Kwintin Williams officially committed!!
- Thread starter Afghusky15
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Hallelujah! Strong, explosive post player on a team desperate for quality Bigs. If he comes ready to work, he's a steal, especially this late.
Interview from Borges @ the New Haven Register:
UConn men get commitment from athletic JUCO transfer Kwintin Williams
“I had a couple other high-major schools. I was talking to Pitt, TCU, Oregon, WSU, UNLV.".....
"I took the year off, couldn’t do anything, didn’t need any offers. I was behind the bar on grades, my GPA wasn't the best. I sat down and realized what it takes to play ball. I got 40 credits and held a 3.2 GPA all year."....... "I took the year off to get 3 years of eligibility."
Williams said he's originally from Oklahoma City, but he and his mom and grandmother moved to Alaska when he was young. He still lives in Alaska but hopes to be in Storrs by early August."
UConn men get commitment from athletic JUCO transfer Kwintin Williams
“I had a couple other high-major schools. I was talking to Pitt, TCU, Oregon, WSU, UNLV.".....
"I took the year off, couldn’t do anything, didn’t need any offers. I was behind the bar on grades, my GPA wasn't the best. I sat down and realized what it takes to play ball. I got 40 credits and held a 3.2 GPA all year."....... "I took the year off to get 3 years of eligibility."
Williams said he's originally from Oklahoma City, but he and his mom and grandmother moved to Alaska when he was young. He still lives in Alaska but hopes to be in Storrs by early August."
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I found this scouting report from the "Arizona Hoops Review":
"Williams is a very strong and athletic 4-man that also possesses a good ability to step outside and handle and shoot the basketball, although he is still at his best around the painted area where he is able to finish strong at the rim with power dunks and strong finishes. Williams is a high-riser and is among the best overall athletes in America's 2017 junior college class. A 4-man, Williams should develop into a 3/4 man over time with continued hard work on his perimeter skills. A solid shooter, Williams is a good mid-range player and still needs to add more consistency to his long range jump shot to open up his full game. He is a solid ball handler. OK passer that sees the floor - a developing part of his game. Williams is an active and strong rebounder that is quick off his feet, and is a good finisher that gets to the free-throw line quite often. He runs the floor hard. A good low post defender, and solid defensively on the perimeter, but needs to focus more on this area of his game. Good shotblocker. One of the top juco prospects in the West for 2017."
https://arizonapreps.com/forum/ariz...in-williams-lands-arizona-western-thread1658/
"Williams is a very strong and athletic 4-man that also possesses a good ability to step outside and handle and shoot the basketball, although he is still at his best around the painted area where he is able to finish strong at the rim with power dunks and strong finishes. Williams is a high-riser and is among the best overall athletes in America's 2017 junior college class. A 4-man, Williams should develop into a 3/4 man over time with continued hard work on his perimeter skills. A solid shooter, Williams is a good mid-range player and still needs to add more consistency to his long range jump shot to open up his full game. He is a solid ball handler. OK passer that sees the floor - a developing part of his game. Williams is an active and strong rebounder that is quick off his feet, and is a good finisher that gets to the free-throw line quite often. He runs the floor hard. A good low post defender, and solid defensively on the perimeter, but needs to focus more on this area of his game. Good shotblocker. One of the top juco prospects in the West for 2017."
https://arizonapreps.com/forum/ariz...in-williams-lands-arizona-western-thread1658/
To the KO haters:
Ollie basically wrapped this recruitment with just one phone call. Kwintin never even visited campus.
Ollie basically wrapped this recruitment with just one phone call. Kwintin never even visited campus.
Funny line from the Uconn Blog story above...who knows how he'll play at this level... but KO's been swinging and missing since Diallo, I guess something "finally fell out of the sky" and even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes, LOL !
