April 2021 Recruiting Thread | Page 9 | The Boneyard

April 2021 Recruiting Thread

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JoePgh

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Wherever Juhasz goes, she wouldn't be a one-and-done. She has two years of eligibility left. She said she intends on using both.
I'm not sure that is a good thing from UConn's perspective. With Ice and Ayanna coming in the fall of 2022, and Amari and possibly Piath needing minutes, I'm not sure it's a good thing to have another body around to contend for those minutes.
 
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I can see both sides to this. But my take is right now we don’t have depth at the center position. Liv and AE are foul prone and we saw both can have a down game scoring wise. If there’s a skilled 6’4” big (two time all big 10 first team) why not kick the tires and see if there may be a fit. She seems very agile for her size and in the videos her layup and scoring around the rim is quite good. If she doesn’t work out then she doesn’t play. From my standpoint what do we have to lose. Against Arizon we desperately needed to have easier shots made and they weren’t by Liv and didn’t until the second half by AE. If we can get 8-10 points when Liv or AE sits that is vital and would’ve have been a game changer for us against a really tough defensive team like Arizona.

That's because it is a highlight video? I am sure I can make the same sort of video about Liv's play and you would not have any complaint about her layup and scoring around the rim either.
 
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That’s my concern as well. We really don’t have any depth behind our bigs. We need help and unless Amari can come and fill that role right away, I’ll have my worries. One more big body and I’ll feel a little bit better.
We do have Piath, and she's big and takes up space - you can't teach that. No more players for UConn; there are too many as it stands now. The teams that keep trying to stockpile all the talent are going to find their rosters in constant turmoil because players at this level want to be more than just practice fodder and someone with a better seat during games. A balanced roster of 9-11 players I think is best. Any more than that just becomes too unwieldy.
 
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I'm happy to see that you agree with me. That if the university isn't already making inquiries, they should be asking questions soon.
And if they do find that there's nothing wrong with how the program is being run, what should they do with that information ?
If you were the athletic director, which would you do ?:
Sit on the findings and keep silent.
or
Make an announcement that transfers are now an everyday part of wcbb and the Syracuse program is just fine.
I like the way you skipped the focal point of Littiemin’s post, which was the “guilty til proven innocent” tone of your post, and went straight to the “ I’m happy to see you agree with me”! I’m not sure that is correct, but more importantly, do you not see the perniciousness of publicly assuming (without a shred of evidence) that the coach at Syracuse might be a bad guy who needs to be investigated because a bunch of players transferred from his team? Did any of those players accuse him of anything? Five are grad transfers and four are players who were suspended at the end of the season. While it a bit shocking to hear that 11 kids are transferring, even a small effort on your part should have shown that, given the above-mentioned circumstances, it might be a little unfair to publicly smear the coach! I guess if your s*** is weak, the next best thing is to declare victory and move on.
 
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No, I did not agree with you, you must be a lawyer. You posted a completely different premise with your reply. An “investigation” to prove innocence against non-existing charges, which you originally called for, is far different than asking questions of employees in the normal course of business. Sorry, you are barking up the wrong tree if you think such a sophomoric trick is going to hold water with me.
Well said! I am overwhelmed with admiration! I mean that sincerely!
 
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We do have Piath, and she's big and takes up space - you can't teach that. No more players for UConn; there are too many as it stands now. The teams that keep trying to stockpile all the talent are going to find their rosters in constant turmoil because players at this level want to be more than just practice fodder and someone with a better seat during games. A balanced roster of 9-11 players I think is best. Any more than that just becomes too unwieldy.
What about unexpected injuries? It is always better to have more then less!
 

UConnCat

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Stanford played 3 post players -- Brink, Belibi and Prechtel -- during the past season. Belibi wasn't all that productive but Prechtel was huge off the bench in the tournament. She scored 16 points in 16 minutes in the Elite 8 win over Louisville and scored 9 points and grabbed 8 boards in 24 minutes against SC.
 
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We do have Piath, and she's big and takes up space - you can't teach that. No more players for UConn; there are too many as it stands now. The teams that keep trying to stockpile all the talent are going to find their rosters in constant turmoil because players at this level want to be more than just practice fodder and someone with a better seat during games. A balanced roster of 9-11 players I think is best. Any more than that just becomes too unwieldy.
Well the problem is now with the transfer rule, we’re going to see a lot more kids coming and going even with UConn. I don’t think anyone wants a repeat of last years roster/talent issues or lack of. That’s great Piath is big, but so are transfers. I’d rather have an experienced kid who’s shown she can hang, than a project. I don’t see Piath contributing until maybe junior year, possibly senior year. But hey that’s just my opinion. I think people are split here with adding more talent or maintaining a smaller roster
 
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Well the problem is now with the transfer rule, we’re going to see a lot more kids coming and going even with UConn. I don’t think anyone wants a repeat of last years roster/talent issues or lack of. That’s great Piath is big, but so are transfers. I’d rather have an experienced kid who’s shown she can hang, than a project. I don’t see Piath contributing until maybe junior year, possibly senior year. But hey that’s just my opinion. I think people are split here with adding more talent or maintaining a smaller roster
I view that as recruiting over kids. Wasn't long ago we criticized coaches of some of our fiercest competition for such a practice. If Geno can't win with 13 or 14 or how many ever he has going into next season, one more isn't going to make a difference.
 

