2026 Recruiting: Sara Okeke

[donalddoowop]

In 35 years as a HC, Shaefer has had exactly 2 post players drafted to the WNBA. That was T. McCowan and C. Collier and their career trajectory shows how well they were prepared. He may get big players but he doesn't develop them any better than anybody else. Count up how many Auriemma has had.
Regarding JEA, she probably would start at other schools but they wouldn't be top 10 schools and it wouldn't be for coaches who want to play fast, transitional ball. And without Auriemma's disciplined approach, she'd be lucky to play half a game because of foul trouble.

I don't care about WNBA players. I am talking strictly college players. What does Shaefer have to do with my post? His last two post players were very effective and neither one will be an efficient WNBA player. As for Jana, Geno was the one who made glowing remarks about her being one of the best players UConn has had. If she has as many weaknesses as you mentioned, then why did Geno recruit her. That is on him. She could start for a top ten school. You should watch UCLA games. Betts misses a large number of layups, but she gets to shoot a lot. If Jana averaged ten shots a game, she would average double figures.

 

[southie]

Not sure when, but at some point since we learned Sara Okeke was a UConn POI, she has followed Texas WBB on Instagram. Not sure if that indicates that’s where she could be heading??

That was in early December.

She just started following all 4 members of Texas' 2026 recruiting class on IG.

Might not mean anything in the end, but it certainly can't hurt

 

[BobbyJ]

I don't care about WNBA players. I am talking strictly college players. What does Shaefer have to do with my post? His last two post players were very effective and neither one will be an efficient WNBA player. As for Jana, Geno was the one who made glowing remarks about her being one of the best players UConn has had. If she has as many weaknesses as you mentioned, then why did Geno recruit her. That is on him. She could start for a top ten school. You should watch UCLA games. Betts misses a large number of layups, but she gets to shoot a lot. If Jana averaged ten shots a game, she would average double figures.

Read the to bolded areas above. You obviously missed the point completely from your original post. In it you claimed that "Vic" does a lot better job than Geno with big players. Schaefer is "Vic". That means he develops them better while he has them in COLLEGE. He doesn't develop them at all or use them better than Auriemma or any of the other top teams. If he did he might be winning some championships.

And as far as El Alfy goes, you weren't paying attention to what Auriemma said. He referred to her as one of the best TEAMMATES he's had, not as a player. He's not senile yet.

 

[ScottCT]

I don't care about WNBA players. I am talking strictly college players. What does Shaefer have to do with my post? His last two post players were very effective and neither one will be an efficient WNBA player. As for Jana, Geno was the one who made glowing remarks about her being one of the best players UConn has had. If she has as many weaknesses as you mentioned, then why did Geno recruit her. That is on him. She could start for a top ten school. You should watch UCLA games. Betts misses a large number of layups, but she gets to shoot a lot. If Jana averaged ten shots a game, she would average double figures.

You can't claim that shaefer is a better developer of bigs than Geno if his bigs make no impact at the next level. I just doesn't make any sense.

 

[donalddoowop]

You can't claim that shaefer is a better developer of bigs than Geno if his bigs make no impact at the next level. I just doesn't make any sense.

There have been outstanding college players who could not make it at the professional level, male and female. What you say makes no sense.

 

[donalddoowop]

Read the to bolded areas above. You obviously missed the point completely from your original post. In it you claimed that "Vic" does a lot better job than Geno with big players. Schaefer is "Vic". That means he develops them better while he has them in COLLEGE. He doesn't develop them at all or use them better than Auriemma or any of the other top teams. If he did he might be winning some championships.

And as far as El Alfy goes, you weren't paying attention to what Auriemma said. He referred to her as one of the best TEAMMATES he's had, not as a player. He's not senile yet.

Bobbyj, you are right. I cannot argue with you there.

 

[southie]

Read the to bolded areas above. You obviously missed the point completely from your original post. In it you claimed that "Vic" does a lot better job than Geno with big players. Schaefer is "Vic". That means he develops them better while he has them in COLLEGE. He doesn't develop them at all or use them better than Auriemma or any of the other top teams. If he did he might be winning some championships.

