Rick Issanza (C, 7'1", 225) to visit | Page 8 | The Boneyard

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

djct1999 said:
Why?
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“Mamadou is a valued member of the program,” Hurley said, “a valued member. We have a ton of respect for Mo. He’s home for break right now, he’ll be back for Summer I (on June 3) and we’ll kind of go from there.”
 
My preference is still for Ntambwe if that is still on the table. Yes it hamstrings the roster this coming year, but clearly if we have one more spot left because of an injured player, not a defector, we should have 10 abled bodied players for next year. And then would be stacked with another NBA prospect for 2020. Could be looking at a roster with 2021 NBA draft picks of Cole, Ntambwe and Akok. With Gaff / Bouk / any high ranked 2020 recruit potentially morphing into NBA caliber players during their career. We need to get that NBA pipeline going again and all indications are the Ntambwe will probably be an NBA player. Get him at all costs*.

However, I wouldn't be against getting this guy if we are out on Ntambwe. Even if he is a dud, we are guaranteed 2 scholarships for next year (and appears we are only focusing on 2 positions at this time) but may have up to 4 available for 2020. Since using this scholarship probably won't limit future recruiting potential, lets get something rather than nothing.

*Edit: "by all costs" does not mean feed someone to the wolves. But if we indeed will have 1 more spot, let's sacrifice 19/20 for huge upside in 20/21.
 
RichZ said:
I noted that he doesn't seem to block the ball out of bounds, which was a trait that both Amida and Thaeet seemed unable to shake. That's a good thing.
Not sure I ever saw him bounce the ball in the video. I mean he must have, and I just missed it, right?
And as has been noted, he doesn't seem to know what to do with a defensive rebound once he secures it. Turn and ???
In his current state, I see him as 6 minutes of relief for Josh. But I also see potential.
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"he doesn't seem to know what to do with a defensive rebound once he secures it".

Our staff should be able to handle that one. You can't teach height. Looks pretty athletic for his size.
 
I like this kid 10x more than Coleman. Coleman looks slow, unathletic, and only shoots 3's in his highlight videos. This kid obviously needs to gain strength but looks to be a legit 7'1" who knows how to block shots and finish at the rim. Keeps the ball high and is a quick jumper which I like. He also basically does a pullup at the rim every time he dunks...definitely has hops for a guy who is 7'1", which you don't always see. Kind of reminds me of the kid Koumadje from FSU coming out. He's 7'4" but Issanza looks more athletic to me, but thinner.
 
Mooch82 said:
I like this kid 10x more than Coleman. Coleman looks slow, unathletic, and only shoots 3's in his highlight videos. This kid obviously needs to gain strength but looks to be a legit 7'1" who knows how to block shots and finish at the rim. Keeps the ball high and is a quick jumper which I like. He also basically does a pullup at the rim every time he dunks...definitely has hops for a guy who is 7'1", which you don't always see. Kind of reminds me of the kid Koumadje from FSU coming out. He's 7'4" but Issanza looks more athletic to me, but thinner.
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I like that he's a quick jumper. A quick jumper who's legitimately 7 ft with long arms is an asset at minimum.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
Looks like he would definitely help next year
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I'm not sure how much he will. I think it is going to be incredibly hard for him to establish position in the low block. Still the change of pace of a 7 footer may make him effective enough to back up Josh in short spurts. I think his potential is the reason why we don't walk away from him.
 
CL82 said:
I'm not sure how much he will. I think it is going to be incredibly hard for him to establish position in the low block. Still the change of pace of a 7 footer may make him effective enough to back up Josh in short spurts. I think his potential is the reason why we don't walk away from him.
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Change of pace is huge. Matchups are critical. There will be opposing teams that Carlton just can't defend but whom Issanza bothers, and vice versa. Having two complementary centers enabling the coach to play matchups is very valuable. This is something Calhoun was good at arranging, he was versatile in style of play and gave a lot of thought to how to match up favorably to opponents. Ollie never built in the lineup flexibility to do that.

