duffy:recruiting update

[husky99]

http://blog.ctnews.com/uconnbasketball/2013/01/07/recruiting-roundup-january-7/

 

[patrick]

Really sucks what he said about Okafor and other top recruits not wanting to come to us because of conference realignment.

 

[husky99]

2013 could be scary without napier and boatright if they jump to the D league or europe..

 

[Husky Dad]

I respect Duffy for his work. That said, I do not think that conference realignment will hurt basketball that much. ACC will likely have a stronger overall brand then than the BE and Big 10 will too. The SEC is weak outside of Kentucky and Florida. The ACC is going to be raided hard by the Big 10 and possibly SEC for its remaining good football schools; FSU, UNC, Clemson, U Miami by the end of this year. If anything it confuses recruits but there is not a stable conference out there for basketball.

 

[Husky Dad]

And Napier and Boatright arent clear early first round picks for next year so there isnt a high chance of them leaving. They are much better served by a deep run in the tourney next year then exploring Turkish basketball.

 

[husky99]

This is a weak draft. Both could go...

The fun of a blog is you can throw out some crazy ideas. If we are playing eastern cental Florida culinary school it could be a factor.. schools are paying to leave the BE who never played a game....

 

[HuskyBballFan]

This is a weak draft. Both could go...

It's weak at the top, yes. But it's not so weak that either would be taken in the first round. If you start looking around the country, it doesn't take too long to come up with 30 guys who would definitely be taken ahead of them.

 

[TopDog18]

Chad Ford draft rankings:

Shabazz: Overall Rank: 208 Position rank: 39
Boatright: Overall rank: 207 Position rank: 38

Not that this means anything at all, and is only one man's opinion, but I found it interesting that both are ranked incredibily low.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Really sucks what he said about Okafor and other top recruits not wanting to come to us because of conference realignment.

I think he is right. I still think we can recruit very good players and win. But I think it will very tough to lure the five star guys, unless they are local (NY-New England). But Calhoun didn't get that many of those guys either. Terrell looks very interesting. Abu seems very Jeff Adrien like. Would be very solid gets.

 

[Mooch82]

I think he is right. I still think we can recruit very good players and win. But I think it will very tough to lure the five star guys, unless they are local (NY-New England). But Calhoun didn't get that many of those guys either. Terrell looks very interesting. Abu seems very Jeff Adrien like. Would be very solid gets.

2014 does look very promising recruiting wise. If Bazz/Boat don't come back next year though, we will be absolutely awful, which could hurt our chances with some of the 2014 guys we are currently in good shape with, so I'm crossing my fingers.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Really sucks what he said about Okafor and other top recruits not wanting to come to us because of conference realignment.

He said he "suspects" it will hurt our chances. No evidence that it had, does or will in the future. I suspect it might too but until i see evidence proving it im holding out hope that it won't.

 

[ctchamps]

Lot's of things hurting UConn's chances for top prospects with CR being one of them.

 

[Huskieforlife]

Really sucks what he said about Okafor and other top recruits not wanting to come to us because of conference realignment.

False we'l be in the B1G ;-)

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

If we add Brimah and Wolfy works like there is no tomorrow in the off season UConn may literally shock the world next year. Just need Boat/Bazz to return and we are looking at #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament which is our lucky number! I smell a return to glory next year which equates to a resounding duck* you to all UConn haters (and there are many).

Name a better backcourt than UConn's next year especially with Omar's improvement leading into 2013/14.

 

[aboogieee]

Tweet: David Borges ‏@DaveBorges
Asked NBA scout if Boatright's ready for pros. Emphatic "No," but if stays another year and keeps improving, could be lottery pick in '14.


Let's just hope that he takes heed to this information...

 

[PomonaHusky]

If we add Brimah and Wolfy works like there is no tomorrow in the off season UConn may literally shock the world next year. Just need Boat/Bazz to return and we are looking at #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament which is our lucky number! I smell a return to glory next year which equates to a resounding duck* you to all UConn haters (and there are many).