And as far as El Alfy goes, you weren't paying attention to what Auriemma said. He referred to her as one of the best TEAMMATES he's had, not as a player. He's not senile yet.

Your points overall are spot on. But, a head coach can be a great developer of talent at a specific position but still not win championships if the other positions on the "team" are not championship level. Rarely does a team win a national championship if they are not elite at every position on the floor.

 

[BobbyJ]

Your points overall are spot on. But, a head coach can be a great developer of talent at a specific position but still not win championships if the other positions on the "team" are not championship level. Rarely does a team win a national championship if they are not elite at every position on the floor.

I can agree with the first point about development. However, not with the second. That would depend on what you consider elite talent. I can’t remember the last NC team that had what I consider 5 elite positional players. Last season UConn dominated the tournament and in my opinion only had 3. I think the term elite gets tossed around almost as loosely as generational and I’m just not that liberal with it.

 

[visitingcock]

I can agree with the first point about development. However, not with the second. That would depend on what you consider elite talent. I can’t remember the last NC team that had what I consider 5 elite positional players. Last season UConn dominated the tournament and in my opinion only had 3. I think the term elite gets tossed around almost as loosely as generational and I’m just not that liberal with it.

Maybe a draft choice of some round at every position? But I agree, not five “elites.”

 

[Vowelguy]

As for Jana, Geno was the one who made glowing remarks about her being one of the best players UConn has had. If she has as many weaknesses as you mentioned, then why did Geno recruit her. That is on him. She could start for a top ten school. You should watch UCLA games. Betts misses a large number of layups, but she gets to shoot a lot. If Jana averaged ten shots a game, she would average double figures.

Geno said that? I missed that. Note: he said the same thing about Heather Buck.

Could Jana start for other top 10 teams? Not sure. Her touch around the rim last year was, um, not good. She's improved on that.
She started last year because (a) there werent other options and (b) there were so many other scorers on that team that she could concentrate on the things she could do decently -- play physical, defend, rebound.

 

[southie]

I can agree with the first point about development. However, not with the second. That would depend on what you consider elite talent. I can’t remember the last NC team that had what I consider 5 elite positional players. Last season UConn dominated the tournament and in my opinion only had 3. I think the term elite gets tossed around almost as loosely as generational and I’m just not that liberal with it.

Perhaps my choice of "elite" was too strong. I just meant you win as a team. Having one AA post player won't get the job done if the supporting cast isn't also contributing at a high level. I've heard many respected hoops coaches state that in the post-season "you win with guards". Well, that certainly helps; but all 5 players on the court need to hold their own and contribute; you can't play 4 on 5 or 3 on 5 offense and expect to win.

UConn last year maybe wasn't elite at every position, but they had 2 or 3 All-Americans, IIRC. That can make up for a lot if other starters aren't at a near level.

 

[uconnfan68]

Not sure when, but at some point since we learned Sara Okeke was a UConn POI, she has followed Texas WBB on Instagram. Not sure if that indicates that’s where she could be heading??

Texas probably has a lot more NIL money than anyone else.

 

[Boreifs]

Texas probably has a lot more NIL money than anyone else.

Which makes little difference to an international player.

 

[visitingcock]

Texas probably has a lot more NIL money than anyone else.

Maybe not. Their direct pay cap of 21.5 million is the same as UConn and everybody else in the SEC/Big10. Probably less than UConn who will probably allocate more than 5 percent toward wbb than those football conferences.

Schools in major markets like U$C probably have more ability to procure indirect pay from third parties.

But, as noted by @Boreifs above that probably doesn’t matter with an international player unless she has a work visa instead of a student visa - HOWEVER that limitation may even be questionable because Texas is in the 5the circuit where Last Tear Poa vs. US is pending.

