2023 Recruiting: Youssouf Singare Commits to UConn

[NJHoops]

the quotes, this video… what an endearing young man

 

[Mr. French]

Cherry on top, super geeked for the future of this program!

 

[husky429]

Love this class. Diversity of skills, athleticisn and size. Our 3*s are very high potential as well.

 

[navery12]

Man this disappointing, suboptimal class from a month ago sure turned out pretty exciting...

 

[Phoenixhusky]

He’s ranked about 120 now. Where does he end up?

 

[navery12]

He’s ranked about 120 now. Where does he end up?

I'd be surprised if he rises too much more, somewhere just outside the top 100 seems about right for a raw big man

 

[shizzle787]

He’s ranked about 120 now. Where does he end up?

That’s the question: based on his current ranking, I don’t know why everyone is getting so excited.

 

[alexd]

 

[NJHoops]

A top 150 player who perfectly complements the top 50 will-be sophomore center on the roster, a guy who the staff (who can recruit a little bit) really like and who perfectly completes their nationally ranked 5 player class, a young man who is new to the game and knows what he’s good at and what he needs to improve… it’s a real mystery, Sherlock.

 

[shizzle787]

A top 150 player who perfectly complements the top 50 will-be sophomore center on the roster, a guy who the staff (who can recruit a little bit) really like and who perfectly competes their nationally ranked class, a young man who is new to the game and knows what he’s good at and what he needs to improve… it’s a real mystery, Sherlock.

That was a giant word salad to say he is raw. We are in the NIL and transfer portal era: if you don’t cut the mustard, you don’t stay around long. Recruiting a kid just to get a class of 5 is pointless if he is not at least part of a 10-man rotation by the middle of his sophomore year.

 

[husky429]

A top 150 player who perfectly complements the top 50 will-be sophomore center on the roster, a guy who the staff (who can recruit a little bit) really like and who perfectly completes their nationally ranked 5 player class, a young man who is new to the game and knows what he’s good at and what he needs to improve… it’s a real mystery, Sherlock.

There aren't exactly many people 7 feet tall that move the way he does either.
Brimah came in with this level of skill and developed into a solid player despite our awful player development at the time. If you're tall, athletic, and have a good frame we can make a player out of you if you have the right disposition to work hard and take criticism

Complimentary skillset to Donovan too. If we need a faster rimrunner vs athletic teams, Singare will be perfect. More bulk, passing, or scoring in a grind it out halfcourt game? Throw Donovan out. Low the diversity of skills we're recruiting

 

[navery12]

That was a giant word salad to say he is raw. We are in the NIL and transfer portal era: if you don’t cut the mustard, you don’t stay around long. Recruiting a kid just to get a class of 5 is pointless if he is not at least part of a 10-man rotation by the middle of his sophomore year.

Self awareness is -100 in this thread. Maybe re-read the part in bold from your post and then take a look at what our roster will look like when he gets to campus. Not hard to figure out where Singare is going to fit

 

[husky429]

That was a giant word salad to say he is raw. We are in the NIL and transfer portal era: if you don’t cut the mustard, you don’t stay around long. Recruiting a kid just to get a class of 5 is pointless if he is not at least part of a 10-man rotation by the middle of his sophomore year.

Why do you assume he won't be able to play by his sophomore year? Clearly the staff thinks otherwise. He isn't going to score 15 a game, but as a rebounder, defender and opportunistic scorer, I think he has great potential. I imagine he could easily work his way up to 8/6/1 with a couple of blocks by sophomore year, or simply play as an effecient backup to Clingan

 

[ToolzieFan]

That was a giant word salad to say he is raw. We are in the NIL and transfer portal era: if you don’t cut the mustard, you don’t stay around long. Recruiting a kid just to get a class of 5 is pointless if he is not at least part of a 10-man rotation by the middle of his sophomore year.

If he can defend and rebound and develops even a little offensively, he’ll be Clingan’s backup his sophomore year.

 

[MDHuskFan]

I need to find this guys Lukas Kisunas & Emmit Matthews reactions

 

[shizzle787]

There aren't exactly many people 7 feet tall that move the way he does either.
Brimah came in with this level of skill and developed into a solid player despite our awful player development at the time. If you're tall, athletic, and have a good frame we can make a player out of you if you have the right disposition to work hard and take criticism

Complimentary skillset to Donovan too. If we need a faster rimrunner vs athletic teams, Singare will be perfect. More bulk, passing, or scoring in a grind it out halfcourt game? Throw Donovan out. Low the diversity of skills we're recruiting

Brimah literally got worse as his career progressed.

 

[Mike Honcho]

It's remarkable how this class shaped up, especially when we whiffed on most of our plan A's, with the exception of Castle. We put a ton of work into Griffiths, Bol Bowen, Miranda, even Edwards to a lesser extent (though he was always a longshot).

