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- Thread starter RUcrazee
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Very sad news if she transfers to UCONN, however, Nelson-Ododa is probably the most disappointing post player to start for UCONN. They need a replacement for her or they should start Edwards the Freshman from Canada.
Syracuse has 10 players in the transfer portal, now that is amazing!
Syracuse has 10 players in the transfer portal, now that is amazing!
I just have to say that there are some UConn fans who seem to agree on their message board. But most pointed out that this was an especially bad game for her. I would say most don't seem to think she is the "greatest", but there is plenty of push back against those who think she is the "worst".
Yes, ONO's potential could be considered as high as C.Collier's because of her athleticism. I used to post about her when we had to explain Maori D. situation to some on this forum last year. People were saying that her lack of production, being a top 20 prospect, was a reflection of CVS' coaching.
I grouped players like Maori, Ododa, and Shakira Austin together as potential elites. They are going to take time to develop(possibly 3-4 years). I considered A.Boston, NaLyssa S. type prospects as elite because they were game ready as freshman(Owusu, Bueckers, etc)
Austin has developed nicely over the past year since leaving Md. Whoever is working with her is really good. So, is Geno failing with Ododa? She and Austin were ranked as the 4th and 5th best recruits of their class behind Collier at 2nd, by Hoopgurlz. Austin should be a preseason 1st team AA the way she played this season.
I grouped players like Maori, Ododa, and Shakira Austin together as potential elites. They are going to take time to develop(possibly 3-4 years). I considered A.Boston, NaLyssa S. type prospects as elite because they were game ready as freshman(Owusu, Bueckers, etc)
Austin has developed nicely over the past year since leaving Md. Whoever is working with her is really good. So, is Geno failing with Ododa? She and Austin were ranked as the 4th and 5th best recruits of their class behind Collier at 2nd, by Hoopgurlz. Austin should be a preseason 1st team AA the way she played this season.
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2018 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.
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Something really interesting and worth a look, is that recruiting class discussed in the post above. Looking back on where they were ranked then and how things have worked out at their various schools.2018 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
At least 2 of the top 10 transferred (Prince & Austin). And Hillman #58 has turned out pretty good for Michigan.
Yes, and #55 Elissa Cunane NC State. 1st and 2nd team AA, respectively. Also, look at Rhyne Howard down at #32, another 1st team AA.
Zippy #23, was starting to show why she was ranked so high until that unfortunate injury this season. Hope she and Diamond change their minds.
Remember, Arella was #99 in her hoopgurlz class.
Good day for you Knight Time Fan! Arizona picks up one that I would have loved to see come our way......Koi Love, Vandy's best player. I think she was close to a 20 and 10 stat player as a frosh.
As you probably know, Arizona is built on transfers and foreign players. Woo Hoo.
I appreciate the response, however I disagree. I am very candid so please don't take offense to my post.
I have not posted in a couple of years on the board but I watch it very very closely.
The recent negative comments about C. Viv and Rutgers Women's basketball brought me out of retirement because I will defend this coach and team.
Rutgers is a great program and C. Viv is a great coach. This team finished 3rd in a very deep Big Ten conference and advanced to the NCAA tournament, yes, it was disappointing to not advance past the first round but that's life. C. Viv might have lost a step or two but she is still better than most coaches. I will ride or die with C. Viv and Rutgers until the wheels fall off.
ONO is overrated, she is surrounded by a talented roster, great coaching and still isn't able to show up when needed. When these kids commit to Connecticut their high school ranks go up.
ONO is no where near Shakira Austin talent level, athleticism is not a factor in my book. Shakira Austin is a monster on the basketball and commands a double team. I was glad she left the Maryland so that Rutgers didn't have to face her.
ONO is not better than Davenport either. Davenport should have stayed at Rutgers in my opinion.
I pray and hope that both Diamond and Zippy change their minds and withdraw their names from the transfer portal and stay at Rutgers. We need them, guards are the key to success under C. Viv and if both stay they will make the ALL BIG TEAM. Diamond and Zippy PLEASE STAY!