 

[From Canada]

Read the to bolded areas above. You obviously missed the point completely from your original post. In it you claimed that "Vic" does a lot better job than Geno with big players. Schaefer is "Vic". That means he develops them better while he has them in COLLEGE. He doesn't develop them at all or use them better than Auriemma or any of the other top teams. If he did he might be winning some championships.

And as far as El Alfy goes, you weren't paying attention to what Auriemma said. He referred to her as one of the best TEAMMATES he's had, not as a player. He's not senile yet.

Here I can say that donaldoowop is right. I knew I had already read that Geno had praised Jana El Alfy, calling her the best player he had ever coached. However, although the AI proved me right, I wanted to find out in which publication I had read it. Well, in an article published on October 28, 2024, in CT Insider, here is a summary of what Geno said. (The article is also attached.)



Auriemma was just as impressed watching the center’s growth on the court even though she couldn’t play.

"I can't say enough about her as a person,” he told reporters in June. “Nobody has seen her play. No one at UConn nation has seen her play, and they don't know anything about her. All they know is what they see. Myself, the staff, the players, and everyone associated with our program has been really truly, truly blessed that she's come into our life because I can honestly say in 40 years I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut, never, in my life."

https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/jana-el-alfy-huskies-debut-achilles-injury-huskies-19851739.php

 

[donalddoowop]

Geno said that? I missed that. Note: he said the same thing about Heather Buck.

Could Jana start for other top 10 teams? Not sure. Her touch around the rim last year was, um, not good. She's improved on that.
She started last year because (a) there werent other options and (b) there were so many other scorers on that team that she could concentrate on the things she could do decently -- play physical, defend, rebound.

There are still other scorers on the team. When she concentrates on playing physical, defending, and rebounding you and others still complain about her offense.

 

[Bone Dog]

Here I can say that donaldoowop is right. I knew I had already read that Geno had praised Jana El Alfy, calling her the best player he had ever coached. However, although the AI proved me right, I wanted to find out in which publication I had read it. Well, in an article published on October 28, 2024, in CT Insider, here is a summary of what Geno said. (The article is also attached.)



Auriemma was just as impressed watching the center’s growth on the court even though she couldn’t play.

"I can't say enough about her as a person,” he told reporters in June. “Nobody has seen her play. No one at UConn nation has seen her play, and they don't know anything about her. All they know is what they see. Myself, the staff, the players, and everyone associated with our program has been really truly, truly blessed that she's come into our life because I can honestly say in 40 years I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut, never, in my life."

https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/jana-el-alfy-huskies-debut-achilles-injury-huskies-19851739.php

I think it's easy to misread Geno's remark. The first remark provides the key context. He's praising her as a person, not as a player. Over the last year and a half, he has often been critical of her as a player.

 

[BobbyJ]

Here I can say that donaldoowop is right. I knew I had already read that Geno had praised Jana El Alfy, calling her the best player he had ever coached. However, although the AI proved me right, I wanted to find out in which publication I had read it. Well, in an article published on October 28, 2024, in CT Insider, here is a summary of what Geno said. (The article is also attached.)



Auriemma was just as impressed watching the center’s growth on the court even though she couldn’t play.

"I can't say enough about her as a person,” he told reporters in June. “Nobody has seen her play. No one at UConn nation has seen her play, and they don't know anything about her. All they know is what they see. Myself, the staff, the players, and everyone associated with our program has been really truly, truly blessed that she's come into our life because I can honestly say in 40 years I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut, never, in my life."

https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/jana-el-alfy-huskies-debut-achilles-injury-huskies-19851739.php

The above bolded areas support my statement.
1) The date of his comments, 10/28/2024, confirms that he had never coached her in a game at UConn so at that point he had no idea how she would perform relative to all the other UConn players he HAD coached.
2) You'll notice that he didn't say 'I can't say enough about her as a player' because he couldn't. He said "as a person". Like the next bolded says, "Nobody has seen her play" and that included him. The way he critiques his players, he would never make an irresponsible judgment like "I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut" when he's never said it about Moore, Taurasi, Stewart etc. and he actually coached them.
You can believe whatever you want but after 40 years of judging/scouting most of the top talent in WBB, Auriemma would never make such a sweeping statement about a kid he had never seen play or had coached in a college game. Especially one who in just over a year since the comments isn't now good enough to play more than 10 minutes of backup time a game for him.

