Angel Reese in the portal

[oldude]

It's funny how it works. The rich get richer. I.e., Cardoso goes to South Carolina, like they need another post player. They already had the best 5 in the country. She was selected as a first team All-American.

Dawn and South Carolina has become a very attractive destination for player entering the portal. Especially now that they are the reigning national champions, and figure to be the odds on favorite to repeat.

Don’t be surprised if Dawn is able to land “several” elite level players from the portal this spring.

Don’t know if Dawn has any scholarships right now?

 

[ccwarrior]

That is very true. Geno could recruit a "proven" post player from the portal over Amari and Piath. I would not like to see that. If they didn't choose UConn the first time around, why now? I have always believed that you promote from within first. Then, if you still have positions that need to be filled you hire or promote from outside. Nothing kills morale faster than promoting or hiring outside when there are people that have been waiting to promote right in front of you.

But (devils advocate & realist arguments) - what if either of these players are either lacking in skills or the work ethic that is necessary for this treatment?

 

[tower1]

I saw nothing in that post that referred to a “citizenship test”. This is not unusual scrutiny, Geno has made no secret of his requirement that UConn recruits are held to a high standard in more than playing ability. He has talked over and over about the importance of recruiting kids with good attitudes, unselfish behavior on court, kids who want to be part of a team, and who are not self-promoters. In other words, good citizens. If you are offended by that, I’m surprised you are a UConn fan.

Times have changed and recruits have changed. What must change is the coaching if they want to keep getting the best recruits. No matter how great a coach was he must change his tactics. And stop playing games with top recruits they have on the bench so they won't leave and new ones that may come. It might of worked in the past but not nowdays.

 

[hoophuskee]

With Boston, Saxon, Amihere all coming back, how is Cardosa going to get more PT next year.

I find it amazing that she was ACC Freshman of the Year and an impact player to a degree and she was okay with just 13 minutes.

 

[bballnut90]

Freese doesn't come off as someone I would enjoy playing for but she somehow manages to get top recruits, has success with them, only to see them leave for greener pastures. The list above shows that some of those who stick it out have successful professional careers. I get sometimes a change of scenery needs to happen but how could so many players have such a disconnect between what they experience in recruiting verses actually playing for the team? It truly amazes me.

Reese claims she wants to play on the perimeter. So did Austin, but Shakira wound up playing down low for Ole Miss and was very successful. I will be curious where she winds up, but even more curious if Maryland continues to draw highly touted players.

I don't fully understand Reese's draw to playing on the perimeter, at least offensively. She's an absolute beast attacking the basket and draws a ton of fouls. She's also one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. She has decent handles for a tall girl but her jumpshot isn't good and her game is best suited at the 4 IMO. She should model her offensive game after A'ja Wilson's. Similar size/quickness, lefty, great at taking opposing bigs off the dribble, frequently gets to the line, has a high motor, etc.

 

[jchusky]

if I'm Uconn I'm looking elsewhere from Reese and Owosu. If they can't handle Brenda, you think they can handle Geno?

 

[CB360]

It's not about being right. It's about being fair. Your comment implied a one-sided relationship. But by all means...if free means something different, then I'm all ears.

Apparently, 25 "Likes" felt I was being "Fair"....

 

[MSSportsGuy]

I don't fully understand Reese's draw to playing on the perimeter, at least offensively. She's an absolute beast attacking the basket and draws a ton of fouls. She's also one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. She has decent handles for a tall girl but her jumpshot isn't good and her game is best suited at the 4 IMO. She should model her offensive game after A'ja Wilson's. Similar size/quickness, lefty, great at taking opposing bigs off the dribble, frequently gets to the line, has a high motor, etc.

There are several players of that mold who get convinced they should play outside more. Aja thought she was somewhat of a perimeter player early on herself before Dawn got her.

 

[oldude]

I find it amazing that she was ACC Freshman of the Year and an impact player to a degree and she was okay with just 13 minutes.