" Recently, Kevin Ollie told the New Haven Register’s David Borges they were keeping a pair of scholarships open “just in case Andre Drummond falls out of the sky.” While Williams is no Drummond, his athleticism makes him an intriguing addition to the team. "
" Recently, Kevin Ollie told the New Haven Register’s David Borges they were keeping a pair of scholarships open “just in case Andre Drummond falls out of the sky.” While Williams is no Drummond, his athleticism makes him an intriguing addition to the team. "
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OK, let me premise this by saying I was cautiously optimistic about KO getting a commit from a kid he talked to on the phone, who is 4500 miles away in AK, who's never even been to the Storrs campus, and now is suddenly wowed by KO.... Especially since as one report said "Williams has been a bit of a vagabond." bouncing from prep schools and Juco's and hasn't even played in a year. Now I wasn't expecting a young Vince Carter even if he gets to Uconn but I find it strange that all the twitter traffic and stories the media jumped on to beat the 30 sec news cycle regarding his "commit to Uconn "....that were retweeted on his twitter account last night... are suddenly removed.
Did everyone get played ?..... it could be easy to do in this "ADD" social media world we live in and KO himself can't comment on anyone until they sign paper work or are accepted into school...so anyway, that all these stories are gone from his acct is kinda weird:
Kwintin Williams (@JUMPMANEBIG)
Did everyone get played ?..... it could be easy to do in this "ADD" social media world we live in and KO himself can't comment on anyone until they sign paper work or are accepted into school...so anyway, that all these stories are gone from his acct is kinda weird:
Kwintin Williams (@JUMPMANEBIG)
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You get my point though 99...kinda of weird he took down all the stuff he put up lastnight and not a hint of a Uconn commit on his twitter, especially when
he was tweeting all kinds of stuff last night....and like I said I'd love to hear more from KO( he can't anyway ) or a Uconn "source mention" from one of the
media from his staff. Not that most of you hoops guys pay attention to the FB board, but at least when the team gets a verbal, the FB staff puts out this generic
tweet confirming it:
Blades it was a little odd that he took down some of those retweets (including a few of mine) but it really is nothing to be concerned about. Coaches monitor players social media all the time. Once he committed I'm sure the staff gave him some "suggestions" (more like instructions).
As Huskyfan99 pointed out, check out his Instagram. He not only still officially committed but as already chosen his number for this upcoming year.
Blades the past few years have been tough, no one is disagreeing, but you got to be able to celebrate the good news. Kwintin Williams committing is GREAT news! So lets just enjoy. More good news will continue to come through.
Yeah I realized that too, but look at what he has liked on twitter and what he has posted on Instagram as well as his ig bio.
Also if you have not already go check out the videos on his Instagram of him dunking. He has some gravity defying hops and creative dunks.
OK but seriously, you need to take a deep breath and let this play out at least until January, until we see what we have. We did have a top 10 class last year, but how did that work out ? I told you I love his upside/ hops, but what do we know yet ? Wins baby.... it's all about wins !
I agree with Blades on the taking a deep breath here. This kid could be no better than Doug Wrenn and Cobb could be worse than Rakim "Rak Attack" Lubin, and if so UConn is in trouble. He certainly does look like a great late addition but let's see how it plays out.
I also find it odd a kid from Alaska who has mostly been out west would commit based on a phone call with no in person visit and no campus visit. I actually haven't heard of it happening especially with other good schools involved. Blades' suspicions about UConn/KO being played are valid. They were played by Diallo in a big way and still could happen if someone else gets involved with Williams. He isn't a done deal until we see him out on the floor the first game IMHO.
I also find it odd a kid from Alaska who has mostly been out west would commit based on a phone call with no in person visit and no campus visit. I actually haven't heard of it happening especially with other good schools involved. Blades' suspicions about UConn/KO being played are valid. They were played by Diallo in a big way and still could happen if someone else gets involved with Williams. He isn't a done deal until we see him out on the floor the first game IMHO.
So he changed his mind to Pitt and then changed it back to UConn? This is why you can't take social media seriously fellas.....it's just people thinking out loud before any decisions are made...our President being the leading example. You are just seeing a decision making process, not final decisions, being done in real time......
I know 2 things for certain.
