Snider announcing tonight

[DogMania]

There are a lot of extenuating factors. Snider, for one, was a late decommit. Perkins meanwhile was hard to get from the west. The two biggest misses are Chukwu and Abu. Both those kids should be UConn kids. I think I know what happened in chukwu's case but the Abu recruitment is a mystery. Think back to July when Abu complained that no one from UConn seemed to care about his recruitment. That was a big tell.

They were late on Larrier, they only saw him live for the first time this summer. They were on Devin Robinson a little earlier.

It may be whistling past the graveyard, but the fact is, if they land Robinson and Colson to go with Purvis and Hamilton, this will be more or less a prototypical UConn class. Maybe even a little notch higher.

I agree. If they land those two, it will be a very nice class and not that much different from what we usually see.

 

[aceboon]

I'm going to have to read the UCLA and MSU boards to see if their fans are blaming conference affiliation for them missing out on their plan A/B/Z recruits. Maybe it plays a part, who knows, but UCLA missed on Perkins, McLaughlin, and now Snider, and unlike us, they have no one on their roster who is expected to play PG in 2014. Meanwhile UConn has Boat if he returns, Purvis who has already said to the media that KO expects to play some time at PG and who was widely rumored to have transferred from NC State because he wanted to play PG, and Samuel, who was a top 150 recruit in his own class. MSU is also in the same boat as UCLA, they gave up on getting Jones a long time ago, turned up the heat on Ulis who they thought was a secure backup plan and now have given up on him once UK swooped in at the last minute, couldn't get a visit with Snider just like us, and are now scrambling trying to get in the Tum Tum Nairn race. Meanwhile all they have is Travis Trice at PG, who is a Craig Austrie type so they have plenty of guaranteed playing time to offer. The fact of the matter is it is going to be very hard to get a highly regarded PG in here when you're not sure of how much PT you're going to get, and these guys aren't exactly Derrick Rose or John Wall where they know they're going to play alot right off the bat regardless of who is there. I don't understand why you guys are acting as if UConn is the only program in this situation that is missing on guys, when its happening all over to programs that are in a much worse PG situation than us.

 

[DogMania]

We all are just assuming its the conference affiliation...

Why would you think it would be something different? most of these recruits have said really good things about UConn, and have said great things about Kevin Ollie. it usually comes down to the program and the coach as far as what program they choose. There are a lot of other factors, which I'm sure was the case with some of these recruits, but since so many are not picking UConn it does make you wonder.

TV exposure and style of play are factors as well, but in the case with most of these recruits it would seem that those two were satisfactory if not better than their other choices. In the end, all of these recruits so far are going elsewhere.

 

[babysheep]

Sure he's getting ready to #SHOCKDAWORLD

 

[upstater]

I'm going to have to read the UCLA and MSU boards to see if their fans are blaming conference affiliation for them missing out on their plan A/B/Z recruits. Maybe it plays a part, who knows, but UCLA missed on Perkins, McLaughlin, and now Snider, and unlike us, they have no one on their roster who is expected to play PG in 2014. Meanwhile UConn has Boat if he returns, Purvis who has already said to the media that KO expects to play some time at PG and who was widely rumored to have transferred from NC State because he wanted to play PG, and Samuel, who was a top 150 recruit in his own class. MSU is also in the same boat as UCLA, they gave up on getting Jones a long time ago, turned up the heat on Ulis who they thought was a secure backup plan and now have given up on him once UK swooped in at the last minute, couldn't get a visit with Snider just like us, and are now scrambling trying to get in the Tum Tum Nairn race. Meanwhile all they have is Travis Trice at PG, who is a Craig Austrie type so they have plenty of guaranteed playing time to offer. The fact of the matter is it is going to be very hard to get a highly regarded PG in here when you're not sure of how much PT you're going to get, and these guys aren't exactly Derrick Rose or John Wall where they know they're going to play alot right off the bat regardless of who is there. I don't understand why you guys are acting as if UConn is the only program in this situation that is missing on guys, when its happening all over to programs that are in a much worse PG situation than us.

