Semi-OT: Akinjo Recruitment

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Honestly at this point I could care less about akinjo.to much good happening to worry about a decommitt who was recruited by the previous staff.

I suppose most of us here could care less. Did you perhaps mean to say that you "couldn't care less."
In other words, that you don't care?
And if that were the case, wouldn't not saying so be a lesser level of care?

 

[Tenspro2002]

Last week, Akinjo hosted head coaches from UNLV, California, Tennessee and Georgetown for in-home visits. The offers haven’t stopped either as Wichita State, Gonzaga, Arizona, Florida State and Baylor are just a few that have come in recently.

Not a bad list for a "meh" recruit by KO
Maybe there was a place for him here, would love to know what approach Coach Coach Hurley took with this kid, if anything at all
Must have some upside for these programs to be interested

Everyone knew he was a good recruit. He still isn't so valuable that it was worth retaining KO.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

plenty have said that the 3 recruits were below top 100 and not worth crying over losing
I am pointing out that a lot of quality programs are after this kid and would love to know what Coach Coach Hurley's approach, if any, was in this case.
I don't play I dare you games - think I stopped that 50 years ago

James Akinjo was a high quality recruit. I enjoyed watching his highlights and reading about him. I'm sorry about losing him and wish him the best.

I think that captures the strong majority's overall thoughts and feelings.

I don't recollect anyone (except you in a inflaming way) regarding him as a "meh" recruit. I do know that many posters believed that the fear of losing him should not be a dispositive factor in whether to retain KO or not, nor should the willingness to let him go and accept the loss be regarded as a criticism of him.

Truly, you must know this.

As to your curiosity about what Dan Hurley might or might not have said or done or signaled to keep him, it's understandable, but you'd get better mileage from keeping your focus on the curiosity about Dan Hurley's approach and not provoking squabbles by the way your use of "meh" did.

You must know this as well.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Come out of the cave...the war is over...

You guys can switch places.

Things are looking up so back in the cave for you.

 

[ctchamps]

He decommitted because he wanted to be here with KO. Let's move on we knew we were going to lose him no matter what. Like other's said one 4* borderline top 100 recruit isn't going to make or break our year. Trust in Coach Hurley that he can get some decent players in who will buy into what he is selling is the key.

I knew KO was toast after the Auburn game. Anyone who didn't suspect the possibility was chasing windmills. They continued the chase and you and the group going after gtcam in this thread chased them. And when you weren't chasing them you all felt the need to continue ranting about KO even though it was out of the Boneyards collective hands to do anything.

You did nothing wrong except insist people accept your point of view. And you were obnoxious about it. And they in turn insisted on the same thing and behaved the same way.

At some point in time it becomes obvious that the bigger person can move on and doesn't need the other side to do it for them.

It's obvious to me that we have a lot of lbotB.

 

[ctchamps]

Definitely does, but this is more about a decent guard becoming available this late in the recruiting cycle.

No way. This was as big a loss as MAL was when he left because of the firing of Miller. It was the biggest negative consequence of KO's firing unless Jalen decides to leave as a result. I'm not thrilled how things played out and am hopeful we end up with far more positive things as a result of the decision to remove KO, but we can't whitewash everything.

 

[ctchamps]

Seems to me Akinjo is set on being 'the guy', we'll see how successful he is at that day 1 as a freshman. Wouldn't be shocked to see him at Arizona as they're usually good and he'd slot right in at PG. He probably doesn't want to come here and be behind Adams and maybe Gilbert on day 1.

That's been a problem for us for awhile, guys will only come here if they'll be our only guy at that position. Seems other teams are able to get a stable of guys to want to come for some reason

How does a brain process information in this manner?

 

[pj]

No way. This was as big a loss as MAL was when he left because of the firing of Miller. It was the biggest negative consequence of KO's firing unless Jalen decides to leave as a result. I'm not thrilled how things played out and am hopeful we end up with far more positive things as a result of the decision to remove KO, but we can't whitewash everything.

Akinjo is a bigger loss than MAL (despite the rankings).

But, Hurley will get his Akinjos in time.

 

[JMick]

Akinjo is a bigger loss than MAL (despite the rankings).

But, Hurley will get his Akinjos in time.

If we get Lecque no one will care about Akinjo

 

[PAHusky]

Akinjo is a bigger loss than MAL (despite the rankings).

But, Hurley will get his Akinjos in time.

I agree that Akinjo may have the better career than MAL, but the loss of MAL was bigger in the sense that it illuminated a whole set of issues that seemed like a microcosm of the back end of KO's time at UConn.

 

[ctchamps]

Akinjo is a bigger loss than MAL (despite the rankings).

But, Hurley will get his Akinjos in time.

I'd be surprised if Akinjo doesn't have a great college career. And I believe Hurley will get as good if not better recruits as well. The two are not mutually exclusive and time will indicate if things work out worse the same or better.

