Article on Ice’s slow start

[Centerstream]

My source of information is that there is an unused scholarship left on the table that could have been filled if they tried hard enough.

What source of information is there that they DID try? I saw no reports of UConn pursuing anyone (and I'm sure even if they were doing it quietly it would have leaked out somehow). Just implications that they were happy with what they had.

The end result (unused scholarship that they could have used if they really, really wanted to) is all the information that's needed.

Are you just trying to get reactions and replys by spouting whatever bs you can come up with concerning recruiting?
Certainly looks that way to me when most everything you post is only true in your mind and can only be proven within your head.

 

[Sifaka]

My source of information is that there is an unused scholarship left on the table that could have been filled if they tried hard enough.

You seem to have some trouble distinguishing information from
your own heartfelt opinion.

Opinions are the lifeblood of fan forums, and are usually welcomed. They should not be confused with verifiable facts.

 

[fireford]

Are you just trying to get reactions and replys by spouting whatever bs you can come up with concerning recruiting?
Certainly looks that way to me when most everything you post is only true in your mind and can only be proven within your head.

Actually I'll be happy when the reactions/replies stop.

Yes, I can ignore them but when people ask questions (as you are now) they usually want answers so just giving the people what they want.

 

[fireford]

You seem to have some trouble distinguishing information from
your own heartfelt opinion.

Opinions are the lifeblood of fan forums, and are usually welcomed. They should not be confused with verifiable facts.

Agree with your last statement but until there is information to sway my opinion the other way it is going to be what it is.

 

[TCC Kid]

Lets not forget Aaliyah wasnt the star she is now her first year. I know we want Ice to develope at hyper speed but it takes time. Once she gets more playing time under her belt I think she'll be a force until then she'll just have to take her lumps.

Whether we tried to bring in people from the portal or not, bottom line they got nobody and that could be an issue.
If guards are a dime a dozen, please explain Lou Lopez-Senechal?
If Geno doesn't like to have 14 -15 players, please let him know how we have been decimated by injuries, and there doesn't seem to be any lack of opportunities.
If we feel that we don't need transfers because of a great recruiting class, we can't sit back and say that freshman have to develop at their own pace.

Edwards may not have been a STAR as a frosh. She wasn't bench sitter either. She was and is a talent. Size for size she can beat any post her size in the land. I must admit I'm biased.

 

[TCC Kid]

Whether we tried to bring in people from the portal or not, bottom line they got nobody and that could be an issue.
If guards are a dime a dozen, please explain Lou Lopez-Senechal?
If Geno doesn't like to have 14 -15 players, please let him know how we have been decimated by injuries, and there doesn't seem to be any lack of opportunities.
If we feel that we don't need transfers because of a great recruiting class, we can't sit back and say that freshman have to develop at their own pa

LOU is the exception to any rule. She is a pure talent--amazing scoring machine---players of her size scoring so many points is rare. If Geno could load up a team with 4 Lous's he would. If he could recruit a STOKE---she'd be here. I know all that. My emotions say I want that NOW..

 

[TCC Kid]

Lets not forget Aaliyah wasnt the star she is now her first year. I know we want Ice to develope at hyper speed but it takes time. Once she gets more playing time under her belt I think she'll be a force until then she'll just have to take her lumps.

ICE is all you say and has the potential to be more. However, she is height impaired, for her position. She SHALL make a difference the rust is holding her back and learning ---in game experience helps bushels. Unless she can and does score from 15
into 6 ft on a regular basis (ala Lou) she alone wont take UCONN to the promised land.

 

[donalddoowop]

Positionally, I'd compare her more to Morgan Tuck who averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a freshman

Seeing how that is all Tuck averaged as a freshman, there is definitely no good reason to think that Ice will not get much better.

 

[Boreifs]

It is to be expected that Ice is "playing like a freshman" because she essentially is. Every reasonable person somewhat expected that.

I think the part that troubles people is the fact that when El-Alfy went down there no real attempt to get some insurance in the post via the portal. Paige went down in the summer last year and UConn managed to get Bettencourt for depth purposes.

When El-Alfy went down the battle cries were 1) she (El-Alfy) wasn't going to be a key rotational player anyway and 2) we already have plenty at the post (i.e., Brady, Patterson and DeBerry).

So here we are and we're getting what most reasonable people thought what we were getting. Brady = A Freshman, DeBerry = DeBerry, and Patterson is hurt and the jury is still out on her as a key rotational player.

Who knows how integral El-Alfy would have been. I tend to think she would have been given her share of chances based on what we've seen from the other post players and could have contributed AT LEAST as much.

