UConn Men's Basketball: Interesting Prospect Pays Visit to Storrs

Could Wisconsin's loss be a gain for Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies ?

Storrs Central reported that Jack Thelen, a 7-foot-1 center in the Class of 2027, was on campus Thursday for an official visit . He is a four-star prospect from Maple Grove, Minn.

Power-conference schools did not join the pursuit of Thelen until June 10, when Wisconsin made an offer, Until then, his scholarship offers had come from Miami (Ohio), Montana and Murray State, and he jumped at the chance to play for the Badgers in the power-conference Big Ten.

He accepted the offer on June 13 and made a verbal commitment.

Four months later, on Oct. 14, he decommitted.

Over the summer, Thelen played for D1 Minnesota on the Adidas 3SSB circuit and averaged 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Those numbers, achieved against some of the best high school players in the nation, are far from overwhelming. Still, Hurley or his staff likely saw a real potential in the 240-pound left-hander.

There is no public record of UConn having made him an offer yet.

The 247Sports composite ranking has Thelen as the No. 15 center in the class, the No. 1 player in Minnesota and the No. 110 player in the nation.

Adam Finkelstein, the director of scouting at 247Sports , said Thelen is a physical post player with "real size" and a "competitive streak." Based on Finkelstein's review, Thelen's play is fiercer on the defensive end and he isn't looking to score first, although he can shoot. He shot 57% from the field and 81.8% from the foul line.

Nigeria native Lewis Uvwo did not begin playing basketball until age 15 – three years ago. And it was a meteoric rise, with the help of NBA Africa, and he moved to the United States last season to play at Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

On Wednesday, the 6-foot-11, 225-pound Uvwo committed to UConn's Big East rival, Providence. He also took official visits at Cal, Baylor and Kentucky . If Uvwo turns out to be as good as advertised, the Huskies and the rest of the Big East will need top-flight center play.

The centers currently on the Huskies roster all are sophomore transfers. They are Na'jai Hines, a 6-11, 265-pound player from Seton Hall; Oskar Giltay (6-11, 242 pounds), a Stanford transfer from Belgium; and Elmir Dzafic (7 feet, 275), who transferred from Arkansas.

Dzafic is a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Uvwo became the highest-ranked recruit in Providence history, ahead of Ricky Ledo and Kris Dunn, both in the 2012 class.