Ayanna Patterson to Uconn

[BostonBay]

In 2 years time, the 2 best "teams" in the country will be UConn's starters vs. UConn's 2nd team off the bench...

 

[oldude]

You must have noticed the arms on this girl; very buff and Crystal Dangerfield like, no waif here. Her movement in a crowd is wonderful, very much like Aaliyah's. When you see a forest of opponents arms raised, & out of the center of this forest appears long arms holding the ball; a jump, a bank, 2 points, no foul. She must enjoy physical contact. Like Aaliyah, a Dr Jekyll on the court, Ms Hyde off the court.

Clearly, Ayanna spent a lot of time in the weight room at a young age. Credit to her dad, I suspect, for encouraging her to do so. While weight training is increasingly important in women’s sports, it’s not something that is as widely accepted as in men’s sports, as we all witnessed by the pitiful dumbbell display at the women’s hotel in San Antonio.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Aaliyah, Ayanna and Aalyah. I'm A-OK with that.

Aaliyyah, Ayanna, and Amari "Ice" the deal for me!

 

[enigmatic]

you think we are still in on Barker after getting AP?

It's a possibility considering Barker has remained silent with her recruiting process. Until it's declared that UCONN is not on her list or that there's no more interest from Geno and CD then I still would like to have her on board also.

 

[donalddoowop]

What about Amari? She’s not exactly chopped liver, you know.

I agree but, you should direct that question to dtbtbtb. I responded to their post. Me, being as old as I am, sometimes can't remember all of the players.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Don't know if this Courant article has been posted, so when in doubt:

Get to know new UConn women’s commit Ayanna Patterson and why she chose the Huskies

Ayanna Patterson didn’t need an in-person visit to Storrs to know that UConn was the right place for her. With the NCAA shutting down in-person recruiting visits amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U…

www.courant.com

But last month, Patterson got the closest she has in person to the Huskies’ operation, watching from the stands as UConn took on Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Getting to watch Geno Auriemma, Chris Dailey and the rest of the UConn coaching staff interact with their players mid-game was enough to seal the deal for her.

“It solidified everything that I wanted to do,” Patterson told The Courant following her announcement. “When you watch them play, it’s like, ‘OK, now I see everything they’re doing on TV.’ I could see how [Auriemma’s] coaching, how CD’s coaching, how they work together on different things on the floor. That made the decision perfect when I got to see them.
“How Coach communicates with his kids and how he pushes them to be great and pushes them to limits that they didn’t think they had and just player development — their program speaks for itself. I just wanted to go and be a part of that. It was a dream of mine. You can go live out your dreams.”

 

[DEpup]

Barker would be another talented addition, but if all the projected returning players, signees and commits are on the roster in 2 years, that will give UConn 10 wings, forwards or centers, and only 4 guards, one of whom is a walkon.

I hope UConn’s next commitment comes from a guard. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I hope that commitment is KiKi Rice, the #1 rated pg in the class of 2022, who can play either the 1 or 2.

With being in the BE now, I'm thinking a little Lorin Dixon throwback would be nice to deal with some of the pesky little guards. Is there any Londyn Jones interest?

 

[DefenseBB]

Why does it seem everyone is sleeping on Amari DeBerry?

Come on JordyG, you know that answer:
1. Short attention spans,
2. We get distracted by shiny, new thing
3. This is now the class of 2022, we already proclaimed greatness for the 2021 class (and the 2020 class), nuf ced!

 

[DefenseBB]

I still think Liv is very close to 6'6".

Yes, and now if she would just play like it in the marquee match-ups!

 

[Go/huskies]

KiKi Rice out of Sidwell Friends in DC lists UConn on the schools she is considering and follows Saylor on Twitter. At 5’11”, Rice is Hoopgurlz 6th overall and #1 pg in 2022 class.

DeBerry posted a picture with herself, Azzi, AP, and KK. I can’t see why the other 3 wouldn’t be recruiting KK to join them.

 

[rollskies]

I’m not going to act like the past few years have been bad, because to finish top 5 in the country and make it to consecutive final 4’s is extremely impressive, so absolutely no discredit there.

But wow. I have not been this excited about UConn WBB in a few years. I am so so happy. It feels like there has been new life brought into this program. I love the current team so much, and with all of the amazing talent we are adding, we are going to be hard to beat. I’m so excited about the future.

 

[UcMiami]

I had another thought on Ayanna’s recruitment. Geno has a particular recruiting advantage over most other coaches that is even more pronounced when you can’t bring kids on campus for the typical “dog & pony” shows that many colleges stage for recruits.

Geno has always been extremely good at engaging in conversation with teenage kids on their level with intelligence, humor and motivation, something that is not easy for a lot of coaches, and many parents as well. In addition, Geno has always been comfortable talking to and reassuring parents that their “little girl” will be safe and able to prosper at UConn.

