Recruiting losses tend to elicit more reaction from a college basketball fan base than victories.

So when elite prospect Diamond Stone picked Maryland over UConn in late March, unhappy Husky fans flooded message boards and the Twitterverse to express their disappointment. To them, it was just another in a long line of narrow misses.

Meanwhile, coach Kevin Ollie quickly moved on. Never did he lose faith in his recruiting philosophy.

Ollie continued to build relationships with his prime targets while selling the UConn men's basketball program.

The end result was a very successful recruiting run during which Ollie scored some major victories. He secured commitments from two talented graduate transfers, a promising undergraduate transfer and two rising recruits in the Class of 2016.

All the good news came in a span of about two and a half months.

"We've done some good things," Ollie said recently. "We're not Kentucky. People want us to be Kentucky. We're not just going to get all All-Americans. We have to continue to establish relationships and pick the right people.

"I'm not a big guy for poring over and looking at who's the top person. They've got the name but I want guys to fit our style and who have a game that's going to allow us to be better."

During the recruiting process, Ollie maps out a game plan with his assistants so that they're all on the same page. He's fortunate to have two former head coaches and veteran recruiters in Glen Miller and Karl Hobbs on his staff.

Evaluation is a vital piece of the formula.

Ollie values versatility, play-making skills, unselfishness and a competitive spirit. He doesn't get wrapped up in positions.

"I think we are great evaluators and we know exactly what we want," Ollie said. "I make our coaching staff know each and every day exactly what I want. ... It's not just me saying, 'this is what I want.' I listen and take suggestions. At the end of the day, I've got to make decisions who we're ultimately going to bring in."

It's hard to argue with his decisions in recent months.

UConn significantly improved with the addition of guard Sterling Gibbs and forward Shonn Miller, who came to Storrs after graduating from Seton Hall and Cornell, respectively. They both bring scoring punch and a valuable dose of experience, two prime areas of need.

Just as important, they appear to be a good fit. It took only a few short weeks after arriving on campus this summer for them to bond with their new teammates.

Graduate transfers are relatively new to the recruiting scene. For the 2012-13 season, UConn brought  in Holy Cross graduate R.J. Evans of Salem to provide some veteran leadership. George Washington transfer Lasan Kromah was a vital contributor off the bench during the 2013-14 national championship season.

"You're always looking at that as recruiting evolves," Ollie said of graduate transfers. "Back in the day, we didn't have 600 transfers a year. It's a big part of recruiting right now. You've got to look at that part and evaluate that, too, very seriously. I don't remember fifth-year seniors back when I was playing.

"... Now it's something that you can get a high quality player with a lot of experience and he doesn't have to sit out. You have to look at that also. We just evaluated our team and evaluated what we need going into next season and where we kind of fell short last season. We really tried to identify those points and try to make those better. I think with our recruiting class, we've done that."

UConn's recruiting success stories also include Virginia Commonwealth University transfer Terry Larrier, who's sitting out this season, and highly-rated guard Alterique Gilbert and athletic forward Mamadou Diarra of Putnam Science Academy, two Class of 2016 recruits.

Ollie is already raving about Larrier, who quickly formed a fast friendship with sophomore Daniel Hamilton.

"He is so good," Ollie said. "He's long, athletic, and can shoot the ball. He runs the court and he's great person to be around. His teammates love him. I think he's going to take the challenge of being a redshirt, using this transfer year to sit out, as a challenge to Daniel and also a challenge to himself. Those guys are best friends but you wouldn't even know it when you get them between the lines."

Of course, there's no end to recruiting season.

July is an important month to evaluate players. Ollie and his coaching staff will be traveling around the country to various AAU tournaments.

Ollie, whose NBA background is a plus on the recruiting trail, won't rest on his recent success. He's looking to add to his talent pool that also includes Jalen Adams and Steve Enoch, two freshmen with bright futures.

"We've got some nice momentum," Ollie said. "A lot of people didn't know what we were doing. That's a good thing. I do like to move under the radar and surprise some people. I think we did a good job. A lot of people may have been disappointed with not getting Diamond (Stone) and not getting such and such.

"As a coaching staff, we have to have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D to get things done. I think I have some great people around me that allow me to be successful and make this program successful. Recruiting is going well. We've got to continue to build the momentum."

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe