PF Mamadou Diarra (Signed LOI on 11/14)

[DogMania]

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!

 

[The Funster]

Meh, let's not rag on VCU. Everyone has to start somewhere. UConn started somewhere too. The difference is...UConn finishes with the best of them.

Welcome to Mamadou Diarra!

 

[CAHUSKY]

True. And I'm sure that list will grow.

And I forgot Adams!!!

 

[Marty Jackson]

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.

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.

 

[Paesano]

So, we shouldn't be content with our conference but we should be content with 3 star recruits.

 

[Sky ball]

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

 

[UConnNick]

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.

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.

 

[Matrim55]

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?

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.

 

[Stainmaster]

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

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.

 

[Adios]

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.

 

[MuchoDogYears]

Better thread title, "Coach Ollie hits recruiting trail, picks up Diarra." After Diarra plays here, "Is Diarra cause of Huskies' troubles inside?".

..."Huskies inside problems likely portend the first start of Diarra"

 

[caw]

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.

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.

 

[DogMania]

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.

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.

 

[johnhuskies95]

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.

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.

 

[Stainmaster]

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.

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.

 

[caw]

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

St Johns and PC also offered. I know that for a fact.

And I forgot Adams!!!

And Enoch.

For all the complaining, UConn has ended with solid rosters every year Ollie has been coach. Last years had some youth and injury issues and some bad luck but was a solid roster.

 

[mauconnfan]

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.

Depends on the situation but in this case it doesn't mean much. He's a late bloomer and UConn liked him early as did VCU. But between his soph and jr year he was showing improvement that led to many more at least thinking about jumping in and who knows how many may have wanted to after this summer?

"Minnesota, Dayton, Seton Hall and St. John's were among the schools that showed interest, Espinosa said."

 

[Sky ball]

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.

When did I say the staff could not recruit? All I said was why was THIS board getting their panties wet over a 3 star prospect with few big school offers?
[
He gets plenty of exposure on the AAU circuit with NY Jayhawks. I don't think HS play is as important as it once was in may instances.

 

[mauconnfan]

When did I say the staff could not recruit? All I said was why was THIS board getting their panties wet over a 3 star prospect with few big school offers?
[
He gets plenty of exposure on the AAU circuit with NY Jayhawks. I don't think HS play is as important as it once was in may instances.

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello


Four-star junior power forward Mamadou Diarra announces he has committed to UConn.


Just saying, let's get our "stars" right. Late bloomers are the best if you see them earlier than the rest of the big dogs. Not saying he is going to be something special but his game seems to be growing. No one is getting their panties wet but we should commend the staff on what would seem to be a nice find.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I know from personal correspondence with site staff that VerbalCommits cross-references these offers with coaching staffs .

That is interesting as a coach is not allowed to talk about a prospective recruit until after the kid sign's an LOI.

I'm not saying that this is the case with Nolan or Samuel (as each ended up at a top program) but there have been plenty of kids who've claimed to have received offers from top schools (which the schools in question cannot deny) yet for some reason end up at mid-level program when the time comes to sign on the dotted line. Conservatively about 30%-35% of the offers listed on the internet were never offered.

 

[Northbound]

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.

I'm the opposite - the nails on a chalkboard for me are the folks that want to rationalize that it's acceptable to be in the AAC. When you're in a conference with a wacky amalgamation of schools that have zero common reference point it's a bad deal. Spin that there could be 3 top 25 teams all you want, the conference is filled with schools that aren't well known nationally and in most cases arent flag ships in their own state.

Conference affiliation won't determine our on court success in the short term, even if the AAC affiliation can be a recruiting disadvantage, but how people can convince themselves that there is potential in this conference while knowing what is driving college athletics is beyond me.

If it's simply case of being optimistic, congratulations, I wish I had wherewithal to look at it positively.

Sorry to add to the conference affiliation part of this thread which is so far off topic from the great news of MD coming aboard.

 

[pnow15]

When a local kid expresses an interest in UConn and UConn is all over him, just how much energy is another school expected to expend on him when the chances are he is going to UConn no matter what it does. For a lot of schools, UConn is the 800 lb gorilla in the recruiting lounge. First, thing I would ask his coach before showing up on campus is whether he has heard from CT and what is there interest.

 

[Sky ball]

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello


Four-star junior power forward Mamadou Diarra announces he has committed to UConn.


Just saying, let's get our "stars" right. Late bloomers are the best if you see them earlier than the rest of the big dogs. Not saying he is going to be something special but his game seems to be growing. No one is getting their panties wet but we should commend the staff on what would seem to be a nice find.

LOL ..Yesterday I looked at his Star ranking and he was 3 star at Rivals, Scout and one other with an ESPN exception of 4 star. Just now I see he is 4 Star at Rivals. Quick rating change? Hopefully our staff sees the potential in Diarra and are correct in their assessment.

From the Boneyard Blog:
His rankings:
247Sports: 3 star
ESPN: 4 star
Rivals: 3 star
Scout: 3 star

 

[uchusky32]

LOL ..Yesterday I looked at his Star ranking and he was 3 star at Rivals, Scout and one other with an ESPN exception of 4 star. Just now I see he is 4 Star at Rivals. Quick rating change? Hopefully our staff sees the potential in Diarra and are correct in their assessment.

When is was younger I used to rank my farts. Never occurred to me to rank my diarrhea.

 

[Sky ball]

When is was younger I used to rank my farts. Never occurred to me to rank my diarrhea.

I think we should stop the Shi$$y comments about Diarra's name. We have potty mouths with the runs.