2023 Recruiting: Youssouf Singare Commits to UConn

[Umami Zen]

Year 5 of the rebuild is kicked off with Fab 5 '23 commits.. Let's take care of biz this season as we reload on our '24 targets.

Banner#5 is now alive and in play

 

[BlueMAB]

But he should do it quietly...

I see what you did there. well played.

 

[donyell34]

Down goes shizzle. KO in the 7th.

 

[UconnU]

Here's about a minute and a half of highlights.

Much higher upside on the offensive end than some similar prospects we’ve brought in in the past. Good hands for his size. Will be a great rim runner in an uptempo offense.

 

[maineuconnfan]

Martin was a transfer.

Every sub-100 recruit for Hurley has been a bust:
Adams
Springs
Gaffney
Brown-Ferguson

They could have potentially used the extra spot for a talented college transfer big man who was a proven player.

Martin was a Hurley recruit at Rhode Island. Martin was a Hurley guy.
Adams and Gaffney were not terrible players. Most sub-100 recruits for any team don't become all Americans or big-time players. They can and will sometimes. So based on this list, 50% of the time, they become key contributors. Brown-Ferguson was a head case. and if you count martin, since he was a Hurley recruit, 20% of them become NBA draft picks. This is a very silly and poorly thought out stat point.
In addition, we need players that can contribute, in addition to players that will become NBA players. We currently have Sampson and Donovan, that will most likely be back next year, so if they reach their potential, this is a serviceable player that can play d. Would I like a 5-star Center recruit, absolutely, but not all your guys will be top 100, if most are, then that is good. It also appears that they have a good bond which also has value.

 

[maineuconnfan]

This class is nasty, I love the balance and 3 ready made serious contributors but UConn has had some great classes. Many top 10 classes and some classes which were a bit lower ranked which turned out to be pretty incredible. '91 has always been the goat class IMO if you combine ranking and how it turned out. They were #1 or #2 in the nation if my memory serves me right. Some of the great UConn classes, I realize I'm probably missing some players and a really good class or two...

1991- Donyell, Donny, Rudy Johnson, Brian Fair, Kevin Ollie, Richie Ashmeade, Boo

1993- Ray Allen, Sheffer, Kirk King

1996- Rip, Freeman, Voskuhl, LeBlanc, Funches

1999- Ajou Ajou Deng, Tony Robertson, Doug Wrenn, Marcus Cox, Justin Brown. The class didn't pan out but was highly ranked.

2000- Caron, Taliek, Selvie, Hazleton...

2001- Emeka and Ben

2006- Sticks, Curtis Kelly, Hasheem, Dyson, Doug Wiggins

2011- Drummond, Boat, Daniels

2016- Alterique, Juwan Durham, Vance Jackson, Vital. Highly ranked but didn't really pan out.

2021- Hawkins, Rahsool Diggins, Samson Johnson, Corey Floyd. Ranked highly, half the class is already gone.

This class has a chance to be special. Awesome combination of size, skill, positional versatility and we basically cover every position on the floor.

How did the 2010 recruiting class not get put on here? Shabazz, Lamb, Giffey, Olander, Roscoe, Wolf, and Bradley. 3 of which have 2 rings.

 

[shizzle787]

Martin was a Hurley recruit at Rhode Island. Martin was a Hurley guy.
Adams and Gaffney were not terrible players. Most sub-100 recruits for any team don't become all Americans or big-time players. They can and will sometimes. So based on this list, 50% of the time, they become key contributors. Brown-Ferguson was a head case. and if you count martin, since he was a Hurley recruit, 20% of them become NBA draft picks. This is a very silly and poorly thought out stat point.
In addition, we need players that can contribute, in addition to players that will become NBA players. We currently have Sampson and Donovan, that will most likely be back next year, so if they reach their potential, this is a serviceable player that can play d. Would I like a 5-star Center recruit, absolutely, but not all your guys will be top 100, if most are, then that is good. It also appears that they have a good bond which also has value.

Agree to disagree. Adams and Gaffney were both busts. The proof of this is that neither were key contributors on Big East teams. They were both on the end of the rotation. Gaffney rarely looked good on the court against high-major competition, and Adams was very inconsistent. They did better when we were garbage in the AAC and even then they weren't very good. Ask yourself this question: outside of the most hardcore Husky fans, who will remember either in 10 years?

With regards to Martin; it is true that Hurley recruited him to URI, but he was partially developed at a prep school for a year and then went to URI for a year. Out of high school, he was getting offers from schools like Central. So he went to prep school, played well and got mid-major offers from URI and others. He was further developed by Cox at URI. By the time he got here and playing, he was already three years out of high school. If you want to count him go ahead, but I would put a major asterisk next to him due to the fact that it is not an apples to apples between him and kids straight out of high school.