You make an excellent point about UCLA. They were closest on Perkins, McGlaughlin and Snider, and while I think it's worse for Uconn that we weren't runner-up on any of them, UCLA is in a P5 conference, with a new coach, and loads of playing time. OUCH.

 

[UConniki]

We all are just assuming its the conference affiliation...

SMU just got a top 5 player, Memphis has a top 5 recruiting class and their moving up?, from con USA. AAC doesn't seem to be a problem for them.

 

[Gurleyman]

I've said it a few times now that I thought we might end up swinging and missing on most if not all our plan-A recruits mainly due to our conference affiliation. I had hoped that I would be wrong, but it seems to be the case with our point guard situation. We still have a few irons in the fire, but the list of recruits is starting to dwindle.

I don't mean to be a Negative Nancy, and I think we'll be OK. There will be a lot of returning talent next year, and the addition of Purvis and Hamilton is a very good start. I'm sure those who had their hopes up for a dream class are probably a little disappointed. By the end of the spring signing period, Ollie will probably have put together a very nice class. The results are really not that much different from what we witnessed under Calhoun's tenure. JC missed out on his share of plan-A recruits, and landed some of the best we've ever had in the program in late fall or during the spring signing period.

I had hoped for greater success to this point, but I am not surprised. I think KO will have more success with the 2015 class, though our current conferences situation might continuing to be an obstacle to overcome.

Minor quibble. Two McDonald's A-A's isn't really just a good start. It's a great class unto itself - that's as many McD's guys as we've ever had at one time. I think Taliek-Hazelton was the only time we had two in one class.

Some asterisks are needed, since Caron would have been one had he not been fifth year. Drummond (certainly) and Daniels (probably) would have been two in one class. AJ didn't miss by much coming in with Rudy. And Purvis is a transfer, so you can quibble with counting him the same you would a frosh.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Why would you think it would be something different? most of these recruits have said really good things about UConn, and have said great things about Kevin Ollie. it usually comes down to the program and the coach as far as what program they choose. There are a lot of other factors, which I'm sure was the case with some of these recruits, but since so many are not picking UConn it does make you wonder.

TV exposure and style of play are factors as well, but in the case with most of these recruits it would seem that those two were satisfactory if not better than their other choices. In the end, all of these recruits so far are going elsewhere.

Huh? I mean, it's solid conjecture, but this is a huge generalization. Kids choose colleges for a number of reasons and our conference affiliation is just one factor in the equation. Whether that has greater influence than other factors is debatable... every kid has his own priorities. I disagree with your suggestion that recruiting is formulaic. You don't just plug in your stats and have a college chosen for you.

And about your comment re: 'so many are not picking UConn'... that's the mathematics of it all. We recruit 30-50 kids with only 3-4 ships. And each of these kids are deciding between 5-10 schools. Considering we already have two blue chips locked up in September, I don't see why everyone is hyperventilating. Things have been way more dire in previous years at this point.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Minor quibble. Two McDonald's A-A's isn't really just a good start. It's a great class unto itself - that's as many McD's guys as we've ever had at one time. I think Taliek-Hazelton was the only time we had two in one class.

Some asterisks are needed, since Caron would have been one had he not been fifth year. Drummond (certainly) and Daniels (probably) would have been two in one class. AJ didn't miss by much coming in with Rudy. And Purvis is a transfer, so you can quibble with counting him the same you would a frosh.

I don't think this is a minor quibble. We have gotten greedy. Had Daniel Hamilton committed yesterday instead of two months ago, the board would not be in meltdown mode. We have a very short memory.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

http://www.courier-journal.com/arti...-7-p-m-Quentin-Snider-commitment-announcement

OvErRaTeD...@ 15:00 min.

