Azura Stevens Leaving

[CocoHusky]

How many players will be on the team next year?

11

 

[MilfordHusky]

no, no, it's about earning your time in practice....I fully expect Molly and Kyla to get major minutes because nobody practices better then they do

What's your source on that?

 

[Topdawg]

My best wishes to Z in the next phase of her basketball career. Her game developed a lot over the course of the year. May as well develop in the WNBA on a salary, if a graduate degree is not a desirable option!

We have a great group of players coming back and many new faces. Remember, Notre Dame lost a few to injuries and still won it all. So no doom and gloom for me..

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure their best rebounder this year was Pheesa. Two best scorers back & best playmaker (CD) back. Will for sure be top 5.

No, Collier was the third best rebounder per minute. Stevens was the best by a wide margin which makes sense given that she's 6-6. Gabby was 2nd.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Strother and Wolff also started as freshmen. Why do so many fans seem to forget that?

Plus Renee and Tina.

 

[Los24]

Good for her. Why play for free when you can get paid. Good luck to Z, being on the team for two Final Fours is nothing to sneeze at.

For the same reason other future professionals in many fields attend college on scholarship. Get a 40-50k a year education plus housing and food for free, continue to improve and learn your craft while enjoying the college experience you get once in your lifetime.

 

[UConnCat]

Strother and Wolff also started as freshmen. Why do so many fans seem to forget that?

There are newbies here who don't know even recent history. That and some kind of agenda perhaps.

 

[HoopsFan21]

What's your source on that?

SNY's "The Geno Auriemma Show"

 

[Sonny44]

It’s been confirmed on twitter by numerous reporters. Azura Stevens is leaving to go to the WNBA. Deadline is tonight. Good luck to her!

You mean good luck to us.

 

[GiladKatzDeli]

UConn will be just fine next year. The lineup will look a little different, the style will be a little different, and there will be some unique challenges, but we'll be fine. See how ND likes the feeling of being the favorites and everyone expecting it to win every game all year long. We'll be the hunters next season.

 

[bbballfan23]

No, Collier was the third best rebounder per minute. Stevens was the best by a wide margin which makes sense given that she's 6-6. Gabby was 2nd.

Actually Stevens & Collier both had 275 rebounds on the season & averaged 7.4. Gabby had 267 rebounds & a little less of a 7.4 rpg. These girls all split stats. Remember, Pheesa averaged 20 & 9 before Z showed up & clogged the lane.

 

[Charliebball]

See the part about having 6 solid players in front of her. Next year there are 3. That makes a BIG difference.

if you don't play well in practice you won't play well in the game.........you have to earn Geno's trust................that's what you all keep saying so I'm just repeating the mantra..........gotta be consistent...........UConn won't be UConn if Geno changes his philosophy............I personally think 7 or 8 losses would be good for all of us........

 

[eebmg]

For the same reason other future professionals in many fields attend college on scholarship. Get a 40-50k a year education plus housing and food for free, continue to improve and learn your craft while enjoying the college experience you get once in your lifetime.

Realistically, she has her degree and can always go back to school for an advanced degree. The only issue that seems strange to many is that we see a player who still has a lot of room to improve and believe UConn would have been the optimal place to do it. I am not sure player development in the WNBA is guaranteed and I guess it depends who she is drafted by. Get into the wrong situation and it could be a big problem.

 

[Longtime fan]

Well the last couple of days seems like a changing of the guard. I am not happy about it.

And let's remember what Geno said: "He has no idea when he might stop coaching. "

"But one thing is certain," he said, " there will be no season long farewell tour."

Coach has expressed more unhappiness this season than I have ever witnessed. He got no joy out of anything, as near as I can tell. And a second straight, one-point, overtime failure, has to be devastating.

He sees what is unfolding. And it isn't something exciting or positive. There is , really, nothing more to gain. The challenge has become more one of survival and raw endurance, rather than growth and reward. So many stresses. So few new mountains to climb.

He brought attention to the women's game, and now the game is catching up with UCONN. And that was always one of the goals. In the process , he produced superior teams. His teams brought historic rewards to UCONN and its fans. Those days have passed. He now faces the prospect of coaching highly competitive teams, who may or may not get beyond the final four.

What do such teams achieve for UCONN? Or for Geno?