But in this immediate moment the loss of Akinjo is a big negative. Hopefully we get a J Lamb player instead of the D Lamb player we missed out. I'm optimistic.

 

[ctchamps]

If we get Lecque no one will care about Akinjo

That will go a long way in making me excited. But until events play completely out I reserve my conclusions.

 

[JMick]

That will go a long way in making me excited. But until events play completely out I reserve my conclusions.

Yeah our guard depth is terrible right now. I don't want Adams averaging over 40 mpg at some point again this season

 

[freescooter]

Akinjo was a nice player. He wasn’t a can’t miss and he wasn’t a 4th guard. But here’s the thing. There are 25 of these guys every year who are good not great with a good upside so as long as we get 1 next year we should be fine going forward. 2018-19 is a transitional season anyway so if we miss out we miss out. The critical thing is to get one of those guys and develop him into a great pg in time or land a can’t miss guy. In either case it will take time.

 

[3rdbass]

I knew KO was toast after the Auburn game. Anyone who didn't suspect the possibility was chasing windmills. They continued the chase and you and the group going after gtcam in this thread chased them. And when you weren't chasing them you all felt the need to continue ranting about KO even though it was out of the Boneyards collective hands to do anything.

You did nothing wrong except insist people accept your point of view. And you were obnoxious about it. And they in turn insisted on the same thing and behaved the same way.

At some point in time it becomes obvious that the bigger person can move on and doesn't need the other side to do it for them.

It's obvious to me that we have a lot of lbotB.

I'm not talking about are former coach in a bad light anymore. I have moved on as has UCONN. I'm just a big Dan Hurley fan and felt it is time for the program to move forward. I have followed the program for 40 years and I'm very passionate about it so sorry if they came out as obnoxious to you.

 

[ctchamps]

Akinjo was a nice player. He wasn’t a can’t miss and he wasn’t a 4th guard. But here’s the thing. There are 25 of these guys every year who are good not great with a good upside so as long as we get 1 next year we should be fine going forward. 2018-19 is a transitional season anyway so if we miss out we miss out. The critical thing is to get one of those guys and develop him into a great pg in time or land a can’t miss guy. In either case it will take time.

You're undervaluing him. He's closer to great than good already and having him this season under JA is far better than getting someone equivalent next season as a freshman. The argument is moot since he's not coming to UConn, but it's silly imo to underestimate the value of his loss.

Additionally there are a lot of programs competing for those twenty five players. It's always better to have that bird in the hand.

In spite of my rebuttal, I'm hopeful that Hurley will fix things and sooner rather than later.

 

[Dogman69]

Akinjo is a bigger loss than MAL (despite the rankings).

But, Hurley will get his Akinjos in time.

Agreed here. Was in Providence to watch Minnesota vs PC back in November. A guy by the name of Isaiah Washington was the best guard on the court. We need a guy like him....

 

[ctchamps]

I'm not talking about are former coach in a bad light anymore. I have moved on as has UCONN. I'm just a big Dan Hurley fan and felt it is time for the program to move forward. I have followed the program for 40 years and I'm very passionate about it so sorry if they came out as obnoxious to you.

The obnoxious statement was regarding how people reacted over the season and not the post I responded to. No need to apologize.

My statement is that each side is goading the other side and insisting the other side change. If this is a game for people, that is if people want to see which side can wear down quickest, go for it. But I can tell you it will be a statement because two entrenched parties with strong personalities will take a long time to quit. If people really want to see this thing move on they will have to resist the knee jerk reaction to shut the other side down.

The stronger individual can move on. The weaker individual needs the other guy to move on because they can't do it themselves.

 

[champs99and04]

Akinjo was a nice player. He wasn’t a can’t miss and he wasn’t a 4th guard. But here’s the thing. There are 25 of these guys every year who are good not great with a good upside so as long as we get 1 next year we should be fine going forward. 2018-19 is a transitional season anyway so if we miss out we miss out. The critical thing is to get one of those guys and develop him into a great pg in time or land a can’t miss guy. In either case it will take time.

You can't operate as if 2018-19 is a transitional season. At least not if you have Jalen Adams on your roster and possibly Gilbert along with Sid Wilson, Vital, Diarra, and who knows what else. Time is too precious and recruits are too valuable to be preemptively putting on the training wheels. This isn't 1997, we're in a low rate conference with a (relatively) unproven coach and nothing in the pipeline to promise a rebirth. Let the program flounder for another year and the climb becomes harder. Look at Providence, hell even BC, they're not screwing around, nor are Seton Hall, St. John's, Nova, or Georgetown. These programs are making big investments to get better and while we're right there with them, I don't think we can afford to test the memory of 16-year-old kids as it relates to UConn basketball. We have staying power but not so much that we can be arrogant about it - Hurley needs to find a way to get us to the tournament year one.

 

[upstater]

For whatever reason, Hurley does not think as highly of Akinjo (based on JA's mom's tweets asking he be recruited). You have to go with the coach's appraisal.

