Players that got away | The Boneyard

Players that got away

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Was wondering after El Ellis, how many of the players that got away from us at the last minute turned out to be great players. I know we really wanted Precious last year and he turned out to be everything we thought he would be.

Best recruits we just missed on?
 
This stuff has worked out so well for UConn over the years where the staff missed out on their top choice, another school blew it and we snuck in. Donyell, Emeka, Ben, Kemba, Boat, Charlie V, DeAndre, and Khalid are just some names who come to mind.
 
Didn't realize El Ellis is going to Louisville. When is that school going to get reamed by the NCAA?

Anyway--I hate when people do this BUT I am glad he didn't come here. I know little about judging basketball talent, but I didn't like what I saw.
 
Kevin Durant. Texas is crooked. ;-)

Billy Curley. JC said this was his biggest loss in recruiting. He really wanted Curley. Even the other BE coaches involved thought he was UConn bound.
Yea that one hurts, having one of the best basketball players of all time as an alumni would be great to have
 
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Billy Curley. JC said this was his biggest loss in recruiting. He really wanted Curley. Even the other BE coaches involved thought he was UConn bound.
That's the one. We would have won 2 NC's if he didn't cave in to the pressure.
 
More recently, Myles Powell and Tyrique Jones. This past season if we put Powell, Vital, Bouknight, Akok, and Jones on the court together, we’re in the Final 4 (if there was one). Both guys loved UConn out of HS.
 
More recently, Myles Powell and Tyrique Jones. This past season if we put Powell, Vital, Bouknight, Akok, and Jones on the court together, we’re in the Final 4 (if there was one). Both guys loved UConn out of HS.
Final 4 what?
 
That's the one. We would have won 2 NC's if he didn't cave in to the pressure.

Great stuff here from JC....
 
My favorite near miss that worked out for the good guys was Kelvin Torbert. If Calhoun had landed him, Gordon would have gone elsewhere. The one that stung in retrospect was Ike Diogu. I feel like if he'd gone to UConn, Gordon, Emeka and co. would have won two 'ships.
 
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Kevin Durant. Texas is crooked. ;-)

Billy Curley. JC said this was his biggest loss in recruiting. He really wanted Curley. Even the other BE coaches involved thought he was UConn bound.

Curley was a big miss three ways.
He lost every game he played against UConn.
We missed out on a player that may have helped us win a NC or two.
Curley missed out on playing and developing under Calhoun.
 
Kevin Durant. Texas is crooked. ;-)

Billy Curley. JC said this was his biggest loss in recruiting. He really wanted Curley. Even the other BE coaches involved thought he was UConn bound.
Durant is an interesting one. Even though he was a one and done recruit, It would have been nice to have him on that 06-07 team. We easily would have been a tournament team that year, and obviously having Durant as an alum would have made the brand even stronger.
 
Tony Scott. Just started getting into the recruiting scene, I was at the Field House for a game and after there's Tony Scott shooting and dunking on the court after the game, verbal Huskies.

A few weeks later Syracuse. Poor kid never reached his potential playing of the coach, although not sure it would have happened for us either JC wasn't there.
 
Great stuff here from JC....
The Sunday before Curley announced, the Bob Ryan column in the Globe was headlined "BC Should Give Up BB if Curley Goes Elsewhere." Or words to that effect.
 
Tony Scott.
That's when I knew for sure Cuse was evil. They were flying high in those days and took him at the last minute, just so he wouldn't go to UConn.
 
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Tony Scott. Just started getting into the recruiting scene, I was at the Field House for a game and after there's Tony Scott shooting and dunking on the court after the game, verbal Huskies.

A few weeks later Syracuse. Poor kid never reached his potential playing of the coach, although not sure it would have happened for us either JC wasn't there.

Scott's story is kind of sad, but probably not unusual considering the rules then in place. Note how he transferred to Texas A&M, sat out a year and then was declared academically ineligible. Declared for the draft, was undrafted, and could not go back to college. His story follows:

"Tony Scott was a tall skinny shooter from Rochester, New York. He was touted as an outstanding perimeter shooter with a high arching shot, and was effective with limited playing time in the capacity of a perimeter shooter for two seasons. He was a valuable reserve during his sophomore season, averaging nearly 6 points a game. Unfortunately, his first two seasons saw him sit behind talented upper classmen such as Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson, and fellow classmates Billy Owens and Dave Johnson.


Scott would be a hero in the 1990 Big East Tournament. The Orangemen faced Pittsburgh in the first round, and Dave Johnson was unable to play. Scott would come off the bench to score 11 points, on a perfect night of shooting including three for three shooting from three point range, to help the Orangemen beat the Panthers 58-55. In the championship game against Connecticut he would shoot three of five from three point range, and have 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench. Unfortunately it was not enough this time as the Orangemen lost to UConn 79-75.


His Big East Tournament performance vaulted Scott into the starting lineup for the NCAA tournament. He would score 6 points in a first round blowout of Coppin State, and 9 points in a 63-61 victory over Virginia. In the third round Scott would have a terrible night shooting only 3-16 from the floor (including 2-11 from three point range) as the Orangemen lost to Minnesota 82-75.


Scott transferred to Texas A&M. He had to sit out one season due to transfer rules, and then was academically ineligible to play his junior season. Frustrated with college basketball, Scott declared himself eligible for the 1992 NBA draft, where he went undrafted. By NCAA rule, he was then ineligible to return to college, though he would have had a year of eligibility left.


Scott would later play basketball overseas in Turkey, Spain and China. In 2005 he played for the Rochester RazorSharks of the ABA."
 
Courtney Alexander transfer from UVA. I think UConn was a lock but there was domestic issues? Ended up at Fresno.
 
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Yea that one hurts, having one of the best basketball players of all time as an alumni would be great to have

look at him now - Emerson College HC in Boston:
in 2011, he became an assistant at Emerson College in Boston under his Boston College coach Jim O'Brien. Upon O'Brien's retirement in 2014, Curley was named interim head coach of the Lions. In 2019, he led Emerson to its first NEWMAC championship and its first NCAA tournament appearance
 
My favorite near miss that worked out for the good guys was Kelvin Torbert. If Calhoun had landed him, Gordon would have gone elsewhere. The one that stung in retrospect was Ike Diogu. I feel like if he'd gone to UConn, Gordon, Emeka and co. would have won two 'ships.
We would not have gotten Emeka if we had Diogu
 
Why? I've seen that on here a few times. Emeka was in the 2001 class. Diogu was in the 2002 class. So unless Emeka could foretell the future I don't know why Diogu would have dissuaded Emeka from committing to UConn. :)
Oops, I was thinking Jamaal Sampson who I believe went to Arizona. Why didn't we get Diogu? I believe we were the favorites.
 
Few guys that I recall seeing on campus while I was a student

Greg Monroe
Tobias Harris
Durand Scott
 
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