Koby Brea entered the portal. Please please Coach Hurley

[Fatroony5]

Yep, as constructed, with expected improvement from Ball and Stewart especially, we will be a formidable team. Bringing back Diarra and Karaban makes us an absolute contender for a three-peat. I'd really like to add Aidan, but if we don't, I guarantee we will find another guard who will fit the role.

Getting the McNeely commit provided a lot of flexibility and ensured we have some top end talent coming. We’ll assume for now HD is back and I’m still hopeful we’ll see Karaban back.

I’d like Mahaney because of the skill set he brings. Ballhandling, another scorer, passing, he’s not as 1 dimensional as Brea. Brea is the best 3 point specialist out there and Id like to have him but he’s not really a necessity, they could find someone else who can provide similar production that he does, just not as efficiently. Mahaney gives that upside you won’t find with Brea. But you’re right, if they miss on both, still think they’ll find another guy and similar profile they’re looking for.

 

[Fan1978]

Getting the McNeely commit provided a lot of flexibility and ensured we have some top end talent coming. We’ll assume for now HD is back and I’m still hopeful we’ll see Karaban back.

I’d like Mahaney because of the skill set he brings. Ballhandling, another scorer, passing, he’s not as 1 dimensional as Brea. Brea is the best 3 point specialist out there and Id like to have him but he’s not really a necessity, they could find someone else who can provide similar production that he does, just not as efficiently. Mahaney gives that upside you won’t find with Brea. But you’re right, if they miss on both, still think they’ll find another guy and similar profile they’re looking for.

Hausen might be better option than brea. Multiple years to coach him up as well

 

[JohnnyJr]

Hausen might be better option than brea. Multiple years to coach him up as well

I thought he’s gone? Committed to K State I think

 

[navery12]

Hausen might be better option than brea. Multiple years to coach him up as well

He already committed to Kansas State

 

[AntG168]

Shulga!

Heard he won’t be an option. Academics an issue

 

[JohnnyJr]

Shulga!

Have we been linked to him yet or has he taken other visits?

 

[Fatroony5]

Hausen might be better option than brea. Multiple years to coach him up as well

He committed to K State already. They can find another guy whose a good 3 point shooter. He won’t be quite as efficient as Brea who was the best 3 point shooter in the country last year, but plenty of options there. Who knows tho, a lot can change quickly, Brea may not like what he hears at Kentucky and decide to commit to UConn. Just think either way they’ll be fine.

 

[AntG168]

Heard he won’t be an option. Academics an issue

Have we been linked to him yet or has he taken other visits?

 

[DRBackup]

It really shows how the recruiting "experts" play up the ratings for KU, UK, Duke recruits. Shameful.

That has been the case for over 30 years. As soon as Coach K would show up to watch a recruit, they went flying up the list.

 

[Mooch82]

Heard he won’t be an option. Academics an issue

Ugh. Sorry to hear that.

 

[DRBackup]

IMO-Depends on the "asking NIL price". Gotta spread the Collective money around the roster

I'll remind everyone that the McNeeley 2.0 thread devolved into this same idiocy.

 

[djct1999]

Both Brea and Maheney never made sense. My guess is the staff priortized Maheney and brought in Brea as insurance. The fact Brea is visiting Kentucky has to mean we are in good shape w Aidan.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Did most on here believe twelve months ago that we were well covered in terms of ball handlers?

I remember a good amount of criticism towards HD and a lot of questions about CS. We fully expected Newton and Castle to be our starters but did not know if we had anyone else that we could depend on to play PG if it became necessary.

Things have worked out well for us recently and I don't see it as merely good fortune. I candidly would be more surprised if someone who is already on our roster (Ball?, Ross?) doesn't perform at an acceptable level as a facilitator next season than I would if someone does.

This staff is too good and far too determined to not develop the kids we have to a level beyond what our limited imaginations can forsee.

I’m too busy/lazy to dig up quotes and also not into throwing major shade, but there were a number of BY evaluators of talent who expressed concerns about TNewt & Diarras handles in their 1st seasons here. But as time evolved, these concerns went away.

Players work on their limitations and develop here at UConn. I expect improvements in handles for Ball and our other potential ballhandlers

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Just sayin...if this is a real quote from Brea & the kid doesn't commit to UConn then he's actually unserious and we probably don't want him...

 

[husky99]

Just sayin...if this is a real quote from Brea & the kid doesn't commit to UConn then he's actually unserious and we probably don't want him...

