April Recruiting Thread

[Sluconn Husky]

Sounds like Staley's gonna get the chance to reign in Barker's self-aggrandizing behavior.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

2. was there ever any concrete definitive announcement that she did in fact have a torn ACL (beyond some anonymous poster on this board), Google search yields nothing

The only mention in local media is that she has a knee injury that will keep her out of early AAU play. However, her mom posted a tweet to Ciera saying she has her back and referring to a comeback, so I think it's a significant injury.

 

[hoophuskee]

The Fro adds inches.

I know I saw the Fro but I thought I could also see head-to-head.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Geno appears to be fully aware of the need as he recruited 2 bigs who fit the profile and at least have potential to help. I can see Ayanna becoming a strong rebounding forward and I can see Ice being strong offensively in Geno’s offense. We need AE to be more like Charles Barkley in his prime. What we really need frankly is a generational post talent like Boston or maybe Betts will become.Those don’t become available every year and if you lose those prospects it’s tough to build a top team when you are losing the rebounding battle by 24 rebounds a game. It took everything we had to restrain Boston and we gambled that the open 3’s would be missed but all they did was rebound over and over. The game is all about shooting the 3, rebounding and defending. South Carolina has 2 of those strengths in abundance. And I don’t consider player prospect ratings to be the key any more or if ever. South Carolina brings extremely athletic kids into their program and even if their kid like Cooper are rated around # 15 it’s only because they don’t have as good a press agent. South Carolina is winning the recruitment wars right now in my opinion.

 

[MilfordHusky]

What''s your view on Patterson and Brady in terms of post?


***
and anyone else please chime in. coco, Bobby, Milford - anyone else?

To me it looks like Brady is not even 6'2. Though can get low post position on offense but she seems small in height. And ofc beautiful shot.

And Patterson- I thought she looks like 6'4. You think 6'4? -- Though listed at 6'2.

@EricLA and a couple of other BYers have met Ice and been on the floor next to her. My understanding is that she is a legit 6'3".

 

[hoophuskee]

@EricLA and a couple of other BYers have met Ice and been on the floor next to her. My understanding is that she is a legit 6'3".

Thank you!!

 

[TeamFirst!]

I don’t see any uncommitted recruits who could even potentially change the competitive balance for us out there besides maybe Mikaylah Williams. Some who could don’t fit the profile.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

What we really need frankly is a generational post talent like Boston or maybe Betts will become.Those don’t become available every year and if you lose those prospects it’s tough to build a top team when you are losing the rebounding battle by 24 rebounds a game.

Even without Boston, UConn was -8 on the boards. Will you please stop bringing Betts up every second and proclaiming UConn needs to get her?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

@EricLA and a couple of other BYers have met Ice and been on the floor next to her. My understanding is that she is a legit 6'3".

Well, if that's the case then Betts is more 6-9 than 6-7 if you saw the two standing next to each other last week.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Even without Boston, UConn was -8 on the boards. Will you please stop bringing Betts up every second and proclaiming UConn needs to get her?

Can we please talk about real basketball issues and stop complaining about the word Betts every time her name comes up? 90% of the time when I discuss her someone else brought her up first. You guys act like a spurned lover every time her name comes up. She’s a real player and a real issue going forward and all you guys can do is COMPLAIN rather than deal with the problem. What is it, a mass trauma event for you people? If we are going to win the national championship we need to rebound better and defend the post better. It couldn’t be a more clear issue going forward.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Can we please talk about real basketball issues and stop complaining about the word Betts every time her name comes up? 90% of the time when I discuss her someone else brought her up first. You guys act like a spurned lover every time her name comes up. She’s a real player and a real issue going forward and all you guys can do is COMPLAIN rather than deal with the problem. What is it, a mass trauma event for you people? If we are going to win the national championship we need to rebound better and defend the post better. It couldn’t be a more clear issue going forward.

She is no longer a UConn target and she's been discussed to death. Lauren Betts has nothing to do with UConn's rebounding and frontcourt issues.

 

[TeamFirst!]

