Rakim Lubin Commits to UConn!!!

[Dogbreath2U]

Rakim brings alot to the game. Just because he is under the rader doesnt make him an awful player. He is one of the best in the state of Alabama and is projected to be one the best or THE best big man in Georgia this year. He is still young and raw but mad talented. I have no doubt that Coach Ollie, Ricky Moore and the rest of the staff will be able to mold him into the player that UCONN is known for... Don't right him off so quickly! Remember the best NBA player of all time was'nt good enough to play highschool ball!!! "MJ"

A big, strong kid who gives 110% and who has a lot of potential is exactly the player the Huskies need for next year...we could easily benefit from having 2 of them. Our team has a lot of talented but slender/skinny front court players who fight hard but are not going to be able to hold position in the paint against heavy-weight opponents. Rakim (and Ray or another who might come) will fill a need that could make all the difference in UConn's ability to compete with the very best.

 

[basketballmom]

So far mom has compared her son to Chris Anderson, Lebron, Chris Bosh and Michael Jordan.

I can't wait to see him put on the National Flag Blue and White!

I am just saying, in my opinion that he brings a little of their game to his game...

 

[UConNick]

Does Rakim know or know of Ray Kasongo? Everyone here seems ecstatic at the possibility of the 2 of them together, even though they are similar players. I know we haven't landed Kasongo yet, but all signs point to it. However, is Rakim open to playing with, and competing against, such a similar player? I for one, and I think I represent the majority, think they would excel and complement each other. Interchangeable at the 4 and 5. Really, really want to see them playing together

 

[caw]

You know you've got a keeper when they READ a whole DogMania post!

FIFY

 

[UChusky916]

Basketballmom:

As others have stated already, welcome! We're happy your son chose UConn and we look to have continued success with Rakim in the post over the coming years.

We are a rabid fan base here at the Yard and it is probably in your and Rakim's best interests to NOT take things written on this board personally or engage in any sort of banter with the idiot posters. We all know how some people suddenly have the courage to write hateful and uneducated things when they are behind the anonymity of a keyboard. Please know that these few posters who have nothing better to do than criticize a young teen are not representative of our fan-base.

The large majority of UConn fans are passionate and knowledgeable about basketball and supportive of any kid who chooses to be a Husky. If Kevin Ollie believes in them, so do we!

Thanks for the information and here's to hoping that 'Rock' has a great senior year and continued success here at UConn!

 

[tcf15]

Thanks everyone!!! The UCONN family ROCKS!!!!!!

I see what you did there...

 

[Matrim55]

I have no doubt that Coach Ollie, Ricky Moore and the rest of the staff will be able to mold him into the player that UCONN is known for...

This is why I'm supremely confident in my school, and the kids who commit to play for us. Give KO a kid with the right raw materials and the right mindset, and he'll create champions. Can't wait to see your kid make his mark!

 

[basketballmom]

Does Rakim know or know of Ray Kasongo? Everyone here seems ecstatic at the possibility of the 2 of them together, even though they are similar players. I know we haven't landed Kasongo yet, but all signs point to it. However, is Rakim open to playing with, and competing against, such a similar player? I for one, and I think I represent the majority, think they would excel and complement each other. Interchangeable at the 4 and 5. Really, really want to see them playing together

He doesnt know him but if he decides to become a Huskie, Rock certaintly looks forward to competing and winning championships together!

 

[DogMania]

Rakim brings alot to the game. Just because he is under the rader doesnt make him an awful player. He is one of the best in the state of Alabama and is projected to be one the best or THE best big man in Georgia this year. He is still young and raw but mad talented. I have no doubt that Coach Ollie, Ricky Moore and the rest of the staff will be able to mold him into the player that UCONN is known for... Don't right him off so quickly! Remember the best NBA player of all time was'nt good enough to play highschool ball!!! "MJ"

Thanks for responding to my questions, BBMom. I agree a 100%. Under-the-radar doesn't imply a recruit is a bad player. On the contrary, it means that he's a much better player than his ranking and perceived abilities dictate. UConn's three national championships were built on the backs of under-the-radar players. No one was better than Jim Calhoun at spotting these types of hidden gems and Kevin Ollie seems to have learned well from the master.

