Just as we know that the University of Connecticut women's basketball team is in the mix for Class of 2027 top overall recruit Kaleena Smith, we know that the UConn men are in the mix for highly-regarded recruit Malachi Jordan.
247 Sports has him as the No. 17 player in the class. He is the top-ranked player in the state of Tennessee and is listed at 6-foot-7.
As noted by On3, he is down to his final eight schools, which include Alabama, Tennessee, UConn, Vanderbilt, Kansas, USC, Ohio State and Washington.
Obviously, Tennessee and Vanderbilt hold some regional appeal given that he is from Tennessee, but his list indicates that he is willing to play far away from home, which is certainly good news for the Huskies.
What's the sales pitch for UConn?
Dan Hurley and his staff can put together as good – or better – of a sales pitch than any school in the entire country. The Huskies have been to three national championships in the last four years, winning two of them, and Hurley's program has repeatedly churned out NBA players.
Just this past season, Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. were first-round picks. There's a high probability that Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary Jr. are first-round picks next year.
So, for any player that has aspirations of winning – and getting a professional career – UConn is an ideal spot.
Furthermore, while Hurley is known as a tough coach, he's also someone who prepares players for those opportunities.
What's working against UConn?
The only things that can work against UConn in recruiting is the strength of the Big East Conference and the NIL money.
The Big East only had three teams reach the NCAA Tournament last season (Villanova, UConn and St. John's), so while the Huskies play a loaded non-conference schedule, they don't provide an incredibly memorable in-league schedule.
Furthermore, other schools have more NIL dollars available, so for an athlete looking for greater financial security, there are programs outside of Storrs that can offer it.
Elsewhere in the news for UConn basketball
St. John’s men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino said something this week that undoubtedly gave UConn fans a reason to react.
Pitino, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach, said this to NJ.com about the upcoming Big East season:
"Connecticut and St. John's are not the favorites," Pitino said.
"If I had to pick, I'd pick Marquette one."
Marquette went just 12-20 last season, so why does Pitino feel that way?