In 38 minutes with everything riding on it, AE got 2 rebounds in the NC when it was priority one. No one else besides maybe Paige rebounded well. It was a game changer the first time we faced SC and also yesterday. It’s our new reality going forward and it’s not just SC probably. Geno gets it and recruited 2 bigs. I’m just saying it’s not enough probably. A generational big appears to be the game changer along with more athletic players. Dawn recruits very fast, athletic players for the most part. We recruit shooters.

 

[TeamFirst!]

She is no longer a UConn target and she's been discussed to death. Lauren Betts has nothing to do with UConn's rebounding and frontcourt issues.

We do play them right? Are we supposed to make believe she doesn’t exist. We could use the next best post prospect but ideally we should recruit someone even better. Maybe she’s not the next generational post talent but I don’t see any 19 year old in the world any better. The issue isn’t your personal aversion to the name Betts. The issue is who is going to beat her and Boston any time soon.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think I’ve is a legit 6’ 3” and she will help but she’s not going to even slow Boston down.

 

[ABCDFE]

It is not entirely about shot making. The biggest hallmarks of a UCONN post is consistency, playing to your strengths, and growth.
Consistency would mean that when Geno puts you on the floor he knows what to expect- that is not saying you are going to be a world beater it is just saying there is a predictability to the performance and you are not having days where you look like an AA and other where you fail to impact the game and are almost invisible. The playing to your strength part should be obvious and the expectation is you were recruited because you do X. Y and Z well-keep doing those at a high level but grow your game.
The growth part has been the most frustrating for this senior class IMO. CW, ONO, and Evina are graduating as pretty much the same players they were in their first year at UCONN=no growth. For example Christyn Williams best statistical year was her freshman season & ONO blocked more shots as a part-time player in her freshman season than she did as a fulltime starter in both her junior and senior campaigns. It is very rare for a UCONN player to not improve, even more so for an entire class.

I agree. When Liv was a freshman I thought she would develop a potent offense post presence to her very good defense at the time. CW has all the physical gifts, what I see now is that her confidence or dawg mentality and bb iq didn’t quite meet expectations for a #1 overall recruit. To me she was consistently inconsistent. We as fans fell into the trap that because she was rated #1 we expected her to be in the long lines of other great top recruits and at times freshman year she showed us wow moments. I think if she was ranked 10 or 15 she would’ve probably been more fairly ranked.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

We do play them right? Are we supposed to make believe she doesn’t exist. We could use the next best post prospect but ideally we should recruit someone even better. Maybe she’s not the next generational post talent but I don’t see any 19 year old in the world any better. The issue isn’t your personal aversion to the name Betts. The issue is who is going to beat her and Boston any time soon.

My personal aversion to the name Betts? Are you for real?

When UConn plays Stanford then you can talk about Betts till the cows come home. She really has nothing to do with the recruiting thread.

The issue is who is going to beat Betts? Her high school team went 18-9 this year. Brittney Griner she ain't.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Back to recruits, hopefully.....

 

[Sluconn Husky]

2024 Sarah Strong (Lady Strong 2024): There was plenty of talent all throughout the courts in Concord but the player that grabbed our attention quickly and showed why she is ranked as one of the top players in the country was 2024 Sarah Strong. She was simply off the charts with her skillset and how dominant she can be on the floor. To put it simply, she couldn’t be stopped and did whatever she wanted on the floor. Her feel around the basket is superb, she has great hands with soft touch, is all over the glass on both sides of the court, and she physically can dominate opponents in the post. Then you add her ability to step out and knock down shots from multiple levels, her ability to handle, and her passing, Strong is the complete package and there is a reason why she holds countless offers from high major programs

POB's Best of the Best: Phenom Lady Rumble - Phenom Hoops

2024 Sarah Strong (Lady Strong 2024): There was plenty of talent all throughout the courts in Concord but the player that grabbed our attention quickly and showed why she is […]

phenomhoopreport.com

 

[nomdoux]

A few thoughts re: Ayanna/Ice size, C/Liv’s lack of relative development, & elite program matchups moving fwd:

• Prior forum confirmation that Ice is 6’4” & Ayanna 6’3”. They appeared same size in their UConn photo shoot. More confident that Patterson is a legit 6’3” than Brady being an inch taller, but pretty sure Ice is at least Ayanna’s size. Recruiting websites underreport height since they often don’t account for HS growth after initial detail;
• Ice’s build does not emphasize her height: she has a wide body & no neck so appears shorter than she is;

