Huskies hoping for surprising spring haul
Will look to secure some combination of Obekpa, Parker and Noel
A year ago, UConn stunned the college basketball recruiting world by landing DeAndre Daniels in the spring and then following that up by adding Andre Drummond in August.
Now the Huskies are hoping to pull off a similar coup in 2012 by landing some combination of Chris Obekpa, Nerlens Noel and Tony Parker during the late signing period.
Their best shot may be with Obekpa, the 6-foot-9 shot-blocking sensation out of Our Savior New American on Long Island.
Obekpa is considering about a dozen schools, but UConn is right there among the leaders.
“UConn's interest in Chris is extremely high,” Our Savior New American assistant Eric Jaklitsch told FiveStarBasketball.com. “They offered him a scholarship back in August. Jim Calhoun came down for the in-home visit the first possible date that was available to meet with Chris. They came to see him at practice, at a home game and at away games.
“We tried to work out a date in the fall to get him up there but the schedules just didn't work out at the time. Its very obvious that Chris is a top priority. Calhoun saw him at the Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield, during his season. How many head coaches, let alone Hall of Fame coaches, see recruits during the season?”
Calhoun has a long history of success with defensive-oriented big men, from Emeka Okafor to Hasheem Thabeet to Drummond.
With Drummond and sophomore wing Jeremy Lamb both potentially headed to the 2012 NBA Draft, Obekpa could be next in line among UConn bigs.
“UConn has either lead the nation in blocked shots or been in the top 10 for about the last decade,” Jaklitsch said. “He would fit in perfectly with what they do. He loves to pound the glass and block shots. Like Tom Konchalski always says, you can never rebound and block shots enough. He is the premier interior defender in the class of 2012. He has worked his tail off to go from being an unranked recruit to be a top 50 kid now.”
Of course, Noel may well be the No. 1 overall prospect in the class now that he has reclassified to his original class of 2012 from 2013.
The 6-10 Noel, out of The Tilton (N.H.) School, is considering UConn along with Kentucky, Syracuse, Providence, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina.
He told ESPN.com he will take an official visit to Syracuse Feb. 11 for the UConn game.
Syracuse and Kentucky may be the leaders for Noel, who has been compared to legendary Boston
Celtics big man Bill Russell, but given UConn's history with bigs, they should not be discounted.
“You just got to go to a program just not based off the name,” Noel recently told Five Star.
“But if there is a good name you look into it, see what they have to offer. But there ‘s other schools out there that are going to help you just as good as the high-name schools as well. So you look at the other schools, too, and take your time through the process and look at it in different aspects and just know that you made the good decision.”
Just follow your heart.”
As for the 6-9 Parker out of Lithonia (Ga.) Miller Grove, he is looking at Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, Ohio State, Memphis and UConn.
“Coach Calhoun called me recently,” he told Five Star. “That's probably one of my dad's favorite schools, so I guess they're going to come in a little bit. I don't know, I have to talk to my dad a little bit.
“I'm probably going to decide in the spring.”
And just like last year, the Huskies are hoping for another surprising spring haul.
For more from Adam Zagoria, check out ZAGSBLOG.com and follow him on Twitter: @AdamZagoria.
Harrison Sanford is a reporter for Fivestarbasketball.com. Follow him Twitter: @HarrisonSanford
