UConn and the Transfer Portal

[husky429]

Nowell from what Ive seen and heard is a Castle level defender. The one difference would be size. Steph is a unicorn at 6'6' and can guard anyone from 5'10' to 6'9'.

Steph is strong as bull too, but so is Nowell, he just won't have the 1-4 position versatility defensively Steph has. But he is going to make guards just as miserable as Steph has.

Nowell is friggen awesome on defense. He won't be switchable but opposing guards aren't going to be able to breathe. He's strong as hell too

 

[AdamaNation]

There are some rumors that some of the players weren’t thrilled playing second fiddle to Johnell Davis and the other two guys of their “big 3” may be looking elsewhere. We’ll see if that is actually true

The center would be nice

 

[runner11]

Another name for our scouts to dive into. Christ Essandoko of St Joes.

 

[nomar]

Cam and Joey are completely different types of players.

I think he means SGs of the Caucasian persuasion

 

[nomar]

Looking at his two year stats, he regressed on FG and 3 point % and only slightly improved on mediocre FT % and rebounding in
23 minutes per game, so why would he be a hot commodity? What am I missing?

He was a huge prospect and his athleticism is off the charts. But yeah he had a horrible season.

 

[nomar]

Anyone know anything about this kid? Seems to check a lot of boxes.

Rytis Petraitis College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Rytis Petraitis - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Haven't heard anything but he's pretty high on people's list of transfers. Stats and highlights indicate he's a good passer. Hard to tell how his D is; he's pretty slight.

 

[Zonepress]

This is nonsensical. For one, Alex is who he is at this point. The only thing holding him back is his lack of elite athleticism. That isn’t getting any better next year or the year after. He will almost certainly get drafted and has a good chance of making a roster and any worst get a two way that pays him 500k.

He is a redshirt sophomore, if not this year, when!

Aaah someone who actually understands
How the nba views players
Not sure how good his “chance of making a roster “ is but best chance is this year

 

[Fan1978]

He was a huge prospect and his athleticism is off the charts. But yeah he had a horrible season.

Cancer

 

[aburks41]

Apparently UConn is the clubhouse leader here according to a certain anonymous college basketball insider…

 

[UconnU]

Nowell won't have 1-4 position versatility defensively

I don’t like the fact we won’t be able to switch either of our PGs next year. Having 6’4/6’5/6’6 guards that aren’t rail thin and can all switch 1-4 is a huge defensive advantage, it elimated some mismatch problems we had with the switching DH first 4 years. Remember Nova easily backing down our PGs for easy looks? Even Hawkins was a liability vs strength.

 

[Rico444]

Apparently UConn is the clubhouse leader here according to a certain anonymous college basketball insider…

Is this insider related to Billy Donovan?

 

[aburks41]

Is this insider related to Billy Donovan?

I can neither confirm nor deny

But yes

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Apparently UConn is the clubhouse leader here according to a certain anonymous college basketball insider…

Where did trilly say this?

 

[Fatroony5]

Where did trilly say this?

 

[HailUConn]

The dude can ball and love his motor, footwork and energy. And can shoot 3s. Sanogo v2?

 

[AntG168]

Apparently UConn is the clubhouse leader here according to a certain anonymous college basketball insider…

The fit is impeccable. No way he sees Sanogo and Clingan’s development and says no

 

[auror]

Apparently UConn is the clubhouse leader here according to a certain anonymous college basketball insider…

He was in a 50/50 split at St. Joseph's as a freshman.



Big, strong kid. Under the rim player, loves to double pump fake on a post up. He does actually stretch the floor a bit, 37% on 1.5 attempts per game. He shoots a completely standstill 3 like it's a FT, maybe a slight hop. Speaking of which, 65% FT. Pretty decent passer. Okay rim protector. Strong rebounder both sides of the ball. Drew a lot of fouls.

So a lot of interesting stats and parts to his game. But EvanMiya has him as the worst player in their rotation by a significant margin. By RAPM he's also 8th on the team, below average both sides of the ball. Main issue on offense is turnovers. But I guess that's just the freshman big life. I'm not sure we'd be barking up this tree unless there's going to be more front court turnover than expected.

 

[UconnU]

The dude can ball and love his motor, footwork and energy. And can shoot 3s. Sanogo v2?

Very useful frame for screens.

 

[runner11]

He was in a 50/50 split at St. Joseph's as a freshman.



Big, strong kid. Under the rim player, loves to double pump fake on a post up. He does actually stretch the floor a bit, 37% on 1.5 attempts per game. He shoots a completely standstill 3 like it's a FT, maybe a slight hop. Speaking of which, 65% FT. Pretty decent passer. Okay rim protector. Strong rebounder both sides of the ball. Drew a lot of fouls.

So a lot of interesting stats and parts to his game. But EvanMiya has him as the worst player in their rotation by a significant margin. By RAPM he's also 8th on the team, below average both sides of the ball. Main issue on offense is turnovers. But I guess that's just the freshman big life. I'm not sure we'd be barking up this tree unless there's going to be more front court turnover than expected.

Strikes me as a replacement developmental big

 

[king conn]

Our own Grimace?

 

[KemBuckets21]

Strikes me as a replacement developmental big

That’s what I was thinking. He seems like the kind of guy you go after if singare is transferring.

Not to be greedy, but I’d prefer to aim higher.

 

[Conquistador]

Strikes me as a replacement developmental big

Honestly, seems like he can’t get up enough to dunk.

 

[Matrim55]

Our own Grimace?

Ethan Strauss coined the phrase “fat is potential in disguise” about a decade back.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I reached out to my A-10 contacts and here’s what I’ve got on Christ Essandoko so far:

Riley Frain from The Portal Report and Mid-Major Madness:

“At 7-foot, St. Joe’s transfer Christ Essandoko is physical and dominant on the interior, yet fairly nimble and athletic with the ball in his hands. All of which could translate very well to a potential Big East program looking to replace key contributors. He’s certainly got the size to be an asset at the high-major level but does a little bit of everything on the court as well from rebounding, to scoring, to defending. Averaging 8.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.1 BKPG in just his first season actually on the court, it’s easy to see how quickly Essandoko has developed his game and why he’s ready to take the next step. He’s quick and active despite his length, has excellent court vision for such a big guy and shoot’s three’s at a fairly high rate (37%) akin to a more modern big man.

I think his development is the obvious part but the major potential downside for Essandoko is his injury troubles. Missed multiple games this past season with toe/foot issues and was frequently on the sidelines in a boot for stretches. He’s got some history in the Big East though having been recruited by Seton Hall and DePaul before initially committing to Providence and later, decomitting to join St. Joe’s. He’s obviously looking to make a jump up to a higher level now and a program in the Big East could definitely be a solid fit for the still developing but highly skilled 7-footer.”

Here’s another report:

“He’s absolutely enormous. Definitely is a little bit injury prone, but his footwork was really improving as he was healthy. Is able to shoot the 3. Presence inside defensively, but can struggle contesting without fouling. Was clear that if he stayed at this level, he would eventually completely dominate.”

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I wil limit my response to this (which applies to anyone we may bring in through the transfer portal):

I have no idea how the staff feels, but if the staff believes he can help us, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.