Precious Update

[StepbackCity]

North Carolina would love to add someone like
Precious Achiuwa
, a five-star forward and one of the top available prospects this winter, but I do not see it in the cards. The Tar Heels jumped into the picture last week with an offer and the promising part for UNC is that he has yet to take an official visit throughout the process and a cut list has not been produced. This is not to say that many others have not invested time and attention in recruiting him as Kansas, Memphis, St. John’s, UConn and Western Kentucky are just a few that have done so.

UCLA was a prominent program to watch, but with the coaching change in Westwood, it could give UNC one less program to beat. There is still much more time to go before Achiuwa even comes near committing, so the Tar Heels have some room to make their move, but I would still give their chances with him at less than 20 percent with where things currently sit.

Looks like Evans thinks there isn’t a favorite.

 

[Friendship]

AG - CV - Precious - Akok - Grad Transfer, starting 5 next season. Bring it on!

 

[StepbackCity]

AG - CV - Precious - Akok - Grad Transfer, starting 5 next season. Bring it on!

Im hoping we get a high school kid, was a main flaw during KO era that he kept patching holes with transfers instead of developing kids.

 

[Friendship]

Im hoping we get a high school kid, was a main flaw during KO era that he kept patching holes with transfers instead of developing kids.

I would rather get a grad student next year than force a high school kid who doesn't belong.

 

[CTBasketball]

Im hoping we get a high school kid, was a main flaw during KO era that he kept patching holes with transfers instead of developing kids.

A few things.

1. KO couldn’t develop kids and didn’t have a clue how to coach. Hence why Enoch, Durham, and Jackson all left. Also why kids like Rakim Lubin, Amida Brimah, Phil Nolan, Jalen Adams, Rodney Purvis, Sam Cassell, Terrence Samuel, and Daniel Hamilton never seemed to make strides and get better.
2. Without Lasan Kromah we likely don’t win in 2014. Without Shonn Miller and Sterling Gibbs we don’t make the tournament in 2016. Without Antwoine Anderson we win less games than we did last year.

Lets just say KO’s whole approach was a debacle. Hurley will find a good roster, grad transfer or 4-year recruit so let’s give him time. He knows what he’s doing.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I would rather get a grad student next year than force a high school kid who doesn't belong.

Several valid thoughts here that don't contradict each other. The preference is:

1) Good high school recruit
2) Grad transfer
3) Mediocre high school recruit

If we're going to reach on someone, reach on someone who will only tie up a scholarship for 1 year. Otherwise, you end up with Lubin, Whaley, etc. (Though, to be fair, sometimes players in group #3 choose to transfer and therefore free up the scholarship, but you can't plan for that the way you can with #2).

 

[UCDaveD]

Precious isn't coming here.

 

[uconnbill]

Precious isn't coming here.

okay Debbie downer

UConn has a chance but who knows at this point of the recruitment

 

[YoungFree]

Precious isn't coming here.

But what I really want to know is what is your crystal ball accuracy?

 

[MDHuskFan]

If you get grad transfers due to a continuous inability to recruit/develop talent. That’s a problem.

If you occasionally miss “big game hunting” & the market is barren, I have no issue getting grad transfers to serve as mercenaries to preserve a s holly for the next year.

 

[Jay-Bone]

I love how they talk UNC and then everyone else, even though they just got in last week. As if they're the only one expected to land a top 10.

 

[Guapo]

precious to western kentucky would be even more inexplicable than kofi to illinois

i don't think UNC's utilization of nassir little is helping them convince precious that's the place for him. granted both cam johnson and little will be gone next season....

Oh I think it would be very explicable...

 

[gtcam]

Also why kids like Rakim Lubin, Amida Brimah, Phil Nolan, Jalen Adams, Rodney Purvis, Sam Cassell, Terrence Samuel, and Daniel Hamilton never seemed to make strides and get better.
Usually agree with you but those kids above are not all on KO
JA - 1st and 2nd team All AAC (in a league that had many real good guards) - is he going to get there this year?
RP - ask him what KO meant to him as far as growth as a player and a person - I have
SCJr - had all the opportunity but his mind and his game called for him to be the 1 guard but he wasn't going to be that at UConn, Fordham yes. As I remember he sat most of the year with injuries
AB - was fine as long as he has someone feed him the ball - he was a project at best and is finding out now that he didn't ever work hard enough on his own to better himself - he is paying for that decision
Lubin - are you kidding????
DH - was a good player at UConn and it wasn't KO- it was school - the kid hated school and couldn't wait to leave - I saw improvement from freshman to sophomore year (enough for him to be drafted)
Nolan - I don't know much of what went on with him but I do remember KO giving him many opportunities that the kid fell flat on his face but KO didn't forget him and relied on him during the 2014 run and Nolan provided valuable minutes - he maybe the one that could have been developed better
Samuel - I don't have any idea but I didn't see him get any better at PSU or ECU
I agree 100% that KO was not an effective college coach and was in over his head at the helm at UConn. He was not my choice to take over for JC. That was something that JC and the AD enacted. I agree that KO should have been replaced due to win/loss results.
I also agree that taking transfers and 5th year guys are needed to plug holes and make immediate contributions. Five of six top players for St Johns this year are xfers.
We need to see what DH brings in and what quality he will be able to lure to UConn and the AAC. I think he will work his butt off and wants to be successful - it's in his blood. He has a different level of overt desire vs KO.

