2019/20 UConn Recruiting

[oldude]

Multiple people who watched the game came to the same conclusion including those paid to report on it.

.

“On defense, they expected me to guard her at all times,” Hunter said of Brunelle. “After that first stop I realized it wasn’t that hard to guard her. I could actually defend her.”

Hunter, a freshman, did it all for the Blue Devils. She played tougher than anyone in the paint, battling for defensive rebounds and grabbing offensive boards to give her team second chances to score. She played tight defense on Brunelle, forcing her into contested shots.

Brunelle still scored 22 points but had to work hard for most of them.


Hopewell girls contain one of the nation's top players in state quarterfinal victory

I seem to recall another #1 HS player who was somewhat contained as a senior in a state HS championship a few years ago. I believe she goes by the name Lou.

 

[oldude]

Having lived in VA for a number of years, a comment on the two HS teams. Brunelle’s HS, William Monroe, is outside of Charlottesville, a relatively rural area that’s known more for cattle than basketball players. Hopewell is in the Richmond-Petersburg corridor and is a hotbed of basketball talent. The same general area that produced MW.

I have no doubt that outside of Brunelle, Hopewell fielded a much better group of players.

 

[CocoHusky]

I seem to recall another #1 HS player who was somewhat contained as a senior in a state HS championship a few years ago. I believe she goes by the name Lou.

Not even romotely close to being the same thing. KLS lost to a fairly stocked St. Mary’s in that game. That St. Mary's squad had Ally Rosenblum who went on to play at UCLA, a handfiul of other DI prospects including DeAcosta who was at the time a sophmore and #1 in the 2018 class.

 

[DEpup]

All of this shows why recruiting is such a hard job. How do you judge a person's skill when they are surrounded by inferior talent? How do you judge a person when they are clearly the best and all 5 opposing players are hounding them. I'd like to see Brunelle with other USA basketball level talent. That is where Ezi is a plus because you can see how she deals with tough competition.

 

[CocoHusky]

All of this shows why recruiting is such a hard job. How do you judge a person's skill when they are surrounded by inferior talent? How do you judge a person when they are clearly the best and all 5 opposing players are hounding them. I'd like to see Brunelle with other USA basketball level talent. That is where Ezi is a plus because you can see how she deals with tough competition.

Exactly. A few of us have mentioned about the lack of competition that Brunelle is facing in HS ball. When she played USA basketball U17 she barely played and when she was chosen to "captain" the U16 team USA squad she started but was far from dominant. She has one last shot for high level competition this Summer and that is to get on the EYBL circuit. She was with the Fairfax stars for EYBL last season but hardly shined might be time to switch teams.

 

[jdubct]

Exactly. A few of us have mentioned about the lack of competition that Brunelle is facing in HS ball. When she played USA basketball U17 she barely played and when she was chosen to "captain" the U16 team USA squad she started but was far from dominant. She has one last shot for high level competition this Summer and that is to get on the EYBL circuit. She was with the Fairfax stars for EYBL last season but hardly shined might be time to switch teams.

I am not expert in evaluating her basketball skills. However, based on the fact that she has been highly recruited by many college programs, she must be regarded as one of the premier high school players in the country. South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Uconn are among her final schools.

 

[Charliebball]

Exactly. A few of us have mentioned about the lack of competition that Brunelle is facing in HS ball. When she played USA basketball U17 she barely played and when she was chosen to "captain" the U16 team USA squad she started but was far from dominant. She has one last shot for high level competition this Summer and that is to get on the EYBL circuit. She was with the Fairfax stars for EYBL last season but hardly shined might be time to switch teams.

this is exactly why I take the daily statistics with a very large grain of salt...............the quality of the opposition means so much...............I've seen excellent players score 10 points in a game against a really tough defensive team and I've seen some OK players score 30 against the little sisters of the poor..........who's better?

One of my favorites, Dara Mabrey averages about 18 points a game and was barely ranked a three star player even though the teams she plays against double team her and often have 2 ,3 and sometimes 5 DI players on their rosters.................Other then NY/NJ high school WBB which I know fairly well, I have no idea how good the competition is in rural Virginia or Washington state..............obviously UConn and the other big time programs don't offer players that are just kind of good so I'm not particularly concerned that one opponent "limited" her to 22 points.........

 

[CocoHusky]

I am not expert in evaluating her basketball skills. However, based on the fact that she has been highly recruited by many college programs, she must be regarded as one of the premier high school players in the country. South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Uconn are among her final schools.

I no expert either, just very opiniated. Would love for her to come to UCONN, just want to lower the expectations a tad. The expectation of some is that she is the next KLS and IMO she is not going to be.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have no idea how good the competition is in rural Virginia or Washington state....obviously UConn and the other big time programs don't offer players that are just kind of good so I'm not particularly concerned that one opponent "limited" her to 22 points....

