Strong to UConn [merged thread]

[The CDR-Ret]

Sarah will make us stronger and more athletic. Yes!

I see what you did there! AWESOMENESS has been restored in the minds all doubters!!!

TRUE fans of UConn's [Geno's + coaching staff's] ability to recruit have never waivered, and those thinking needs would be met from the "Portal" have another THINK coming.

God bless all of the Huskies with rapid return to FULL health and better than ever before, and then stay healthy for the next 40 years [a very long time in Biblical texts]!

Go Huskies!

 

[AzzisBraids]

Strong looked like a UConn kid from the first moment I saw her. She is going to be great in Storrs. I love her response of "I'll do anything, anywhere, I don't care." Her shooting, passing, inside game and versatility makes her so unique.

Geno will now have #1 Paige Bueckers, #1 Azzi Fudd and #1 Sarah Strong along with a crew of McDonald All Americans. The firepower in Storrs is loading and no other roster has three of the top picks in the nation.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

View attachment 99051

Nice mole!

I "can see clearly now" except for the tears of JOY, after watching the "older Sarah ['rah]" giving the younger 'Rah the inspirational talk to make her the Great player who will be made GREATER by continuing to learn at UConn!!!

...also, thanks for the "Shubbery!" for the Knights who say "Nee!"

 

[Kaizen]

Can we get Aaliyah Chavez of 2025?

​

 

[hoophuskee]

Where does one check the recruiting class rankings and does this affect it at all? Is USC's still #1?

UCONN should be #1 now.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I did not follow this young lady at all. That's how pessimistic I was. So you have to forgive me for finding things I just have to share. This short shows a lot, but the best to me is great hands.

 

[Viet Vet]

Stay Healthy!

 

[uconnfan68]

But that’s what I said. She’s not a five.

Nope, she’ll just be 1 of 5.

 

[Charliebball]

Dont agree with the context of this post. If there is any learning, then imo I beeeive some fans learned the hard way that size isn't everything and that a team with an extreme short bench can still be terriific.

Why would anyone would think that Geno is making playing time mistakes enough to be very critical of-- while he goes to so many Final Fours still and he keeps recruiting at top 3 level year over year? - they would be very wrong imo.

Paige Bueckers came to UCONN her frosh year and we all read the quotes that she would tell Gneo "You owe me minutes."
And now that Sarah is coming do we really think as the number 1 recruit that she wont be anticiipatiing playing huge minutes in close games?

In blowouts, when hsi team is healthy and he has enough players - which he hasn't had in many since 2016-2016- he always plays his bench.

without KK and Ashlyn stepping up big-time there is no season............Geno has never had an affinity to play freshmen unless they are so incredibly talented that he'd be insane not to........how much court time would the freshmen have gotten without the multiple injuries? The point is those two freshmen and to a lesser extent, Ice and Q have proven that freshmen can sometimes be trusted to play well above their experience level........

 

[HuskyNan]

Can we get Aaliyah Chavez of 2025?

​

She eliminated UConn months ago

 

[Scud49]

I've had some nice consolation prizes during my lifetime, this has to be the very best one.....ever!

 

[Kaizen]

Where does one check the recruiting class rankings and does this affect it at all? Is USC's still #1?

UConn should be #1.

2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.

www.espn.com

 

[jeff30189]

We have ONE true potential starting post player next year - a redshirt freshman who hasn't played a second of college ball - in Jana. There is a long history of hyping up talent only to see that talent underwhelm. Let's be optimistic but realistic.

C = Jana (cross our fingers) backed up by Ice (who hopefully finds confidence and consistency)
PF = Sarah probably starts eventually, but its like to be some mix of Ayanna, Sarah, and Caroline (hopefully)
G = Ashlynn, backed up by the 2 incoming freshmen Morgan/Allie
G = Paige, backed up by KK
G = KK to start the season, Azzi once she's cleared

Once she is cleared and healthy, Audrey will be the first front court sub off the bench.. She and Sarah eventually own the PF spot next to Jana, Ayanna and Ice. Sarah is not playing the post.

