2019/20 UConn Recruiting

[Sluconn Husky]

There is some dispute on whether or not UConn offered Brunelle. SB says she was offered. One of the UConn beat reporters says she was not. The mysterious BY poster Dolphin implied that the offer was rescinded. I am 100% confident that we will never know for sure.

I don't think there's much dispute in reality. Both the local Virginia media that covers her team and Adamec reported on the offer. She and her family say she had an offer. Pretty certain the UConn beat reporter that said otherwise tried to convey one thing but ended up suggesting another.

 

[victor64]

I don't think there's much dispute in reality. Both the local Virginia media that covers her team and Adamec reported on the offer. She and her family say she had an offer. Pretty certain the UConn beat reporter that said otherwise tried to convey one thing but ended up suggesting another.

Plus, the family insider that provided information on the board from the "Brunelle point of view" indicated that the Huskies offered but stopped communicating. The question that will never definitely get answered is why. The world championship, however, MAY have provided some clues.

 

[JordyG]

My preferences for 2019:

1. Boston
1. Jones
1. Horston
1. Amihere
1. Griffin

1) That's cheating.

1) Griff is already in the bag.

1) I forgot about Amihere.

2 comes after 1.

 

[Charliebball]

So in your scenario UCONN lands Zero recruits in the next two recruiting classes, and none of the existing players improve? That will make things real easy then because there will only be 5 players on the roster. Oh well, UCONN might as well start looking at some JUCO players right now.

I'm only referring to point guards.............as far as we know, Uconn has only offered Horston in 2019 and Bueckers and Van Lith in 2020 at that position............do you think it's possible Bueckers chooses ND or another school or decides to stay home in Minn while Van Lith decides to stay on the West coast? It would be pretty lousy if that happened but not unthinkable................

 

[victor64]

I must have missed this, why didn't Amihere play for Canada in the tournament?

 

[Charliebball]

I must have missed this, why didn't Amihere play for Canada in the tournament?

she's been out for quite awhile with a serious knee injury ( ACL ?)

 

[Crossover]

I think you've wildly misunderstood. I was one of the first on this board to rave about Horston, and that from the first time I saw her on the floor at the U17's. I've also been plain about this, so let me restate. I want Jones 1st this year, then Horston and Boston as duel #2's. For me, Buecker's comes before HLV. So as you can see, I love This B kid, but I have 3 before her. None of these however are named Clark.

Got it!

Fwiw, I think that Jones has been overlooked (or underrated) of late because of the perceived positional need for a classic post, Horston's incredible upside, and the Geno-reinforced belief that WCBB is guard driven. Also, Jones is easily taken for granted because she is so damn smooth. I totally get why she is your #1. And I love the fact that she seems to be having fun on the court.

While it is hard to quarrel with your top three (and I won't/don't), I wonder whether we risk going from overvaluing guard play to undervaluing it. Part of what makes Bueckers, Van Lith, Fudd and perhaps Clark seem less essential than your big 3 is that Jones and Horston are such good and willing distributors. However, we still need folk who can organize the offense, restart it when necessary, and dial from distance.

 

[HopJim]

1) That's cheating.

1) Griff is already in the bag.

1) I forgot about Amihere.

2 comes after 1.

Just get Boston and the rest will work itself out.

 

[oldude]

I don't think there's much dispute in reality. Both the local Virginia media that covers her team and Adamec reported on the offer. She and her family say she had an offer. Pretty certain the UConn beat reporter that said otherwise tried to convey one thing but ended up suggesting another.

Mike Anthony from the Courant wrote on April 15, “Sources familiar with the process indicate that the Huskies did not offer Brunelle a scholarship.”

Seems like a pretty clear statement to me.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Mike Anthony from the Courant wrote on April 15, “Sources familiar with the process indicate that the Huskies did not offer Brunelle a scholarship.”

Seems like a pretty clear statement to me.

We've seen clear but contradictory statements. I wonder is strong interest was misconstrued as an offer. The bottom line is that Sam chose Notre Dame in mid-April. At that time, she did NOT have a UConn offer.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Mike Anthony from the Courant wrote on April 15, “Sources familiar with the process indicate that the Huskies did not offer Brunelle a scholarship.”

