Recruiting

[nomar]

r

If UCOnn doesn't ask Ray, they will never know what his interest is. He might surprise them.

There is about a 0% chance of Ray going on the recruiting trail. Like Fishy said, it's a hard life.

 

[Horatio]

Having a down year after NC #4 sucks? - ask anyone but UK or possibly Lville and they will take it in a minute. Teams like Kansas, UNC and lesser teams like Quse would kill a baby seal to have the last 5 years UCONN has had.
I think it's interesting talk about the future and we certainly need a few more quality commits - but the sky is not falling- we lost 4 out of 5 starters and most of our leadership and poise outside of Boat. Give AB and DH a year or so and they will be great leaders. We need a few more pieces but will be right back in the mix in a year or two.
Stop comparing us to Uk or Dook or Lville- it's not fair and is like me comparing myself to Brad Pitt- I am more of a Jack Black comparison and that's OK.
We are UCONN and we have always found under the radar players- mixed in a few AA types and developed our team. I personally would take a FF every 4 years - it's an amazing accomplishment. Everyone but Uk (which is not really a college team anymore) would be delighted to make it every four years to the FF.
We have one of the best and brightest coaches in college- I have faith that he will figure out how to get the job done in our dudie of a conference.

Im not throwing the 4 championships out with the bath water , but I think the overall panic and recruitment fear is based more on immediate needs (2015-2016). Let's face it we need at least a Donnell Beverly - Craig Austrie type transfer or five yr senior type to secure the pg. position next season. Blue collar or not , We gotta at least be able to get that to go along with Adams and Enoch .I think people would back off on Criticizing the recruiting for a minute when that happens.

 

[willie99]

we recruit just fine, we don't land burger boys, we don't land one and done, we tend to land kids with potential and then the staff brings that potential out

it's always been that way

after the nightmarish 9/10 season, so many boneyarders were going doom and gloom because they absolutely hated our 2010 class. I'm not exaggerating, there was a lot of talk about that class and it was 85% negative. People were actually arguing we landed the wrong Lamb because our Lamb was ranked lower

well that class won two national championships. Lamb & Bazz left 1st round picks, and NG was a pretty solid player too. Even TO owns two rings

I trust KO

 

[BUConn10]

You're all terrible fans and should be ashamed of yourselves. UConn has won two titles in 5 years, at our current rate we will have 12 titles by 2035. You're all spoiled and ungrateful. /s ----> -Boneyarders

But seriously, this has been a major concern of mine for a while now. Like @HuskiesAllDay so eloquently stated, catching lightning in a bottle with generational talents like Bazz and Kemba within the course of 5 years is simply unsustainable. Some people in this thread have stated that blue bloods like UNC and Duke would kill to have our recent success, but honestly would they? Its like saying would you like to win the lottery for $1 million dollars today, or would you rather get a cushy job paying $250k/year for life? They have long term stability where if it doesnt work out the year they are favored to win it, they dont sweat because they will most likely be a contender next year when they reload, not rebuild. Sure we have dominated everyone in the college landscape in the last decade, but without capitalizing on our household name and recent staying power to step up our recruiting for long term stability, we could experience a painful regression that would be simply reverting back to the mean/norm.

Like others have stated, we need a dedicated recruiter, we cant simply rely on Ollie and assistant coaches, who specialize in, well coaching, to be on top of these recruits with the level of attention they require AND desire (especially the elite recruits who generally have pretty big egos). I dont see guys like Ray and Rip really every being serious about joining the staff simply because they have already been so successful in their careers that they dont need the money and would simply rather enjoy the retired and rich lifestyle, i wouldnt blame them one bit.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

Fact: olywould win if he had a club that could actually play

Current cluster does not equal a top industrial league contingent

Humorous (not in an intriguing manner) that top fans on this forum sugarcoat what is playing out before their eyes

Optimism is fine; but blind optimism is recipe for demise

Potential of players is an unknown and in most cases is never tapped into at a level that translates to significant achievement

Men like amoeba, dham and a few others have good potential, but how long can a UCONN wait when said men are gone after a maximum of four years

Impact "now" is what it is aboutotential needs to be kinetic when new man sets foot on campus

Examine case study 1} Omar: he is a senior next year: what has he achieved? 2} Kenihop is a junior next year: achievements? 3}Purv,Tsam,Jr,Lubin,Nolan: achievements? potential?

