Recruiting Boost?

[jibsey]

This tweet by Fonta is recruiting gold and I am blown away by the great Ray Allen response.

Do we have a better and more articulate rep for choosing UCONN than Ray Allen? Let me answer that. No.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Do we have a better and more articulate rep for choosing UCONN than Ray Allen? Let me answer that. No.

You're probably right, though I would expect Emeka could do a good job as well.

 

[superjohn]

This tweet by Fonta is recruiting gold and I am blown away by the great Ray Allen response.

That's maybe the greatest endorsement for UConn basketball I've ever heard and it took him 1 minute to succinctly explain it.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I think Hurley will take stock of what he has and recruit from there. He has often talked about having Sanogo and how he need shooters around him. He went into the transfer portal got some to go along with Hawkins and got Karaban who can stretch you at the four. He now can say, "Look what happens when I get the guys I want and they are willing to buy and work hard. Are you willing to work hard because we can do great things together." I think it's very much the same approach JC took once he started building the program.

Also, Hurley's post game interviews and interactions with people had to impress a lot of recruits. I think another way he is like JC is that he tells like it is. He doesn't go out of his way to blow sunshine up someone's ... and has a plan in place for them. He told Hawkins he had a two year to plan to get him to be a 1st rounder and that in return he'd get a run at a NC as coach. Both reaped the rewards from Hawkins trust in him and vice versa.

 

[jibsey]

Whoever we get, Sanogo is not easily replaced. Who helps out Clingan that gives us Sanogo like quality?

 

[Greg]

I'm sure it will help recruiting but unlike in the past, NIL will still be a huge factor as well. We need to be able to compete in that area at least to some degree.

I think NIL is the biggest difference maker. I wonder if a school with a plethora of wealthy alums like Notre Dame will become a big time player again. It is hard to beat a top 5 class. The trick at the highest level is to keep reloading each year as you get so many 1 and done players. They either play professionally or leave for a bigger bag or more playing time.

 

[Sportsfan71]

Absolutely. KO's undoing was not capitalizing on the recruiting trail after the 2014 title. I still find that mind-boggling. Some of the recruits he brought in were mid-major talent at best. I'm confident that won't happen to Hurley.

Really think it was more to do with recruiting to be in the AAC..

 

[UCTitleTown]

Really think it was more to do with recruiting to be in the AAC..

Other schools like SMU and Houston didn't have that problem. When UConn moved to the AAC, most expected us to dominate a one or two team league and we never did. I'm sure we never finished first in the regular season and I don't think we won the AAC tournament either under KO's watch.

 

[storrsroars]

Much as I hate to quote Seth Greenberg, he made an excellent point last night.

"UConn doesn't just gather top players. They gather players to make a team."

Today he expounded on that idea with Dan Patrick. Worth a listen on why we're not like other blue bloods.

 

[UConnJim]

To be fair, he capitalized on it for one cycle, then completely coasted for the rest of eternity. But I get your point.

This is just wrong. You can say that Ollie's recruits didn't pan out, but look at the 2 classes after the championship based on recruiting rankings:

2015: Jalen Adams #23, Steven Enoch #84

2016: Alterique Gilbert #32, Juwan Durham #50, Vance Jackson. #77, Mamadou Diarra #126, Christian Vital #166

And, Ollie's class in 2014 had Daniel Hamilton #17 and Sam Cassell Jr. #18 JUCO

On paper, UConn was recruiting well under Ollie, but some of the players had injury issues and some players were not happy with their roles. Add in his divorce and pushing away Calhoun and the program collapsed symbolized by the 2017 recruiting class.

 

[caw]

This is just wrong. You can say that Ollie's recruits didn't pan out, but look at the 2 classes after the championship based on recruiting rankings:

2015: Jalen Adams #23, Steven Enoch #84

2016: Alterique Gilbert #32, Juwan Durham #50, Vance Jackson. #77, Mamadou Diarra #126, Christian Vital #166

And, Ollie's class in 2014 had Daniel Hamilton #17 and Sam Cassell Jr. #18 JUCO

On paper, UConn was recruiting well under Ollie, but some of the players had injury issues and some players were not happy with their roles. Add in his divorce and pushing away Calhoun and the program collapsed symbolized by the 2017 recruiting class.

It wasn't even bad roster construction those two years, not perfect but workable. And man 2016 had three guys injured off the bat and not small injuries, but season/career ending ones.

 

[HooperScooper]

That's maybe the greatest endorsement for UConn basketball I've ever heard and it took him 1 minute to succinctly explain it.

I remember Ben Gordon saying something similar.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I'm sure the NC will help, but as far as I can tell Dan Hurley doesn't need much help. He's been doing great.

