Rick Issanza (C, 7'1", 225) to visit

[6xChamps]

Any insight on how the visit went?

He got his haircut (seriously) and went to Trumbull Kitchen

 

[HawkHusky]

He got his haircut (seriously) and went to Trumbull Kitchen

No Geno's??? Doomed!!

 

[UConnStats]

No Geno's??? Doomed!!

If you go to Geno’s over TK you’re out of your mind.

 

[mauconnfan]

Defensively sure. Offensively? He couldn't catch the ball. Hands of stone. Never really developed any post offensive moves. As much as I wasn't a fan of KO, I'm not blaming him for Amida never learning to catch the ball.

For everyone saying he's got more upside than Carlton. Any 7' guy who can jump possibly does. But most of those guys never develop half the back to the basket offensive moves that Carlton has.

Bingo. For those who read everything they were using the machine to throw "passes" to him in order to work on his hands, it never helped. If you have no hands it's really not something that comes automatically by working on it. It's more natural than anything, as is the game and understanding. Brimah was short on these things but I would've loved him as a back up with his few skills.

 

[jibsey]

No one was defending him, and he showed no offensive moves other than dunking. I guess a spot on the bench would be OK, but not excited here.

 

[Kenny11]

No one was defending him, and he showed no offensive moves other than dunking. I guess a spot on the bench would be OK, but not excited here.

He seems to get off the ground quick for dunks and would be able to block and bother shots. And he’s a legit 7 footer.

But I hated how when he gets a rebound he gets stuck in the mud, can’t find open man so the pg will literally have to come to him. This eliminates chances for fast break but is usually better than letting a player like that try outlet passes that end up being turnovers.

Its May so most of the better bigs are already going to be gone for 2019. I wouldn’t mind taking him if he’s a hard worker that really wants to be good. If we wait until 2020 for our big that’s fine too, but Hurley can’t be afraid to play Whaley this season.

 

[DadBod24]

For all you non-tweeters

 

[GHSWolverines]

For all you non-tweeters

I am not sure what to make of this? He is holding one of our championship plaques and not a basketball

 

[Fishy]

I am not sure what to make of this? He is holding one of our championship plaques and not a basketball

Don't sell yourself short - you have this down cold.

He is definitely not holding a basketball.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I am not sure what to make of this? He is holding one of our championship plaques and not a basketball

It’s entirely possible that the staff has this wild and crazy notion that reminding recruits of our multiple national championships would be helpful. Pretty sure every school can hand them a basketball.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I am not sure what to make of this? He is holding one of our championship plaques and not a basketball

Hurley is looking for someone who can hold a championship trophy very high. This guy just might fit the bill.

 

[Pudge]

He seems to get off the ground quick for dunks and would be able to block and bother shots. And he’s a legit 7 footer.

But I hated how when he gets a rebound he gets stuck in the mud, can’t find open man so the pg will literally have to come to him. This eliminates chances for fast break but is usually better than letting a player like that try outlet passes that end up being turnovers.

Its May so most of the better bigs are already going to be gone for 2019. I wouldn’t mind taking him if he’s a hard worker that really wants to be good. If we wait until 2020 for our big that’s fine too, but Hurley can’t be afraid to play Whaley this season.

Look

You can coach. Teach a kid. The obvious thing is he hasn’t played a lot of organized ball. A solid smart PG goes to him immediately after he rebounds. Eventually ... passing the outlet becomes quite routine. Lots of drills. It’s no big thing.

What to like? High quality hand eye coordination. He’s great at rotating his hands to get rebounds or dunk. He’s agile and free moving.

Brimah? There are some things AB would never learn. I’m actually curious to watch him today. Maybe. This kid is at the very beginning.

 

[kcc1442]

He seems to get off the ground quick for dunks and would be able to block and bother shots. And he’s a legit 7 footer.

But I hated how when he gets a rebound he gets stuck in the mud, can’t find open man so the pg will literally have to come to him. This eliminates chances for fast break but is usually better than letting a player like that try outlet passes that end up being turnovers.

Its May so most of the better bigs are already going to be gone for 2019. I wouldn’t mind taking him if he’s a hard worker that really wants to be good. If we wait until 2020 for our big that’s fine too, but Hurley can’t be afraid to play Whaley this season.

Real question, Have you seen him play???? I saw someone post this when his video first came out on here. And you are posting about this now about him. Did you actually witness this multiple times or Is this all based off the ONE play in his ONE highlight video (at the 1 minute mark) that he grabs the D board and a lengthy guard/forward digs in and is frenetically jumping in his face playing good D to prevent the outlet pass and Issanza holds the ball for an extra couple of ball fakes AND DOESN'T turn the ball over, which is more important than a quick outlet....Very confused by this take....

 

[mauconnfan]

Real question, Have you seen him play???? I saw someone post this when his video first came out on here. And you are posting about this now about him. Did you actually witness this multiple times or Is this all based off the ONE play in his ONE highlight video (at the 1 minute mark) that he grabs the D board and a lengthy guard/forward digs in and is frenetically jumping in his face playing good D to prevent the outlet pass and Issanza holds the ball for an extra couple of ball fakes AND DOESN'T turn the ball over, which is more important than a quick outlet....Very confused by this take....