Seems like a pretty clear statement to me.

My last line:

Pretty certain the UConn beat reporter that said otherwise tried to convey one thing but ended up suggesting another.

You think Brunelle, her family, Adamec, and the media that covers William Monroe all lied?

 

[oldude]

My last line:

Pretty certain the UConn beat reporter that said otherwise tried to convey one thing but ended up suggesting another.

You think Brunelle, her family, Adamec, and the media that covers Williams Monroe all lied?

I think Milford Husky suggested a plausible scenario, that “strong interest was misconstrued as an offer.” I distinctly remember at that time, a number of BY’ers were stunned that Geno would offer a scholarship to a recruit that hadn’t played a single game as a sophomore.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

They offered Bueckers and Van Lith before their sophomore debuts, and Fudd before her freshmen one.

Even if Brunelle and co somehow didn't know what a scholarship offer was--something I find nearly impossible--why would a reporter with UConn sources like Adamec report the same thing?

 

[DEpup]

1) That's cheating.

1) Griff is already in the bag.

1) I forgot about Amihere.

2 comes after 1.

That's my list too!

 

[oldude]

They offered Bueckers and Van Lith before their sophomore debuts, and Fudd before her freshmen one.

Even if Brunelle and co somehow didn't know what a scholarship offer was--something I find nearly impossible--why would a reporter with UConn sources like Adamec report the same thing?

Perhaps Ademec was merely quoting the VA local papers. Why would a reporter like Anthony report contradictory information from his sources?

 

[CocoHusky]

I think Milford Husky suggested a plausible scenario, that “strong interest was misconstrued as an offer.” I distinctly remember at that time, a number of BY’ers were stunned that Geno would offer a scholarship to a recruit that hadn’t played a single game as a sophomore.

Yea.... I could see how this picture could be mistaken for strong interest.... and Carl could be mistaken... and the Brunelle family misunderstand ... and her hometown newspaper report the wrong thing.... it is not like Samantha would know what an offer is anyway. I don't recall a single BYer being stunned at a Brunelle UCONN offer. I remember universal BY glee and hope that Samantha would accept the offer and anxiety that she might not. 2019 recruit Sam Brunelle...

 

[CocoHusky]

Perhaps Ademec was merely quoting the VA local papers. Why would a reporter like Anthony report contradictory information from his sources?

Good one!
Brunelle picks up UConn offer
"I wanted to see UConn practice for a long time and it was great to experience it for myself," said Brunelle, who received a scholarship offer from coach Geno Auriemma during her visit. "I'm really glad I got to see how hard they really work. It was amazing for me to see the different things they do. It showed me why they're constantly a national championship contender."

Sam Brunelle hoping to set gold standard

 

[oldude]

Yea.... I could see how this picture could be mistaken for strong interest.... and Carl could be mistaken... and the Brunelle family misunderstand ... and her hometown newspaper report the wrong thing.... it is not like Samantha would know what an offer is anyway. I don't recall a single BYer being stunned at a Brunelle UCONN offer. I remember universal BY glee and hope that Samantha would accept the offer and anxiety that she might not. 2019 recruit Sam Brunelle...

Yea...I guess UConn offers every recruit any of the coaches take a picture with.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yea...I guess UConn offers every recruit any of the coaches take a picture with.

Yea & Carl doesn't know what he talking about when covering the UCONN WBB either.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Perhaps Ademec was merely quoting the VA local papers. Why would a reporter like Anthony report contradictory information from his sources?

Adamec was still reporting the offer well over a year later. I think UConn would've made sure he corrected the record long before that.

Anthony had just started covering the Huskies when this report came out. I believe the most logical scenario is that UConn went in another direction, perhaps rescinding their offer to Brunelle, or at least making it clear they were no longer in on her. Anthony either got his wires crossed or just got bad info.

 

[Mdoggie]

Well I was one of the BYers all excited about possibly getting SB. She like AEH were dead to me as soon and the transfer and the commitment were made public. After watching SB recently I'm thinking she and UConn will be just fine. Good luck to her except when playing UConn

 

[oldude]

Yea & Carl doesn't know what he talking about when covering the UCONN WBB either.

