Precious Achiuwa

[kansashusky]

This is not popular on this site but we do not have the pull we had. Aac, missing the tourney, ollie, etc. We where on the path to blue blood and we are a so so mid major

I don't want to speak for @husky99, but this is the perception in recruiting circles/ AAU and what other coaches are telling kids we are, and it has definitely worked against us. Winning cures all, but it will take some time to build it back up.

Hurley has been good about identifying gettable talent, though I think even he was surprised how much of a hit the brand took over the last 4 years. He will not be outworked though. He will get it back.

 

[Towney007]

Anytime a guy’s recruitment seems “off,” it’s usually because it is.

This.

And if people think we're legitimately intense competition for Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and the like right now, then you need to see a doctor.

 

[Towney007]

Why wouldn't you go to UConn?

-They play in conference that has half the exposure that we do.
-They've had a losing record the last two years
-Their athletic department is in big trouble right now, $40 million deficit
-They're in cow country.
-Here, you play Duke, UNC (fill in power programs)


I mean come on guys. Honestly.

 

[Hi-Low]

Everyone can pile on 99 all they want, but sometimes perception is reality. There are a plethora of ways that an opposing coach could frame our program as a mid major. And what kind of kid doesn't want to hear "UConn? You're too good for them"

We won't be pulling in top 10 kids again until we give them a reason to come here.

Not piling on, we all know it's been bad and we have to prove we can win again but history does count and no reason UConn & AAC should be referred to as mid-major, especially by us. Leave that to ESPN phonies.

Precious mentioned Memphis so unless they got a P5 invite are in AAC.

 

[superjohn]

Everyone can pile on 99 all they want, but sometimes perception is reality. There are a plethora of ways that an opposing coach could frame our program as a mid major. And what kind of kid doesn't want to hear "UConn? You're too good for them"

We won't be pulling in top 10 kids again until we give them a reason to come here.

People are piling on because it is an idiotic comment. We're coming off our worst stretch in 40 years and our new coach managed to get a borderline 5 star power forward, the #10 shooting guard in the country, and the #13 combo guard in the country.

So so mid-majors don't ever do this.

 

[JMick]

People are piling on because it is an idiotic comment. We're coming off our worst stretch in 40 years and our new coach managed to get a borderline 5 star power forward, the #10 shooting guard in the country, and the #13 combo guard in the country.

So so mid-majors don't ever do this.

It might be a stupid comment but it's probably pretty accurate in regards to how we're being recruited against.

 

[tzznandrew]

It might be a stupid comment but it's probably pretty accurate in regards to how we're being recruited against.

Win and we're fine. We're helped by good NCAA performances by our conference mates as we climb back up, and by the enthusiasm generated by Penny in Memphis.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Yet only 3 NCs
Winning in the B12 was easy for them
Now that other teams have stepped up in recent years they have been much less dominant
Kids like to win NCs
I think Kansas gets the players because of the press they get and national attention.
JC had some success in luring players away from Kansas to UConn and JA picked UConn over Kansas, something that Bill Self was not happy about
Kansas gets its share but does take a second seat to Duke, UNC, Kentucky

and the monetary benefits

 

[JMick]

Win and we're fine. We're helped by good NCAA performances by our conference mates as we climb back up, and by the enthusiasm generated by Penny in Memphis.

Yeah I'm not saying there isn't a path back. We need to start winning games again. We already have a great class that will help get us there, it's just going to be awfully tough to land top 10 kids until we are back on our feet. It's tough to land them for anyone not named Duke/UK. Unless you cheat or have a long relationship with someone. Tough for Hurley to do considering he hasn't been here a full year yet

 

[MDHuskFan]

Social media & the internet has made this a “what have you done for me lately” culture....16-17 year old kids want to hear more about what we’ve done in the past 3 years vs the past 20.(sorry to break it to some)

 

[tcf15]

BasketballRecruiting.Rivals.com - Precious Achiuwa Q&A: Visits, newcomers & the G-League route
CE: How about your relationship with UConn and Kimani (Young)?

PA: It has been the same. I know Kimani well and I have known him for a while. The relationship that I have with those dudes is good.

 

[Madmannsucks]

This is not popular on this site but we do not have the pull we had. Aac, missing the tourney, ollie, etc. We where on the path to blue blood and we are a so so mid major

Mid major's do not pay 3m per year. The current state of the program is not great, but the Connecticut name is still blue blood in hoops.

 

[Stainmaster]

Stop looking at this conversation from the perspective of a lifelong, diehard UConn fan, and start looking at it from the perspective of a random high schooler who (a) may or may not be a historian of the game, and (b) has tons of opposing coaches' voices in his ear at all times. Then and only then will it start to make a little more sense.

