Tevin Mack (Committed to Texas)

[upstater]

Yup. I just don't understand it. Recruiting is a grind every single year at Uconn (lately anyway). But yet we still act surprised by it and we still overreact to it.

I think the old adage is you can't judge a recruiting class until you see what they do in college. Well what's a hundred times worse is calling a recruiting class a "failure" or "underachievement" in November when none of us have any idea who will actually join Adams and Enoch in this class when all is said and done. It would be great to be done with the class in November and it sure would make Ollie's job easier, but you don't get extra points for being done early.

Out of the top seven guys in our rotation last year (Napier, Boatright, Giffey, Daniels, Brimah, Kromah, and Nolan), a whopping one was a November signee for Uconn and even he had to decommit from WVU before ending up with us. The other six guys were a reclassification (Napier), an international guy (Giffey), two guys who committed late completely out of the blue (Daniels and Nolan), a guy who chose us over Florida International (Brimah), and a 5th year transfer (Kromah). We turned that scrap heap into a national championship rotation and we added Sam Cassell and Rodney Purvis in similar, non-traditional fashion. And here we are sitting on at least two top-60 players who are about to sign LOIs, but yet all we can talk about is how "troublesome" our recruiting is.

Id' say while much of this is accurate, the championship depended on two players who were clearly top talents. Napier, who reclassified and would have been a solid get the next year, and Deandre Daniels who was considered a top 10 player. Looking back on it now, it seems to me that clearly Ollie had a big hand in bringing Daniels. When I read about the Hamilton/Daniels LA connections, and Ollie's ties to those circles, I bet Ollie had a lot to do with it.

 

[aceboon]

I just find it funny that the same people banging the drum about how terrible recruiting is going were the same ones calling for Sellers and Lafluer's heads for the 2010 class. That's why I always reference 2010, this board was in hysterics over that class, yet now when they look back at it they want to pump up what guys were ranked and what they went on to accomplish. Ya'll(and you know who you are) weren't saying all that back then when Joseph, Knight, Lamb, Selby, and Leslie went elsewhere. That's why I just sit back and let things play out, recruiting isn't determined the day a guy commits here or elsewhere, let the careers actually happen first.

 

[UCONN-NYC]

According to @GarnetReport: "Hearing that Mack is deciding between UConn and VCU, which means Clemson and Georgia are out as well"

gotta love VCU trolls:

1. John Tatum ‏@johntatum 15h15 hours ago
   @GarnetReport any indication which way he's leaning?
   
   
   
   
   
   Garnet Report ‏@GarnetReport 15h15 hours ago
   @johntatum I would guess UConn
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Greg Mullins ‏@GregVCURAM 15h15 hours ago
   @GarnetReport @johntatum fortunately ur guess isn't right
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

[djct1999]

I too am absolutely shaking my head at losing kids to VCU.

Come'on!!!! Ridiculous.

Jeremy Lamb had the right idea. Makes no sense for these kids to stack at the position at a midmajor with very little exposure on TV.

It could be cultural for Mack, but Larrier was from NYC.

I have to say, I was much more sold on Larrier as a player than Mack, so I won't be shaking my head on this as much as I did last year with Larrier. I really liked that kid's game. Mack I am not as thrilled about.

And we do have Hamilton and Purvis for maybe 2 more seasons. After that, we'll need a bigtime frosh to step in. Lucky we're recruiting VJ King nd Mario Kegler, both of whom look fantastic.

So UConn was last to offer and very late in recruiting this kid. Is a miss really that shocking? I do agree on Larrier. That hurt much more than this ever will.

 

[UConn990411]

So UConn was last to offer and very late in recruiting this kid. Is a miss really that shocking? I do agree on Larrier. That hurt much more than this ever will.

They weren't THAT late in the recruiting process for Mack.

Schools like UNC (pre-scandal) and Kansas are able to come in late and steal recruits all the time ... including from UConn. UConn should be able to do the same from a school like VCU.

