A'ja commitment thread [merged]

[bruinbball]

Couple of things - RE: Morgan, I watched her play Ben Davis (Indianapolis, IN) her freshman year. Ben Davis went on to be the mythical national champion that year. IIRC, Morgan has 17 points, her team had 28 total and lost 42-28. I was also able to see Morgan play against Kelly's team as Bolingbrook beat them by 4 in Kelly's only loss her senior year. Morgan was an outstanding freshman and her frame was college ready then. That team also had something like 7 or 8 players that went to play D1 basketball including Massengale to UT. They were not hurting for talent, but even then Morgan was the best player on that team. I hope she stays healthy - she is a monster (in a great way for UConn).

RE A'ja - I have not seen anyone else post anything about this or maybe I am missing it. Several times A'ja has referred to taking her time to see what happened and how people reacted and what they said throughout the season. By this, do you think she was referring to Geno's stating that he preferred players and UConn was a haven for players that didn't need the dog and pony show regarding their commitment? Just my thoughts, but I thought that may have been a telling statement from her. I assume she would have chosen USC anyway, but I feel that gap could have been made closer without those statements.

However, I do agree that Geno is right and UConn does not need those kind of players. It is easier to get a selfless person to buy into a team concept and a lot of those players already want to come to UConn. I am also not saying Ms. Wilson is not a selfless person, but the article regarding the recruiting process like it was very thought out by her family and they made the best decision for her. But neglecting the comments where they compared rosters and potential playing time does have some 'me' factor to it.

 

[doggydaddy]

UConn has never won the title without a national player of the year on its roster. Ms Stewart's most recent accolades take care of last year, this year, and will cover the possibility of the next two years.
UConn has never been to a Final Four without an active first team All American.

Not taking anything away from Coach Auriemma, he is an outstanding coach. But like many who would like to see Tiger Woods win a major championship from off the lead, I would like to see more of the magic Coach Auriemma produced in 2006, IMO his best coaching performance, when UConn almost upset Duke to get to the Final Four.

Stewart was National Player of the Year this year. But when Uconn won last year, she wasn't and didn't play like one. I'm pretty sure Griner swept the award last year.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Stewart was National Player of the Year this year. But when Uconn won last year, she wasn't. I'm pretty sure Griner swept the award last year.

I think his point was that they have never won without a #1 or player that won NPOY during their career.

 

[doggydaddy]

I think his point was that they have never won without a #1 or player that won NPOY during their career.

I know what his point was. I didn't see him mention #1 player.

They didn't have a POY on that roster. Winning it the next season doesn't count.

 

[meyers7]

Stewart was National Player of the Year this year. But when Uconn won last year, she wasn't and didn't play like one. I'm pretty sure Griner swept the award last year.

We didn't have one in 2000 either. (at least that year)

 

[doggydaddy]

We didn't have one in 2000 either. (at least that year)

I bet there are seasons where Geno didn't win WITH a POY on the team. Moore's senior year is one.

 

[meyers7]

I bet there are seasons where Geno didn't win WITH a POY on the team. Moore's senior year is one.

1996 Rizzotti, 1997 Wolters.

 

[UcMiami]

UConn has never won the title without a national player of the year on its roster. Ms Stewart's most recent accolades take care of last year, this year, and will cover the possibility of the next two years.
UConn has never been to a Final Four without an active first team All American.

Not taking anything away from Coach Auriemma, he is an outstanding coach. But like many who would like to see Tiger Woods win a major championship from off the lead, I would like to see more of the magic Coach Auriemma produced in 2006, IMO his best coaching performance, when UConn almost upset Duke to get to the Final Four.

I do think the sign of Geno and the staff's greatness is not in NCs (doesn't hurt) but in the transformation of raw material into AAs and NPOYs and in the continued longevity after they leave college of both the AAs and the players that never were AAs. And the streaks. Baylor took an undefeated 40-0 team into 2012-3 season that was unchanged and proceeded to lose two games they shouldn't have - one early and one late. Being undefeated even with the best team is very hard to do, and Uconn has done it 3 5 times. If they win the first 9 games next year they will own the 3 longest winning streaks in NCAA history. If they win the first 24 games they will tie the 2002-3 streak for second. And if they were to go undefeated next year they would be around 5 games short of a streak that everyone said would never be matched again.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Bringing the thread back to topic: Some weeks before the A,ja watch was over I tried to get a handle on her skills. Very little video was on line then. What I saw was a kid with good skills though her dribble form looked like a picnic basket for MoJeff and foot speed that was nothing special. I can also see why she did not like to mix it up inside. She has some muscling up to do. In short, like almost all freshman, she has some substantial work to do.

 

[Icebear]

3 times? I thought UCONN was undefeated 5 times. Or is there a subtlety in the wording that I am missing.