I'm not concerened with the 22 points,I'm much more concerned with the voice track from a Freshmen that went along with those 22 points. That Freshmen said: "I realized it wasn’t that hard to guard her. "

 

[Mdoggie]

I'm not concerened with the 22 points,I'm much more concerned with the voice track from a Freshmen that went along with those 22 points. That Freshmen said: "I realized it wasn’t that hard to guard her. "

Freshmen say a lot of things. Lol

 

[Charliebball]

Exactly. A few of us have mentioned about the lack of competition that Brunelle is facing in HS ball. When she played USA basketball U17 she barely played and when she was chosen to "captain" the U16 team USA squad she started but was far from dominant. She has one last shot for high level competition this Summer and that is to get on the EYBL circuit. She was with the Fairfax stars for EYBL last season but hardly shined might be time to switch teams.

I think you may be giving too much credit to the importance of AAU basketball...............the quality of the individual players may be much better but the quality of all around play often is not.................with some exceptions, I'd equate it to an NBA All-Star game................all offense................often one on one offense at that and rarely much team defense.............Heck some of these kids come from different states and only see their "teammates" the day of the event.....................college coaches like AAU ball because they can see more players without traveling as much far more then for the quality of play..........

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not concerened with the 22 points,I'm much more concerned with the voice track from a Freshmen that went along with those 22 points. That Freshmen said: "I realized it wasn’t that hard to guard her. "

come on CoCo................ this can't be the first time you've heard a bit of bluster from a ninth grader...............I watched a second string guard on IHA hold Michelle Sidor (#21 PN) to 12 points in the Bergen County NJ semi finals a couple of weeks ago............then she goes off in the finals for 33 against a much better defender...........I wouldn't make any judgments based on a single performance or from what any opponent says..........

 

[CocoHusky]

I think you may be giving too much credit to the importance of AAU basketball.....the quality of the individual players may be much better but the quality of all around play often is not.......with some exceptions, I'd equate it to an NBA All-Star game......all offense......often one on one offense at that and rarely much team defense...Heck some of these kids come from different states and only see their "teammates" the day of the event......college coaches like AAU ball because they can see more players without traveling as much far more then for the quality of play.....

I agree with you about AAU in general. The Nike sponsored EYBL portion of AAU is very different and the level of competition is tremendous. For the most part you are talking about regionally stacked teams with top 100 prospects, playing in defined roles that they will be playing in college.

 

[CocoHusky]

come on CoCo...... this can't be the first time you've heard a bit of bluster from a ninth grader.....

Actually it is, considering that 9th grader was going up against the #1 player in the 2019 class.
BTW she (Messiah Hunter) wasn't just talking smack! She dropped 20 points herself to Brunlle's 22.

 

[Charliebball]

Actually it is, considering that 9th grader was going up against the #1 player in the 2019 class.
BTW she (Messiah Hunter) wasn't just talking smack! She dropped 20 points herself to Brunlle's 22.

I heard Brunelle said she thought it was pretty easy to "hold" that pesky freshman to 20..............

 

[CocoHusky]

Actually it is, considering that 9th grader was going up against the #1 player in the 2019 class.
BTW she (Messiah Hunter) wasn't just talking smack! She dropped 20 points herself to Brunlle's 22.

I heard Brunelle said she thought it was pretty easy to "hold" that pesky freshman to 20....

Google is great. It appears that Messiah Hunter played on Team Loaded with Samantha. Think she's the one on the left side of this picture. So Messiah was at least familar with Samantha's game. Team Loaded also appears to be Adidas sponsored and without getting into the shoe politics of AAU that's not where Samantha want to spend her last AAU season.

 

[Charliebball]

Actually it is, considering that 9th grader was going up against the #1 player in the 2019 class.
BTW she (Messiah Hunter) wasn't just talking smack! She dropped 20 points herself to Brunlle's 22.

Google is great. It appears that Messiah Hunter played on Team Loaded with Samantha. Think she's the one on the left side of this picture. So Messiah was at least familar with Samantha's game. Team Loaded also appears to be Adidas sponsored and without getting into the shoe politics of AAU that's not where Samantha want to spend her last AAU season.

I looked at her stats and she appears to be a pretty good player especially if she is just a freshman.................I would think knowing another player's preferences is definitely helpful but for me every game is a new game and they could play again with a far different individual outcome.............

 

[DEpup]

I am not expert in evaluating her basketball skills. However, based on the fact that she has been highly recruited by many college programs, she must be regarded as one of the premier high school players in the country. South Carolina, Notre Dame, and Uconn are among her final schools.

I have taken notice though that Geno is also actively recruiting several forwards in that class and Ezi as well as several in the 2020 class so he isn't in any way sold on her like you saw say for Danger in her class.

 

[oldude]

Not even romotely close to being the same thing. KLS lost to a fairly stocked St. Mary’s in that game. That St. Mary's squad had Ally Rosenblum who went on to play at UCLA, a handfiul of other DI prospects including DeAcosta who was at the time a sophmore and #1 in the 2018 class.