 

[Towney007]

I love Precious but at this point it just seems like a complete and total lottery for who's going to end up with him. I really don't feel pessimistic or optimistic about him.

I think that right now Wahab and Mitchell need to be priority #1.

 

[uchusky32]

Seems like the the "Grind" is grinding down the yard.

 

[JMick]

Also why kids like Rakim Lubin, Amida Brimah, Phil Nolan, Jalen Adams, Rodney Purvis, Sam Cassell, Terrence Samuel, and Daniel Hamilton never seemed to make strides and get better.
Usually agree with you but those kids above are not all on KO
JA - 1st and 2nd team All AAC (in a league that had many real good guards) - is he going to get there this year?
RP - ask him what KO meant to him as far as growth as a player and a person - I have
SCJr - had all the opportunity but his mind and his game called for him to be the 1 guard but he wasn't going to be that at UConn, Fordham yes. As I remember he sat most of the year with injuries
AB - was fine as long as he has someone feed him the ball - he was a project at best and is finding out now that he didn't ever work hard enough on his own to better himself - he is paying for that decision
Lubin - are you kidding????
Dan Hurley - was a good player at UConn and it wasn't KO- it was school - the kid hated school and couldn't wait to leave - I saw improvement from freshman to sophomore year (enough for him to be drafted)
Nolan - I don't know much of what went on with him but I do remember KO giving him many opportunities that the kid fell flat on his face but KO didn't forget him and relied on him during the 2014 run and Nolan provided valuable minutes - he maybe the one that could have been developed better
Samuel - I don't have any idea but I didn't see him get any better at PSU or ECU
I agree 100% that KO was not an effective college coach and was in over his head at the helm at UConn. He was not my choice to take over for JC. That was something that JC and the AD enacted. I agree that KO should have been replaced due to win/loss results.
I also agree that taking transfers and 5th year guys are needed to plug holes and make immediate contributions. Five of six top players for St Johns this year are xfers.
We need to see what Dan Hurley brings in and what quality he will be able to lure to UConn and the AAC. I think he will work his butt off and wants to be successful - it's in his blood. He has a different level of overt desire vs KO.

You're a crazy person

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

You're a crazy person

KO was self-evidently a disaster but his response was certainly no crazier or more hyperbolic than the post he was responding to.

 

[JMick]

KO was self-evidently a disaster but his response was certainly no crazier or more hyperbolic than the post he was responding to.

Was it though? Did anyone actually develop under KO and take their game to a new level post-championship?

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I would rather get a grad student next year than force a high school kid who doesn't belong.

You do realize that you add these guys because you were unable to recruit
We had bad recruiting years in
2011 - 2014 Transfers and Postgrads kept the program alive. Not only that but the huge exodus at the end of 2012 created a hole in front that hasn’t been filled to this day. The Exodus in 2017 sealed the deal.
Even with a full compliment of Kids I like having a mature extra PG who plays hard and a Physically mature Big who can give you minutes and protect the rim. Yakwe if not injured was almost perfect ( a tad small) for what we try to do on defense. Smith and even Anderson were also good moves.
Anderson ended up as a starter which put too much on him but he was a good third or 4th Guard.

 

[YoungFree]

precious to western kentucky would be even more inexplicable than kofi to illinois

and i don't think UNC's utilization of nassir little will help them convince precious that's the place for him. granted both cam johnson and little will be gone next season....

surprisingly UNC only has the #36 recruiting class next year with commits from center armando bacot and point guard jeremiah francis. cole anthony is the only top 100 player left they are considered favorites for.

And we are #17 without Precious or Kofi so that's good news.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

You do realize that you add these guys because you were unable to recruit
We had bad recruiting years in
2011 - 2014 Transfers and Postgrads kept the program alive. Not only that but the huge exodus at the end of 2012 created a hole in front that hasn’t been filled to this day. The Exodus in 2017 sealed the deal.
Even with a full compliment of Kids I like having a mature extra PG who plays hard and a Physically mature Big who can give you minutes and protect the rim. Yakwe if not injured was almost perfect ( a tad small) for what we try to do on defense. Smith and even Anderson were also good moves.
Anderson ended up as a starter which put too much on him but he was a good third or 4th Guard.

Never was a fan of yakwe, maybe that’s because it seemed like he never got into the rhythm of things after an early injury. Liability on the offensive end who sometimes got offensive rebounds but would then force it back up and miss. On defense, he was a big body but I thought his fouling negated that, and for rebounding he wasn’t an upgrade over any of the other bigs.

 

[uconngb]

Seems like the the "Grind" is grinding down the yard.

Don't worry.....we'll come blazing back

 

[Wordbomar]

All we can hope for at this point with Precious is to get him on campus for a spring OV and hope we woo him enough to get him to sign

 

[methodology]

Was it though? Did anyone actually develop under KO and take their game to a new level post-championship?

If you are mentioning Lubin to make a point I'm not sure why you didn't respond that way to the original poster

 

[Huskyforlife]

It's odd he doesn't seem to have any favorites at this point in the process. But gotta think it's down to us, UNC, and St Johns.