 

[BullDawg]

Which makes little difference to an international player.

There are ways to get NIL money to international players.

 

[Vowelguy]

There are still other scorers on the team. When she concentrates on playing physical, defending, and rebounding you and others still complain about her offense.

Find one post where I’ve criticized Jana. I’ll wait.

 

[Boreifs]

There are ways to get NIL money to international players.

True, but major revenue schools have little advantage. Many smaller schools have a majority of international players on their rosters.

 

[Zonepress]

Maybe not. Their direct pay cap of 21.5 million is the same as UConn and everybody else in the SEC/Big10. Probably less than UConn who will probably allocate more than 5 percent toward wbb than those football conferences.

Schools in major markets like U$C probably have more ability to procure indirect pay from third parties.

But, as noted by @Boreifs above that probably doesn’t matter with an international player unless she has a work visa instead of a student visa - HOWEVER that limitation may even be questionable because Texas is in the 5the circuit where Last Tear Poa vs. US is pending.

if guaranteed $ are the major motivation for a recruit Uconn is not in that
conversation (the potential NIL $ given the Uconn brand are significant)
it makes what was already a small pool of players
that GA in interested even smaller
his comments recently about European players seems to be his way of enlarging the pool of potential players
it will be interesting to see how GA does recruiting domestic players with the 2027 class

 

[visitingcock]

if guaranteed $ are the major motivation for a recruit Uconn is not in that
conversation (the potential NIL $ given the Uconn brand are significant)
it makes what was already a small pool of players
that GA in interested even smaller
his comments recently about European players seems to be his way of enlarging the pool of potential players
it will be interesting to see how GA does recruiting domestic players with the 2027 class

UConn is in that conversation and MAY have more money for wbb than a rich football school like Texas or tOSU is willing to pay for a small (to them) income producing sport

 

[Zonepress]

UConn is in that conversation and MAY have more money for wbb than a rich football school like Texas or tOSU is willing to pay for a small (to them) income producing sport

I think you missed my point
GA it’s not going to get into a bidding war for players
he has stated numerous times that won’t happenn
even if they had the $
the 20 million that the house settlement provides for payments for all sports is not where the real money comes from
it’s NIL from donors
in Wbb Tcu( olivia miles) ok (chavez) are evidence
antecdoally Usc Kentucky lsu are among the largest
spenders
I think one need only look at the strength of the SEC
this year to see where the sport is going
additionally10 of the top 20 class of 2026(espn)
are committed to sec schools

 

[visitingcock]

I think you missed my point
GA it’s not going to get into a bidding war for players
he has stated numerous times that won’t happenn
even if they had the $
the 20 million that the house settlement provides for payments for all sports is not where the real money comes from
it’s NIL from donors
in Wbb Tcu( olivia miles) ok (chavez) are evidence
antecdoally Usc Kentucky lsu are among the largest
spenders
I think one need only look at the strength of the SEC
this year to see where the sport is going
additionally10 of the top 20 class of 2026(espn)
are committed to sec schools

Sigh.

They do have the 20.5 million and have allotted for it. “Donor Money” has to be part of that 20.5 money.

Third party money is all that isn’t part of the 20.5 cap. You know like Nike etc. UConn has the connections to play that gamer too,

I don’t know why UConn fans want to continually downgrade their ability to pay NIL. For Wbb in particular they may have more than us football rich programs.

Geno doesn’t want to play the bidding game. Dawn doesn’t either. Both have backed off recruits who throw that out as their primary goal but, for kids that want to play for championships, there is still a nice pot of money that is to be shared with the other players while individual third party money can be chased by players with the championship brand.

Boston and Bueckers did alright on that third party money