Recee' Caldwell Transferring from UCLA

[jsloanjr]

its hard to play in front of 300 to 400 fans at home games.........Who knows the reasons unless someone interviews her to find out......These are 18 to 2 kids make big time decisions.........Good luck to all the transfers........

 

[Carnac]

TRANSFERS, TRANSFERS, TRANSFERS. Since the beginning of the NCAA there have always been both women and men transferring from program to program. But it appears that in the last couple of years it really seems to have hit the women's programs hard. As noted above there are several reasons, changes within the coaching staff, lack of playing time, personal issues or really good players moving from a mid-major program to a high profile program. But rarely have we seen the teams leading stars leave one high profile program to attend another high profile program. North Carolina's women's program is currently involved in an entire new issue and I don't know if we will ever know the true reasons these young ladies decided to leave. But it is clear something is amiss as several players are abandoning the ship. I do believe that other Universities have taken notice and are currently reevaluating their own academic issues to make sure that they don't become the "next" North Carolina. It is my belief that it is easier for coaches to evaluate the basketball skills of their recruits then their desire to fit in and become a member of their respective teams. What makes UCONN standout is that Geno and his staff appear to take fitting in and becoming a member of their team more seriously then their piers. Of course winning TEN NC does help in Geno's ability to recruit several top level players each year. This allows him to be more selective in his recruitment then other coaches who can't always take personalities into consideration and will take anyone if they possess a high level of basketball skills. As I stated in an earlier post, I am a diehard UCONN Women's Basketball fan and adopt each and every player without exception. So when a player transfers, I take it personally and wonder if anything could have been done to prevent it. But alas some times it benefits both the team and player (S. Walker for example). I'm sure that Geno possesses a lot more information pertaining to why these high caliber players are transferring, but I haven't read anything that would make you believe that UCONN has any interest in any of them. LET THE SEASON BEGIN.

Excellent post TWG. You make some very interesting and valid observations. Move over and let me get on that band wagon.

 

[Hope]

http://www.nextsportsphenom.com/ncaa-transfers

 

[snsservices]

I believe they both will end up at Texas tech. There dad interviewed for the job a couple of years ago and they have an opening now. What better way to get a job? Dad also has access to another high profile 2016

 

[UConnCat]

I believe they both will end up at Texas tech. There dad interviewed for the job a couple of years ago and they have an opening now. What better way to get a job? Dad also has access to another high profile 2016

Good call. Recee's father Ray Caldwell has been hired as an Assistant Coach at Texas Tech.

Expect Recee and sister Desiree to follow their Dad.

Brandon Clay ‏@BrandonClayPSB Aug 3
BREAKING: Longtime @SAFinestbball Club Director, Ray Caldwell, is now Texas Tech AC.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I believe they both will end up at Texas tech. There dad interviewed for the job a couple of years ago and they have an opening now. What better way to get a job? Dad also has access to another high profile 2016

Excellent call.

 

[Huskies Rule]

As relevant as Caldwell's conditioning issues and her father's hire at Texas Tech were in the decision to transfer, the bottom line is that as long as she stayed at UCLA she was going to be buried behind Jordin Canada. Canada is a much better point guard. As difficult as it is for a kid right out of high school to run the point for a big time D1 program, and Canada did struggle at times, overall she had an excellent freshman year. This kid is going to be one of the best point guards in the nation in a few years. Caldwell's transfer was a wise move.

 

[UcMiami]

http://www.nextsportsphenom.com/ncaa-transfers

That list of transfers is interesting - I don't think I remember a year with quite so many players transferring in groups from schools. The number of schools losing 3+ players is sort of shocking. Add in that it includes so many starters/major contributors and it really seems like an aberrational year. The list needs an update as it is already very dated, but wow.

The Baylor situation with over commitment of 2015 scholarships, and the UNC with that situation are obvious reasons, but there are 21 schools losing 3+ players this year! And a further 25 losing 2 players. (and those numbers have probably only gone up since the list was compiled 6 weeks ago)

 

[BroadwayVa]

Looks like D1 High Major Women's College Basket Ball has now caught up with the Men... Transfers a plenty... Expectations coming in then reality sets in after you get there are totally different.

Some coaches, unlike Geno, blow smoke at these young ladies and promise them the moon to play at their school.
Geno, probably loses some, tells them he'll run them hard, practice them hard, and if the practice and improve he'll play them--some.
No guarantees at Uconn only the promise if you practice hard you'll be a Husky and in any 4 year span you'll bring home a championship ring or two.
Schools are reaping the whirlwind of Student players being told half truth's or whole lies!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

As relevant as Caldwell's conditioning issues and her father's hire at Texas Tech were in the decision to transfer, the bottom line is that as long as she stayed at UCLA she was going to be buried behind Jordin Canada. Canada is a much better point guard. As difficult as it is for a kid right out of high school to run the point for a big time D1 program, and Canada did struggle at times, overall she had an excellent freshman year. This kid is going to be one of the best point guards in the nation in a few years. Caldwell's transfer was a wise move.

