A'ja to Announce College Decision on April 16th (merged) | Page 3 | The Boneyard

A'ja to Announce College Decision on April 16th (merged)

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HoopsFan21 said:
Well if she stays home then we know that neither basketball nor academics are her top priorities. If one is trying to maximize their game and potential, UConn is the place to go to play with the best, learn from the best, and become the best, plus the added bonus that you will likely get to cut down the nets at least once during your collegiate career. If academics were her top priority she would be using her basketball skills to get her education at top schools that also have very competitive WCBB programs like Duke, ND, or Stanford. Staying at home means that hanging out with her high school friends a little longer is a more important factor in the decision.
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I won't call this elitist because it is more petty bourgeois in it's thinking. You can play your ranking game but in my experience a good student is going to be good or better regardless of the school. The percentage of students who actully gain from being at a 'top' univ/college is a lot smaller then we think. That is, only a small percentage of the students at any university reeks the full rewards for being at that Univ. It was of little interest to me that the majority of the prof. in a given department were a who-is-who ..., becuse they were not teaching undergraduates and had little interest in them, unless of course that student had done something to impressed the faulty. And, the raw truth is that a student on athletic scholarship will never have the time to reap the resources of a Duke or even a Uconn. These students are so controlled and have very little time to do the student thing. They are really in a shool in a school. This does not mean that they do not do well (Dean list, etc) or even better then their fellow students- only that they are managed differently. A BA in Sociology for A'ja from SC will be no different then the same degree from Duke or Uconn. Of ourse most of us are ompletely un-reconstructed and we buy all the crop out there.
 
hjoerring said:
I won't call this elitist because it is more petty bourgeois in it's thinking. You can play your ranking game but in my experience a good student is going to be good or better regardless of the school. The percentage of students who actully gain from being at a 'top' univ/college is a lot smaller then we think. That is, only a small percentage of the students at any university reeks the full rewards for being at that Univ. It was of little interest to me that the majority of the prof. in a given department were a who-is-who ..., becuse they were not teaching undergraduates and had little interest in them, unless of course that student had done something to impressed the faulty. And, the raw truth is that a student on athletic scholarship will never have the time to reap the resources of a Duke or even a Uconn. These students are so controlled and have very little time to do the student thing. They are really in a shool in a school. This does not mean that they do not do well (Dean list, etc) or even better then their fellow students- only that they are managed differently. A BA in Sociology for A'ja from SC will be no different then the same degree from Duke or Uconn. Of ourse most of us are ompletely un-reconstructed and we buy all the crop out there.
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I think you are right for many majors including sociology. So selection of schools for academic reasons may not make any difference for a good number of players. But I just read an article about Michaela Ruef, who plays for the Stanford team who is majoring in engineering (don't remember which field). Stanford clearly excels in engineering. So there can be a big difference in going to one school or another.
 