1. We are nowhere near as good as Brimah & Facey.
2. You're right about the wins. Zero excuses. Win this year or time to cut the cord.
I agree about the wait & see...but I wouldn't be too quick to say Brimah & Facey are without a doubt better than any pair we have at the 4/5. I'll wait & see. No use getting really excited or really edgy at this point IMHO.
The only area in which UConn will not be as good as they were with Brimah and Facey is in overall shotblocking. Those two guys were flawed players and not really good individual post defenders. They racked up fouls and got bullied. I recall a game in which Tulane's big stiffs fouled out Facey in 8 minutes of action by simply bulling up and into him with Facey unable to hold position or get offensive fouls. Any player with decent strength and positional defensive skills would have had it go the other way, getting those stiffs benched with offensive fouls called. If Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman of 1999 were out there those Tulane bigs' moves would have resulted in TOs and O-fouls.
The shotblocking might not be as good but rebounding and positional defensive play might be better.
The shotblocking might not be as good but rebounding and positional defensive play might be better.
There is a difference between a talent gap and players who aren't utilized correctly. Our bigs were iced out until the tournament when ko inexplicably decided to lean on them. Kentan developed a nice mid-range game here which wasn't utilized. I think this season is going to show people what they're missing.
I agree with the Facey comment & loved how he played sr year. Not with u on Brimah. Even the few times he posted up he either didn't get the shot off or a 6'8" player blocked his shot. Coaches gave him what he earned. If he showed any effectiveness whatsoever on the blocks he would have gotten the ball more. He's a great guy, high motor and class act. Hewill find a home overseas somewhere. As I mentioned very early last season there was no way I saw him getting drafted. I hope he does well & honestly hope I eat crow & he finds a spot in the NBA. I just don't think that's gonna happen. Any shot blocking ability he had in college...will be ineffective at the pro level. I just didn't see the IQ on the court. Just MHO
You are correct in your assessment of Brimah Shaggy. He was not a good offensive player and was not really a good defender either if you consider always being out of position, not playing smart, racking up bad fouls very consistently. Facey mainly showed improvement that Brimah did not show on the offensive end, but Facey was still erratic and had games where he missed open mid range shots that needed to be made. These guys will be missed for their shotblocking but neither was a great rebounder or great positional defender at their positions. And although Facey had his moments in a stellar senior season, neither he nor Brimah were consistent low post scoring threats. The only guy they had who had any low post game was Enoch, who did not get played much because his D was terrible.
If not for the ability to score by dunking lob passes, Brimah might have been one of the worst offensive centers in major college basketball. Take away the lob pass and he did not really make himself a threat.
If not for the ability to score by dunking lob passes, Brimah might have been one of the worst offensive centers in major college basketball. Take away the lob pass and he did not really make himself a threat.
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I agree with KSTW. Brimah was a train wreck on offense. I also think he hurt the team defensively because he would try to block shots he had no chance at...then allow an offensive rebound.
Obviously protecting the rim is important. I expect they wont be as good in this department, but what I do expect is that the guys they have this yr will focus on defensive rebounding and position. This will help lead to fast breaks which is where our team with thrive. I'm not concerned about our big men on offense. If they can occasionally hit an 8 foot jumper, catch a lob or a putback, that'd be great. I want them to set good screens, be able to roll to the basket and be able to catch passes from JA and AG.
Obviously protecting the rim is important. I expect they wont be as good in this department, but what I do expect is that the guys they have this yr will focus on defensive rebounding and position. This will help lead to fast breaks which is where our team with thrive. I'm not concerned about our big men on offense. If they can occasionally hit an 8 foot jumper, catch a lob or a putback, that'd be great. I want them to set good screens, be able to roll to the basket and be able to catch passes from JA and AG.
I'm excited about the front line. We'll have 5/6 new faces and 3 of them are older and 2 have D1 experience. I also like that we finally have some big bodies to bang and carve out space. With Jalen, Gilbert and to a lesser extent, Larrier and Vital, we need rebounding, defense and guys that can finish at the rim from our Bigs.