I think your son will turn out to be yet another Husky success story of an unheralded player to choose UConn who turns out to be special and out-performs many at his position that were more highly ranked.

I would not be shocked if Rakim ends up in the top 100 before it's all said and done after having a big time upcoming senior season. The combination of his choosing UConn and performing well on the court should have that effect. But even so, I would not be shocked if in the end he still out performs his final ranking. KO and his staff will coach him up to his full potential, which I think will be very high.

 

[DogMania]

You know you've got a keeper when they respond to a whole DogMania post!

You're all just jealous that you didn't think of asking some of those questions.

 

[DogMania]

He doesnt know him but if he decides to become a Huskie, Rock certaintly looks forward to competing and winning championships together!

That's great to know. Some recruits and their family get upset when a program recruits more than one player at their position, which IMO is shortsighted. It's good to have quality depth for the following reasons:

1. More talent you have the better the chances the team will win.
2. Provides better competition in practice that not only contributes to the team improvement but also individual improvement. There are a lot more practice minutes than game minutes. Having to constantly compete against a better or equally talented teammates should result in solid improvement compared to practicing against inferior competition.
3. Equally talented teammates tend to push each other even more. Coaches can only do so much to motivate their players, but when you add some healthy competition that is fostered by a family atmosphere, such as the one at UConn, it tends to excel development even more.
4. Teams that have a culture of healthy high level of competition tend to bring or even up that level of intensity when the lights shine most brightly during the real games.

I'm sure there are other benefits for embracing competition compared to running away from it, which unfortunately happens. You can be confident that KO will reward Rakim minutes according to how hard he plays and how quickly he learns. Rarely (more like never!) does one post player (4s & 5s) get all the minutes in a given game, especially one coached by KO. I'd be shocked if he doesn't rotate 4 to 5 bigs during most games, assuming all are D1 level game ready. So there will be plenty of minutes for Rakim, Kasongo (if he decides to take on the Husky challenge) and the returning bigs to develop their games, and if their abilities dictate such, showcase them for a future in the NBA or whatever level of professional hoops can be achieved.

The fact that Rakim looks forward to competing and winning championships with Kasongo, if he commits here as well, confirms that he is the type of recruit we want and will excel here.

 

[ctchamps]

Rakim brings alot to the game. Just because he is under the rader doesnt make him an awful player. He is one of the best in the state of Alabama and is projected to be one the best or THE best big man in Georgia this year. He is still young and raw but mad talented. I have no doubt that Coach Ollie, Ricky Moore and the rest of the staff will be able to mold him into the player that UCONN is known for... Don't right him off so quickly! Remember the best NBA player of all time was'nt good enough to play highschool ball!!! "MJ"

Welcome mom! I was one of the dudes that gave him props before your arrival! Now I have reservations! I might have undervalued him! If he has 1/10 the personality you demonstrate the kid will be a star!

 

[WestCoastHusky]

Welcome Basketballmom! It is great to have a player's mom being so passionate about basketball. Rakim made a great choice and he will be a great Husky. I have no doubt coach Ollie will get the best out of him once he is on campus. Also, he will get a great education at a great school. We all are looking forward to this new class of Huskies winning more championships at Storrs!

 

[Rico444]

He doesnt know him but if he decides to become a Huskie, Rock certaintly looks forward to competing and winning championships together!

Plenty of room in the frontcourt for two big dudes who can rebound, block shots, and put the ball in the basket.

 

[Tenspro2002]

No one was better than Jim Calhoun at spotting these types of hidden gems and Kevin Ollie seems to have learned well from the master.

