Andra Espinoza-Hunter to transfer [merged thread]

[j66kicker]

I don't believe it's about home and family, she has already said in an interview that her options are wide open, could be CA or TX for her next school.

I suspect it's about anticipated playing time, the realization that there are a lot of really good players ahead of her, and Christyn Williams coming in next year.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Sorry to see her leave, and I hope she gets good advise as to her next steps.

As I understand it, reading this thread (and avoiding the Kiah Stokes sidetrack) if Andy enrolls at a school this week she will be eligible to play Jan 2019. If not then she would miss more time? Her comment about taking courses at Westchester CC does not make sense to me because then she would then only be eligible Sept 2019?

She has been away from the program for a month or so, and I hope she thought these things through. I wonder if the UConn staff would, if asked, make calls to contacts if she needs to find a new school by this week?

 

[Bliss]

She's good enough to have an impact on the vast majority of Division 1 teams. I hope she chooses wisely and does well.

We'd be glad to have her at Mizzou.

 

[trb123]

AEH will get a lot of playing time if she joins Теннесси's fabulous guard development program.

 

[JoePgh]

Maybe the reason is not family-related, and not about playing time either. Maybe she found that she just didn't enjoy being coached in the way that Geno coaches.

From what I could see, Kelly Schumacher didn't like it either, although she stayed for four years. Even Rebecca has said that she was nearly ready to bail after her first two years. It happens.

That doesn't mean that Geno should change his approach, just that it won't suit every single good player.

IF (!!!) that was even the reason, which may not be the case.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

In that interview, she said she was going to use the time off to evaluate different schools to find a good fit, something she didn't do the first time around.

 

[Coler]

CVS better get on the phone. We need a deadly three point shooter here at Rutgers.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I like a nice speculation as well as the next guy. If the issue is grades, that[s personal. If the issue is family, that's personal. If the issue is team, PT, Practices--at this point that means nothing. The kid made a choice, not one I think she should make, but it's her choice.
Let her get on with her life, miss her as I do, and accept it. I had such great expectations for her Uconn future.

 

[BroadwayVa]

CVS better get on the phone. We need a deadly three point shooter here at Rutgers.

You couldn't do much better. She's a gift for any Div 1 team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I like a nice speculation as well as the next guy. If the issue is grades, that[s personal. If the issue is family, that's personal. If the issue is team, PT, Practices--at this point that means nothing. The kid made a choice, not one I think she should make, but it's her choice.
Let her get on with her life, miss her as I do, and accept it. I had such great expectations for her Uconn future.

I agree and let's make a pact that we won't follow her career elsewhere for 4 years.

 

[Carnac]

all we're doing here is expressing opinions, which is fine. "highly unlikely" is nothing more than your opinion. I would suggest that Kiah's offensive skills showed very little improvement over 4 years, and she continues to struggle with scoring in the WNBA,

I agree with your take that Kiah's offensive skills did not improve over her 4 years, and she has not shown the improvement I'd hoped she would during her first 2 years in the W. She averaged 25 ppg her senior year in HS. What happened? What caused her offensive skill set to ?

She's having a good season this winter overseas. Let's see if she brings anything of substance back to the states. There's no reason she can't average double figures in scoring and rebounding. She's coming up on year 3 as a professional. If not now, when?

 

[oldude]

I mean, I had heard how painful childbirth was, and watched one on video, and lots of my friends had done it, but it in no way prepared me for the real thing. Hearing and experiencing are two very different beasts.

I have to say that in all the years I've followed UConn WBB, there have been a lot of interesting analogies employed to describe just how tough it is for a freshman once they arrive on campus, but I've never heard it compared to childbirth.

If playing for Geno is that tough, it's a good thing that Geno coaches women, because no man is tough enough to handle it, which is exactly the feeling I had when I watched my wife give birth to our son.

 

[hoophuskee]

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

And she might not have made the WNBA/played pro if she left either.

 

[hoophuskee]

Not a chance. Kiah was a big kid who could run and jump when she arrived at Storrs, but her basketball skills were completely undeveloped. Kiah was the epitome of a basketball “Project.”

She wasn’t really a factor for the Huskies until towards the end of her junior season. During her senior season she became a very effective defender and rebounder as the 1st substitute off the bench.

Without the tremendous amount of work that Kiah put in under the direction of Geno and CD, it’s highly unlikely she would become a solid professional in the WNBA and internationally.

