UConn (only) recruiting speculation (merged)

[HuskyNan]

Liza Karlen is at ND this weekend

@Dillon77

 

[jaydee602]

I’m hearing Left Coast destination for Kiki

I can see it now. The "Kiki & Juju" show!

 

[Dillon77]

Liza Karlen is at ND this weekend

@Dillon77

Thanks for advising!
I could see her working well with Maddy Westbeld and Sonia Citron.

 

[HuskyNan]

I believe KiKi's major is fashion adjacent. If only there was someone in the UConn community with lots of influencer contacts in that area... lol

If only there were a major city that’s one of the world’s fashion centers a couple hours from campus….

 

[oldhusky]

If only there were a major city that’s one of the world’s fashion centers a couple hours from campus….

She will need to buy some winter clothes too!

 

[Bone Dog]

Kiki is an L.A. girl who chose Stanford to be close to home with a top team.

I'm trying to make sense of the notion that Palo Alto is somehow close to LA. It's a short plane ride, but by car it's 5 hours minimum. My daughter just graduated from Cal and being close to her many cousins in LA would have been a huge asset -- if only it were actually close. I know, Storrs is a longer plane ride from LA than Palo Alto is, but once you take the trouble to get on a plane, does that difference matter much?

What I mean to say is, if Kiki wanted to be close to home, she'd have chosen UCLA, not Stanford three years ago. Now, three years later, can it still be much of a concern?

I think for these women who have a possible career in the W in mind, location probably means a lot less than winning an NC and getting ready for the pros. That really spells UConn or SC or ND, not UCLA or USC.

 

[Zonepress]

I'm trying to make sense of the notion that Palo Alto is somehow close to LA. It's a short plane ride, but by car it's 5 hours minimum. My daughter just graduated from Cal and being close to her many cousins in LA would have been a huge asset -- if only it were actually close. I know, Storrs is a longer plane ride from LA than Palo Alto is, but once you take the trouble to get on a plane, does that difference matter much?

What I mean to say is, if Kiki wanted to be close to home, she'd have chosen UCLA, not Stanford three years ago. Now, three years later, can it still be much of a concern?

I think for these women who have a possible career in the W in mind, location probably means a lot less than winning an NC and getting ready for the pros. That really spells UConn or SC or ND, not UCLA or USC.

So you don’t think ucla or usc would have a chance at a championship if she transferred
To either of those schools?
They are already top 5-6

 

[cohenzone]

Exactly. Palo Alto

I'm trying to make sense of the notion that Palo Alto is somehow close to LA. It's a short plane ride, but by car it's 5 hours minimum. My daughter just graduated from Cal and being close to her many cousins in LA would have been a huge asset -- if only it were actually close. I know, Storrs is a longer plane ride from LA than Palo Alto is, but once you take the trouble to get on a plane, does that difference matter much?

What I mean to say is, if Kiki wanted to be close to home, she'd have chosen UCLA, not Stanford three years ago. Now, three years later,it’s can it still be much of a concern?y
Obviousl
I think for these women who have a possible career in the W in mind, location probably means a lot less than winning an NC and getting ready for the pros. That really spells UConn or SC or ND, not UCLA or USC.

Exactly. Palo Alto is close to LA the way Baltimore is close to Storrs. My son and fam live walkable to UCLA and do not see the Stanford area as being close. Obviously it is much closer than Storrs. I’m in CT. I have another son near Syracuse. It’s about as easy for me to get to LA as it is Syracuse.

Meanwhile, I would be surprised to see Geno fill all 15 scholarships, especially with talent capable of playing a lot of minutes. Maybe with 2 forecourt types. backcourt already seems overloaded with top talent.

 

[HuskyNan]

Azzi now following Raegan Beers on Instagram.

I’ve got the warm fuzzies

 

[VA Huskie]

I’m thinking it must be fun to be a coach at a top school with all these wonderful basketball players being potentially available. Kinda like the kid in the candy store analogy. Of course I’m sure there’s lots of stress involved as well.