No way I'm taking offense to your post.
Because you are making the same points that I have been making. You said you disagree and then proceeded to take up for all of my recent opinions.
Maybe you didn't read the whole post. Austin, Ododa, and Davenport came in as potential elites. While at Md., Austin was not anywhere close to the skill level that she played at this year. I ended by predicting that she will be a preseason AA.
Ododa was highly touted strictly based on potential. Any 6'5", athletic HS girl that is entered into the dunk contest is likely going to be highly rated whether a UConn recruit or not. Oftentimes, the recruits are highly rated, and then commit to UConn.
Follow up on Ododa.......I wouldn't count her out just yet. It just goes to show how tough it is to develop players. It all comes down to her desire to take her game to the next level and having the coaching that can get her there. Austin's drive to be "a beast" plays a huge part in her quick development once leaving Md. Just like I mentioned Jordan Wallace's improvement from Jr to Sr year. She seemed to make up her mind to be a better player. We don't know Ododa's drive, but the potential is there.
Yes, Geno is a good coach, but this shows that he's not so much head and shoulders better than other coaches when it comes to developing players. Really, ...how many players come to mind that he has clearly transformed from raw talent to polished? I can't recall any. He hasn't had to because he wins with "right out of the packaging, ready to go" skilled players like Taurasi, Bird, Cash, Charles, Maya Moore, and now Bueckers. Now that I think about it, UConn usually doesn't recruit raw players like Ododa. They have the luxury to not have to do so.
Yes, Geno is a good coach, but this shows that he's not so much head and shoulders better than other coaches when it comes to developing players. Really, ...how many players come to mind that he has clearly transformed from raw talent to polished? I can't recall any. He hasn't had to because he wins with "right out of the packaging, ready to go" skilled players like Taurasi, Bird, Cash, Charles, Maya Moore, and now Bueckers. Now that I think about it, UConn usually doesn't recruit raw players like Ododa. They have the luxury to not have to do so.
You are correct about developing from "scratch" - although he has kind of shown that he can have success with "lesser known" players like Maria Conlin. He is very talented at getting a bunch of good players to play together and make themselves "better".
It's always nice to be in agreement, but even if we weren't, I can appreciate your candor and respect your opinion. Go RU!
Well said. This years' team is a good example of that. Following what would be considered a down year for UConn last year. The returning group seemed to be unsure of themselves. Then Paige is entered in the mix, and taking over the lead role on the team without even trying to, it made Christyn Williams even less confident. Geno knew that he had to get her ego patched up quickly if he wanted to go deep in the tourney. He knows just what buttons to push to motivate players. By tourney time, we all saw Christyn playing with the swag of a former #1 ranked recruit not willing to take a backseat to Paige but ready to play alongside as her equal. (I'm not saying they are equal, just talking about Christyn's mindset to get back to her standout play.)
Closer to home. Wish her well and good health as injuries seemed to hamper her reaching full potential at RU.
Wish her every success academically at Florida and be able to use her degree to make a good life for herself after she leaves that school
But as far as sucess on the court, only that she stays injury free and I'll let Gator fans wish her success as a Gator player.
But as far as sucess on the court, only that she stays injury free and I'll let Gator fans wish her success as a Gator player.
Despite the difficult day we experienced yesterday, I always force myself to look at the bright side of things. We have a team full of talented young ladies with lots of potential. I trust that CVS and staff can coach them up to be an exciting team to watch.
For those "negative nellies" who focus on the talent that has left, I say, remember ALL of the success stories of RU CVS kids, many of whom have enjoyed long WNBA careers. These success stories are not just from 10-12 years ago, they are evident at the present time. Many other P5 programs would love to be able to say the same but can't. She's doing something right!
