2016 UConn commitment: Molly Bent [merged thread]

[UC10NN]

For those that are interested, a search on YouTube for Molly's AAU team RI Breakers will have some team videos meant for her teammates, but you can catch a #11 in action.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Oh, I follow recruiting too, as pointless as it is. I just thought speculating about the qualities of a player nobody on the board has seen is at the tippety top of the pointless scale. I have seen several tapes of Ionesco and she has skills impressive beyond her shooting Thats how I felt after seeing Mo's hs tapes. Who knows how a kid will actually turn out in college.

It turns out that all the YouTube videos of Molly which were taken down by the owner were at least 2 seasons old. The one I had posted showed unedited game footage - about 15 minutes long. She missed some shots and a couple of free throws, but even then - and I guess particularly because of "then" - this HS soph showed great court awareness, re spacing, moving without ball, etc and was a tenacious defender and ball distributor. Wish they had been left up. Nonetheless they woud not provide an even playing field for analysis as against the recruiting services tapes so many of these kids today have on line. One reason I love viewing FIBA and various other competition footage of our Under XX programs. It's unedited continuous footage.

 

[chrissaran]

Sorry ,CocoHusky. Kia Nurse is already way beyond a role player, and she will become one of the best 1/2 guards in the country.

 

[hoophuskee]

Oh, I follow recruiting too, as pointless as it is. I just thought speculating about the qualities of a player nobody on the board has seen is at the tippety top of the pointless scale. I have seen several tapes of Ionesco and she has skills impressive beyond her shooting Thats how I felt after seeing Mo's hs tapes. Who knows how a kid will actually turn out in college.

But you can say that about nearly everything that is posted here that we have ever speculated about. So if something is pointless does it matter as you said above "that's about as pointless as it gets." That is my point. Which I guess is pointless too.

I enjoy speculation - a lot. A real lot. . It is fun for me which is why I'm on here. Is it pointless? Sure.

And it's damn fun!! From which of our former players would make Olympics, Nat'l Teams, to winning in the WNBA, to being drafted in the WNBA, to projecting wins and all-americans and starting lineups - it's all "pointless" - don't matter the degree to which it is. But it's fun!!

 

[CocoHusky]

Sorry ,CocoHusky. Kia Nurse is already way beyond a role player, and she will become one of the best 1/2 guards in the country.

We would have to first agree on the definition of role player and star- not your word per se but word that was used by others-if we are going to determine that Kia is already way beyond it. Kia has the potential to become one of the best 1/2 guards in the country. Today I would not rate her as the best 1/2 guard in her class-rising sophomore based on remaining NCAA eligibility*

*Subject to whatever modifier are necessary as to avoid an argument about the meaning of class.

 

[Icebear]

its amazing how posters are getting bent outta shape in this thread

How dare you attack her conditioning.

 

[Icebear]

Sounds like a "Bent"ley to me!

And so another joke Rolls off the tongue.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Another Fuller piece on Ms. Bent:

http://elmcitytoeaglevillenhr.blogspot.com/2015/06/bent-thrilled-to-have-uconn-in-her.html#links

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I don't thing this article has been posted yet. A little more info on the process and her accomplishments over the last 2 years. http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150606/SPORTS/150609538/101016/NEWS

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I don't thing this article has been posted yet. A little more info on the process and her accomplishments over the last 2 years. http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150606/SPORTS/150609538/101016/NEWS

Posted it a couple hours ago about 10 posts back.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Posted it a couple hours ago about 10 posts back.

Sorry, don't know how I missed it. Most interesting to me is the news that several UConn coaches were in attendance at that fateful AAU tourney and interviewed her on the spot.

 

[UConnCat]

Sorry, don't know how I missed it. Most interesting to me is the news that several UConn coaches were in attendance at that fateful AAU tourney and interviewed her on the spot.

That is interesting as it would be a recruiting violation. I believe the writer misspoke. The staff watched her play at the Deep South and may have expressed interest through her AAU coach. They then contacted her directly when permitted.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

That is interesting as it would be a recruiting violation. I believe the writer misspoke. The staff watched her play at the Deep South and may have expressed interest through her AAU coach. They then contacted her directly when permitted.

"Bent met with UConn coach and U.S. Olympics coach Geno Auriemma and other members of the Huskies staff while playing for the AAU’s Rhode Island Breakers at the Deep South Classic in April. Shortly after being back home, the school contacted her to set up the visit to the campus." These nuances of recruiting go right over my head. So I guess the article and a screen shot of this page will be accompanying a new sally from the Orange Straightjackets to the SEC with the usual "please forward to NCAA, our preference is to remain anonymous."

 

[UConnCat]

"Bent met with UConn coach and U.S. Olympics coach Geno Auriemma and other members of the Huskies staff while playing for the AAU’s Rhode Island Breakers at the Deep South Classic in April. Shortly after being back home, the school contacted her to set up the visit to the campus." These nuances of recruiting go right over my head. So I guess the article and a screen shot of this page will be accompanying a new sally from the Orange Straightjackets to the SEC with the usual "please forward to NCAA, our preference is to remain anonymous."

Well I hope so.

This is from Carl's story:

The recruiting process moved quickly.

“That’s what I told them,” Bent said with a laugh Friday night. “From what they told me, one of the coaches was walking by and there was something that I did in my game that caught their eye. They watched a little bit and then (assistant coach) Shea Ralph got in touch with my AAU coach. I was so excited.

 

[Hoopsfan23]

I recall that when announcements were made that Kalana Greene and Tiffany Hayes had committed to UConn, the typical Boneyard reactions were either "Huh?" or "Who?"

That is not a very good comparison considering Tiffany Hayes and Kalana Greene were BOTH High School All Americans. They were on a totally different level than Molly Bent.

