PERFECT!!!!
I don't want any recruit who is dumb enough to come to this forum. This is an insane asylum that allows its residents the opportunity to flex their fingers.
EW had an injury his senior year of hs that caused a weight gain and caused him to be out of shape his freshman year at UConn. Conditioning certainly does not appear to be a problem for EW currently. I'm sure the staff scouted the kid out and did not think conditioning would be a problem. That would be something that would turn off KO immediately.
At least the teams playing us won't have to buy broomsticks to simulate the shotblocker in the middle. Not sure how good it is for the boomstick makers, however ....
I have only seen Mamadou (the 7'5" kid) play once (actually only one-half) in High School where he dominated a team who's tallest player was probably 6'3". He played for a very very small private school in one of the lowest divisions of SoCal HS basketball. He signed with UC Irvine. UC Irvine is not a hoops powerhouse. He signed there for a reason. Allegedly, there were many questions about his actual age.
What are your impressions of Rook vs. Mamadou? Who brings more to the table and who, if any, hypothetically would help UConn more given UConn's needs?
Hmmm. Honestly, as of last year, I didn't think either of the two were high major D1 prospects. But I probably tend to undervalue big men and their skill sets. Although Rooks is a "plodder", his size and girth are unteachable ("space eater"). I don't think his style would really fit (unless he works very very hard at conditioning). Mamadou is an ever so slightly better athlete, taller (obviously), doesn't need to jump to dunk, but I haven't seen him play against real competition. I think he played for one of the pump-n-run teams this summer, which would be much better comp than his HS league or division, but I didn't see any of those games. I really don't think either fit the mold of a mobile UConn F/C. Rooks would be great at setting screens...if he could move like Jake Voskuhl, he'd be the guy. Mamdou would definitely block some shots, but I don't see him even becoming Hasheem Thabeet. There really aren't any great post players in SoCal in the 2013 and 2014 classes. I know...I didn't really answer your question, but I kind of cringe thinking of either as our center.
Evaluation is subjective and has an element of art as much as science. I tend to look at consensus, form an opinion, but keep it flexible recognizing there have been a lot of players lower in ranking out performing higher ranked kids as well as people evaluating things that tend to play out the way the kids are evaluated.
good point. If the other linked info is correct, he has grown 4 inches but only gained 15 lbs. since that video. He also states that he is working out every other day with a personal trainer, so he may already be quite a bit more fit.
