Why on earth would you want to play for a mid-major when you have a front row seat to the best team in history? (maybe. definitely top five.)
Plus, if she wants to go into coaching, she's got the best teacher in the world. And two national championships.
Good point Sarals24.
Let me share several observations on this...........I think all the conjecture about if and where Pulido and Lawler could play is nothing more than speculation. We must remember that
they were already attending UConn when they became walk-ons. If their skills allowed them to receive offers from other schools, why didn't they accept them?.
They were at UConn because they wanted to be there.
There are several things which must be considered when contemplating scholarship offers.
1. What are you choices? How many offers do you have?
This is the overriding factor that determines where you go. Depending on your options, accept one and you get a college education without having to pay $$ for it. I had 1 offer from a four year program and I took it. Accepting it took me out of my comfort zone, but the end result was worth it. If I had more options, I probably would not have gone there. The only goal I had when I accepted it was getting my degree. Visions of winning any type of championship or athletic accolade never entered my thoughts.
I'm not saying that ALL other athletes have a similar mindset. That is the position I found myself in, so I took advantage of it.
Look at scholarship athletes in other sports (baseball, track, tennis, golf, swimming, volleyball, etc) Most of them know going in that they have
no chance of winning a NC. They're satisfied with competing on whatever level (Div. 1,2,3 or NAIA, etc.) they choose,
and getting an education.
2. The second dynamic is the head coach. Do you want to play for him/her?. The location of the school and the curriculum they offer must also be taken into question, especially if you know what you want to major in. How will you fit into that program? Some kids want to stay close to home for various reasons (Delle Donne). There's speculation that many of the players from Texas don't want to leave the state. That's why many were surprised when Moriah Jefferson broke rank and chose to come to UConn.
Many (not all) serious athletes (non blue chip) would rather play at a lower level program (non top 25) than sit on the bench at a top ranked program. It depends on the individual. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, most of the time, when a youngster chooses a program, they choose the coach and their staff (and sometimes the facilities). It's not with visions or expectations of winning a national championship (even though that concept may be part of the sales speech they get from the coach). Maybe a league or conference championship. But not a NC.
Most selections are made with the hope and expectation of getting a lot of playing time, and graduating in 4 years. They may not be recruited by a top ranked program that has a legitimate chance of winning a NC. IMO, only the top ranked "blue chip" players may choose a program that they think they can help win a NC. Why?, because
everybody wants them.
They can go anywhere they want to. (i.e; Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Aja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, KML, KLS, etc). They could have gone to any Division 1 program in the country. As you know, very few athletes have those options. Sometimes they guess right, sometimes they don't.
I would love to hear from some of the top 25 ranked prospects in a particular class (candidly of course) why they chose one school over another.
In particular, why a prospect that had an off from UConn decided to go somewhere else.
To some, it's a dream to play at UConn (Mo'ne Davis), while others would
never consider going to Storrs.
How many programs have a
legitimate chance of winning the championship THIS year? Maybe four or five at best. So, you go where you're comfortable and you fit in. The top 4-5 schools can't recruit everybody. Most of the time, they only have 3-4 scholarship available each year., sometimes not that many.
Obviously Pulido and Lawler are OK with their current association with the team. As you said, they get a great courtside seat to all huskie games, they get ALL of the same perks that the other players do. They go to the White House every year, and they've got multiple championship rings.
If they were unhappy, they could have transferred to another program. From what I read and hear, both of these ladies are firmly committed to the huskie program, and are more than satisfied with their roles on the team.
