UConn received some good news on the recruiting front on Thursday night.

Corey Floyd, Jr., a four star guard out of Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey, committed to the Huskies on his 17th birthday, making his announcement on Twitter. He's UConn's first recruit in the Class of 2022.

The 6-foot-4 Floyd chose UConn over fellow Big East schools Providence and Villanova. His father, Corey Floyd Sr., played at Providence. He also considered Rutgers, Auburn, Miami, Wake Forest and Florida.

James Johns, Floyd's Team Final AAU coach, raved about him as a player and person. He also coached current Husky Tyrese Martin.

"Tough, smart, great kid, great family," Johns said. "Corey reminds me a lot of Tyrese because they have this quiet demeanor about them but they're competitive and it all comes out on the court. Awesome kid. Love him to death.

"I thought Dan (Hurley) would be great for him."

Floyd has the necessary skills to play both guard spots. He's extremely athletic, according to Johns. He averaged 11 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a sophomore.

While Floyd drew the interest of some high major college basketball programs, he was under-recruited, Johns said.

"You know how (James) Bouknight was not recruited at the level that he should have been, that's Corey," Johns said. "Corey had high major offers, of course, but it wasn't the crazy recruitment that he should have had. He can shoot the ball from deep and he handles the ball.

"He's so strong that we would post him up if we saw a mismatch. ... We would put him on the elbow and isolate him on one side. Literally, we had plays where we would call, 'Batman,' for Corey. ... It was a crazy thing to watch him transition into who he's become."

Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young got involved with Floyd early on in the recruiting process and gradually won him and his family over.

"Coach Hurley and Kimani were the difference," Johns said. "When they identified Corey as a recruit, they showed him love. They made sure he was a priority. Even during the pandemic, he was a priority for them. ... And he felt he was a priority and his family felt he was a priority."

Floyd could not be reached for comment but told Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog: "Just from the beginning, they showed a lot of love to me and my family. That really stood out to me, they were always in contact with us and just talking to us about things outside of basketball which also stood out. It was just the best fit for me on and off the court."

Once again, Hurley's recruiting ties in his home state of New Jersey paid off. He has a good relationship with Johns and Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff.

Johns says he trusts Hurley.

"Relationships go a long way in where you send your kids because you want to be able to trust that people are going to take care of him," Johns said. "There's a level of trust there with coach Hurley. If they offer a kid, and if it's a fit, I'm going to do anything I can to make sure coach Hurley gets him. I just trust him."

Hurley's roster is stocked with players from the Northeast. The Huskies have one player from Maryland (Brendan Adams) two from New Jersey (Jalen Gaffney, R.J. Cole), three from New York (James Bouknight, Richie Springs, Andre Jackson). Freshman Adama Sanogo, who's from Mali, attended The Patrick School in Hillside, New Jersey, and redshirt sophomore Akok Akok played at Putnam Science Academy.

His top 10 ranked incoming recruiting class next season includes guard Rahsool Diggins out of Archbishop Wood in Philadelphia, guard Jordan Hawkins from DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., and forward Samson Johnson, who attends The Patrick School.

g.keefe@theday.com