UConn lands Brendan Adams, Tarin Smith in whirlwind recruiting weekend

[6xChamps]

Heard he is friendly with Silverio and Lecque

They actually friends? Smith doesn’t follow either of those guys on Instagram and he follows 1000+. Or is it more of a connection to similar aau programs/coaches?

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Smith move is about having bodies next year. If things work out he is the guy who comes in and plays 3-4 minutes a half to give the main guy a breather. I think Adams is a guy with an upside but isn’t taking us to the promised land next season.

Smith is here as a combo guard off the bench, who can do a bit of everything. Adams is here to sit, unless injuries occur, and to be that combo guard off the bench for the next three years once Smith leaves. We have to snap out of this mindset where freshmen are supposed to contribute meaningful minutes. I’d Adams provides an upside surprise like his brother, great. If not, you still need experienced depth at guard. We’ve suffered for a lack of it for years.

 

[businesslawyer]

I like these two players, but not sure it's a great sign for us to take both. We're extremely short on sure impact players for next year and I'm growing concerned that Adams could be on his way out.

And not taking the best players you think you can get last minute is a bad idea if Adams leaves exactly why? How does that make sense?

 

[MadDogRevival]

It's a desperation move to sign a PG that you can't risk playing in the late stages of a close game.

I'm going out on a limb here and throwing out that maybe . . . just maybe . . . DH is looking for things that you are not. Maybe - just possibly - he sees things in this kid that you don't. Or can't. Or won't.

Maybe, just maybe, he's not merely trying to trawl for high percentage 3 shooters.

Maybe - it's possible you know - that the guy is more Ricky Moore or Taliek Brown than Rashad.

And finally, maybe Coach Hurley has a vision that doesn't stop at the "%3" or "FT%" column of the stat sheet.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Smith is here to run an offense and play great defense when called upon. Anything else is gravy

 

[champs99and04]

We absolutely needed 5 guards given the injury history of AG and now we have it. That is also exactly why Hurley is targeting grad transfers so he can focus on getting high level talent in '19. It's too late in the process for '18 unless he finds a needle in a haystack.

I agree that we need five guards. There had been talk that one of them might be Lecque. The fact that we took both of these players would seem to make that less likely which in turn makes it less likely that we are going to be good next year.

I'm not saying it's the end of the world, and I get that people want to be positive, but there's also no sense in pretending that there isn't a real opportunity to be a factor next year with an addition or two. Assuming Adams is back, there's something to work with and something to recruit with. I don't buy the fact that it's too late in the process, the grad market is comprised of guys you literally can't recruit until they declare their intent to transfer, not to mention the fact that he doesn't suddenly lose the connections he made at Rhody by moving down the street to Storrs. If he could have brought a kid like Harris with him, that would have been very helpful. He had plenty of time to think about how the roster was going to come together while he was not coaching URI over the last six weeks of their season, so I would say it's reasonable, based on precedent, to think that if a young coach is going to be a force on the trail, he's going to show some signs of that right away rather than taking dudes from Duquesne. If you're Hurley you have the chance to coach Jalen Adams once and you don't want to waste it like Ollie did.

 

[SeattleHoop]

I agree that we need five guards. There had been talk that one of them might be Lecque. The fact that we took both of these players would seem to make that less likely which in turn makes it less likely that we are going to be good next year.

I'm not saying it's the end of the world, and I get that people want to be positive, but there's also no sense in pretending that there isn't a real opportunity to be a factor next year with an addition or two. Assuming Adams is back, there's something to work with and something to recruit with. I don't buy the fact that it's too late in the process, the grad market is comprised of guys you literally can't recruit until they declare their intent to transfer, not to mention the fact that he doesn't suddenly lose the connections he made at Rhody by moving down the street to Storrs. If he could have brought a kid like Harris with him, that would have been very helpful. He had plenty of time to think about how the roster was going to come together while he was not coaching URI over the last six weeks of their season, so I would say it's reasonable, based on precedent, to think that if a young coach is going to be a force on the trail, he's going to show some signs of that right away rather than taking dudes from Duquesne. If you're Hurley you have the chance to coach Jalen Adams once and you don't want to waste it like Ollie did.