I think (and hope) that you will be proven right, but to be intellectually honest, don't we have to see KO's recruits on the court before we can make this judgment? The 2013 class, and especially 2014 are the first true indications of KO's recruiting prowess, and they haven't even played a game yet.

 

[upstater]

I think (and hope) that you will be proven right, but to be intellectually honest, don't we have to see KO's recruits on the court before we can make this judgment? The 2013 class, and especially 2014 are the first true indications of KO's recruiting prowess, and they haven't even played a game yet.

Calhoun wasn't on the road spotting talent all the time. His assistants were out there a lot of the time. Karl Hobbs can certainly speak to what they used to look for. He was one of the big recruiters.

 

[DogMania]

Calhoun wasn't on the road spotting talent all the time. His assistants were out there a lot of the time. Karl Hobbs can certainly speak to what they used to look for. He was one of the big recruiters.

Spot on, upstater. And to add to that, KO has been recruiting since he arrived here and was the primary recruiter for some of the current players. I don't recall which ones. But recruiting is a collective staff thing since the head coach is often not the first one to spot these diamonds-in-the-rough. Though it's the head coach who ultimately gives the thumbs up if a scholarship is to be offered.

You do have a point, Tenspro, in that my point about KO having learned from the master will not be proven correct till we see how the most recent recruits turn out, especially the less heralded ones. What makes me chuckle a little bit about this is how JC, and KO to that matter, missed out on many of their Plan-A recruits before settling on the under-the-radar ones they got. Does that mean they just got lucky? My answer to that is all programs miss out on their share of Plan-A, Plan-B, etc. recruits. But not all coaches are good at scouting that next tier of recruits and choose wisely. UConn has won their share of NCs with players who were not on the radar during the summer or even the fall in some cases, beating teams such as Dook that had rosters full of their Plan-A recruits.

 

[Huskygamble19]

Late to the party basketball mom, but i too welcome you to the boneyard with all our different personalities you will, mostly enjoy conversing with. glad to have rock on board with the group. Looks like we will have an awesome team to look forward to and I know your son will be a big part of it.

 

[zymurg]

"Luck is the residue of design" to that I would add intelligence and hard work. Sometimes your good fortune is due to other's mistakes.
Okafor played for Josh Pastner's father's AAU club; there was some friction there. Okafor looked hard at Stanford, but for some reason
they weren't that interested. Houston at that time was an open recruiting area. UConn got a foothold in the Metro area at Strake Jesuit.
There was a top guard UConn was interested in. The second choice was a near top 50 player who UConn got; he was a bust. However, while on the recruiting trips the only member of Perno's staff retained by Calhoun noticed an unheralded big man who had never scored 20 points in a game at any level. Jake Voskhul was a real find. The top 50 kid failed at UConn; and later failed at Vanderbilt. He ended up at an NAIA school.

During his first iteration as a UConn assistant, a current UConn assistant, was tasked with watching Taliek Brown all over the country. Taliek played AAU ball in Houston, not for the Pastner team. So UConn had a little some purchase in the Houston area.
There was a more promising big in the Houston area, who ended up at Baylor in the greatest trainwreck in college basketball history.
He later transferred to Mississippi State where he was a top player, second team All American.

Okafor blew up his senior year; it was down to UConn and Vanderbilt. For some reason the Vandy visit didn't go particularly well.
Several UConn staff members convinced Calhoun to watch Okafor in an all star game in Pittsburg. He met Calhoun's eye test. Coach Calhoun could be quite effective with certain types of parents; he sold the family on UConn's ability to provide Emeka with a quality education.

Actually there is more to this one story than I am telling here, but Okafor was a major success beginning in his first game at UConn.
Is it serendipitous that what limited Okafor in the NBA has been his back problems. Don't get me started on Calhoun's relations with
AAU programs; UConn the premier New England college program during Calhoun's tenure wasn't able to get a single recruit from BABC until Jeff Adrien.

