This week’s mailbag is more of a crystal ball… bag. We take a look at some recent recruiting news, predict the team leaders and how the squad will fare in March.
Remember: If your question wasn’t answered, or you’re just hearing about this and want to get in on the fun, you can submit your questions here or on Twitter (@ADimeBack).
@UConnOlliewood asks: How’s 2017 recruiting look? Langford? Brown? Diallo? Waters? Conf realignment news? Brighten our day guys (and Meagan).
First of all, my sister doesn’t appreciate the misspelling of her name. It’s Meghan, with an H, which is Welsh or something. I don’t know. My mom is weird
Now, regarding 2017 recruiting, the first three players you mentioned – Zach Brown, Hamidou Diallo, and Makai Ashton-Langford – are the players that Kevin Ollie seems to be in the best position with. If things continue as they’ve been going, I wouldn’t be surprised to see all three players end up in Storrs, which would be the core of another great recruiting group. It’s possible that one or both of Diallo and Ashton-Langford reclassify to the 2016 class, where the Huskies could use an extra guard (especially if Rodney Purvis graduates and departs at the end of the year). Diallo is the jewel of the group, and even if he did reclassify, would probably be only a two-year player.
Kevin Ollie has diversified his recruiting efforts to some degree, with recent offers to First Academy (Orlando, FL) teammates Chaundee Brown and Malik William. Brown is the more highly touted of the two, a 6-5 wing scorer with offers from Kansas, Maryland, Florida, and several other high-majors. His stock has been rising in recent months, and his recruitment should be highly contested.
William appears to be more of a project, with a lot of potential but in need of a lot of growth. He profiles similarly to 2016 UConn commit Mamadou Diarra, a long-armed power forward with great shot-blocking instincts. It’s possible that he’s going to play a similar role in recruiting to Diarra, as he may help Ollie with Chaundee Brown the same way the Huskies are hoping Diarra helps with Diallo. There should be a lot more to come here, so stay tuned.
Don Tinker asks: at the end of 2015-16 regular season, who leads team in: Pts? Reb? Asts? Steals? Blocks?
Pts: Hamilton
Reb: Miller or Hamilton
Asts: Hamilton
Steals: Adams (come at me bro)
Blocks: Brimah
Chris asks: based on the season so far, what happens to the men in March?
I’m not sure we’ve really learned anything from the team’s first nine games that we couldn’t have guessed before the season. They’re obviously talented and obviously flawed. The problem for UConn is that the same can be said of about 25-30 other teams in college basketball this season.
I maintain that this squad has Sweet Sixteen talent and that’s my expectation for the group still — to make the NCAA Tournament and win two games. As we’ve seen in the past –barring a team of phenomenal talent (’99, ’04) — the rest comes down to luck, timing and getting hot at the right time.