You're expectations for Hurley right now are ridiculous. Im glad you are not my father in law.

To me its pretty obvious what his strategy is. Make short term depth moves so the upcoming season isnt a complete disaster and go all in on 2019 and beyond.

He is trying to build a program. He is making sure he has plenty of schollies for 2019, and that class will be the core of the culture he is implementing.

 

[Mokum]

I trust in Hurley. That is it.

Me too. I think some guys make way to much out of how many stars a guy has after his name. If you are in the top 150, you are good. 3 stars can just be the result of poor coaching in high school, AAU politics etc. I look at what Hurley did with a program like URI, and am excited about what he can do at Uconn. Duke and Kentucky do not win championships year in and year out with all their 5 star recruits.

 

[UconnU]

If you are in the top 150, you are good. 3 stars can just be the result of poor coaching in high school, AAU politics etc.

Seems to be the case. There's a crap load of tape on Adams on Youtube. His HS team was terrible, they started 2 freshman, he was double teamed every time he touched the ball. His AAU team was good, 3 top 200 guys, they won a few tourneys but they literally play street ball, never ran plays. A 6'4/5 kid with his build, athleticism, explosiveness, who can shoot he should be ranked higher. One noticeable problem with his game is his defense; he takes plays off, gambles, and has trouble staying in-front of quick guards. 2 of those can be easily fixed. Needs to work on his lateral speed and footwork though to stay in-front of D1 guards. He's also a little sloppy with the ball at times. I bet Hurley plays him at the 3 a bunch in 3 guard line ups, he's big/long enough to guard most D1 3s.

 

[UconnU]

Our next recruit needs to be someone who can make shots. I don't care if it's a guard or forward. With the pick-n-roll, spread offense Hurley runs more often than not the open look you get is going to be a 3.

 

[polycom]

This thread is why we can’t have nice things. A known program builder/rebuilder comes here and signs players late yet we don’t trust him. However people trust a guy who won a championship 4 years ago and has shown he can’t coach at all since that date. Incredible.

 

[UConnSwag11]

This thread is why we can’t have nice things. A known program builder/rebuilder comes here and signs players late yet we don’t trust him. However people trust a guy who won a championship 4 years ago and has shown he can’t coach at all since that date. Incredible.

It’s the parasites that poke their heads out occasionally. They tore the team for 2 years making his place unbearable. Disappear when Hurley is signed and then come out to criticize his recruiting given his limited options

 

[djct1999]

This was a good weekend for Coach Hurley and UConn. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a whirlwind.

 

[freescooter]

We landed a guy with some upside and a placeholder. It’s late so pickings are slim.

Anybody who thinks we are going to be anywhere near competitive for the top of this league next season is either clueless or intentionally trying to make a case that Ollie should have stayed. The front court is weak and only modestly talented. The backcourt will have more bodies but little additional depth of talent. And the point guard is unknown given he spent 2 years on the injured list. Newsflash: players rarely improve when they are unable to play for that long. I suspect he will face a period of adjustment let’s call it, before he is playing st s high level again. And that assumes he didn’t get hurt again.

 

[mauconnfan]

He's putting pieces together as they are made available. We have no idea of what's to come of Jalen and Alterique so these could be more required than we even know, but either way solid depth. I like Brendan Adams and think he's a very nice 4 year piece to a winning program, potentially more than that who knows. Smith comes from solid background and having played for dad I think he knows what he will get from him as a guy helping off the bench. What I respect about Tarin Smith is he's probably good enough to go somewhere and get more minutes, maybe be the man at the right spot. But instead, knowing he's a piece of this coming years attempt at bringing back a major program he's elected to be just that. He's bigger and stronger than Antoine Anderson and will get less minutes than AA was asked to play. He's a perfect 3rd, 4th or 5th guard on this team depending on how things work out by September.

J Adams
C Vital
A Gilbert
B Adams
T Smith

He did good this weekend, nothing to complain about this late in the game instead actually rather happy.

 

[mauconnfan]

We landed a guy with some upside and a placeholder. It’s late so pickings are slim.

