James Bucnat smiled and smiled. You wouldn’t believe it, he said.
Basketball was not his sport of choice as a young athlete.
“I was playing baseball every day,” Connecticut’s superstar guard and projected lottery pick told The Post Over Zoom. “This was my life.”
It was not until high school started playing organized basketball. It was just something he did to mess with friends. His sculptures were Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano. He dreamed of a future on the diamond.
But then his right elbow started to ache. He had severe tendinitis he could not play through. Tommy John surgery was recommended. This made him think about his future. As a freshman at La Salle Academy in Manhattan, Buonite played in intramural games and lit it up. The new coach suggested him to join the team.
The 6-foot-5 Brooklyn native said third-seeded UCinoe prepared in the Garden of this week’s Big-East tournament.
Despite leading La Salle to the Catholic Class B City Championship as a junior, Bokknight’s recruitment was mostly quiet. He had only one scholarship offer, from Siena, a result of not playing AAU basketball until that point. He considered taking it, but his mentor, Sean Hicks, suggested he discontinue. Much more Hicks felt that Booknite could do.
He took her on a trip to The McDuffie School in Granby, Mass., Where he could face top competition on a daily basis and play in front of college coaches.
“You come here,” Hicks told him, “your whole life can change.”
Bukeit opted to recoup and take his junior year at McDuffie School. He joined AAU powerhouse PSA Cardinals. He scored more than 19 points that season, and began rolling out big scholarship offers, including one from UCNO. Late in that season, however, she troubled her meniscus. Connecticut remained stable in its interest.
Husky coach Dan Hurley did not suffer an injury. While he was coaching in Rhode Island, he watched the Buchenite play on the AAU circuit, not because he felt he could field him, but because he just loved watching him play. UConn’s assistant Kimani Young recruited Buchenite when he was in Minnesota, so there was already an affair.
“At the first recruiting meeting we said, ‘That kid is a supporter. Nobody knows how good he is,'” Hurley said. “He became priority number 1 and we stayed with that child.”
The 20-year-old Buchenite had a strong freshman year at an average of 13 points per game and was named the third team in the AAC. He landed in the Big East this year to get off to a better start in the first season of UConn, scoring at least 18 points in his first five games and dropping 40 on Crayton before Jan was hurt in the left elbow. 5. Initially, it was considered a minor. But the pain did not go away and he underwent surgery. Soon after the operation, Buonite called Young, and said that he was ready to play.
Of course, this did not happen. Bukeit did not make his return until 16 February. He averaged 20 points and 5.8 rebounds in 20 matches, five of which were Husky wins.
His name has been shot in the NBA mock draft. Sports Illustrated ranked him No. 6 on the board of top prospects. 247Sports projected him to pass 10th and ESPN ranked him 11th. He is a unique talent. Bukit will often watch the game on television and use a trick he has seen shortly after a game. His background also distinguishes him, in which case he is not using any trainer, such as many top prospects or spending his youth playing AAU. His experience came in pickup games at the park. He learned by doing.
Terence “Muncha” Williams, PSA Cardinals director, said, “He is ascending, but the thing that makes him special is the opposite of what it is today.” “There are no cookie-cutters on their offensive repertoire. There is no pattern of what he does aggressively. It is never the same. “
An NBA scout familiar with Bawknight spoke about his raw ability as a three-tier scorer, his basketball IQ, and a wide variety of moves and countervoves. The scout praised his defensive competition, quick hands and knees to stay out of foul trouble. Most important, Scout added, is he easily breaks defenders, a key skill in the NBA.
Hurley, who coached NBA players JR Smith, Tristan Thompson and Lance Thomas at the high school level at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, believes he can be a borderline all-star in the CJ McCallum mold.
“When he was out, our conversation was, ‘Let’s get healthy, let’s go back there, you’re selling yourself short if you’re happy 12th or 11th,'” recalled Hurley. “You’re the one. The top-eight pick is a top-six pick. Let’s come back and make a run. ‘”
Bouknight tries to avoid draft talk, which can be challenging. It still finds her way from friends or on social media. It is not difficult to think about it.
“It’s goosebumps every time,” he said.
It is still hard for him to wrap his head around how far he has come, that people consider him a celebrity and fellow students want to take a photo with him. Their future is as bright as this week they will play in the Garden. Soon, he will be a millionaire, part of the largest league in the world. It was not long ago when he was playing baseball and starring in anonymity on the hardwood for La Salle.
“I say this all the time, where I’m mad,” Bukeit said. “The journey I had to take to get here is something different, like a movie.”
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