A 6'8 F/G from Impact Academy in Florida has verbally committed to WSU. He handles the ball well and has some quickness and hops His video looks good but the competition is not of the highest quality. This info is from Verbal Commits .He is originally from Slovenia
Aljaz Kunc
- Thread starter ElComanche
- Start date
This guy certainly looks like he has potential and he is a high school senior. I could not find any stats but he can drive the basket and shoot from outside. He is not showing any offers but looks like a D 1 player
All things considered after the last 3 days a pretty good prospect. Not only skill and athleticism but good length and seems to have a good feel for the game. If they can keep Elleby in the fold this looks like a solid addition.
This looks like highlights from a few years ago.
This looks like highlights from a few years ago.
The athleticism and skill set are there. The transition to D1 ball, comes down to competitive drive and his "heart". Older more physical players will test him and how he reacts will determine how good a player he will become.He may be a find and it is nice that the cougs have recruiters who are beating the bushes to find more talented players to make the cougs a better team. This guy needs to become stronger and up his play. I think that the cougs have gotten a good one. The game must go on.
Seems to have a decent skill set but I’ll hold out judgement on the athletics till I see him play against higher competition. Any D11 player would look athletic against that competition. He scored less than 2 pts a game in international play but at least he made the team which says something.
Last edited:
Agree. On my second look I couldn't wrap my head around the players around him. Looked like middle school.
I saw Quinnett once or twice in high school and he looked bored. I'm trying to think if there was anyone even close to his talent from the old Frontier League. Heytvelt if Clarkston was still in the league. Also, I'll never compare someone to Quinnett again but at least Kunc has a bit more game to him. Time will tell.
Quinnett was a man among boys playing in Cheney but he also played on a pretty good Rebels AAU team out of Spokane featuring among other notable players Wayne Tinkle and yours truly. Lol. In today’s world Quinnett would probably be considered thin but he was much thicker and more physically mature than Tinkle. I think a better comparison might be Patrick Simon when he was at Ephrata.
This guy can handle the ball and drive. He dunks when driving to the basket and shows quickness. He runs the court well and goes up to dunk off of lobs. Simon did not have much athletic ability. Simon could shoot but not do much else. I like the way he is comfortable dribbling the ball . Yes he only averaged 2 pts a game in International play in 2016. Please remember that he is a high school senior and he was probably about 16-17 years old at the time. Yes, one never knows but he does have the skill set and can elevate. I give him a good chance . The kid from UCLA who never made it is more of a comparison. I do not remember his name but he played high school ball nearby ,transferred and then committed to UCLA.
El that’s the problem with highlight clips against lower level competitors, your 100% right Simon couldn’t do those things in the PAC 12 but I witnessed him do all those things and more in summer league against far superior competition than is on that clip and I watched him do it at Ephrata on multiple occasions.
As far as the euro team I looked them up they were all the same age
As far as the euro team I looked them up they were all the same age
I watched Simon in pickup games and practices prior to the start of his fresman season. He always kind of disappeared. Never looked like he wanted the ball or felt like he belonged with the better athletes. I think he might have succeeded at the D-1 level with a little bit of Carter Skaggs attitude.
I agree, Simon didn’t seem to want to assert himself at WSU. That could very well be because he didn’t match up athletically or his personality did not allow for it. I always said if you could combine his skill with the hard nose play of his older brother you would have had a real special basketball player. I also would have liked to see what Simon could have done as a pick and pop four man under Kent.
Just as i said it comes down to heart and the competitive spirit. As I stated once, when i first played against college players,i was taken aback and shrank from the competitiveness and the physicality. A friend of mine who was further advanced than i, felt the same thing. I' ll always remember his words"they play differently than us" He quit playing even though he had better skills than i at the same point. I just made up my mind to up my game and i did play beyond my high school years. I hope this kid has the heart of a warrior like many of his European counterparts playing in colleges and the professional ranks. Those guys do not back down from anyone on the court.
He has the talent to succeed. He has height,quickness, and jumping ability. He handles the ball well, passes well. can shoot from medium and long range etc. It is a recruiting video and he does not miss a shot 
I tried to find stats but have turned up a blank so far.I will guess that Bennie Seltzer recruited him and he seems to have a good eye for talent
I tried to find stats but have turned up a blank so far.I will guess that Bennie Seltzer recruited him and he seems to have a good eye for talentI like how he moves and I like his footwork but quickness is relevant to competition. I’m trying to think of the last time a player that looked as skinny as him was successful in the PAC 12. He is worth a chance, considering the number of open scholarships we have. Plus he is a freshman which gives him 4 years to gain strength.
