend!
 
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DogMania said:
True, but it still doesn't off set the dumpster fire that our conference scheduled provides us. I'm sure telling recruits that they would go up against this P5 program and that one, plus go to the Bahamas and Hawaii helps a lot to offset our conference, but by how much? I don't know.
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everytime i hear someone say 'dumpster fire' or 'I threw up in my mouth', it's like nails on a chalkboard.
there is potential with this conference. as long as there are 2-3 teams in the Top 25 and one of them is uconn, the conference will be fine.
 
So, we shouldn't be content with our conference but we should be content with 3 star recruits.
 
Not trying to be a negative Nancy but Diarra had how many quality Offers? We beat out the St Peter's and Iona's. Did we land just an OK Mid-major player?

School Interest Offer Visit Recruited by
Connecticut COMMITTED (05/22/2015) Offered None
VCU High Offered None
Boston U. None Offered None
Drexel None Offered None
Duquesne None Offered None
Iona None Offered None
Minnesota None Offered None Kimani Young
Norfolk St. None Offered None
Quinnipiac None Offered None
St. Peter's None Offered None
 
Marty Jackson said:
everytime i hear someone say 'dumpster fire' or 'I threw up in my mouth', it's like nails on a chalkboard.
there is potential with this conference. as long as there are 2-3 teams in the Top 25 and one of them is uconn, the conference will be fine.
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No, it won't. How many C-USA teams have won national championships in BB during the existence of that conference? The AAC is C-USA. Yes, we won one in the AAC only a year removed from the Big East, but we also had a very strong Louisville in the conference during that season, fresh off a NC season of its own.
 
Sky ball said:
Not trying to be a negative Nancy but Diarra had how many quality Offers? We beat out the St Peter's and Iona's. Did we land just an OK Mid-major player?
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Identifying top talent before it blows up is part of being a good college recruiter. Calhoun was amazing at this back in the day (Emeka being the best example).

Not saying that Diarra is going to be as good as Emeka - spoiler alert: he won't be - but given the numbers Diarra puts up, the raves he's drawing from more reliable recruiting services, and my confidence in Ollie's talent evaluation skills... I'm pretty happy with today's news.
 
Sky ball said:
Not trying to be a negative Nancy but Diarra had how many quality Offers? We beat out the St Peter's and Iona's. Did we land just an OK Mid-major player?

School Interest Offer Visit Recruited by
Connecticut COMMITTED (05/22/2015) Offered None
VCU High Offered None
Boston U. None Offered None
Drexel None Offered None
Duquesne None Offered None
Iona None Offered None
Minnesota None Offered None Kimani Young
Norfolk St. None Offered None
Quinnipiac None Offered None
St. Peter's None Offered None
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I love when people look at the worst offers a guy had to fuel their preconceived notion that the staff can't recruit. Nothing like some good old confirmation bias.

Aside from having other P5 and high-major offers not listed on R i v a l s, Diarra plays for a small school that attracts very few big-time coaches. He's actually the 2nd player the school has ever sent to a high major (Scoochie Smith of Dayton is the first) and the first to a blue blood program. Furthermore, the former Putnam Science Academy was a NEPSAC independent, meaning that he didn't get the same exposure that a guy playing regular games in the NMH/Brewster gyms gets. He's under-the-radar, but as talented as one can find given that qualifier.

He's rated the exact same number of stars as and one point lower than Steve Enoch is on ESPN, and this is before the summer season in which many are predicting an absolute breakout. You will be lucky that we locked him up when he did.

Another thought on offer lists; here are some of the schools who also offered some of our recent recruits (all according to VerbalCommits).
  • Kentan Facey: Florida, Louisville, Pittsburgh, UCLA
  • Terrence Samuel: Louisville, Pittsburgh
  • Phil Nolan: Arizona, Baylor, Oregon, Texas
Spoiler alert: it doesn't mean too much.
 
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The AAC is actually not the C-USA. Marshall, Southern Mississippi, etc, are not schools the AAC would take in. The identity of the AAC is schools that are up and coming very rapidly and growing in power (USF, UCF) or are returning to the big time (SMU, Houston, Tulane). And have the resources and markets to rely on to continue to develop or re-develop.

But it sure can be said the AAC does take the best C-USA schools that have P5 potential. As already done with Louisville.
 
UCweCONN said:
Better thread title, "Coach Ollie hits recruiting trail, picks up Diarra." After Diarra plays here, "Is Diarra cause of Huskies' troubles inside?".
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..."Huskies inside problems likely portend the first start of Diarra"
 
Gurleyman said:
Larrier and Mack were both guys who we jumped in on very very late and couldn't pull away. But two guys who played a combined one season for VCU.