 

[babysheep]

ESPN says Illinois

 

[UCONNfan1]

ESPN says Illinois

Good. Hate UCLA. Didn't like Howland and i'm not sure why, but i don't like Alford either.

As a side note, I've always had way more respect for kids who just announce where they are going while on a visit, or in some other low key way. It's ok if you are Kobe or Lebron, or one of the top 5 recruits in the nation, but it just seems so forced most of the time (the "presser").

 

[Fishy]

SMU just got a top 5 player, Memphis has a top 5 recruiting class and their moving up?, from con USA. AAC doesn't seem to be a problem for them.

Then you're saying Kevin Ollie is a bad recruiter?

Or is it just his bad luck to not be recruiting a kid he could bribe by offering his scrub brother a schollie?

There are exactly four ESPN Top-100 players who have committed to AAC teams. Ignoring the shenanigans SMU needed to land theirs' and that ECU's recruit is a little iffy, the AAC is still being lapped by the new Big East who has nine recruits - that gap will grow.

The AAC is a huge problem for UConn.

 

[superjohn]

Then you're saying Kevin Ollie is a bad recruiter?

Or is it just his bad luck to not be recruiting a kid he could bribe by offering his scrub brother a schollie?

There are exactly four ESPN Top-100 players who have committed to AAC teams. Ignoring the shenanigans SMU needed to land theirs' and that ECU's recruit is a little iffy, the AAC is still being lapped by the new Big East who has nine recruits - that gap will grow.

The AAC is a huge problem for UConn.

Disagree

 

[Zionn]

Very true. Being used against UCONN in every fashion.

 

[babysheep]

I wonder how much DH can't stand having to play in the AAC

 

[Zionn]

Not sure you really want to ask him that.

 

[LesMis89]

A bit more info regarding the Snider recruitment from the Illinois side -

Snider is a kid that literally hates the recruiting process. When he re-opened his recruitment in late July, Groce was the first one in the door with a scholly offer and the first one to call the HS coach. HS coach called the Sniders and told them that they needed to listen to Illinois' pitch because their offense was tailor-made for Quentin. Meanwhile, Groce has Aaron Cosby get in Snider's ear about coming to Illinois. (Cosby and Snider's friendship goes back to elementary school.)

Snider visits UCLA on an official and wants to commit. (Remember - hates recruiting process and wants it done.) Parents (Dad) tell him to hold off and visit another school to compare. They pick Illinois and move the unofficial up three weeks and make it an official. Snider's player host is Cosby. Snider has a great time. Groce then makes pre-arranged in-home visit on Monday night and really impresses. Snider wants to commit to Illinois. Dad tells him that he needs to hear Alford on Tuesday night and then think about it. On Thursday, Snider commits to Illinois.

While still a UL recruit he tweets both Leron Black and Cliff Alexander about coming and joining him at Louisville since the three would love to play together. Who does Groce get to commit last week-end? Black, who immediately gets in Snider's ear about coming to Illinois.

All of this is recounted to say that I'm not so sure how much of Snider not visiting UConn is a negative on UConn as much as it is a positive for Groce and Illinois. Groce won Recruiter of the Year as an assistant to Thad Matta. The guy's legit. He's now gotten Cliff Alexander to give Illinois an OV for Oct 26th, Illinois' Homecoming week-end. Black and Snider are now in Cliff's ear.

I'm not saying that league affiliation isn't a negative for both the men's and women's programs at UConn because I think it is. Just in this case, I don't think that's the case.

 

[noeynox]

I'm torn on the whole the conference thing. Does it suck? Yes, whoever the coaches are here in any sport have to overcome that. No easy task by any means for sure but there is no other alternative. We just need league games to begin and to see this "great exposure" that Aresco talks about. I get a feeling the "exposure" is going to be great for the teams coming in, but for UConn not so much since we weren't really struggling due to under "exposure". Thing is, ain't god damn thing we can do about our conference situation. This is our home until it isn't.