CocoHusky

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I will try to present a middle ground here. First I have indicated that Gorka could be an interesting addition for one year. Do we need her badly, no! Is it likely she would come here even if Geno was interested? Probably not, but following Uconn on social media suggests there might be a chance. Do we already have a problem keeping lots of very good players happy with playing time? Yes. If bringing her for one year caused another very good 4 year player to leave, would that make it a mistake? Probably.

I was very wrong on Evelyn, not just based on her stats, but knowing they were from low level competition, and after seeing some video on her as well. So I will probably be forever a skeptic on big numbers from lesser programs. But Gorka's were from a Power 5 conference. Does that make me think Gorka is Azura 2.0? No, but I suspect much closer to her than Evelyn. Do I think Gorka would be a stretch 4 at Uconn? No, and I would not consider her a serious threat to the playing time of Liv or Aaliyah.

I think the best potential role for her would be Liv's principal backup, with some time but not much at PF. Now I think Amari will probably be a very good backup to Liv her freshmen year, but there will still be learning pains. Dorka would still have to beat out Amari for that role and maybe she wouldn't, but as a senior who has succeeded against good competition, I think her chances against a freshmen, even a very talented one, are pretty good. As for Amari's future, this would be like a one year rental that could raise the floor of how good our backup center will be during Amari's learning year. Whether it be Gorga or Amari, knowing that we would have a big maybe of the Prechtel level at Stanford coming off the bench even if Amari takes a while to get there. Amari's Uconn future after this year would still be bright.

Now there are many reasons why she would not want to come here, even if we wanted her. Her playing time probably would be cut dramatically. So why could she even consider it? Would it hurt her professional aspirations? Possibly, but if she performs very well even in limited minutes at Uconn, scouts will see plenty of you. Another factor is maybe she wants to see what a year of Uconn coaching does for her game. She might be better after that, and she would be going against players like Liv, Aaliyah and Amari every day in practice. In addition some may want to be part of the Uconn experience. Tons of exposure, in the limelight all the time and with a team that will probably make the final four and could easily win the championship.

So there are reasons why she may not want us, and visa versa, and I worry about the overloaded roster as much as anyone. Maybe we shouldn't pursue her because of that, but the odds would seem to be pretty good that Gorka as a proven senior, could be better than Amari as a freshmen for the role of backup C for next year.
That is not a middle ground. That is a well thought out logical position- well done!
 
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I view that as recruiting over kids. Wasn't long ago we criticized coaches of some of our fiercest competition for such a practice. If Geno can't win with 13 or 14 or how many ever he has going into next season, one more isn't going to make a difference.
I’m just stating my opinion. Piath isn’t going to play much next year so getting some height out of the portal isn’t bad at all. I’ve never criticized other coaches for getting talent, so that doesn’t apply to me. No one has said Geno can’t win with 13/14, I’m sure he can. I’m also sure having more talent will make it easier.
 
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Wherever Juhasz goes, she wouldn't be a one-and-done. She has two years of eligibility left. She said she intends on using both.
I was unaware of that. The argument for her being here just for one year is much stronger than for two IMO.
 

CocoHusky

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I view that as recruiting over kids. Wasn't long ago we criticized coaches of some of our fiercest competition for such a practice. If Geno can't win with 13 or 14 or how many ever he has going into next season, one more isn't going to make a difference.
Regardless of the size of the roster SOP for UCONN is to evaluate the players in the transfer portal and those coming out of HS. The chosen players have to be extremely skilled, wants to come to UCONN , a good fit for the team and a hard worker. This is the same unwavering evaluation that is done for all UCONN recruits. What is creating some angst among fans is that some clearly do not understand this and others are already pot committed to their "favorite" players.
This operating model of favorites would work just fine if fans can guarantee that all their favorite players are equally pot committed to staying at UCONN. Translation: Anna ( a starter) leaves and Geno is not supposed to try and find a replacement?
 
