Top 50 Recruits

[boog204]

Ollie hasn't been coaching long, but was on staff to help develop Kemba, Lamb, Bazz and DD - four guys who pretty much went from non-prospects to players who will or should have nice careers in the league.

Agree with everything else you wrote but this statement is not legit. Both Kemba and DD were top 15 players/McD AA types coming into school. DD was not an NBA prospect after his poor frosh year, but saying that both Kemba and DD have Ollie solely to thank for becoming prospects is a bit off. Many thought DD might be a one and done coming in and Kemba was very, very well known after his terrific Final 8 game against Missouri when he was the best player on the court.

 

[aceboon]

Agree with everything else you wrote but this statement is not legit. Both Kemba and DD were top 15 players/McD AA types coming into school. DD was not an NBA prospect after his poor frosh year, but saying that both Kemba and DD have Ollie solely to thank for becoming prospects is a bit off. Many thought DD might be a one and done coming in and Kemba was very, very well known after his terrific Final 8 game against Missouri when he was the best player on the court.

eh, the opinions on DD actually differ. Jerry Meyer when he was at Rivals had the highest ranking of him @ 1o but I saw a convo soon after the tourney with Joel Francisco who covers wesst coast recruiting for ESPN and he said he felt he was a high 3 star recruit coming out of HS and that his development was what you would expect from that kind of ranking. The opionions on DD weren't universal across the board.

 

[Rocktheworld]

We used to be NBA U. The best program to produce nba talent. I want to get back to that.

They're not "producing" anything at UK. They're renting.

 

[Gurleyman]

Agree with everything else you wrote but this statement is not legit. Both Kemba and DD were top 15 players/McD AA types coming into school. DD was not an NBA prospect after his poor frosh year, but saying that both Kemba and DD have Ollie solely to thank for becoming prospects is a bit off. Many thought DD might be a one and done coming in and Kemba was very, very well known after his terrific Final 8 game against Missouri when he was the best player on the court.

I maybe worded that poorly. They weren't always non-prospects, but they were at certain points of their career. Kemba as a freshman had no range on his jumper and wasn't a point guard. He had no NBA position and a long way to go to develop his game to get there. DD had a hard time staying in the rotation as a freshman on a team that desperately needed someone to be a decent 3 - before giving up and just playing 3 guards all the time (with nobody backing them up). If either of them went pro after their freshman seasons, they'd have played 10 mpg on a summer league team, been lucky to get a training camp invite, and been on their way to Europe. Whatever their recruiting rankings may have been, they had holes in their games you could drive a truck through when they started here. They developed in their time at UConn to get where they are - maybe they'd have developed that way anyway, but that's hypothetical. What we know as fact is that we did develop them.

I never said Ollie should take "sole credit" - especially for Kemba who he only worked with for one year. But Kemba made a lot of progress in that year and Ollie can certainly say he helped develop a guy from probably being undrafted if he came out in 2010 to a lottery pick in 2011.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Only 5 people see the court at the same time. I'll take Drummond AND Okafor over Cousins. But I had that as a push. Davis at PF I already had in favor of Kentucky. Jones? He's done nothing. Come'on! Regardless, it all seems even to me mainly because of UConn's wings. All those point guards, eight? How many are playing at the same time?

Jones played 25 minutes a game and averaged 12 and 7 for a playoff team. If a UConn kid was doing that people here would have him in Springfield.

 

[upstater]

Jones played 25 minutes a game and averaged 12 and 7 for a playoff team. If a UConn kid was doing that people here would have him in Springfield.

You don't find those stats very Charlie Villanueva-ish?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

What I believe most people took issue with was your seemingly envious comparison to Kentucky. You must see what makes Drummond different than their one and dones right?- Connecticut kid, grew up a fan of the Huskies, by all accounts a great young man (not saying Kentucky guys aren't), etc.

This is just silly. Drummond is a different type of one and done than the ones at Kentucky because he grew up a UConn fan and is a good kid? You don't know a thing about the kids that come through Kentucky or their continuing affiliation with the school. You just know they went to Kentucky. I see pics of Cal with his former players all the time. The homerism just boggles the mind.

