It has been a busy month of interviews, showcase games and official offers, but the July live period is now over, and the picture for Dan Hurley's recruiting strategy has become at least a little bit clearer.
UConn seems to be honing in on a healthy spread of four and five-star recruits for the Class of 2019, establishing steady interest across the northeast.This year's recruiting class should be especially interesting for UConn fans eager to see some early wins in the Hurley era.
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We're starting to learn answers to questions about what kind of player he values, what level he's going for at UConn, and who he's putting a lot of effort into recruiting. There isn't a commitment yet, but the Huskies are on some promising lists.
Here's a look at some of the key targets for the Class of 2019:
One of two five-star recruits targeted in this class, Precious Achiuwa is an absolute stud at power forward. This recruitment has a lot of big names in the mix, and at this point would be a huge win for UConn.
The second five-star target, Cockburn is one of those game-changing centers that the Huskies have built their legacy on. A massive 6'10", 300 pound force down low, he already looks NBA-ready. This is the kind of big-splash recruit that could get a lot of hype behind the start of Dan Hurley's tenure at UConn.
Akok Akok is a Connecticut native with huge upside on both ends of the court. He's proved to be a dominant defensive presence and rangy shooter during the live period. Akok has established himself as a solid stretch power forward with an inside-out attack and the ability to take over games. UConn may be his top choice at the moment.
Another Connecticut native who seems to have UConn as their top priority, Mitchell seems impressed with the new coaching staff and their long term goals. After a recent visit, he said:
Bouknight is slow-playing any recruitment decisions but has been on record saying that he likes UConn a lot. He's recovering from a meniscus tear in January, but seemed to be back to proper form by the end of July, dropping 33 points in a showcase game for the PSA Cardinals.
Gaffney visited UConn back on June 11th and seemed to enjoy his visit. His dad called it a very relaxed visit and commented on the tradition of greatness and the plan to get back to winning championships and developing great players in the future.
Easily the coolest nickname in this recruiting class, Mark "Rocket" Watts could have UConn as his top choice. He's officially cut his list to eight schools, including UConn, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, Missouri, Oregon and Xavier. He's a high priority target for the Connecticut coaching staff.
Wong is actually a lingering offer from the old coaching staff, but he seems to be maintaining interest through the new one. Though no clear decisions have been made at this time, Wong has been adamant about UConn, Miami and Villanova recruiting him the hardest, and these look to be the top three schools on his list. The original offer was made in June of 2017.
