2022 Recruiting: - Update on Alex Karaban | The Boneyard

2022 Recruiting: Update on Alex Karaban

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@Ricker, this one is for you. Not sure exactly how interested UConn is but they're mentioned. I'll tell you, I'd take him in a NY minute over TJ Power, although Power is now in the 2023 class.

Surprised to see 247Sports have him rated so low. Thought he was a consensus top 50.

Karaban is also receiving new interest from UConn, Louisville, Michigan and Notre Dame.

 
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Thanks @HooperScooper. I guarantee he is taller than 6'7 and heavier than 190lbs unless he shrunk an inch and lost 30lbs since last year. He is about the same player and physical stature as Giffey as a senior at UConn. He would get playing time on our current team because he doesn't make mistakes, is a Creighton shooter, a team first player, and, matches up in the post as good as Giffey and Daniels did. He and Clingan with Diggins in the backcourt and Jackson and Hawkins and Johnson and Sanogo!! We could start ordering another banner. Has anybody heard anything about Filipowski's recruiting and whether we are still involved there?

As an aside, I note that my Zane Meeks 'advocation' is shooting 39% from 3 starting at Nevada with about 3 attempts a game, and Matt Cross that I liked, (but plenty of others knew about), is at 48% from 3 on three attempts per game for Miami. I wish we would target a similar designated sniper.
 
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Thanks @HooperScooper. I guarantee he is taller than 6'7 and heavier than 190lbs unless he shrunk an inch and lost 30lbs since last year. He is about the same player and physical stature as Giffey as a senior at UConn. He would get playing time on our current team because he doesn't make mistakes, is a Creighton shooter, a team first player, and, matches up in the post as good as Giffey and Daniels did. He and Clingan with Diggins in the backcourt and Jackson and Hawkins and Johnson and Sanogo!! We could start ordering another banner. Has anybody heard anything about Filipowski's recruiting and whether we are still involved there?

As an aside, I note that my Zane Meeks 'advocation' is shooting 39% from 3 starting at Nevada with about 3 attempts a game, and Matt Cross that I liked, (but plenty of others knew about), is at 48% from 3 on three attempts per game for Miami. I wish we would target a similar designated sniper.

I watched Miami and Matt Cross the other night. Made me think of your thoughts on him and you were pretty spot on, like his game. He would look very good in the National Flag Blue no doubt, need shooters.
 

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@Ricker, this one is for you. Not sure exactly how interested UConn is but they're mentioned. I'll tell you, I'd take him in a NY minute over TJ Power, although Power is now in the 2023 class.

Surprised to see 247Sports have him rated so low. Thought he was a consensus top 50.

Karaban is also receiving new interest from UConn, Louisville, Michigan and Notre Dame.


Put me in the camp of I'm more impressed by offers than rankings. If he is good enough for Louisville and Michigan to invest time and energy, he's good enough for me.
 
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Put me in the camp of I'm more impressed by offers than rankings. If he is good enough for Louisville and Michigan to invest time and energy, he's good enough for me.
The rankings are never an exact science and for the 2022 and 2023 classes the rankings to this point are probably as bad as they'll ever be. The recruiting analysts just haven't been able to see these kids play much, if at all, the last year. And if they've seen them play it's been on a computer screen, which isn't a great way to evaluate. The last time they saw many of the 2022 kids they were sophomores and the 2023 kids were freshman. That's tough to evaluate.

A recruiting assistant of a high major school told me they're really having a hard time evaluating the 2022 and 2023 classes since they haven't seen them play live very much. He said they get much more out of scouting a kid live.

I trust the UConn staff to make the right decisions.
 
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@ToolzieFan I really appreciate you posting that interview. Had to watch it twice to give focus to the talking and the game play in the background. Most people on the board that will read this thread know that I have had a crush on this kid for over 15 months. The Tyler Lydon comp he sees in himself is spot on. Anybody who watched his play would easily see the versatility and comparison to Giffey as well. I think I might have used both comps the first time I wrote about him here, without knowing that is how he sees himself. The clips running while he talks, show numerous deep 3's, post play turning both ways to finish, efficient dunks, passing from the post, a tear drop in the lane, etc. He is the leader of the team winning the championship in the top prep league, and MVP of the title game. His competition is the best a kid can go up against that isn't Monteverde or IMG. He's well spoken and his teachers I watched a game with at New Hampton, say he is top shelf in the classroom. The kid doing the interview did a real nice job. I've said before that I wrote down and gave Tom Moore 2 names at Hoophall last year and asked him to make me happy, (tongue in cheek). One was Sanogo, and the other was Karaban. We're 50% there. There was only 20-30 fans, (even pre covid), watching Putnam Science vs New Hampton and Moore was one of them parked by himself directly under a basket. Since then, the silence related to us recruiting him has been a killer for me while he has picked up Big East offers from everyone else, but, every once in a while there is a mention. Keep in mind he is already a Husky at New Hampton. The fact that he's watching us a lot is pleasing given all the other published offers. Floyd, Clingan, Karaban, I'd be afraid I'd stroke out. But I'm willing to take the risk!
 
