Anna Makurat Commits to UConn | The Boneyard

Anna Makurat Commits to UConn

Argonaut

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WOOHOO!!! This is such great news and will provide much needed depth next year. I suspected this was coming, as did many fans, since it probably had a direct impact on Mikayla's decision to leave. So looking forward to seeing her suit up and play/learn/grow at UCONN!

Yes @Geew1992 she is coming with Aubrey Griffin for next year! I love how she wrote "#bleedblue" at the end of her IG post...

Anna - welcome to the basketball capital of the world. I hope you achieve all your basketball AND personal goals!!!
 
Great news. I know many are banging the table for bigs. But guys who have been worrying about Genos ability to recruit and our program going downhill in recruiting can hopefully have some more positive vibes. I really do believe Geno knows what he’s doing and I have a good feeling about 2020/2021 recruiting.
 
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Looks like Geno visited both Poland and Croatia.

Have to like the way Makurat handled this. She waited until after her team's season was done before making an announcement, but only after she first thanked her coaches and teammates.
 
Congrats Huskies fans! Should definitely provide some relief for next season!

So side question: with two international recruits for Geno this spring, and with Tara at Stanford having also recruited three international players in the past few years, what do we think this means about the future of college bball, especially for more old-school coaches like Tara and Geno? In a recent interview, Haley Jones had this to say about Tara, which really has echoes of Geno:

“No matter how hard she pushes you at practice, no matter how much you guys get on each other’s nerves, the tensions are high, you still know at the end of the day that what she’s doing and how hard she’s pushing you is because she believes in you and she wants the best for you,” she said in a phone call.

“Having that trust is one of the things that drew me.”
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Geno and Tara seem somewhat old-school compared to contemporary (read: coddling) mores in college basketball. They don't mess around, and they don't sugar-coat. Are international players more willing to be pushed? Are they more comfortable with old school coaching methods? Or is this just a weird coincidence for both coaches? It just seems striking that Geno has gone international twice in a row after not signing any international players for over a decade...?

And FWIW, if I had to guess, I would think this would suggest Westbrook will go elsewhere, because UConn is already long in mid-sized guards. With Crystal Dangerfield locking down point for next year and then Bueckers and Muhl coming in 2020, I don't see where there's a guaranteed starting spot for her?
 
Geew1992 said:
She helps for 2019, right?
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Yes, 2019 - 2020.

HARTFORD — It’s no secret that the UConn women’s basketball team needs to add some players to its roster this spring and summer for the 2019-20 season.
Could some help be on the way? Time will tell.
Anna Makurat, a 6-foot, 18-year-old guard from Poland has told the Huskies’ coaching staff that she wants to attend UConn in the fall, according to a recruiting source. And there would be a scholarship waiting for her.
 
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I felt that Geno had a few players up his sleeve for next year. Clearly the photo was likely taken when Geno was in Europe prior to the Big Dance. Geno and Ania have been sitting on this until after the end of her season.

Ania currently looks like the 5th starter next year unless and until Geno pulls another player from under his other sleeve.....
 
EricLA said:
WOOHOO!!! This is such great news and will provide much needed depth next year. I suspected this was coming, as did many fans, since it probably had a direct impact on Mikayla's decision to leave. So looking forward to seeing her suit up and play/learn/grow at UCONN!

Yes @Geew1992 she is coming with Aubrey Griffin for next year! I love how she wrote "#bleedblue" at the end of her IG post...


Anna - welcome to the basketball capital of the world. I hope you achieve all your basketball AND personal goals!!!
Expand ...

This is exactly the kind of recruiting news I was hoping to see this week. I like the direction UConn is trending in right now. Let’s hope it continues.

Welcome to the family Anna. :)
 
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It looks like Geno has finally tapped into a gold mine of talent in Europe with Nika, Ania and more to come. One of the things we’ve learned from these young ladies is that there are a lot of young girls in Europe who’ve grown up as fans of UConn WBB. Think about it. They’ve seen UConn players star on European pro teams and win Olympic gold medals for years.
 
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TheFarmFan said:
Geno and Tara seem somewhat old-school compared to contemporary (read: coddling) mores in college basketball. They don't mess around, and they don't sugar-coat. Are international players more willing to be pushed? Are they more comfortable with old school coaching methods? Or is this just a weird coincidence for both coaches?
Expand ...

Could be a few things.
1) Go back to Geno's highly publicized comments from the F4 a few years ago, in which he says that more and more kids "want to be cool" (as opposed to great BB players), because that's the culture today around sports. I dont think athletes have quite the same stature in Europe.
2) It's possible that some int'l players are a bit more mature, since they are already playing on big-time teams.
3) It could also just be the new trend and both coaches are on to it. Geno never showed much interest in transfers either. But he changed his thinking recently. Now there may be a stronger crop of foreign players than there had been previously.
4) Or just a necessary alternative given increased recruiting competition within the states?
 
I know we’ve talked a ton about her, but Anna is such a mature player, and that’s what I’m really excited about. We get a lot of great high school players, but her game shows that she’s been playing with older girls. There isn’t a lot of of flash, just fundamentally sound basketball. And, like others have pointed out, finishing her season before announcing tells us a lot about her character.

Geno and CD are really going to take her to the next level and I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
 
Argonaut said:
I know we’ve talked a ton about her, but I Anna is such a mature player, and that’s what I’m really excited about. We get a lot of great high school players, but her game shows that she’s been playing with older girls. There isn’t a lot of of flash, just fundamentally sound basketball. And, like others have pointed out, finishing her season before announcing tells us a lot about her character.

Geno and CD are really going to take her to the next level and I. AM. SO. EXCITED.
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glad to welcome AM but I'm curious to see how this effects 2020/21 recruiting...........is she strictly a shooting guard?, Can she play on the wing? Is she a two year player or is she willing to commit (as much as one can) to four years at UConn? She really does appear to be a very mature player...............I'm hopeful that she can make an immediate impact next year.....................
 
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