UConn and the Transfer Portal

[UCfor3]

All these players that said UConn has contacted them is false.. Hurley has said that they won’t contact anyone until they are finished playing

Saw that also. Was either in press conference or PTI or CBS Morning. Was on one of the interviews I saw him do this week. Whether I believe that some of our assistants haven't reached out is another story.

 

[JohnnyJr]

What leads you to believe Solo can be our lead guard?

Don’t bother he’s been on this for a while

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

What leads you to believe Solo can be our lead guard?

Going to go ahead and make this a Solo Ball campaign to play PG post. I’ve made these points before but might as well put them all in one post:

His recruiting profiles list him as a PG.

On3:

Solomon Ball - Scouting Profile

Latest scouting data from Solomon Ball

www.on3.com

Rivals:

Solomon Ball 2023 Point Guard Connecticut

Solomon Ball - 4 Star Point guard for Connecticut on UConnReport

n.rivals.com

Rivals compares him to PG Russell Westbrook (a comparison I’ve been saying since first watching his film):

UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Four-Star G Solomon Ball

What type of impact will Ball have next year?

connecticut.rivals.com

He also was second in assist during the teams time in Europe when he got extended run having ball handling duties for us:
Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

His UConn bio also compares him to Westbrook:

Solo Ball - Men's Basketball - University of Connecticut Athletics

Solo Ball (1) Guard - 2023-24: Appeared in 39 games, making 10 starts from Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 One-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Averaged 3.3 points

uconnhuskies.com

There’s plenty of evidence he’s fully capable of playing PG. Only one person who, leads a lot of thought on this board, has said otherwise. Something I’m not sure any other scout or coach has said. And it seems like the board just ran with it.

Only reason he doesn’t have more opportunity there this year is because the position currently has an All-American, a top 10 pick, and a senior there.

 

[huskiesNhoos]

The Athletic has put together a pretty good reference tool for the top players quien esta en el Portal. Enjoy....

https://theathletic.com/5360188/2024/03/27/ncaa-transfers-portal-rankings-list/

Gracias very much

 

[BrassBonanza]

Going to go ahead and make this a Solo Ball campaign to play PG post. I’ve made these points before but might as well put them all in one post:

His recruiting profiles list him as a PG.

On3:

Solomon Ball - Scouting Profile

Latest scouting data from Solomon Ball

www.on3.com

Rivals:

Solomon Ball 2023 Point Guard Connecticut

Solomon Ball - 4 Star Point guard for Connecticut on UConnReport

n.rivals.com

Rivals compares him to PG Russell Westbrook (a comparison I’ve been saying since first watching his film):

UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Four-Star G Solomon Ball

What type of impact will Ball have next year?

connecticut.rivals.com

He also was second in assist during the teams time in Europe when he got extended run having ball handling duties for us:
Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

His UConn bio also compares him to Westbrook:

Solo Ball - Men's Basketball - University of Connecticut Athletics

Solo Ball (1) Guard - 2023-24: Appeared in 39 games, making 10 starts from Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 One-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Averaged 3.3 points

uconnhuskies.com

There’s plenty of evidence he’s fully capable of playing PG. Only one person who, leads a lot of thought on this board, has said otherwise. Something I’m not sure any other scout or coach has said. And it seems like the board just ran with it.

Only reason he doesn’t have more opportunity there this year is because the position currently has an All-American, a top 10 pick, and a senior there.

I think solo will start in the backcourt next season

 

[aburks41]

Going to go ahead and make this a Solo Ball campaign to play PG post. I’ve made these points before but might as well put them all in one post:

His recruiting profiles list him as a PG.

On3:

Solomon Ball - Scouting Profile

Latest scouting data from Solomon Ball

www.on3.com

Rivals:

Solomon Ball 2023 Point Guard Connecticut

Solomon Ball - 4 Star Point guard for Connecticut on UConnReport

n.rivals.com

Rivals compares him to PG Russell Westbrook (a comparison I’ve been saying since first watching his film):

UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Four-Star G Solomon Ball

What type of impact will Ball have next year?

connecticut.rivals.com

He also was second in assist during the teams time in Europe when he got extended run having ball handling duties for us:
Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

His UConn bio also compares him to Westbrook:

Solo Ball - Men's Basketball - University of Connecticut Athletics

Solo Ball (1) Guard - 2023-24: Appeared in 39 games, making 10 starts from Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 One-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Averaged 3.3 points

uconnhuskies.com

There’s plenty of evidence he’s fully capable of playing PG. Only one person who, leads a lot of thought on this board, has said otherwise. Something I’m not sure any other scout or coach has said. And it seems like the board just ran with it.

