Recruiting has to get better

[MadDogRevival]

Quite frankly it’s a miracle KO gets the players he does.

It really is. It's so bad, I actively try not to think about it.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah . Come play for UConn , in the juggernaut AAC in front of 5134 in the XL center. Quite frankly it’s a miracle KO gets the players he does.

If it's a miracle we can attract 3 stars and 4 stars it might be time to fold it up. Once the fan base no longer has expectations of being a national player the program is farked.

 

[superjohn]

Look - we agree that, fundamentally, everything begins with recruiting. So we'll root together for landing top players in the next 12 months.
My point is really that discussing recruiting after a loss to the 4th best team in the country, by rankings, is counter productive. That's all.

I love this team. I haven't rooted for a UConn team this much in 3 years. I could give two tinkers woof woof about our recruiting right now. Just happy that we gave them heckfire for a half, and did reasonably well. Last year, this would have been over at the 10 minute mark. Not exaggerating.
I'm having fun as a fan. Great team. Easy loss to absorb. We were not embarrassed. We were simply overmatched. No shame in that.

I love the team as well just have to point out the obvious that recruiting needs to go to another level if we want to compete with and beat the top teams. We have all sorts of posters saying we went toe to toe with MSU and a bounce here and a call there and the result could have been different. The reality is we has three guys that belonged out there against that team.

We agree, there are a lot of posters who don't.

 

[August_West]

If it's a miracle we can attract 3 stars and 4 stars it might be time to fold it up. Once the fan base no longer has expectations of being a national player the program is farked.

We are not putting any 3 stars on the floor usually. Not for big minutes. Adams, Gilbert ( mcd) Carlton Polley and Larrier aren’t 3 stars

 

[August_West]

We are not putting any 3 stars on the floor usually. Not for big minutes. Adams, Gilbert ( mcd) Carlton Polley and Larrier aren’t 3 stars

Well maybe Polley is

 

[superjohn]

We are not putting any 3 stars on the floor usually. Not for big minutes. Adams, Gilbert ( mcd) Carlton Polley and Larrier aren’t 3 stars

Josh Carlton, Connecticut, Small Forward

Tyler Polley, Connecticut, Power Forward

And Dave O and Anderson weren't even ranked.

That's why I keep saying the only ones who belonged on the court were our three big time recruits.

 

[August_West]

Josh Carlton, Connecticut, Small Forward

Tyler Polley, Connecticut, Power Forward

And Dave O and Anderson weren't even ranked.

That's why I keep saying the only ones who belonged on the court were our three big time recruits.

You don’t call graduate transfers on recruiting stars.

Anderson is a nice piece for this team.

 

[superjohn]

You don’t call graduate transfers on recruiting stars.

Anderson is a nice piece for this team.

Outside of our big three, the whole team is 3 stars.

 

[TitleTown]

A game like this just reinforces that we need better players. Granted MSU is most likely a top 5 team but there is such a clear disparity in size and talent from top to bottom. Our three big time recruits are our only players who look like they belong against this type of opponent. I think Ollie has a better handle on recruiting and what he needs right now but we simply need to land some studs, he has to break through with a couple of big timers.

What big time bigs are going to want to UConn and run iso sets for the guards 98% of the time? While I agree there was a big talent discrepancy tonight, that was not the main problem. UConn's lack of anything even resembling an offense is embarrassing on so many levels!

 

[willie99]

We've been recruiting better players, some are two weeks into their collegiate careers and some are still in high school

We all acknowledge last year was a disaster, and we all should acknowledge that's not going to be fixed in 6 or 7 months

Although we've obviously made significant progress in that short time frame, we should be happy with the progress and enjoy the ride

 

[jimva]

All I think we need is time for these kids to grow. By end of December they should be fine.

6 months ago we had a train wreck
2 months ago Providence embarrassed us
2 days ago we beat Oregon
Last night we played a more mature MS team tough for the first period and a half.

I like the way these kids play and if everyone stays healthy think they can make a sweet 16 run

 

[polycom]

Reaction posts run rampant I see this morning

 

[Huskymagic]

I don't know how anyone can take a look at yesterday's game and not agree with Johns assessment. Other than our 3 top 50 players coming out of high school, everyone else on our roster looked overwhelmed.

This small lineup will not work against good teams as Michigan St showed. They will get overpowered and outclassed.

The reason Gonzaga has been good for so long is because they have high caliber big men every year in addition to decent guards.

PS: Games like this is where we miss Brimah. Our team this year would be even better if we still had Brimah.

Ollie needs to follow Calhouns recruiting model. We need more imposing big guys. The 2012 team was the last imposing UCONN team.

 

[UConn990411]

I think they've started to address recruiting, but it's going to take time to fill the talent gap left from the past couple classes.

