The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Corey Floyd Jr. commits to UConn
Athletic combo guard from New Jersey has Big East pedigree
Corey Floyd Jr., a physically strong, athletic combo guard with Big East pedigree, has committed to UConn.
Floyd, a junior at Roselle Catholic in New Jersey, is the Huskies’ first Class of 2022 commit.
Roselle Catholic head coach Dave Boff has known Floyd since Floyd used to hang around Roselle’s practices as a sixth-grader.
“He’s a great kid, he really is,” Boff said. “I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to watch him grow, both as a basketball player and as a person. That’s cool for me. Just a great kid from a great family, a conscientious student, a leader by example always, this year turning into more of a leader, vocally. But he always led by example with how hard he plays and the way he handles himself.”
Floyd, who celebrated his birthday on Thursday, is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound combo guard who has worked hard on his point guard skills.
“He’s been developing that part of his game for the last couple of years, trending in that direction, continuing to work on that this year,” Boff noted. “Certainly comfortable now with the ball in his hands, and also playing off the ball, coming off screens.”
“He’s a very unique combination right now of a high level of skill, very powerful strength-wise and build-wise, and has elite athleticism. That’s a rare combination, certainly at the high school level.”
Floyd’s father, Corey Floyd Sr., played two seasons at Providence from 1990-92, averaging 6.1 points per game. He went up against Dan Hurley’s Seton Hall team twice in 1991-92 when Hurley was a freshman backup point guard. Seton Hall, the Big East regular season champs that year, beat the Friars in
both games.
Floyd Sr. was a star at Linden High, which is right down the street from Roselle Catholic. Boff, who grew up about 20 minutes away in Berkley Heights, recalls going to watch Floyd Sr. play.
“I remember that as clear as day, seeing his dad play at Linden and in some big tournament games,” Boff said. “That’s also been kind of unique and fun.”
Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young recruited Floyd Jr. hard and seemed to have a finger on the pulse of when the guard might be ready to commit.
“I think Danny and Kimani do a great job in New Jersey,” Boff said. “They spend a lot of time here and do a good job recruiting the state, for sure.”
Roselle Catholic just began practices on Monday and is slated to play its first game on Jan. 26. Floyd plays on the Team Final AAU team, which plays in the Elite Youth Basketball League out of South Jersey/ Philadelphia. The EYBL did not have a season this past spring and summer.
Boff added that Floyd Jr. shoots it “very, very well and works on it a lot. He’s really a gym rat. That’s an area of his game he really tries to focus on.”
He added that Floyd is good defensively with a great basketball IQ. The area he might need to improve upon the most is his ability to create his own shot off the dribble.
“He has good ability off the bounce right now,” Boff said, “but I think that’s an area he is looking to improve.”
“He’s been a pleasure,” the coach added. “I can’t wait to see what this year and next year hold for him as he continues to develop.”
Neither can UConn Nation.