I just got a chance to read all this. I'm with ya here. Though I'll lay out a caveat I'm not certain about her early career but I thought she was awful absolutely stunted as a scorer. I was stunned though by her senior year the supposed experts not thinking she was a 1st round pick. She graduated as imo the best defender in UCONN history. Maybe Stewie. Anyhow offensively she got just 17 assists her entire frosh year after playing in 36 games (many were probably blowouts) while averaging just 4 ppg. It's just in her DNA to be a scorer. She won't ever be. UCONN tightened up her D got her to pass more proficient and hit some free throws showing she had touch. Thus she can play at the end of games.

I'm with ya here. Plus Auriemma was fantastic with Chong. No WNBA without UCONN.

 

[Mdoggie]

In the immortal words of Mr Wondeful. " She is dead to me
At least as far as basketball is concerned. You leave my favorite program for whatever reason and I abandon you. Lol.
My program takes intestinal fortitude!!!!

 

[mbr33ct]

Just pasted this link on another thread. Came across this article this morning.

Girls basketball: Ossining alumna Andra Espinoza-Hunter opens up about transferring from UConn

“I just realized UConn wasn’t really a good fit for me,” Espinoza-Hunter said, when reached by phone Friday evening.

Girls basketball: Ossining alumna Andra Espinoza-Hunter opens up about transferring from UConn

 

[BroadwayVa]

I agree and let's make a pact that we won't follow her career elsewhere for 4 years.

That's a leap!
If she moves on to a top 25 team, I'll once in a while see how she's doing---I don't follow Sade, or Ekmark, and only follow Butler because she is reported on the By. That does not mean I feel any anger for her leaving---and I'll allow her reasons to be her reasons. At this point knowing the reason would change nothing. I still think she'd have made an impact on this particular team this year--

 

[Paesano]

I agree and let's make a pact that we won't follow her career elsewhere for 4 years.

That would be awesome! But you know people are going to try and establish a moral high ground by reporting every good game she has and throwing out the obligatory, "I am sooooo happy for her. Once a husky, always a husky!" Barf!

I am amazed the ERs in CT aren't full with people with broken arms from trying to pat themselves on the back for being superfans.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

That would be awesome! But you know people are going to try and establish a moral high ground by reporting every good game she has and throwing out the obligatory, "I am sooooo happy for her. Once a husky, always a husky!" Barf!

I am amazed the ERs in CT aren't full with people with broken arms from trying to pat themselves on the back for being superfans.

Amen and amen!

 

[boontonbomber]

I just got a chance to read all this. I'm with ya here. Though I'll lay out a caveat I'm not certain about her early career but I thought she was awful absolutely stunted as a scorer. I was stunned though by her senior year the supposed experts not thinking she was a 1st round pick. She graduated as imo the best defender in UCONN history. Maybe Stewie. Anyhow offensively she got just 17 assists her entire frosh year after playing in 36 games (many were probably blowouts) while averaging just 4 ppg. It's just in her DNA to be a scorer. She won't ever be. UCONN tightened up her D got her to pass more proficient and hit some free throws showing she had touch. Thus she can play at the end of games.

I'm with ya here. Plus Auriemma was fantastic with Chong. No WNBA without UCONN.

please explain why you think he was fanatstic with Saniya Chong.

 

[eebmg]

That would be awesome! But you know people are going to try and establish a moral high ground by reporting every good game she has and throwing out the obligatory, "I am sooooo happy for her. Once a husky, always a husky!" Barf!

I am amazed the ERs in CT aren't full with people with broken arms from trying to pat themselves on the back for being superfans.

I think it is a little different with AEH than Ekmark and Butler who spent multiple years and really reached the highest level they could at this program while also experiencing injuries etc. Some cases are easier to understand than others.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I think it is a little different with AEH than Ekmark and Butler who spent multiple years and really reached the highest level they could at this program while also experiencing injuries etc. Some cases are easier to understand than others.

Yes, it is different and I enjoy seeing how people who dug in and contributed here over a sustained period do when they go elsewhere. I have no ill will toward AEH, but she rejected UConn as a mistake; we can wish her good luck without continuing to follow her.

 

[Crossover]

That would be awesome! But you know people are going to try and establish a moral high ground by reporting every good game she has and throwing out the obligatory, "I am sooooo happy for her. Once a husky, always a husky!" Barf!

I am amazed the ERs in CT aren't full with people with broken arms from trying to pat themselves on the back for being superfans.

Why do you care whether I continue to follow Andra? Why do you judge whether I continue to follow her? On what basis do you assess my motives (i.e. "try and establish a moral high ground")? You do not know me, and I have no interest in knowing you.