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I view that as recruiting over kids. Wasn't long ago we criticized coaches of some of our fiercest competition for such a practice. If Geno can't win with 13 or 14 or how many ever he has going into next season, one more isn't going to make a difference.
I kind of disagree. An experienced hard nosed stretch 4 who can hit the three would be really useful. Today's game requires teams to basically have 3-4 mobile bigs getting big minutes. The facts are that Tara had a team of options where on any given night she could find 5 hot hands and ride them to a win. Arizona threw multiple wide bodies at Liv and Aaliyah and just absorbed the fouls. facts are that if Liv or Aaliyah have a bad night or foul trouble against a good team then we lost.. We need multiple bigs and with such a young team, we could use an experienced "bridge" big who can give 20 minutes at the 4 or 5.
 
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I kind of disagree. An experienced hard nosed stretch 4 who can hit the three would be really useful. Today's game requires teams to basically have 3-4 mobile bigs getting big minutes. The facts are that Tara had a team of options where on any given night she could find 5 hot hands and ride them to a win. Arizona threw multiple wide bodies at Liv and Aaliyah and just absorbed the fouls. facts are that if Liv or Aaliyah have a bad night or foul trouble against a good team then we lost.. We need multiple bigs and with such a young team, we could use an experienced "bridge" big who can give 20 minutes at the 4 or 5.

A rotation of Liv, Edwards, and Juhász wouldn’t be a bad thing, but what minutes would be left for Griffin and Mir?
 
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A rotation of Liv, Edwards, and Juhász wouldn’t be a bad thing, but what minutes would be left for Griffin and Mir?
They need to expand their game and be able to play the 3 also in order to get good minutes. This will also be good for them long term. Neither one of them is big enough to play the 4 professionally so they need to start working on their shot.
 
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A rotation of Liv, Edwards, and Juhász wouldn’t be a bad thing, but what minutes would be left for Griffin and Mir?
We need them also to win everything. They are needed to guard those big athletic 3’s and 4’s
 
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I like the way you skipped the focal point of Littiemin’s post, which was the “guilty til proven innocent” tone of your post, and went straight to the “ I’m happy to see you agree with me”! I’m not sure that is correct, but more importantly, do you not see the perniciousness of publicly assuming (without a shred of evidence) that the coach at Syracuse might be a bad guy who needs to be investigated because a bunch of players transferred from his team? Did any of those players accuse him of anything? Five are grad transfers and four are players who were suspended at the end of the season. While it a bit shocking to hear that 11 kids are transferring, even a small effort on your part should have shown that, given the above-mentioned circumstances, it might be a little unfair to publicly smear the coach! I guess if your s*** is weak, the next best thing is to declare victory and move on.
I am agreeing with all of your points.

To those that don't agree, here is the point:
If all the current commits to 'Cuse show up, they have 11 solid players [even with 11 transferring out - quite amazing...]. Not quite [actually a long ways from] the caliber as UCONN was this year, but functional. It could be that the women had end of year assessments from Coach Q & staff that were truthful, and the current women were "not cool" with projected significant drops in playing time.

Recommend taking a deep breath, let it out, and keep breathing. We have no horses in this race.....
 
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A rotation of Liv, Edwards, and Juhász wouldn’t be a bad thing, but what minutes would be left for Griffin and Mir?
What opens up the driving lanes are Azzi, Paige, Evina, & Muhl (pray they all stay healthy all year), and add Griffin and Mir all the way to the NC!!!!
 

CocoHusky

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that would make a team of 14 players? I'll leave it up to the boss to decide........he's the one that has to figure out how to play all those folks.........
He will.
 

Gus Mahler

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That’s my concern as well. We really don’t have any depth behind our bigs. We need help and unless Amari can come and fill that role right away, I’ll have my worries. One more big body and I’ll feel a little bit better.
Especially true now with Anna gone. She could defend tolerably well against most fours.
 
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A rotation of Liv, Edwards, and Juhász wouldn’t be a bad thing, but what minutes would be left for Griffin and Mir?
It’s probably different at a lot of schools that don’t have the depth of talent or play at UConn’s level but GA doesn’t create PT for players, they have to create their own. If they impact play in practices and games to the point GA doesn’t want to take them off the floor, they’ll get good amounts of PT. I have to believe this is made clear to them before they sign and again when they get to campus. That’s one reason why I’m surprised more players don’t noticeably improve their skills and fitness during the off-season knowing the competition for PT.
 

Gus Mahler

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Stanford played 3 post players -- Brink, Belibi and Prechtel -- during the past season. Belibi wasn't all that productive but Prechtel was huge off the bench in the tournament. She scored 16 points in 16 minutes in the Elite 8 win over Louisville and scored 9 points and grabbed 8 boards in 24 minutes against SC.
And she was fairly awesome blocking shots, at least in one game I saw.
 
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