I don't understand the concerns over Issanza. Unless there are academic or character issues, he'd be a huge pickup. Pun intended.
 
pj said:
I don't understand the concerns over Issanza.
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For me at least the concern is that he doesn't appear to be strong enough to hold his ground in the college game. Don't get me wrong, I hope we get him, but I am not sure he'll have as big impact his freshman year as some posters appear to be hoping for.

In some ways our situation is perfect for him. He can get experience in snippets without the pressure of being relied on for major minutes and gets a year with Sal to build his core and base strength.
 
kansashusky said:
“Mamadou is a valued member of the program,” Hurley said, “a valued member. We have a ton of respect for Mo. He’s home for break right now, he’ll be back for Summer I (on June 3) and we’ll kind of go from there.”
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Exactly. So I don't think we will hear much until then.
 
CL82 said:
For me at least the concern is that he doesn't appear to be strong enough to hold his ground in the college game. Don't get me wrong, I hope we get him, but I am not sure he'll have as big impact his freshman year as some posters appear to be hoping for.

In some ways our situation is perfect for him. He can get experience in snippets without the pressure of being relied on for major minutes and gets a year with Sal to build his core and base strength.
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We have Sal to deal with that issue. He has a frame that will put on weight. He's not as skinny as Akok, for example.
 
The one positive of getting a big, even if he’s relatively raw is, last year we were overall a small team. Josh should get better just playing against teammates in practice that are big like the opponents he’ll see during the season
 
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Mooch82 said:
I like this kid 10x more than Coleman. Coleman looks slow, unathletic, and only shoots 3's in his highlight videos. This kid obviously needs to gain strength but looks to be a legit 7'1" who knows how to block shots and finish at the rim. Keeps the ball high and is a quick jumper which I like. He also basically does a pullup at the rim every time he dunks...definitely has hops for a guy who is 7'1", which you don't always see. Kind of reminds me of the kid Koumadje from FSU coming out. He's 7'4" but Issanza looks more athletic to me, but thinner.
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Agree with everything on Coleman. Like I said, I’d rather have another scholarship open for 2020 vs. signing Coleman.
 
pj said:
We have Sal to deal with that issue. He has a frame that will put on weight. He's not as skinny as Akok, for example.
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But the only reason people want him is for next year and Sal isn't a miracle worker who's gonna get results overnight
 
Seems to jump well for a big man. Not a lot of foot speed. Did not see a handle. Looks like a project. If his work ethic is good, he could be worth it.
 
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superjohn said:
Who? Cliff O is going to be really difficult to lock down.
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Cliff would obviously be option 1, but probably not likely. I would take Mark Williams and Dylan Cardwell over him. Probably Josh Gray as well though that's a toss up
 
What are Mama’s options if he can’t play?
 
navery12 said:
People keep talking about him backing up Carlton next year. I think we can do much better than him in 2020
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We don't know that, but there's room for three centers on the roster, and if we can do better than Issanza in 2020, that just means Issanza won't stop a recruit from coming here.

The guys you're mentioning, Cliff O, Mark Williams are not likely to be deterred by Josh Carlton and Rick Issanza, unless they both surprise on the upside.

I think Issanza will add a lot of value every year he's here, and increasing value each year. Take the bird in hand versus the vacant scholarship for a year followed by two birds in the bush that may never be caught. Bottom line, Issanza has NBA potential and complements the existing lineup. He'd be a great get.
 
GemParty said:
What are Mama’s options if he can’t play?
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I don't know but I wonder if he could be some type of student assistant (if he wants) and kind of learn under Hurley and staff about being a coach. I'm not sure if this has been done before and obviously it would only makes sense if Mama is interested in coaching in the future.
 
pj said:
We don't know that, but there's room for three centers on the roster, and if we can do better than Issanza in 2020, that just means Issanza won't stop a recruit from coming here.

The guys you're mentioning, Cliff O, Mark Williams are not likely to be deterred by Josh Carlton and Rick Issanza, unless they both surprise on the upside.

