Poffenbarger to UConn

[DaBball]

Or it could be that the rankings aren’t quite in sync as Saylor made the 16u team and I can find Demetre on either 16u or 17u
Or it could be the fact Stanford hasn’t won a title since 1992 and hasn’t been relevant unless it plays UConn
Or it could anything The the best program in the Northeast garners attention whatever it does because it has a huge following similar to the Yankees while the Cardinal is more like the SF Giants, good but not great and West Coast is that audience has other things going on...
But hey you gotta do what you gotta do.

Perhaps Demetre was too old for the 16u team? There were a few players that may have made if if they were of age/tried out. I would have to think Demetre would have been close to a lock.

 

[Bigboote]

With 2 more years to play, could this young woman grow 2 to 3 inches and become another Stewart?

This question/suggestion caused this thought to pop into my head. There's a young woman I've known since she was four, one of my favorite people on the planet. She stopped growing early, probably around 12 or 13. She was 5-2 when she got married. I didn't see her for several years. Saw her a couple of years ago, hugged her, and asked, "Are you taller?"

She'd grown FOUR INCHES when she was pregnant at the age of 24. I am not making this up.

 

[CocoHusky]

Perhaps Demetre was too old for the 16u team? There were a few players that may have made if if they were of age/tried out. I would have to think Demetre would have been close to a lock.

Demetre tried out for the U17 team in 2018 that was her only USA basketball experience as far as I can tell.

 

[UcMiami]

'Average' leaves a huge bell curve of possibilities and women's basketball players are well off the center of the bell curve in all sorts of ways - the biggest being height - Average height for US women is 5'4", average height for starting D1 women's basketball players is probably close to 6'0". So using the average age for women to stop growing as a guideline for a specific women's D1 level basketball player is probably meaningless.

That said .... she probably has stopped growing

 

[UConnCat]

Carl Adamec spoke with Saylor and her mom.

Journal Inquirer

Serving towns east of the Connecticut River

www.journalinquirer.com

Mom, her coach, says Saylor has a strong basketball IQ, great instincts, great vision, and is a great passer. Sound like a UConn player.

 

[DefenseBB]

Perhaps Demetre was too old for the 16u team? There were a few players that may have made if if they were of age/tried out. I would have to think Demetre would have been close to a lock.

Hence me looking at the 17u roster as well....as I had written.

 

[Biff]

Carl Adamec spoke with Saylor and her mom.

Journal Inquirer

Serving towns east of the Connecticut River

www.journalinquirer.com

Mom, her coach, says Saylor has a strong basketball IQ, great instincts, great vision, and is a great passer. Sound like a UConn player.

'Tis true. But it also sounds like something a Mom might say....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

November 2020 is a long time to wait for that ink! Adamec is late to the party but he has his ways with a recruit article. Some nice quotes from Saylor and we learn that prior to a growth spurt she did play point guard. Love this statement of Saylor's.

“There have been different emotions,” Poffenbarger said. “Maybe the first was relief and being glad that it was over. But then it’s been excitement about what’s ahead for me and we’ve been doing a lot of celebrating. It’s almost surreal to me that I’ll be going to UConn. Sure I still have the two more years of high school but I can’t wait for the four years that I’ll be spending there.”

 

[DaBball]

Hence me looking at the 17u roster as well....as I had written.

I didn’t think there was a 17u roster this year, so you would be looking at last years, which wouldn’t make much sense, because you were comparing her not being on a team Saylor was on.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

We are told she likes English and it shows. She has a way with a sentence and a pause for effect.

“I remember how I loved the way UConn played,” Poffenbarger said. “It was that, the way the players interacted among themselves and the coaches, the way they were coached … It was like they had everything.

“Then they had Maya. I’d watch and think, ‘I want to be like her, someday.’ ”

Surreal indeed.

 

[Bigboote]

“Then they had Maya. I’d watch and think, ‘I want to be like her, someday.’ ”

Surreal indeed.