 

[Dean Wormer]

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Agree to disagree. Adams and Gaffney were both busts. The proof of this is that neither were key contributors on Big East teams. They were both on the end of the rotation. Gaffney rarely looked good on the court against high-major competition, and Adams was very inconsistent. They did better when we were garbage in the AAC and even then they weren't very good. Ask yourself this question: outside of the most hardcore Husky fans, who will remember either in 10 years?

With regards to Martin; it is true that Hurley recruited him to URI, but he was partially developed at a prep school for a year and then went to URI for a year. Out of high school, he was getting offers from schools like Central. So he went to prep school, played well and got mid-major offers from URI and others. He was further developed by Cox at URI. By the time he got here and playing, he was already three years out of high school. If you want to count him go ahead, but I would put a major asterisk next to him due to the fact that it is not an apples to apples between him and kids straight out of high school.

You had him pegged for the NBA when he stepped on campus?

 

[shizzle787]

You had him pegged for the NBA when he stepped on campus?

No, I didn't have him pegged for the NBA after this past season let alone two or three years ago, but he worked his tail off over the summer.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

No, I didn't have him pegged for the NBA after this past season let alone two or three years ago, but he worked his tail off over the summer.

That's certainly a take.

 

[shizzle787]

That's certainly a take.

A lot of people didn't think he was NBA material at the end of March. Most had him pegged for Europe. Go back to everyone's posts from March. Hindsight is 20/20.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

A lot of people didn't think he was NBA material at the end of March. Most had him pegged for Europe. Go back to everyone's posts from March. Hindsight is 20/20.

So Prep school, 1 year at URI and the 2 months after UConn are what vaulted him into the league?

Just give credit where credit is due - Hurley and staff deserve a lot (as does Martin ofc).

 

[navery12]

Agree to disagree. Adams and Gaffney were both busts. The proof of this is that neither were key contributors on Big East teams. They were both on the end of the rotation. Gaffney rarely looked good on the court against high-major competition, and Adams was very inconsistent. They did better when we were garbage in the AAC and even then they weren't very good. Ask yourself this question: outside of the most hardcore Husky fans, who will remember either in 10 years?

With regards to Martin; it is true that Hurley recruited him to URI, but he was partially developed at a prep school for a year and then went to URI for a year. Out of high school, he was getting offers from schools like Central. So he went to prep school, played well and got mid-major offers from URI and others. He was further developed by Cox at URI. By the time he got here and playing, he was already three years out of high school. If you want to count him go ahead, but I would put a major asterisk next to him due to the fact that it is not an apples to apples between him and kids straight out of high school.

Lmao you can't make this up. So Dan Hurley saw a low major guy who should have played for Central and recruited him to URI. Then David Cox, a .500 coach who's been since fired at URI, turned Martin into an NBA player in 2 years and Hurley just reaped the rewards while at UConn

 

[shizzle787]

So Prep school, 1 year at URI and the 2 months after UConn are what vaulted him into the league?

Just give credit where credit is due - Hurley and staff deserve a lot (as does Martin ofc).

I'm not saying Hurley doesn't deserve some credit. He does. But to me, given that the kid went from high school (where he got offers from low-majors) to prep school to URI to UConn signifies to me that it is more than just coaching. He wanted it. Hurley did a good job with him but that doesn't belie my greater point: we don't do well with kids ranked outside the top-100 coming out of high school. There is the occasional exception (Martin-who took to steps in between), but it is pretty rare.

 

[shizzle787]

Lmao you can't make this up. So Dan Hurley saw a low major guy who should have played for Central and recruited him to URI. Then David Cox, a .500 coach who's been since fired at URI, turned Martin into an NBA player in 2 years and Hurley just reaped the rewards while at UConn

Hurley didn't recruit him out of high school, and you missed my entire point. He developed quickly at two other spots before he even got here. He just continued that development once he got here and after.

 

[navery12]

Hurley didn't recruit him out of high school, and you missed my entire point. He developed quickly at two other spots before he even got here. He just continued that development once he got here and after.

Hurley did recruit him out of high school, he committed to Dan Hurley at URI and then in the spring Hurley left for UConn

 

[shizzle787]

Hurley did recruit him out of high school, he committed to Dan Hurley at URI and then in the spring Hurley left for UConn

No he didn't. He recruited him out of the post-high school prep school.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'm not saying Hurley doesn't deserve some credit. He does. But to me, given that the kid went from high school (where he got offers from low-majors) to prep school to URI to UConn signifies to me that it is more than just coaching. He wanted it. Hurley did a good job with him but that doesn't belie my greater point: we don't do well with kids ranked outside the top-100 coming out of high school. There is the occasional exception (Martin-who took to steps in between), but it is pretty rare.