hjoerring said:
I won't call this elitist because it is more petty bourgeois in it's thinking. You can play your ranking game but in my experience a good student is going to be good or better regardless of the school. The percentage of students who actully gain from being at a 'top' univ/college is a lot smaller then we think. That is, only a small percentage of the students at any university reeks the full rewards for being at that Univ. It was of little interest to me that the majority of the prof. in a given department were a who-is-who ..., becuse they were not teaching undergraduates and had little interest in them, unless of course that student had done something to impressed the faulty. And, the raw truth is that a student on athletic scholarship will never have the time to reap the resources of a Duke or even a Uconn. These students are so controlled and have very little time to do the student thing. They are really in a shool in a school. This does not mean that they do not do well (Dean list, etc) or even better then their fellow students- only that they are managed differently. A BA in Sociology for A'ja from SC will be no different then the same degree from Duke or Uconn. Of ourse most of us are ompletely un-reconstructed and we buy all the crop out there.
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I'm not trying to come across as elitist. I'm just throwing out the cold hard reality of today's world for those of us relatively early into or just getting our careers started. It's very competitive in almost all fields. More so than as recently as ten years ago. Every kid applying for a job has a degree from somewhere these days. While it's true there are plenty of Duke and Stanford kids waiting tables, to quote Geno, it's also true that IN GENERAL a degree from a top school will give you a leg up on the competition, and open more doors for you. Depending on the number of applicants, those with Harvard, Penn, Princeton, MIT, Duke, Yale, Stanford, etc. at the top of their resumes go to the top of the pile. Those are considered the applicants so smart that they're worth talking to first even if they studied something outside the field for which you are hiring. Yes, good candidates from "lesser" schools get lost in that type of shuffle, but if you're going after top jobs where the competition is stiff, you will definitely be at a disadvantage compared to the kids with Ivy degrees. I've seen it everywhere I've worked in my relatively young career where the red carpet is more or less rolled out for those types of candidates even as interns. I'm not putting down other schools, however if I had the chance to basically just walk in and ask one of the top schools on the planet if I could attend for free in exchange for winning some basketball games, the way a top athlete can, I wouldn't even need a minute to think about it. I understand for a 17 year old the decision making process is a lot different than for someone post-graduation in their 20s staring down the harsh real world, but hopefully the parents could try to make that 17 year old kid realize what it's going to be like when they come out the other side of college.
 
HoopsFan21 said:
I'm not trying to come across as elitist. I'm just throwing out the cold hard reality of today's world for those of us relatively early into or just getting our careers started. It's very competitive in almost all fields. More so than as recently as ten years ago. Every kid applying for a job has a degree from somewhere these days. While it's true there are plenty of Duke and Stanford kids waiting tables, to quote Geno, it's also true that IN GENERAL a degree from a top school will give you a leg up on the competition, and open more doors for you. Depending on the number of applicants, those with Harvard, Penn, Princeton, MIT, Duke, Yale, Stanford, etc. at the top of their resumes go to the top of the pile. Those are considered the applicants so smart that they're worth talking to first even if they studied something outside the field for which you are hiring. Yes, good candidates from "lesser" schools get lost in that type of shuffle, but if you're going after top jobs where the competition is stiff, you will definitely be at a disadvantage compared to the kids with Ivy degrees. I've seen it everywhere I've worked in my relatively young career where the red carpet is more or less rolled out for those types of candidates even as interns. I'm not putting down other schools, however if I had the chance to basically just walk in and ask one of the top schools on the planet if I could attend for free in exchange for winning some basketball games, the way a top athlete can, I wouldn't even need a minute to think about it. I understand for a 17 year old the decision making process is a lot different than for someone post-graduation in their 20s staring down the harsh real world, but hopefully the parents could try to make that 17 year old kid realize what it's going to be like when they come out the other side of college.
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What does any of this have to do with an elite player who has professional aspirations?
 
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A big advantage an elite player has in attending UConn is being in the New York City and Boston markets. As unfair as it may be, schools in most other places don't have access to press coverage, population densities or famous/notable personalities like New York. Networking is an important aspect of a college education. For a person interested in business, Harvard would be the place to head. The biggest benefit would be the people you get to meet and befriend. Networking.

For a basketball person, New York metro is the place to be. Just ask pro sports players where their commercial opportunities lie.

A'ja does not appear to be the shy retiring type. The exposure she would receive at UConn would be a magnitude greater than any of her other candidate schools. This would be an important consideration for her future. Plus, sleigh riding is fun!
 
hjoerring said:
I won't call this elitist because it is more petty bourgeois in it's thinking. You can play your ranking game but in my experience a good student is going to be good or better regardless of the school. The percentage of students who actully gain from being at a 'top' univ/college is a lot smaller then we think. That is, only a small percentage of the students at any university reeks the full rewards for being at that Univ. It was of little interest to me that the majority of the prof. in a given department were a who-is-who ..., becuse they were not teaching undergraduates and had little interest in them, unless of course that student had done something to impressed the faulty. And, the raw truth is that a student on athletic scholarship will never have the time to reap the resources of a Duke or even a Uconn. These students are so controlled and have very little time to do the student thing. They are really in a shool in a school. This does not mean that they do not do well (Dean list, etc) or even better then their fellow students- only that they are managed differently. A BA in Sociology for A'ja from SC will be no different then the same degree from Duke or Uconn. Of ourse most of us are ompletely un-reconstructed and we buy all the crop out there.
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Buying all the crop out there is a good weigh to corner the market...

