Five-star swingman V.J. King (ranked #16 by 247Sports composite) committed today to Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals, choosing them over UConn and others. King had also named Virginia, Kentucky, and Arizona in his top 5, but UConn and Louisville were the only schools to host King on official visits.
This is a minor setback for Kevin Ollie and the Huskies, as Louisville had long been considered the favorite, since Pitino’s hiring of King’s former Team Takeover coach, Kenny Johnson, last April. With VCU transfer Terry Larrier committing to UConn last month, muddying up King’s easy slide to early playing time, the task became even more difficult.
Despite losing out on King, the Huskies remain in strong position for the recruiting class of 2016. Ollie has already garnered commitments from 4-star C/F Mamadou Diarra and Larrier (#34 in the class of 2014) to join the team for the 2016-17 season. In addition, Ollie appears to be in great shape with a number of other key prospects:
1) Alterique Gilbert – Gilbert appears to be Ollie’s #1 priority for the class of 2016. His stock has been rising as he’s performed well against higher-level competition, and he was recently upgraded to a 5-star (#23 overall) by ESPN, making him their #5 point guard, nationally. Gilbert’s size is questionable (tell me where you’ve heard that before), but his game is not. He’s lightning-fast with a superb handle, terrific vision, and a consistent jump shot. If he makes it to Storrs, expect him to be an impact player from day one.
2) Hamidou Diallo – Diallo is still technically listed as a 2017 prospect, but indications are that he’s strongly considering reclassifying to 2016 and forgoing his original plan of attending prep school for a season. Diallo is a 5-star shooting guard, listed at #30 on ESPN, and brings a litany of high-major skills. He’s a strong shooter, but really excels in finding ways to get the ball to the basket with his terrific athleticism and reach. His current handle probably limits him to mostly playing off the ball, but because of his size, he can function as a de facto forward in a three-guard set. He is close friends with Diarra, and it’s speculated that this is playing a large factor in his recruitment.
3) Wenyen Gabriel – Gabriel, a 6-9 combo forward from New Hampshire who was recently upgraded to 4-star status (#84 nationally) by ESPN, has recently become one of Ollie’s top targets for 2016. Gabriel is rail-thin, but has skills that make him effective both around the basket and out to the perimeter, similar to former UConn forward DeAndre Daniels. Unlike Gilbert and Diallo, who both appear to be heavy UConn leans, Gabriel has not expressed a favorite, and will likely require a lot more work and a little more luck in order to bring in.
4) Tyrique Jones – A 3-star PF from out of Vermont Academy, Jones appears to be willing to join the Huskies, and is just waiting for the opening. Jones doesn’t appear to have the high-end potential of the other players listed, but he’s a strong, tough player with exceptional rebounding instincts. Given the number of big men likely to depart UConn after the season (at least Phil Nolan and Shonn Miller, maybe Amida Brimah), a player like Jones would definitely come in handy. He’s not very polished on offense, but finishes well around the basket.
5) Bruce Brown – After Ollie suffered high profile misses on several highly-ranked wing players (Tevin Mack, Derrick Jones, Chris Clarke), there was some talk that UConn had interest in Brown to reclassify to 2015. Ultimately, he was unable to get enough credits to graduate early, and he remains a top-50 player in the class of 2016. According to reports and quotes from Brown himself, UConn’s recruitment of him has slowed in recent months, as they have apparently made King and Diallo bigger priorities on the wing. With King heading to Louisville, Brown could find himself back in Ollie’s crosshairs if things don’t go to plan with Diallo.
If Kevin Ollie can manage to close 3-4 of these players for 2016, then we’ll be looking at one of our strongest recruiting classes ever. Here’s hoping.