I doubt she’s OK with 13 mpg. I suspect when she transferred to SC, Cardoso may have been sold on some type of “twin towers” concept, where she & Boston would play together like Coates & Wilson. Dawn tried that out a little, and even played Amihere a few times together with Cardoso & Boston. But ultimately, SC’s best lineup had neither Cardoso or Amihere getting significant PT.

 

[Majorthreat]

Angel Reese's last top 5 before she selected Maryland was Tennessee, Syracuse, South Carolina, and USC because they have the Kinesiology major. Don't count on her going to UCONN although it would be nice.

 

[jchusky]

they saying both Owusu and Reese are going to SC. Is SC gonna be bad for basketball?

 

[Skeets]

?

Four guards is enough?

Maybe yes, maybe no. But, all 4 guards are proven. UConn has lots of bigs, 6 by my count, but only 2 are proven. The other 4? 2 practically didn't play this year and the other 2 are high school kids. Not the best position to be in.

FYI, I don't count a healthy Abrey as a big, and certainly not a guard. A small forward? I am counting CD as a guard, but one could make a strong argument that she is also a small forward also.

 

[jabstep]

I think now that the Portal is wide open Super teams are being formed. All of the players know each other from playing AAU ball against each other. One player can make the difference. Had Boston choose us over SC we would be cutting down the nets for the past two years. Our offense has struggled against the top defensive teams such as Arizona and SC. Geno know he needs scorers who can score against anybody. We have three of those players. Paige , Azzi and Caroline. We don't know the extend of Caroline's head injury but before it happened she carried the team for while this season. Azzi carried us when she finally got healthy but we have had no big carry us except in a supportive role.
Paige carried us her freshmen year and came back to help us get to the final 4.
I think Ice and Amari have the skill set that we need in our offense. They can hit the elbow jumper back to the three point line so that the other teams defense can block the middle and take away drive to the hoop and the backdoor cuts. The defense can overplay the guard and it make it more difficult for lets say CW do what she does best.
If healthy we will be back in the final 4 with a shot to bring home number 12.
Reese would not score on Boston in the Paint and I don't think she is an outside player. She could be if she worked on her outside shot extensively

 

[SinBin]

Angel Reese's last top 5 before she selected Maryland was Tennessee, Syracuse, South Carolina, and USC because they have the Kinesiology major. Don't count on her going to UCONN although it would be nice.

I could be wrong, but doesn't UConn have a very reputable Kinesiology Dept?

 

[GG]

I could be wrong, but doesn't UConn have a very reputable Kinesiology Dept?

It does. Donald Brown (UCONN football) cited the program as one of the reasons he chose UCONN.

 

[meyers7]

I think UConn's greater need is for a guard. People have been saying that UConn "only" has four guards for next year (presumably Azzi, Paige, Nika, and Caroline). I would count Caroline and Aubrey as wings rather than guards, which means UConn has only three "true" guards. I think that a fourth guard is needed more than a big. In this respect I agree with @meyers7 , which is unusual in itself.

Ah, but doesn't it feel good.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Apparently, 25 "Likes" felt I was being "Fair"....

Good for you. That's not how I judge fairness, but you run with that.

 

[Jibariqua]

Reese would not score on Boston in the Paint and I don't think she is an outside player. She could be if she worked on her outside shot extensively

Except when they played in December she scored 20 with Boston guarding her a lot of the time.

 

[visitingcock]

they saying both Owusu and Reese are going to SC. Is SC gonna be bad for basketball?

Neither is going to SCar. Catch up.

The best thing for basketball is to not have one dominant team over a five year stretch. On team winning a championship or two, maybe three during a five year stretch is okay. Let's assume arguendo that SCar wins it next year. Boston will be gone after that. The likelihood of three in a row is minimal. Another team would be favored the third year.

WBB is in a good position right now with three major contenders in SCar, Uconn and Stanford all of whom will play regular season games against each other net year. That's great for wbb. SCar plays UConn (I think) and Stanford on the road. That's good press and good TV. That stirs interest.

Having three major contenders leaves an open spot for others to get the 4th seed. That's good for the game.

