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I caught up with 6-foot-6 swingman Daniel Hamilton, the first recruit in UConn’s 2014 class. Some highlights:

*On deciding so early: “I already knew what school I was going to go to. A lot of coaches will call you and text you and I just wanted to get it over with early and be free.”

*On relationship with Kevin Ollie: “I’ve known him since about 9^th grade at Crenshaw, that’s when he first started recruiting me and (my brother) Isaac. He just continued to key in on me even though Isaac committed (to UTEP), he continued to recruit me.”

“Ollie is a well-known guy, a lot of people knew him (at Crenshaw) and a lot of people looked up to him.”

*On his decision: ” I told (Ollie) the day I got home from my visit. I got home on Sunday, but Monday I told him I was going to call him. I  thought about it on the plane, talked it over with my parents and I called him and told him I was coming. I waited until Friday to tell the media.”

*On playing weaker competition in AAC: “At the end of the day UConn is going to end up playing some big-time schools non conference. Once you get to the NCAA tournament, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, you have to go out and perform.”

Other schools heavily recruiting Hamilton included Texas El-Paso (his brother, Isaac, is an incoming freshman), Colorado, USC, Arizona and Arizona State. He”s rated as a top 30 prospect in the 2014 class.

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A month after securing a commitment from N.C. State transfer Rodney Purvis, Kevin Ollie has landed another big piece in his 2014 class.

Highly-touted shooting guard Daniel Hamilton committed to UConn Friday night, according to a tweet from FoxSports recruiting analyst Evan Daniels.

A lanky 6-foot-6 wing, Hamilton has a well-polished perimeter game, as evidenced by his 14.5 points, 7.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game this past season. He’s made rapid improvement in the past year, according to his Scout.com report, and is considered a top 30 prospect by Rivals.com and ESPN. He chose UConn over USC, UTEP, Louisville and others.

“Daniel was comfortable with Los Angeles native Kevin Ollie and the freedom he gives his perimeter players,” his AAU coach Dinos Trigonis told Scout.com. “Ollie’s NBA experience and connections were a plus too.”

Hamilton, who plays at St. John Bosco in Los Angeles, is the younger brother of Jordan Hamilton (Denver Nuggets) and Isaac Hamilton (incoming freshman at UTEP). Ollie also recruited Isaac Hamilton, considered one of the top scorers in the 2013 class.

“He recruited me and Isaac at Crenshaw,” Daniel Hamilton told ESPN’s Dave Telep. “When Isaac committed he never stopped. A lot of the coaches that recruited Isaac stopped recruiting me.

“It’s an up-and-coming program,” Hamilton continued. “Me and Coach Ollie have a great relationship. I knew him before he got the job there. It’s an opportunity for me to come in and step in and do some damage.”

When you couple his commitment with Purvis’ transfer, it appears Ollie has been able to work past the conference realignment dilemma to secure some serious talent. That’s a big deal for UConn.

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An update on UConn’s recruiting targets in 2013 and 2014:

2013

Kendal Harris, PG, Richardson, Tex. – It’s no guarantee that Harris,  a former USC commit, ends up choosing a new school. According to Jerry Meyer of 24/7 sports, Harris will wait to see who the Trojans hire as Kevin O’Neill’s replacement before making a decision. The 6-foot-4 Harris, considered the No. 2 available point guard by Scout.com, has been contacted by UConn, Texas, Texas A&M, Miami, Missouri, Providence, Xavier, Baylor, Auburn, Texas Tech, Arizona St., LSU, Virginia, Oregon, Houston, Creighton, Washington State and TCU, according to Meyer. Expect UConn to make a strong push here. The Huskies need to add one more guard in the event that either Ryan Boatright or Shabazz Napier goes pro.

Travis Jorgenson, PG, Columbia, Mo. — After decommitting from Missouri, Jorgenson has reopened his recruitment. The 6-foot guard is considered a premier ballhandler and playmaker. He plays his high school ball with Noah Vonleh, an Indiana commit who was heavily pursued by UConn.