There is something about Kentucky that just makes this board lose its damn mind. If you don't preface every post with "For the record, I hate Kentucky and think they're everything that's wrong with the world . . ." you're seen as some kind of traitor.

Kentucky has more high profile, impact guys in the league right now than UConn does, one and dones or not. You can't really debate that. Doesn't mean UConn doesn't beat them on the court, but there's a reason that Kentucky gets so much attention.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

You don't find those stats very Charlie Villanueva-ish?

No. Charlie's a joke, unfortunately. Will probably be out of the league never having played in a playoff game. He put up some decent numbers on some very, very bad teams in Milwaukee but it's been a steady descent since he got paid by Detroit. What'd he average, 4 points a game this year?

 

[upstater]

No. Charlie's a joke, unfortunately. Will probably be out of the league never having played in a playoff game. He put up some decent numbers on some very, very bad teams in Milwaukee but it's been a steady descent since he got paid by Detroit. What'd he average, 4 points a game this year?

He had 6 straight years of the numbers you're touting for Jones. Including his rookie year.

 

[otp85]

This is just silly. Drummond is a different type of one and done than the ones at Kentucky because he grew up a UConn fan and is a good kid? You don't know a thing about the kids that come through Kentucky or their continuing affiliation with the school. You just know they went to Kentucky. I see pics of Cal with his former players all the time. The homerism just boggles the mind.

There is something about Kentucky that just makes this board lose its damn mind. If you don't preface every post with "For the record, I hate Kentucky and think they're everything that's wrong with the world . . ." you're seen as some kind of traitor.

Kentucky has more high profile, impact guys in the league right now than UConn does, one and dones or not. You can't really debate that. Doesn't mean UConn doesn't beat them on the court, but there's a reason that Kentucky gets so much attention.

I don't have a problem with kentucky at all. Liked the 90s teams. Loved the guards they had, Tony Delk, Jeff Sheppard, Wayne Turner, etc.

I have a problem with john calipari. He is not a coach he is a recruiter and historic cheater. He fields AAU teams and strokes egos. He is bad for the game and worse for the kids that he takes advantage of.

I recognize that his style is a recipe for a type of success. But there's more than one recipe. I'm so happy it's not the recipe at UCONN.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I'm not envious of Calipari or Kentuckys success. The only thing I'm jealous of is the talent they get because if we got that talent our coaches could do MORE with it and then get to see them have great nba careers and represent uconn well. I do not like Kentucky I'm not 15. I'm a real uconn fan. I was the first one on the scout board to let everyone know Andre was coming and kris Dunn was going to providence back when they were suppose to be playing for the prep school so please don't question my fandom.

I simply don't wear the Husky shades. I'm a huge fan of the game itself so I have to respect the talent that flows through Kentucky whether we beat them and they stay one year or whatever because they are an exciting team to watch. Doesn't mean I like them or like them more than my huskies but I respect the talent. I don't respect Caliparis coaching ability though or like him as a person. I'm not going to hate on the superb talented kid who wants to go their either because they see everyone who goes there is a lottery pick and they want to do the same. It doesn't matter if Calipari developed them or not because non husky homers aren't going to see it that way.

I love Kevin Ollie. We couldn't have chosen a better coach. I am not worried about us beating any power program with him. I simply would like the big time talent UK gets to not only to continue to win championships but also see our players kill it in the league. I don't see what's wrong with that. I'm sorry if I can't give the closest program to our success in recent years some respect. We might as well not respect anybody then.

As far as the 8 and 4 thing that's just how it is. No matter when those championships came you have to respect the history. Like you would want people to respect our 4 if they make rule changes later in life that would have a huge impact on the game. So in that respect it still goes:
UCLA
UK
UNC
UConn
Duke

We are the 4th best program all time IMO and I want ours to be #1 or pass the one who is most relevant now (UK). What makes those above programs great are their success in college basketball AND in the NBA producing HOFs. Ray is our one. Andre has a chance to be another. But we have to get the talent to produce that kind of talent. Something Kentucky is doing and I would like us to stay on that pace.

 

[otp85]

This is just silly. Drummond is a different type of one and done than the ones at Kentucky because he grew up a UConn fan and is a good kid? You don't know a thing about the kids that come through Kentucky or their continuing affiliation with the school. You just know they went to Kentucky. I see pics of Cal with his former players all the time. The homerism just boggles the mind.

