UConn Huskies May Appear Down, But They Are Certainly Not Out

By jasongreenberg
David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

The residents of the great state of Connecticut are currently in a not so great state of panic over their UConn Huskies basketball program. Jim Calhoun’s retirement to go along with NCAA sanctions and the Big East’s uncertain future has the program in flux. The most recent bad news came Tuesday when class of 2013 standout forward Kuran Iverson chose Memphis over UConn, despite Iverson living about 45 minutes from the Connecticut campus.

This is not a good sign for the Huskies, especially after losing the last big in-state recruit, Kris Dunn. However, as bad as things look on the surface, the situation is actually fine in Storrs. UConn is still considered to be a prime destination for the nation’s top recruits and Iverson and Dunn were not priorities to the program anyway.

Those who think UConn is no longer attractive to recruits should think again. The top recruit in the 2013 class, Jabari Parker, recently added the Huskies to his list of ten schools. In addition, Noah Vonleh is considering Connecticut and he is now in the 2013 class. It seems Connecticut is targeting forwards in the class and the group is crowded.  UConn already has one ESPN top 100 commitment in the class of 2013 and five more considering. The class of 2014 looks promising for the Huskies as well. Many of the top recruits in the class have Connecticut under consideration. Not to be forgotten, the Huskies still wrangled in Andre Drummond, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels from the class of 2013 and added Omar Calhoun in the class of 2012, all high profile recruits.

As far as Iverson and Dunn, it seems that the program didn’t want them more than they didn’t want the program. After attaining a commitment from Omar Calhoun, the Huskies backcourt was very crowded at a time when scholarships are limited by NCAA penalties. Therefore, adding Dunn may have been counterproductive. It had been reported that Calhoun slowed down his recruitment of the guard before he committed to Providence, although that cannot be confirmed because schools are not allowed to comment on their recruitment of prospects.

There was a similar situation with Iverson. Iverson has drawn criticism for his attitude throughout his high school career and word is the Huskies stopped recruiting him after he visited Storrs in August.

Regardless of why Iverson chose Memphis or any of the other concerns UConn fans have, the program is still highly regarded around the country. The reduction of scholarships and postseason ban will pass. The prestige and success associated with the program will last.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @JCJG123

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