LOL! When I saw these words from Saylor, I was reminded of a quote from Salvador Dali. It went something like, "When I was four I wanted to be a baker, at five a policeman. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon, and my aspirations have been growing ever since."

I like it when people set their sights high, and young Ms Poffenbarger has checked that box.

 

[Dokey]

This question/suggestion caused this thought to pop into my head. There's a young woman I've known since she was four, one of my favorite people on the planet. She stopped growing early, probably around 12 or 13. She was 5-2 when she got married. I didn't see her for several years. Saw her a couple of years ago, hugged her, and asked, "Are you taller?"

She'd grown FOUR INCHES when she was pregnant at the age of 24. I am not making this up.

Most women reach their full height at 15, having entered puberty earlier than males, but some experience growth to age 17, so she might well add an inch. Her height at 14 was 6’1”, at 15 6’2”. I am a 6’1” male who was 5’ at the end of the 8th grade. 6’2” sounds pretty good to me.

 

[j66kicker]

LOL! When I saw these words from Saylor, I was reminded of a quote from Salvador Dali. It went something like, "When I was four I wanted to be a baker, at five a policeman. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon, and my aspirations have been growing ever since."

I like it when people set their sights high, and young Ms Poffenbarger has checked that box.

Haha - no shortage of ego strength there. Or with that other dude from Catalonia - Pablo something: "My mother told me, 'If you decide to be a soldier you will become a general. If you decide to be a priest you will become the Pope.' I decided to be an artist so I became Picasso."

 

[RockyMTblue2]

1000 points in under 50 games is quite the feat. Here is a bit of video from the game in which she broke 1000. See her score, see her rebound, see her throw the long outlet pass! I'm glad she plays on a top AAU team, because the HS game stuff is pretty mediocre it seems.



"Armed with a vast array of skills, Middletown’s Saylor Poffenbarger admits she sometimes doesn’t put them all to good use.

“Sometimes I forget dimensions to my game,” Poffenbarger said Tuesday. “I just need to remember all of them.”
She didn’t use one of her weapons much at all in the first half of Tuesday’s Class 2A West Section II semifinal against Walkersville. That skill, driving to the basket and finishing at the rim, allowed her to achieve a memorable milestone in the second half. More importantly, it helped the Knights fend off the Lions in a 43-38 victory."

On the attack, Poffenbarger drives Knights past Lions

 

[DefenseBB]

I didn’t think there was a 17u roster this year, so you would be looking at last years, which wouldn’t make much sense, because you were comparing her not being on a team Saylor was on.

Demeter tried out for the 16U team as a 15 year old in 2017. She also tried out for the 17U team as a 16 year old last year. To be invited is very noteworthy and her being a year younger than the age limit for both teams probably hurt her as she was competing against an older set. However if she is truly elite, she would have made a team, which is my point. To me, She’s good, not great, is going to a West coast team that is not on the East Coast sports Public’s radar like a Tennessee or ND so ESPN was correct in not noting it. Sorry to @TheFarmFan that their team signees don’t garner national attention but they shouldn’t as even most Men’s signees/commits don’t make the news on ESPN. Yes UConn WBB is THAT WELL KNOWN to warrant even snippets of news. Get used to it.
Now back to Saylor- as one of the 12 players selected and one of the 7 guards and only 1 of 4 in the 2021 class (Fudd was injured) she should be 1 of the position top 5. Her rank of #21 is a joke. It’s littered with Forwards and centers who are listed due solely to their size, not overall skill as is the case with most of these rankings. Think Nancy Mulkey, Tori McCoy, Ciera Johnson, Sierra Campisano, Jenna Stati all 6’3” or taller as posts and forwards ranked top 16 in their class in 2016 and all transferred mostly due to lack of skill required at the elite level.
I am even more thrilled with this commit than before researching the data!