From your comment, you’re suggesting that Hopewell is not a very talented team, or is it possible you just don’t know?

When I lived in VA, Hopewell would regularly battle tooth and nail with nearby Monacan HS from Chesterfield, VA who had 5 D1 players on their roster, including a young lady who now attends UConn.

 

[CocoHusky]

From your comment, you’re suggesting that Hopewell is not a very talented team, or is it possible you just don’t know.When I lived in VA, Hopewell would regularly battle tooth and nail with nearby Monacan HS from Chesterfield, VA who had 5 D1 players on their roster, including a young lady who now attends UConn.

I'm not suggesting anything about Hopewell-I literally don't know. What I do know is that when KLS lost to St. Mary that St. Mary team was ranked number #1 HS team in the country at the time. Currently there are 3 teams from the state of Virginia ranked in ESPN top 25 -Hopewell is not one of them. Hopewell's Messiah Hunter appears to be a very legit player especially considering she's a Freshmen. Hopewell is/was no St. Mary's otherwise I would have heard of them.

 

[oldude]

I'm not suggesting anything about Hopewell-I literally don't know. What I do know is that when KLS lost to St. Mary that St. Mary team was ranked number #1 HS team in the country at the time. Currently there are 3 teams from the state of Virginia ranked in ESPN top 25 -Hopewell is not one of them. Hopewell's Messiah Hunter appears to be a very legit player especially considering she's a Freshmen. Hopewell is/was no St. Mary's otherwise I would have heard of them.

So let me fill you in on Hopewell HS. The HS serves the town of Hopewell and parts of surrounding Prince George County. The area has seen better days. At present, approximately 20% of Hopewell residents live below the federal poverty line. Not a lot of kids from Hopewell end up attending college, but through the years they've fielded extremely competitive football and basketball teams, made up of tough, working class kids. Currently, Hopewell's boy's team is ranked #1 in the State of VA by Maxpreps. The girls team is ranked #7 by Maxpreps.

I'm not suggesting that ESPN's rankings are necessarily wrong, but there are a lot of schools around the country with talent, that maybe are not exactly on ESPN's radar. Hopewell may be one of those schools.

 

[rvwsleep]

Not even romotely close to being the same thing. KLS lost to a fairly stocked St. Mary’s in that game. That St. Mary's squad had Ally Rosenblum who went on to play at UCLA, a handfiul of other DI prospects including DeAcosta who was at the time a sophmore and #1 in the 2018 class.

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that Rosenblum played with KLS, not against her.

 

[CocoHusky]

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that Rosenblum played with KLS, not against her.

You are correct.
Reunion on the court | OC Catholic

 

[oldude]

I could be wrong but I was under the impression that Rosenblum played with KLS, not against her.

You are correct. Nice catch.

 

[jdubct]

I have taken notice though that Geno is also actively recruiting several forwards in that class and Ezi as well as several in the 2020 class so he isn't in any way sold on her like you saw say for Danger in her class.

True. Other forwards are also being recruited. Ezi plays a different position ( post) than Brunelle. Maybe he wants two forwards in the 2019 class. GA has offered her and will be scheduling a home visit with her.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have taken notice though that Geno is also actively recruiting several forwards in that class and Ezi as well as several in the 2020 class so he isn't in any way sold on her like you saw say for Danger in her class.

True. Other forwards are also being recruited. Ezi plays a different position ( post) than Brunelle. Maybe he wants two forwards in the 2019 class. GA has offered her and will be scheduling a home visit with her.

I"m not so sure this (Geno "actively" recruiting other F in the 2019 class). Of the players Geno has seen play lately Samatha is the only one I would consider a "Forward" exlclusively. Haley Jones is a wing 2/3 and Boston is a post 5/4.

 

[oldude]

I"m not so sure this (Geno "actively" recruiting other F in the 2019 class). Of the players Geno has seen play lately Samatha is the only one I would consider a "Forward" exlclusively. Haley Jones is a wing 2/3 and Boston is a post 5/4.

How about Amihere?

 

[CocoHusky]

How about Amihere?

Amihere would certain qualify as a forward but she would not qualify as having "recent" Geno or staff contact. She has an ACL issue and may not be playing but I have not heard of any UCONN recent contact. Have you?

 

[Mdoggie]

I have taken notice though that Geno is also actively recruiting several forwards in that class and Ezi as well as several in the 2020 class so he isn't in any way sold on her like you saw say for Danger in her class.

Dangerfield plays a totally different position and is the best true point in the league in my opinion.

 

[oldude]

Amihere would certain qualify as a forward but she would not qualify as having "recent" Geno or staff contact. She has an ACL issue and may not be playing but I have not heard of any UCONN recent contact. Have you?

The last mention that I know of was indirect at Kia’s homecoming game in Toronto a few months back when Geno mentioned that UConn was recruiting a couple of Canadian kids. I assumed Amihere was one of the kids he was talking about. Plus the fact that Hoopgurlz lists UConn as one of the schools recruiting Amihere.