For those "negative nellies" who focus on the talent that has left, I say, remember ALL of the success stories of RU CVS kids, many of whom have enjoyed long WNBA careers. These success stories are not just from 10-12 years ago, they are evident at the present time. Many other P5 programs would love to be able to say the same but can't. She's doing something right!
All that may be true and some of the underclass may develope significantly, but realistically I see us in the bottom half of the Big 10 in the foreseeable future.
Quite possible,....especially if the recruiting isn't sustained. We are going to have a tough time because we lost all of our experience except Tyia, who is still in a developing stage. Everyone else seems to have kept their graduating seniors for the free year and are adding recruits and portal transfers. We are sitting at a disadvantage right now when talking the Md., Iowa, Mich, Indy, MichSt, OSU, and Northwesterns of the conference. Penn St is getting better, quickly.
With all this being understood, ....my expectations will be met if the team plays together and shows improvement from beginning to end. The fact that we lost a player that was clearly the foundation for truly resurrecting the program, is forcing us to come back down to earth a bit. That is not a bad thing. I think it's important for people to get back to the principals that mine and prior generations grew up on that said, 'It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game'. Nowadays, it's 'win at all cost' and 'Just win baby!' , as exemplified from NBA on down to Biddy league. I don't believe the latter way of thinking fosters good character. I never agreed with this thing of championships(rings) defining a player's career success.
A true RU fan can enjoy a team that may struggle to be in the top half but is doing everything the right way to get better. I am a fan of the young ladies on the team. I will enjoy watching their development, win or lose.
As a long time season ticket holder for WBB I want to be entertained by a quality performance that most of the time results in a win or else I can spend that money I spend in other forms of entertainment. I do not believe in the theory of being a good loser. I want and expect to win watching a quality product. This year we won most of the time but I always sensed something was off. Next year I fear we are in for a .500 or below season with the depleted team we have.
Your desires as a fan are no different than most if not all. You just don't sound like a diehard RU fan. I never said I was looking forward to the team looking like a hot mess. If they play the game the right way but just happen to be overmatched in a loss, I can stand behind them and be proud. Diehard fans stick with the team through the good and tough times.
I think it's safe to say that, for most of us on this forum, the team overachieved the last two seasons. IIRC, I think preseason polls had us in the middle to bottom half of the BIG10 both of the last two years. Going into each of those seasons, I know that I was concerned about our lack of a post presence to be competitive with Mich, Iowa, OSU, Md. and the like. I know I'm not the only one that was pleasantly surprised to see Jordan W. and Tyia's improvement to, at least be serviceable in the post and allowing us to compete if not win many of those games.
And when the team was winning this year(during the 9-game win streak), I saw a team that was focused and clicking on all cylinders. The starters expended too much energy in that run, imo, and lost their momentum with the double bye going into the BIG Tourney.
Their play was a thing of beauty for most of the 9-game streak(as recognized by the analysts, repeatedly).
Bottom line, I'm anxious to see what our young team is able to do with this golden opportunity. After not being able to play this past year, the floor is all theirs now.
I'm with you in that i also enjoy very much watching the young ladies develop and progress, with Jordan Wallace being a recent prime example.
My lament, is Zippy for example. I think a lot of the hard work and development has been put in and now Florida will enjoy the fruit. As a fan, if this trend with the transfer portal continues, it diminishes my loyalty to the players and thereby to the team.
Excellent point. I too am not a fan of this transfer frenzy. It is no different than NBA free agency. I could never see Patrick Ewing joining forces with Rik Smits and the Davis boys to try to take down Michael Jordan. I was disgusted with KD joining the Warriors and Harden joining the Nets.
So much movement each year does diminish that team loyalty that is fast becoming a thing of 'yesteryear'. Something that we are going to be forced to get used to.
It just ain't fair!! Geez!! How many riches does one team need?! The cup overfloweth, already! When does it stop?!! It is official.
Raoul
@Raoul_000
·
1h
Ohio State WBB grad transfer Dorka Juhász (6-4 JR forward, Pecs, Hungary) has announced her commitment to UConn
Indeed. He is accumulating them.