 

[DefenseBB]

I was just telling myself Charlie is going to write something about bigs...and you never disappoint

@Charliebball has an unhealthy obsession with bigs. Heck even the #1 WNBA selection this year was a 5’11” Forward named Jackie Young who seemed to rebound well...

 

[Charliebball]

@Charliebball has an unhealthy obsession with bigs. Heck even the #1 WNBA selection this year was a 5’11” Forward named Jackie Young who seemed to rebound well...

not sure how unhealthy it is but only having one player taller then 6'2" is highly unusual for a top team these days................that's fine if their last name is Tuck or Collier but otherwise it's not the ideal situation when you consider the size and rebounding strength of the best competition in the big tournament...............

 

[oldude]

While I had seen highlights of Saylor, it's always worthwhile to watch a complete game video to get a true picture of a player. So I watched the game from her freshman year when Middletown played eventual 3A state champion Frederick. Frederick was clearly the better team, winning 68-50. But Middletown hung around for much of the game with Saylor going off for 30 of her team's 50 points. A couple general comments on her play:

• Even as a freshman, Saylor already had that step back 3 from the cheap seats
• She has a really effortless shooting motion
• Frederick was in her hip pocket the entire game, with 1 or more players birddogging her the length of the court, but for the most part, she handled the pressure easily.
• She is very good with a full court, two-handed chest pass hitting teammates in stride on multiple occasions.
• She is really good with the crossover dribble going to her left, although she finishes primarily with her right hand, something I suspect she will change to learn to finish with her left hand.
• Of all the things that impressed me, IMO the most impressive quality of her game is that she never appeared rushed on the court. She was under tremendous pressure from Frederick the entire game, but she didn't play hurried or out of control. Credit to her mother/HC for instilling that sense of control in her.

Saylor was very impressive as a freshman. As a sophomore she made the USA U16 team. It is exciting just thinking about how good she will become over the next few seasons before she gets to UConn.

 

[DefenseBB]

not sure how unhealthy it is but only having one player taller then 6'2" is highly unusual for a top team these days......that's fine if their last name is Tuck or Collier but otherwise it's not the ideal situation when you consider the size and rebounding strength of the best competition in the big tournament.....

That is exactly the situation- you don’t know how they may turn out but based on the programs success these past 12 FINAL FOUR APPEARANCES, I think we’ll be okay. And as I mentioned in the thread that all but Cox and maybe Holmes, from the HG 2016 Class rankings have been busts at the top level and not worthy of their ranking. Where as a 5’1” Jackie Young was awesome. Granted she played everywhere, but that is exactly the type of Player UConn recruits. This was also my point that too many bigs are OVER rated by everyone with only a handful able to handle The rigors of D1 elite teams. So besides Baylor this past few years-name an elite team with multiple bigs who actually contributed? I can’t recall any. And given the number of posts you put out bemoaning our lack of height, yes, it’s a tad unhealthy, mostly to us. I get your concern is to field the best team possible but until we can’t make consecutive FF, or get 5+ losses in a season- I trust the process.

 

[Alydar]

Demeter tried out for the 16U team as a 15 year old in 2017. She also tried out for the 17U team as a 16 year old last year. To be invited is very noteworthy and her being a year younger than the age limit for both teams probably hurt her as she was competing against an older set. However if she is truly elite, she would have made a team, which is my point. To me, She’s good, not great, is going to a West coast team that is not on the East Coast sports Public’s radar like a Tennessee or ND so ESPN was correct in not noting it. Sorry to @TheFarmFan that their team signees don’t garner national attention but they shouldn’t as even most Men’s signees/commits don’t make the news on ESPN. Yes UConn WBB is THAT WELL KNOWN to warrant even snippets of news. Get used to it.
Now back to Saylor- as one of the 12 players selected and one of the 7 guards and only 1 of 4 in the 2021 class (Fudd was injured) she should be 1 of the position top 5. Her rank of #21 is a joke. It’s littered with Forwards and centers who are listed due solely to their size, not overall skill as is the case with most of these rankings. Think Nancy Mulkey, Tori McCoy, Ciera Johnson, Sierra Campisano, Jenna Stati all 6’3” or taller as posts and forwards ranked top 16 in their class in 2016 and all transferred mostly due to lack of skill required at the elite level.
I am even more thrilled with this commit than before researching the data!