 

[nomar]

I think the "Calhoun would have nailed down Larrier and Mack" argument is mindblowingly silly. I can't even count the times we've complained about UConn's inability--when JC was coach--to nail down the big boys. Ratings, shmatings. The last 6-star recruit we landed, beating out other top schools on a level playing field, was Andrew Bynum. (We had home-field advantage for Drummond, obviously).

Yes, of course, JC landed plenty of top-50 players. But we've constantly taken and won with our 2nd, 3rd and 4th choices. Superjohn nailed it.

What's pushed us over the top has been our 2nd level recruiting, spotting guys late like Emeka and Jeremy. Calhoun was like the guy who didn't have the best touch inside but could spring for the putback before anybody else left his feet. Sure, that doesn't get you very far if you don't have quality early commitments. But Calhoun consistently lost out to Calipari, Williams, Self, and Olsen.

I'm really shaking my head here.

If Ollie lands Stone, that would be a more impressive get than Calhoun ever had in the last decade. Never mind Mack and Stone (and Enoch and Adams).

Enoch, Adams and filler is pretty much what Calhoun was getting us in a decent-to-good recruiting year.

 

[aceboon]

They weren't THAT late in the recruiting process for Mack.

Schools like UNC (pre-scandal) and Kansas are able to come in late and steal recruits all the time ... including from UConn. UConn should be able to do the same from a school like VCU.

they offered in Sept, he's deciding in Nov, and they weren't actively tracking him during the spring/summer evaluation period. As for the UNC reference, something similar already happened with Kenny Williams and that was before the scandal blew up in their face. Obviously nobody knows if its a done deal if Mack is going to VCU, but they aren't some pushover, in the year 2014 and the immediate future, they're a top 20-25 program.

4. Which school is getting the biggest steal?

Borzello: VCU beating out North Carolina for shooting guard Kenny Williams (No. 79). The Rams were the early favorite, but things looked tough for them once the Tar Heels offered. Shaka Smart and his staff were still able to get a commitment. Williams can really knock down shots from the perimeter and will give the Rams a scorer in the halfcourt.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/col...alyzing-the-early-signing-period?refresh=true

 

[upstater]

they offered in Sept, he's deciding in Nov, and they weren't actively tracking him during the spring/summer evaluation period. As for the UNC reference, something similar already happened with Kenny Williams and that was before the scandal blew up in their face. Obviously nobody knows if its a done deal if Mack is going to VCU, but they aren't some pushover, in the year 2014 and the immediate future, they're a top 20-25 program.

4. Which school is getting the biggest steal?

Borzello: VCU beating out North Carolina for shooting guard Kenny Williams (No. 79). The Rams were the early favorite, but things looked tough for them once the Tar Heels offered. Shaka Smart and his staff were still able to get a commitment. Williams can really knock down shots from the perimeter and will give the Rams a scorer in the halfcourt.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/col...alyzing-the-early-signing-period?refresh=true

So, let's see, they have Kenny Williams at the 2 and Terry Larrier at the 3.

Why is Mack even considering them?

Seems to me Georgia may be the way to go.

 

[3uconn]

It's been down to UConn and VCU for at least a week or two now based on what I've been told.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I don't get why kids go to VCU. Sure fun little system to play in, but doesn't allow kids to shine. Kinda leads to balance scoring and everyone plays a lot. You would think this would be an easy sell to Mack with all the wings we have produced in the NBA. Wrapping up Mack would be nice. Derrick Jones will be a long drawn out process with potentially UK and KU snooping around.

 

[bear]

It's been down to UConn and VCU for at least a week or two now based on what I've been told.

Who does VCU even have in the NBA besides Larry Sanders? Nobody else right?

 

[Gurleyman]

Not sure why people have such a hard time realizing that even though we didn't win championships with all top 10 players, the majority of the major players were top 50-60 guys (off the boards?). That's why losing top 50/60 guys (players we won championships with) to mid-major and crappy major programs is an issue. There is this misconception that JC was pulling all this talent out of thin air. There was a whole thing this summer about how Travis Knight, Adrien, and Freeman were not top recruits. All were in the top 40 at one point. Hell Antric Klaiber was a top 50 player. Also, we all love KO, but he needs to bring in a top, top player (Stone) before we can even remotely consider making comparisons to other "top" recruiters. (?)