 

[NJHoops]

BasketballRecruiting.Rivals.com - Precious Achiuwa Q&A: Visits, newcomers & the G-League route
CE: How about your relationship with UConn and Kimani (Young)?

PA: It has been the same. I know Kimani well and I have known him for a while. The relationship that I have with those dudes is good.

The only thing to confirm from that article is that Precious is a basketball player and that he may or may not play for a college team next season. He’s either the chillest dude ever or a helluva poker player.

 

[KingAG]

Ppl also said idiotic things about Calhoun as “negative recruiting” it doesn’t make them true. And for a UConn fan to echo it is corny. We are not a “so so” mid major lmaoo. Evansville is a so so mid major. Anybody claiming that we are takes a major credibility hit in the knowing anything about college athletics department. Getting Precious was never a must or even realistic, and yet this so so mid major has a top 20 recruiting class. It clearly hasn’t worked

 

[KingAG]

Ppl also said idiotic things about Calhoun as “negative recruiting” it doesn’t make them true. And for a UConn fan to echo it is corny. We are not a “so so” mid major lmaoo. Evansville is a so so mid major. Anybody claiming that we are takes a major credibility hit in the knowing anything about college athletics department

 

[sammydabiz]

The product we’ve put on the court in the past 36 months has been “so so mid major”. I have no problem with what 99 said. The truth hurts sometimes.

That’s not to say we can’t eventually climb out of this hole, but present day, h.s. Seniors view us as mid major more so than blue blood.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Stop looking at this conversation from the perspective of a lifelong, diehard UConn fan, and start looking at it from the perspective of a random high schooler who (a) may or may not be a historian of the game, and (b) has tons of opposing coaches' voices in his ear at all times. Then and only then will it start to make a little more sense.

I tend to agree with this. We're fans of UConn, and most of us have an appreciation for the history of the college game.

This isn't to say that most kids don't feel that way, but I think outside of Duke, UNC, Kansas, and Kentucky which speak for themselves, kids commit way more based on the head coach, and less the history of the program.

Both of which make Hurley's job that much harder. With that said, if he gets the ball rolling and puts a few kids into the league, we'll have the coach and program to sell to kids, even if we are still in the AAC.

 

[KingAG]

The product we’ve put on the court in the past 36 months has been “so so mid major”. I have no problem with what 99 said. The truth hurts sometimes.

That’s not to say we can’t eventually climb out of this hole, but present day, h.s. Seniors view us as mid major more so than blue blood.

So we’re a so so mid major now? Lmaoo. What 99 said is FAR from true. Saying we’ve been bad the last 3 yrs isn’t the same as declaring us an average mid major

 

[GHSWolverines]

You think we're a so so mid-major, seriously???

We were mid-major when we were in the Yankee Conference. JC had a vision to put us on the map with the elite basketball schools. We all know how that went...SUCCESS! So we had a bump in the road - a new conference, poor recruiting and coaching. Hurley has his own vision to bring us back to relevance. I for one believe uconn mens basketball will be resurrected. You have to give it time. People...stop reliving the glory days of the old big east. Start living in the present! It's time to write a new chapter and this chapter will have a happy ending for sure. TRUST THE PROCESS

 

[superjohn]

It might be a stupid comment but it's probably pretty accurate in regards to how we're being recruited against.

And yet we still got a borderline 5 star power forward, the 10th best shooting guard, and the 13th best combo guard.

The sky is falling and Hurley still managed to get these kids his first 6 months. When we start winning it should get easier.

We've always been negatively recruited against, coaches were saying Calhoun would be dead 10 years ago.

 

[KingAG]

We were mid-major when we were in the Yankee Conference. JC had a vision to put us on the map with the elite basketball schools. We all know how that went...SUCCESS! So we had a bump in the road - a new conference, poor recruiting and coaching. Hurley has his own vision to bring us back to relevance. I for one believe uconn mens basketball will be resurrected. You have to give it time. People...stop reliving the glory days of the old big east. Start living in the present! It's time to write a new chapter and this chapter will have a happy ending for sure. TRUST THE PROCESS

Compare our budget, facilities, resources, tv exposure, and recruiting class to other “so so” mid majors. And you’ll then realize how idiotic the comment was.

 

[Stainmaster]

With that said, if he gets the ball rolling and puts a few kids into the league, we'll have the coach and program to sell to kids, even if we are still in the AAC.

He's shown he can get people (Jared Terrell) from URI into the league. No disrespect to Terrell, but that's a pretty significant accomplishment. With our resources and talent pool, he should have an easier time pulling that off going forward.