Win a title... there is one school to pick... but i am biased

 

[TheHorde]

So UConn had Brea on campus but aren't sure if we want him...

Lots of unknowns here so speculation is all we have. If we scheduled a visit, then I’d say we like the talent and had a high level of interest. The questions become did the expectations of the player in terms of role, fit, NIL, etc match what the staff’s views are after they had a chance to meet and talk?

 

[bjc42]

Win a title... there is one school to pick... but i am biased

I mean even looking at in an unbiased way, Kentucky doesn‘t have a roster built for winning. They have a bunch of portal guys, but zero consistency and no chemistry. Mark Pope’s player he brought from BYU hasn’t played ball in 2 years after coming of his mormon mission. In my eyes, not a team built for success.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

I personally think this is waaaaay too early, but since we are on the topic: With Alex, Has, Solo, Stewart, and Liam on board, we have plenty of firepower. The big question mark is defensively: We lost out best two defenders in Castle and DC. Can we come close to duplicate that? Can Reid become a presence defensively? And if so, who else besides Has can D up the opponent's best player? You see, our offense got the shine, but what made us invincible was DC swatting everything away, and Castle stopping the opponent's best players. Do we have anyone to do that job?

 

[DaMuttzNutt]

Just sayin...if this is a real quote from Brea & the kid doesn't commit to UConn then he's actually unserious and we probably don't want him...

The last decade:
KY 0 championships
UCONN 3 championships

In Brea's lifetime:
KY 1 championship
UCONN 5 championships

If he's real about intentions, there is one choice

 

[Stew Crew]

Some reports are suggesting that Kentucky might be visiting Brea, not the other way around.

MSN

 

[rip7774]

Let’s give Brea some grace here esp when we don’t know certainties re: visit w Kentucky.

I’m a Shulga stan for the Cam role and I love a one year guy to give Solo room to be all league as a junior, but obv in this day and age tough to be certain about anything 2 years from now.

Ultimately, happy with Mahaney, Brea or Shulga (or 2 of them). McNeeley was the most pivotal Spring recruit for us in terms of talent acquisition & NBA pipeline.

 

[CL82]

Personally, I have no gripe with these kids exploring their options. In the end, they either want to be a part of what Dan Hurley has built here or they don't. We shall see.

 

[husky429]

Did most on here believe twelve months ago that we were well covered in terms of ball handlers?

I remember a good amount of criticism towards HD and a lot of questions about CS. We fully expected Newton and Castle to be our starters but did not know if we had anyone else that we could depend on to play PG if it became necessary.

Things have worked out well for us recently and I don't see it as merely good fortune. I candidly would be more surprised if someone who is already on our roster (Ball?, Ross?) doesn't perform at an acceptable level as a facilitator next season than I would if someone does.

This staff is too good and far too determined to not develop the kids we have to a level beyond what our limited imaginations can forsee.

Our staff is clearly targeting another ballhandler, though. They know best, and I think this is a signal they want another facilitator and ballhandler on the roster. I understand what you're getting at though.

This is UConn basketball. No one on this roster should be afraid of competition. If any of the guards on our roster are nervous about Mahaney coming in, they should take that as an opportunity to put in the work this summer and outplay him for minutes. All of Diarra, Mahaney, Solo, and Nowell are starting-level material on 355 teams. All of them have the potential to improve and beat their teammates out for minutes. Iron sharpens iron. Best player wins. We aren't Kentucky where mommy and daddy were promised 25 mpg and courtside seats.

 

[444JR]

No doubt, but Solo started games last season and proved he has great potential and talent already. You can tell with Ross and Singare that they are projects who probably won't be ready to contribute until their Junior years, but Solo is ready for considerable minutes now. Bringing in two older guys like Mahaney and Brea would likely cut him out of the rotation entirely which I just can't see happening.

I wonder if the hesitation on Brea means the coaching staff is confident with our wing depth of JStew, McNeeley, Solo, Jayden Ross, Isaiah Abraham with the potential of Karaban coming back and the need for a combo guard/3rd ball handler.

 

[bjc42]

I wonder if the hesitation on Brea means the coaching staff is confident with our wing depth of JStew, McNeeley, Solo, Jayden Ross, Isaiah Abraham with the potential of Karaban coming back and the need for a combo guard/3rd ball handler.

This isn’t a bad point. We do need shooting though.