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This post is probably going to get deleted, but I hope it will be taken as intellectual curiosity regarding the human mind, and nothing more.

I find it fascinating that, seemingly, one of the top criteria that people use for identifying player comps is skin tone. Furthermore, it seems to be very granular. In other words, people don't seem to be simply putting players into 3 or 4 skin color categories, but rather seeking the closest match on the full spectrum. I wish I could think of more examples, but Karaban is one example. This thought also occurred to me when I read Tyrese Martin compared to Donny Marshall. And, although I can't think of a specific example, I notice this phenomenon when very dark skinned players, usually from Africa, are being discussed.
 
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I don't want to derail the thread. I'm only responding for me. Just this once, and only because I'm the one who made the comparisons in this thread, and do it in other threads. I'm also just trying to be explanatory.

I do have biases. My primary bias is accuracy. When I compare a player to another player in a recruiting thread, the purpose of my comparison is to paint an image of the player physically, how he plays, and what his skills are, or what I think they should become. If the reader gains that image, I feel the post is successful. To paint that picture I tend to favor comparisons to players I assume Boneyard readers are familiar with. That means xUConn players, followed by Big East/conference/ regional players/past OOC opponents, followed by players of national prominence. I'm biased in that I ignore players that very few on the boneyard would know existed, and thus paints no image. I also tend to be really politically incorrect and generally make the comparison to other male players, rather than say he has the BB IQ of a Maya Moore, which gives me both color and gender balance. Do you have a better picture of Donovan Clingan if I reference Hunter Dickinson, and Big Country, or is it important to be politically correct and pretend he is black. Even if I compared Clingan to Bob Lanier or a college John Thompson, would the image be correct if the difference in race was not noted? I for one don't think I'm making a social justice comment when I'm painting a picture of a player. The player has a race that he notes on government forms.

If a player plays like Magic Johnson, JJ Reddick, Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, Hashem Thabeet, aren't these descriptions of play rather than racial comments. If they are racial comments then the reader needs to consider that maybe they are inserting the racial commentary themselves. I don't have any issue with acknowledging that a player is black, white, asian, french, Isreali, Croatian, female, male, brazilian, etc. I don't see why heritage can't be mentioned if it is appropriately descriptive. Karaban is a white guy who acknowledges himself that he plays like Tyler Lydon. He also says he fashions his game after Jalen Brown of the Celtics who is black. I didn't pick that comp because I've never watched him play.

I've noted that many of the black and white movies I watch now carry a rating warning "out of date social depictions". I should probably add this as a warning in my future similar posts.
 
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I don't want to derail the thread. I'm only responding for me. Just this once, and only because I'm the one who made the comparisons in this thread, and do it in other threads. I'm also just trying to be explanatory.

I do have biases. My primary bias is accuracy. When I compare a player to another player in a recruiting thread, the purpose of my comparison is to paint an image of the player physically, how he plays, and what his skills are, or what I think they should become. If the reader gains that image, I feel the post is successful. To paint that picture I tend to favor comparisons to players I assume Boneyard readers are familiar with. That means xUConn players, followed by Big East/conference/ regional players/past OOC opponents, followed by players of national prominence. I'm biased in that I ignore players that very few on the boneyard would know existed, and thus paints no image. I also tend to be really politically incorrect and generally make the comparison to other male players, rather than say he has the BB IQ of a Maya Moore, which gives me both color and gender balance. Do you have a better picture of Donovan Clingan if I reference Hunter Dickinson, and Big Country, or is it important to be politically correct and pretend he is black. Even if I compared Clingan to Bob Lanier or a college John Thompson, would the image be correct if the difference in race was not noted? I for one don't think I'm making a social justice comment when I'm painting a picture of a player. The player has a race that he notes on government forms.

If a player plays like Magic Johnson, JJ Reddick, Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, Hashem Thabeet, aren't these descriptions of play rather than racial comments. If they are racial comments then the reader needs to consider that maybe they are inserting the racial commentary themselves. I don't have any issue with acknowledging that a player is black, white, asian, french, Isreali, Croatian, female, male, brazilian, etc. I don't see why heritage can't be mentioned if it is appropriately descriptive. Karaban is a white guy who acknowledges himself that he plays like Tyler Lydon. He also says he fashions his game after Jalen Brown of the Celtics who is black. I didn't pick that comp because I've never watched him play.

I've noted that many of the black and white movies I watch now carry a rating warning "out of date social depictions". I should probably add this as a warning in my future similar posts.
I wasn't at all passing judgement on anyone making player comps, you included. I hope no one felt accused of anything by my post. I am merely musing about the phenomenon (as I perceive it) in general. It is quite possible that the "phenomenon" doesn't even exist, but is only a figment of my biases. I was merely saying I find the topic worthy of discussion from an academic point of view.
 
