Yakwe Commits

[3rdbass]

Finally a post man and a shot blocker!! I miss the days when UConn led the country in blocked shots year after year. Long ago are the days of Okafor, Boone and Armstrong among many others. HE looks like a GREAT addition to next years team.

Didn't you know that DO had like 7 blocks in a game before coming to us last year? Lol!

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I don't want to look too stupid here, so let me acknowledge the obvious. In one short month, Hurley has done the three things he had to do. He has assembled a first-rate coaching staff; he has filled the glaring needs on next year's roster; and he has freed up four scholarships for the following year, when the true rebuilding process begins. If I seem impatient, it is because I turn 80 in the fall, and I fear I will be watching it all from the nosebleed seats.

Yea but 80 is the new 60. No?

 

[Austin316]

Quite frankly, this played out exactly as I thought too.

I couldn’t say it at the time, but I made hints that I knew we’d sign 2 new guards and a new big that would leave us “flexibility” moving forward.

It’s EXACTLY as I predicted, also.

@Mr. French with the big rejection

Get that s outa here!

 

[kris1]

I'm sorry, but I look at the resumes of Smith and Yakwe and I see next year's Anderson and next year's Onourah. The resemblance, even physically, is uncanny. In the case of Yakwe and Onuorah, there's even the mystery of why these guys all but disappeared after their freshman year. We all have high hopes for Dan Hurley, but so far it has resulted only in a trade of Akinjo, Matthews and Kisunas for Adams, Smith and Yakwe. Yikes! As I said before, an awful lot of blind trust is being asked for here.

So you’re comparing guys with proven college experience to guys with none.....makes complete sense. Newsflash!!! We will not be competing for a national championship in 2018-2019. So bringing in three kids that take up four/five years of scholarships, who aren’t ELITE level talent is senseless. You bring in guys that provide depth and help for next season and recruit ELITE level guys (that are in our own backyard) for 2019.

 

[UConnSwag11]

So you’re comparing guys with proven college experience to guys with none.....makes complete sense. Newsflash!!! We will not be competing for a national championship in 2018-2019. So bringing in three kids that take up four/five years of scholarships, who aren’t ELITE level talent is senseless. You bring in guys that provide depth and help for next season and recruit ELITE level guys (that are in our own backyard) for 2019.

The poster you replied to is a troll. As are all the other ones crapping on Hurley in less than 2 months

 

[Coach J]

***BONUS*** Watching his player profile tape it appears he has been coached on how to set a pick without committing an offensive foul. Apparently they find time to teach that at St. John's.

 

[husky429]

***BONUS*** Watching his player profile tape it appears he has been coached on how to set a pick without committing an offensive foul. Apparently they find time to teach that at St. John's.

The problem for us was the guards more than the bigs, imo. Never set them up right.

I thought DOs only strength WAS screen setting.

 

[intlzncster]

I like what I see

DO could complete about 1% of the plays on that tape. I'm not sure where the comparisons are coming from.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

***BONUS*** Watching his player profile tape it appears he has been coached on how to set a pick without committing an offensive foul. Apparently they find time to teach that at St. John's.

*Flashbacks of the 87 illegal screens from 2017-18 flood my brain and I laugh*

 

[BlueMAB]

I don't want to look too stupid here, so let me acknowledge the obvious. In one short month, Hurley has done the three things he had to do. He has assembled a first-rate coaching staff; he has filled the glaring needs on next year's roster; and he has freed up four scholarships for the following year, when the true rebuilding process begins. If I seem impatient, it is because I turn 80 in the fall, and I fear I will be watching it all from the nosebleed seats.

Great save!

 

[CardiacAndre7]

DO could complete about 1% of the plays on that tape. I'm not sure where the comparisons are coming from.

That video may have shown all of his baskets at St Johns

 

[BlueMAB]

Where is our front court scoring coming from?

Offensive rebounds

 

[MattMang23]

It is? How so?

Because they have the same player. Duh!

 

[tzznandrew]

You are 100% right. But just keep in mind that watching David O playing so many minutes has traumatized some of us.

Poor DO. He was really bad last year, but that's not really on him. He came here and did his best, and loved being a Husky from what we can tell. Feels bad to pile on him this much still.

 

[Whtdmd]

I don’t mind this one. This isn’t DO.

I look at this kid the same way I look at Enoch.

They underachieved relative to expectations, but they also played for inept head coaches.

Kid’s a tremendous athlete - if there’s anything to get out of him, Hurley will get it.

Stop it! None of the transfer from St Johns amount to much in their new schools. Looks at Darien Williams from last yr. He was considering UCONN before heading to Nevada and getting kick off the team. Justin Simon is looking much better under Mullin then under Sean Miller at Arizona. How well did Danny Hurley develop Kuran Iverson when he transfer from Memphis with all that talent. Hurley might be good but he is no Larry Brown.

