What’s next immediate need? PF or Center

[TheDude]

If there is a 2026 Stanley Robinson, we would not be able to touch him due to NIL $ and all the other schools that would be involved for him. Now Jeff Andrien type would not be a stretch to get

No one has any idea of how much money we spent or have left.

 

[Kemba15]

He is just assuming in that article. He also assumes Ball will be back and he hasn't announced.

Nah he has good intel and in this world of trash sources flooding the internet we should pay even more attention to the top guys who actually have the information

 

[MrDownunder]

And UConn would have beaten them if healthy with the same sized lineup they will be running out again this year.

UConn won two national titles and played in another championship game with Alex Karaban as their PF.

Yeah, and two lottery picks.

 

[EBonz30]

I see no front courts nearly as good as some of what we saw last year other than potentially Florida. There were some elite 4/5 combos last year, and in some cases 3/4/5 combos when you look at Michigan, Arizona, Duke, StJ. I think some programs will look to simulate, but I also think last year was very unique with guys like Boozer, Yaxel, Mara, Peat. There are no kids coming out of HS like that, Diop & Thiam could be interesting depending on where they land. If UM lands Diop, Johnson comes back, UM will once again be scary.

I expect some intense bidding wars on those two.

UM is about to land Thiam- he’s going to Ann Arbor for a visit tomorrow.

 

[navery12]

If Nik gets into foul trouble, who guards the other teams big athletic 4?

Ross or Landrew right now. And I suspect it'll likely be that way going into the year too

 

[dennismenace]

I would like a more athletic 4 who could play the 5 alsp and then a 5 that can give us 5 fouls and is tall. Lol!

Diop. Hold fundraising collections.

 

[Husky Alien]

No one has any idea of how much money we spent or have left.

Yeah, you’re right we don’t actually know the exact numbers, we’re all just kind of guessing. My point was just that while we’d all love a Stanley Robinson type 4, that kind of player is probably going to cost more than bringing in someone like a Jeff Adrien type.

 

[dennismenace]

Committed to Kentucy

Yes. Ruff calls it "going into the abyss" LOL

 

[Tenspro2002]

I’d love a hybrid of the two: a 6’10+ guy who can battle as the backup 5, but also has enough skill/shootinf to play backup 4. That might seem too unrealistic with our roster though, so if I had to pick one, a backup big.

I think that's what we need and can realistically target, but is basically a unicorn. A lot of guys have been hyped to be this, but are found to either not be willing to defend in the post or don't have enough skill to command attention on the perimeter.

Charlie Villanueva maybe was the closest to doing both.

 

[RuffRuff]

Yes. Ruff calls it "going into the abyss" LOL

It's a great place for him to go to for us, because we know there is a 99% chance he'll be in the portal next year.

I honestly wouldn't be shocked if the staff talked to him about that - go get your payday and minutes, and let's talk next year, we should have an open spot for you.

 

[HungryHu5ky]

A lot of people looking for another 4, but here’s how it looks-

G Silas
G Solo
G Mullins
F Khamenia
C Hines

F Ross
F Landrew
C Transfer
G County
G Transfer

We don’t need a PF. This isn’t the NBA, Ross is that PF y’all are looking for.

Backup Center.
Supplemental PG.
Hail Mary internationals/emergency vets.

Natty.

Really wanna see Ross starting over solo his 3&D is what the starters need & solo can just come in just cook … I really believe this would work best for the TEAM IN

 

[ec33]

For what it's worth, NK's EvanMiya defensive rating last year was better than all of AK's other than this past year. The biggest gap to AK is more on the offensive side of the ball.

And NK was playing with some rather ball dominant teammates. I expect a jump in his offensive production.

 

[Hurlees4hed]

I think Nik has the ability to play like AK on the perimeter. I am glad he is a coach's son because he will need to put a lot of time in over the summer to be at the level we need him at. Great pick up.

I love Hines. Don't know if we can count on him for 30mpg next year regularly without fouling out. We need to get a 5 who is more than just "capable" IMO... they need to be able to be a net contributor.

I'd like to sure up PF and get some competition for County at PG.

I guess Massamba Diop is out of the equation now.

I wouldn't mind giving a look to Christian Reeves or Chol Machot from College of Charleston.

Reeves is big, 7'1 255. Averaged 11 and 8 in 20 minutes this year, previously played at Duke and Clemson where he couldn't get off the bench. No clue what he's going to command but he's a backup at the P5 level. Was CAA 1st team all-conference and all-defense.

Machot was CAA DPOY and elite shot blocker. Has off the chart per 40 minute numbers defensively and has NBA size and athleticism. Originally committed to Miss St before attending JUCO in Florida two years ago. Fouls a lot. 7'0 200, 20mpg 9ppg 5rpg 2.5 bpg 2 years of eligibility.

 

[FearThePups]

Diop. Hold fundraising collections.

Didn't we just have a donor give us $15M? Is there any yearly NIL cap limit?

 

[7774]

Yeah, you’re right we don’t actually know the exact numbers, we’re all just kind of guessing. My point was just that while we’d all love a Stanley Robinson type 4, that kind of player is probably going to cost more than bringing in someone like a Jeff Adrien type.

That is a bizarre take. Adrien was 2nd team all big east once, and 1st team all big east twice.

 

[EBonz30]

If Ball comes back & if we can get Thiam or Diop- this Husky Nation will be number one & the favorites for their seventh national title.

 

[BLANCOHUSKY]

Love to get that Furman guard who tore us to pieces.