Ahh but will she ever be a Dangerfield?? (Canada or Caldwell?)

 

[BroadwayVa]

In fairness, while UCONN may not have lost a TON of high level recruits, depending on who you ask, Elena Delle Donne, Samarie Walker and Sadie Edwards were all top 20 kids. Throw in Michala Johnson, who maybe wasn't as elite, but certainly became a very good player once her injuries healed, and UCONN has had an exodus just like other programs.

UCONN transfers since 2008 - Delle Donne, Walker, Johnson, Engeln, and Edwards. It remains to be seen how good Edwards is, but 3 of the other 4 were certainly very good players...

Eric-- Forgive me but this is a raw sore point for me. -I believe the Exodus of which you speak was team, coach, self induced to make way for Uconn type players. I don't believe the Exodus of Johnson and Engeln wasn't anything but for the good of the team. Also the Exodus of which you speak happened over time. In the last 5 or so years only one left. To me an Exodus would be like UNC or UCLA or Illinois--nothing like that ever happened or will happen as long as Christine and Geno are running this show.

EDD was a never was, 1 day does not a Husky make.
Walker had a special friend at Kentucky and didn't EVER want to be a Husky--Uconn was her parents choice.
Edwards -wasn't the right fit for her--I could say more but I'll not
My opinion ONLY--Johnson. Engeln either were told or saw the future and they were not in it and fortunately (??) for Geno they left
freeing up his coaching time and two position.
The best of the Engeln, Johnson, Samarie, Dolson class stayed and won Championships--and Uconn world loves her. Where are the other 3?

Why is it when Transfers are spoken of we choose to speak of the same group---these are people who didn't fit and probably should not have been recruited or should not have accepted an offer from Uconn
Uconn's transfer record is among the best--because recruits are not fed BS they are given facts not pap.
EDD I would liked to have seen as a husky--the whole I'm staying close to home for my sister was not fully true IMO.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Yep good catch! I was tired I guess. Another top recruit who left UCONN. I'd say more top players have left UCONN in the past 4-5 years than most other programs out there.

Eric---I too forgot Banks--she apparently left for playing time--had she stayed she more than likely would have had decent PT.
In another part of this I addressed the non Uconn Husky (1 day a husky does not make) EDD was.

Top (?) players left Uconn because Uconn isn't a bottom feeder. Besides Banks and Edwards who has left in the past 4 years?? I'm not much up on transfers--I'm a, if they are gone they are gone type--it's like the girls I chased and never got close to getting, and there were many--are gone from my memory.

 

[BroadwayVa]

You may have identified some reaction to what is being exposed at UNC -- counselors and coaches getting cold feet about helping athletes cut corners to remain eligible to play.

Let us hope that is the reaction! Student Athletes are supposed to be Students first (I know that's laughable). If this is the fall out for UNC''s illegal, immoral acts of creating non academic non classes it then has served the greater good.

I enjoy your English. I asked an English Major to tell me what was wrong with this statement: Me and her was woked up and I axed her where's the soap. She immediately picked up on the Me and her (She and I) but ignored the rest. English and math were/are my bad subjects, along with 30 other subjects--but my wife is slowly educating (learning) me. When I'm 142 I may pass 7th grade English.
Current ego's are so strong some never choose to put the other person first in speaking of another person and one's self (old time etiquette).

 

[Nuyoika]

Yep good catch! I was tired I guess. Another top recruit who left UCONN. I'd say more top players have left UCONN in the past 4-5 years than most other programs out there.

You could certainly make that case. However, given the spread of talent a lot of the kids who are leaving other schools are recruits the school was actually building with or around. You cannot say the same for UConn. With the exception of EDD none of those recruits were gonna make or break the UConn system, and I'm pretty sure we rattled of back to backs without EDD. Transfers like Diamond Deshields, Lexie Brown, and others really affect other teams because their foundations are made of sand where UConn is built on concrete. No matter who is in or out the style of play and the overall type of game they play stays the same. You can't say that for a lot of other DI teams. So if you are looking to make that comparison keep in mind from a value stand point UConn can afford to loose players and still compete at the highest level where other schools cannot. The players we loose do not even stand up apples to apples in any sort of comparison over the same period of time with other schools. It just does not compute.

 

[CocoHusky]

In another part of this I addressed the non Uconn Husky (1 day a husky does not make) EDD was.

No, ....what makes EDD a Husky is that she chose UCONN over Tennessee and when UCONN faced ND in the 2013 FF she again picked UCONN. I pretty sure if you cut that girl she'll bleed blue. It might be the Blue hen shade of Blue but isn't that way better than Orange?

 

[cabbie191]

I'd call EDD very good. I still want to see her on the court with Maya and Tina. I have tickets for Rio 2016!

