Andra Espinoza-Hunter to transfer [merged thread]

[Blaneylover]

This was bound to happen. I am a tad surprised it's her, only because she had received some real minutes in some early games. There was no way he was going to keep such a large group happy. I hope she finds a the place for her.

 

[SCGamecock]

Didn’t get to see the young lady play but hope she finds a situation that works well for her, whether it involves basketball or not.

It’s tough to keep any class together at a major program given the tendency for top recruits to congregate in a few programs. UT has a terrific freshman class and another one coming next year. Texas and Baylor have impressive rosters already and both add several top recruits for the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see if these teams will be able to keep everyone happy and have enough basketballs to go around.

Here at the U.niversity of S.econd C.hances, we are awaiting the departures of DeCosta and Smith with open arms. Don’t forget 2nd Place! LOL..

I’m just kidding ETT. Sorta.

 

[jimazee]

Penn State has scooped up a couple ex-Huskies with Brianna Banks and De’Janae Boykin. I wouldn’t be surprised if AEH ended up in State College as well.

PSU is a good school, coaching staff (including Tamika), Ossining "commute"... has had some injuries and transfers with a pretty short bench...and probably some available schollies. It needs more high level talent to compete where they'd like to be. They obviously like UConn types.

Would not be a surprise.

 

[oldude]

Most of these top recruits were stars from the time they first picked up a basketball. So all through youth leagues, HS and AAU Ball, they played a lot and generally started.

IMO, every one of them who arrives at a top program like UConn, SC, Baylor, ND, TX, etc. truly believes they will play a lot if not actually start, but they often face the harsh reality that, for the first time in their lives, they’re not good enough yet to play substantial minutes at the college level.

That realization can be sobering. Add in the challenge that any college freshman feels the first time they are living away from home and the situation is ripe for disappointment and frustration that has more frequently resulted in the player transferring in recent years.

Saniya Chong, who played a very limited role in her first three years at UConn before blossoming as a senior is the exception while AEH’s decision is far more typical.

 

[HoopsFan21]

LOL what did we do to deserve this? You change this right now!

The Gamecock hate is always interesting considering we’ve never even been close enough to sniff beating UConn. Never. Ever. Lol

Take it as a compliment.

 

[HuskyNan]

LOL what did we do to deserve this? You change this right now!

The Gamecock hate is always interesting considering we’ve never even been close enough to sniff beating UConn. Never. Ever. Lol

I read it as respect rather than hate, well, for South Carolina anyway. UConn fans would rather AEH go to a team that has no chance of beating the Huskies rather than strengthening an already strong team.

 

[Dillon77]

Following on your points: There was a numbers problem with a larger than usual roster this year. Although I don't think Megan or Lexi were direct competition to her, Mikayla was. And of course a very highly regarded combo guard is coming in next year. Still, it's not out of the question she could have started at off-guard next year as a sophomore. She sure seemed to have a lot of potential.

We don't know her thoughts, but for now I'm going to conclude she is making a good basketball/business decision as did others in recent years. I hope she has a good life.

Completely with you on hoping Ms. Espinoza-Hunter finds what she's looking for at her next stop.

UConn, like ND, employs a system where you can have a number of similar-sized players on the floor. Unlike ND (this year), it has a number of players that can play that "small forward" or "large guard" spot. Walker, due to her ability to play inside, kind of stakes out that small forward differentiation (if there is one), much like Jackie Young does for Notre Dame.

Definite time share issues for the other slots and it wasn't going to get any more clear-cut with Ms. Williams coming in next year.

Once again, best of luck to her.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

IMO, every one of them who arrives at a top program like UConn, SC, Baylor, ND, TX, etc. truly believes they will play a lot if not actually start, but they often face the harsh reality that, for the first time in their lives, they’re not good enough yet to play substantial minutes at the college level.

It's sobering and challenging and doubt can seep in and trouble a kid. In short: What got you here won't keep you here. Some kids do go to lesser programs and start or get significant minutes from the get go, picking up skills as they go or maybe ingraining bad habits or both. I look at Gary Blair at A & M with Chennedy Carter who gets headlines with her scoring and she was 9 of 31 against Tenn the other night. Something a little lopsided there.

 

[oldude]

Completely with you on hoping Ms. Espinoza-Hunter finds what she's looking for at her next stop.

UConn, like ND, employs a system where you can have a number of similar-sized players on the floor. Unlike ND (this year), it has a number of players that can play that "small forward" or "large guard" spot. Walker, due to her ability to play inside, kind of stakes out that small forward differentiation (if there is one), much like Jackie Young does for Notre Dame.

Definite time share issues for the other slots and it wasn't going to get any more clear-cut with Ms. Williams coming in next year.

Once again, best of luck to her.