Assuming a 3 guard lineup, I see Paige, Ash, KK and eventually Azzi taking the lion's share of the minutes.

Q, Allie and Morgan (barring injury) will see minutes early in the year with Audrey/Azzi still out.... but then mostly in blow-outs.

Ines, Amari might not see much PT unless there's another rash of injuries. Unfortunate, but realistic.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Plus the fact that Morgan is way underrated at #18 as she joined Sarah on the 5 player Naismith first team all American team. Two players from that team, how awesome is that?

Here’s a good picture of Morgan

……honest question, where does this recruiting class rank with Geno’s past great classes? IMO it’s definitely one of his best. Two Naismith All-Americans and and Allie Ziebell (ranked #4) right behind Sarah.

 

[hoophuskee]

without KK and Ashlynn stepping up big-time there is no season............Geno has never had an affinity to play freshmen unless they are so incredibly talented that he'd be insane not to........how much court time would the freshmen have gotten without the multiple injuries? The point is those two freshmen and to a lesser extent, Ice and Q have proven that freshmen can sometimes be trusted to play well above their experience level........

But if they had a healthy Azzi and Caroline, there would have probably been a superior season.

Because he would have had more blowouts meaning minues the bench still would have gotten.
He wouldn’t have played his top 5 players as much.
His team probably not blowing double digit leads like they did throughout the entire tournament.
And while we saw as an example Q not playing a lot of minutes late that she stepped up in a tight NCAA game. The same with Ice to a degree. She didn't play a lot before AE gets hurt- but yet she stepped up fine.. So there should not be a reason for KK or Ashlynn or both to not step up if they had less minutes because of Azzi and Caroline as well. (Off-topic: Next year imo KK and Ashlynn start over Azzi and Caroline at least in the beginning.)

But what we saw most importantly was that the move from the coach to put Paige at the 4 and not be so fixated with size. How many posts did we read stating "you have to pay Amari some" because we are so small? The bigs will wear down . . .

Heck I recall how so many were against Paige being SF because she'll get "beat up."

Geno does what he always has done. He wants to play fastbreak basketball and run a beautiful motion offense. And usually Geno has the more experienced number 1 recruit Azzi and number 4 Caroline as jr/sr's in which the freshmen can learn from.

 

[pacific 44]

After a full court press to every media outlet possible to announce that she is the Duke coach next year, would someone please tell Ms. Lawson that she can go ahead and take the tennessee job now as Sarah has committed elsewhere.

 

[Blacketh’D]

Somehow we’ll still mess it up

 

[Sifaka]

From all appearances, Sarah indeed was for a long time destined for Uconn.

Now I would like to be told the story behind the drama. Some will surely respond that this is none of our biz. OK. But it is a good story that deserves to be revealed. I hope we get it.

Why the long hold-out? Why the delay in making the reveal?

Could be it involves NIL, marketing factors etc. That makes sense, and there's nothing wrong with it. But why hide that if it was the motive?

There are multiple other explanations that may be more personal and perhaps more revealing. So, none of our business?

Bull. She's just a high school kid but also a public figure, and some loss of privacy comes with that (sadly) along with some benefits (such as fame and NIL).

If we don't have some explanation from her, we're left guessing. What difficulties were involved in her decision? Location? Lack of belief in her capabilities; fear that she couldn't make it at UConn? Concern that she would be overshadowed or fail there? What was the input from her parents and others? The recuiting tactics -- plus and minus -- of the various programs. Etc.

We're bound to wonder. I am, anyway, and I doubt I'm alone. That's not ideal -- getting this human interest story should be great for everyone.

Your want to know ≠ need to know. The young lady is now a public figure. That entitles people to wonder about stuff. It most certainly does not obligate her to satisfy your curiosity.

