UConn Recruiting Top Guard Talent Regionally
UConn Men's Basketball has the resources and prestige to recruit nationally, but their point guard pipeline is almost in their backyard with the Mass Rivals grassroots team.
Sophomore Jalen Adams has started to blossom into a star for the Huskies (14-12, 9-5 American Athletic Conference), who have won four straight going into their third-place showdown Wednesday night at Houston (18-8, 9-5).
“I think we are seeing Jalen being Jalen,” Mass Rivals coach Vinny Pastore said. “They are on a good run and they are fun to watch.”
Adams, who is coming off his first AAC Player of the Week honor after leading UConn to comeback wins over Memphis and Temple, will have a familiar face in the backcourt next season with another Mass Rivals’ point guard, Makai Ashton-Langford, on the way.
Ashton-Langford, another 6-foot-2 playmaker who ranks 40th in the Class of 2017, committed to the Huskies last September and is finishing his high school career at Brewster Academy. He helped Mass Rivals will multiple championships last summer with backcourt mate Wabissa Bede, who is committed to Virginia Tech.
There could be more Mass Rivals’ talent on the way in 2018, with 6-5 shooting guard A.J. Reeves and 6-4 point guard David Duke.
“They are both athletic and long,” Pastore said. “They complement each other well and they fit UConn’s style of play. We play with the same type of guards (at Mass Rivals).”
Reeves (56th in Class of 2018) is a long-time Husky target that has a reputation for being an explosive scorer. But UConn is hardly alone in chasing the four-star guard. Providence and Louisville have been in the mix for some time as well, but now Syracuse and Villanova have jumped in with recent offers.
“They will be good recruits for UConn if they can get them,” said Pastore, who expects Reeves to start focusing more on where he might go in the spring.
Reeves has already taken multiple unofficial visits to UConn and Providence.
The new Mass Rival on the UConn radar is Duke, who has seen his stock soar this winter playing at Cushing Academy. Providence was already a big fan of Duke, but now Kansas, Villanova and UConn are chasing, too.
The Huskies offered on Feb. 15.
“He has the same game as (Adams and Ashton-Langford), but he’s two inches taller,” Pastore said. “He’s extremely athletic and he plays above the rim.”
Reeves made his mark last summer during Mass Rivals’ championship run playing alongside Bede and Ashton-Langford. Duke, who reclassified to 2018 last summer, didn’t get quite as much attention, but Pastore knew he had another good one waiting in the wings.
“We knew what we had in David, he just had to wait his turn,” the coach said. “He had to wait for his chance to shine.”
The luxury Pastore had with a stocked roster was that the veteran guards helped serve as mentors for Reeves and Duke last season. Adams helped do the same thing the previous year and figures to have the same role next year with Ashton-Langford at UConn.
When it comes to picking a college, Duke might be a little further back than Reeves. Duke is a three-star guard who has yet to be ranked in the Class of 2018.
“The recruiting is kind of new to him,” Pastore said.