I think Kenny11 is spot on for his take, not that hard to understand. Not overly concerning but when big meant do not know how to pivot out of traps there tends to be turnovers. He did one that was alarming as nt only was he in bad form to get away he also made himself about 6'4" instead of 7 foot. No I haven't seen him play and I only saw it once but because it was such an easy out of a trap you can ask the question or maybe even assume he needs work in that area. Good news is he's fairly new to the game it takes time.

 

[JMick]

For all you non-tweeters

Isn't that a recruiting violation? Or did they change the rule about trophies and displays?

 

[pj]

His game looks like dunks and blocked shots. That's fine with me, it adds something we lack.

I think Kenny11 is spot on for his take, not that hard to understand. Not overly concerning but when big meant do not know how to pivot out of traps there tends to be turnovers. He did one that was alarming as nt only was he in bad form to get away he also made himself about 6'4" instead of 7 foot. No I haven't seen him play and I only saw it once but because it was such an easy out of a trap you can ask the question or maybe even assume he needs work in that area. Good news is he's fairly new to the game it takes time.

Just a reminder that the video I posted was from 2017-18 and he had only about 1 year of basketball experience under his belt at that time. He's from the Congo and hasn't played much basketball. I think we can expect his game is rising up the steep part of the learning curve, and he'll be much better as a UConn freshman than he was in that video. Supposedly he has a 7'7" wingspan. I think he could be a great player for us.

 

[Kenny11]

Just a reminder that the video I posted was from 2017-18 and he had only about 1 year of basketball experience under his belt at that time. He's from the Congo and hasn't played much basketball. I think we can expect his game is rising up the steep part of the learning curve, and he'll be much better as a UConn freshman than he was in that video. Supposedly he has a 7'7" wingspan. I think he could be a great player for us.

Yeah I understand. I would take him. He’s intriguing. My criticism on not being able to get rid of the ball after a rebound, and not being able to even pivot wasn’t meant to bash him or imply he won’t get better with good coaching, but this is something that I’ve seen with inexperienced players (this seems like the case here) or players that just don’t have a good feel for the game. I’m not expecting Jokic on the outlet passes. This kid could end up being good

 

[mauconnfan]

Yeah I understand. I would take him. He’s intriguing. My criticism on not being able to get rid of the ball after a rebound, and not being able to even pivot wasn’t meant to bash him or imply he won’t get better with good coaching, but this is something that I’ve seen with inexperienced players (this seems like the case here) or players that just don’t have a good feel for the game. I’m not expecting Jokic on the outlet passes. This kid could end up being good

Good news is he's new to the game. One can only hope eventually he'd be able to throw some outlet passes as we are geared for running the ball with the skill set of our guards as well as the one's we are recruiting. The fear is he's Brimah and needs to hand the ball off backwards for 4 years. Wouldn't mind this kid though, definitely worth the shot.

 

[Jbirdp5]

He left without a commitment, which isnt a great sign if the staff really wants him.

 

[Huskyfan4evr]

reminds me of Juwan Durham's build

 

[Towney007]

Take it for what it's worth but he's following ALL OF UCONN Twitter right now. Like... everyone.

 

[boog204]

Would have no problem w/ this guy as a backup center, 10-15mpg, type. Block some shots, protect the rim, and maybe develop into more. Guys like this sometimes blossom into really nice pieces.

As for all the AB talk, I think we'd all sign up for another Amida, warts and all. He was still a pretty effective piece for four years. No, he didn't develop like we thought he would when some were thinking he'd eventually be a lottery pick after his freshmen year. But he was still a productive big man.

 

[mauconnfan]

Would have no problem w/ this guy as a backup center, 10-15mpg, type. Block some shots, protect the rim, and maybe develop into more. Guys like this sometimes blossom into really nice pieces.

As for all the AB talk, I think we'd all sign up for another Amida, warts and all. He was still a pretty effective piece for four years. No, he didn't develop like we thought he would when some were thinking he'd eventually be a lottery pick after his freshmen year. But he was still a productive big man.

There were some wondering if he'd be be a full 4 year guy at one time which amazed me lol, but I'd be thrilled to have him and Carlton as my 5 rotation next year or even last year. He was brought along at UConn with unfortunate timing because he was THE guy. If KO could've produced a solid 4 star 5 he would've been more than welcomed as the 10-16 minute guy.

 

[JimHurley]

I’m just so confused by the scholarship situation. If we get this guy, we are (as of today at least) out of scholarships. Yet we are still recruiting Cole, Hyland, and Langford. Seems like we are recruiting 5-6 guys hard for a maximum of 2 spots.

 

[boog204]

I’m just so confused by the scholarship situation. If we get this guy, we are (as of today at least) out of scholarships. Yet we are still recruiting Cole, Hyland, and Langford. Seems like we are recruiting 5-6 guys hard for a maximum of 2 spots.

Best not to think about it as there are things going on behind the scenes that we (well other than urinal Chief) are not privy too. If we're still recruiting, we have schollies available. Looks like we want a big and a guard. And I'm fine w/ that scenario.