There is something about Kentucky that just makes this board lose its damn mind. If you don't preface every post with "For the record, I hate Kentucky and think they're everything that's wrong with the world . . ." you're seen as some kind of traitor.

Kentucky has more high profile, impact guys in the league right now than UConn does, one and dones or not. You can't really debate that. Doesn't mean UConn doesn't beat them on the court, but there's a reason that Kentucky gets so much attention.

My debate has never been that we have better NBA talent. You're right, they win. My argument is and has been that NBA success does not equal NCAA success.

I think our will continue to produce collegiate success regardless of how many players uk or duke or ucla or whoever sends to the league.

 

[mauconnfan]

HuskyWarrior you're a real good dude I am quite sure and I for one love your input, minus this thread. I get you like the talent they bring in but to be envious of HOW they do it is kind of ridiculous. Remember why you have that "Husky" pre-Warrior instead of "Wildcat"

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I really think there has just been a misunderstanding. I don't want the one and done system. I simply want an injection of that type of high level talent into the lineup. Like Daniel Hamilton this year with all the overlooked guys who will stay 2 or 3 years. We can still have those guys who we get to watch grow into a champion and get drafted while having that phenom that comes in for a year and gives us that Melo push to a title while collecting awards and going on to tear it up in the league.

 

[Woodson]

This is just silly. Drummond is a different type of one and done than the ones at Kentucky because he grew up a UConn fan and is a good kid? You don't know a thing about the kids that come through Kentucky or their continuing affiliation with the school. You just know they went to Kentucky. I see pics of Cal with his former players all the time. The homerism just boggles the mind.

There is something about Kentucky that just makes this board lose its damn mind. If you don't preface every post with "For the record, I hate Kentucky and think they're everything that's wrong with the world . . ." you're seen as some kind of traitor.

Kentucky has more high profile, impact guys in the league right now than UConn does, one and dones or not. You can't really debate that. Doesn't mean UConn doesn't beat them on the court, but there's a reason that Kentucky gets so much attention.

To be honest I don't really know who I was replying to regarding Drummond (my mistake huskywarrior), I thought I saw a comment about avoiding one and dones on "a one year tour" I was trying to distinguish why UConn fans feel more of a connection to Drummond compared to how other one and dones are viewed, based on the fact that he is from CT and rooted for the team growing up. In that sense he is not a typical one and done. No slight to any player that goes anywhere else - that wasn't at all what I was trying to suggest.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He had 6 straight years of the numbers you're touting for Jones. Including his rookie year.

For one of the worst franchises in sports, as I said. I can't go back and forth with you on this, given the way you overrate UConn players in a league you don't even watch, throwing around Emeka's name like he's a difference maker when comparing NBA talent.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

For one of the worst franchises in sports, as I said. I can't go back and forth with you on this, given the way you overrate UConn players in a league you don't even watch, throwing around Emeka's name like he's a difference maker when comparing NBA talent.

Yeah that Emeka vs Davis comparison was pretty outlandish.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yeah that Emeka vs Davis comparison was pretty outlandish.

Certainly not in college but in the NBA it would seem Davis will have much more of an impact…

 

[CallMeBruce]

For one of the worst franchises in sports, as I said. I can't go back and forth with you on this, given the way you overrate UConn players in a league you don't even watch, throwing around Emeka's name like he's a difference maker when comparing NBA talent.

Jones just posted 7.1 WS and a 19.1 PER, neither of which Villanueva ever did. I think Charlie was a solid NBA player, but he was no star, and in comparing his first two seasons (or any two seasons of his career) with Jones', it's not all that close.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't get these type of sentiments. I want to win championships AND produce some of the best NBA prospects to keep watching

I don't get what you don't get. The only goal UConn has is to win championships and games. There are many 3 and 4 year players who will help a program do that more than a more talented one and done. You really would have traded Shabazz for a, say Brandon Knight? If you would, ask yourself who has two rings and who doesn't.

Taking a one and done is great if it gets us more championships, but we've won 2 of the last 4 and no one else has.

 

[upstater]

For one of the worst franchises in sports, as I said. I can't go back and forth with you on this, given the way you overrate UConn players in a league you don't even watch, throwing around Emeka's name like he's a difference maker when comparing NBA talent.

