The UConn Fast Break - 6/14/2021
It may be the offseason, but we've got a dunkalicious set of news and views for you.
Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, where we check in with Dan Hurley on his team’s motivational messaging and catch up on recruiting news across multiple sports!
We hope you enjoy this weekly newsletter from the folks who bring you The UConn Blog on SB Nation, Storrs Central on Rivals, The UConn Hockey Hub on Patreon, and the UConn WBB Weekly newsletter!
Weekly Rewind
With new mantra in tow, Dan Hurley ready to build on last season’s success - Also, Akok Akok is on track for a full recovery and “looks great.”
UConn football gets three Class of 2022 verbal commitments - The Huskies add one of the highest-rated commitments in recent history.
UConn men’s basketball springs into action on the recruiting trail - Hurley and staff have reportedly made some offers and had several visitors into Storrs already.
Hurley hopeful state NIL legislation will keep more players in school
“[…] are there are going to be more opportunities for NIL for college athletes at the University of Connecticut? Probably. Would they be more inclined to do an extra year? You know, maybe, possibly.”
Aliyah Edwards named to Team Canada for FIBA AmeriCup Roster - The tournament is going now through June 19th. Canada has won its first three games and has one more left, tomorrow against Colombia.
Ricky Moore proud of his Husky career but miffed why he's not a college coach
“Moore has taken over as head coach at Northwest Carrabus High in North Carolina. He talks about that, as well as some of the highlights of his UConn career, his reasons for not attending a celebration of the ‘99 title team a couple of years ago in Hartford, and what he still hopes to accomplish in the future.”
Sydney Watson becomes the first Husky named a women's lacrosse All-American
UConn men's track wraps up NCAA Tournament
Have you seen Homefield’s fresh lineup of retro Huskies swag?!
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UConn, Great Pic
We have no choice but to start with Dan Hurley, seen here reppin’:
A very dedicated fan just made some upgrades to this epic shrine of Husky fandom:
Watch This! (Sweet Dunks Edition)
UConn commit Ayanna Patterson throws down a very casual two-handed slam during pre-game warmups.
James Bouknight. Also dunks:
Memory Lane
Continuing the theme of dunks, this one from Niels Giffey in the 2014 Elite Eight absolutely took the house down at UConn’s second home, Madison Square Garden.
Hopefully, we’ll be hearing that roar at MSG very soon.
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Big League Buzz
UConn knocked out of the NBA Playoffs: While five Huskies made the playoffs, all of their teams have been eliminated after the first round and play-in games.
Blidi Wreh-Wilson lands with the Las Vegas Raiders
UConn legend Sue Bird continuing to prove age is just a number: 'Sue is just doing what Sue does'
George Fochive signs with Portland Timbers
Napheesa Collier is leading the Minnesota Lynx in scoring and also getting fiery on the court. We love to see it:
Parting Thoughts
On Recruiting
I fully acknowledge that it’s not exactly “normal” to be relentlessly tracking the college decisions of high school athletes. Our coverage doesn’t go too deep into that world, but we try to stay on top of basic news and important themes.
Some people may not be interested in recruiting but you can learn a lot about your favorite team from it. In college sports, player acquisition through high school recruiting is arguably more important for success than the draft is for an NFL team.
Following recruiting allows you to understand a coaches’ preferences for the types of players they want, and how that may apply to their on-court or on-field strategy. You can also learn more about where your school stands in the battle for talent.
To put it bluntly: as a UConn fan, you’d want to make sure UConn is beating Big East teams and other regional or national competition on the recruiting trail every single year. They compete on the field of play during the school year, but outside of that, they’re competing on the phones, over official visits, and in the living rooms of prospective athletes everywhere. It’s really quite the undertaking, and success can make a huge difference on the field.
I don’t think this means it’s worth fretting over an individual player’s rating or even one class’s rating. But in the long run, you want UConn men’s basketball beating Providence for recruits more often than not. UConn football wants to beat the likes of Temple and Buffalo and hopes to get some players that Syracuse, Rutgers, and Boston College wanted. It seems like UConn women’s hoops needs to have a top-five class just about every year. If these teams slip or improve, we’re likely to see signs of it in the recruiting results.
So that’s our case for following recruiting. We’ll have coverage across The UConn Blog and Storrs Central as well as our newsletters and try our hardest not to be weird about it.
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