alexrgct
RIP, Alex
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It must be the hair when it comes to Moriah Jefferson…but we’ll get to that later.
Simply put, Moriah was a groundbreaking recruit at UConn. She was coveted by every college coach in WCBB. Her handle, her speed, her versatility, and her leadership, all made her the most highly-regarded point guard prospect in the history of the women’s game. Of course, that wasn’t entirely the point. Sure, she was a tremendous prospect, but she was home-schooled and from Texas. There was no precedent for a Texas girl committing to Geno and UConn. Take Moriah from Glenn Heights and bring her to Storrs? How would she want to go to college more than 1,700 miles from her family? Wouldn’t the weather be a shock to the system? Would the transition from home-schooling to college academics be manageable? Finally, could she make the transition from the home-schooled league for girls’ ball to the NCAA, even if her THESA squad played against public high school teams on occasion?
In short, if she committed to UConn, would everything work out for her?
Well, in late April 2011, she did commit to UConn. Breanna Stewart was the #1 prospect of 2012, and Moriah was #2. It was almost unheard of for one program to land the top two prospects of one class. Maybe Moriah was taking a big chance with her commitment to UConn, and maybe Geno was taking a chance by accepting it. But in a time where the unprecedented was happening, it so happened that UConn and Moriah were two things to which anyone could set their watch. In that sense, time would tell if anyone was taking a chance at all.
Moriah’s freshman season was modest statistically: two games started, 4.7 PPG, 1.64 RPG, 69:49 ATO ratio, 42% FG, etc. Nothing terrible mind you- just modest. However, her athleticism was obvious. Who could ever forget The Block? You remember The Block, right? I don’t care if it was a foul (as some have said it was, despite not being called as such), but all I know is Mo came out of nowhere to wipe out a sure Baylor breakaway layup late in the second half against the Bears. I mean, she sent a bigger player spinning and flying. I guessed at that time little Moriah had experienced her freshman moment, brief as it may have been. What’s more, she played a role on a national championship team.
With this happy start, there was nowhere to go but up. The stratosphere would follow.
Moriah’s sophomore year was WBCA AA-caliber. She was a starter on a 40-0 national championship team. Meanwhile, her stats became so ridiculous that they spawned UCMiami’s “Mo-holic” threads. Those numbers represented a quantum leap forward: 10 PPG, a whopping 2.95:1 ATO ratio, 58% FG. 42% from downtown, more than 100 steals. Indeed, a quantum leap beats a sophomore leap any day.
And then one miscue occurred: Moriah changed her hairstyle heading into 2014-15.
If you don’t think it was the hair, just look at the box scores from the Stanford and Notre Dame games early in her junior year. These were not the numbers that looked like they should be associated with Moriah at all. Thankfully, Mo changed her hair back during the break in games following ND, and all Moriah did was put together a WBCA AA honor and the Lieberman Award. Now her name will be added to the Huskies of Honor wall, and rightly so. Little Mo’s number just kept improving. This time, she actually surpassed a 3:1 ATO ratio. He PPG numbers went up again, this time to 12.4. Her shooting statistics were gigantic: 59%-84%-50% in terms of FG-FT-3PG. She played with grace, electricity, and poise all year, with masterful performances against then-#1 South Carolina in February and Notre Dame in April. UConn won a national championship yet again, and if Stewie is to be believed, Moriah may just have earned MOP recognition in the 2015 Final Four.
Well, Moriah has been everything Geno might have hoped, and she got everything out of UConn the home-schooled wisp of smoke from Glenn Heights, TX dared to aspire to. What glory awaits her in her senior campaign? A fourth national championship? Even more individual accolades, including perhaps even the NPOY award? A top-two selection in the WBNA draft? Might she even be able to make a run at the Olympic team in Rio next year? Those are some very tall orders, maybe stretches here and there, but at this point, can’t we all set our watches to her? And don’t we want the best for her? She deserves it, after all. Moriah Jefferson blazed a trail for other Texas girls to follow, and that’s a tremendous gift, among many, she’s bestowed on her coach and program.