 

[uconn34]

Geno et al decided she brings value to the Conn team. I am thinking its her quickness and high BB IQ. Irwin and Bent provide a value Geno wants. The results speak for themselves.

 

[AnotherVolFan]

"Bent met with UConn coach and U.S. Olympics coach Geno Auriemma and other members of the Huskies staff while playing for the AAU’s Rhode Island Breakers at the Deep South Classic in April. Shortly after being back home, the school contacted her to set up the visit to the campus." These nuances of recruiting go right over my head. So I guess the article and a screen shot of this page will be accompanying a new sally from the Orange Straightjackets to the SEC with the usual "please forward to NCAA, our preference is to remain anonymous."

Yep....I've contacted the author of the article and I'm going to screen shot this thread as soon as I post this.....we're so upset you grabbed Molly Bent! .....give it a rest already!

 

[reno tony]

I have a topic that is somewhat related. First of all, can a school retract an offer to a recruit if he or she has not accepted it yet? Second, are they able to retract an offer if the recruit has accepted but not signed yet? And C, does anyone else think this might be a reason why some of the UCONN recruits sign so quickly? I am referring to Bent and Irwin.

 

[Massman]

Thank God Mass will make amother great contribution to UCONN. We will have a kid to root for.
It will be a Molly by Golly play when she contributes with her setup plays and spirit.
When you stand out to Shea , something is causing her to notice a unique kid with talent,
Mass has made contributions in the past, Hopefully this will be a noteworthy one,

 

[UConnCat]

Yep....I've contacted the author of the article and I'm going to screen shot this thread as soon as I post this.....we're so upset you grabbed Molly Bent! .....give it a rest already!

This is the second time in this thread you've mocked this recruit. What's wrong with you?

Given that your team hasn't made a Final Four in 7 years and after watching that wretched performance against Maryland, your team's coaches could learn a thing or two about how to recruit winners.

 

[Icebear]

Miss Bent is our shiny new toy, our Chrome Molly.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have a topic that is somewhat related. First of all, can a school retract an offer to a recruit if he or she has not accepted it yet? Second, are they able to retract an offer if the recruit has accepted but not signed yet? And C, does anyone else think this might be a reason why some of the UCONN recruits sign so quickly? I am referring to Bent and Irwin.

Bent, Dangerfield and Irwin have not and cannot "sign" until November 2015. Everything is verbal until then, including contact by other coaches.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Yep....I've contacted the author of the article and I'm going to screen shot this thread as soon as I post this.....we're so upset you grabbed Molly Bent! .....give it a rest already!

I posted a joke to be shared by UConn fans, so stick an Orange sock in it already! There is an ignore button. And yes, that ridiculous stuff that came out of Summit's Athletic Dept. was a joke. But one thing in your post does ring true - PS was so consumed by her recruiting losses to UConn that she went over the edge in pushing that junk to the SEC.

 

[EricLA]

This is the second time in this thread you've mocked this recruit. What's wrong with you?

Given that your team hasn't made a Final Four in 7 years and after watching that wretched performance against Maryland, your team's coaches could learn a thing or two about how to recruit winners.

I posted a joke to be shared by UConn fans, so stick an Orange sock in it already! There is an ignore button. And yes, that ridiculous stuff that came out of Summit's Athletic Dept. was a joke. But one thing in your post does ring true - PS was so consumed by her recruiting losses to UConn that she went over the edge in pushing that junk to the SEC.

It's one of the big differences between the 2 fan bases. When Tennessee landed the lackluster class of Nared, Dunbar and Middleton, we got comments like

1. Nared is really one of the top 5 kids in the class no matter where she was ranked
2. Dunbar is the best shooter in the class and will have a big impact for Tennessee
3. Middleton outplayed every single other guard ranked above her all summer. She's going to be special...

UCONN fans, on the other hand, are much more measured. We hope that Irwin and Bent will be solid contributors, but most fans agree it's very likely that these 2 players may never be starters, and will always be role players. And there is ZERO wrong with that. In the "arms" race, most fans wish their school would land 2 top 10 recruits every year. The reality is it just doesn't happen, and you need role players anyway. Just look at the transfers recently from UCONN who were not going to be satisfied being role players - Johnson, Engeln, Banks and Edwards.

 

[gregggrinspan]

I was a Green Bay Packer fan in the 50s, a Yankee fan in the 50s/60s, a UCLA men's basketball fan in the 60s/70s, Yankee fan in the 90s, and have been a UConn Women's BB fan for over 20 years. I love winners but it's not just that they win. It's that the skill set of the players, their focus, the "team" spirit, the "team" mentality, the juice that they all generate that is more than their sum that makes the "team" a championship team that moves me.

And where are they without their coaches? The coaches have their hand on the reins. They can see what's possible and then because they are champions themselves they make the possible real. Casey Stengel, Vince Lombardi, John Wooden, Joe Torre, Geno Auriemma.

Amazing what the coach of our WBB team has done in the second smallest state in the country. Outrageous. Would Michael Jordan have won 6 rings without Phil Jackson.

I'm sure that many if not most of the contributors to this blog are very good at what they do. Some may even be great. But, National Championship great? Probably not. Why not? If I'm correct that we're not a bunch of NC great owners/professionals/teachers...whoever we are, why aren't we?
Because we're not National Championship material. Not because we're not, some of us, truly great. Nope. Just National Championship great is a league unto its own. Unique skill set and determination.

So, guys/gals, for anyone second guessing Geno Auriemma after he's made a command decision about choosing a player for a potential four years after having just won three straight NCs, who are you all kidding? Second guessing Geno Auriemma about something at which he's among the greatest in history? Pure silliness. If you're lucky enough to have a master to watch....sit and watch.