Only reason he doesn’t have more opportunity there this year is because the position currently has an All-American, a top 10 pick, and a senior there this year.

I don't think he'll ever play the 1 spot here with Diarra and Nowell lined up next year. Could he be another ball handler at the 2 spot? Sure. But now that I've thought about it, I feel like Solo will still come off the bench next season and whoever our lead 2 guard is will have significantly better ball handling abilities. Going from having 3 guys out there (Castle, Newton, Cam) who can all take over the ball to having 1 (Diarra/Nowell, and then TBD if Stewart will be able to do that if he's starting at the 3 next season) is a severe drop off. Our starting 2 guard has to be able to take over the ball

 

[navery12]

Going to go ahead and make this a Solo Ball campaign to play PG post. I’ve made these points before but might as well put them all in one post:

His recruiting profiles list him as a PG.

On3:

Solomon Ball - Scouting Profile

Latest scouting data from Solomon Ball

www.on3.com

Rivals:

Solomon Ball 2023 Point Guard Connecticut

Solomon Ball - 4 Star Point guard for Connecticut on UConnReport

n.rivals.com

Rivals compares him to PG Russell Westbrook (a comparison I’ve been saying since first watching his film):

UConn Hoops Freshmen Intros -- Four-Star G Solomon Ball

What type of impact will Ball have next year?

connecticut.rivals.com

He also was second in assist during the teams time in Europe when he got extended run having ball handling duties for us:
Post in thread 'Box Scores'
Box Scores

His UConn bio also compares him to Westbrook:

Solo Ball - Men's Basketball - University of Connecticut Athletics

Solo Ball (1) Guard - 2023-24: Appeared in 39 games, making 10 starts from Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 One-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Averaged 3.3 points

uconnhuskies.com

There’s plenty of evidence he’s fully capable of playing PG. Only one person who, leads a lot of thought on this board, has said otherwise. Something I’m not sure any other scout or coach has said. And it seems like the board just ran with it.

Only reason he doesn’t have more opportunity there this year is because the position currently has an All-American, a top 10 pick, and a senior there.

I love Solo and he's going to start for this team next year, but he's not a PG. He doesn't have the ball handling or vision to do it. Recruiting sites just blindly put positions on guys, it's meaningless.

I use this example only because it's currently up on my screen. Riley Kugel was listed as a PG coming out of HS by 247, he's averaged 1.2 assists and 1.7 turnovers for his career. I think he'll be a great 2 guard, and that'll mean plenty of opportunities to be a playmaker and get assists in our offense, but I have a hard time ever seeing him on the court as a primary PG

 

[Lefty2one]

If Karaban leaves I wouldn't be stunned if Solo was our leading scorer next year. This of course depends on who we bring in with the portal, but Solo is oozing with potential. He has the skills, the athleticism, and the toughness to be a great player. That said, he's definitely not a point guard.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I don't think he'll ever play the 1 spot here with Diarra and Nowell lined up next year. Could he be another ball handler at the 2 spot? Sure. But now that I've thought about it, I feel like Solo will still come off the bench next season and whoever our lead 2 guard is will have significantly better ball handling abilities. Going from having 3 guys out there (Castle, Newton, Cam) who can all take over the ball to having 1 (Diarra/Nowell, and then TBD if Stewart will be able to do that if he's starting at the 3 next season) is a severe drop off. Our starting 2 guard has to be able to take over the ball

If he’s coming off the bench next year he’s probably going to be a transfer candidate. And I wouldn’t blame him.

Diarra also participated in senior night (which after last year with Newton idk if that means much these days).

Even if Diarra does comeback though, I don’t know how much we’d like him as a consistent lead guard compared to an off the bench veteran kind of guy.

 

[Fan1978]

adding griffiths would probably mean two things: 1) Ball has to start, and as a result 2) we can only bring in one elite transfer.
I say that b/c bringing in griffiths plus 2 starting transfers would mean moving Ball to the bench and forcing Ross out of the rotation since neither Ross or Griffiths is big enough to play backup stretch 4:

Diarra---- Nowell
Ball-------Ross
Stewart-- Griffiths
Karaban--Transfer
Transfer- Johnson

Bench:
Roumeglou/Abraham/Singare

Ross might not be ready for significant minutes next year

 

[Fan1978]

He's not in the transfer portal

Declared and in portal

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I love Solo and he's going to start for this team next year, but he's not a PG. He doesn't have the ball handling or vision to do it. Recruiting sites just blindly put positions on guys, it's meaningless.

