UConn Must Focus Energy on Recruiting Top Prospect Nerlens Noel

With college football's national signing day now behind us, the focus will turn to college basketball, where there is still a lot of recruiting to do.

There has been a lot of anticipation nationwide about where the three remaining 5-star recruits will go (according to ESPN): Shabazz Muhammad (No. 1 SF, Las Vegas), Anthony Bennett (No. 1 PF, Brampton, Ont., CAN) and Amile Jefferson (No. 4 PF, Philadelphia). However, the battle among some schools for the three top recruits just became a battle for the top four.

Nerlens Noel, a 6'10" center from Everett, Mass., has reclassified and will graduate from the Tilton School (NH) this spring in order to enroll at the school of his choice in the fall, according to an ESPN Boston report Wednesday.

The reclassification makes Noel, who was fighting with Jabari Parker, a highly sought-after small forward from Chicago, for the top spot in the class of 2013. According to ESPNU, he is now the top player in the class of 2012, ahead of Muhammad.

This is big news for the University of Connecticut. The defending Big East and national champions have been struggling severely in recent weeks and are in free fall. One of the big problems has been the play of the big men under the hoop.

Watching the UConn big men lately has been like watching Kyle Williams fumble twice in the NFC Championship game, costing the 49ers a chance at the Super Bowl. UConn are unable to handle the basketball, they're struggling to block shots, and they've even had trouble scoring.

Normally, the one thing that gives UConn fans headaches about the big men is a common UConn basketball player trait—they can't hit free throws.

While this is also true, the other characteristics are uncommon at UConn, and Jim Calhoun's team is in trouble.

In no way should anyone give up on this season. Everyone should have expected there to be growing pains post-Kemba Walker. It was a young team last year, and one can argue that the team is even younger this year, as no one has stepped up to be the leader of the team.

Freshman guard Ryan Boatright is as close to being Kemba as there is on the team right now, but he has seen very little court time this season, having missed a total of nine games while the NCAA investigated him and his mother.

That said, the focus on the future is essential. The team on paper looking toward next season is strong. Jeremy Lamb, as dreadfully awful as he is playing right now, is likely NBA-bound, but UConn have already acquired their first recruit for next season. Omar Calhoun, the 52nd-ranked player in the Class of 2012, committed last summer.

Andre Drummond has reiterated time and again that he plans on returning to UConn next season rather then make the one-and-done jump that almost everybody expected of him after his last-minute decision to enroll at UConn this past fall.

Things could get sticky with UConn's scholarship situation due to the Nate Miles scandal and the Academic Performance Rating, but getting Noel to Storrs has to be priority. As mentioned above, the team looks good next year on paper, but the big men have looked extremely poor all season, and there needs to be a revitalization.

Noel and Drummond playing in the same frontcourt could be something special. Like many people talked about Lamb and Napier being a dynamic one-two punch in the backcourt going into this season, the two big men could bring UConn fans back to the days when the sight of a giant wearing a UConn jersey made a top guard cringe.

Such a sight can be found when looking back to the 2004 national championship team. You know you're team is really good when Hilton Armstrong is coming off the bench because your 4 and 5 are Josh Boone and National Player of the Year Emeka Okafor.

After Noel, Amile Jefferson should be the next target. If he can develop a jump shot, at 6'7" he could become a top forward.

UConn also has offers out to Sam Cassell Jr. (according to the player's Twitter), the son of the former NBA guard, and Christopher Obepka (No. 11 C, Centereach, N.Y.). The idea of getting all four is nice but most likely that won't happen. The scholarship reduction has UConn in a bind.

However, there is the possibility that a player like Cassell, who isn't bad off being the son of a former NBA All Star and three-time champion, could possibly pull an Andre Drummond and play as a walk-on until the scholarships are back, but it's a difficult process ahead.

No matter what happens, a big man needs to be priority with Calhoun already committed. If UConn could get the top recruit in the nation for a second straight season, that would be a big boost for a struggling team.