Lone Achiever:Boat: graduated

Two signed recruits: unknown until they play a significant sample size of Div I hoola hoops=huge gamble as of today's date

Conclusion: this season ends with zero postseason appearance; next year and year after: HELP

 

[Scot-e]

I think the concern is that our recent success is not sustainable and probably will never happen again. Catching lightning in a bottle is hard enough once. We did it twice in 4 years. Kemba and Shabazz are unique and we may never get another player like them again. You cant really rely on losing 8 or 9 games only to get hot down the stretch and have it all click and storm through the NCAA tourney.

We won two national titles and that's amazing, but they were otherwise very average seasons. Down years for a traditional power like Duke, Ky, Kansas etc. We have won more titles than anyone in the last 20 years, but we have also had a lot more down seasons too. Not since 2008-09 have we have a dominant type regular season. Now 2 years into the dreaded AAC and were sitting on a 14-8 conference record. Looking ahead it could be another few years until we have another, so it could be a decade or more between those seasons. That's a very long time for a program like ours. We were a #1 or #2 something crazy like 8 out of 10 years or something.

So sure our recruiting has been ok, but we really need to step it up a notch. The AAC certainly isn't helping, but we've seen players sign with programs in similar conference so that isn't the only excuse. We need to start getting some impact players. I love Brimah and Facey and both have great potential, but we cant rely entirely on those type of guys.

Also it cant be overlooked that the coach developing those 3-3.5/4 star guys into stars was none other than Jim Calhoun, who was probably the greatest college basketball coach ever at developing players. Ollie may be great also, but its doubtful he will match what JC was able to do in that respect.

These are the exact feelings I had when JC retired. I thought to myself "it could be all over for UCONN". No hall of fame coach-crappy conference and look what happened.

It's true that it may never happen again but that can be said for every team outside Uk (who in my opinion is on the verge of ruining the college game).

The year we won with Kemba and Bazz there was very little hope of a NC until the post season. At UCONN it is a matter of slowly getting the right pieces in place- getting upperclassmen leadership from several players and having great chemistry. Obviously this does not just happen- it takes several years for key players to join the team and existing players to develop. I would have been thrilled just to be ranked this year with what we lost from last years team.

I do want see improvement from our existing players before the season is over- it's important moving forward- that was my expectation for this year- and so far they have not lived up to that expectation- but there is still time to see some light at the end of the tunnel for the likes of OC, RP, DH, SCJ and AB. If we add one more big man and/or SG/PG in next years class we are on a "typical" UCONN track for improvement in the next few seasons.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

1. we get alot of good recruits.
2. we do know that getting the best class in doesnt lock you up for a NC right? Some big time recruits workout and some dont. Some mid teirs workout and some dont.. Its just the way things work. We have some nice recruits on this current team, with potential NBA players. Time, maturity, chemistry, those are the things we have to take into consideration. things could click this year or not.... its not that we dont have good recruits its just that not all high recruits are created equally. Its why some NBA teams get duds with the 4th pick and others get superstars with the 7th pick!

I think we just have to hang in there. We have alot to still be excited about as far as what this team current has on it, and about our teams future. I really like Jalen and Enoch coming in, and there is still the potential that we could get Stone (and if we dont thats fine too!). I like the kids further down the line too. That kid Tremont Waters looks like a real stud if we could lock him up, and there are a number of other kids that could don a Uconn Jersey and help bring us back to where we rightfully belong. Patience! We arent kentucky, we will have down years, but are good season will be ooh soo sweet when we have them and that wont be few and far between. But we have to be realistic, we will have years like this even with good recruits. If you cant take the swings you probably shouldnt be a Uconn fan because its going to be too rough of a ride for you.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

These are the exact feelings I had when JC retired. I thought to myself "it could be all over for UCONN". No hall of fame coach-crappy conference and look what happened.

