Rakim Lubin Has Signed!!!!

[UConn Dan]

Can't wait to see him in action! Hey, has anyone seen Mama Lubin around? I know that she was posting on the board a while ago, but I forgot what her "handle" was. Anyhoo, welcome to the entire Lubin family from Husky Nation...

haven't seen around her since he verbaled. Her handle was momma rock I think

 

[UCweCONN]

Welcome Rock!

Rock's signing very important now with DD declaring. He will probably back up Facey at the 4.

I expect the minutes at the 4 to be as follows:
~25 min of Facey
~10-15 min of Lubin
~5 mins or less of small ball with one of our guards (D-Ham/Omar) sliding to the 4 but obviously not playing as a traditional PF.

I don't understand all of the recent posts talking about the big role Facey will have next season. Facey barely played this season so why the high confidence that he will play a big role next season? I could just as easily see Lubin getting 25 minutes a game as I can Facey.

 

[Fishy]

I'd be shocked if either Facey or Lubin was anything but a 10-12 minute a game player - maybe less so with Facey.

He's had a year in the program while Lubin definitely needs some time. Conditioning will be a bit of an issue there - the kid is strong, but he's not ready to run UConn-style. (He's also going to find himself stuffed around the rim until he sorts things out.)

 

[UChusky916]

I'd be shocked if either Facey or Lubin was anything but a 10-12 minute a game player - maybe less so with Facey.

He's had a year in the program while Lubin definitely needs some time. Conditioning will be a bit of an issue there - the kid is strong, but he's not ready to run UConn-style. (He's also going to find himself stuffed around the rim until he sorts things out.)

So then who's manning the 4? You see a transfer coming in?

 

[noeynox]

Someone has to get minutes at the four, no? I doubt we see too much of Nolan and Brimah together. Facey looked like an athletic 6'9" kid that needs some strength and added weight. This year in limited, very limited minutes, we saw him catch an alley, hit a three, and show a serious knack for rebounding. Could see him averaging 8, and 5, with extended time while blocking some shots and sliding over to the five if the other two get in foul trouble.

 

[UChusky916]

Someone has to get minutes at the four, no? I doubt we see too much of Nolan and Brimah together. Facey looked like an athletic 6'9" kid that needs some strength and added weight. This year in limited, very limited minutes, we saw him catch an alley, hit a three, and show a serious knack for rebounding. Could see him averaging 8, and 5, with extended time while blocking some shots and sliding over to the five if the other two get in foul trouble.

Agreed. Not sure why people are doubting Facey. He's got the leg up on Lubin. KO kept talking him up last year and mentioned 'unleashing' him. The minutes simply weren't there because DD was so important. The only difference between Facey and T-Sam were that T-Sam had the opportunity to shine. Facey will next year.

 

[Fishy]

So then who's manning the 4? You see a transfer coming in?

The one thing we've learned about Ollie is that you might get a different answer every night.

I suspect we'll see Lubin, Facey, Nolan, four guards, etc., etc. And maybe even a 5th year transfer.

 

[Huskyforlife]

If facey can hit the outside shot, he could be just like Daniels. But a better rebounder

 

[Bakersman]

Rakim Lubin size will cause problems for lighter in the ass guys and his athleticism will surprise

 

[Geno-ista]

OK. Either KO is recruiting them or these devout kids are attracted to KO.

Do you guys realize just how devout a Christian KO is? LeBron talks about it. I heard Kevin Durant's testimony re KO while in Tulsa Ok last Thanksgiving. Do you guys want me to "enlighten"you?

 

[Geno-ista]

That I doubt. However, when talking with recruits a bunch of them are very religious. I know Will Jackson is.

KO is a fanatically devout Christian. The entire NBA knows it. And you can not find anyone in the NBA that doesn't respect him and think that he is one of the most special people they have ever met. Most teams wanted him to help lift their locker room and players with a real role model. It was as important to the coaches/mgmt as was his ability on the court. Cleaved and Oklahoma acquired him to mentor LeBron and Durant. I have more if u want it.

