I had the pleasure of watching Saylor play 3 games with Middletown last season.
@RoadWarrior was with me for a couple of them.
As we've said before, Saylor is a
highly versatile player. She jumps center to start the game and plays in the post in the zone defense. She also brings the ball up the floor and initiates the offense. She defends, rebounds, blocks shots, throws great passes (including from 50'), and scores from everywhere. Her step-back 3-pointer from 22-25' is unstoppable. She's not as great a shooter as Paige or Azzi, but she's good. Her form on FTs is classic. Saylor is a legit 6'2" and a coach's daughter. She has a good IQ and likes to be challenged.
Remember that Saylor had hip surgery (like Phee, Crystal, Sue, et al.) last spring and was on a crutch for a while. She had to recover and rehab. Saylor was unable to run or play hoops for a while, but she worked hard with her personal trainer. She likely was out of shape in the fall, because of the surgery, but should be ok now, though probably not in UConn basketball shape yet.
I suspect Saylor's decision was based partly to get some structure and partly to get a jump on the UConn learning curve. She hasn't played much basketball since March, so she probably is eager to get back on the court, which was looking questionable at Middletown. She'll be behind the curve on the plays and conditioning, but she's smart and a hard worker. This will definitely help her and the team for next fall. Can Saylor learn fast enough to contribute this season? It's a tough ask in a very short period of time, but her strong instincts will help her.
By the way, she's a really nice person. The team chemistry is excellent, and Say should fit right in. I commend her for taking this big step. As noted, she is a person who likes a challenge.
The HoopGurlz ranking is a joke. Almost everyone else has her listed between 5 and 15. I think that's accurate.
Another addition: As Geno typically does with freshmen, he'll try to simplify things for Saylor. He may tell her to defend a particular player, grab some rebounds, play a certain place in a zone press, or get open for threes. She should be able to manage those things.