Okafor's recruitment started with Calhoun's decision to retain Howie Dikerman as an assistant.

 

[DogMania]

"Luck is the residue of design" to that I would add intelligence and hard work. Sometimes your good fortune is due to other's mistakes.
Okafor played for Josh Pastner's father's AAU club; there was some friction there. Okafor looked hard at Stanford, but for some reason
they weren't that interested. Houston at that time was an open recruiting area. UConn got a foothold in the Metro area at Strake Jesuit.
There was a top guard UConn was interested in. The second choice was a near top 50 player who UConn got; he was a bust. However, while on the recruiting trips the only member of Perno's staff retained by Calhoun noticed an unheralded big man who had never scored 20 points in a game at any level. Jake Voskhul was a real find. The top 50 kid failed at UConn; and later failed at Vanderbilt. He ended up at an NAIA school.

During his first iteration as a UConn assistant, a current UConn assistant, was tasked with watching Taliek Brown all over the country. Taliek played AAU ball in Houston, not for the Pastner team. So UConn had a little some purchase in the Houston area.
There was a more promising big in the Houston area, who ended up at Baylor in the greatest trainwreck in college basketball history.
He later transferred to Mississippi State where he was a top player, second team All American.

Okafor blew up his senior year; it was down to UConn and Vanderbilt. For some reason the Vandy visit didn't go particularly well.
Several UConn staff members convinced Calhoun to watch Okafor in an all star game in Pittsburg. He met Calhoun's eye test. Coach Calhoun could be quite effective with certain types of parents; he sold the family on UConn's ability to provide Emeka with a quality education.

Actually there is more to this one story than I am telling here, but Okafor was a major success beginning in his first game at UConn.
Is it serendipitous that what limited Okafor in the NBA has been his back problems. Don't get me started on Calhoun's relations with
AAU programs; UConn the premier New England college program during Calhoun's tenure wasn't able to get a single recruit from BABC until Jeff Adrien.

Okafor's recruitment started with Calhoun's decision to retain Howie Dikerman as an assistant.

Zy, you seemed all over the place with this one. I struggled to follow some of this. You noted that Taliek played for some Houston AAU. Is that right?!?! TB was from NYC and I thought he played for one of the NYC AAU programs.

Exactly what was your point? Is it that JC was not a great recruiter and just a product of good luck?

 

[James]

For him to be one of the best big men in GA, that would mean he's got game; slough of talented big men scattered around Georgia. Wonder if he'll get a chance to show out against them.

 

[zymurg]

I think I just lost a reply to DM.

Let me review; as in life there are multiple points. Point one: Because JC made the correct decision to retain Howie; UConn was able to make inroads in a talent rich open area. Howie not only recruited Jake; he opened a UConn presence in the area. Point two: Partly because of the imploding of the very successful NYC AAU situation and a former NBA player an uncle I believe; Taliek spent a summer living in Houston and playing AAU ball. Point three: That brought UConn back into the area in a big way. Point four: Being on the scene and knowing some people in the Houston area made it relatively easy to keep up to date. Point four: Despite being better placed than normally; Okafor wasn't even the first local big man choice.

Finally, when JC was confronted with Okafor at that All Star game; he moved really quickly and he sold the hell out of the Okafor family.

The imploding AAU situation played a major role in three key players' recruiting: Taliek Brown, Emeka Okafor, and Ben Gordon. JC was on the outs with almost all the traditional AAU power brokers, for once this was actually kind of an advantage. Remember that JC was chasing Cal big men (Sampson and one other) the year Okafor was recruited. He was using connections dating back to Ollie's recruitment. JC had a long memory and kept up with a lot of people; the Rudy Gay recruitment is an example of this paying off. California didn't pay off for all the time put in, but Ollie had a relationship with the Hamilton's. So who knows for the future.

