Catching Up With Future Huskies Players
The Story: UConn will add three players to the mix next year in James Bouknight, Jalen Gaffney and Akok Akok. So, as the year comes to an end, what are the Huskies’ recruits doing and what should we look forward to in 2019?
WHEN WILL AKOK ENROLL? This is what’s on everyone’s mind these days. Akok, a 6-foot-9 forward who played at Putnam Science Academy, left prep school and signed with the Huskies in anticipation of enrolling at the university. Akok won’t play in games and will redshirt, but even having him practice and get acclimated should help him hit the ground running next year (if he doesn’t enter the NBA Draft). He has not yet enrolled in college, per all media reports. Once he does, he can practice and travel with the team.
WHAT IS AKOK’S GAME? Akok is an athletic and wiry big man who can also play on the wing. He is very thin and is going to need to get bigger and stronger to play college basketball, but he has length, athleticism and quickness. He also seems to have a nice face-up game and can shoot the 3-pointer, which every coach wants from their bigs these days. The Huskies will have a role for Akok immediately next year as Josh Carlton is the only underclassmen center seeing minutes on the roster. Akok can also play power forward and maybe the Huskies can go big at times and pair Carlton and Akok together.
BOUKNIGHT RISING HIGH: Bouknight is a late bloomer who needed to leave New York City to get noticed, and now he looks like a potential heir as the next great UConn guard from the city. (How about that for pressure?) He is now dominating at the MacDuffie School in Granby, Massachusetts, and was the first signee of the Huskies’ class. Bouknight, 6-foot-4, is a consensus top-100 recruit and had offers from the likes of Indiana, Temple, Minnesota and Kansas State. He is an athletic guard with 3-point range and can finish with athletic dunks. The Huskies will lose a lot of scoring in Jalen Adams and Tarin Smith next year and Bouknight looks like he can step in and help make up for that loss.
GAFFNEY THE HEIR APPARENT: Gaffney, at 6-foot-2, is flying under the radar in the national scouting bureaus and is ranked 97th in ESPN’s Top 100. We would like to challenge those rankings after watching the highlights of his 36-point, seven-rebound and six-assist game on Dec. 22. Gaffney showed range, dribbling ability and athleticism as he took apart his opponents for Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Huskies are going to need another point guard to back up and also pair with Alterique Gilbert next year and Gaffney certainly fits the bill.
KOFI AND A PRECIOUS RECRUIT: The Huskies are still in the mix for a handful of other top recruits. Kofi Cockburn is a top-40 recruit out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia and went on an official visit to UConn in October. He recently took a visit to Illinois and we’re sure he loved watching the loss to Florida Atlantic. His other three schools are Pittsburgh, Kansas and St. John’s.
The Huskies are also in the mix for highly regarded forward Precious Achiuwa, who is ranked No. 11 in ESPN’s top 100. Achiuwa, from The Bronx, is playing at Montverde Academy in Florida and is an elite prospect and potential prep-to-pros player via the new G League professional path. If college is in the cards, UConn is in excellent position with Achiuwa, who is deciding among Kansas, St. John’s and UCLA. He expects to make a decision in the spring.
17TH AND CLIMBING: The Huskies, with three commits, are ranked 17th nationally by 247Sports and No. 2 in the AAC behind Memphis. If the Huskies can land either Cockburn or Achiuwa, they would likely vault into the top 10 — certainly a fine debut outing on the recruiting trail for Dan Hurley.
Houston Fires Applewhite; Eyes Holgorsen?
The Story: Houston told its fanbase on Sunday that it isn’t screwing around by firing football coach Major Applewhite. The Cougars, the AAC’s West Division champions, went 7-5 and 8-5 in Applewhite’s two seasons.
WHY THIS MATTERS: The decision fulfilled a promise Houston president Renu Khator reportedly made to boosters recently when she said that “winning is defined at the University of Houston as 10-2” and that the school would “fire coaches at 8-4.”
Applewhite, who had three years remaining on his contract and will only be owed $1.95 million by the university, was fired as UConn has stood by Randy Edsall after the Huskies went 1-11 last season. The state is in a budgetary crisis, for sure, which plays a role in the decision, but it also is another example of the vastly different approaches to football in the conference. One wants to win at literally any cost; the other has its hands tied and hopes for the best.
WHY THIS ALSO MATTERS: Houston is reportedly going all-in on hiring Dana Holgorsen away from West Virginia — which, at that point, you wonder why it doesn’t instead target Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney or Urban Meyer.
But Holgorsen, who has coached the Mountaineers since the days of the old Big East, is perceived to be attainable and would bring the school significant legitimacy. He has a buyout that drops to $1 million on Jan. 1 and, with his Texas roots, has heavily recruited players from the state to West Virginia. He also reportedly has been discontent with West Virginia’s administration for some time, and after losing Will Grier and David Sills V and facing a rebuilding year, he could be eager to put Morgantown in his rear-view mirror.
The AAC is only going to get more competitive as time goes on, meaning UConn will have to get up to speed quickly to avoid a string of mediocre seasons amid increasing apathy.
Morning Read
GORDON FINDS HOME: Former UConn guard Lexi Gordon, who decided to transfer earlier this month, will enroll at Texas Tech for the spring semester. (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: If the plan is to have a Happy New Year, don’t read Jeff Jacobs’ column on USF’s Alexis Yenta. He is averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds a game and played about 20 minutes from UConn’s campus at Putnam Academy. He was never offered by the Huskies. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
MEN’S HOCKEY FACES YALE ON NYE: The men’s hockey team plays No. 15 Yale at Ingalls Rink this afternoon. This is an excellent game to get to down in New Haven, if possible. Ingalls Rink is a treasure and the Huskies want to avenge a 6-3 loss in Belfast, Northern Ireland, earlier in the year. UConn is also on a seven-game losing streak and would like to ring in the new year on a positive note. (UConnHuskies.com)
WOMEN’S HOCKEY BACK WITH WIN: The women’s hockey team returned from its December break with a 4-1 win over Dartmouth behind two goals from Natalie Snodgrass. (UConnHuskies.com)
SHABAZZ GOES OFF: How do you react to a benching? Shabazz Napier went out and played the best hoops of his life. Napier, who was a DNP-CD against the Charlotte Hornets and former teammates Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, has lit up the NBA the last two games, including a career-high 32 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. (Highlights)
UCONN ASKS OLLIE SUIT TO GO AWAY: Because this is exactly what we want to talk about in 2019, UConn has asked a judge to dismiss the Kevin Ollie complaint that he filed alleging discrimination in his firing. (ESPN).