 

[Kevin G]

Congrats to A'ja & USC. I wish her the best but..............if they play UCONN i hope we crush them

 

[UcMiami]

Just to clear the air on 'dog and pony shows' otherwise know as signing ceremonies - we have had great players that had them and great players that did not. Generally it is the prep or HS that puts them together because it is great publicity for them locally and it is a way to honor their seniors, not unlike college 'senior nights'. When a high profile recruit does not follow the herd and delays a decision to the normal signing period instead of the 'early' signing period it becomes more national in nature. The only time that I am displeased with the timing is when a player decides to take over another national event - choosing to announce during the FF or during one of the all-star games seems to be stealing attention away from others. In the pros - that is really frowned upon and the commish of whatever league tries to put a 'black-out' on news releases unrelated to championship series.
A'ja chose a day that was special for her and her family not in conflict with anything else. It was national news as she was ranked #1, and her school and more importantly ESPN wanted to make a production out of it.
In general, for a sport trying to gain a national audience and a bigger slice of the pie, good news and attention to that news should be a cause for rejoicing and not a 'stigma' to be attached to a player.
Example: You can like or dislike BG and dunking in the women's game, but remember that everyone of her dunks got media play that would not have been given if she made a layup.

 

[UcMiami]

3 times? I thought UCONN was undefeated 5 times. Or is there a subtlety in the wording that I am missing.

Corrected - typo of course!

 

[bruinbball]

Just to clear the air on 'dog and pony shows' otherwise know as signing ceremonies - we have had great players that had them and great players that did not. Generally it is the prep or HS that puts them together because it is great publicity for them locally and it is a way to honor their seniors, not unlike college 'senior nights'. When a high profile recruit does not follow the herd and delays a decision to the normal signing period instead of the 'early' signing period it becomes more national in nature. The only time that I am displeased with the timing is when a player decides to take over another national event - choosing to announce during the FF or during one of the all-star games seems to be stealing attention away from others. In the pros - that is really frowned upon and the commish of whatever league tries to put a 'black-out' on news releases unrelated to championship series.
A'ja chose a day that was special for her and her family not in conflict with anything else. It was national news as she was ranked #1, and her school and more importantly ESPN wanted to make a production out of it.
In general, for a sport trying to gain a national audience and a bigger slice of the pie, good news and attention to that news should be a cause for rejoicing and not a 'stigma' to be attached to a player.
Example: You can like or dislike BG and dunking in the women's game, but remember that everyone of her dunks got media play that would not have been given if she made a layup.

I get that. I remember watching Erica McCall's jersey change video when she chose Stanford, and watching Kiah choose UConn. Yes, it is good for the school, the student, the local newspapers, family, friends, the fans and the sport to get attention. But my question was not actually regarding the event itself, but Geno saying it was not needed to come to UConn that deterred or soured A'ja on her feelings towards Geno/UConn?

I'm a 36 year old married man that enjoys girl's/women's basketball in an area that is not dominated by local team that gets attention. I have dated a D1 player that did play a year in the WNBA. I get it. Any positive attention for the sport is good, and sometimes the not so good press is also good for it as well. I have a lot of friends that might not normally watch a woman's game, but now do because they know I will talk to them about it. I support and love the game, and quite honestly, I could care less if my daughter (2 1/2) ever plays, but if she loves the game, I will encourage her.

 

[UcMiami]

I get that. I remember watching Erica McCall's jersey change video when she chose Stanford, and watching Kiah choose UConn. Yes, it is good for the school, the student, the local newspapers, family, friends, the fans and the sport to get attention. But my question was not actually regarding the event itself, but Geno saying it was not needed to come to UConn that deterred or soured A'ja on her feelings towards Geno/UConn?

I'm a 36 year old married man that enjoys girl's/women's basketball in an area that is not dominated by local team that gets attention. I have dated a D1 player that did play a year in the WNBA. I get it. Any positive attention for the sport is good, and sometimes the not so good press is also good for it as well. I have a lot of friends that might not normally watch a woman's game, but now do because they know I will talk to them about it. I support and love the game, and quite honestly, I could care less if my daughter (2 1/2) ever plays, but if she loves the game, I will encourage her.

I was not specifically responding to your post but the general tenor of some comments. I don't actually think Uconn was in the running by that point in any serious way, and don't think those comments had an effect - if they did, then I lose a little respect for the Wilson family's process. But I think you raised a legit question and I doubt we ever know.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Couple of things - RE: Morgan, I watched her play Ben Davis (Indianapolis, IN) her freshman year. Ben Davis went on to be the mythical national champion that year. IIRC, Morgan has 17 points, her team had 28 total and lost 42-28. I was also able to see Morgan play against Kelly's team as Bolingbrook beat them by 4 in Kelly's only loss her senior year. Morgan was an outstanding freshman and her frame was college ready then. That team also had something like 7 or 8 players that went to play D1 basketball including Massengale to UT. They were not hurting for talent, but even then Morgan was the best player on that team. I hope she stays healthy - she is a monster (in a great way for UConn).

RE A'ja - I have not seen anyone else post anything about this or maybe I am missing it. Several times A'ja has referred to taking her time to see what happened and how people reacted and what they said throughout the season. By this, do you think she was referring to Geno's stating that he preferred players and UConn was a haven for players that didn't need the dog and pony show regarding their commitment? Just my thoughts, but I thought that may have been a telling statement from her. I assume she would have chosen USC anyway, but I feel that gap could have been made closer without those statements.