Knowing that Brady, Patterson and DeBerry were big question marks as to what we'd be getting there should have been an attempt to get some kind of depth in the front court via the portal after El-Alfy went down and perhaps even before that knowing you're relying on four unproven players (and Patterson was coming off major surgery).

No, you're not going to get an AA in the middle of the summer, but I'm sure a front court player capable of giving good minutes off the bench could have been found if the same effort were applied when UConn went out and got Bettencourt last year.

The Portal was closed when Jana had her injury.

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

I believe Ice is going to have a breakthrough game soon this season. It can be during the NCAAs and Big East tournament. Things will begin to click for her soon. I would just love her to be obsessive at driving to the basket, drawing fouls. Then she can have the space to shoot her jump shots, including her three point shot.

 

[meyers7]

Totally possible but I find it hard to believe that there wasn't anyone out there worth taking a flier on. Especially if we're only talking about a potential role player.

And that might have been the problem.
"Hey, you wanna come to UCONN and be a role player?"

"Nah, I'm going somewhere to be a starter?"

 

[fireford]

And that might have been the problem.
"Hey, you wanna come to UCONN and be a role player?"

"Nah, I'm going somewhere to be a starter?"

True but considering the competition for playing time, a potential starting role could have sold without it being too much of a reach.

 

[Zarathustra]

Would have been nice to get a big rebounder and defender but maybe no one was available who they thought could help. I will say, I think they need to widen their search of high school players when it comes to bigs because a lot of these lower ranked players are kicking our ass in college. Also Ice is not in shape, she is struggling up and down but I’m not worried about her AT ALL. Once she gets used to everything she’s gonna do her part. I can already see it when she plays. I think our 2 guard situation is the thing that most needs to be fixed. KK or Shade or Q or Nika needs to show that it’s me. Hard to keep mixing and matching and make it far. It can be done but that’s draining. It’s crazy because each one of them have what the other is lacking. Make them into one person and you have exactly what we need. This season is tough because I don’t want Paige to go out like Crystal did without a title.

IMO. saying that ICE Brady is " not in shape" is like saying that YANNA Patterson is not in shape. Both are muscular
well conditioned athletes. Maybe " game shape " is what you mean, which takes time.

 

[CL82]

Who knows how integral El-Alfy would have been

She was playing very well before her injury. Even if she was only "competent" she would've given us the bench depth in the post that we appear to need. Based on our play over the summer, I think she would've been something more than merely competent, but who knows? I look forward to seeing her out on the court next year.

 

[Papa33]

You are correct in stating that what I'm saying is conjecture but I never implied it was anything different than that. When asked for proof that someone didn't try to do something hard enough what better proof can you come up with other than the end result doesn't support
the alleged effort?

Those who are challenging my statement also have no facts to support the contrary so at the end of the day it's all conjecture.

And what would be the downside of adding someone? Agree that a Dorka is hard to find but at least they'd have another option to try. Would rather they swing and miss than not swing at all.

Your first paragraph equates failure to achieve a result with insufficient effort. Not a fair "proof."

 

[meyers7]

True but considering the competition for playing time, a potential starting role could have sold without it being too much of a reach.

But that would be lying to them. As you said, "Especially if we're only talking about a potential role player".

 

[fireford]

But that would be lying to them. As you said, "Especially if we're only talking about a potential role player".

Not sure about that. Geno tells everyone, including blue chip recruits, that how much they play is up to them. They have to compete for playing time. Even Taurasi said he told her this when he recruited her. He would have told the potential recruit the same thing he tells everyone one else.

 

[tower1]

If you think that players' desire to play at UConn is the same as it was some years ago, then you're not paying attention to women's basketball. Obviously, I have no first,or second hand,etc knowledge of what UConn coaches' did. Nor do you. That's my insight. You're welcome.

Recruiting has changed allot and if coaches don't change with it they will be left behind. Geno is very stubborn and won't change his ways. We have fallen behind all the top programs in recruiting and it's getting worse because we need a better recruiter. We are getting good recruits but not the top recruits anymore. Unless that changes it will be a long time before we see another championship ! We can't be as picky as we once were.

 

[Blond D.]

Recruiting has changed allot and if coaches don't change with it they will be left behind. Geno is very stubborn and won't change his ways. We have fallen behind all the top programs in recruiting and it's getting worse because we need a better recruiter. We are getting good recruits but not the top recruits anymore. Unless that changes it will be a long time before we see another championship ! We can't be as picky as we once were.