The chances of another championship for UCONN have regressed substantially. And now with "Z" leaving, and with AEH gone due to some level of dis-satisfaction, and with the huge frustration over the lack of development for Megan Walker, he has to be saying, " is it worth it? Am I still the right person for this new environment of women's BB?"

Do I really want to suffer this again? To what end?

Beware, folks, we should not simply assume that, " there will always be Geno."

It could happen any time.

 

[eebmg]

UConn will be just fine next year. The lineup will look a little different, the style will be a little different, and there will be some unique challenges, but we'll be fine. See how ND likes the feeling of being the favorites and everyone expecting it to win every game all year long. We'll be the hunters next season.

Something tells me that they will like it fine.

 

[Orangutan]

Considering that Duke launched an investigation of JPM and the Georgetown coaching situation was a mess a few years ago, a case could have been made for both Natalie and Azura to play immediately. Certainly, they had a stronger case than Shepard.

Nebraska investigated Connie Yori and the result of that investigation was the resignation of Yori. Duke investigated JPM and the result was that JPM was retained and given a vote of confidence by the AD.

 

[Charliebball]

What's your source on that?

Geno.......'nobody works harder then Molly"

 

[MilfordHusky]

SNY's "The Geno Auriemma Show"

But Megan played 100 minutes more than Kyla and 160 more than Molly. Megan made an impact on at least 3-4 games. Kyla and Molly impacted none or maybe 1.

People are down on Meg, but her freshman stats were roughly similar to those of Tuck, Gabby, and Napheesa. Those three turned out ok.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Actually Stevens & Collier both had 275 rebounds on the season & averaged 7.4. Gabby had 267 rebounds & a little less of a 7.4 rpg. These girls all split stats. Remember, Pheesa averaged 20 & 9 before Z showed up & clogged the lane.

All three averaged 7.4 rebounds. Collier played 28.8 minutes per game, Gabby 26.8, and Stevens 20.9. Hence, Collier being the third best rebounder of the group. Regardless, they lost two players who averaged nearly 15 rebounds per game. Who is going to replace those? Irwin? ONO? Camara? Not likely.

 

[Charliebball]

See the part about having 6 solid players in front of her. Next year there are 3. That makes a BIG difference.

shouldn't matter how many players are in front of you.........if you don't earn it in practice you don't play.............

 

[CocoHusky]

if you don't play well in practice you won't play well in the game....you have to earn Geno's trust......that's what you all keep saying so I'm just repeating the mantra.....gotta be consistent......UConn won't be UConn if Geno changes his philosophy..I personally think 7 or 8 losses would be good for all of us...

You probably shouldn't repeat something you don't understand & clearly don't believe in.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Nebraska investigated Connie Yori and the result of that investigation was the resignation of Yori. Duke investigated JPM and the result was that JPM was retained and given a vote of confidence by the AD.

Sorry, but the Duke investigation seemed like a sham. JPM repeatedly threw her team under the bus, she forced several players and assistants out, and Elizabeth Williams had some major complaints.

 

[Brochacho]

For the same reason other future professionals in many fields attend college on scholarship. Get a 40-50k a year education plus housing and food for free, continue to improve and learn your craft while enjoying the college experience you get once in your lifetime.

Its not free. She doesn't pay tuition because she's essentially an indentured servant to UConn and the NCAA. She's done her four years, she's got her degree. Time to maximize her value. Probably can surpass 6 figures between the WNBA/Europe.

 

[MilfordHusky]

shouldn't matter how many players are in front of you....if you don't earn it in practice you don't play...

You need to put 5 players on the floor.

 

[bbballfan23]

All three averaged 7.4 rebounds. Collier played 28.8 minutes per game, Gabby 26.8, and Stevens 20.9. Hence, Collier being the third best rebounder of the group. Regardless, they lost two players who averaged nearly 15 rebounds per game. Who is going to replace those? Irwin? ONO? Camara? Not likely.

There’s a reason she played more minutes than them...not ever minute counts the same either if you’re going by that standard. Z, played mop up minutes a lot. So was she our best scorer, also?? Hahaha flawed argument. As for Gabby, she’s now averaged less rebounds per game than Pheesa the last 2 years. Don’t mistake flash with production.