It's true that it may never happen again but that can be said for every team outside Uk (who in my opinion is on the verge of ruining the college game).

The year we won with Kemba and Bazz there was very little hope of a NC until the post season. At UCONN it is a matter of slowly getting the right pieces in place- getting upperclassmen leadership from several players and having great chemistry. Obviously this does not just happen- it takes several years for key players to join the team and existing players to develop. I would have been thrilled just to be ranked this year with what we lost from last years team.

I do want see improvement from our existing players before the season is over- it's important moving forward- that was my expectation for this year- and so far they have not lived up to that expectation- but there is still time to see some light at the end of the tunnel for the likes of OC, RP, DH, SCJ and AB. If we add one more big man and/or SG/PG in next years class we are on a "typical" UCONN track for improvement in the next few seasons.

I didnt mean that we would never win another title again. I meant we probably wont the same way as our last two which is pretty obvious.

But ties into the recruiting theme of we need to consistently get more impact players and cant rely on one one transcendent guy to carry the load. And in order to keep getting top guys, you cant lose 9 or 10 games every year, especially in the AAC

 

[OkaForPrez]

Fact: olywould win if he had a club that could actually play

Current cluster does not equal a top industrial league contingent

Humorous (not in an intriguing manner) that top fans on this forum sugarcoat what is playing out before their eyes

Optimism is fine; but blind optimism is recipe for demise

Potential of players is an unknown and in most cases is never tapped into at a level that translates to significant achievement

Men like amoeba, dham and a few others have good potential, but how long can a UCONN wait when said men are gone after a maximum of four years

Impact "now" is what it is aboutotential needs to be kinetic when new man sets foot on campus

Examine case study 1} Omar: he is a senior next year: what has he achieved? 2} Kenihop is a junior next year: achievements? 3}Purv,Tsam,Jr,Lubin,Nolan: achievements? potential?

Lone Achiever:Boat: graduated

Two signed recruits: unknown until they play a significant sample size of Div I hoola hoops=huge gamble as of today's date

Conclusion: this season ends with zero postseason appearance; next year and year after: HELP

Amida's trajectory currently still resembles Hasheem's. The guy who turned into a lottery pick and was a key piece to our Final four run in his Junior year.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/co...&hasheem-thabeet=2007-2008&p1=hasheem-thabeet

Here is Hamilton vs. Jeremy Lamb. The biggest problem with Hamilton is the biggest problem with this team, Turnovers and FT's. We aren't doing the small things well enough to win in big games but Hamilton is every bit as talented as Lamb on the floor.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/co...&i=1&jeremy-lamb=2010-2011&p1=daniel-hamilton

You are targeting Omar (Calhoun's recruit) and his struggles with injury despite a very successful freshman campaign and improved play of late as an indictment on Ollie's recruiting?

Facey, who was buried behind Daniels and Giffey as a freshman is shooting 62% from the floor rebounding 11% of misses of the offensive end and 18% of misses on the defensive end. Jeff Adrien as a sophmore was putting up the exact same rebounding numbers but only shot 50% when he got his hands on the ball. Facey had 14 and 9 against Duke's frontcourt and 9 and 11 against Temple.

Purvis has an eFG of 52% from the floor. So did Ben Gordon as a Sophomore.