And yet we still, with all our injuries to out top players, manage to stay in the top ten and make at least the sweet 16.
I think Geno still knows how to recruit and coach. We've just had a lot of bad luck with injuries.

 

[meyers7]

Not sure about that. Geno tells everyone, including blue chip recruits, that how much they play is up to them. They have to compete for playing time. Even Taurasi said he told her this when he recruited her. He would have told the potential recruit the same thing he tells everyone one else.

True, but that's not what you said. First you said you were looking for a role player, then you're gonna "sell" her on starting.

 

[Sifaka]

Recruiting has changed allot and if coaches don't change with it they will be left behind. Geno is very stubborn and won't change his ways. We have fallen behind all the top programs in recruiting and it's getting worse because we need a better recruiter. We are getting good recruits but not the top recruits anymore. Unless that changes it will be a long time before we see another championship ! We can't be as picky as we once were.

Hmmmm…. guess you don't consider Paige and Azzi “top recruits”.

 

[fireford]

True, but that's not what you said. First you said you were looking for a role player, then you're gonna "sell" her on starting.

Geno, not me, would "sell" her on POTENTIALLY starting if she earned it. The last thing I tried to sell were Cutco knives back in college and that didn't go so well.

Seems every game there is a new starting lineup so if said recruit were halfway decent they'd probably have their share of chances of starting so Geno couldn't be accused of being a snake oil salesman. Otherwise, they'd be a key rotational player when they weren't starting (if they earned their right into the rotation).

I emphasized role player because at the beginning of the season Geno would have likely gone with the same starting lineup that he did to open the season with his trusted veterans so this person would have been a role player to start even if they were the next Azura Stevens (and as we remember she didn't start). But as things stand now they very well could be starting if they had what it takes. I'm sure Geno would have been upfront about it as he tends to be.

 

[Cuango]

Recruiting has changed allot and if coaches don't change with it they will be left behind. Geno is very stubborn and won't change his ways. We have fallen behind all the top programs in recruiting and it's getting worse because we need a better recruiter. We are getting good recruits but not the top recruits anymore. Unless that changes it will be a long time before we see another championship ! We can't be as picky as we once were.

We currently have two #1s, one #4, two #5s, one #6, two #15s, one # 21, one # 23, one # 41, the top rated foreign big for 2023, a highly rated foreign PG from 2020?, and another midlevel foreign PG from 2022? One of the #1s is a generational player, the other was touted as generational, the #4 was the top wing in her class, one #5 was the second ranked post in her class, the other the third ranked guard in hers, the #6 was the second ranked PG in her class, one #15 was the fourth ( really the third) ranked post in her class, the other the sixth ranked (non PG guard in hers, the #21 was the fifth ranked wing in her class, the #23 was the third ranked wing in her class, while the #41 was the fifth in her class! The foreign players are difficult to rank but one is a two time defensive POY (conference) and one, as noted above, was a top rated post while one was a midlevel offered player at a smaller school! Meanwhile, we have commitments from the top ranked SG and the seveth ranked SG for next year!

I don’t think recruiting is the problem! If everyone on this roster were healthy, I would bet a lot of money that we are ranked #1 right now and everyone would be talking about us as, at the very least, a co-favorite with SC and LSU! Do we need a big, space eating big? Sure we do! So do about 99% of all the other teams in women’s basketball! I realize some will say rankings are subjective, and so they are. Nevertheless, our coaches don’t recruit these players solely on the basis of ratings. They spend hours watching them play, talking to their coaches and parents and only then make an offer. Have they missed the mark on some players? Yes they have! Some of the players they’ve desperately wanted have chosen to go elsewhere as well! These have occasionally been players who, had they come to UConn, would likely have been the difference in winning another championship. Even so, I am more than happy with their recruiting results as virtually every player I can remember is an exemplary human being in addition to being highly skilled!

While for some, it may seem like a failure in recruiting, I believe it is simply a result of parity, and the immense improvement across the board of women’s basketball. I don’t know if we will win another title or not before Geno and Chris ride off into the sunset but I am happy and proud that UConn still sticks to their standards in recruiting the whole person rather than simply their playing ability! This approach has served us well and I for one am happy with the results, win or lose! Finally, I must reiterate that the biggest reason we are where we are, is not a failure in recruiting but rather the nightmarish string of injuries that has haunted us these past three years!

 

[donalddoowop]

Hmmmm…. guess you don't consider Paige and Azzi “top recruits”.

And Arnold, Edwards, and Shade. All top recruits