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@ToolzieFan I really appreciate you posting that interview. Had to watch it twice to give focus to the talking and the game play in the background. Most people on the board that will read this thread know that I have had a crush on this kid for over 15 months. The Tyler Lydon comp he sees in himself is spot on. Anybody who watched his play would easily see the versatility and comparison to Giffey as well. I think I might have used both comps the first time I wrote about him here, without knowing that is how he sees himself. The clips running while he talks, show numerous deep 3's, post play turning both ways to finish, efficient dunks, passing from the post, a tear drop in the lane, etc. He is the leader of the team winning the championship in the top prep league, and MVP of the title game. His competition is the best a kid can go up against that isn't Monteverde or IMG. He's well spoken and his teachers I watched a game with at New Hampton, say he is top shelf in the classroom. The kid doing the interview did a real nice job. I've said before that I wrote down and gave Tom Moore 2 names at Hoophall last year and asked him to make me happy, (tongue in cheek). One was Sanogo, and the other was Karaban. We're 50% there. There was only 20-30 fans, (even pre covid), watching Putnam Science vs New Hampton and Moore was one of them parked by himself directly under a basket. Since then, the silence related to us recruiting him has been a killer for me while he has picked up Big East offers from everyone else, but, every once in a while there is a mention. Keep in mind he is already a Husky at New Hampton. The fact that he's watching us a lot is pleasing given all the other published offers. Floyd, Clingan, Karaban, I'd be afraid I'd stroke out. But I'm willing to take the risk!
You know, a real high-effort lunch pail type player.
 
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This post is probably going to get deleted, but I hope it will be taken as intellectual curiosity regarding the human mind, and nothing more.

I find it fascinating that, seemingly, one of the top criteria that people use for identifying player comps is skin tone. Furthermore, it seems to be very granular. In other words, people don't seem to be simply putting players into 3 or 4 skin color categories, but rather seeking the closest match on the full spectrum. I wish I could think of more examples, but Karaban is one example. This thought also occurred to me when I read Tyrese Martin compared to Donny Marshall. And, although I can't think of a specific example, I notice this phenomenon when very dark skinned players, usually from Africa, are being discussed.

Eh, it's just easier to make the connection when people look like each other. People do way worse when it comes to stereotyping players--that's the part that is probably gonna get ya banned.
 
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Eh, it's just easier to make the connection when people look like each other. People do way worse when it comes to stereotyping players--that's the part that is probably gonna get ya banned.
I suspect the bolded sentence is exactly the correct explanation for it. I did not mean to imply anything nefarious. It just makes me wonder, among other things, how strong is this tendency? In other words, are we blind to other player comps that are actually more accurate just because our brains don't make the connection based on superficial (non-basketball-related) characteristics?
 
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I suspect the bolded sentence is exactly the correct explanation for it. I did not mean to imply anything nefarious. It just makes me wonder, among other things, how strong is this tendency? In other words, are we blind to other player comps that are actually more accurate just because our brains don't make the connection based on superficial (non-basketball-related) characteristics?
It’s a strong tendency. It’s been noticed before, especially when it comes to player comparisons for the nba draft. Now it seems like some draft guys go out of their way to make player comparisons based on analytics and stats rather than style of play and how the player physically looks.
 

ctchamps

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This is a good thread about a recruit. Most of us appreciate the effort of @Ricker. I deleted political input and will continue to do so to avoid getting this thread deleted.

Thanks Ricker for your insights.
 
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Thanks @HooperScooper. I guarantee he is taller than 6'7 and heavier than 190lbs unless he shrunk an inch and lost 30lbs since last year. He is about the same player and physical stature as Giffey as a senior at UConn. He would get playing time on our current team because he doesn't make mistakes, is a Creighton shooter, a team first player, and, matches up in the post as good as Giffey and Daniels did. He and Clingan with Diggins in the backcourt and Jackson and Hawkins and Johnson and Sanogo!! We could start ordering another banner. Has anybody heard anything about Filipowski's recruiting and whether we are still involved there?

As an aside, I note that my Zane Meeks 'advocation' is shooting 39% from 3 starting at Nevada with about 3 attempts a game, and Matt Cross that I liked, (but plenty of others knew about), is at 48% from 3 on three attempts per game for Miami. I wish we would target a similar designated sniper.
Per the video has a nice stroke and good around the hoop .Looks like he might have the body to carry more weight from a good college SnC Program.

Do any existing players or future UConn commits have AAU connections with him?
 
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Per the video has a nice stroke and good around the hoop .Looks like he might have the body to carry more weight from a good college SnC Program.

Do any existing players or future UConn commits have AAU connections with him?
He plays for Expressions Elite and as far as I know we have never had a recruit from that program. I know (well more knew since I don't talk to him now) the guy who owns the Expressions AAU program. He has a very good relationship with Cooley and had a good relationship with Ollie (UConn was recruiting the guy who went to NC St. - forgot his name). He's based in RI so maybe Hurley has a good relationship with him also from his time at URI.
 
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