UConn fans got some good news today, when 5-star forward Akok Akok announced on Twitter that he is going to join Dan Hurley in Storrs.
https://twitter.com/_akok11/status/1068951511873540098
Per 247Sports, which rates Akok as the 22nd-best player in his class, Akok will be enrolling at UConn in the spring semester, but not playing. It’s unclear if this is a result of UConn’s lack of an open scholarship, or just the reality that Akok was unlikely to come in and be a meaningful contributor on this year’s team.
Akok chose the Huskies over former Big East rivals Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and joins a 2019 recruiting class (though perhaps not officially) as its new top-ranked player. Akok is long and athletic, and protects the rim well. On offense, however, he has a wider range of skills, including stepping outside and scoring from the perimeter. He’ll likely play mostly as a power forward or center, but could see time as a wing in a bigger lineup.
With the versatile forward joining guards James Bouknight and Jalen “The Cat” Gaffney, Hurley is likely to continue to pursue a more traditional post player, with Kofi Cockburn, Tre Mitchell, and Qudus Wahab his primary targets there. Additionally, UConn remains in the mix for top-10 wing Precious Achiuwa.
As much talent as Akok will bring to Storrs, the early proof that Hurley will be able to land top talent over major conference programs is almost as valuable to UConn fans right now. With at least five players departing the program at the end of the season, Hurley still has some more work to do on the recruiting trail, but he’s got UConn fans awfully excited to see what he can do.
And he appears to be pretty excited himself:
— Dan Hurley (@dhurley15) December 1, 2018