While I agree that the rankings are flawed you must have missed the 2020 rankings. While 4 (6'3"+) tall players were in the top 10 there were 5 pg's and another G among those 10.

To me it appears that individual skills count a lot more than team skills in AAU and that's where many of the highly ranked who don't make it fall down.

Unless your parents can afford 10K/yr on travel teams or else move into a HS district with a powerhouse BB program you are out of luck. Boys can learn in playgrounds because the depth and breadth of talent among boys is sufficient. Where boys can form a league from the play in a dozen blocks in a city girls need the whole city to form one team.

 

[Charliebball]

That is exactly the situation- you don’t know how they may turn out but based on the programs success these past 12 FINAL FOUR APPEARANCES, I think we’ll be okay. And as I mentioned in the thread that all but Cox and maybe Holmes, from the HG 2016 Class rankings have been busts at the top level and not worthy of their ranking. Where as a 5’1” Jackie Young was awesome. Granted she played everywhere, but that is exactly the type of Player UConn recruits. This was also my point that too many bigs are OVER rated by everyone with only a handful able to handle The rigors of D1 elite teams. So besides Baylor this past few years-name an elite team with multiple bigs who actually contributed? I can’t recall any. And given the number of posts you put out bemoaning our lack of height, yes, it’s a tad unhealthy, mostly to us. I get your concern is to field the best team possible but until we can’t make consecutive FF, or get 5+ losses in a season- I trust the process.

here's an easier question......................when was the last time UConn won a NC without two dominant front court scorers/rebounders?

 

[veryolddog]

here's an easier question.......when was the last time UConn won a NC without two dominant front court scorers/rebounders?

I concur with this thinking. I also would like to add that when UConn had 3 1/2 All Americans on their team they missed two championships in a row with Collier, Samuelson, Nurse, and Williams. Even though Z was on one team, they did not play her as a starter. Enough said. There are believers and non believers. Everyone is right and no one is wrong, but I like Charlieball's rationale better.

 

[meyers7]

here's an easier question.......when was the last time UConn won a NC without two dominant front court scorers/rebounders?

I assume since you want "bigs" they have to be at least 6-4. So '15-'16, had Stewart and Butler, but don't know if I'd consider Butler dominant.

 

[CajunHusky]

It is my understanding that these "rankings" are from recruiting services that receive remuneration from the coaches, the players and various other organizations. If the player doesn't sign up with a service they don't get any more than a casual evaluation. The service does provide valuable assistance to the player with promotional material and an in depth evaluation if they signup. Those that don't signup the service will include in rankings (especially the 4/5 star prospects) or risk losing credibility with coaches etc. but they will in all likelihood be ranked lower within their ?star grouping. Similarly not all recruiting services attend the same aau events where evaluations are most often performed. And if the girls don't play aau travel teams then the evaluation doesn't happen.

 

[meyers7]

It is my understanding that these "rankings" are from recruiting services that receive remuneration from the coaches, the players and various other organizations. If the player doesn't sign up with a service they don't get any more than a casual evaluation. The service does provide valuable assistance to the player with promotional material and an in depth evaluation if they signup. Those that don't signup the service will include in rankings (especially the 4/5 star prospects) or risk losing credibility with coaches etc. but they will in all likelihood be ranked lower within their ?star grouping. Similarly not all recruiting services attend the same aau events where evaluations are most often performed. And if the girls don't play aau travel teams then the evaluation doesn't happen.

Hence why it is best (and what I do) is combine all the rankings I can find (well at least Bluestar, PN, and HG - and ASGR if I can find them) and do a composite.