Not a 5* played for UConn or Purdue last night. Not saying not to get them...I'm just saying.
There's a middle ground. Recruit 2-3 one and dones. Get experience from the portal and NIL.
Have to question at this point how those guys might have performed under a different coach? We’ve seen some thrive with better coaching and some not thrive as much after a change of scenery.
Until portal rules change, unless a Freshman agrees to stay 2 years then basically go portal with 4 star players on roster to develop.
So, out of the 2023 recruiting class, Hurley recruited 5 freshmen - four 4-stars and one 5-star (Castle – listed as a 6’6” PG by recruiting services). So did Castle start at PG? No, and not only that but Hurley played him at SF; and he was a role player and the 5th scoring option most of the time. Even at that, there were likely a number of additional transfers UConn could have brought in that may have been a better 5th option. The top two scoring options for UConn were senior transfers. The other four freshmen didn’t play much. But I expect they will next season. UConn only has 2 freshmen coming in (neither of which is an OAD freshman expecting to go pro after one year). They will bring in another 2-4 transfers and be battling again next season.
I think talent is more important than experience. Look at AD, Reed and Dilly. It’s who and how you recruit. If you say you are a one and done player and I’ll get you ready for the NBA. That became Cals downfall. If he had said I’ll get you ready for the NBA no matter if it takes 4-5 years he would still have a job at UK but that was not his Model.