To me, the game has never been in better shape. We have two major superstars right now in Paige and Boston. Stanford SID needs to get on the ball promoting Haley.

Who is the fourth leading contender? That may become clearer when the transfer madness settles out. Will it be Louisville/NC State? Looks like it won't be Maryland. A big 12 team? who will rise to the top? Big Ten?

Iowa State and Iowa are gonna be fun to watch this year.. Will they pick up key transfers that help them become more than point scorers> Blackwell would help either team.

PAC;s TV deal hurts wbb. How can the most liberal states in the country that promotes womens issues not support wbb? Because they don't get to watch it. The Larry Scott legacy lives on.

 

[browns]

U know scholarships are on year to year basis. So yeah go get ur money. Heard that Angel is looking to join USC

Southern Cal ?

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't fully understand Reese's draw to playing on the perimeter, at least offensively. She's an absolute beast attacking the basket and draws a ton of fouls. She's also one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. She has decent handles for a tall girl but her jumpshot isn't good and her game is best suited at the 4 IMO. She should model her offensive game after A'ja Wilson's. Similar size/quickness, lefty, great at taking opposing bigs off the dribble, frequently gets to the line, has a high motor, etc.

That's strictly a DMV thing- AAU and HS ball in that area pollute the kinds into thinking they are something they are not. Most tragically they don project and prepare the kids for the next level of basketball by focusing on the skill they need to develop to be successful. Reese came up a wing player in HS but she was never going to be a a wing in college. Likewise Mir Mclean came up a 5'11" McDonalds AA post player and never developed the perimeter skills to be a 5'11" wing player.

 

[tchalla1]

It still does mean something to a lot of kids. It's unfair to paint the majority of athletes with this brush. We won't know all the reasons for why they transfer.

Yes, some will be doing it for what we believe are selfish reasons, others are taking advantage of the system which I have no issue with. If you can get your masters by leveraging the COVID year if it's offered to you, why not?

And if we look at the numbers, estimating 1000 athletes in the portal (yes I know it will likely be higher), that's about 20% of all athletes in D1. This means 80% will remain with their program. This is no different than transferring stats for non-scholarship students.

Thank you for your commentary---I don't know why some people are so opposed to collegiate athletes using the free enterprise/free market system and being capitalists in this capitalistic society to their own advantage. Is the portal ideal for college athletics?--probably not--but neither was the plantation-model previous to the portal and NIL where coaches and universities made tremendous revenue off the backs of athletes and athletes got little or nothing in return....

Selfish reasons? I don't know about you, but I make many business and economic choices for "selfish reasons". See--the first thing we do is shed the skin of the old NCAA mantra that athletes are possession and property of universities and allow them entry into the free market enterprise system of this country where being a capitalist and an opportunist for venture capital aren't dirty words....

As you point out, the transfer rate according to most statistics do not exceed non-scholarship students. Students get to change their minds and decide what's in their best interest, so should student athletes...

 

[tchalla1]

If the rich get richer theme of the Portal keeps it up, I could see a rule change to limit the top 10 teams in the year end rankings to 1 portal player and 1 player for each player they lose to the Portal.

Your rule makes sense, although I suspect there would be legal challenges to this...

 

[tchalla1]

Exactly. People kill me with this athletic scholarship being a "free" education crap. Try not showing up for practice and see how fast your scholarship gets yanked.

Yeah, Coco, I think "Free" and " Quid pro quo" are being confused...

 

[baggerbob]

Had to be Dawn & Co.’s reputation for developing elite post players. She went to the one program that didn’t need her at all.

Her developing post players is not true, the only player so far she developed is A'ja and she isn't truly a post player.

 

[jchusky]

Neither is going to SCar. Catch up.

The best thing for basketball is to not have one dominant team over a five year stretch. On team winning a championship or two, maybe three during a five year stretch is okay. Let's assume arguendo that SCar wins it next year. Boston will be gone after that. The likelihood of three in a row is minimal. Another team would be favored the third year.