• CW came to UConn as an effortless scorer with pro build. Geno said she was stubborn & resisted coaching her first 2 years. She seems cerebral & often caught over-thinking or letting her shot dictate overall game/effort. Corrected that late in Husky career yet never developed alpha mentality IMO;
• ONO has team orientation but also missing alpha mentality. Seems more comfortable fitting in than taking charge;
• Recruiting takeaway perhaps is that HS players can post impressive numbers either by sheer talent and/or physical gifts— but that/these may not take the player further in major D1 if they don’t have a killer instinct inside. Both C & Liv were good supporting talents but neither consummate leaders in way Geno envisions from his best players & seniors. JMHO;

• Stanford: Lauren Betts next to Cameron Brink WILL be a problem for opposing teams next 2 years. UConn will likely have to contend with this duo at some point;
• SC: Concur with others who have stated Gamecocks recruiting edge moving fwd. Dawn gets waves of size upfront & athleticism at every position. Geno has opted for skill over sheer size/athleticism mostly in his history but IMHO will have to tweak this approach at least somewhat to compete with SC moving fwd. All the shooting in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t get free for rim looks & get doubled in possessions and/or FT’s b/c your opponent dominates paint on both ends.

 

[LarryLegend]

am i wrong or was there talk back several months ago about possibly a third recruit for next year?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

am i wrong or was there talk back several months ago about possibly a third recruit for next year?

About a year ago Geno made mention of having a second recruit (Patterson) and possibly a third. That third didn't materialize as Kiki Rice chose UCLA over UConn and three others.

 

[faithfulfan]

Geno appears to be fully aware of the need as he recruited 2 bigs who fit the profile and at least have potential to help. I can see Ayanna becoming a strong rebounding forward and I can see Ice being strong offensively in Geno’s offense. We need AE to be more like Charles Barkley in his prime. What we really need frankly is a generational post talent like Boston or maybe Betts will become.Those don’t become available every year and if you lose those prospects it’s tough to build a top team when you are losing the rebounding battle by 24 rebounds a game. It took everything we had to restrain Boston and we gambled that the open 3’s would be missed but all they did was rebound over and over. The game is all about shooting the 3, rebounding and defending. South Carolina has 2 of those strengths in abundance. And I don’t consider player prospect ratings to be the key any more or if ever. South Carolina brings extremely athletic kids into their program and even if their kid like Cooper are rated around # 15 it’s only because they don’t have as good a press agent. South Carolina is winning the recruitment wars right now in my opinion.

Recruitment war this year, no, SC won the media war, and got the refs to give them 22 additional foul shots in a final game, but it wasn't 1 game, it was the whole tournament, and season!

 

[CocoHusky]

am i wrong or was there talk back several months ago about possibly a third recruit for next year?

About a year ago Geno made mention of having a second recruit (Patterson) and possibly a third. That third didn't materialize as Kiki Rice chose UCLA over UConn and three others.

In addition, a few months back there was a report that Geno had left the Midwest ( might have been after the game Shade or KK attended Creighton?) to go to the East Coast to visit a class of 2022 UCONN commit. Most of us dismissed this as the reporter making a mistake. Maybe not? If there is another 2022 commitment that would surely be nice. BTW Princeton could be consider east cost and Abby Meyers would sure make a great addition to the UCONN 2022 class.

 

[Charliebball]

• SC: Concur with others who have stated Gamecocks recruiting edge moving fwd. Dawn gets waves of size upfront & athleticism at every position. Geno has opted for skill over sheer size/athleticism mostly in his history but IMHO will have to tweak this approach at least somewhat to compete with SC moving fwd. All the shooting in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t get free for rim looks & get doubled in possessions and/or FT’s b/c your opponent dominates paint on both ends.

it's not like Geno hasn't tried to recruit the top post players...........they simply haven't chosen UConn........players of Boston's quality don't come by very often as evidenced by the dearth of quality posts in the next two recruiting classes (one in each).............I'll take a skilled, athletic 6'2"-6'3" player over an average big bodied post any day......