The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Hurley aims high
Recruiting standard paying off for the Huskies
Believe it or not, UConn fans, Dan Hurley and his staff don’t land every recruit they covet.
It may seem that they do, particularly after the Huskies landed two very important Class of 2022 recruits over the past month: Donovan Clingan, the 7footer from Bristol who’s one of the highest-rated bigs in the nation, and Alex Karaban, a point-forward who’s not overly athletic but does just about everything well offensively.
The Huskies swing and miss, as well. Precious Achiuwa, now in the NBA after a season in Memphis, and Kofi Cockburn, the massive center who recently shocked the world by announcing he’s returning to Illinois for his junior season, are two examples. The most recent example is Kyle Filipowski, a skilled big whom the staff loved. Filipowski loved Duke more, and he’ll be a Blue Devil next year.
Still, the Huskies’ batting average when it comes to landing recruits is a lot closer to Hurley’s favorite baseball player, George Brett, than it is to Mario Mendoza. And there’s a reason for it.
The staff aims high with its recruiting targets, setting very lofty standards. They try not to settle for a player they don’t deem quite up to UConn’s standards. Other high-major programs may go after a guy they know they’ll probably get, simply because they’re the sexiest program recruiting him. UConn doesn’t adhere to that philosophy. It often makes recruiting tougher, battling the blue-bloods for topflight talent. But it’s working.
Sure, they’ve made some runs at recruits they got no traction on. But they’ve also backed off of plenty whom they could have had traction on, simply because he wasn’t quite the right fit.
And when the staff really wants a player, when Hurley & Co. envision a guy as a perfect fit for their program, and they get him on campus for an official visit and give him a taste of the program’s culture. More often than not, that player commits. Just ask James Bouknight. Or Andre Jackson. Or Clingan, Karaban and Corey Floyd, Jr., who currently comprise UConn’s 2022 recruiting class, ranked No. 3 in the nation by 247Sports.
Lately, there has been a bit of a shift in the type of player UConn has recruited. It’s nearly impossible to survive in college basketball these days without at least a few 3-point threats, and while the Huskies didn’t shoot the ball horribly last season (33.5-per
cent, 179th in the nation), it certainly could be better.
Freshman Jordan Hawkins could help alleviate that this season. So could Akok Akok, who those around the program say has looked tremendous in practice lately.
Karaban is an even better example. A little heavylegged and slow, he’s not the jump-out-of-the-gym athlete Hurley typically recruits at the combo forward position. But he can pass, makes his free throws, scores inside with both hands, moves well without the ball and is very instinctive.
And he can shoot. And right now, that is what UConn is looking for. Shooters.
With that in mind, who’s next on the Huskies’ wish list for 2022 players? The staff was high on Ty Rodgers, a national top-75 recruit out of Michigan, but he’s a bit too close to Karaban positionally and appears Michigan-bound. Other targets have come off the board lately, as well, either committing to other programs or the staff losing interest — or both.
There appears to be one shooter/scorer the Huskies covet that is still standing: JJ Starling, a 6-4 guard from New York who plays out of La Lumiere School in Indiana.
Starling visited UConn in the spring, along with Maryland, Alabama and Syracuse. He visited Stanford more recently and appears to be lining up visits with Duke, Northwestern and Notre Dame.
Certainly, the UConn staff would love to get him back on campus this fall. It appears the Huskies are in for a tough recruiting battle with four or five other schools, and whenever Duke enters the picture, even with Coach K’s impending retirement, that makes things even more difficult (See: Filipowski, Kyle).
Currently, UConn has two open scholarships for 2021-22. But that will almost certainly change. R.J. Cole and/or Tyrese Martin, both seniors with an extra year of eligibility, could opt to turn pro. Adama Sanogo or Akok could be drafted. There is always the chance for a transfer or two. And it’s still possible that Floyd Jr. could re-classify to 2021 and join the roster for this season.
The staff will likely take time over the next few weeks to re-evaluate the 2022 class, perhaps reengage some recruits. There’s always the possibility of a junior-college or standard transfer next spring, though the Huskies are one of only a few highmajor programs that didn’t take in a transfer this season. It’s possible a 2023 recruit could re-classify to 2022. A pair of highlycoveted Husky targets, Taylor Bowen and Gavin Griffiths, along with Reid Ducharme (all of whom have been offered by UConn) were on display at XL Center on Saturday.
But that’s all for the coming weeks and months. For now, the Huskies appear to be keeping with their philosophy of high recruiting standards and making a strong push for a guy they really want.
It’s certainly worked out pretty well so far this summer.
RIM RATTLINGS
UConn could announce its non-conference schedule within the next week or so, but don’t expect the Big East’s conference schedule to be announced anytime before about mid-September. There are still a lot of question marks regarding availability of arenas that also host NHL and NBA teams.