Kids are finicky, and of course they're prone to recency bias. That's why a lot of the negative recruiting regarding the past few years seems to have garnered traction. It would've been foolish to think that a new hire would wave that away like a magic wand. That said, by improving the team's performance and showing that his staff can develop players, Hurley is doing everything he needs to do to in order to bring things back to where they should be on the trail.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

He's shown he can get people (Jared Terrell) from URI into the league. No disrespect to Terrell, but that's a pretty significant accomplishment. With our resources and talent pool, he should have an easier time pulling that off going forward.

Kids are finicky, and of course they're prone to recency bias. That's why a lot of the negative recruiting regarding the past few years seems to have garnered traction. It would've been foolish to think that a new hire would wave that away like a magic wand. That said, by improving the team's performance and showing that his staff can develop players, Hurley is doing everything he needs to do to in order to bring things back to where they should be on the trail.

While there were certain things that I didn't like about Hurley this year - Tulsa ejection, yelling at fans, the move to have Vital come off the bench, etc., I'm still all-in on him.

I don't even have expectations for next season and think that 2020-2021 is probably when we can expect to hopefully be a solidly a tournament team. I expect some improvement next season, with the new guys coming in, and the old guys headed out, but with Gilbert's propensity for injuries, I think it's going to take two full Hurley classes to get us headed back to where we want to be.

 

[JMick]

And yet we still got a borderline 5 star power forward, the 10th best shooting guard, and the 13th best combo guard.

The sky is falling and Hurley still managed to get these kids his first 6 months. When we start winning it should get easier.

We've always been negatively recruited against, coaches were saying Calhoun would be dead 10 years ago.

Right. But none of those are top 10 kids. I'm honestly impressed that Hurley landed the kids he did. Hopefully he can find a couple more for '19

 

[Hi-Low]

The product we’ve put on the court in the past 36 months has been “so so mid major”. I have no problem with what 99 said. The truth hurts sometimes.

That’s not to say we can’t eventually climb out of this hole, but present day, h.s. Seniors view us as mid major more so than blue blood.

That's stupid, just because you have a down period you don't erase the past 25 years of excellence. UConn can never be a "mid-major" with 4 titles. If we were an Independent with no league affiliate and had a few bad years do we automatically become a mid-major?

The AAC is now on equal footing with BE and even if it goes in the crapper the league doesn't define UConn. The term mid-major in the same breath with UConn is offensive. Screw what rival schools say about us to recruits, we will take away that narrative with 1 good year.

 

[husky99]

People are piling on because it is an idiotic comment. We're coming off our worst stretch in 40 years and our new coach managed to get a borderline 5 star power forward, the #10 shooting guard in the country, and the #13 combo guard in the country.

So so mid-majors don't ever do this.

Haha it was idiotic.. uconn budget does spring board us out of the mid major.. but hearing from a couple places that the uconn name and pull is not super strong the last year or so.. that could change. Indiana had rough years and doing better

 

[Guapo]

Anyone hating on @husky99 has their head in the sand.

This is the damage conference realignment and the AAC have wrought.

It’s not just recruits, it’s the media and the Mickey Mouse way our conference presents itself.

UConn has always been a difficult place to recruit to. Anyone who’s ever set foot in places like Chapel Hill, Lawrence, or Bloomington will tell you that Storrs can’t hold a candle to those places.

Having said that, I believe in Dan Hurley however I believe Dan Hurley w/UConn in the NBE>Dan Hurley a/UConn in the AAC.

 

[BuckleyNerd]

Armchair assessment, the fact that Memphis and Georgia jumped up his list suggests that he's unabashedly looking to use college primarily as a marketing tool for the draft. When you're playing with Anthony Edwards or James Wiseman every game it's a lot easier to have NBA eyes on you, not to mention those guys will make him look even better. Can't blame him at all. Right now he's just a tier too high for us, but we are clearly competitive for top 50-100 prospects, and can you really ask for more right now? (Hilarious post about being a "so-so mid major btw". Clown statement)

We will need to show that we can get guys like Akok (and Bouk and Gaffney, who I think have pro potential in a few years) into the league. Memphis kind of jumped the line by having Penny and Mike Miller there to be like "hey guys, we know we're new but we're Penny Hardaway and Mike Miller and will get you where you need to be."

Also, anyone who thinks the AAC isn't going anywhere but up in basketball hasn't been paying attention.

 

[superjohn]

Right. But none of those are top 10 kids. I'm honestly impressed that Hurley landed the kids he did. Hopefully he can find a couple more for '19

Never said anything about top 10 kids. I was responding to the notion we are just a so so mid-major now. There is a big difference between Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and so so mid-major.