It's an issue if we are losing out on top 50 kids when we don't have a top 25 kid already here at their position.

Purvis, Hamilton and Adams are three top 25 recruits who are all one year apart from each other (Calhoun is top 30-40 and Ollie did need to re-recruit him after the coaching change but for the sake of this discussion, it's fair not to include him). I don't care if Purvis is a transfer - it's a Mickey D's guy a lot of places wanted. Facey and Enoch are second tier guys around 50-75. Brimah was a diamond in the rough, and Cassell looks like a top 50 talent so far, whatever he may have been ranked two years ago when he committed to Maryland, and we get him for three years so it's better than a usual JuCo.

Why is this mix so different than 1999? Three top 30 guards (Purvis-Adams-DHam vs KEA-Rip-Ricky), Cassell/Albie (bench shooter), Jake/Brimah (Diamond in the rough center), Rash/Omar (struggling high-ranked vet), Enoch/Ed (local top 50), Nolan/Souley (big man depth), Samuel/EJ (backcourt depth). The one place there's a clear gap is Free/Facey-Lubin, since Free was in the 30s and Facey was near the bottom of the top 100. But Samuel is better than EJ.

 

[Dynasty]

Who does VCU even have in the NBA besides Larry Sanders? Nobody else right?

They have Troy Daniels and Jamie Skeen had a cup of coffee as well.

 

[Gurleyman]

Who does VCU even have in the NBA besides Larry Sanders? Nobody else right?

Eric Maynor (pre-Smart) and Troy Daniels has carved out a role as a three-point specialist.

 

[tcf15]

From Bossi on Rivals:

As of Wednesday morning, Kevin Ollie and the UConn Huskies have been generating some heat in the rumor mill, but Mack's recruitment could still end up going in just about any direction.

 

[UConn990411]

they offered in Sept, he's deciding in Nov, and they weren't actively tracking him during the spring/summer evaluation period. As for the UNC reference, something similar already happened with Kenny Williams and that was before the scandal blew up in their face. Obviously nobody knows if its a done deal if Mack is going to VCU, but they aren't some pushover, in the year 2014 and the immediate future, they're a top 20-25 program.

4. Which school is getting the biggest steal?

Borzello: VCU beating out North Carolina for shooting guard Kenny Williams (No. 79). The Rams were the early favorite, but things looked tough for them once the Tar Heels offered. Shaka Smart and his staff were still able to get a commitment. Williams can really knock down shots from the perimeter and will give the Rams a scorer in the halfcourt.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/col...alyzing-the-early-signing-period?refresh=true

Okay, I take back what I said. I think following this thread has made it FEEL like they've been on him a lot longer, haha.

And believe me: I'll never worry about UConn's recruiting after the way things played out in 2011. Never ever. I just figured that, between the championship and practice facility, at least one of these kids would've committed by now.


Of course, this whole argument could look pretty silly a couple months from now if Ollie's locking up signatures from Stone an Mack/Jones.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I too am absolutely shaking my head at losing kids to VCU.

Come'on!!!! Ridiculous.

Jeremy Lamb had the right idea. Makes no sense for these kids to stack at the position at a midmajor with very little exposure on TV.

It could be cultural for Mack, but Larrier was from NYC.

I have to say, I was much more sold on Larrier as a player than Mack, so I won't be shaking my head on this as much as I did last year with Larrier. I really liked that kid's game. Mack I am not as thrilled about.

And we do have Hamilton and Purvis for maybe 2 more seasons. After that, we'll need a bigtime frosh to step in. Lucky we're recruiting VJ King nd Mario Kegler, both of whom look fantastic.