 

[Hawk]

Azzi now following Raegan Beers on Instagram.

I’ve got the warm fuzzies

Kiki also followed azzi back this morning

 

[Bone Dog]

So you don’t think ucla or usc would have a chance at a championship if she transferred
To either of those schools?
They are already top 5-6

Not what I said -- don't cherry pick.

... winning an NC and getting ready for the pros

I absolutely think UCLA or USCw has a shot at an NC. After last Eason, it would be crazy to count ether of them out. But as for preparing players for the W, not that many teams have much of a track record there, and certainly not UCLA or USCw, at least not as compared to UConn SC and ND. I'd add Stanford to the list, but that's where she's leaving from.

 

[dtbtbtb]

IMO it makes a perfect sense for Iriafen to choose USC or UCLA as both will be (especially with her) a major contender for a championship next season. At UConn she'll have an even better chance for a championship. I don't see both her and Beers coming to UConn so i hope we get one of them.

 

[LuvBball]

LB and Iriafen were in the same front court before. I'd be surprised I'd given the number of incoming recruits ucla has she goes there

 

[DRR25]

Yes there was. They just didn’t transfer like they are now

And they had to sit out a year then. Now they don't have to sit out and they can transfer multiple times so the transfer portal is a different animal now.

 

[Jackalope]

Azzi now following Raegan Beers on Instagram.

I’ve got the warm fuzzies

Morgan Cheli too!

 

[saywho]

If only there were a major city that’s one of the world’s fashion centers a couple hours from campus….

Actually her major is design engineering. So, a pretty far cry from fashion design.

 

[DRR25]

You would have to believe that one of the two LA schools are Iriafen’s destination. But, I wouldn’t take UConn off the table just yet. Somewhere in her thinking, has to be the opportunity to win a national championship. While you could make an argument that Iriafen would give both USC & UCLA that opportunity were she to transfer to either school. IMO, she would have a better opportunity for a Natty at UConn, South Carolina or even ND if she were to head a little further East.

Definitely would think that Notre Dame would be in the mix. Good academics and they were in Iriafen's top 5 out of high school.

 

[DRR25]

...I know, Storrs is a longer plane ride from LA than Palo Alto is, but once you take the trouble to get on a plane, does that difference matter much?

Yes it does matter that much. Especially come January.

 

[cohenzone]

Yes it does matter that much. Especially come January.

All the old PAC 12 teams from CA that jumped to the BigG will be flying into snow country a bit. Plus, having flown between CT and SoCal dozens of times during the winter I haven’t had a single cancellation or delay and just jinxed myself.

 

[PacoSwede]

if i were a basketball player seeking a college to attend, and my talents were such that my ultimate goal was to play professionally, i would imagine one of my prime priorities (though there may be others too) would be getting into a program that has an extremely exceptional history of giving alumna a chance at the pros.

getting a NC would be a lesser consideration for me, and i'd take geography, potential teammates and compatibility, etc. into consideration, but getting into the pros would be my prime objective.

in our recruiting commentaries i rarely see this mentioned as a motivation for the coveted player. it is a HUGE advantage for uconn. no other school comes close at providing players a chance to extend their life in basketball. i would hope that young phenoms are aware of this.

great examples were dorka and lou from last year -- especially lou, a top draftee who would have gone unnoticed by the wnba but for the fact she played ONE year at uconn. ... and this year we can point to nika, who although not ballyhooed suddenly is projected to be a first round pick alongside liya.

geno and his team do the job, and top players, i maintain, notice.

not all consider playing professionally the ultimate goal, of course.

 

[BRS24]

What if, and don't laugh, both Reagan and Kiki want to come to Storrs? Would that work? Not tryna be greedy, but an honest question. Do we need 1 big and 1 guard, assuming Geno wants to fill both slots? Hear me out. Aubrey is a wildcard as we'll have no idea when she's ready to play, and even then, will need to get into true game-shape, and remesh with the team. I've put the guards on the left, the more post than not on the right (maybe?), and the swing guard/wing/post in the middle. Reagan would fill out a more post-y spot, and Kiki, well, I'm not sure?