 

[jibsey]

Undervalued Brimah's shotblocking which we missed badly last year. What happened? We always led the country in that category.

 

[MattMang23]

What happened? We always led the country in that category.

Our centers were 6'8 scarecrows.

 

[uchusky32]

View attachment 30774

@Mr. French with the big rejection

Get that s outa here!

Mr French goaltended!

 

[MDHuskFan]

I’m extremely saddened that Hurley failed to get Carey and Reddish to de-commit and come to UConn. He couldn’t even get Diallo to transfer.... Looks like another few years of struggling........

On a serious note though i’m Pretty excited about these signings. From what Mullin said about Yakwe and what I could read about the other two, these signings seem to point to establishing the culture Hurley is wanting while also giving flexibility moving past this season. Kudos to the staff.

 

[Chief00]

Chief?

LOL - I learned long ago not to respond to every post on the internet nor do I have the time to expend checking other’s predictions, especially if the post apparently did not make an impression on me in the first place.
Just for the record, Chief said Hurley’s recruiting focus was 2019/2020 but would use scholarships to get mostly 1 year players and NOT 4.0 gpa former walk-on seniors for APR purposes. Chief also mentioned a reclass possibility. Mission Accomplished, thus far.

 

[BNich]

Didn't you know that DO had like 7 blocks in a game before coming to us last year? Lol!

He averaged 1 per game basically.

 

[Chief00]

Finally a post man and a shot blocker!! I miss the days when UConn led the country in blocked shots year after year. Long ago are the days of Okafor, Boone and Armstrong among many others. HE looks like a GREAT addition to next years team.

So he works with Chris Mullins every day in the gym - interesting. NCAA permitted workouts?
He must have taken the same invisible classes that Sid took. God Bless.

 

[champs99and04]

The DO/Yakwe comparisons are baseless. DO was a body who took undue hell from the fan base because he played for somebody that insisted on playing him at the expense of better options. It wasn't just the fact that his numbers at Cornell were underwhelming, it's the fact that his game logs demonstrated no evidence that he could play against high major competition.

You look at Yakwe, and it's the exact opposite. He played in an elite conference all three years and led that conference in blocked shots as a freshman. That same season, he put 14, 7, and 5 on a loaded Xavier team, went for 16, 15, and 4 against a Seton Hall team that won the Big East Tournament, he scored 15 points in 23 minutes (in a win) against a Syracuse team that went to the final four, and he went for 9, 11, and 6 against a decent Marquette squad. There are more.

It's very rare for a player that talented to regress that much over the course of three seasons without some circumstantial variables factoring in. One of those variables is simple: Tariq Owens is better than he is and transferred in from Tennessee just in time to supplant Yakwe as he was entering his sophomore season. Other variables, like the addition of ball-dominant guards like Shamorie Ponds, likely contributed as well. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he battled injuries over that time - even subtle, seemingly inconsequential physical ailments can tilt the scales when you're talking about 19 and 20 year olds.

I'm trying not to overstate the significance. This is still a fringe rotation player from a meh St. John's team that appears to be a poor rebounder and a zero on offense. A couple years ago, we had a guy who posted those same numbers he did as a freshman, except for far better teams at a far more efficient clip. And some people couldn't wait for him to leave.

But this is a player with a pulse. This is a player that you take a flier on, not only because he has talent, but also because he adds a dimension to the team that was lacking before. Neither Carlton nor Cobb are scaring anybody at the rim, and in a sport where compiling skill sets that complement one another is so vital, Yakwe brings an elite level skill to the table that great coaches can scheme around. He finished 10th in America in block percentage as a freshman. Multiply 350 something teams by 13 scholarships and you get a sense of what kind of company he keeps. The fact that he finished 6th in the Big East in consecutive years in box plus/minus doesn't hurt, either. That's one spot ahead of Kris Dunn, six spots ahead of Angel Delgado, and two spots behind Mikal Bridges. Traditionally, that hasn't been a list you wind up on by accident, even if you can quibble with the methodology.

I haven't been over the moon with the recent additions, mostly because I think we're closer to being nationally relevant than most believe, but there's no question the team has gotten a lot better over the last couple days. All we need now is for one guy or two to make a leap they weren't supposed to, and the program is in business. That's about all you can ask for.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Very happy with what Hurley has done. Picked up some holdover pieces that can hold things down until Hurley can start getting his guys in here. Very nice start. With everyone healthy i think we can win 20 games next season and be in the hunt for the tourney.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Or have Gilbert stay healthy. That makes a huge difference right there.