Unexpected successes sometime depend upon a thin string of coincidences. In the long run hard workers with eyes for talent who can establish relationships generally will do pretty well. Short term success is good, but long term success is the product of design. Still never underestimate the ability of your competitors to screw up.

 

[DogMania]

I think I just lost a reply to DM.

Let me review; as in life there are multiple points. Point one: Because JC made the correct decision to retain Howie; UConn was able to make inroads in a talent rich open area. Howie not only recruited Jake; he opened a UConn presence in the area. Point two: Partly because of the imploding of the very successful NYC AAU situation and a former NBA player an uncle I believe; Taliek spent a summer living in Houston and playing AAU ball. Point three: That brought UConn back into the area in a big way. Point four: Being on the scene and knowing some people in the Houston area made it relatively easy to keep up to date. Point four: Despite being better placed than normally; Okafor wasn't even the first local big man choice.

Finally, when JC was confronted with Okafor at that All Star game; he moved really quickly and he sold the hell out of the Okafor family.

The imploding AAU situation played a major role in three key players' recruiting: Taliek Brown, Emeka Okafor, and Ben Gordon. JC was on the outs with almost all the traditional AAU power brokers, for once this was actually kind of an advantage. Remember that JC was chasing Cal big men (Sampson and one other) the year Okafor was recruited. He was using connections dating back to Ollie's recruitment. JC had a long memory and kept up with a lot of people; the Rudy Gay recruitment is an example of this paying off. California didn't pay off for all the time put in, but Ollie had a relationship with the Hamilton's. So who knows for the future.

Unexpected successes sometime depend upon a thin string of coincidences. In the long run hard workers with eyes for talent who can establish relationships generally will do pretty well. Short term success is good, but long term success is the product of design. Still never underestimate the ability of your competitors to screw up.

Now I follow you. By the way, the other Big JC missed on after Sampson was Fox. I don't think I ever knew that Taliek played AAU ball in Houston.

 

[upstater]

I think I just lost a reply to DM.

Let me review; as in life there are multiple points. Point one: Because JC made the correct decision to retain Howie; UConn was able to make inroads in a talent rich open area. Howie not only recruited Jake; he opened a UConn presence in the area. Point two: Partly because of the imploding of the very successful NYC AAU situation and a former NBA player an uncle I believe; Taliek spent a summer living in Houston and playing AAU ball. Point three: That brought UConn back into the area in a big way. Point four: Being on the scene and knowing some people in the Houston area made it relatively easy to keep up to date. Point four: Despite being better placed than normally; Okafor wasn't even the first local big man choice.

Finally, when JC was confronted with Okafor at that All Star game; he moved really quickly and he sold the hell out of the Okafor family.

The imploding AAU situation played a major role in three key players' recruiting: Taliek Brown, Emeka Okafor, and Ben Gordon. JC was on the outs with almost all the traditional AAU power brokers, for once this was actually kind of an advantage. Remember that JC was chasing Cal big men (Sampson and one other) the year Okafor was recruited. He was using connections dating back to Ollie's recruitment. JC had a long memory and kept up with a lot of people; the Rudy Gay recruitment is an example of this paying off. California didn't pay off for all the time put in, but Ollie had a relationship with the Hamilton's. So who knows for the future.

Unexpected successes sometime depend upon a thin string of coincidences. In the long run hard workers with eyes for talent who can establish relationships generally will do pretty well. Short term success is good, but long term success is the product of design. Still never underestimate the ability of your competitors to screw up.

Fantastic post.

 

[mauconnfan]

Zy, you seemed all over the place with this one. I struggled to follow some of this. You noted that Taliek played for some Houston AAU. Is that right?!?! TB was from NYC and I thought he played for one of the NYC AAU programs.

Exactly what was your point? Is it that JC was not a great recruiter and just a product of good luck?

It's just a bit weird to me that a man of a million words would tell someone they're "all over the place"!!