Mailbag: UConn recruiting, Alabama's big-time targets, Kiyan Anthony
This Thursday brings a mailbag to Rivals, as national recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy turns to social media to field questions about various topics. This week, Cassidy explores a recruiting battle between Kansas State and UConn, recent swings and misses by Alabama and whether or not 2025 four-star Kiyan Anthony will follow his famous father’s footsteps to Syracuse.
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Commitment breakdown: Georgia lands five-star Asa Newell
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2025 Rankings: Top 130
2026 Rankings: Top 65
Transfer Portal: Latest news | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (hoops) | Portal player ranking/transfer tracker (football)
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Does UConn actually have a chance to land both cooper Flagg and pat ngongba— Gary Sanderson (@GarySan21781759)
I never like being the guy to deliver bad news, but I seem to have been put in that position today, as I think there’s a much better chance of UConn landing neither than it getting both … or even one at this juncture.
The Cooper Flagg ship seems to have sailed after a valiant effort from Dan Hurley and his staff. I truly think UConn gave the No. 1 overall prospect something to think about, but he was simply too far down the road with Duke before he even scheduled his senior year officials. Flagg has looked like a Duke lock for roughly a year, and reversing that momentum was always going to take a herculean effort. We’ll see what happens, but It sure feels as though the Blue Devils used last weekend’s official visit to seal the deal.
As for Patrick Ngongba, he officially cut UConn a few minutes after I fielded this question. Duke and Kentucky are the heavy hitters still involved with the touted big man. That said, don’t dismiss Kansas State here. In fact, it’s safe to assume K-State leads as things stand. Duke and Kentucky offer championship pedigrees, sure, but K-State has the final visit and the fact that Ngongba has been Jerome Tang and staff’s top target since they offered him last year.
How things play out on Ngongba’s weekend visit to K-State will determine which way this goes, but the ball sure feels like it’s in the Wildcats’ court as we head toward a Nov. 4 decision date. This feels like a Duke-Kansas State battle with little to separate the top two.
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It’s been a bad few weeks for Alabama on the trail. There’s no denying that, but the sky is hardly falling. Five-star Aiden Sherrell is in the fold and recruiting misses simply aren’t as damaging in the transfer portal era. Still, I get your point. Any way you slice it, this class isn’t shaping up the way ‘Bama fans hoped.
Why is that? Well, like most things, It’s a combination of factors. Based on the conversations I’ve had, I don’t think the Brandon Miller situation is the driving force. When It comes to the loss of Boogie Fland, the Tide simply held on too long. It was pretty clear to a lot of plugged-in people that they were running in a distant third for a month or so prior to his announcement, but the staff continued to dump resources into a recruitment they had next to zero shot at winning in the final two months.
The miss on Asa Newell is a bit more complex, as Nate Oats and company ran into a perfect storm at Georgia. The ties between Newell and the UGA staff are impossibly strong based on the fact that assistant Erik Pastrana has made Newell a priority for years at multiple coaching stops. Also, the five-star forward has family ties to both Athens and the UGA program. The tricky part of that situation was what it means for another ‘Bama target. As soon as it became clear that Newell would land at UGA and that Georgia also led for four-star forward Khani Rooths, the pitch to Derrion Reid, who is also considering both UGA and Alabama, became much easier. The Prolific Prep forward was told he could be part of a “Big 3” at UGA and that seems to have given him something to consider at the very least. Momentum is real in recruiting.
Will Reid actually land in Athens? I don’t feel confident enough to put in a pick either way. If he does, however, his decision to pass on ‘Bama will have been part of a domino effect that started with the Newell decision. That’s not to suggest Bama won’t pull it off. It’s just to say they are really up against it. I personally still think the Tide have a chance to land Reid, as neither side feels confident as we head toward Saturday’s decision. If Oats pulls it off, the snapshot of the 2024 cycle will suddenly feel a lot different.
Has NIL been a factor in the two high-profile misses? Almost certainly to some extent. It always is, but nobody knows which numbers are accurate or what any prospect was offered by a specific school. There’s too much incentive to lie to take anyone seriously.. In fact, screaming “NIL money” has become a crutch for programs after losing recruiting battles, so I’m not going to even speculate.
In the end, the Tide’s 2024 class won’t look the way Alabama fans thought it would a few months back, but there is a five-star in the fold and a real possibility that the Crimson Tide could add a second. I wouldn’t succumb to the anxiety just yet.
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I’m always skeptical of the follow-in-dad’s-footsteps narrative unless the same coach that coached dad remains in place. Despite a good effort to throw everyone off the trail, Jase Richardson, son of Jason Richardson, was always going to play for Tom Izzo. Take a look at DJ Wagner, who chose the coach that coached his father (John Calipari) over the school his dad actually attended (Memphis).
Relationships are everything in recruiting, and bonds with people matter a lot more than bonds with schools. Also, it’s probably wise to consider how many ties the Anthony family has to people all over the basketball world. Syracuse will be a player and likely a finalist. Whether or not the Orange can actually pull it off will hinge, at least partially, at how the first year of the Adrian Autry era plays out.
I believe there will have to be some positive momentum in order to convince a player like Anthony to hop on board. Prospects like him simply don’t have to buy into the promises of future success when so many other coaches will offer them tangible evidence of past accomplishments. Florida State is a player due, in part, to assistant coach Kevin Nickelberry’s relationship with Carmelo Anthony. Also, additional offers will arrive this spring. There’s a decent chance Kiyan ultimately lands at ‘Cuse, but calling it a “lock” is wildly presumptuous.