UConn landed its first recruit of the 2017 class on Monday when PG Makai Ashton-Langford committed following a weekend visit. ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein was the first to report the news.
Ashton-Langford (who will undoubtedly be referred to as “MAL” for the entirety of his UConn career) had pushed up his visit to Storrs after narrowing his choices to UConn and Providence.
A four-star recruit, MAL figures to compliment current freshman Alterique Gilbert, and could form a dynamic trio if sophomore Jalen Adams returns in 2017. In a recruiting update last week, our own Peter Bard described MAL as “an aggressive point guard, gets to the basket, profiles similarly to Jalen Adams. His outside shot needs work though.”
Ollie has been aggressively recruiting point guards in the 2017 class, recently hosting Paul Scruggs on campus, and reportedly stepping up efforts to court New Haven’s Tremont Waters. With MAL on board, it will be interesting to see if UConn adds a second point guard, or shifts their focus to the front court.
With (at least) four open scholarships remaining in 2017, Ollie will have options. The team’s number one priority remains five-star wing Hamidou Diallo, but Ollie will also need to add at least one big man to replace the departing Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey. Nick Richards and Mohammed Bamba are big time prospects, and UConn targets, but the Huskies have extended scholarship offers to a host of other recruits in recent weeks as well.