Interesting . i just researched him further. He has a new video out on Hudl.He does look thin. Evidently he tripped to Pullman and said that "it felt like home'. What s next t,the Gulag? Anyway,Bennie Seltzer is his main recruiter. Evidently he liked Pullman so much,he cancelled a trip to Purdue,which has had fine teams lately. So he is basically an unknown. i like the guy and feel like he will be a good player for the cougs. They need to put him on a good nutritional and weight training program I do not think that he is a "reach' but a good prospect.
There are several new videos out on Kunc now. He was playing against much better competition but still looked good. He was knocked down several times in the video but got up every time and Continued playing. That is a good thing and shows that he will not be easily intimidated. He states that he will be in Pullman this summer to start working with the strength and conditioning coach and that is also a good thing. I really like this guy s game. He is several pork chops and bench presses from being able to help the cougs as soon as next year.
If we can keep from anymore key defections, which I have no idea of, things might not be as big a dumpster fire as I thought. Kunc looks like a good pick up to go along with Elleby. Acquaah may be ready to take over the pg spot. He won't be a Flynn, but was recruited as a pg.
We need Chidum to step up enough to be a solid starter, Elleby ready to contribute, and find a backup pg.
On paper it is hard to make a case that we can be as good as with Flynn and Franks. Not going to start the year 6-0, but might be able to avoid 1-11 conference start too.
If all goes south and we do lose a couple more kids, we should eat Kent's contract and take s chance on a bargain basement up and comer.
We need Chidum to step up enough to be a solid starter, Elleby ready to contribute, and find a backup pg.
On paper it is hard to make a case that we can be as good as with Flynn and Franks. Not going to start the year 6-0, but might be able to avoid 1-11 conference start too.
If all goes south and we do lose a couple more kids, we should eat Kent's contract and take s chance on a bargain basement up and comer.
It definitely moves players into different roles. My guess is Elleby starts for sure now. I don’t see this kid helping right away but I do like his game. I was disappointed with Pollards play last year he needs to step up and Chidom showed some signs of why he was recruited both will need to be more consistent as will Aquuah and Daniels
They are recruiting a 6'3 juco guard Lopez . He was also recently offered by Wichita State and they usually win the head to head battles for good players. He is a highly sought after PG. Javon White is a 6'9 F from Oral Roberts. He is a grad transfer with two years of eligibility.He averaged 10.2 pts and 9 rbs after two years of injuries ,so there are players still out there who can help.The main weakness of Flynn was his defense. In the games where the cougs were badly beaten he gave up the middle as the opposing PG would just blow right by him When this happens a team s defense looks like crap. Maybe this won t happen next year?
Flynn biggest weakness was foot speed. The really athletic guards could take him off the dribble, forcing help from one of our bigs. This often resulted in a kick out for a wide open 3 or an easy lay in. Also explains why the zone often looked much better than man for us.
We have not had really good team speed for years. I dont think people realize that this hurts defensively a lot more than it does offensively. Acquaah and Daniels are our quickest guys, and Daniels isn't really quick for his size.
We have not had really good team speed for years. I dont think people realize that this hurts defensively a lot more than it does offensively. Acquaah and Daniels are our quickest guys, and Daniels isn't really quick for his size.
We have 10 potential players at the moment?
I think ElC may mean Ricky Torres at PG. There's Blake Hinson who would get big minutes at forward with us in his top 5. Unlikely but maybe they can get a visit. The pogo stick Marvin Cannon. We definitely need a big that can help.
Hopefully they can keep the rest in the fold.
- Acquaah
- Daniels
- Chidom
- Skaggs
- Hinson
- Pollard
- Cooper
- Elleby
- Wade
- Kunc
I think ElC may mean Ricky Torres at PG. There's Blake Hinson who would get big minutes at forward with us in his top 5. Unlikely but maybe they can get a visit. The pogo stick Marvin Cannon. We definitely need a big that can help.
Hopefully they can keep the rest in the fold.
I saw Pollard as a solid rotation forward and still do. I wondered later in the season whether health was an issue.
Yes i am talking about Ricky Torres.. Marvin Cannon is another possibility. He recently scored 36 pts against Indian Hills Juco ,then the top rated juco team in the nation in a big upset. He has three years of eligibility left.Pollard was an enigma at the end of the season. He has solid skills and should have played more.
Pollard was hurt most of the year. Mostly shoulder issues. Maybe he's injury prone. Was hurt a lot last year too.
Hopefully he can come back strong next year. he was the best interior defensive player when he was healthy
Similar threads
