I'm actually surprised that the regular recruiting efforts do not include nearby (southern New England) high school basketball players in the mold of Jacquie Fernandes who can be full-time, fully committed, end-of-bench team members in exchange for a regular basketball scholarship or at least the chance to earn one after a year. That is a very useful type of player, although mainly if not exclusively for practice and garbage time in games. It's a good deal for both the student and the team.
It doesn't make sense to recruit someone like Lauren Engeln to be that kind of player and make her travel that far from home to do so. It makes much more sense if the player is local and might be inclined to attend UConn even if basketball were not in the picture, but who would appreciate the free ride and the adventure of traveling and being on a top-tier team. That (particularly the chance for a scholarship) would make the time commitment feasible.