AR-130709751.jpg&maxw=640&q=100
 
doggydaddy said:
What does any of this have to do with an elite player who has professional aspirations?
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I assume you mean professional basketball aspirations. Becoming a pro-athlete is a risky proposition. She could blow out her knee her junior year and never be the same. Or, have some other career ending injury in year one of her pro career. She could be a great college player that washes out of the pros after a short career. Who knows, maybe she doesn't live up to the hype at all? The whole point of having that degree as a student-athlete is that you have something to fall back on if you have to get out there like the rest of us and get a job where one's ability for jumping, running, throwing or shooting a ball is not going to help you get hired.
 
Bestiarius said:
A big advantage an elite player has in attending UConn is being in the New York City and Boston markets. As unfair as it may be, schools in most other places don't have access to press coverage, population densities or famous/notable personalities like New York. Networking is an important aspect of a college education. For a person interested in business, Harvard would be the place to head. The biggest benefit would be the people you get to meet and befriend. Networking.

For a basketball person, New York metro is the place to be. Just ask pro sports players where their commercial opportunities lie.

A'ja does not appear to be the shy retiring type. The exposure she would receive at UConn would be a magnitude greater than any of her other candidate schools. This would be an important consideration for her future. Plus, sleigh riding is fun!
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Agreed. I've often said this is one of UConn's secret, or rather not so secret weapons, or understated advantages over other programs. Often you hear that a player wants to stay close to home so friends and family can come watch, well, UConn has half of its games nationally broadcast on THE entertainment and sports programming network. Ask Stewie how awesome it was having her block show up on the Sports Center Top 10.
 
HoopsFan21 said:
I assume you mean professional basketball aspirations. Becoming a pro-athlete is a risky proposition. She could blow out her knee her junior year and never be the same. Or, have some other career ending injury in year one of her pro career. She could be a great college player that washes out of the pros after a short career. Who knows, maybe she doesn't live up to the hype at all? The whole point of having that degree as a student-athlete is that you have something to fall back on if you have to get out there like the rest of us and get a job where one's ability for jumping, running, throwing or shooting a ball is not going to help you get hired.
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And you can get hit by a car.

We are talking about ONE player. She was never looking at Duke, Stanford, Harvard, MIT or any other school with that high an educational profile. So the conversation about her not caring about her education is something that was never relevant and seemed to me a way to belittle her and her final four choices. No matter her choice, she will leave with a degree.

Based on her HS career, her rankings, her USA play, why would she ever think there was a chance she wouldn't play pro ball both here and overseas.

She is a very talented basketball player that can live her dreams wherever she chooses.

Do I think Uconn is her best choice of the 4 teams she is considering? Of course.

But I see no need to disparage her process or her eventual choice.
 
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Tonyc said:
Well, April 16th is my birthday. Guess what I want for my Birthday????
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Ummmm ... 150 additional late tax returns from your clients for you to fill out at a premium rate? :)
 
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A'ja helped bring home gold for Team USA and got a taste of how good it feels to be King. I hope the hunger to continue building on her championship pedigree burns red hot within her. If so, I like our chances.
 