We needed and hopefully got a quick fix for a team that is ready to win and a coach that has to win.
We needed and hopefully got a quick fix for a team that is ready to win and a coach that has to win.
The additions of Whaley, Onuorah and Williams have bolstered the depth of the frontcourt. You would like to think that of these 3, Diarra, Cobb and Carlton, you have 6 guys to play at the 4 and 5, and 2 of the 6 should be able to step up and demand the starting berths at those spots. Roster depth looks OK, although it also did last year.
It seems like two starters will come from Onuorah, Williams and Cobb, who all have some experience although only Onuorah on the D1 level.
It seems like two starters will come from Onuorah, Williams and Cobb, who all have some experience although only Onuorah on the D1 level.
If Diarra is that good he will start but he is coming off a major injury and did not look ready in the one exhibition he played last year. He looks like he could be a very good rebounder and defender and I liked his body, but who knows how his knees will be? Way too early to call on him. He has yet to play a full real college game.
I think Williams will be the starting 4 and Onuorah the starting 5, until we see evidence on the court of otherwise.
I think Williams will be the starting 4 and Onuorah the starting 5, until we see evidence on the court of otherwise.
we should expect one thing and that is NOT ONE person on the team last year that is on the team this year should be expect to me better. Adams is getting better but its an age thing not a coaching thing. CV should be better because he is a DRIVEN kid who has a chip on his shoulder...not due to coaching. Diarra was average looking at best so unless he is a sleeper workd beater I would not count on him to do anything but foul out a lot.
Guards are the only way we do anything this year and JA, AG, and CV would have to be UNREAL for this to be a tourney team.
Guards are the only way we do anything this year and JA, AG, and CV would have to be UNREAL for this to be a tourney team.
I hope to be proven wrong because there is nobody on this planet who is easier to root for but I think husky fans are out of their minds in over stating CV's ability. The kid should be coming off the bench for Jalen.
The other thing about this roster is, think about this, you'll have 5 college aged players who haven't really played since 2 seasons ago( or more in Larrier's case) with an assortment of injuries/ issues and a bunch of unknown FR..... Hey, I'm hoping for the best but I'm in the Jalen will have to be a miracle worker camp and pull a Bazz or Kemba for this team to turn it around. Him and CV are the only guys on this team with real minutes so far at Uconn/this level. So alot of other things will have to go right, too.
Diarra- no games last year coming off his mystery injury
David Onuorah - 1 game since 2015-16 in the Ivy league.
Quinton Williams- hasn't even played in JUCO since 2015-16
Larrier- 3 1/2 games since 2014-15 coming off an ACL
Alterique - 2 1/2 games since 2015-16 in HS( & another surgery)
Diarra- no games last year coming off his mystery injury
David Onuorah - 1 game since 2015-16 in the Ivy league.
Quinton Williams- hasn't even played in JUCO since 2015-16
Larrier- 3 1/2 games since 2014-15 coming off an ACL
Alterique - 2 1/2 games since 2015-16 in HS( & another surgery)
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There are a lot of questions but assuming these guys are all healthy, they can provide answers that you need.
Regarding CV, I love this kid. There are always these rare kids that get recruited who have gigantic hearts beating in their chests and as a result they play way above what appears to be their natural talent level. Shabazz Napier was such a player even as a freshman. CV won games for UConn last year. Who can forget the play and FTs at the end of the Syracuse game. These are winning type basketball plays by a player who is just a winner. He will come off the bench but emerge as a lethal 6th man. It's not a stretch to see him as a close to double figures scorer and maybe the best 3 point shooter on the team.
Regarding CV, I love this kid. There are always these rare kids that get recruited who have gigantic hearts beating in their chests and as a result they play way above what appears to be their natural talent level. Shabazz Napier was such a player even as a freshman. CV won games for UConn last year. Who can forget the play and FTs at the end of the Syracuse game. These are winning type basketball plays by a player who is just a winner. He will come off the bench but emerge as a lethal 6th man. It's not a stretch to see him as a close to double figures scorer and maybe the best 3 point shooter on the team.
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