I'll stop there.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

big pin oak: you be your general mgr and i will be mine: see who wins

Omar; must draw line of demarcation between JC regime vs olywould;since omar a frosh playa when olywould wear beeny cap during orientation; olywould be stuck with omar on recruiting line in sand

lamb=smoothy with touch vs dham herkyjerky with bricks[no comparison}

hasheem = specimen vs amoeba all over dee place cornstalk[no comparison}

deandregif=killerclowns from outerspace who goody from there vs kenihop bipityflop persona of fearfulbaby with no confidence" fail to launch" from nest ala motion picture of same moniker; beyond 3.14 foots & rebound by casino royale cause mates brick so much he happens to get some bounds that dont bang off his noggin

adrien and facey-yo can have both on yo team gm pin oak: i dont wants them ever, to quote polock johnnys on balto eastern avenue kobasa line: i dont wants them, dey too fats for me"

gm pin oakley: have a good life and lots of luckski with your team and chosen roster cuse yo need it

p.s.: forgot yo other proposed trade at midnite deadline: i be sleepin on this, dont calls me cuse i wont calls yo regarding ben of the jj wit grace vs purv of unmentionables which i pleasantly wont mention; i let yo have both men cuse yo cant survive in total poverty so ben will guard yo welfare and opponents simultaneously,danke, merci, merci beaucoup, aufwiedersien, aurevoir, bon soir, byebye,adieu,, bonne nuit,bonjour, bon apetite

 

[jibsey]

Amida's trajectory currently still resembles Hasheem's. The guy who turned into a lottery pick and was a key piece to our Final four run in his Junior year.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/co...&hasheem-thabeet=2007-2008&p1=hasheem-thabeet

Here is Hamilton vs. Jeremy Lamb. The biggest problem with Hamilton is the biggest problem with this team, Turnovers and FT's. We aren't doing the small things well enough to win in big games but Hamilton is every bit as talented as Lamb on the floor.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/co...&i=1&jeremy-lamb=2010-2011&p1=daniel-hamilton

You are targeting Omar (Calhoun's recruit) and his struggles with injury despite a very successful freshman campaign and improved play of late as an indictment on Ollie's recruiting?

Facey, who was buried behind Daniels and Giffey as a freshman is shooting 62% from the floor rebounding 11% of misses of the offensive end and 18% of misses on the defensive end. Jeff Adrien as a sophmore was putting up the exact same rebounding numbers but only shot 50% when he got his hands on the ball. Facey had 14 and 9 against Duke's frontcourt and 9 and 11 against Temple.

Purvis has an eFG of 52% from the floor. So did Ben Gordon as a Sophomore.

I'll stop there.

Those are great stats! One glaring stat was that Amida seems to have more trouble staying out on the floor because of his fouls which of course affects many of the other stats. A lot of ticky tack fouls on AB this year but he has to be smarter.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Those are great stats! One glaring stat was that Amida seems to have more trouble staying out on the floor because of his fouls which of course affects many of the other stats. A lot of ticky tack fouls on AB this year but he has to be smarter.

Yep, which plays into our biggest weakness which is depth at the 5.

Stanford and Duke are the two game's we've been rolled in this year. Both team's had true 5's who got Brimah in foul trouble. That's not coincidental.

We have a team with many new parts, some of them young who were trying to learn to play together through a front loaded schedule while absorbing several injury blows in the process. This has put us behind the 8 ball, but the conclusions some are drawing from our current predicament are mind blowing.

I know I lean UConn optimist but the sky is not falling on the future under Ollie.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@chapwilvaug72 What would you have said about Deandre as a Soph in January? "Killer Clown" or "Fearfulbaby"

At this point in his Freshman season Lamb was just starting to turn the corner. He was averaging 7.5 ppg, pulled up by his 13 and 14 point efforts in his last 2 games. He averaged 4.5 points per game in November. In his first 5 games in conference play he put up 9, 4, 8, 0 and 2. Oh how you would have longed for the days of "Old Rip" Chap! New Rip is what you call DHam right?

 

[jibsey]

Yep, which plays into our biggest weakness which is depth at the 5.

Stanford and Duke are the two game's we've been rolled in this year. Both team's had true 5's who got Brimah in foul trouble. That's not coincidental.

