DeAndre Daniels to UConn; Andre Walker's future effected?

Finally, we know where DeAndre Daniels will be heading to school.

Probably.

Tuesday afternoon, Daniels committed to the Huskies, ending a recruitment that, frankly, had grown tiresome. At different points during Daniels' five years in high school, he was committed to or reportedly close to committing to Texas, Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke -- as well as toying with the idea of enrolling in college back in December -- but it wasn't until recently that it became apparent that the Huskies were involved with the athletic, 6'7" forward from IMG Academy in Florida.



There is no question about Daniels' talent. According to our consensus recruiting rankings, he's the 18th best recruit in the country, cracking the top ten according to Rivals. But that doesn't mean that he is guaranteed to be a superstar. Its already a week into June. The signing period ended on May 18th. If Daniels took this long to decide on where he was going to commit to play his college ball, why is it a guarantee that he is going to commit himself to playing hard and within a team framework for the Huskies?

Oh, and then there is this from Scout.com's Evan Daniels (no relation, obviously): "Per a source, the plan is for Daniels to sign a financial aid agreement at some point in the next week." I'll wait to see Daniels in a UConn jersey before I consider this a certainty.

Without Daniels, UConn was already a top ten caliber team. They return essentially their entire team -- minus Kemba Walker -- while adding a four-star freshmen point guard in Ryan Boatright. While the loss of Kemba obviously hurts, rising sophomores Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb and rising junior Alex Oriakhi should be poised for breakout seasons. Daniels will likely fill the role vacated by Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel's decision to transfer, meaning that UConn will have quite a versatile lineup next season. If they want to go big, Daniels and Roscoe Smith can surround Oriakhi with Lamb playing the two. If they want to go small, Lamb can slide to the three with Napier and Boatright in the back court.

If Daniels does actually join the Huskies, it should put to bed any remaining talk of Jim Calhoun retiring. He's got a team that will compete for the Big East crown, he just landed the most-talented remaining player in the class of 2011, and its after Memorial Day and he's still the head coach.

Calhoun's coming back.

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One thing to keep in mind with Daniels' decision is the future of Vanderbilt's Andre Walker.

Walker, who averaged 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, and 2.6 apg for the Commodores this past season, has graduated with a year's eligibility remaining -- he redshirted in 2008-2009 after tearing his acl. Walker can transfer as a graduate student without having to sit out a season. The schools on his list include Northwestern, Xavier, Wichita State, and Kansas.

That's the same Kansas that was in the mix for DeAndre Daniels up until, well, Tuesday afternoon. Might Bill Self take a risk on a veteran forward for a year before trying to land Kansas native and top 20 recruit in the class of 2012 Perry Ellis?