Careful of the water!

 

[Kibitzer]

Stimulated by all the thoughtful discussion in this and other recent threads about recruiting and transfers, I re-read "Geno - In Pursuit of Perfection," especially Chapter 5.

In that chapter, Geno talks openly and candidly ("Recruiting is the worst part of my job. . . . It is also the most important part of my job.") about several individual successes (e.g., Ann Strother, Tamika Williams, etc.) and failures (Semeka Randall, Brittany Hunter, and others). He tells how his approach has evolved, but with one constant rule: "There's no bullsh it with our program."

He discusses transfers, especially that entire class of Kia Wright (homesickness), Kiana Robinson ("never bonded with her") and Liz Sherwood (detailed enumerations of hassles with Liz and her dad).

An especially insightful (NOT inciteful!) comment was made by Diana inn the Foreword:

"Coach Auriemma is not for everyone. If you can't take criticism or motivate yourself, go somewhere else. But if you love basketball, there is no other place for you. . . . [E]very one else is going to kiss your ass. They're going to spend four years telling you how great you are, and you will never find out how great you could have been. . . . Coach pushed the pedal for four years. . . . And I'm not talking about basketball. He made me a better person. . . . Thanks, Coach."​

 

[hoopingcrane]

An especially insightful (NOT inciteful!) comment was made by Diana inn the Foreword:

[E]very one else is going to kiss your ass. They're going to spend four years telling you how great you are, and you will never find out how great you could have been. . . . "​

[/QUOTE]
Ahem- I think that comment could properly be characterized as inciteful, if there were such a word.

 

[Kibitzer]

An especially insightful (NOT inciteful!) comment was made by Diana inn the Foreword:

[E]very one else is going to kiss your ass. They're going to spend four years telling you how great you are, and you will never find out how great you could have been. . . . "​

Ahem- I think that comment could properly be characterized as inciteful, if there were such a word.[/QUOTE]

Ahem yourself.

Although inciteful does not appear in all dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as a synonym for provocative. OTOH, insightful is defined as perceptive.

I believe you took a small portion of Diana's statement out of context to conclude that it is, um, provocative.

 

[UConnCat]

Breaking News:

http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/080515aac.htmlg

 

[BroadwayVa]

No, ....what makes EDD a Husky is that she chose UCONN over Tennessee and when UCONN faced ND in the 2013 FF she again picked UCONN. I pretty sure if you cut that girl she'll bleed blue. It might be the Blue hen shade of Blue but isn't that way better than Orange?

Maybe blue hen blue ---but never UCONN BLUE and WHITE. ONE DAY a HUSKy does not make!!! The semester I spent at CCSU (when TCC) did not make me a Blue DEVIL and that was hundereds of hours longer than EDD spent at UConn. Obviously she never was going to Tn, or Duke, or Podunk U-- so when she is cut, I can swear to this she bleeds RED or crimson she will never bleed Uconn Blue or Blue hen blue--Only royalty and new york's 400 bleed blue (really green).

 

[BroadwayVa]

Elena left for family considerations, and she has been even more outstanding as a pro

That's the cover story as told. Under the covers it appears differently.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Buy a Hamburger Meal and/or Make a phone call for an ESPN tour and they're considered Recruiting Violations. Give a parent a great playing job and there's no recruiting implications. Don't understand.

You can bet that Recee would not be a Texas Tech if they had not hired her father. The question is, would she still be at UCLA or were there arrangements made with both the Father and Player(Daughter) that led them both to Texas Tech.

This is not the first time a parent getting a job, led to a player choosing a school. Don't think this is right.

 

[Kibitzer]

Buy a Hamburger Meal and/or Make a phone call for an ESPN tour and they're considered Recruiting Violations. Give a parent a great playing job and there's no recruiting implications. Don't understand.

You can bet that Recee would not be a Texas Tech if they had not hired her father. The question is, would she still be at UCLA or were there arrangements made with both the Father and Player(Daughter) that led them both to Texas Tech.

This is not the first time a parent getting a job, led to a player choosing a school. Don't think this is right.

Concur completely. In the corporate world, non-compete clauses are standard in employee contracts. In the Federal Government, there are regulations limiting officials from cashing in as lobbyists immediately after ending public service. The NCAA enforces delays on transferring athletes (but not transferring coaches). It's time to clamp down on the type of chicanery described above.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Buy a Hamburger Meal and/or Make a phone call for an ESPN tour and they're considered Recruiting Violations. Give a parent a great playing job and there's no recruiting implications. Don't understand.

You can bet that Recee would not be a Texas Tech if they had not hired her father. The question is, would she still be at UCLA or were there arrangements made with both the Father and Player(Daughter) that led them both to Texas Tech.

This is not the first time a parent getting a job, led to a player choosing a school. Don't think this is right.

I have absolutely no problem with it.