This Friday afternoon, the UConn Huskies picked up their fourth commitment of the class of 2023 in the form of Jaylin Stewart, a four star power forward from Seattle, Washington. The 6’7’’ high school senior went to high school at Garfield and played AAU ball with Seattle Rotary. Stewart joins an incredibly loaded Huskies class that now includes four stars Stephon Castle, Solomon Ball and Jayden Ross.
Watch out for a potential fifth commitment from three-star Youssouf Singare, who is part of what the group is calling the “Fab 5,” reminiscent of the historic Michigan 1991 recruiting class that featured NBA players Chris Weber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose. This also is a reminder of UConn’s 2016 class that called themselves the “Top 5,” with every player in that class either battling injuries or transferring, besides Christian Vital. Hopefully this class is more successful and less injury plagued–and they have every opportunity to be.
THE SCOUTING REPORT...
Stewart is a super versatile forward who will fit perfectly into coach Dan Hurley’s four in-one out look that he’s planning to implement this year. Stewart has a ton of height for his skillset and is athletic. He’ll throw down highlight-reel dunks and is also able to hit tough layups, readjusting in mid air based on how the defender reacts. He also has a nice outside game, with the ability to hit the three at a decent clip. His handle and passing are both good enough right now, but with tougher defense at the college level, Stewart will definitely have to tighten each of those up as he adjusts up.
Defensively, Stewart’s bounce helps him get some nice blocks, but he’s also able to generally stay in front of his matchup. He has the full package and could potentially see minutes right away.
STORRS IMPACT...
The person whose role this commitment diminishes the most is Ross, as now he has someone at the same height and position who has a solid chance of beating him out for minutes. Stewart’s role though will be largely determined by who stays and goes in this upcoming offseason. Right now the Huskies have 14 players on scholarship next season with 13 total slots, so there isn’t room for Stewart at the moment. As players leave it will be more clear what type of impact Stewart will have, although he clearly has the skillset to establish himself early…
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