Arizona picked up another, from Oregon, her home is Surprise, AZ, which is a Phoenix suburb. So other than that she chose Arizona and not ASU, she is getting closer to home I suppose.
On a separate note, the really, really hot rumor is Shea Ralph to Vanderbilt as head coach, and her husband, the head coach at UMass Lowell, goes with her.
This seems very plausible. She’s originally from the south (NC ?) and she just started a family so maybe wants to be closer to home. Even more likely, she doesn’t want to wait 5+ years for Geno to retire before she gets her own gig.
You have to wonder if UConn will be UConn in 10 years or it will become LaTech given the conference / lack of football $.
It’s official, Ralph to Vandy
vucommodores.com
Ralph to Lead Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball
Commodores name former UConn assistant the sixth head coach in program history
vucommodores.com
That is a million dollar question. How much will the state of CT invest or allow to be invested in the women's program post Geno? And will the "don't follow a legend" curse follow Geno's successor?
Answers unknown. At a guess, better than La Tech. No longer consistently in the Final Four. So somewhere in the middle.
UConn's Auriemma: Transfer portal is a 'mess'
UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma says the transfer portal is a "mess" and that "there's something wrong with the culture of college basketball."
IMO, Geno's coming off as a bit of a control freak who feels entitled. I agree that some of the athletes may be making moves that they may regret in the end. Many may have things work out to be the best move they could have made. But they should have that right. Geno trying to equate, a player "leaving for no reason", to a coaches ability/inability to rescind a scholarship for poor performance, is nonsensical to me. That just seems like he is bitter that he can't control the situation with individual athletes.
Coaches have long had the ability to just "up and leave for no reason" to accept another job somewhere else with no 'sit out' consequence. And many do just that every year. Most give their reason as: The opportunity of a lifetime,... and, it's my dream job. In other words, Sorry folks, I'm taking advantage of this opportunity for me. Why shouldn't athletes be afforded that same right? There aren't as many coaches as there are players, the percentages of movement may be comparable, idk.
Is he concerned that other teams can even out the edge he's enjoyed in recruiting classes each year by bolstering good teams with quality players from the portal?? Look at how good some teams got(on paper), that will be contenders with Geno's stacked team [that includes an All-Big Ten incoming transfer(D. Juhasz)]................South Carolina, (painfully)NCState, Arizona, maybe Duke, and others.
And I would love to see the list of players who wanted to transfer there to UConn whose answer to his question, "What's wrong with you?", made him decide to say "No" to them.
Overall, this article would steer me away from Geno if I were an elite recruit. He wants to own his players and take full credit for the player that they go on to be in the pros. unless they don't pan out,... then he wants to be able to strip their scholarship or recruit over their position. No loyalty to a recruit. And you wonder why some players look elsewhere for a home??!
And the athletes don make millions of $ every year. Just sayin!!
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Recent comment from Raoul's WBB site.
Raoul
@Raoul_000
No stats to back this up, but it feels like decommits are on the rise in WBB. Most of them this off-season have been connected to coaching changes, and when there are 50+ of those . . .
9:40 PM · May 27, 2021·Twitter Web App
Raoul
@Raoul_000
No stats to back this up, but it feels like decommits are on the rise in WBB. Most of them this off-season have been connected to coaching changes, and when there are 50+ of those . . .
9:40 PM · May 27, 2021·Twitter Web App
"He wants to own his players and take full credit for the player that they go on to be in the pros. unless they don't pan out,... then he wants to be able to strip their scholarship or recruit over their position. No loyalty to a recruit."UConn's Auriemma: Transfer portal is a 'mess'
UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma says the transfer portal is a "mess" and that "there's something wrong with the culture of college basketball."