Emeka is a bad backup C compared to Daniel Orton?

Please. I threw Emeka in there, a 10/10 guy his whole career, as a backup to Drummond. Kentucky's other center is Orton. Do you even watch the NBA?

 

[upstater]

Yeah that Emeka vs Davis comparison was pretty outlandish.

You mean the comparison no one ever made?

How many strawmen are you and BigErn going to throw out in this thread?

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I don't get what you don't get. The only goal UConn has is to win championships and games. There are many 3 and 4 year players who will help a program do that more than a more talented one and done. You really would have traded Shabazz for a, say Brandon Knight? If you would, ask yourself who has two rings and who doesn't.

Taking a one and done is great if it gets us more championships, but we've won 2 of the last 4 and no one else has.

My thing is our coaches can coach. So it's not what about those players did with Cal it's what they could do with us. That's the point you guys aren't getting. We're UCONN. If we can take 2, 3, and 4* recruits and win championships what's wrong with taking 2 top 10s a year to mash in with that to keep winning AND see our players do great things in the league. I don't see the issue with this. Why settle for just being a nice college team when we can have an impact on the actual game of basketball itself? At the end of the day that's what schools really pride theirselves on. The impact on the sport. That's why UNC will forever pound their chest about Jordan no matter how bad they get.

 

[Gurleyman]

Emeka came here as barely a top 100 recruit and had a range of one foot as a freshman. Who knows if his NBA career turns out a little better if he doesn't bulk up too much, shred his ankle and lose his lift, but he was a consistent double-double guy for seven or eight years - and he was actually finding a nice role at the end of last year with Washington too (averaging about 11 and 11 for three months in only around 30 mpg, before tailing off in April after the Wiz were out of it and his minutes went down). He's certainly not on his way to Springfield, but he's not an NBA scrub either - even just last year he dominated some games.

Davis is a transcendent talent. Would have been more than happy to borrow him here for a year too. Guys like that don't come along very often. He even got a little better as his season at Kentucky went on with improving his offensive game, so he's a guy that it is tough to argue against as a big plus in their legacy/development column. But you could argue Terrence Jones got worse in his two years at Kentucky. He was a stud at first, looking like a sure one and done, then there were all sorts of "what happened to this guy" stories after he fell off a cliff, but he put the pieces back together and salvaged his NBA prospects when he found a good role as a complementary piece on their NC team. DD's career was uneven, too, and there were times this year when it seemed he'd regressed - but there's no question he was a better player when he left than when he came in. Debatable with Jones.

Kentucky doesn't make me lose my mind. If it weren't for us, they'd have three of the last four titles and they'd be the envy of the hoops world with their basketball factory system and everyone would be discussing how they are becoming a UCLA-type unstoppable juggernaut. We should make them lose their minds - they're just another strong program right now since we wrestled two banners from them. It's the notion that we should somehow be jealous of their system or their NBA alumni team is silly to me. Like the banners we're hanging aren't good enough or something. Thank goodness we got Bazz instead of Brandon Knight, even if Knight will almost surely put up better NBA stats.

 

[upstater]

My thing is our coaches can coach. So it's not what about those players did with Cal it's what they could do with us. That's the point you guys aren't getting. We're UCONN. If we can take 2, 3, and 4* recruits and win championships what's wrong with taking 2 top 10s a year to mash in with that to keep winning AND see our players do great things in the league. I don't see the issue with this. Why settle for just being a nice college team when we can have an impact on the actual game of basketball itself? At the end of the day that's what schools really pride theirselves on. The impact on the sport. That's why UNC will forever pound their chest about Jordan no matter how bad they get.

UConn finished #2 to North Carolina in a rating of schools producing the top pros last year. So they fall to #3 behind UNC and Kentucky, is that really going to matter? It should be plain that UConn coaches have had a good eye for players like Kemba and Jeremy Lamb and Okafor who developed at UConn, and all left before their 4th year. Gay, Villanueva, Caron Butler left after 2 I believe. Judging by the number of top draftees and their success in the NBA, there's only one conclusion you can draw: the rating services are really bad compared to come coaches. UConn is #2 at producing successful pros. Better than Duke.