Dan Hurley landed his first recruit of the 2021 class on Sunday evening as Rahsool Diggins, a 6’1″ point guard from Philadelphia, announced his commitment to UConn on Instagram. Diggins (ranked #54 in the 247 Composite) has a solid jump shot to go along with some outstanding passing ability and is exactly the kind of player that Hurley can build a recruiting class around.
With a couple of near misses on Trey Patterson (#34, Villanova) and El Ellis (JUCO #1, Louisville) having Husky fans feeling that oh-so-familiar existential dread, it would be easy to forget that this is actually the earliest in a recruiting cycle that UConn has managed to land its first recruit since Hurley’s arrival. James Bouknight and Andre Jackson kicked off their recruiting classes in September and October, respectively. Landing a quality player in the middle of the summer puts Hurley in a great position to get aggressive and pursue players in high demand without the risk of ending up empty-handed.
Diggins appeared to be very interested in UNC and Kansas, with those schools choosing instead to devote more resources to guards like Hunter Sallis (#19), Kennedy Chandler (#11), and Nolan Hickman (#51). As a Philly product, Diggins was also linked with Villanova, but Jay Wright appears to have instead gone with 3-star guard Angelo Brizzi (#118) . Whether that choice was made by Wright or Diggins remains unclear. Tyrese Hunter (#80) being linked heavily with the Huskies in recent weeks is also a possible factor in Diggins’ early commitment.
Hurley and company remain active on the recruiting trail, with current targets like PF Samson Johnson (#88), as well as wings Jordan Hawkins (#49), Lucas Taylor (#123), and Nate Santos (#127).
Tyrese Martin, a transfer from Rhode Island will also join next year’s roster.