We have a team with many new parts, some of them young who were trying to learn to play together through a front loaded schedule while absorbing several injury blows in the process. This has put us behind the 8 ball, but the conclusions some are drawing from our current predicament are mind blowing.

I know I lean UConn optimist but the sky is not falling on the future under Ollie.

Yes, I am one of those that feels strongly that KO and his staff are all in and ba!!s to the wall on their coaching and recruiting and total effort. Getting players to perform what they ask, doesn't always happen. Yes we are in good hands.

 

[Pudge]

Not to let some of you off ...

But I think you can't blame Glen Miller. Of our two guys going out recruiting (SEE Fishy's definition), Miller is not allowed to do that.

 

[Kitaman]

@chapwilvaug72 What would you have said about Deandre as a Soph in January? "Killer Clown" or "Fearfulbaby"

At this point in his Freshman season Lamb was just starting to turn the corner. He was averaging 7.5 ppg, pulled up by his 13 and 14 point efforts in his last 2 games. He averaged 4.5 points per game in November. In his first 5 games in conference play he put up 9, 4, 8, 0 and 2. Oh how you would have longed for the days of "Old Rip" Chap! New Rip is what you call DHam right?

He never responds, unless you agree with him.

 

[OkaForPrez]

He never responds, unless you agree with him.

He responded above! We're having a dialogue. I think.

 

[MDHusky]

I think Ollie and the coaching cast are clearly on the top players and often among the list of colleges being considered by the "blue chip" recruits. They're going after top 25 talent. Unfortunately, that puts us up against other big-time college programs and coaches. How often will UConn win a recruiting battle versus Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, or Arizona?

I'm not so sure the top 25 guy wants to play at UConn because they will be required to play D, within structured offensive sets, and also have to hit the books.

So, why not go back to the International players who seem to fit pretty well in the UConn system? Germany? Israel?

 

[chapwilvaug72]

the reel rip or old rip is just a slight vaug on return trip pour moi; seams just last sondaze clutch man drill dooker by k dee tampa bay way back door i olywould say

old is vaugin Fred Schabel activitay

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm sure the AAC has a lot to do with it, but coming off two titles in four years it's almost unfathomable that we're losing recruits to programs like VCU, VT and UNLV.

Ollie is a fantastic young coach, with tons of NBA cred, a new practice facility and as a former player in the program he brings a unique perspective that very few coaches can do.

He's proven himself on the sideline and I think it's possible that maybe he just isn't a very good recruiter yet. Or he hasn't surrounded himself with a staff that can put in the proper groundwork.

That's not a knock on Ollie. It's his third season as the lead guy. Most programs would still expect a brand new head coach to be learning the ropes, while KO won us a title.

Seems like there are two outcomes:

1) Ollie improves as a closer in recruiting over time.

2) An assistant is brought in to be the lead guy in selling the program.

Players are the lifeblood of any program and while Adams appears to be a great get, we still have a lot of work to do.

 

[mdkhusky]

Can you block chap

 

[Durks07]

Can you block chap

Yes you can! Click on his name and click ignore and boom, his rambling brand of idiocy is gone for good! Trust me, it makes the BY much better.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

reprinted with permission of author 22Jan15 to correct thread (recruitin commentary) from yesterday's fossil dig it, Chappie, M.A.; coming to a neighborhood near you March 2015

Staff needs to revisit Philosophy 111 &/or 120 or 110, 3 credits, Logic, Vonderwowmaiden, main concourse, Spring '15

"It was intimated that the two recruit student athletes for next year's DivI men's basketball roster were big UCONN fans growing up. Considering all the wasted plane trips on recruiting wild goosifer chases that the staff has endured, why deny the obvious which could be a huge time and cost savings.

