2021 Recruiting: - Samson Johnson Update | Page 2 | The Boneyard

2021 Recruiting: Samson Johnson Update

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coloradohusky said:
Jordan Hawkins looks like he had Bouk type skill. He's going to be a good one
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Hold your horses. You're talking about one of our best sophomores EVER. He isn't going to sniff Bouk's jock handling the ball or getting to the foul line or finishing at the rim.

I suspect he'll be a much more effecient shooter and better defender as a freshman.
 
bendm said:
don't want adams to leave unless one of the seniors comes back. going into the summer with 3 open schollys is too many.

in terms of the 2 open schollys for 2021 i think 1 grad transfer big and 1 traditional transfer wing is ideal.

that way we'd still have 3 open schollys in 2022 to replace cole, martin, adams (or a returning senior), and a grad transfer, minus floyd.
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Cole,Martin,Adams would still have a year of eligibility left in 2022( if interested) since this year does not count towards their four years of playing.
 
Umami Zen said:
Cole,Martin,Adams would still have a year of eligibility left in 2022( if interested) since this year does not count towards their four years of playing.
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and they would probably count against the 13 scholly limit at that point. i'd love to have a 5th year cole or martin back of course. gotta hand the keys over to diggins at some point tho
 
bendm said:
and they would probably count against the 13 scholly limit at that point. i'd love to have a 5th year cole or martin back of course. gotta hand the keys over to diggins at some point tho
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Don't disagree with you ,just mentioning it.
 
All I think watching that video is.

“ That right there is the stretch 4 we been missing for a long time”

Sampson is going to be a HUGE asset.
 
bendm said:
totally irrelevant...hurley knew bouk was gone heading into this season and his spot has yet to be filled so i was asking if hurley had planned on a grad transfer or redshirt transfer all along. i understand being caught off guard by javonte leaving and having to rely on a transfer of some sort to replace him but i was asking specifically about bouk's scholly which could have been filled by a 4th freshman
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Ah, my mistake.
 
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He needs to fill out a little more. But man, this kid looks really really good.
 
@husky429 or anyone else who has seen significant game play what are your thoughts on him and what you expect next season from him? He looks significantly further along than where I thought he was and or where he was last season. I'm only going off of highlights and a tiny bit of game play I watched but I really like what I see.
 
superjohn said:
@husky429 or anyone else who has seen significant game play what are your thoughts on him and what you expect next season from him? He looks significantly further along than where I thought he was and or where he was last season. I'm only going off of highlights and a tiny bit of game play I watched but I really like what I see.
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I think he starts by mid-January. I don't know who he'll end up better than.. but he's a talent. Seems like Cole, Jackson, Rese, Akok, Sanogo should be penciled in for early season starts?

His defense will get him the "Adams treatment," because Hurley obviously LOVES fundamental defenders... but he will be good for 35%+ from 3 and open up huge lanes for Andre and Rese.

He will play well with Jackson. He'll need creators and ballhandlers to offset his lack of handle at the SG spot.

I don't think Johnson or Diggins start next season but they'll both push for minutes.

This recruiting class elevates our team talent for sure.
 
husky429 said:
Hold your horses. You're talking about one of our best sophomores EVER. He isn't going to sniff Bouk's jock handling the ball or getting to the foul line or finishing at the rim.

I suspect he'll be a much more effecient shooter and better defender as a freshman.
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Couldn't disagree more
I have seen both in HS/AAU
Let Hawkins be a sophomore before you make those brash statements - handle? I think he already has that - Bouk is sloppy at times He appears quiet but seems to have that attitude/self confidence that will allow him to take over - something Bouk has been shy about.
Bouk is silkier - no doubt
 
husky429 said:
I think he starts by mid-January. I don't know who he'll end up better than.. but he's a talent. Seems like Cole, Jackson, Rese, Akok, Sanogo should be penciled in for early season starts?

His defense will get him the "Adams treatment," because Hurley obviously LOVES fundamental defenders... but he will be good for 35%+ from 3 and open up huge lanes for Andre and Rese.

He will play well with Jackson. He'll need creators and ballhandlers to offset his lack of handle at the SG spot.

I don't think Johnson or Diggins start next season but they'll both push for minutes.

This recruiting class elevates our team talent for sure.
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I was talking/asking about Samson. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. From the little I've seen Samson is further along offensively than I thought he would be, didn't think he would look so comfortable doing some of these things yet.
 
superjohn said:
I was talking/asking about Samson. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. From the little I've seen Samson is further along offensively than I thought he would be, didn't think he would look so comfortable doing some of these things yet.
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My bad... I knew you were saying that and just didn't write about it. It's been a long day lol.