If they are saying it's even, they are maybe counting Jeremy Lamb as one we won over them - his dad famously played there and beat JC's Northeastern team at the buzzer. At the time VCU had a crowded backcourt (all those seniors who went to the Final Four, in a year we went two wins further), so I don't think they ever were a key factor in his recruitment. But they probably feel he got away.
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UConn has beaten them for Enoch, Gibbs and now Diarra in the past year. They got a kid who didn't suit up for them and another who may be transferring to UConn.
 
Marty Jackson said:
everytime i hear someone say 'dumpster fire' or 'I threw up in my mouth', it's like nails on a chalkboard.
there is potential with this conference. as long as there are 2-3 teams in the Top 25 and one of them is uconn, the conference will be fine.
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Calling the AAC a Dumpster fire was an overstatement. Not a nice thing for me to describe our fellow conference partners, but the membership pales in comparison to the old BE.

The whole conference realignment fiasco blew up the greatest hoops conference of all time. All other conferences have a handful interesting rivalries but is or has there ever been one where the rivalries seemed endless like the good ol' Big East? Syracuse, Georgetown, SJU, Nova, Pitt, Louisville and of course UConn at the top of the conference. Add great battles with Cincinnati, WV, BC and even PC was a flicker thorn in our side. Take the ACC for example. They've been primarily a 2 trick pony (UNC and Dook). None of the other longtime conference members have had any sustained success. MD has had moments. NC State and WF have been ugly sisters the the other two NC schools. Don't get me wrong, the ACC has been a great conference, but top to bottom, none held a candle to the Old Big East.
 
Stairmaster said:
I love when people look at the worst offers a guy had to fuel their preconceived notion that the staff can't recruit. Nothing like some good old confirmation bias.

Aside from having other P5 and high-major offers not listed on R i v a l s, Diarra plays for a small school that attracts very few big-time coaches. He's actually the 2nd player the school has ever sent to a high major (Scoochie Smith of Dayton is the first) and the first to a blue blood program. Furthermore, the former Putnam Science Academy was a NEPSAC independent, meaning that he didn't get the same exposure that a guy playing regular games in the NMH/Brewster gyms gets. He's under-the-radar, but as talented as one can find given that qualifier.

He's rated the exact same number of stars as and one point lower than Steve Enoch is on ESPN, and this is before the summer season in which many are predicting an absolute breakout. You will be lucky that we locked him up when he did.

Another thought on offer lists; here are some of the schools who also offered some of our recent recruits (all according to VerbalCommits).
  • Kentan Facey: Florida, Louisville, Pittsburgh, UCLA
  • Terrence Samuel: Louisville, Pittsburgh
  • Phil Nolan: Arizona, Baylor, Oregon, Texas
Spoiler alert: it doesn't mean too much.
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I think Diarra will end up being pretty good because he's far from a finished product, but I don't know how you can say that offer lists don't mean much.

Granted they're tough to go off of because what the websites have are often inaccurate or out of date(for example, I highly doubt Terrence Samuel had a Louisville offer or Nolan had an Arizona offer. But guys with high major offers are just going to be better overall on average than guys without high major offers. I don't really see how that's debatable.
 
johnhuskies95 said:
I think Diarra will end up being pretty good because he's far from a finished product, but I don't know how you can say that offer lists don't mean much.

Granted they're tough to go off of because what the websites have are often inaccurate or out of date(for example, I highly doubt Terrence Samuel had a Louisville offer or Nolan had an Arizona offer. But guys with high major offers are just going to be better overall on average than guys without high major offers. I don't really see how that's debatable.
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I know from personal correspondence with site staff that VerbalCommits cross-references these offers with coaching staffs. The AZ offer is reported as coming in late March of Nolan's senior year, which makes sense; plenty of programs up and down the hierarchy extend offers to kids who may or may not be "reaches" due to missing out on previous targets and needing to fill scholarships. We've seen it happen here before to mixed results.

You are right in that I downplayed their importance a bit too much in my initial post. But you cannot judge a kid like Diarra and immediately conclude that he's an "OK mid-major player" just by looking at which schools were the first ones to see him. To make that judgement, you have to watch his tape, hear what analysts and coaches are saying, and look at where he's ranked on some of the more trustworthy sites in addition to seeing which schools are interested. Citing Samuel and Nolan's offers were to prove the point that if you solely go off of lists, you get a skewed picture.

BTW, I think that the point on his school's situation is still valid; if he were at a school in Class AA, I'd be willing to wager money that he would have more P5 offers than Tyrique Jones does at Vermont Academy. PSA/Woodstock being an independent really cuts down on the chances that coaches are going to be coming out and seeing him.
 
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