Adamec was still reporting the offer well over a year later. I think UConn would've made sure he corrected the record long before that.

Anthony had just started covering the Huskies when this report came out. I believe the most logical scenario is that UConn went in another direction, perhaps rescinding their offer to Brunelle, or at least making it clear they were no longer in on her. Anthony either got his wires crossed or just got bad info.

The challenge in attempting to determine the facts here is that coaches are prohibited from discussing specific recruits, whether they’ve been offered a scholarship and so on, while recruits can comment to reporters or post on social media to their hearts content.

Adamec could have received information from the coaching staff, which would be a violation of NCAA rules, but as a good reporter covering UConn WBB, why wouldn’t he just call SB or her family to confirm an offer. As for Anthony, someone wanted it known that SB was not offered. Who and why?

If we assume that SB was originally offered a scholarship by UConn that was later rescinded, it’s not a pretty picture. While SB may not be the #1 player in her class, she is certainly talented enough to play at UConn, and she appears to be a nice young lady.

We are then left with two possible scenarios. Either something happened that turned Geno off to SB or her family, or Geno decided he had better options, so he pulled the offer. Subsequently, a source associated with the program wanted it known that there was no offer.

I don’t know about you guys, but I prefer the scenario that there was a misunderstanding, rather than Geno pulling the offer. Either way, we will never fully know the details.

 

[DEpup]

When can we stop talking about SB? She is going to ND so let them talk and worry about her. Nan, can you police this and lock threads that are obcessed with SB?

 

[CocoHusky]

Adamec could have received information from the coaching staff, which would be a violation of NCAA rules, but as a good reporter, covering UConn WBB, why wouldn’t he just call SB or her family to confirm an offer.

Carl's article, report in the local newspaper, and recent article all quoted Samantha. So Carl did speak to Samantha.

As for Anthony, someone wanted it known that SB was not offered. Who and why?

That the Anthony article denying a UCONN offer appeared about 15 minutes after Samantha announced her commitment to ND might give us a clue because it quoted "Sources familiar with the process"

If we assume that SB was originally offered a scholarship by UConn that was later rescinded, it’s not a pretty picture. While SB may not be the #1 player in her class, she is certainly talented enough to play at UConn, and she appears to be a nice young lady.
We are then left with two possible scenarios. Either something happened that turned Geno off to SB or her family, or Geno decided he had better options, so he pulled the offer. Subsequently, a source associated with the program wanted it known that there was no offer.

I don't think the picture needs to be an ugly one. 18 months went by between the UCONN offer and Samantha's commitment to ND (October 2016-April 2018)-that's a long time. In those 18 months Samantha visited Texas, South Carolina, Duke, UCONN, & ND. Samantha has a subpar performance at USA basketball summer of 2017. Jones, Amihere, Horston, Jackson emerged. All of this strongly support your second scenario where Geno might have sensed waning interest in UCONN and move on to some more promising options. Hopefully we can all at least agree that there were more promising options and also don't have to point out that Samantha could have accepted the UCONN offer earlier.

As for the Anthony article my opinion is that was strictly semantics i.e.. a withdrawn offer=no offer.
Question from Anthony to UCONN staff: Does Samantha currently have an offer from UCONN?
Answer from the UCONN staff: No she does not.

BTW this is exactly the scenario that was reported here on the BY by a visitor reportedly connected to the Brunelle family. Samantha & her family visited UCONN January 2018 and was ready to commit shortly after. The visitor then went on to say that the family was not able to get confirmation from the UCONN staff that Sam's UCONN offer was still good.
When you leave a message for that pretty lady asking for a date and she doesn't return your call, you move on. This is what Samantha and her family appear to have done. From Geno's perspective if you see that same lady out on a date, with another guy and she looks like she having fun, you might be less likely to keep leaving her messages and go explore your other options. Still plenty of time for the story to end well and I hope it does for Samantha.

 

[CocoHusky]

When can we stop talking about SB? She is going to ND so let them talk and worry about her. Nan, can you police this and lock threads that are obcessed with SB?

We won't. You can!