I use this example only because it's currently up on my screen. Riley Kugel was listed as a PG coming out of HS by 247, he's averaged 1.2 assists and 1.7 turnovers for his career. I think he'll be a great 2 guard, and that'll mean plenty of opportunities to be a playmaker and get assists in our offense, but I have a hard time ever seeing him on the court as a primary PG

Why was he able to average the 2nd most assists on the team when he had the opportunity to play the position?

I don’t think you do that without having pretty solid vision.

 

[navery12]

Why was he able to average the 2nd most assists on the team when he had the opportunity to play the position?

I don’t think you do that without having pretty solid vision.

Because it was in meaningless scrimmages in Europe. It matters as much as some random game in December of his sophomore year of HS about how he'll be used in real Big East games when Hurley is running out real lineups against D1 competition

 

[navery12]

All these players that said UConn has contacted them is false.. Hurley has said that they won’t contact anyone until they are finished playing

 

[Ports21]

Sorry if this is already posted somewhere, but if we lose Diarra (however likely that is) I really like Bensley Joseph at Miami as almost an exact replacement aside from him being a lefty. Fast as hell, good defender and could fill that role very well. Not a GREAT shooter, but a dog on the defensive end.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Because it was in meaningless scrimmages in Europe. It matters as much as some random game in December of his sophomore year of HS about how he'll be used in real Big East games when Hurley is running out real lineups against D1 competition

As a point of reference Castle was the leading score in Europe.

 

[OceanDoggie]

Solo hasn't had an assist in 14 games, and had a 6 game assist-less streak prior to that when playing substantial minutes. 10 assists in 442 minutes played is a rough indicator for a natural play maker.

 

[superjohn]

 

[OceanDoggie]

If he’s coming off the bench next year he’s probably going to be a transfer candidate. And I wouldn’t blame him.

Diarra also participated in senior night (which after last year with Newton idk if that means much these days).

Even if Diarra does comeback though, I don’t know how much we’d like him as a consistent lead guard compared to an off the bench veteran kind of guy.

He might just be on track to graduate.

 

[rip7774]

We have to go on the premise that Hurley will prioritize fit and culture into who he takes out of the portal. And that is very difficult for us on here to assess. So we can't just comment on the talent and say we want that player. In Hurley I trust. I'll just sit back and watch.

Agree. Feel there’s no way we even sniff around Storr, 5 high schools and 3 colleges in 7 years.

culture is non-negotiable for us and a huge advantage vs $$$EC schools That just buy. New team each year like Arkansas and Florida (to lesser extent).

 

[businesslawyer]

If he’s coming off the bench next year he’s probably going to be a transfer candidate. And I wouldn’t blame him.

Diarra also participated in senior night (which after last year with Newton idk if that means much these days).

Even if Diarra does comeback though, I don’t know how much we’d like him as a consistent lead guard compared to an off the bench veteran kind of guy.

Good God. If you exclude UConn’s starting five, there was a post a few weeks ago showing that only five players in the entire Big East had better overall value to their clubs, combined O and D, than Diarra. If he comes back he is starting until someone takes it from them. But the fact that you’re 100 times more hung up on what recruiting sites said about him that what we all saw this season and metrics confirmed is truly mind boggling. You’re absolutely entitled to your own opinion but sheesh — facts matter and what On3 says isn’t facts.

 

[husky429]

Good God. If you exclude UConn’s starting five, there was a post a few weeks ago showing that only five players in the entire Big East had better overall value to their clubs, combined O and D, than Diarra. If he comes back he is starting until someone takes it from them. But the fact that you’re 100 times more hung up on what recruiting sites said about him that what we all saw this season and metrics confirmed is truly mind boggling. You’re absolutely entitled to your own opinion but sheesh — facts matter and what On3 says isn’t facts.

Diarra and Nowell are going to beat the crap out of each other in practice all summer. Whoever starts will have earned it. Both of them are way too competitive to not give their best shot at it.

 

[runner11]

It’s always funny when you know exactly how a conversation is playing out even when one figure is on ignore. Dude is like dark matter.

 

[TRest]

Well, that Wolf kid from Yale has entered for those who believe he could hang in our system.

 

[superjohn]

Wolf is not a legit 7 footer but that's not really outside the norm, probably 6'10.5

Highly skilled offensive young big but not all that efficient a scorer for a big, can hit catch and shoot threes. Turns it over a little too much but that's because he has handles the ball so much. Great passing big and really good handles for a big. Not a leaper and I worry about his lateral quickness defensively with a major step up in conference. He would fit well into our offense but the defensive difference between him and Clingan is enormous, even bigger than it would be with some other portal bigs.