Trace Young

[JMick]

If Diarra can rebound the way most think he can, along with some rebounding from Cobb and the youngsters (Polley, Carlton, Whaley), we are going to have a nice year.

There is no doubt in my mind that we are going to get loads of scoring from Adams, Larrier, Vital, and Gilbert. No doubt in my mind...

I have high hopes for Carlton. If we get production from him and Diarra we will be ok. Maybe not top 25 good, but should make the tournament without being on the bubble, good.

 

[3rdbass]

Carlton is a little bit of a project. We have no proven big men up front and that is the reason we are going to play small. The only problem with this is we don't even have enough guys to rotate for that. We have one proven player JA and 3 unknown injured players and a bunch of low ranked players with CV. Not really instilling a great season in my mind. JA will have to score 20 plus every game to carry this team into the tournament as it stands now.

 

[navery12]

I have high hopes for Carlton. If we get production from him and Diarra we will be ok. Maybe not top 25 good, but should make the tournament without being on the bubble, good.

I think there's 100 minutes for the guards, which would basically equate to running a 3 guard lineup half the time which doesn't seem too crazy. Give Larrier ~25 and work him back slowly (same with Gilbert, so a few extra minutes early for Vital/Anderson).

That leaves ~75 minutes to fill for the big guys. Penciling in Cobb for 10-15 seems like a start, I have my doubts about him playing effectively for much more than that. Carlton and Diarra getting about 15-20 each seems like a necessity. That leaves about 20 minutes between Polley and Whaley who seem a little more raw (just my guess). Gonna need someone to step up and earn some minutes.

I'm probably off on at least one player's minutes above, but I still think we need to try and find one more body. The Williams kid from SJU would help just to have another body down low for a year. My preference would be another wing who could play some minutes at the 3/4 behind Larrier but doesn't appear to be anyone out there at this point to step in right away

 

[Hugo]

We've got like a hundred open scholarships. Why not, if possible? Nobody else is signing up.

If he can just rebound, play D and has the right attitude sign him. He may be practice fodder now, but we need bodies badly and who knows maybe he'll develop into decent player.

 

[gtcam]

Illinois State, Indy St and Troy offered. Trying to compete with those juggernauts? Please

Does that mean the kid can't contribute? Not saying the kid is Rodman BUT Who did Dennis Rodman play for?
and Larry Bird?

 

[FartMan69]

Does that mean the kid can't contribute? Not saying the kid is Rodman BUT Who did Dennis Rodman play for?
and Larry Bird?

Yeah I definitely see a little Bird and Rodman in there. Like a hybrid, good thing we're the only name programs to see that.

 

[Stainmaster]

Fully ambivalent on whether or not taking this kid (whom we may never end up offering) would be more beneficial than banking the scholarship.

That said, I would love to see the meltdown him committing here would cause. I'd set the over/under on posters who would tweet at the kid asking him to immediately rescind because he isn't a UConn-caliber player at 3.

 

[FartMan69]

Fully ambivalent on whether or not taking this kid (whom we may never end up offering) would be more beneficial than banking the scholarship.

That said, I would love to see the meltdown him committing here would cause. I'd set the over/under on posters who would tweet at the kid asking him to immediately rescind because he isn't a UConn-caliber player at 3.

I'm a bigger fan of the weirdos who take hours to photoshop every recruit in a UConn jersey next to a pic of Ray or Kemba and then take the favorite as evidence of his eventual commitment.

 

[Stainmaster]

I'm a bigger fan of the weirdos who take hours to photoshop every recruit in a UConn jersey next to a pic of Ray or Kemba and then take the favorite as evidence of his eventual commitment.

Right? I'd be shocked if other boards went as batsht crazy over minuscule details on social media. News flash: kids like being tagged in tweets because they like being showered with attention, not because they're playing games and trying to drop clues re. decisions they haven't made yet.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah I definitely see a little Bird and Rodman in there. Like a hybrid, good thing we're the only name programs to see that.

Don't bother, this dude is so clueless.

 

[FartMan69]

Right? I'd be shocked if other boards went as batsht crazy over minuscule details on social media. News flash: kids like being tagged in tweets because they like being showered with attention.

I've seen other fan bases twitter and they're all pretty much the same. Usually a generic player or team logo as their avi, like 30 followers and constant tweets at teenagers they just saw on a youtube mixtape. It's all part of the game at this point.

 

[Fishy]

Fully ambivalent on whether or not taking this kid (whom we may never end up offering) would be more beneficial than banking the scholarship.

That said, I would love to see the meltdown him committing here would cause. I'd set the over/under on posters who would tweet at the kid asking him to immediately rescind because he isn't a UConn-caliber player at 3.

Oh, god.

Please shut up.

 

[champs99and04]

The idea that the "rankings" somehow don't matter is one of the great misnomers on this board. Obviously they are not a prophecy, but there are people who get paid to evaluate them as prospects and to the extent that there is a correlation between where they are ranked and how good they become is overwhelming.