 

[tcf15]

KO is a fanatically devout Christian. The entire NBA knows it. And you can not find anyone in the NBA that doesn't respect him and think that he is one of the most special people they have ever met. Most teams wanted him to help lift their locker room and players with a real role model. It was as important to the coaches/mgmt as was his ability on the court. Cleaved and Oklahoma acquired him to mentor LeBron and Durant. I have more if u want it.

He's not doubting KO's devoutness. Just doubting that KO is targeting only devout recruits, which was the original question. Let's steer this thread back in the right direction.

 

[Dove]

He's not doubting KO's devoutness. Just doubting that KO is targeting only devout recruits. Let's steer this thread back in the right direction.

Yes, let's steer it toward the white light, please.

 

[uconnng8]

I wouldn't say Ollie targets devout kids specifically... one would just think kids with strong religious families would be really attracted to him.

 

[Geno-ista]

He's not doubting KO's devoutness. Just doubting that KO is targeting only devout recruits, which was the original question. Let's steer this thread back in the right direction.

Sorry- what I think may be happening is that a lot of players of faith may start targeting UC& KO! I didn't know if u guys really knew much about KO and his faith.
Thks for RSVP!

 

[ColoradoUCFan]

Do you guys realize just how devout a Christian KO is? LeBron talks about it. I heard Kevin Durant's testimony re KO while in Tulsa Ok last Thanksgiving. Do you guys want me to "enlighten"you?

um yes. I brought it up

 

[Fishy]

Going back to the old Blue and White/Scout/Rivals/ABCD/recruiting nitwit days, I was always struck that the players tended to skew towards being more religious. I never put a lot of thought into why, but I always admired the passion they had for it.

But, specifically relating to Kevin Ollie, it would stand to reason that a more religious kid and his family might be drawn to him. I know that the three kids coming in this year are similarly inclined.

 

[DogMania]

I believe he plays with his right. A lot of guys write with their left and play with their right. Ex. LeBron, Gary Payton, etc.

Maybe he's pulling a Princess Bridge move. "I am not left-handed"

 

[uconnbill]

Going back to the old Blue and White/Scout/Rivals/ABCD/recruiting nitwit days, I was always struck that the players tended to skew towards being more religious. I never put a lot of thought into why, but I always admired the passion they had for it.

But, specifically relating to Kevin Ollie, it would stand to reason that a more religious kid and his family might be drawn to him. I know that the three kids coming in this year are similarly inclined.

I know that is why Parker gave him a look last year and an in home visit.

I think he wants players with high character which is good for UCONN

 

[DogMania]

The one thing we've learned about Ollie is that you might get a different answer every night.

I suspect we'll see Lubin, Facey, Nolan, four guards, etc., etc. And maybe even a 5th year transfer.

Since the team's strength lies in the slew of combo guards (Boat, Purvis, Hamilton, Calhoun, TSam and Cassell), many of them with good size, there's a good chance that there will be a lot of 3 or even 4 guard line-ups. I think some of the bigs will come along slowly, but will hopefully hit their stride come March.

I think this team is going to be a tough out, come March. Since I, and I suspect the rest of you, didn't expect the 2011 and 2014 teams to be the last team's standing, I'm not about to count this group out. I'm just going to enjoy the ride. Should be an exciting 2014/15 season. First night can't come soon enough!

 

[DogMania]

Going back to the old Blue and White/Scout/Rivals/ABCD/recruiting nitwit days, I was always struck that the players tended to skew towards being more religious. I never put a lot of thought into why, but I always admired the passion they had for it.

But, specifically relating to Kevin Ollie, it would stand to reason that a more religious kid and his family might be drawn to him. I know that the three kids coming in this year are similarly inclined.