I usually dont care about this kinda stuff if the prospect if Duke isnt in the final mix....... but I definitely will have to put bookmarks on my phone for April 16..... one of my favorite things about these sports messageboards are seeing meltdowns .... (unless they are Duke meltdowns)
 
alexrgct said:
My prediction: a 100+ post, virtually interminable, thread.
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You are so right. It seems like anytime her name is mentioned, there's bukka responses from everyone. Again, there is nothing new here in regard to where she might go and yet we will hear a reiteration of everything that's been said before and endlessly, blah blah blah blah blah! All I know is that UConn is going to have a great team next year and be a championship contender regardless of where she decides to matriculate. Where she goes is where she goes. I'm looking forward to the A'ja circus ending here on the boneyard.
 
Buzzyboy said:
You are so right. It seems like anytime her name is mentioned, there's bukka responses from everyone. Again, there is nothing new here in regard to where she might go and yet we will hear a reiteration of everything that's been said before and endlessly, blah blah blah blah blah! All I know is that UConn is going to have a great team next year and be a championship contender regardless of where she decides to matriculate. Where she goes is where she goes. I'm looking forward to the A'ja circus ending here on the boneyard.
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Do you think we'll have closer to 150 or 200 posts for this thread?
 
jsloanjr said:
Just in time for the parade in Hartford for their 9th NC...I am sure she is glad its almost over...Too much pressure on young student athletes...
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We're Dooomed!
 
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easttexastrash said:
Do you know that her grandfather was from S. Carolina? Maybe he grew up in another state...
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Her family has been in South Carolina for a long time; her dad played for a Division II school in Columbia.
 
I read this on another board and it makes way too much sense.

"I think she and her family are savvy. They know that she is creating publicity -- perhaps good, perhaps bad -- by not announcing until April. My speculation is that they are accepting this publicity because it avoids even worse publicity had she announced her decision in October.

In other words, I speculate she's not going to South Carolina. She didn't want to announce that until April because she didn't want to go through the entire basketball season in a South Carolina high school, in the same area as the University of SC, with all her friends, neighbors, fans, and USC fans questioning her decision or calling her a "traitor". She and her family decided they'd prefer to keep all those local people guessing rather than bitching at her for six months."

If anyone can come up with a better reason for her waiting, I'd like to hear it.

I'm sure out SEC fans might have some.
 
I think SC fans at one game did a we want A'ja chant. I haven't seen anything that she has tipped her hand. There are a lot of opinions I've seen. From fans not just of the four teams. We will find out on the 16th.
 
stwainfan said:
I think SC fans at one game did a we want A'ja chant. I haven't seen anything that she has tipped her hand. There are a lot of opinions I've seen. From fans not just of the four teams. We will find out on the 16th.
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Thank you professor Irwin Corey.

What the heck does the "we want A'ja" chant have to do with my post? Who said she has tipped her hand?

This was the 3rd or 4th time you posted that we will find out on the 16th. We know.
 
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cockhrnleghrn said:
I guess we'll just have to find out in a few weeks.
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It was just a theory. Someone's analysis of the situation.

I am curious if you have any thoughts on the theory. Is it possible? If not, why?
 
doggydaddy said:
Thank you professor Irwin Corey.

What the heck does the "we want A'ja" chant have to do with my post? Who said she has tipped her hand?

This was the 3rd or 4th time you posted that we will find out on the 16th. We know.
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I wasn't just replying too your post. As for her waiting I think she did a smart thing. That is didn't rush the decision.
 
If we dont get Wilson nothing will change. UConn will still be the team to beat for a NC. If she goes elsewhere all the other teams who have alot of talent already and theyve proven that cant win a NC even with that talent. Adding Wilson wont make much of a difference, UConn will still continue on.
 
If she has any sense she will drop all four of her finalists and come to Baylor. Mulkey has proven that she can win ONE championship with the best player in the game on the roster.
 
easttexastrash said:
If she has any sense she will drop all four of her finalists and come to Baylor. Mulkey has proven that she can win ONE championship with the best player in the game on the roster.
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A creative post and wouldn't that be a shocker. The question remains open about a SECOND championship.
 
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