WBB is in a good position right now with three major contenders in SCar, Uconn and Stanford all of whom will play regular season games against each other net year. That's great for wbb. SCar plays UConn (I think) and Stanford on the road. That's good press and good TV. That stirs interest.

Having three major contenders leaves an open spot for others to get the 4th seed. That's good for the game.

To me, the game has never been in better shape. We have two major superstars right now in Paige and Boston. Stanford SID needs to get on the ball promoting Haley.

Who is the fourth leading contender? That may become clearer when the transfer madness settles out. Will it be Louisville/NC State? Looks like it won't be Maryland. A big 12 team? who will rise to the top? Big Ten?

Iowa State and Iowa are gonna be fun to watch this year.. Will they pick up key transfers that help them become more than point scorers> Blackwell would help either team.

PAC;s TV deal hurts wbb. How can the most liberal states in the country that promotes womens issues not support wbb? Because they don't get to watch it. The Larry Scott legacy lives on.

I'll wait for the results, but I won't be shocked if one or both go there.

 

[oldude]

Her developing post players is not true, the only player so far she developed is A'ja and she isn't truly a post player.

A few years ago I would have agreed. But Boston’s development over her 3 years at SC has been exceptional. She doesn’t elevate much at all, but her ability to carve out position in the paint, rebound, finish around the basket and defend without fouling have gotten better each and every season. A lot of that is simply due to hard work by Boston. But clearly, Dawn and her staff have much to do with Boston emerging as the NPOY, while leading her team to the national championship.

 

[DrummerDee]

Neither is going to SCar. Catch up.

The best thing for basketball is to not have one dominant team over a five year stretch. On team winning a championship or two, maybe three during a five year stretch is okay. Let's assume arguendo that SCar wins it next year. Boston will be gone after that. The likelihood of three in a row is minimal. Another team would be favored the third year.

WBB is in a good position right now with three major contenders in SCar, Uconn and Stanford all of whom will play regular season games against each other net year. That's great for wbb. SCar plays UConn (I think) and Stanford on the road. That's good press and good TV. That stirs interest.

Having three major contenders leaves an open spot for others to get the 4th seed. That's good for the game.

To me, the game has never been in better shape. We have two major superstars right now in Paige and Boston. Stanford SID needs to get on the ball promoting Haley.

Who is the fourth leading contender? That may become clearer when the transfer madness settles out. Will it be Louisville/NC State? Looks like it won't be Maryland. A big 12 team? who will rise to the top? Big Ten?

Iowa State and Iowa are gonna be fun to watch this year.. Will they pick up key transfers that help them become more than point scorers> Blackwell would help either team.

PAC;s TV deal hurts wbb. How can the most liberal states in the country that promotes womens issues not support wbb? Because they don't get to watch it. The Larry Scott legacy lives on.

When was Stanford put on our schedule for next year? If they are, it's a big surprise.

 

[Forego]

If the rich get richer theme of the Portal keeps it up, I could see a rule change to limit the top 10 teams in the year end rankings to 1 portal player and 1 player for each player they lose to the Portal.

I don’t believe that it would be feasible to impose the suggested limitations. The major problem is that these limitations could and would preclude STUDENT athletes from gaining a scholarship to, and an education at, the university of their choice. Second, there is always disagreement as to where teams are ranked by the polls and the selection committee. Third, the standard policy for all Notre Dame requested waivers regarding portal limitations be approved needs to be included.

 

[visitingcock]

A few years ago I would have agreed. But Boston’s development over her 3 years at SC has been exceptional. She doesn’t elevate much at all, but her ability to carve out position in the paint, rebound, finish around the basket and defend without fouling have gotten better each and every season. A lot of that is simply due to hard work by Boston. But clearly, Dawn and her staff have much to do with Boston emerging as the NPOY, while leading her team to the national championship.

Boston's offseason body transformation is the reslut of her determination, but Dawn should receive some credit for encouraging and promoting her work, I;m sure the school and trainers developed a conditioning program that helped her.