Anybody who thinks we are going to be anywhere near competitive for the top of this league next season is either clueless or intentionally trying to make a case that Ollie should have stayed. The front court is weak and only modestly talented. The backcourt will have more bodies but little additional depth of talent. And the point guard is unknown given he spent 2 years on the injured list. Newsflash: players rarely improve when they are unable to play for that long. I suspect he will face a period of adjustment let’s call it, before he is playing st s high level again. And that assumes he didn’t get hurt again.

I don't think KO should've stayed but I do think if Jalen stays and Alterique is healthy while some of the frosh mature and step it up that they can be competitive or near the top. The "top teams" aren't getting better instead have lost major pieces, why not UConn?

 

[UConnSwag11]

I don't think KO should've stayed but I do think if Jalen stays and Alterique is healthy while some of the frosh mature and step it up that they can be competitive or near the top. The "top teams" aren't getting better instead have lost major pieces, why not UConn?

If Adams gets a jumper, 3 point shot, more FTA, and steps up his D we’re going to make a lot of noise

 

[TopDogs]

I think if we actually run some plays instead of dribbling and passing around at the top of the arc only to force a three or a contested layup, we have to be better. And that's not player ability, that's just coaching.

 

[BFieldHusky]

I don't think KO should've stayed but I do think if Jalen stays and Alterique is healthy while some of the frosh mature and step it up that they can be competitive or near the top. The "top teams" aren't getting better instead have lost major pieces, why not UConn?

Yeah I agree with @mauconnfan here. Not saying UCONN should be the favorite, but this league is wide open next year. Who would you say is the favorite as of today? Cincy loses a ton. So does Witchia. Houston loses their 2 best players. UCF should be good, but they have guys coming off major injuries. Memphis is going to be young in a lot of key spots.

 

[mauconnfan]

I think if we actually run some plays instead of dribbling and passing around at the top of the arc only to force a three or a contested layup, we have to be better. And that's not player ability, that's just coaching.

Well it's both like it or not. If we don't have a wing who can handle the ball a little and get to the hole as well as bigs who we don't want to throw the ball to then things will continue to clog. So kids have to get better over the summer, people have to make shots next year and the coaching needs to put people in position to be successful. A lot of ifs but don't throw it all on Hurley and the staff the kids need to be held accountable also and work their butts off this summer while coming back better, stronger and ready to compete for minutes.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Im glad you are not my father in law.

Wait what? Please explain why you chose the father-in-law analogy as the hammer of expectation burden.
I've got a lot of questions, for starters:
Are you married?
How close does your spouse or significant other's family live (I suspect same house!)?
Are you originally from a place where arranged marriages are the norm?

 

[UconnU]

With today being the start of the signing period it will be interesting to see if we do anything else over the next couple weeks.

 

[ctchamps]

This thread is why we can’t have nice things. A known program builder/rebuilder comes here and signs players late yet we don’t trust him. However people trust a guy who won a championship 4 years ago and has shown he can’t coach at all since that date. Incredible.

How could anyone trust someone who has won a championship 4 years ago? That's so common and so in the past.

I find it humorous that the KO bashers are the Hurley apologistas and excuse makers and the KO apologistas and excuse makers are the Hurley bashers.

Truth is people are like statistics. We believe our opinions are facts when all we're doing is propping our egos. We can't possibly be wrong therefore the other side has to be.

I'll support Hurley the same way I supported KO. He's our coach and bashing him is counterproductive. I'm hoping he can do what he has done with his past programs. I'll be patient with the process. But "trust the process"? Trust is earned. My belief that Hurley can bring the program the type of success we had in the past is just that - a belief. Beliefs don't buy cups of coffee.

Hurley's recruiting is not over. I'm still hoping he can get Lecque to reclassify and come to UConn. Or some other top recruit. That could really impact the upcoming season if Jalen remains and Alterique recovers.

If not than Hurley has essentially repeated what KO did last season when players bolted and left him scrambling. It is understandable in both coaches situations. Part of me hopes Hurley adds one more mediocre grad transfer big so I can get a gauge of his ability to coach at this level. Part of me hopes he gets that dynamic recruit.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Why are people so down on Smith? He was 6th man of the year in A-10 last year? From what I can find the kid works really hard. He bumped his 3P% up from 20 to 35 last year. Looking forward to seeing what he can do

 

[Jaker]

Solid pick ups, but need a pure shooter still.