 

[bballnut90]

Here’s a good picture of Morgan, cute girl, if I may say so.

View attachment 99062

……honest question, where does this recruiting class rank with Geno’s past great classes? IMO it’s definitely one of his best. Two Naismith All-Americans and and Allie Ziebell (ranked #4) right behind Sarah.

1998 has TASSK which had #1 recruit Tamika Williams, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones who were top 5, Keirstan Walters was top 10-15 IIRC, and their lowest ranked recruit was Sue Bird in the 20s.

2002 class had 5 of the top 13 recruits including #1 overall Ann Strother.

2012 class had #1, #2 and #6 in Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck. That class panned out pretty well for Geno.

2017 class landed #1, #13, #16, #29 and the #2 player (Westbrook) transferred in

2021 class landed #1, #5, #15, #30



In terms of numbers only rankings, I think it's on par with 2021 and 2017. Not all rankings are created equal though. Where a player is ranked doesn't always correlate with comparative collegiate success, but it can often be a good indicator. The best players are usually highly ranked coming out of high school, but being highly ranked out of high school doesn't automatically mean you'll become one of the best players.

 

[bballnut90]

UConn should be #1.

2024 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.

www.espn.com

I'd agree. These rankings often seem to favor quantity over quality. I'd personally rather have UCONN or South Carolina's class over USC's. USC landed 6 kids, but classes with more than 3-4 players rarely stay together for more than a year or 2 in today's age.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

1998 has TASSK which had #1 recruit Tamika Williams, Swin Cash and Asjha Jones who were top 5, Keirstan Walters was top 10-15 IIRC, and their lowest ranked recruit was Sue Bird in the 20s.

2002 class had 5 of the top 13 recruits including #1 overall Ann Strother.

2012 class had #1, #2 and #6 in Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck. That class panned out pretty well for Geno.

2017 class landed #1, #13, #16, #29 and the #2 player (Westbrook) transferred in

2021 class landed #1, #5, #15, #30



In terms of numbers only rankings, I think it's on par with 2021 and 2017. Not all rankings are created equal though. Where a player is ranked doesn't always correlate with comparative collegiate success, but it can often be a good indicator. The best players are usually highly ranked coming out of high school, but being highly ranked out of high school doesn't automatically mean you'll become one of the best players.

I think Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck and Williams, Cash, Jones, and Bird were his two best, but Sarah, Ziebell, and Chelli aren’t far behind. JMO.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Congratulations on landing Strong. The Huskies and Gamecocks are going to have some epic battles in the coming years.

 

[HuskyNan]

We have ONE true potential starting post player next year - a redshirt freshman who hasn't played a second of college ball - in Jana. There is a long history of hyping up talent only to see that talent underwhelm. Let's be optimistic but realistic.

C = Jana (cross our fingers) backed up by Ice (who hopefully finds confidence and consistency)
PF = Sarah probably starts eventually, but its like to be some mix of Ayanna, Sarah, and Caroline (hopefully)
G = Ashlynn, backed up by the 2 incoming freshmen Morgan/Allie
G = Paige, backed up by KK
G = KK to start the season, Azzi once she's cleared

Once she is cleared and healthy, Audrey will be the first front court sub off the bench.. She and Sarah eventually own the PF spot next to Jana, Ayanna and Ice. Sarah is not playing the post.

Assuming a 3 guard lineup, I see Paige, Ash, KK and eventually Azzi taking the lion's share of the minutes.

Q, Allie and Morgan (barring injury) will see minutes early in the year with Audrey/Azzi still out.... but then mostly in blow-outs.

Ines, Amari might not see much PT unless there's another rash of injuries. Unfortunate, but realistic.

AuBrey

And, I disagree with about half of what you said

 

[RoadMaster]

Congratulations on landing Strong. The Huskies and Gamecocks are going to have some epic battles in the coming years.

Agree... Let's hope that all of these kids get/stay healthy!