Recruiting has to get better

[Lefty2one]

Our starting 4/5 (Polley, Big Dave) combined for zero points in our last two games.

That needs to change.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

Our starting 4/5 (Polley, Big Dave) combined for zero points in our last two games.

That needs to change.

Also, CV is 0-9 from the field in this tournament. Missed another fast break layup last night. We’re really hurting for complimentary scoring and he, unfortunately, hasn’t provided it. Pulling for him to show up against Arky.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

we were in this game for what 33 out of 40 minutes? You are going to get very few players who can come in as freshman and dominate as big men, especially against the likes of MSU who were clearly bigger and stronger than us. I thought the rebounding margin was a lot greater in favor of MSU to be honest. I dont think our bigs were crashing the boards as hard as they were against Oregon. I dont think this was a WTF loss by any means. A team that was supposed to be beat us did. Guys like Vital cant have off nights when we are playing the best teams in the nation. I think Larrier's game is more suited for the NBA than for CBB but he has to bulk up for the next level. He's got a sweet stroke but he doesn't have a defensive presence nor is his inside game enough to be a threat.

 

[mauconnfan]

we were in this game for what 33 out of 40 minutes? You are going to get very few players who can come in as freshman and dominate as big men, especially against the likes of MSU who were clearly bigger and stronger than us. I thought the rebounding margin was a lot greater in favor of MSU to be honest. I dont think our bigs were crashing the boards as hard as they were against Oregon. I dont think this was a WTF loss by any means. A team that was supposed to be beat us did. Guys like Vital cant have off nights when we are playing the best teams in the nation. I think Larrier's game is more suited for the NBA than for CBB but he has to bulk up for the next level. He's got a sweet stroke but he doesn't have a defensive presence nor is his inside game enough to be a threat.

I was impressed with Larrier in the 2nd half because he came back from a dreadful 1st. Good for him and us he can have those kinds of streaks, but he would be served best staying in college. I know it's early but his handle is not at all ready for the NBA really needs to tighten up especially spins and crossovers with good D on him.

 

[David 76]

You guys probably weren't around last year. You see we had a bunch of guys leave and we had to fill holes quickly, late in the recruiting season and learned we had a stink on us that made it even tougher to recruit. And that new conference we're in? Seems it sucks.
But we did manage to stabilize the ship and get some pretty good players for next year. Hope is, after being stabilized, we could hit a homerun.

Good grief.

 

[mauconnfan]

You guys probably weren't around last year. You see we had a bunch of guys leave and we had to fill holes quickly, late in the recruiting season and learned we had a stink on us that made it even tougher to recruit. And that new conference we're in? Seems it sucks.
But we did manage to stabilize the ship and get some pretty good players for next year. Hope is, after being stabilized, we could hit a homerun.

Good grief.

How soon we forget huh Dave? LOL

 

[Allbite]

They mor

Yea obviously, last year with the injuries, poor season, & transfers obviously set us back.

I am not sure why this is brought up now after our first loss, I believe we all know our recruiting is not where it needs to be to compete with top 10 teams.

They more than made up for the transfers when they got Wilson. I don't think talent is the problem. They have enough to the point that coaching is way more important.

 

[Allbite]

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

It won't last forever in this conference. 2014 is getting further and further in the past.

 

[jibsey]

It’s just a reality check especially for those who just think if we only played harder, because until we faded in the second half our team had a big effort last night. If you looked at the players last night except for O and Carlton for body thickness we look like we’ve been underfed. It’s going to be a decent season with the team being competitive mostly but against the better teams on our schedule we’re going to see this again and again. Making the tourney is a lofty goal but not what we have been spoiled to expect. We like to think if we only just get in anything can happen with a great run. Can’t see that this year. SuperJohn is 1000% correct here but as we sit it’s just a player or 2 holding us back, but those are big pieces. A quality big and a knockdown shooter.

 

[Allbite]

Well maybe Polley is

A lot of guys, like Polley, reached the level of competition at which they could no longer contribute last night.

 

[AdamaNation]

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.

Amidah would’ve been worse than what we had last night. He would have had 3 fouls and 4 turnovers by halftime. 2 fouls away from the rim. Izzo would have drawn him out anyway and bridges ward and Jackson could care less about him. That board off the missed free throw with a two handed dunk would have been brimahs fourth foul for an and 1.