Committed to Kentucky

 

[upstater]

If there is a 2026 Stanley Robinson, we would not be able to touch him due to NIL $ and all the other schools that would be involved for him. Now Jeff Andrien type would not be a stretch to get

In retrospect, it would've been Stanley's big payday instead of working in a junkyard over summers or after graduation and then earning under $80k in the fledgling G-League.

 

[3rdbass]

Nah he has good intel and in this world of trash sources flooding the internet we should pay even more attention to the top guys who actually have the information

Of course we are looking for a good backup big in the portal. That is a given. I think he is just referring to us needing more so he expects to be involved with another big portal addition. Even if Ball come back we probably have 7 guys we can rely on if people don't want to count County.

 

[superjohn]

The only thing that's truly missing is height down low. Hines is 6'10, Khamenia is 6'8 and then several guys around 6'6. That's short for UConn standards. We need to and will add a 7 foot center who can ball and probably another guy with some height for insurance.

I think we go County as the primary backup to Silas and get another mid major point guard. I'm not worried about us not being able to drive. Mullins will be better at it, Khamenia is a lot better putting it on the floor than AK, and Landrew plays off the bounce.

The new Locked on Guy says he can officially say our backup center will be Thiam (visiting Michigan today) or Kepnang. He also says he fully expected Solo to return but can no longer say fully. He says he's not getting into the details and won't interfere but he expects something to be done and he still expects him back. I have my doubts about this guy's connections but he is adamant in saying it will be either Thiam or Kepnang.

 

[RuffRuff]

The only thing that's truly missing is height down low. Hines is 6'10, Khamenia is 6'8 and then several guys around 6'6. That's short for UConn standards. We need to and will add a 7 foot center who can ball and probably another guy with some height for insurance.

I think we go County as the primary backup to Silas and get another mid major point guard. I'm not worried about us not being able to drive. Mullins will be better at it, Khamenia is a lot better putting it on the floor than AK, and Landrew plays off the bounce.

The new Locked on Guy says he can officially say our backup center will be Thiam (visiting Michigan today) or Kepnang. He also says he fully expected Solo to return but can no longer say fully. He says he's not getting into the details and won't interfere but he expects something to be done and he still expects him back. I have my doubts about this guy's connections but he is adamant in saying it will be either Thiam or Kepnang.

Would love Thiam, but how do we get that guy over here at his cost? Kepnang sounds about right. Wonder if this guy is riding high off his earlier calls and now doesn't know how to stop himself.

There is some smoke on Solo. Lot of $$ dulled out and they still 100% need a center. The portal closes soon, so it can't wait that much longer.

 

[3rdbass]

Would love Thiam, but how do we get that guy over here at his cost? Kepnang sounds about right. Wonder if this guy is riding high off his earlier calls and now doesn't know how to stop himself.

Doesn't Kepnang still have petition for another year? It isn't guaranteed. He is also injury prone.

 

[UConnRock]

Khamenia is not going to play the 35 minutes that Karaban played. Stewart averaged 18 minutes, Ross averaged 17 and Malachi 16. There are more minutes available than the 5-10 minute range discussed. With the right tandem Hines will likely play less than Reed.

 

[mauconnfan]

And NK was playing with some rather ball dominant teammates. I expect a jump in his offensive production.

No thanks I will stay with the guy that fits the 6th man best. This is the same as Diarra the prior year. He was a 6th man, a very good one not at all a great starter. I don’t think this will be any different so stay as is. Plus if all of you are right about Solos injury hampering him all year, then we may get our 40% 3pt shooter back with more ability to get to the basket. I’d stay there, unless Landrew is that good?

 

[Enrique]

The next immediate need is to keep Solo Ball.

 

[Umami Zen]

Curious if we show any interest in Devin Williams-FAU/ ex-UCLA big 6"10" Has played both 4 and 5 in college. Kentucky showing interest as a backup Big to Moreno. BTW-Same for us as a backup Big.

 

[BGesus4]

The only thing that's truly missing is height down low. Hines is 6'10, Khamenia is 6'8 and then several guys around 6'6. That's short for UConn standards. We need to and will add a 7 foot center who can ball and probably another guy with some height for insurance.

I think we go County as the primary backup to Silas and get another mid major point guard. I'm not worried about us not being able to drive. Mullins will be better at it, Khamenia is a lot better putting it on the floor than AK, and Landrew plays off the bounce.

The new Locked on Guy says he can officially say our backup center will be Thiam (visiting Michigan today) or Kepnang. He also says he fully expected Solo to return but can no longer say fully. He says he's not getting into the details and won't interfere but he expects something to be done and he still expects him back. I have my doubts about this guy's connections but he is adamant in saying it will be either Thiam or Kepnang.

It seems like the only way he could know that is if kepnang is ready to come on board but the staff is waiting to see about thiam. It doesn’t seem very likely but if we do get thiam I will empty my bank account betting on this team… in the words of grandma Hurley…

 

[Slick]

The next immediate need is to keep Solo Ball.

I don’t think Solo can leave easily. He was constantly on commercials in UConn uniform. I don’t think he can duplicate it at another school.

 

[jibsey]

St. John's still gave us serious problems upfront no mater what and Big East tourney is the post season. I know not many teams are like that but still something we could run against with some of these big money spender schools.

They had Ejifor. Now they don’t.

 

[3rdbass]

They had Ejifor. Now they don’t.

They had Ejifor, Mitchell, Hopkins and Prey. I know they only have Prey now but still just saying if we meet up against teams with this kind of length and athletic ability we could be in trouble. Not necessarily St. John's obviously as we still don't know what their lineup with look like.