Assuming that everyone returned next season including Z, the Huskies likely start Lou, Pheesa, Z, MW & Danger. While I would always expect UConn to have at least one true pg on the floor, AEH is not a pg IMO. The backup pg role next year would fall to one of 3 players: Coombs, Bent or CW. Beyond that, Geno’s going to sub the next best player, so essentially AEH would be competing with all of the pg’s as well as Irwin, Gordon and ONO for PT.

AEH appeared to start off the season well, knocking down some shots and showing a lot of hustle on the court. That earned her additional minutes with the starters, but when she got those minutes, her turnovers went up and her shot stopped falling.

Geno complained in general about the inconsistency and lack of confidence of the freshmen. I suspect that AEH was one of the players he was talking about. AEH’s last game with UConn was in Toronto vs Duquesne. AEH got 9 minutes of PT. During that time she was 0-2, with 1 steal & 1 foul.

After that game the players went their separate ways for the Christmas break. I suspect that AEH already had her doubts before she went home. At some point, those doubts became a firm decision to transfer.

A long time ago, a coach I played for would often say, while we were killing ourselves in practice, “the fun is in playing the games.” He was absolutely right. For someone like AEH, the Gatorade POY in NY and all-time leading scorer, the decision to leave may have been a simple recognition that her PT was likely to be very limited at UConn now and in the future.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Good for her. For every Chong who stuck it out with limited time until her senior year there are many more who want a bigger role as soon as they can. It’s unavoidable and to be expected in today’s WBB especially at UConn where it’s crazy competitive for just “good” players to get playing time.

But she was getting a bigger role. As Hearst pointed out, she played big minutes against Maryland and Cal, and played well. She got more minutes than anyone but Walker off the bench. And she was set to get more. The real sad point is that she was a teammate of Saniya Chong's and also of Batouly Camara, so she had friends before she showed up at Storrs.

She was good. She had a fine outside shot and she was beginning to make them fall. This was not someone whom we could have expected to leave. She does not fit any past pattern. And that makes it really sad. That makes it a painful loss for UConn basketball.

I would like to know what happened. Obviously, we wish her all the best in her college career, and in the pros. Yes, she could very well be that good.

A mystery and a loss.

 

[VA Huskie]

I’d love to see her transfer to UVA. She did play with Aiyeotan at Blair, so there is a possible connection. Don’t know if the has the academics to get into UVA...but don’t know that she doesn’t either. UVA’s been under the radar this year due to a poor start, but they’ve now won 8 in a row. Sunday’s game against Duke will tell us a lot.

 

[HopJim]

But she was getting a bigger role. As Hearst pointed out, she played big minutes against Maryland and Cal, and played well. She got more minutes than anyone but Walker off the bench. And she was set to get more. The real sad point is that she was a teammate of Saniya Chong's and also of Batouly Camara, so she had friends before she showed up at Storrs.

She was good. She had a fine outside shot and she was beginning to make them fall. This was not someone whom we could have expected to leave. She does not fit any past pattern. And that makes it really sad. That makes it a painful loss for UConn basketball.

I would like to know what happened. Obviously, we wish her all the best in her college career, and in the pros. Yes, she could very well be that good.

A mystery and a loss.

Some may wonder why the team smiles so much during games. Suspect they get yelled at less during games than practice. And some ask why minutes are important.

 

[BigBird]

Good night and good luck...

 

[my2cents]

Only people who have never been a starter and/or have never played for a true winning program understand the logic (and actual need) for the very best players to play a majority of the minutes in a game regardless of the score. Your best can't get better collectively and/or individually if they're not playing. No one on the team is averaging 35 minutes a game and only two players (Nurse and Dangerfield) are averaging more than 32 mpg. The rest are all under 30 mpg. If you want UConn to win National Championships and play as close to perfect basketball as possible, then stop questioning the game's best coach and how he achieves these goals. Do you seriously think you know better than Geno? Really?

And here I thought this was "Discussion" board. Foul trouble and/or an injury may cause the need for one these reserves to be put into a key situation in an important game...my opinion , with no disrespect to Geno's success, is that these , mostly, non competitve AAC games is that some key reserves need to see more time. Chill.

 

[Roger G]

I wish her well. We'll be alright and so will she, I think.

 

[boontonbomber]

let's not forget the role of coaches here. they are recruiting more players than can be expected to get significant playing time, especially in a program like UConn's. they are recruiting redundant-position players to protect themselves from having to deal with a short bench, due to injuries, foul trouble ,etc. so they should not( and we shouldn't ,either) be surprised when players decide to transfer. these players have always played, and want to continue to play. I really don't think that the championship ring is such a big deal for these talented players; they really want to play the game for more than 3 minutes in a blowout. keep in mind, also, that they really need to play the game and develop if they hope to have any chance to play professionally, either overseas or in the wnba. impossible to do that with very limited game minutes at UConn.