Combined with what happened in the transfer market in the spring, it's a good lesson not to get too emotional about some of these things because they usually work out, especially with how hard-working our staff is.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Brimah literally got worse as his career progressed.

Agree to disagree, but who would you put that on? We have a new coaching staff now. One who recently helped a 220 ranked kid get drafted & an unranked kid get a G league contract.

I’ll take my chances with him developing an athletic 7 footer who is ONLY ranked 120

 

[NJHoops]

It’s going to be fun to follow these five through their senior seasons.

The staff will celebrate for about five minutes and then keep working on ‘24s.

 

[superjohn]

This will more than likely officially end up the best class in UConn history, beating out the 2006 class.

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.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Agree to disagree, but who would you put that on? We have a new coaching staff now. One who recently helped a 220 ranked kid get drafted & an unranked kid get a G league contract.

I’ll take my chances with him developing an athletic 7 footer who is ONLY ranked 120

Speaking of the 220 ranked kid

 

[shizzle787]

Speaking of the 220 ranked kid

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.

 

[HooperScooper]

That’s the question: based on his current ranking, I don’t know why everyone is getting so excited.

I knew someone would say that. I figured within the first 20 posts and not until the 37th though. Smh. Don't get all caught up in rankings with every recruit.

I agree with @Hey Adrien!. I like the diverse skillsets in this class. You need guys who do some things really well and let them concentrate on helping the team that way. You can't recruit 5 scorers or 5 guys who need the ball all the time. And be honest, we're not getting four 5 stars every year who do everything well. You need complimentary pieces to form a great team.

I still think the 1998-1999 team was our quintessential complimentary team. You had your scorers in Rip and KEA. Moore and KEA were the ball handlers. Moore was the best perimeter defender who you put on the other team's best perimeter player. Freeman was the roll up the sleeves and do the dirty work guy but he could score too when needed. Voskuhl was the guy who set picks, rebounded and played great defense in the middle. 5 guys who weren't the most talented on their own, but formed a TEAM. Singare will play his role. And hopefully he does it very well.

 

[shizzle787]

I knew someone would say that. I figured within the first 20 posts and not until the 37th though. Smh. Don't get all caught up rankings with every recruit.

I agree with @Hey Adrien!. I like the diverse skillsets in this class. You need guys who do some things really well and let them concentrate on helping the team that way. You can't recruit 5 scorers or 5 guys who need the ball all the time. And be honest, we're not getting four 5 stars every year who do everything well. You need complimentary pieces to form a great team.

I still think the 1998-1999 team was our quintessential complimentary team. You had your scorers in Rip and KEA. Moore and KEA were the ball handlers. Moore was the best perimeter defender who you put on the other team's best perimeter player. Freeman was the roll up the sleeves and do the dirty work guy but he could score too when needed. Voskuhl was the guy who set picks, rebounded and played great defense in the middle. 5 guys who weren't the most talented on their own, but formed a TEAM. Singare will play his role. And hopefully he does it very well.

See my above post: every sub-100 Hurley high school recruit has been a bust. He has done well with transfers. Also, it's 2022. You either play the kid or he transfers.

 

[navery12]

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.

I didn't think anything could get worse than your ridiculous OOC schedule posts and yet here we are. Just a truly impressively dumb post

 

[superjohn]

Singare is the only player in this class where I haven't seen any of his games. From what I've dug up 7'3 wingspan 9'6 standing reach. This interview (his name is spelled wrong) shows off his personality. He seems to have a really cool personality...

 

[Hey Adrien!]

See my above post: every sub-100 Hurley high school recruit has been a bust. He has done well with transfers. Also, it's 2022. You either play the kid or he transfers.

I don’t know who @shizzle787 is, but he sure ain’t Richie Springs.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

That’s the question: based on his current ranking, I don’t know why everyone is getting so excited.

There's really nothing wrong with your not knowing. And I salute your courage in admitting this, unless you're trying to recruit others to share some conclusion you've drawn.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."
Rainer Maria Rilke

 

[shizzle787]

Self awareness is -100 in this thread. Maybe re-read the part in bold from your post and then take a look at what our roster will look like when he gets to campus. Not hard to figure out where Singare is going to fit

Except for the part when Sanogo stays for his senior year because he's Euroleague (not NBA) level.

 

[Spaceman213J]

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.

I wouldn't call Adams a bust. I was very critical of him, but he gave some solid minutes. He just was limited physically compared to the competition. My fault with him was that we weren't going to see a lot of progression.
Singare on the other hand passes the eye-test as far as raw skills go. He's the type of player a tier one program brings in specificaly too develop. Let's see if Hurley & Co. can do it. A lot of guys compare him with Brimah, and Ollie and staff were not able to develop him at all. His last game at UConn, he was essentially the same player he was when he stepped on campus. Let's see where Singare is in a few years. On the plus side, he is going to face stiff competetion just in practice and that can really help and accelerate the process.