IMO, Geno's coming off as a bit of a control freak who feels entitled. I agree that some of the athletes may be making moves that they may regret in the end. Many may have things work out to be the best move they could have made. But they should have that right. Geno trying to equate, a player "leaving for no reason", to a coaches ability/inability to rescind a scholarship for poor performance, is nonsensical to me. That just seems like he is bitter that he can't control the situation with individual athletes.
Coaches have long had the ability to just "up and leave for no reason" to accept another job somewhere else with no 'sit out' consequence. And many do just that every year. Most give their reason as: The opportunity of a lifetime,... and, it's my dream job. In other words, Sorry folks, I'm taking advantage of this opportunity for me. Why shouldn't athletes be afforded that same right? There aren't as many coaches as there are players, the percentages of movement may be comparable, idk.
Is he concerned that other teams can even out the edge he's enjoyed in recruiting classes each year by bolstering good teams with quality players from the portal?? Look at how good some teams got(on paper), that will be contenders with Geno's stacked team [that includes an All-Big Ten incoming transfer(D. Juhasz)]................South Carolina, (painfully)NCState, Arizona, maybe Duke, and others.
And I would love to see the list of players who wanted to transfer there to UConn whose answer to his question, "What's wrong with you?", made him decide to say "No" to them.
Overall, this article would steer me away from Geno if I were an elite recruit. He wants to own his players and take full credit for the player that they go on to be in the pros. unless they don't pan out,... then he wants to be able to strip their scholarship or recruit over their position. No loyalty to a recruit. And you wonder why some players look elsewhere for a home??!
And the athletes don make millions of $ every year. Just sayin!!
Ridiculous. Shows you just how little you know about Geno and his players..... and for the record, most players that choose other schools or transfer from UConn do it because of playing time concerns.
Trust me, RU fans know about Geno and his players. I am aware that most who leave UConn are usually tertiary to marginal players who do so for playing time concerns. I'm sure they can see the writing on the wall when a host of new prized recruits are coming that are going to get the playing time.
My comments are based on the words of Geno, quoted in the article. My wording ,"...own" his players, may have been a bit strong,..............I'll say, "...have leverage over" his players. Maybe he's just speaking sympathetically on behalf of college coaches most affected by this portal activity, because I do realize, he doesn't have too many key players transfer out and he benefitted hugely off of the portal. (See my post at the start of this thread).
According to the article, control/leverage is what it sounds like to me. Is that ridiculous? Do you agree with his comments? Should the coach be able to rescind a scholarship due to "underperformance" to even out the fact that players are now allowed to transfer w/o sitting and without giving a reason?
My comments are based on the words of Geno, quoted in the article. My wording ,"...own" his players, may have been a bit strong,..............I'll say, "...have leverage over" his players. Maybe he's just speaking sympathetically on behalf of college coaches most affected by this portal activity, because I do realize, he doesn't have too many key players transfer out and he benefitted hugely off of the portal. (See my post at the start of this thread).
According to the article, control/leverage is what it sounds like to me. Is that ridiculous? Do you agree with his comments? Should the coach be able to rescind a scholarship due to "underperformance" to even out the fact that players are now allowed to transfer w/o sitting and without giving a reason?
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Geno has a certain way of speaking that can be off-putting. A number of UConn fans on the boards I read didn't 100% agree with everything he said. But, you know, coaches can rescind scholarships (or have been able to). The late Rene Portland was infamous for it (or, more accurately, for the reason she did it). Yes, he was largely speaking of other coach's experience and also his reluctance to accept transfers who are moving for no reason.
He says several times that there are certainly legitimate times and reasons for transfers. His argument that some players are transferring without a really good reason is certainly true as well.
I just wonder about his reluctance when that person is a stud that can fill a need. I tend to believe Dorka J. could have given any reason and he would have said yes. lol What qualifies as "no reason"??
Yes, many of us on here, including myself, have made that point or agreed with it. Geno is a guy who comes across as somewhat calculated in his speech. I'm just always a little curious as to what angle he may be playing when making big statements.