His only competition really will be Jordan Burgess to start at VCU. They could start Cox, Larrier, Mack, Johnson and Williams (who VCU beat NC out for). VCU is only a 5 hour drive from Columbia. VCU also has a 25 mill dollar practice facility being built and a very good coach. The A-10 and AAC are comparable right now in terms of strength. I think UConn is the best place for Mack because his dreams of playing in the NBA will come to fruition here. The system with Ollie will prepare him better than Smart's at VCU. The argument that if you are NBA caliber they will find you has merit. In my opinion it would be expedited under Ollie.

In all fairness. How is this not excellent TV exposure?

http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/schedule

 

[CallMeBruce]

I just want to clarify that I'm not saying that Ollie is a poor recruiter or that I'm worried about his recruiting or whatever. My point is that, if we end up getting Enoch/Adams plus filler after winning a championship and building a great new facility, I'll be concerned. If we get Mack or Jones, I'll feel pretty good. If we get Briscoe or Stone, I'll feel great.

 

[WestHartHusk]

It's noon...where is the news?

 

[aceboon]

It's noon...where is the news?

I think its Thursday @ noon

 

[WestHartHusk]

I think its Thursday @ noon

Haha. I give up on recruiting.

 

[GoldCstHusky]

Jerry Meyer ‏@jerrymeyer247 2m2 minutes ago
Latest intel on Tevin Mack is that there is a serious tug of war going on between UConn and VCU. http://Post original url/1uc5sjv

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Haha. I give up on recruiting.

He was potentially going to announce with Dozier today but that's not happening and Mack will announce tomorrow.

 

[pj]

Not sure why people have such a hard time realizing that even though we didn't win championships with all top 10 players, the majority of the major players were top 50-60 guys (off the boards?). That's why losing top 50/60 guys (players we won championships with) to mid-major and crappy major programs is an issue. There is this misconception that JC was pulling all this talent out of thin air. There was a whole thing this summer about how Travis Knight, Adrien, and Freeman were not top recruits. All were in the top 40 at one point. Hell Antric Klaiber was a top 50 player.

Also, we all love KO, but he needs to bring in a top, top player (Stone) before we can even remotely consider making comparisons to other "top" recruiters. I think there are two threads here about how KO is the next Cal on the recruiting trail. Getting an in-home with Jabari Parker, having countless players "love him," and being a finalist for others does not equate to being compared to (unfortunately) the best recruiter college basketball has seen since the UCLA days. Adams and Enoch are both excellent prospects, but we need to start locking up those plan B guys. Of course this whole thing becomes moot if Mack and Stone pledge.

Just to illustrate our championship squads. Not all top 10 guys, but each one rolled with 2 or 3 top 50 guys.

1999:
pg: Khalid (McD AA)
pg/2g: Ricky (top 50)
sf: Rip (McD AA)
pf: KFree (top 50/60)
c: Jake (top 125)

Rash (top 50), Mouring (top 50), Saunders (top 50), Souley (?)

2004:

pg: Taliek (McD AA)
2g: Ben (top 40)
sf: Denham (top 50)
pf: Boone (top 125)
c: Okafor (top 100)

Charlie V (McD AA), Rashad (top 50), Hilton (top 250)

2011:

pg: Kemba (McD AA)
2g: JLamb (top 60)
sf: Roscoe (top 50)
pf: AO (top 20)
c: TO (top 200?)

Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (top 50), Giff (?), Shabazz (top 80)

2014:

pg: Shabazz (top 80)
pg/2g: Boat (top 60)
sf: Giff (?)
pf: DD (top 15)
c: Nolan (top 200)

Amida (?), Samuel (top 150), Kromah (?)

So our championship teams have typically had 5 top 75 or so players. But there are 13 scholarship players ... so we get 5/13 = 38% highly regarded players. That's on our best teams.

You don't have to get a great player with every scholarship. KO is doing just fine with recruiting.

 

[Dynasty]

So Dozier commits to South Carolina... That may change some things.


One thing is for certain. The crystal ball doesn't know