What are your expectations for guys ranked 100+?

I guess the point here is our depth has sucked for awhile and we've been hit with the injury big quite a bit as well.

Singare had BE offers - what's not to like?

 

[auror]

No he didn't. He recruited him out of the post-high school prep school, and (my bad) he played at URI for two years, not one.

Why does this matter? He was still a mid-major level recruit when Hurley recruited him (220 composite, 135 247 only), and a mid-major caliber starter (not even mid-major all-league) when he transferred to UConn. And now he's in the NBA. Very few coaches will shepherd a kid from that low to the NBA in their entire career. Yes, Martin himself worked hard. Identifying the kids ranked worse than 100 that have the potential and will work that hard is the whole point. That's also a win for Hurley.

This is an asinine and dumb hill to die on. Take a break from the screen for a bit.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Agree to disagree. Adams and Gaffney were both busts. The proof of this is that neither were key contributors on Big East teams. They were both on the end of the rotation. Gaffney rarely looked good on the court against high-major competition, and Adams was very inconsistent. They did better when we were garbage in the AAC and even then they weren't very good. Ask yourself this question: outside of the most hardcore Husky fans, who will remember either in 10 years?

With regards to Martin; it is true that Hurley recruited him to URI, but he was partially developed at a prep school for a year and then went to URI for a year. Out of high school, he was getting offers from schools like Central. So he went to prep school, played well and got mid-major offers from URI and others. He was further developed by Cox at URI. By the time he got here and playing, he was already three years out of high school. If you want to count him go ahead, but I would put a major asterisk next to him due to the fact that it is not an apples to apples between him and kids straight out of high school.

This is all so duck___ dumb it almost hurts to read. You know you don’t HAVE to keep advocating for a position when it becomes farcical?

Brendan Adams was a three star recruit who was the first player Hurley convinced to come here almost exclusively for his toughness, leadership, and work ethic, because Hurley wanted him to be a model for the culture he was trying to inculcate. No one expected him to dominate the Big East - he was a bridge to a time when better players would replace him, which is what happened. Some slob on the internet calling him a bust irks me.

 

[navery12]

No he didn't. He recruited him out of the post-high school prep school.

I see you're just being difficult for the sake of it now. Nobody cares about going the prep route and a ton of recruits do it anyway. But good news is that Singare is in the same boat and reclassified back from 2022 to 2023 so you don't need to worry about him anymore

 

[CL82]

Year 5 of the rebuild is kicked off with Fab 5 '23 commits.. Let's take care of biz this season as we reload on our '24 targets.

Banner#5 is now alive and in play

 

[tcf15]

No he didn't. He recruited him out of the post-high school prep school.

He committed to URI in September 2017, before he even played at his prep school:

URI associate head coach David Cox and head coach Dan Hurley were Martin's primary recruiters, shadowing him throughout the spring and summer. Hurley watched Martin at July’s Under Armour Association All-American Camp in Philadelphia, and Martin performed well enough to attract late interest from Boston College, Virginia Tech and Maryland leading into the fall.

Pennsylvania guard Tyrese Martin commits to URI

Wednesday morning brought more good news on the recruiting front for the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball program. Pennsylvania shooting guard Tyrese Martin announced his verbal commitm…

www.providencejournal.com

 

[shizzle787]

What are your expectations for guys ranked 100+?

I guess the point here is our depth has sucked for awhile and we've been hit with the injury big quite a bit as well.

Singare had BE offers - what's not to like?

My whole point is that we historically do not do well with sub-100 guys out of high school. We need to avoid recruiting them if we want to win national titles regularly going forward. People are pointing out Martin as a counter, but I think we need to put a major league asterisk on that due to him getting recruited by Hurley at URI only after he played a post grad year against a better level of competition than high school. If we can get a top-5 class without this kid, we don't need him. It makes a lot more sense to add a veteran college player next year in the transfer portal than a 5th recruit in one class. And his other offers were lesser Big East schools (St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall) and BYU. No other truly major players on the scene. The aforementioned schools are all arguably top-60 programs but none are top-30. If nobody else in the top 30 wanted him, that should be a red flag. I hope this kid proves me wrong but history suggests otherwise. And it's not just him, Jayden Ross is ranked around 130. I think he may struggle.

This not to say that I am po-pooing the whole class. I think there is a real possibility Castle is a one and done, and Solomon Ball will be a really good player, but they are both top 40-50 prospects (Castle top-20) so there is precedent based on ranking that will do well. As one would expect, the higher the ranker generally correlates with better performance, and UConn is definitely no exception.