 

[carpe diem]

While most everyone on the BY wishes her the best of luck and is sincerely sorry to have this outcome, there seems to me to be an obvious fact her that has not been spoken to. Given what we have seen so far this year, there are basically too many really good players to give them all adequate playing time. This is a self selection process where those, as another BY noted above, who prefer to play more minutes as opposed to being on a NC team, decide to transfer. We have seen it before and will again. It is predictable. Although the caliber of those who leave varies, I think it safe to say that those transferring had no clear path to significantly increased playing time absent Samarie Walker. The big picture is this opens up slightly more playing time for the other bench players and that is probably a good thing. While she is obviously very talented, there are others available who can adequately fill and role she would have had. The one concern I have is the idea of contagion: will others be influenced to follow suit? I think not but we are all aware that some very talented players are getting very little playing time. This is not news to the coaches and I have total confidence that whatever happens the team will continue to be in great shape.

 

[oldude]

keep in mind, also, that they really need to play the game and develop if they hope to have any chance to play professionally, either overseas or in the wnba. impossible to do that with very limited game minutes at UConn.

Like Kiah Stokes?

 

[TheObserver]

And now Geno will demonstrate to the WCBB world how big his heart is by enabling her to play next season without losing a year.
I wish her as distinguished a career as Samarie Walker's (including an NCAA tournament game against the Huskies).

I hope you are correct. Would be unfortunate to lose a year. She committed to Uconn as she said when she was 14. Too young and star struck for that decision, just like when she left Ossining for Blair. Good kids sometimes make poor decisions or at least hasty ones. She has done this twice now.

Sorry to see her leave, my reasons for this are totally selfish. No matter where she ends up, every game will not end up on TV. Lucky to see 1/3 on internet connection. Uconn is premier place, to bad she didn't stay, just hope she makes good decisions and lands on her feet.

So long to most of you Boneyarders. After 4+ years I can pull away from Luigi, CD and Uconn bball for awhile. check back in for some of the big games.....final 4!!!!! Best of Luck in 18 and beyond.

 

[Bigboote]

I don't think playing time had much if anything to do with her leaving. She knew it would be at a premium when she got to UConn, and she now knows that next year's freshman class is small. I think she'd know more about her future playing time if she'd stayed the entire year, she was climbing the learning curve pretty quickly.

I'm sorry to see her go. She's a lot of fun to watch, as was our previous Ossining alumna.

 

[Bama fan]

Like Kiah Stokes?

Or Saniya Chong?

 

[boontonbomber]

Like Kiah Stokes?

if Kiah had left she might have developed quicker and further.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Just CRAP. Not at all expected by me, not at all liked by me. I thought, even with the missed games she had a shot at being a big contributor this years.
I ask myself; why hang with Uconn so long during the recruiting process---Saniya I'm sure as others told her how tough it would be---
Dang I'll miss her. MPOP--she is missing an opportunity. But she is a good kid and I wish her well..

 

[boontonbomber]

Or Saniya Chong?[/QUOTE

Or Saniya Chong?

I'm one who thinks Saniya should have played much more before her last year. We don't know yet if her success in Israel will translate to the WNBA. I certainly hope so. In my mind, it's not a stretch to think she lost a couple of years of development at UConn, which may cost her in the long run. Just my opinion.

 

[CocoHusky]

But she was getting a bigger role. As Hearst pointed out, she played big minutes against Maryland and Cal, and played well. She got more minutes than anyone but Walker off the bench. And she was set to get more. The real sad point is that she was a teammate of Saniya Chong's and also of Batouly Camara, so she had friends before she showed up at Storrs.

She was good. She had a fine outside shot and she was beginning to make them fall. This was not someone whom we could have expected to leave. She does not fit any past pattern. And that makes it really sad. That makes it a painful loss for UConn basketball.

I would like to know what happened. Obviously, we wish her all the best in her college career, and in the pros. Yes, she could very well be that good.
A mystery and a loss.

AEH's transfer absolutely fits several past patterns for UCONN transfers.
Pattern 1, as many others have pointed out was that AEH was a class of 4, as was 2010, 2014.
Pattern 2, continues average rate for UCONN of 1 transfer per year.
Pattern 3, each of the last 4 UCONN transfers (Edwards, Boykin, Ekmark, and AEH (2X) ) also changed High Schools.
Pattern 4, AEH committed to UCONN as a Sophmore only other player to do the same was Courtney Ekmark.

Don't think this is much of a mystery at all. Talented players want to play Now. Today AEH was competing with a Canadian Olympian- Nurse & the #1 player in 2015 Class-KLS, & the #1 player in the 2017 class- Walker to get minutes at shooting guard. Next year AEH would have been competing against 3 players ranked #1 in thier respective classes at shooting guard or SF.

I wish AEH the best.