 

[Allbite]

It’s just a reality check especially for those who just think if we only played harder, because until we faded in the second half our team had a big effort last night. If you looked at the players last night except for O and Carlton for body thickness we look like we’ve been underfed. It’s going to be a decent season with the team being competitive mostly but against the better teams on our schedule we’re going to see this again and again. Making the tourney is a lofty goal but not what we have been spoiled to expect. We like to think if we only just get in anything can happen with a great run. Can’t see that this year. SuperJohn is 1000% correct here but as we sit it’s just a player or 2 holding us back, but those are big pieces. A quality big and a knockdown shooter.

Beating Oregon was still a big win, and I think we make the Dance this year. I also think It's bye-bye O if we don't.

 

[businesslawyer]

It's not at all reactionary, I've been harping on how our last several recruiting classes aren't cutting it for a long time. Any time we play any sort of contender the talent gap is greatly exposed. If Larrier and Jalen both leave after this season it will be Alteique and a bunch of compimentary players. We absolutely need to step up our recruiting game.

You have? On paper we're one year away from the best on paper recruiting class we may have ever had.

 

[80shusky]

We can always use better players but with all the newbies on this team this win wasn't going to happen short of a miracle. My biggest concern is that the team shouldn't start every offensive sequence with an iso drive to the basket. It's predictable and lame. Some ball movement would be nice. Maybe a pass. That's when you throw the ball to a teamate I've heard.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Cobb would’ve helped a lot

 

[NielsisGood]

Amidah would’ve been worse than what we had last night. He would have had 3 fouls and 4 turnovers by halftime. 2 fouls away from the rim. Izzo would have drawn him out anyway and bridges ward and Jackson could care less about him. That board off the missed free throw with a two handed dunk would have been brimahs fourth foul for an and 1.

You said all that about Brimah and it could still be argued you're being too kind. Not sure Brimah would have played more than 15 minutes before fouling out against MSU's bigs. Either way, he'd have been a non-factor on the boards or in deterring shots.

 

[tcf15]

Recruiting is trending in the right direction again, thankfully. Wilson, Akinjo, Matthews and Kisunas is a good group to work with and adding Bryce Wills for 2018 would be huge if Jalen does decide to leave.

 

[superjohn]

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

I like the kids we have now and the kids coming in but we simply have to get some 5 star type talents again. I see a ton of complimentary pieces with no real star power or players with ceilings that lead me to believe they can become stars (outside of Gilbert.) If Jalen and Terry are gone after this season, I worry we will be back to square one.

 

[Coach J]

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

True!

 

[Kenny11]

Adams belonged on that court.
Gilbert belonged on that court.
Larrier belonged only as a catch and shoot guy.
Carlton looked like he will belong in a year or 2

The rest of the guys just weren’t as talented. David O for example, looked really bad because he shouldn’t be playing big minutes against players who are so much more gifted than he is.

Michigan State just has elite talent. Uconn has decent talent. We should still be good enough to make the ncaa tournament this year.

 

[upstater]

A lot of guys, like Polley, reached the level of competition at which they could no longer contribute last night.

Polley got 8 minutes and is 5 games into his freshman season.

Just to give a comparison: Jeremy Lamb as a freshman ALSO played Michgan State in his 5th game. He played 13 minutes, scored 2 points, had 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals. 3 fouls.

Jeremy did not start breaking out until mid-January. He had a string of games in late Dec. and Jan. when he scored 9, 4, 8, 0, 2. Then he broke out for 13, 14, 16.

 

[Danzz]

Wasn’t Carlton a 4*

Don't remember if he was but he plays like a 4 star. We have something in Carlton. He just needs to get a bigger and stronger. The skills are there and he plays hard.

 

[willie99]

I like the kids we have now and the kids coming in but we simply have to get some 5 star type talents again. I see a ton of complimentary pieces with no real star power or players with ceilings that lead me to believe they can become stars (outside of Gilbert.) If Jalen and Terry are gone after this season, I worry we will be back to square one.

OK, but I'm going to suggest that if Jalen and Terry are gone then we had a pretty good season, and both winning and getting kids to the NBA will help us recruit better

So my silver lining is that them leaving early is probably a good thing for us , indirectly

 

[Jaker]

All it takes is more $$$$$$$$$

 

[Goat]

Every coach wants top 50 recruits. They don't play all 4 years so at any given time there may be, what, 125 in all of college basketball. Yes, it would be nice to have classes like UNC, Duke or Kentucky. The point is most of even the highest ranked P5 schools don't have 1-2 top 50 recruits.

In a better conference, I can imagine KO becoming someone who draws more than his share. Until then, learn to love the process. He just took a diaper front court to war with big men and lessons were learned. I'm happy that they exhibited the desire to match MSU physically, although they didn't have the ability.