Player development worries me more. They just don't seem to get the most out of the talent they have on their roster.

 

[uconnbill]

Experience matters and Mich St has tons of it and is one of the favorites to win it all.
UConn needs more experience playing together. Some of these players are pieces and shouldn't be expected to do much more than that. The big three are the ones who will carry the team going forward and the team will only go as far as they carry them

 

[G0UCONN]

I've seen a bunch of people here say we are fine in terms of recruiting and they would take a whole team of Polley's, Carlton's, and Akinjo's and take our chances against anyone in the future. Many of the guys we have recruited the past couple of years can be nice complimentary pieces but that's just what they are, players who are supposed to compliment your stud players. We need more stud players and less complimentary guys.

True. It really is an easy thing. Count the NBA players. We have none. Great teams have at least 2, usually 3 with possibly more....

 

[Blaneylover]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, recruiting has to be reimagined in the AAC era. Long Gone are the days where HCJC would be able to call players on the phone and sell Uconn as an opportunity to play against the nation's best players in it's best conference. Also long gone are the days were HCJC would sell Uconn as a chance to play for a National Championship, year in and year out.

So far, kids haven't really been drawn to the AAC. With that being said, there have been improvements in recruiting this year. With Cinn and WSU being sure tourney teams, SMU being a likely tourney team again this year and with UCF and UConn showing improvement, the AAC's reputation amongst hs players may improve. Time will tell.

 

[SixRings]

I’m hazy this morning because I stayed up past my bedtime but I see both sides. It’s clear we need to recruit better players because we are not a top 5 team. MSU proved that last night. On the other side I like our bigs that we’ve recruited but they are so young right now I don’t feel they be asked to hang with a team like MSU. I feel they will get bigger, stronger and better and bring with them some momentum with recruiting. I am tired but I was okay with last night. Don’t piss on me for settling either. As a AAC member we aren’t getting NBA ready recruits like MSU. We need time to build them. We also need time to recover from the funk KO put us in while he was learning and getting over his personal matters. I am happy with his performance this year.

 

[JellyBean]

Recruiting is fine.

 

[Rico444]

This program hasn't brought in a big man that made a difference his freshman year since Drummond, and before that it was Josh Boone. We haven't been that program since the mid-2000s. Carlton can be a good big, but he's not ready yet. Our recruiting hasn't been great the past few years, but seems to have gotten back on track with this class. I wouldn't hold your breath on Ollie bringing in any top 10 big men anytime soon. We can still have success without doing that...we just don't have a bridge to when Carlton or Whaley will be ready to take over.

 

[upstater]

True. It really is an easy thing. Count the NBA players. We have none. Great teams have at least 2, usually 3 with possibly more....

Too early to say Larrier and Adams will not make the NBA.

As of now, you're right, but it's a long season. They have the ability to make it. Right now, Purvis is scoring 23 a night in the G-League, and Hamilton just got called up and he's scoring even less.

Also, remember, the 2014 NCAA champs had only Shabazz.

I do agree with the idea that after Larrier and Adams leave, the team is going to need at least one stud top 25 kid to compete. With Gilbert and a Polley transformation, that should be enough to have them playing at the highest level of the bigs develop.

They still need a guy whose scoring talents are difficult to lock down. He is not on the team yet--that is for certain.

 

[Dove]

To be fair this is one of most loaded teams Izzo has ever had in terms of stud recruits and NBA level guys.

That MSU team is ridiculous right now. Wait til March.

Huskies had hustle and heart last night. Just needed depth and braun. And inside scoring options.

 

[Kembacity]

You guys as always, are ridiculous. We don't have anyone over 6'9" on the roster this year, yes it's obvious we need a big big man. However, with this squad playing its best with a little more time to gel, we can beat almost anyone. I think if MSU didn't have a few monster beasts clogging the lane and setting football picks at will, that was a different game.

But it's always amazing to see us after playing not completely awful against a very strong test in one of the best teams in the country, the immediate reactions of "we gotta recruit better", yeah we all talked about it all summer dullards

We need better height in order to realistically see ourselves as able to win another title, but this team has the potential to beat almost anyone in the country regardless. We all agree that we can see this team being successful this year, winning many games in the AAC and a bunch outside it, winning a few games in March and restoring the luster the UConn name had a little bit. That in turn allows us to recruit a guy or two who are better than our recent crop, and that can get us back to the final four. Pump the brakes

 

[StingLykOllie]

Zach Brown going completely AWOL didn't help our big recruiting.

 

[Stainmaster]

We must indeed recruit better to beat top 5 teams.

If that is your litmus test for being satisfied with the program, be prepared to be miserable for a long time.