Sorry. Thought you were talking about Nika Muhl. I agree that if Hailey Van Lith was leaning towards UConn, she missed the boat. Had she committed early, then Geno probably doesn't extend an offer to Muhl. Truth is, I like Muhl's size and defensive ability more than Hailey Van Lith.
The time Geno was mic’d, Svet missed a wide open layup on a fast break. That when he [in]famously said,”That’s it, no more damned Europeans” for everyone to hear. That’s why we think of Svet as European. That’s also why Geno won’t wear a mic anymore
Yes. It appears that UCONN is moving toward "positionless" "pace and space" basketball. This requires tall guards who are quick and agile, on both offense and defense. Bueckers and Muhl fit that mold; Hailey Van Lith does not. As much as I love to watch Hailey Van Lith play (she is Jamelle Elliot/Shea Ralph fierce), she is neither tall/long enough nor fluid enough for the type of game UCONN wants to play going forward. As much as I love Crystal Dangerfield, Notre Dame and Louisville (among other teams) repeatedly took advantage of her height deficit.
Idk, she put Muhl on some ice skates in some of the videos we saw of them playing against each other at the recent training of the final four
Yes, but there is a longer version of the video in which Muhl embarrasses Hailey Van Lith more than once. Considering that Muhl was thousands of miles away from home in the U.S. for the first time, her performance was pretty special.
Not sure I agree with the part about the movement. Hailey Van Lith could would certainly have worked out well at UCONN playing alongside Paige. Just think this is the recruiting process playing itself out. From documented reports Hailey Van Lith has been holding a UCONN offer since she visited UCONN. That was in November of 2017. That's also a long time ago and a lot has happen in between. It could very well be that in that time UCONN assessed their chances with Hailey Van Lith and decided they needed to look else where. Or, it could be that Hailey Van Lith decided that UCONN was a lower priority on her list.
Anyway you can post that longer version or a link to it.
Not sure I see any new trends in UConn's system or guards. Geno has always been great at coaching up talent designing the offensive/defensive system to match players. While it is great to have "swiss army knives" like Collier, 5'5" guards seem to be welcome as well.
I agree. I doubt Geno would say no to her. She might pass, thinking it would be a bit crowded. But Geno has taken a lot of similar position players before. Williams/Cash/Jones. Coombs/AEH/Gordon. Nurse/Edwards/Ekmark/Williams. That doesn't always work out, but I don't think Geno would turn away talent that he thought would be a good fit at UCONN. Besides with the lack of depth (in just personnel) UCONN is experiencing now, I doubt he'd be in the mood to turn players away.
Can you post the videos your referencing here please. I'd like to see.
Well there really aren't any teams like that, unless of course the starters aren't all that good. Probably the deepest team UCONN's ever had was the 2000-2001 team. Bird/Ralph/Abrosimova/Cash/Williams with Jones/KJ/Schumacher/DT all getting plenty of time. Also had Valley/Rigby/Czel/Conlon on the bench. With Walters/Battle/Moore injured or redshirted. Big ole team.
Just checked the 3 FF games bench points:
I agree with your overall point, but Smith was probably the best bench player in the Final Four. She would have gotten minutes/points even without Lauren's injury. But she's the exception.
Looking at the names you referenced, one thing is clear. At UConn, if you perform you play. While it may have happened, never remember a strong contributor transferring after frosh year.