Any one of these guys could turn out to be good. The fact that we are gradually working our way further and further down the list is not encouraging no matter how you slice it. There is not much spin to put on this off-season other than that it is an unadulterated disaster; we can acknowledge that this particular recruit is emblematic of that while still allowing for the possibility that he is good.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Yeah I definitely see a little Bird and Rodman in there. Like a hybrid, good thing we're the only name programs to see that.

We're just not the only name program connected to him though. You can keep repeating that same wrong line and it doesn't make it any less wrong. If you're going to crap on the kid, at least come up with a reason not based in misreading a tweet that was easily debunked by a 10 second Google search.

 

[superjohn]

The idea that the "rankings" somehow don't matter is one of the great misnomers on this board. Obviously they are not a prophecy, but there are people who get paid to evaluate them as prospects and to the extent that there is a correlation between where they are ranked and how good they become is overwhelming.

Any one of these guys could turn out to be good. The fact that we are gradually working our way further and further down the list is not encouraging no matter how you slice it. There is not much spin to put on this off-season other than that it is an unadulterated disaster; we can acknowledge that this particular recruit is emblematic of that while still allowing for the possibility that he is good.

It's ridiculous, we have people here saying rankings don't matter and UConn will be fine because Cobb, Carlton, Whaley and Polley are all underrated and will surprise. Oh yeah and Diarra will be a dominant type rebounder. We just had two kids ranked way higher than any of these players transfer after doing nothing in their time at UConn. Now a bunch of guys ranked 150/200th in the country are going to hold down the frontcourt and help with making us a dynamic run and gun team.

Hope is nice but when it flies in the face of reality it just looks like a lot of people patting themselves on the back, around here many seem to think that makes you a "real" fan.

 

[Walker11]

The idea that the "rankings" somehow don't matter is one of the great misnomers on this board. Obviously they are not a prophecy, but there are people who get paid to evaluate them as prospects and to the extent that there is a correlation between where they are ranked and how good they become is overwhelming.

Any one of these guys could turn out to be good. The fact that we are gradually working our way further and further down the list is not encouraging no matter how you slice it. There is not much spin to put on this off-season other than that it is an unadulterated disaster; we can acknowledge that this particular recruit is emblematic of that while still allowing for the possibility that he is good.

This certain meme eerily resembles one under the early Diaco administration when we were landing kids with only D1AA offers, but they were the "right kind of guys" who we were going to train up into studs with our awesome S and C coach.

 

[FartMan69]

We're just not the only name program connected to him though. You can keep repeating that same wrong line and it doesn't make it any less wrong. If you're going to crap on the kid, at least come up with a reason not based in misreading a tweet that was easily debunked by a 10 second Google search.

Look at his offer list. We wont turn the program around with players ranked near 300 and don't try to spin that rankings don't matter. Bank the schollie and work on 2018 with the assistant we hired so we wouldn't have to fish for players like this.

 

[Huskymagic]

No one is saying that rankings don't matter at all in predicting who is a good baller and who isn't.

I would like for UCONN to recruit like Calimari and only get top 50 prospects but we keep whiffing on top 100 recruits so we need to fill out the roster as best we can.

Recruits like Trace Young are worth the scholarship because you can't teach 6'7-6-8 with IQ and elite athleticism. He is a better overall prospect than Wilson and a better fit for our team.

PS: UCONN shouldn't have to resort to this but this is where Ollie has us right now. Chillious needs to live up to the hype soon and bigly for Ollies sake and Ollie needs to put out a winner out there this year.

 

[Balker]

This obsession with rankings...

There are a lot of spots to fill on rosters of top D1 teams. You're gonna need to go beyond the top 100 to find people who can be role players on great teams (unless you are Kentucky). There are a lot of good recruits who are ranked poorly because they don't play on top hs teams and even more who aren't ranked at all, our staff is paid to find them hiding where recruit evaluators miss them.

I have no idea if this kid sucks or not. But hopefully coaches with aau connections on our team do, and are going to make the decision they think is best for the program so they can keep their multi-million dollar contracts.

Stop making ridiculous arguments based on nothing but a mix tape and/or a ranking that is probably based on one tournament at best.

 

[Walker11]

This obsession with rankings...

There are a lot of top teams who get good recruits. You're gonna need to go beyond the top 100 to find people who can be role players on great teams. There are a lot of good recruits who are ranked poorly or even more so who aren't ranked at all, our staff is paid to find them hiding where recruit evaluators miss them.

I have no idea if this kid sucks or not. But hopefully coaches with aau connections on our team do, and are going to make the decision they think is best for the program so they can keep their multi-million dollar contracts.

Stop making ridiculous arguments based on nothing but a mix tape and/or a ranking that is probably based on one tournament at best.

Don't simply consider the rankings. Consider the circumstances. I am much more confident when the the staff is offering a 3* early in the process: see Carlton, Polley. I am not as confident that the staff found a diamond in the rough when they offer a kid in late May after repeatedly whiffing on targets.

The worst "ridiculous argument based on nothing but a mix tape" is being made by @Huskymagic.

 

[superjohn]

No one is saying that rankings don't matter at all in predicting who is a good baller and who isn't.