Go get ‘em, Moriah. And for heaven’s sake, never touch your hair again!
Simply put, Moriah was a groundbreaking recruit at UConn. She was coveted by every college coach in WCBB. Her handle, her speed, her versatility, and her leadership, all made her the most highly-regarded point guard prospect in the history of the women’s game. Of course, that wasn’t entirely the point. Sure, she was a tremendous prospect, but she was home-schooled and from Texas. There was no precedent for a Texas girl committing to Geno and UConn. Take Moriah from Glenn Heights and bring her to Storrs? How would she want to go to college more than 1,700 miles from her family? Wouldn’t the weather be a shock to the system? Would the transition from home-schooling to college academics be manageable? Finally, could she make the transition from the home-schooled league for girls’ ball to the NCAA, even if her THESA squad played against public high school teams on occasion?
In short, if she committed to UConn, would everything work out for her?
Well, in late April 2011, she did commit to UConn. Breanna Stewart was the #1 prospect of 2012, and Moriah was #2. It was almost unheard of for one program to land the top two prospects of one class. Maybe Moriah was taking a big chance with her commitment to UConn, and maybe Geno was taking a chance by accepting it. But in a time where the unprecedented was happening, it so happened that UConn and Moriah were two things to which anyone could set their watch. In that sense, time would tell if anyone was taking a chance at all.
Moriah’s freshman season was modest statistically: two games started, 4.7 PPG, 1.64 RPG, 69:49 ATO ratio, 42% FG, etc. Nothing terrible mind you- just modest. However, her athleticism was obvious. Who could ever forget The Block? You remember The Block, right? I don’t care if it was a foul (as some have said it was, despite not being called as such), but all I know is Mo came out of nowhere to wipe out a sure Baylor breakaway layup late in the second half against the Bears. I mean, she sent a bigger player spinning and flying. I guessed at that time little Moriah had experienced her freshman moment, brief as it may have been. What’s more, she played a role on a national championship team.
With this happy start, there was nowhere to go but up. The stratosphere would follow.
Moriah’s sophomore year was WBCA AA-caliber. She was a starter on a 40-0 national championship team. Meanwhile, her stats became so ridiculous that they spawned UCMiami’s “Mo-holic” threads. Those numbers represented a quantum leap forward: 10 PPG, a whopping 2.95:1 ATO ratio, 58% FG. 42% from downtown, more than 100 steals. Indeed, a quantum leap beats a sophomore leap any day.
And then one miscue occurred: Moriah changed her hairstyle heading into 2014-15.
If you don’t think it was the hair, just look at the box scores from the Stanford and Notre Dame games early in her junior year. These were not the numbers that looked like they should be associated with Moriah at all. Thankfully, Mo changed her hair back during the break in games following ND, and all Moriah did was put together a WBCA AA honor and the Lieberman Award. Now her name will be added to the Huskies of Honor wall, and rightly so. Little Mo’s number just kept improving. This time, she actually surpassed a 3:1 ATO ratio. He PPG numbers went up again, this time to 12.4. Her shooting statistics were gigantic: 59%-84%-50% in terms of FG-FT-3PG. She played with grace, electricity, and poise all year, with masterful performances against then-#1 South Carolina in February and Notre Dame in April. UConn won a national championship yet again, and if Stewie is to be believed, Moriah may just have earned MOP recognition in the 2015 Final Four.
Well, Moriah has been everything Geno might have hoped, and she got everything out of UConn the home-schooled wisp of smoke from Glenn Heights, TX dared to aspire to. What glory awaits her in her senior campaign? A fourth national championship? Even more individual accolades, including perhaps even the NPOY award? A top-two selection in the WBNA draft? Might she even be able to make a run at the Olympic team in Rio next year? Those are some very tall orders, maybe stretches here and there, but at this point, can’t we all set our watches to her? And don’t we want the best for her? She deserves it, after all. Moriah Jefferson blazed a trail for other Texas girls to follow, and that’s a tremendous gift, among many, she’s bestowed on her coach and program.
Go get ‘em, Moriah. And for heaven’s sake, never touch your hair again!
