Though I am on the West Coast and mostly a Cal fan thus don't follow UConn as closely as others on here, even I kind of scratched my head when she left mid-season after, what, just 4 games? But she is definitely proving me wrong and that she made the right choice, and good for her! We tend to make assumptions about players who transfer, especially mid-season.
Incidentally, I was reading the Duke WBB board. I haven't seen this talked about that much, but junior Kendall Cooper mysteriously is sitting the remainder of the basketball season out, is not even enrolled in classes, HOWEVER, seems to be still living in Durham (though originally from Cali) and attending all the games as a spectator. Anyway, a Duke fan very honestly said it probably would have been in her best interests to have transferred out and transferred out early.
As a high school underclassman, Cooper was mostly considered the top post and a top 3 prospect overall in the class. It was Diamond DeShields, Kaela Davis, then Kendall Cooper. She was a big strong banger with versatility. People compared her to Kelsey Bone. People described Alaina Coates as being a "less skilled" Kendall Cooper. Ultimately, particularly longer and more athletic posts, caught up as she sort of plateaued, but still a McD's AA, top 12-ish player.
But her impact at Duke has been so modest. Was averaging just 3.7 ppg & 3.6 rpg this season, in what people hoped would be a breakout year for her with the graduation of Liz Williams. The few times I've watched her, she looks very uncomfortable and mentally unsure of herself. You would never believe those early evaluations of her from HS talking about how she can take contact and mix it up in the paint. Watching her, it almost feels like she's just trying not to make a mistake or get in the way of Duke's go-to players. Never really seen her make a post move. Only witnessed her occasionally and almost reluctantly or timidly take a mid-range shot when left wide open.
Anyway, I do know that UCLA was her runner-up when she signed with Duke, and that there was something about the way it all went down that seemed to have burned a bridge. I think UCLA had the impression that she was very much leaning toward the Bruins until changing her mind and picking Duke at the last minute. Thus, she may have been reluctant to transfer since her second choice first time around wasn't exactly going to roll out the red carpet and take her win with open arms. But who knows.