Without on campus visits, all that is left is a school’s reputation and the ability of the coaches to connect with a recruit and her family. Advantage = UConn!!!

OK, Oldude finally outs himself as a secret High Point fan. This beautiful ode to coach Geno is actually a very subtle PSYOPS. It seems all innocent, but mark my words, you'll wake up a few days from now with this niggling thought, 'Why can't Geno recruit when people can travel to his and other campuses?' and then a week later 'Why is Uconn located in a cow pasture?' and it only gets worse from there! The thoughts of 'Oh, yeah, my kid deserves to have the en suite dorm room. And maid service. And the choice between filet mignon and broiled lobster in the dining hall.'

You may doubt me, but I can tell you for sure, I'm not opening any more videos he post on here.

 

[UcMiami]

TASSK who?

SVC - shouldn't there be a little sunshine in your avatar this morning?

 

[j66kicker]

DeBerry posted a picture with herself, Azzi, AP, and KK. I can’t see why the other 3 wouldn’t be recruiting KK to join them.

 

[UcMiami]

You must have noticed the arms on this girl; very buff and Crystal Dangerfield like, no waif here. Her movement in a crowd is wonderful, very much like Aaliyah's. When you see a forest of opponents arms raised, & out of the center of this forest appears long arms holding the ball; a jump, a bank, 2 points, no foul. She must enjoy physical contact. Like Aaliyah, a Dr Jekyll on the court, Ms Hyde off the court.

Got that a little backwards, I hope - Dr Jekyll was the scientist, Mr Hyde was the alter ego when he drank the potion.

 

[Bigpetunia]

ND is in trouble. Losing Clark last year to Iowa and Ayanna this year to UConn continues a string of high profile recruiting misses. MM knew it was time to get out. So far, Ivey hasn’t been able to energize the program like many thought she could. WBB at ND is in danger of following the same pattern of MBB at ND.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am a card carrying, charter member of the hate ND club...well, at the very least always eager to wallow in schadenfreude over the multiple disappointments of their over-entitled fans. But, truth to tell, the degree to which their program has descended is a bit disappointing to me. I kinda want them to be at least sufficiently decent to be worth hating instead of the pathetic state in which they now find themselves. Niele can neither coach nor recruit. I’ll miss what at least once qualified as a rivalry.

 

[my2cents]

One more thought on recruiting. A lot is said about UConn being a program with no peers, legendary coach, winning etc, but an equal reason that Geno get these players , is his ability to get most ,if not all his players to IMPROVE. From Gabby Williams to Kelly Faris , his players get better and have legitimate shots at playing professionally.

 

[MooseJaw]

ND is in trouble. Losing Clark last year to Iowa and Ayanna this year to UConn continues a string of high profile recruiting misses. MM knew it was time to get out. So far, Ivey hasn’t been able to energize the program like many thought she could. WBB at ND is in danger of following the same pattern of MBB at ND.

oldude, agree 100% and I hate to see them become totally irrelevant. It imo more fun to beat them when they think they have a chance. Wonder if I will ever have the chance to do the happy dance after beating them in a meaningful game again. There was no game that I enjoyed more, I guess I will have to get my dance on after beating SC now.

 

[BRS24]

Here y'all go!

 

[HuskyNan]

This is an Ayanna thread

 

[Huskie78]

Unfortunately for you, I don’t see Coach Ivey being particularly anxious to schedule UConn again for the Huskies bi-annual trip to South Bend.

Well if they do continue it, rest assured I will be in the stands when
PB & Company come to town in 2022.

 

[BRS24]

This is an Ayanna thread

Should I remove the roster graphic and put it in a new post?

 

[HuskyNan]

Should I remove the roster graphic and put it in a new post?

No you’re fine. I took out some completely unrelated posts and now I’m seeing ND threads

 

[SVCBeercats]

SVC - shouldn't there be a little sunshine in your avatar this morning?

I was waiting for our 2nd COVID shot + 6 weeks to change my avatar, however, just for you, "Oh Happy Day."
We used to live in a high-rise appartment building in Euclid, Ohio, a lakeside suburb east of Cleveland. In one of the penthouses lived Don Koplow (aka Don Howard) who claimed to have written and recorded "Oh Happy Day." This not the "Oh Happy Day" recorded by The Edwin Hawkins Singers. Actually the way Don sings his "Oh Happy Day" sounds not quite happy. Mr. Hawkins "Oh Happy Day" may be more appropriate.

​

 

[King Kong]

Got that a little backwards, I hope - Dr Jekyll was the scientist, Mr Hyde was the alter ego when he drank the potion.

In my fading memory, I thought an entirely innocent good natured person, Ms Hyde, drank a magic potion, & became a monster on the basketball court, trashing & vanquishing opponents, winning by 50 points, then became sweet & nice again, once her innate superiority was endorsed by all. Turns out Dr Jekyll was the evil coach of an overrated opponent, who wanted to win an Elite 8 game at all costs.