 

[Tenspro2002]

No way. This was as big a loss as MAL was when he left because of the firing of Miller. It was the biggest negative consequence of KO's firing unless Jalen decides to leave as a result. I'm not thrilled how things played out and am hopeful we end up with far more positive things as a result of the decision to remove KO, but we can't whitewash everything.

Are you actually arguing that

KO + Akinjo > Hurley + new recruits?

Have you watched this team over the last 2 or 4 years? What makes you think that KO would have gotten something out of Akinjo?

Nobody wanted to lose Akinjo, in a vacuum. Almost everybody acknowledged that if losing Akinjo was the price we pay for getting a competent and motivated coach on board, so be it.

 

[HawkHusky]

I wish we still had Akinjo. He will be an asset wherever he goes.

With that said, I'd rather have Hurley with no Akinjo than Ollie with Akinjo.

 

[ctchamps]

You can't operate as if 2018-19 is a transitional season. At least not if you have Jalen Adams on your roster and possibly Gilbert along with Sid Wilson, Vital, Diarra, and who knows what else. Time is too precious and recruits are too valuable to be preemptively putting on the training wheels. This isn't 1997, we're in a low rate conference with a (relatively) unproven coach and nothing in the pipeline to promise a rebirth. Let the program flounder for another year and the climb becomes harder. Look at Providence, hell even BC, they're not screwing around, nor are Seton Hall, St. John's, Nova, or Georgetown. These programs are making big investments to get better and while we're right there with them, I don't think we can afford to test the memory of 16-year-old kids as it relates to UConn basketball. We have staying power but not so much that we can be arrogant about it - Hurley needs to find a way to get us to the tournament year one.

I think unless we get a kid like Lecque and pull in a grad transfer who is certainly not DO but better than AA, next season could be as bad as this.

It's three years out that there is a realistic chance of decent things happening. But I totally agree that each year that passes the ability to regain prominence becomes more difficult.

 

[3rdbass]

Are you actually arguing that

KO + Akinjo > Hurley + new recruits?

Have you watched this team over the last 2 or 4 years? What makes you think that KO would have gotten something out of Akinjo?

Nobody wanted to lose Akinjo, in a vacuum. Almost everybody acknowledged that if losing Akinjo was the price we pay for getting a competent and motivated coach on board, so be it.

I totally agree with this as we all liked Akinjo but understood that with the coaching change that this was going to happen. I'm just glad we have a good coach who seems to have a direction based on his recent hire and what he said with recruiting. Like all of us we are anxious and want to see some results today but I trust in Dan Hurley and that he will add a couple key players to help make us very competitive in the American this upcoming year.

 

[polycom]

The number of threads we have on a player who we have no idea what they bring to the table just shows how bad this season really was. It's over lets all collectively move on and talk about how much august loves ketchup. It's the offseason let's enjoy it.

 

[ctchamps]

Are you actually arguing that

KO + Akinjo > Hurley + new recruits?

Have you watched this team over the last 2 or 4 years? What makes you think that KO would have gotten something out of Akinjo?

Nobody wanted to lose Akinjo, in a vacuum. Almost everybody acknowledged that if losing Akinjo was the price we pay for getting a competent and motivated coach on board, so be it.

How things played out was about this past season and the need to replace KO. I don't think anyone in this forum held a personal grudge against KO and started this season hoping he'd fail so UConn would dump him. My argument was that the loss of Akinjo is still a negative unless Hurley can bring in a comparable or better player. My argument is not about keeping KO. It's towards people who deny that Akinjo was and still is an important need for us.

 

[JMick]

I think unless we get a kid like Lecque and pull in a grad transfer who is certainly not DO but better than AA, next season could be as bad as this.

It's three years out that there is a realistic chance of decent things happening. But I totally agree that each year that passes the ability to regain prominence becomes more difficult.

I disagree. If the roster remains as is at this very moment I won't be surprised if we win 18-19 games. Would be a big improvement over last year.

 

[superjohn]

I think unless we get a kid like Lecque and pull in a grad transfer who is certainly not DO but better than AA, next season could be as bad as this.

It's three years out that there is a realistic chance of decent things happening. But I totally agree that each year that passes the ability to regain prominence becomes more difficult.

No way, things can turn around really quickly in college basketball.

 

[Kembacity]

"I pressed through the bushes and there, the native dancers whirled before me: limbs flailing, arms akinjo, feet kicking up dust"

 

[intlzncster]

If we get Lecque no one will care about Akinjo

I will. Lecque very well could be a one year bandaid. Akinjo is a four year guy.

“I want to go into a situation where I’ll be playing a lot as a freshman because I want to potentially be a one-and-done,” Lecque said. “If I don’t have that situation I have no problem staying in my class.”

Don't get me wrong, I'd take Lecque 1000 times out of 1000. I'd just like us to get as many guys in the Shabazz mold as possible.