It’s a good question. I think several of our players have the Rizzotti factor. Aaliyah and Caroline for sure. Dorka transferred because she wanted to win and OSU didn’t have what it takes. Nika has it. I think Ice has it.
Again another awful post from someone that really didn't; watch UCONN or is not a UCONN fan.
How did Nika come into this… again? I thought we were talking about Azzi. Whatever.
CG, I agree. Paige has a little bit of DT in her, i.e. she'll challenge her defender believing there she can score no matter what the defender tries to do. Azzi has phenomenal skills, a NPOY candidate. Some people need to take "happy pills", imagine what Azzi would be like if she took a "mean girl pill"?
We do need them. But we've already all chewed over that NC game too many times to need to be reminded again that Azzi and Caroline were not perfectly healthy for that game. It may not be the evidence you seem to think it is. Yes, I wish they'd been able to contribute more, the two freshmen on the floor, as opposed to the three seniors. I'm sure they felt the pressure of the occasion as well. But I don't see in it a harbinger of some deficiency in their play.
I was lucky enough to have a front row seat for the EDD experience starting when she was 12 and winning National AAU championships with Caroline Doty. Front row seat was because I had daughters in the same AAU program that used to practice before and after EDD's and Caroline's team at Chestnut Hill College. It was a phenomenal experience but I still feel cheated in the sense that for just one season I would have like to have seen a UCONN front court of Maya, Tina Charles and EDD. That would have been epic but UCONN didn't seem to miss EDD much those first two years had she stayed at UCONN. All the team did was go 39 and 0 in back to back seasons. But UCONN sure could have used her when Maya was a senior.
www.courant.com
Lots of good points here, Bone Dog... however, best guard in the country might be a stretch. If she's better than Caitlin Clark, the Huskies would indeed be a serious threat to win it all. We can hope.
Brings up and interesting former post of yours that I want to challenge. If I remembered correctly you were projecting that EDD was a Naismith HoF player. Is EDD a HoF? IMO she is not quite there yet and it would take another olympics Gold , WNBA MVP, or WNBA championship to seal the deal. One of the things that hurts her chances is that unlike the vast majority of WNBA players, EDD has not played much professionally overseas except for a short stint in China.
Look. We all love Rebecca Lobo. What would the UConn program be without her? Every time I see her or hear her voice I feel that moment of victory in 1995 with her crying and running around the court like a mad woman. Rebecca is in the HOF. EDD's professional achievements are far better than Rebecca's. Delle Donne has won two WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards (2015, 2019), been selected to six All-Star teams, and was the first WNBA player to join the 50–40–90 club. She has one WNBA championship ring. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021. To me that is far and above the necessary requirements for the HOF.
I'm not sure if EDD is in Springfield yet or not, but a couple more years of scoring 18+ ppg should get her there. I don't know if she'll be on Team USA, but it's possible. WNBA champion or MVP is certainly possible, though Wilson and Stewart stand in the way.
If EDD had come to UConn, she--not Stewie--could have been the first player to win 4 consecutive NCAA championships. We had the 2 best players in the nation in 2010--Maya and Tina, in some order. We would have had the 3 best, which would have been unprecedented.
Fair enough. You're correct, and I was perhaps a bit off point. I would also however put her career up against Yolanda Griffith. The problem really for me is the criteria for men to get into the HOF is well watered down, whereas women seemly have to meet a far higher standard. Just sayin'.
You make a good case that EDD professional achievements but let’s consider impact for a second. Rebecca is the “birth” of a UCONN dynasty as well as one of the faces responsible for the birth of the WNBA. Rebecca has also stayed close to the game with broadcasting and is one of the most influential voices of the women’s game.