2014

There are a good number of prospects that UConn has targeted: Kevin Ollie was recently in Chicago to check out Jahlil Okafor, the No. 1 center in the class. He’s also watched Leron Black, a Baylor decommit. The Boston duo of Abdul Malik Abu and Jared Terrell is a possibility, as is California wing Shaqquan Aaron. Here’s a look at the recent exploits of some other 2014 targets.

Paschal Chukwu, C, Fairfield, Conn. — The 7-footer scored 16 points, grabbed 13 boards and swatted six shots to propel No. 2 Fairfield Prep to a 57-52 win at No. 1 Hillhouse Tuesday night. Ollie has watched Chukwu on several occasions this winter.

Ahmed Hill, G, Augusta, Ga. – Among the nation’s top shooting guards, the bouncy 6-foot-5 Hill cracked the 2,000 point barrier Tuesday. The scary thing: He still has one year left.

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Former USC commit Kendal Harris was recently released from scholarship, and UConn was among the many schools to make contact, according to Joey Natale of Coast 2 Coast Hoops.

Harris, a 6-foot-4 point guard and one of the few remaining top 100 recruits in the 2013 class, de-commited from USC following the firing of coach Kevin O’Neill. A versatile 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard from Richardson, Tex., Harris also heard from Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Auburn, San Diego St, Virginia, TCU,Texas Tech and Creighton, Coast 2 Coast Hoops reported.

UConn, unsure if either Shabazz Napier or Ryan Boatright (or both) will go pro, is in the market for another guard in 2013. Right now, the Huskies have received commitments from Kentan Facey (6-foot-9 forward), Terrence Samuel (6-foot-4 guard) and Amida Brimah (6-foot-11 center).

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Jordan Fuchs, a highly-touted two-sport star from Christ the King (New York), committed to play football at UConn Monday, according to The New York Post’s Zach Braziller.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Fuchs, who played high school basketball with Omar Calhoun and AAU with UConn commits Terrence Samuel and Kentan Facey, indicated that he could try both sports in college.

“Not during my first year but most likely my second or third year,” Fuchs said.

If that’s the case, Fuchs’ athletic scholarship would only count for football.

Of course, the idea of playing two sports sounds great in theory, but only a few high-major athletes have been able to pull it off. Fuchs, recruited as a tight end, would need permission from Paul Pasqualoni — and interest from Kevin Ollie — to become a dual-sport athlete.

The latter seems logical. Fuchs figures to add 20-25 pounds over the course of his career, and Ollie’s squad needs some muscle on the low-block. Incoming freshmen Kentan Facey and Amida Brimah are extremely long, yet fairly lean.

UConn basketball coaches were not recruiting Fuchs. He listed Iowa State and a host of mid-majors as schools that expressed interest for basketball.

“My coach told me a bunch of schools laid off me because they weren’t sure which way I would go sport-wise,” Fuchs added.

You can learn more about Fuchs in Braziller’s New York Post feature. A few of the highlights:

*With his size and speed, Fuchs is projected as a hybrid tight end, like the Patriots duo of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, assistant coach Willie Poole said. A former NFL cornerback and USC graduate, Poole would know.

*“His first year on the football field he led the CHSFL in touchdown receptions and in basketball he’s averaging a double-double for one of the best high school teams in the country,” new football coach Tyree Allison said. “He’s the high school version of Bo Jackson.”

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Amida Brimah, the latest post player targeted by UConn, is currently on the Storrs campus and will be present for Monday night’s game versus third-ranked Louisville, according to his high school coach, Juan Hernandez.

Brimah is a wiry 6-foot-11 center with a 7-foot-6 wingspan. While somewhat raw offensively, he runs the floor well and has the length, athleticism and timing to become an imposing defensive presence.

A senior at Archbishop Carroll High (Miami), Brimah recently posted 28 points and 22 rebounds in a single game. He is not ranked in the Rivals150 or Scout100, but Brimah — an athletic specimen with immense upside — is picking up attention nationwide. Hernandez said Villanova and St. Louis, among others, have recently expressed interest.

Brimah has already visited LaSalle and South Carolina and has two remaining visits that he “may or may not take,” Hernandez said. The Archbishop Carroll coach noted that Brimah also has an offer from Florida International.