 

[3rdbass]

Other schools like SMU and Houston didn't have that problem. When UConn moved to the AAC, most expected us to dominate a one or two team league and we never did. I'm sure we never finished first in the regular season and I don't think we won the AAC tournament either under KO's watch.

I guess you were asleep during the Jalen Adam's shot? LOL! We won an AAC tournament. How could you forget that? I guess you just wanted to forget all the Ollie years after the 2014 Championship.

 

[UCTitleTown]

I guess you were asleep during the Jalen Adam's shot? LOL! We won an AAC tournament. How could you forget that? I guess you just wanted to forget all the Ollie years after the 2014 Championship.

That's why I said "I think"..... I wasn't sure and was too lazy to check. Regardless, we didn't dominate the AAC the way most expected we would.

 

[Waquoit]

Boogie Fland come on down

Ain't no doubt, we are here to party!

 

[Waquoit]

When Hurley came in, it didn't seem like he wasted his time with reaches. He went after realistic targets that fit the project. And every year since, it seems he set his sights just a bit higher while continuing the success. I'm feeling that now, anyone he's interested will at least pick up the phone.

 

[Mike Honcho]

When Hurley came in, it didn't seem like he wasted his time with reaches. He went after realistic targets that fit the project. And every year since, it seems he set his sights just a bit higher while continuing the success. I'm feeling that now, anyone he's interested will at least pick up the phone.

Yea, we just became relevant to a whole new generation of young basketball players. They may not remember Shabazz and his run (rising HS juniors would have been 7-8 at the time) but they certainly know Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, and Adama Sanogo. To say nothing of the validation that this provides coach, as you allude to.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

We won an AAC tournament. How could you forget that? I guess you just wanted to forget all the Ollie years after the 2014 Championship

I definitely want to forget the AAC/Ollie post 2014 title years.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Yea, we just became relevant to a whole new generation of young basketball players. They may not remember Shabazz and his run (rising HS juniors would have been 7-8 at the time) but they certainly know Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, and Adama Sanogo. To say nothing of the validation that this provides coach, as you allude to.

Yeah, 4-5 years back seems to be the attention span of most recruits. Beyond that it's pretty irrelevant. That's why we can't run hot or cold if we want to maintainour success. Like some "experts" said, we win it and then go cold (KO years and no tourney wins since 2016) while some other programs are consistently ranked high every year and go further in the tournament. We need more consistency going forward. With that said, the commentators praised and were blown away by our 5 for 5 record in title games.

 

[ConnEd]

Hurley and the staff just earned enormous credibility when they are recruiting, whether from HS or the portal. They had a plan, recruited to it, and executed. When he tells players that they can come to UConn and play on the biggest stage for championships, they have the proof that it can happen. He did great without it, but more doors will be open and more players receptive.

 

[BGesus4]

Hurley and the staff just earned enormous credibility when they are recruiting, whether from HS or the portal. They had a plan, recruited to it, and executed. When he tells players that they can come to UConn and play on the biggest stage for championships, they have the proof that it can happen. He did great without it, but more doors will be open and more players receptive.

Not to mention the player development track record they’ve built

 

[seeya27]

Other schools like SMU and Houston didn't have that problem. When UConn moved to the AAC, most expected us to dominate a one or two team league and we never did. I'm sure we never finished first in the regular season and I don't think we won the AAC tournament either under KO's watch.

UConn is a Northeastern school that recruits Northeastern kids. And those kids didn't see the rivalries (East Carolina, Tulsa, SMU, Tulane) as exciting. Plus their parents couldn't drive to see those games.

We struggled to recruit out of the AAC. Put the Big East label on our back again...and the players were magnetically drawn back.

It's true that other schools (Houston, notably) did recruit well, but it was in their backyard. As the NE outpost, the AAC just wasn't a fit. Our only true close geographical rivals were Cincinnati and Temple, and those did nothing to inspire.

It may not be the answer that people like, but it's the truth/fact.

 

[seeya27]

Hurley and the staff just earned enormous credibility when they are recruiting, whether from HS or the portal. They had a plan, recruited to it, and executed. When he tells players that they can come to UConn and play on the biggest stage for championships, they have the proof that it can happen. He did great without it, but more doors will be open and more players receptive.

Exactly. I was writing to a Syracuse friend of mine. I told him their new coach needs to adapt the Hurley method:

• Establish a recruiting strategy and geographical strategy
• Bring on Assistants who have strong relationships in those geographies
• After that...good luck LOL

 

[Waquoit]

Hurley and the staff just earned enormous credibility when they are recruiting, whether from HS or the portal. They had a plan, recruited to it, and executed. When he tells players that they can come to UConn and play on the biggest stage for championships, they have the proof that it can happen. He did great without it, but more doors will be open and more players receptive.

I read a few quotes on the Kentucky board lamenting the fact that UConn is the new "it" school.