2018 Commit(s)
- Thread starter the Blades
- Start date
His older brother Jaylen was a big time player for St. Bonaventure. Brendan is much bigger than Jaylen. Just hope he can shoot and score like his older brother, and if not, play some real good D on bigger guards.
Welcome to 2nd commit of the day..... 6-2/185lb grad transfer from Duquesne:
Tarin Smith College Stats
Tarin Smith College Stats
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Smith seems like the direct replacement for Antwoine Anderson, whereas Adams seems like depth in case of injury.......and a guy to develop. Unless the other Adams isn’t coming back. That’s good 5 guard depth on paper right now.
How about some bigs?
How about some bigs?
+1..Basically Smith, (who is a known quantity since he played for Hurley's father in NJ and new asst Kenya Hunter at Nebraska) is the depth guard that AA was supposed to be until Rique went down. Tarin was the A-10's 6th man of the year ....Brendan Adams at 6-4 replaces Akinjo who was only 6-0, so it'll give Uconn a little more size in the 3 guard sets that I'm sure we'll see. .. also have to hope for no further attrition.
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Is Yakwe the best UConn can do? Look at the dude's SJU stats. Had a nice freshman year but then was down to a 12 mpg player last year. UConn needs more of a main man player. Yakwe looks to me like a deep bench player.
from what I've read he's a smaller version replacement of David Onuorah....all D..no hands, no offense with a somewhat improving FT%...this was "the best" that I read about him:
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Well looks like the Uconn roster for 2018 is complete ( minus any last minute departures) ....will give Uconn 4 SR's on the roster this year (with plenty of room for the 2019's.)
Welcome to the next Husky.....6-8/220lb (3yr) grad transfer from St. Johns
Kassoum Yakwe College Stats
Welcome to the next Husky.....6-8/220lb (3yr) grad transfer from St. Johns
Kassoum Yakwe College Stats
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So how will things be different next year with this corps of big men? I guess we will find out in a hurry what the value is of Hurley’s Coaching, because I really felt UConn needed to bring in some better bigs. If Hurley can get UConn into the NCAA tournament with this team it ought to be viewed as a very good to excellent accomplishment.
Does anyone see any big on this team averaging more than 8 p.p.g? Also the bigs are kind of smallish. Nobody over 6’9” is not really acceptable unless you play a mid major schedule. Look at the P5 rosters and you see 3-4 guys over 6’10” on those squads.
Not trying to dampen the enthusiasm but at the same time feel like we have to be real here.
Does anyone see any big on this team averaging more than 8 p.p.g? Also the bigs are kind of smallish. Nobody over 6’9” is not really acceptable unless you play a mid major schedule. Look at the P5 rosters and you see 3-4 guys over 6’10” on those squads.
Not trying to dampen the enthusiasm but at the same time feel like we have to be real here.
I think that’s the proper attitude to have, but if the gravy is served it will be because Hurley is the head Chef he is being paid to be.
On the surface this doesn't look to address any of the glaring weaknesses.
Smith is a career 30% 3 point shooter and this is now his 2nd transfer and 3rd team. He started at Nebraska.
Early Scouting on Adams is that he is a slasher driver. Not much of a shooter at this point.
Yakwe is an athlete who can move and jump but has no offensive skills.
Its late in the game so I can't really knock it.
I suppose its the best we can do.
We must have a strong 2019
Smith is a career 30% 3 point shooter and this is now his 2nd transfer and 3rd team. He started at Nebraska.
Early Scouting on Adams is that he is a slasher driver. Not much of a shooter at this point.
Yakwe is an athlete who can move and jump but has no offensive skills.
Its late in the game so I can't really knock it.
I suppose its the best we can do.
We must have a strong 2019
I am in agreement with CFP. I don't know that the 3 guys UConn brought in are better as a group than the 3 who decommitted or were let go. They may be Hurley-type players, but don't appear to address issues UConn had last year, except that Yakwe can block a few shots. It's nice to have 5 guards though, 3 of whom have significant experience.
The missed layups that plagued the team were due to not being able to finish as a result of lack of physical strength. Ollie recruited guys who were beanpoles and they were never physically developed. The strength and conditioning coach took the blame for this and was fired.
When there is a pattern of missed layups it's usually due to these issues and anticipating contact that doesn't happen and resultantly altering the shot. Players who are both physically and mentally strong finish their layups and don't have either of these issues. If you ever watch LeBron James, he has probably finished more layups after heavy contact than any player in NBA history. He is the prototype/template of how to finish through contact. I have seen him many times jam the ball while being heavily fouled.
When there is a pattern of missed layups it's usually due to these issues and anticipating contact that doesn't happen and resultantly altering the shot. Players who are both physically and mentally strong finish their layups and don't have either of these issues. If you ever watch LeBron James, he has probably finished more layups after heavy contact than any player in NBA history. He is the prototype/template of how to finish through contact. I have seen him many times jam the ball while being heavily fouled.
i’m pretty sure HCDC will coach this group up but i’m not thinking ncaa next season. I believe he brought in 2 5th year guys to keep flexibility for 2019 recruiting. Need to be realistic about who’s still out there & ability to bring in big recruits at this hour. unbelievable how hard Hurley is hitting the recruiting trail. It’s been mentioned in here at nausium about KO’s lack of drive on the trail & it’s absolutely evident as i watch twitter with complete excitement how hard Hurley & team is working.
It's official ( Uconn news release), with Hurley comments on each player:
April 26, 2018 -Men's Basketball Adds Three To Program
April 26, 2018 -Men's Basketball Adds Three To Program
I had assumed that Yakwe was recruited due to his shotblocking skills, and this now confirms that. It’s a bit of a statement as well on how poor rim protection was last year. Nobody averaged over a block a game, although Whaley was fairly close. UConn’s rim protection might actually be adequate next year between Yakwe, Whaley and Carlton, with modest improvements from the latter 2.
Man............I love that we have a new coach. But REALLY didn't think that would be the only think to get excited about. We lost our solid recruits and replaced them really really spare parts. I see you guys talking about 2019 but NEVER thought we would get spare parts for next year. So instead of getting pumped about James and Emmitt I now have this list that looks EXACTLY like last years:
1. Jalen Adams: Can he become the AA some of this he can be?
2. Can Gilbert stay healthy?
3. Can we PLEASE stop relying on Vital?
4. Carlton, is he progressing to a reliable post presence on offense?
5. Do we have a coach that can get something out of his players?
1. Jalen Adams: Can he become the AA some of this he can be?
2. Can Gilbert stay healthy?
3. Can we PLEASE stop relying on Vital?
4. Carlton, is he progressing to a reliable post presence on offense?
5. Do we have a coach that can get something out of his players?
Dom, Ollie is gone. Multiplication by subtraction. 