Conclusion-First question to ask a prospective signee-Are you or have you ever been a fan of UCONN Husky men's basketball? If so, do you ever watch a doggy game on cable TV or network TV? If so, how many per year per category? Have you been to any game in person in the last year, last two, last five years? Do you look forward to the next game or two on the schedule each year? Do you ever listen to a game on the radio? Do you wait to get a final score the next morning or must you know the score as soon as possible? Recite the names of current roster players forward and backward and spell the respective names in the same manner. Do you know what the fossil bone yard be? If so, do you ever read any commentary and/or take it seriously or with a grain of salt or just for laughs? Do you delve into the illustrious history of UCONN hoops? Who is Wes B. and why is he important? Who are Dove, Rayray, Yell, Smitty, Scotty, Dee, Dom, Hugh S., Corny, Joey, Stacked, Tony, Knute, Eye of, JC, Delmar and Toby? Do you follow recruiting for your beloved doggys? Do you play high school hoop by chance, pweez? Would you like to walk on at Storrs or would you prefer a scholarship to be scholarly and in your spare time play a lil hoola hoop maywestbeez?

If a 100% score is attained, then and only then the staff should proceed to attempt to enroll this excellent "potential" because this is the epitome of potential UCONN stylin-oui oui?

Lastly, the staff needs to send a message to the planet's pool of applicants. Pronto, ask Mr. Stone for the last time if he would like to matriculate Storrs for at least one semester. If the answer is anything but yessum, revoke the scholly offer nowsa and with authority. No student-athlete is allowed to hold Big Dogs in captivity because by their very nature those AKC Siberians are one big bunch of bucking, ucking, wild mother . . yo no"

 

[jibsey]

reprinted with permission of author 22Jan15 to correct thread (recruitin commentary) from yesterday's fossil dig it, Chappie, M.A.; coming to a neighborhood near you March 2015

Staff needs to revisit Philosophy 111 &/or 120 or 110, 3 credits, Logic, Vonderwowmaiden, main concourse, Spring '15

"It was intimated that the two recruit student athletes for next year's DivI men's basketball roster were big UCONN fans growing up. Considering all the wasted plane trips on recruiting wild goosifer chases that the staff has endured, why deny the obvious which could be a huge time and cost savings.

Conclusion-First question to ask a prospective signee-Are you or have you ever been a fan of UCONN Husky men's basketball? If so, do you ever watch a doggy game on cable TV or network TV? If so, how many per year per category? Have you been to any game in person in the last year, last two, last five years? Do you look forward to the next game or two on the schedule each year? Do you ever listen to a game on the radio? Do you wait to get a final score the next morning or must you know the score as soon as possible? Recite the names of current roster players forward and backward and spell the respective names in the same manner. Do you know what the fossil bone yard be? If so, do you ever read any commentary and/or take it seriously or with a grain of salt or just for laughs? Do you delve into the illustrious history of UCONN hoops? Who is Wes B. and why is he important? Who are Dove, Rayray, Yell, Smitty, Scotty, Dee, Dom, Hugh S., Corny, Joey, Stacked, Tony, Knute, Eye of, JC, Delmar and Toby? Do you follow recruiting for your beloved doggys? Do you play high school hoop by chance, pweez? Would you like to walk on at Storrs or would you prefer a scholarship to be scholarly and in your spare time play a lil hoola hoop maywestbeez?

If a 100% score is attained, then and only then the staff should proceed to attempt to enroll this excellent "potential" because this is the epitome of potential UCONN stylin-oui oui?

Lastly, the staff needs to send a message to the planet's pool of applicants. Pronto, ask Mr. Stone for the last time if he would like to matriculate Storrs for at least one semester. If the answer is anything but yessum, revoke the scholly offer nowsa and with authority. No student-athlete is allowed to hold Big Dogs in captivity because by their very nature those AKC Siberians are one big bunch of bucking, ucking, wild mother . . yo no"

Chap, congratulations you took the lithium! Ever see the movie "Charlie" with Cliff Robertson?

 

[jibsey]

Correction, "Charly".