However, I do agree that Geno is right and UConn does not need those kind of players. It is easier to get a selfless person to buy into a team concept and a lot of those players already want to come to UConn. I am also not saying Ms. Wilson is not a selfless person, but the article regarding the recruiting process like it was very thought out by her family and they made the best decision for her. But neglecting the comments where they compared rosters and potential playing time does have some 'me' factor to it.

If your last paragraph, specifically the last couple of lines, is true she would have been unhappy at UConn anyway. Examining the roster for the path of least resistance to playing time is not a good sign given the way Geno doles out playing time.

 

[rvwsleep]

Hey, me too. Born in Paterson.

Home of Lou Costello

 

[bruinbball]

If your last paragraph, specifically the last couple of lines, is true she would have been unhappy at UConn anyway. Examining the roster for the path of least resistance to playing time is not a good sign given the way Geno doles out playing time.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-comme...-high-school-girls-basketball-prospect-nation

"I'm a methodical person," Eva Wilson said. "So I put down different categories on each college such as location, whether they offered the major A'ja wanted, what their roster looked like, and how A'ja would fit in on the depth chart."

 

[HuskyPhan]

I disagree totally. Great recruits almost always make great, at least very good players. And, most of all, great players make great coaches.

I think you will find that Duke and Tennessee have recently had many, many great high school recruits and they have not transformed their coaches into great coaches.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Stewart was National Player of the Year this year. But when Uconn won last year, she wasn't and didn't play like one. I'm pretty sure Griner swept the award last year.

I'm not really sure Kerry Bascom was an All-American when Geno took the 1991 team to the Final Four. I'm inclined to think she probably didn't get enough notoriety considering UConn was probably only considered a "regional program" at that time. Does anyone have any info on whether she did make All-American?

 

[Buzzyboy]

I disagree totally. Great recruits almost always make great, at least very good players. And, most of all, great players make great coaches.

I think that's silly! Are you saying Geno was chopped liver until he got Rebecca Lobo and Kara Walters and won the National Championship in 1995? I would say that he was a great coach to take the players he had in the late 80's and make them into a highly competitive bunch, then when he recruited Kerry Bascom who was indeed outstanding, he got them to a Final Four. By the way, I'm inclined to think that Kerry Bascom was not an All-American during her UConn career. In any case he made decent players good, he made good players better and he made outstanding players great. It doesn't work for everyone but he's typically gotten players to play better than they ever thought they could, by pushing them past the limitations that they had set for themselves. When you can bring out the best in a multitude of players, then you qualify as a great coach. Duke and Tennessee and most other teams have had outstanding teams that continually underachieved. How many teams do you think UConn has had that have underachieved? I would say NADA! With conditioning, practices and mental challenges, Geno's teams are pretty much prepared for all challenges and that speaks to Geno and Chris and his staff. If you gave Geno the recruit CCSU has had over the last four years I know that he wouldn't have won the championship this year but wouldn't you be inclined to think that they would have probably been more successful. Part of UConn's success is that he finds talent and by that I'm not talking about physical abilities alone but the type person who he feels can learn and evolve and is willing to do the work necessary to make her and HER TEAMMATES more successful. Some people recruit solely on how many points, how many rebounds, how many steals and though they are important, Geno looks longer and more DEEPLY to find someone who can do those things but more importantly play the type of game he wants to play. Stef didn't have the world coming after her when she was a high school senior but Geno saw things in her that a lot of other coaches overlooked and look what she's meant to this program. Amazing!

 

[JellyBean]

Great move. South Carolina is an up and coming program an adding this young lady is going to just add to South Carolina's upward move. Plus she has a great coach to help guide her.

 

[Wally East]

I'm not really sure Kerry Bascom was an All-American when Geno took the 1991 team to the Final Four. I'm inclined to think she probably didn't get enough notoriety considering UConn was probably only considered a "regional program" at that time. Does anyone have any info on whether she did make All-American?

I am sure. She was a 1st team Kodak All-American in '91. Check her Wikipedia page

(I can see some of you rolling your eyes at "Wikipedia," so, here's her bio page from the CT Women's Basketball HOF.)

 

[VAUConnFan]

Stewart was National Player of the Year this year. But when Uconn won last year, she wasn't and didn't play like one. I'm pretty sure Griner swept the award last year.

But, that is not my point. I did not state that it had to be a current player of the year, just that a national player of the year was on the roster and a significant contributor as was the case also in 2000. Still, it says a lot that UConn won seven of its nine championships with a current national player of the year on its roster.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I think you will find that Duke and Tennessee have recently had many, many great high school recruits and they have not transformed their coaches into great coaches.

Obviously, then, they were either not great recruits and/or they were a tad bit overrated. Were there any Number 1 recruits among those to whom you refer at Duke and Tennessee? Parker and Holdsclaw were definitely Number 1s. And I do not believe any program other than UConn has had two Number 1s on an active roster. Certainly not back to back.