 

[Paesano]

Why do you care whether I continue to follow Andra? Why do you judge whether I continue to follow her? On what basis do you assess my motives (i.e. "try and establish a moral high ground")? You do not know me, and I have no interest in knowing you.

Did I mention you somewhere? Someone took this personally. Did I strike a nerve?

 

[HopJim]

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.

Agreed. Playing 3 minutes a game doesn't give you much of an attachment to a ring.

 

[HopJim]

I think this is for the best for Hunter and or us. If Hunter feels she will be happier elsewhere than she made the right choice.

I was always surprised UConn took 4 players from the class of 2017. I didn't think it was a particularly strong class especially after watching the high school all star games. But it simply made our roster too crowded and I feared what that may mean for chemistry. If Butler hadn't transferred we'd have 14 players. Way too many. I think 12 is the ideal number. We basically had 3 frosh guards fighting for crumb minutes. Not a great situation for their or the teams development.

So good luck Andra. And this will mean more minutes for Kyla, Mikayla, and Lexi to develop and for Megan to work out of her funk. And it may mean our top 6 won't get too bogged down in practices. Geno obviously has not been pleased with the freshmen in practice. Better for our main goal, a championship.

Strange two years of recruiting. 2 years ago-small class with average talent at best. 4 recruits with somewhat overlapping talents 1-year ago?

 

[HopJim]

I agree with your take that Kiah's offensive skills did not improve over her 4 years, and she has not shown the improvement I'd hoped she would during her first 2 years in the W. She averaged 25 ppg her senior year in HS. What happened? What caused her offensive skill set to ?

She's having a good season this winter overseas. Let's see if she brings anything of substance back to the states. There's no reason she can't average double figures in scoring and rebounding. She's coming up on year 3 as a professional. If not now, when?

UConn's offense is typically based on motion with the bigs often set up outside the 3 point line. Kiah not a 3 point shooter so not a major contributor. Any other team would likely have been able to count on her scoring 15+ per game by keeping her down low.

 

[JoePgh]

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.

While you're keeping things in mind, please keep in mind that several players who never started regularly at UConn in four years (Kiah Stokes, Ketia Swanier, and Ashley Battle come to mind) were able to have multi-year WNBA careers despite that fact. Yes, by their senior year, they were playing a significant number of minutes, but they never started more than a game or two (perhaps when someone was injured). Others like Saniya Chong only started during their senior year. Others that we don't think of as major players (Kaili McLaren and Megan Gardler, for example) have played overseas after graduating from UConn. If Natalie Butler makes a WNBA team in 2018, it will partly be due to the numbers that she is putting up at George Mason, but also to the visibility that she had for two years (playing against big-time competition) on the UConn roster.

A significant offset to the fact that playing time is more scarce at UConn than at other schools is the fact that UConn is on national TV more than any other team (by a wide margin), so WNBA coaches see UConn players, including bench players, more than they see good players on other teams. I suspect that most WNBA coaches could tell you not only who the juniors and seniors on UConn's bench are, but what their strengths and weaknesses are, whereas they might have almost no clue about the bench players for Louisville, Texas, Ohio State, or other schools that you might think of.

If AEH had stayed, she might never have been a starter (or maybe she would have been), but she probably would have enough minutes and enough "ESPN time" by the time of her graduation that she would be under consideration by WNBA teams.

 

[JoePgh]

UConn's offense is typically based on motion with the bigs often set up outside the 3 point line. Kiah not a 3 point shooter so not a major contributor. Any other team would likely have been able to count on her scoring 15+ per game by keeping her down low.

It is absurd to say that Geno demands that his posts be effective 3-point shooters. I don't think Tina Charles took a single 3-point shot during her four years at UConn, somewhat to her disappointment (apparently). I doubt that Kara Wolters did either.

Kiah's problem on offense was that she didn't aggressively look to score in the low post or elsewhere in the paint, as both Stef and Stewie did. If she had done that, she would have been a starter.

 

[oldude]

UConn's offense is typically based on motion with the bigs often set up outside the 3 point line. Kiah not a 3 point shooter so not a major contributor. Any other team would likely have been able to count on her scoring 15+ per game by keeping her down low.

As information/trivia, Kiah Stokes is one of only 4 UConn players to ever shoot 50% or better from 3pt range for an entire season which she did during the 2014-15 season shooting .500% (1-2). The others were Tahira Williams in 2007-08 1.000% (1-1), Jessica Moore in 2003-04 .500% 1-2) and the queen of mop up time, Stacey Marron, averaging only 2.8 minutes per game in 2002-03, shot .588 from 3 (10-17).