I think Samson has an Akok-level defensive impact by the middle of the season. I assume he won't be ready as quickly as Akok just because he won't have the weird half-season to practice with the team first. He's probably more combo 4/5 than a pure 4 like Akok, so it will be interesting to see how they can play together. Going super athletic with the two of them in the game could make us RIDICULOUS defensively. (I'm drooling thinking of throwing out Cole/Jackson/Martin/Akok/Johnson right now... or even Jackson at the PG with Hawkins/Rese/Akok/Sanogo... what other team in the big east can play those type of athletes all at the same time?)

Samson isn't as natural a shotblocker as Akok, but he'll do okay. His length and footspeed on the perimeter are going to be a problem in the big east. I think he honestly will guard 2-4 easily. And can pick up PGs in a pinch. If anything, his toughest assignment will be versus the big traditional centers... but we have Sanogo for them.

Offensively, the highlights probably don't tell the whole story. He has the pieces to be a 3-level scorer, but they haven't come together yet. Very inconsistent. So, if I were to guess, he's most efficient dunking the ball and getting transition buckets, but Hurley gives him the freedom to takes shots and make 1-2 dribble drives to start developing more consistency on that end.

Personally I'd be shocked if he averaged more than 6-8 points a game. But he'll play 20 minutes per by the end of the season.
 
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Weingarten ALWAYS inflates players stats. It's annoying--never trust what he writes.

FWIW I have Samson's stats in 7 games as

13.5 PTS
7.1 REB
2.1 AST
2.1 BLK

Last season in a dozen games I had Sanogo (also at TPS) with 14.1/9.4/1.3 w/ 1.7 blocks.
 
A lot to like about Samson's upside. The thing that I see that previous recent UConn Bigs have not had is his foot work/agility/foot speed for someone his size . Seems quicker and lighter on his feet allowing him to recover on D and get space for his shot on O. His wingspan will also allow him to do things that we haven't seen in awhile. KInd of has the Donyell body- style without Donyell's offensive game skills.

Don't know how that will translate in CBB but definitely a great skill set to have for a stretch 4.. Keep in mind he has already played along side of AS in HS so they are familiar with each other and is still learning the game.

Dan Hurley will have to figure out how to allocate PT between AA and Samson next year since they play the same position. KFree will have a huge impact on his development while in Storrs .

Samson will be getting to know Coach Mike over the next few years.
 
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No, don't tell me Samson was hobbling at end of video?
Tell me I'm wrong and it's someone else.
 
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WideRight! said:
Samson going DEEP in his bag! Pull up 3s, catch and shoot 3s, rim running alley-oops, improved touch and body control. Special talent
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This kid is a weapon! Day 1 rotation piece, outside shot at starting.
 
I'm as excited as anyone about this kid, but people need to chill a little on the expectations...there's about a 0% chance of him starting over Sanogo and a healthy Akok. He's basically Akok 2.0 so his freshman season should be a pretty good baseline (obviously minus the starting spot)
 
huskiesNhoos said:
I'm as excited as anyone about this kid, but people need to chill a little on the expectations...there's about a 0% chance of him starting over Sanogo and a healthy Akok. He's basically Akok 2.0 so his freshman season should be a pretty good baseline (obviously minus the starting spot)
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Delete this thread. Thanks
 
huskiesNhoos said:
I'm as excited as anyone about this kid, but people need to chill a little on the expectations...there's about a 0% chance of him starting over Sanogo and a healthy Akok. He's basically Akok 2.0 so his freshman season should be a pretty good baseline (obviously minus the starting spot)
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Chill on expectations? Who wouldn't want to have Akok 2.0 coming off the bench next season?
 
Every time I watch this kid I get an EO vibe. Obviously he's not there yet but the way he carries himself on the court, his demeanor, looks like a hard worker, all scream Okafor to me.
 
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huskiesNhoos said:
I'm as excited as anyone about this kid, but people need to chill a little on the expectations...there's about a 0% chance of him starting over Sanogo and a healthy Akok. He's basically Akok 2.0 so his freshman season should be a pretty good baseline (obviously minus the starting spot)
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I could see Sanago and Johnson getting a lot of court time together next season like last year at TPS. Sanago more as an old school PF and Johnson in the Stretch 5, new age C role. Of course Akok will have a major role at PF too.

Would love to see the following front court combos next season:

PF: Akok, C: Whaley
PF/C: Sanago, Johnson

That’s just nasty lol
 
Dean Wormer said:
Every time I watch this kid I get an AO vibe. Obviously he's not there yet but the way he carries himself on the court, his demeanor, looks like a hard worker, all scream Okafor to me.
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To be clear it's EO, not AO right? Because I probably wouldn't have responded to an AO reference otherwise.
 
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