I would like for UConn to recruit like Calimari and only get top 50 prospects but we keep whiffing on top 100 recruits so we need to fill out the roster as best we can.

Recruits like Trace Young are worth the scholarship because you can't teach 6'7-6-8 with IQ and elite athleticism. He is a better overall prospect than Wilson and a better fit for our team.

PS: UConn shouldn't have to resort to this but this is where Ollie has us right now. Chillious needs to live up to the hype soon and bigly for Ollies sake and Ollie needs to put out a winner out there this year.

Wait, what? Trace Young is a better prospect than Sid Wilson?

 

[superjohn]

This obsession with rankings...

There are a lot of spots to fill on rosters of top D1 teams. You're gonna need to go beyond the top 100 to find people who can be role players on great teams (unless you are Kentucky). There are a lot of good recruits who are ranked poorly because they don't play on top hs teams and even more who aren't ranked at all, our staff is paid to find them hiding where recruit evaluators miss them.

I have no idea if this kid sucks or not. But hopefully coaches with aau connections on our team do, and are going to make the decision they think is best for the program so they can keep their multi-million dollar contracts.

Stop making ridiculous arguments based on nothing but a mix tape and/or a ranking that is probably based on one tournament at best.

This board in a nutshell. You couldn't possibly be more wrong.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Look at his offer list. We wont turn the program around with players ranked near 300 and don't try to spin that rankings don't matter. Bank the schollie and work on 2018 with the assistant we hired so we wouldn't have to fish for players like this.

Those aren't his only offers, just the recent ones. He's got offers from USC, VT, K-State, DePaul, and was connected to some other bigger schools like Trxas, Tenn, Lville, etc. Plenty of good players have low level offers in addition to the bigger Name ones.

As I and others have said before, you're just wrong. You can continue to claim the same thing based on misreading the original tweet as his only offers but it still doesn't change the fact that you're wrong on that point.

 

[UConnDan97]

Of course rankings matter. Nobody is saying otherwise. But try to remember that being ranked #25 is not significantly different than #50. Being ranked #100 is not significantly different than #160. This is a 3 star, top 250 recruit unless I'm mistaken. Let's not act like the kid just picked up a basketball last week...

 

[pj]

Of course rankings matter. Nobody is saying otherwise. But try to remember that being ranked #25 is not significantly different than #50. Being ranked #100 is not significantly different than #160. This is a 3 star, top 250 recruit unless I'm mistaken. Let's not act like the kid just picked up a basketball last week...

Last year UConn was #96 in kenpom. The top 96 schools in D1 take in 96*13/4 = 312 new players every year. The kid is in the top 312. Therefore his level of play is not likely to degrade our level of play. He would have been good to have last year.

Now, maybe we can do better leaving the roster spot unoccupied in 2017-18 and getting another class of 2018 player. But now is not the time to be sneering at competitive players who may be able to help us.

 

[Balker]

This board in a nutshell. You couldn't possibly be more wrong.

Which thing that I said could not possibly be more wrong? Just like, the whole thing? Just need to know so I can better myself.

And would it be too meta to point out that you claiming my post is "this board in a nutshell" is actually this board in a nutshell?

 

[Stainmaster]

Last year UConn was #96 in kenpom. The top 96 schools in D1 take in 96*13/4 = 312 new players every year. The kid is in the top 312. Therefore his level of play is not likely to degrade our level of play. He would have been good to have last year.

Now, maybe we can do better leaving the roster spot unoccupied in 2017-18 and getting another class of 2018 player. But now is not the time to be sneering at competitive players who may be able to help us.

I may be the absolute wrong person to call someone else out on this, but #96 in KenPom is an anomaly. Not something anyone here should be aspiring to maintain.

 

[intlzncster]

I've seen other fan bases twitter and they're all pretty much the same. Usually a generic player or team logo as their avi, like 30 followers and constant tweets at teenagers they just saw on a youtube mixtape. It's all part of the game at this point.

If anyone thinks it's a big deal with basketball recruits, they should go check out what happens for football. It's positively frightening.

 

[UConnDan97]

I may be the absolute wrong person to call someone else out on this, but #96 in KenPom is an anomaly. Not something anyone here should be aspiring to maintain.

I think his point is the following (or at least my point is the following): the kid is ranked around the #50 - #55 SF in the country right now. What that means is that this kid can contribute at a high level.

The hope of course is that he can do more than just contribute with the right coaching or the right system, but at least one should feel comfortable with his ability to contribute, and you hope for the upside to show as an upperclassmen...

 

[Stainmaster]

I think his point is the following (or at least my point is the following): the kid is ranked around the #50 - #55 SF in the country right now. What that means is that this kid can contribute at a high level.

The hope if course is that he can do more than just contribute with the right coaching or the right system, but at least one should feel comfortable with his ability to contribute, and you hope for the upside to show as an upperclassmen...

It read to me as if his point was that his ranking matched up with where we were ranked as a team last year. Being good enough to play on the worst UConn team since JC's first year should not be the baseline going forward.