I think Issanza will add a lot of value every year he's here, and increasing value each year. Take the bird in hand versus the vacant scholarship for a year followed by two birds in the bush that may never be caught. Bottom line, Issanza has NBA potential and complements the existing lineup. He'd be a great get.
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Yeah I agree but it's that then we have 3 bigs because Whaley is still on the roster and at that point we have bigger needs than getting a 4th big.

If the staff thinks he can help, they know better than me. But the talk of NBA potential is absurd, he's tall and that's it
 
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The '19 options are weak, so I'd rather go grad transfer route this year for depth and then try to get an actually good big who can eventually replace Carlton in 2020.

Tops grad transfer bigs still available:

Kelvin Jones: 6'11 230 from Idaho State. Averaged 10/5.6/1.5b in 20.0 mpg.

Jalone Friday: 6'9 250 from Abilene Christian. Averaged 13.1/4.7 and 1 block in 21.9 mpg.

Jeff Pollard: 6'9 240 from Washington State. Averaged 4.8/2.6 in 18.1 mpg.

Romani Hansen: 6'8 200 from Savannah State. Averaged 9.5/5.5/1 block in 23 mpg.

Eric Hamilton: 6'9 250 from UNC-Greensboro. Averaged 6/4 in 16.3 mpg.
 
pj said:
We have Sal to deal with that issue. He has a frame that will put on weight. He's not as skinny as Akok, for example.
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Really? He looks skinnier to me. Agree about Sal. That takes time though. Again, I like the kid and I think he's a good get. I'm just not looking for a big impact year 1.
 
navery12 said:
Yeah I agree but it's that then we have 3 bigs because Whaley is still on the roster and at that point we have bigger needs than getting a 4th big.

If the staff thinks he can help, they know better than me. But the talk of NBA potential is absurd, he's tall and that's it
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I guess I'm less concerned about Whaley because if he's 4th on the roster then he's not playing at all, and I think he may have enough credits to grad transfer for his 4th year. I like that Hurley is not forcing guys out, and since Whaley likes it here, it makes sense that he's not leaving this summer to go sit a year at an inferior school. I'm sure Hurley won't force anyone out a year from now either, but the calculus changes for the player once he has more players in front of him and can play elsewhere without having to sit. I think the roster issues will solve themselves.

NBA potential for Issanza -- I addressed that in an earlier thread. One-sixth of 7'1" guys play in the NBA. Issanza is ahead of most in high school basketball accomplishment. His odds of making the NBA are at least 50%. If he comes to UConn, they're better than that.
 
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pj said:
I guess I'm less concerned about Whaley because if he's 4th on the roster then he's not playing at all, and I think he may have enough credits to grad transfer for his 4th year. I like that Hurley is not forcing guys out, and since Whaley likes it here, it makes sense that he's not leaving this summer to go sit a year at an inferior school. I'm sure Hurley won't force anyone out a year from now either, but the calculus changes for the player once he has more players in front of him and can leave without sitting. I think the roster issues will solve themselves.

NBA potential for Issanza -- I addressed that in an earlier thread. One-sixth of 7'1" guys play in the NBA. Issanza is ahead of most in high school basketball accomplishment. His odds of making the NBA are at least 50%. If he comes to UConn, they're better than that.
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I'm aware of your 1/6th of 7 footers are in the NBA, you seem aware of math so that means 5/6 aren't. I don't know what sort of spin you did in your head to get to 50% chance of the NBA but that's crazy. Top 50 recruits don't even odds that high, he's at best in the 300s and certainly not a lock for the NBA like you're making it sound
 
CL82 said:
Really? He looks skinnier to me. Agree about Sal. That takes time though. Again, I like the kid and I think he's a good get. I'm just not looking for a big impact year 1.
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I could be wrong on skinniness as it is hard to tell from photos. Akok from last summer:
DNfdYLOUEAIWG17.jpg


Issanza from 3 years ago:

 
pj said:
I could be wrong on skinniness as it is hard to tell from photos. Akok from last summer:


Issanza from 3 years ago:

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I look at Issanza's base and I think he'll be shoved all over the court against a mature big. I'd be glad to be wrong.

(I forgot how thin Akok was. Wow.)
 
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