 

[upstater]

A bit more info regarding the Snider recruitment from the Illinois side -

Snider is a kid that literally hates the recruiting process. When he re-opened his recruitment in late July, Groce was the first one in the door with a scholly offer and the first one to call the HS coach. HS coach called the Sniders and told them that they needed to listen to Illinois' pitch because their offense was tailor-made for Quentin. Meanwhile, Groce has Aaron Cosby get in Snider's ear about coming to Illinois. (Cosby and Snider's friendship goes back to elementary school.)

Snider visits UCLA on an official and wants to commit. (Remember - hates recruiting process and wants it done.) Parents (Dad) tell him to hold off and visit another school to compare. They pick Illinois and move the unofficial up three weeks and make it an official. Snider's player host is Cosby. Snider has a great time. Groce then makes pre-arranged in-home visit on Monday night and really impresses. Snider wants to commit to Illinois. Dad tells him that he needs to hear Alford on Tuesday night and then think about it. On Thursday, Snider commits to Illinois.

While still a UL recruit he tweets both Leron Black and Cliff Alexander about coming and joining him at Louisville since the three would love to play together. Who does Groce get to commit last week-end? Black, who immediately gets in Snider's ear about coming to Illinois.

All of this is recounted to say that I'm not so sure how much of Snider not visiting UConn is a negative on UConn as much as it is a positive for Groce and Illinois. Groce won Recruiter of the Year as an assistant to Thad Matta. The guy's legit. He's now gotten Cliff Alexander to give Illinois an OV for Oct 26th, Illinois' Homecoming week-end. Black and Snider are now in Cliff's ear.

I'm not saying that league affiliation isn't a negative for both the men's and women's programs at UConn because I think it is. Just in this case, I don't think that's the case.

Wasn't the case with Chukwu either. With Abu, it was likely the case.

BUT, even then, UConn's sanctions also hurt badly.

With Abu, the AAC counted as a mark against, but his curious comment about UConn not contacting him in summer also worked into it.

 

[James]

I have to agree with the sentiment some of these guys we are missing don't want to bother competing for PT. still befuddled by AMA and the 4th best school in NC.

 

[upstater]

I'm torn on the whole the conference thing. Does it suck? Yes, whoever the coaches are here in any sport have to overcome that. No easy task by any means for sure but there is no other alternative. We just need league games to begin and to see this "great exposure" that Aresco talks about. I get a feeling the "exposure" is going to be great for the teams coming in, but for UConn not so much since we weren't really struggling due to under "exposure". Thing is, ain't god damn thing we can do about our conference situation. This is our home until it isn't.

But we know what the exposure is. It's not like it's a mystery. It's all there. The TV games are already assigned.

 

[Pudge]

And if Groce succeeds ... he would go to Kansas or Texas. If they are open.

Illinois needs to see that they are locked in this free flowing neverland. They are a feeder for other Programs.

 

[LesMis89]

And if Groce succeeds ... he would go to Kansas or Texas. If they are open.

Illinois needs to see that they are locked in this free flowing neverland. They are a feeder for other Programs.

You are making assumptions. May be true, may not.

OTOH, why would Groce go follow someone else's success when he can create his own legend at Illinois?

This is the thread that was certain that Snider would pick UCLA. He didn't.

 

[ctchamps]

I'm torn on the whole the conference thing. Does it suck? Yes, whoever the coaches are here in any sport have to overcome that. No easy task by any means for sure but there is no other alternative. We just need league games to begin and to see this "great exposure" that Aresco talks about. I get a feeling the "exposure" is going to be great for the teams coming in, but for UConn not so much since we weren't really struggling due to under "exposure". Thing is, ain't god damn thing we can do about our conference situation. This is our home until it isn't.

It's a show me world. If the AAC does well it will draw recruits. It has to prove itself. There is a nucleus of four, maybe five, schools that should do damage in the NCAA's. That should change the perception.