That's certainly a part of it, although UConn's rep is much better now among CT high school kids and parents than it was back when he was here before.
There is a massive trend in New England area kids going to southern and midwestern public schools. I know kids near me in the Boston suburbs who had only ACC and SEC schools on their list. It's a general trend, aside from athletes.
That said: As someone who went to Kansas for law school and saw Nebraska and Oklahoma games, if I was a football player, I wouldn't go to UConn over almost any P5 school. Those places just appreciate college football to a much greater extent.