Super Senior (purple), Senior (blue), Junior (green), Soph (yellow), Frosh (pink)

 

[ABCDFE]

What if, and don't laugh, both Reagan and Kiki want to come to Storrs? Would that work? Not tryna be greedy, but an honest question. Do we need 1 big and 1 guard, assuming Geno wants to fill both slots? Hear me out. Aubrey is a wildcard as we'll have no idea when she's ready to play, and even then, will need to get into true game-shape, and remesh with the team. I've put the guards on the left, the more post than not on the right (maybe?), and the swing guard/wing/post in the middle. Reagan would fill out a more post-y spot, and Kiki, well, I'm not sure?

Super Senior (purple), Senior (blue), Junior (green), Soph (yellow), Frosh (pink)
View attachment 99610

Yes I would take both. Versatility to play both the 4/5 important. Yanna and Jana both coming back from tough injuries. Jana we havent seen play a single minute of wcbb and projection doesn’t equal certainty. I think I’ve is more of a four and could even play the 3 given her shooting ability. Gamdy is raw and the bigs that we may get in the 2026+ classes will be here when ice, beers and Kiki will most likely be gone or final year.

 

[Bone Dog]

... Reagan would fill out a more post-y spot, and Kiki, well, I'm not sure?

Super Senior (purple), Senior (blue), Junior (green), Soph (yellow), Frosh (pink)
View attachment 99610

Having watched a bunch of Kiki's games on video from this season, I'd say she's pretty clearly cut from the mold of Aaliyah -- 6'3" with long arms and very strong. She's got a better instinct for blocking shots and in the second half of the season, her midrange game seemed better than Aaliyah's. She also runs the floor well, though perhaps not quite as well as Aaliyah -- picture all those steals that Aaliyah took the length of the court to score.

People say Raegan has good mobility, but as far as I can see that's only as a post in the half court game. I haven't seen her play the high hedge, get a steal, run the length of the court with it to score. But in the low post, she is strong and has excellent post moves, and her midrange game is pretty good, too.

This is where Jana stands out for me. She could learn a lot from Raegan in the low post... and she already has Aaliyah-level mobility. She can run the court as well as any big I've seen. She could also learn a lot from Kiki, especially in terms of her midrange game and her genius as a shot blocker.

 

[hoophuskee]

What if, and don't laugh, both Reagan and Kiki want to come to Storrs? Would that work? Do we need 1 big and 1 guard, assuming Geno wants to fill both slots? Hear me out. Aubrey is a wildcard as we'll have no idea when she's ready to play, and even then, will need to get into true game-shape, and remesh with the team. I've put the guards on the left, the more post than not on the right (maybe?), and the swing guard/wing/post in the middle. Reagan would fill out a more post-y spot, and Kiki, well, I'm not sure?

Super Senior (purple), Senior (blue), Junior (green), Soph (yellow), Frosh (pink)
View attachment 99610

IMO - below are the positions but that’s probably not your point. But just remember if they get two Bigs - players of A/A caliber then there is no way "everyone is going to eat." And if you get two posts that are a/a caliber more than likely the past fad of "press press press" has been tossed aside for a new fashion statement.

1--- Morgan Cheli is also a SF/PF along with a pg (not just a guard).
2--- Ducharme is a Wing and PF. (not just a guard).
3--- Q is a Wing. (not just a guard).
4--- Aubrey is a SF/PF. (not a guard).
5-- Allie is a Wing (not just a guard).
6--- Ayanna Patterson is a PF/C (not a Wing)
7--- Paige is also a SF(when UCONN plays KK, Azzi, and Paige which would be a common lineup - Paige will play SF).

I can see trying to get a Big and a Wing – of which the Wing is not a College A/a while the Big is. I'll just leave it at that other that there are ramifcation doing this with two Bigs which are A/A caliber.