Name a better backcourt than UConn's next year especially with Omar's improvement leading into 2013/14.

Don't forget Kentan Facey (top 25 PF). That gives UConn: Olander, Wolf, Daniels, Nolan, Tolksdorf, Facey, and Brimah in the front court (not bad). With Napier, Boatright, Calhoun, Giffey, and Samuels in the backcourt (Very Good).

 

[king conn]

Chad Ford draft rankings:

Shabazz: Overall Rank: 208 Position rank: 39
Boatright: Overall rank: 207 Position rank: 38

Not that this means anything at all, and is only one man's opinion, but I found it interesting that both are ranked incredibily low.

This guy is out to lunch. Shabazz Napier cant play any better than he has so far this year, and if it continues he will have to come out and will be a late first round pick. Boatright is a different story, he will have trouble making it no matter what year he comes out unless he improves his shot in a big way.

 

[upstater]

This guy is out to lunch. Shabazz Napier cant play any better than he has so far this year, and if it continues he will have to come out and will be a late first round pick. Boatright is a different story, he will have trouble making it no matter what year he comes out unless he improves his shot in a big way.

You posted this 8 minutes ago when he was knocking down outside shots all night tonight.

 

[king conn]

You posted this 8 minutes ago when he was knocking down outside shots all night tonight.

Yeah, but Im pretty sure NBA scouts will look at his whole body of work. At 5-9, he would have to shoot like that EVERY night.

 

[mauconnfan]

Yeah, but Im pretty sure NBA scouts will look at his whole body of work. At 5-9, he would have to shoot like that EVERY night.

Agreed but last 3-4 games he seems to have been shooting the ball much better behind the arch and he's setting his feet, not rushing or forcing. Also his pull up mid range has such elevation and quickness this will help if he is to make it .........he and Bazz were very good, really good in the first half - transition was blinding!!

 

[king conn]

Agreed but last 3-4 games he seems to have been shooting the ball much better behind the arch and he's setting his feet, not rushing or forcing. Also his pull up mid range has such elevation and quickness this will help if he is to make it .........he and Bazz were very good, really good in the first half - transition was blinding!!

Agree. I think his shot would improve simply by playing more under control. When he gets wild he rushes things including his shot. But I know that speed is also part of his game so its a very fine line. Bazz had this problem last year and has improved tremendously.

 

[champs99and04]

Look - anybody who doesn't think playing in a league with Central Florida, Houston, Eastern Carolina, and whoever else is in the Big East right now will cause the program to take a step or two back is kidding themselves.

However, UConn's program is still a national brand. Sure, it's not a national brand in the same sense as Kansas, Kentucky, etc., but when fans see "UCONN" on the schedule, they take notice and buy tickets, just like Memphis was a hot ticket in the Calipari era, UNLV in the Tark days, and Gonzaga/Butler of today's world to a lesser extent. It will be very difficult to maintain the level of play of the last 20 years in such a drastically inferior conference, but UConn basketball isn't going away anytime soon. I mean, , have you seen the way UNLV is recruiting lately? That team is loaded with talent. Memphis has a lot of talent, too, you just don't notice it because they have an incompetant head coach. And besides, the PAC 12 and SEC aren't basketball powerhouses, yet UCLA, UK, Arizona, and Florida have maintained elite programs. THE most important thing in college basketball is, and always will be, a good head coach. If Ollie's anywhere as good as what he's shown so far, we're in good shape.

 

[TheChamps990411]

i fully expect boat to be back next year. bazz is 50/50. if we get brimah next year with an improved wolfe we could be very very good. i expect boat to be back and calhoun is going to be a bigtime scorer.

 

[mauconnfan]

Like Omar but can't say I'm sold on him being a "big time" scorer with any consistency...........has a long way to go!!

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Those mentioning Amida Brimah as a difference maker next year are jumping the gun quite a bit (and not just because he hasn't committed yet).