I'm not surprised by this. I think although most who frequent the Yard have heard in some way or another that KO is person of faith, I don't think many realize how powerful that draw is for both recruits and their parents. Coaches have to walk a fine line when it comes to their influencing their players spiritually, but there are a lot of devote Christian kids and parents who place high marks for a coach that can mentor them or their child spiritually as well as athletically. I don't know how many successful coaches fall into that category, but KO has a lot going for him right now. He's such a role model on so many levels. He's proved he's a great coach. He relates to players and parent quite well. He's subtle with his Christianity publicly...though I'm sure not subtle enough for some fans. He always talks up the academic aspect of the student athlete, stressing how important most get their degree. I'm beginning to be sold on the fact that even though we're stuck in the AAC for now, KO is going to kill it on the recruiting trail. Can you imagine if we were in one of the big-5?

Now I don't think KO is recruiting only the devote Christian recruits. If anything, those type of kids are likely drawn to him and initiating with UConn. I'm sure KO's faith alone is not going to draw players to UConn, but it's sure going to help. Being someone who shares the same beliefs as KO, I'm not expecting nor do I think it's a good thing to only recruit these types of kids. I do want KO to bring in good character kids, but always like the idea of recruiting a few who might have made some bad decisions in their lives but have shown they've begun to turn things around. Caron Butler is one who comes to mind that fits that description. You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer guy in the NBA. I think the formula for success under KO will be recruiting high character, tough minded, talented ballers who collectively have the right chemistry to play at a high level together. I guess we'll see how this works over the next few years. KO won with a bunch of JC recruits, though he probably had his hand with some of them even as an assistant under JC.

 

[Strummer]

2 thoughts.

1. I never understood comments such as, "who will play the 4"? I think it's an oddly restrictive question. What is this theoretical "4"? I saw Niels Giffey playing the "5" at points down the stretch. Is that a metaphysical possibility? Point is, I don't see the numbers 1-5 mattering too much. When KO wants Facey to play, Facey will play. We had a skinny front court this past NC year and not one big man for the other team won the game for them with a dominating performance. The only team that ate our lunch did it with guard play.

2. "The thought that Facey won't likely see a good amount of time in is sophomore season because he hardly played in his freshman season is predicated on a false notion that the former instructs the latter." - Deandre Daniels.

 

[August_West]

2 thoughts. 1. I never understood comments such as, "who will play the 4"? I think it's an oddly restrictive question. What is this theoretical "4"? I saw Niels Giffey playing the "5" at points down the stretch. Is that a metaphysical possibility? Point is, I don't see the numbers 1-5 mattering too much. When KO wants Facey to play, Facey will play. We had a skinny front court this past NC year and not one big man for the other team won the game for them with a dominating performance. The only team that ate our lunch did it with guard play. 2. "The thought that Facey won't likely see a good amount of time in is sophomore season because he hardly played in his freshman season is predicated on a false notion that the former instructs the latter." - Deandre Daniels.

Harrell ate our lunch, 3 times

 

[noeynox]

2 thoughts.

1. I never understood comments such as, "who will play the 4"? I think it's an oddly restrictive question. What is this theoretical "4"? I saw Niels Giffey playing the "5" at points down the stretch. Is that a metaphysical possibility? Point is, I don't see the numbers 1-5 mattering too much. When KO wants Facey to play, Facey will play. We had a skinny front court this past NC year and not one big man for the other team won the game for them with a dominating performance. The only team that ate our lunch did it with guard play.

2. "The thought that Facey won't likely see a good amount of time in is sophomore season because he hardly played in his freshman season is predicated on a false notion that the former instructs the latter." - Deandre Daniels.

I don't know Montrezl Harrell ate more than our lunch. The SMU big men also played well against our bigs. They just both happen to have good enough guards to neutralize our strength.

 

[noeynox]

I know that is why Parker gave him a look last year and an in home visit.

I think he wants players with high character which is good for UCONN

I think in some way, it is strategic, in that if you can get a kid who buys into religion/believing in something greater/bigger than himself, well that type of kid might buy into the team concept, i.e, the team is greater than the individual, IMO.