Boston to South Carolina

[shizam]

If u want to compete for national titles yes u need to change!!! 10 player roster next year with a starting 5 of who? Really people come on.. one post player?? Olivia ... people need to face reality .. UCONN is one injury away this season for disaster next year just forget it... Haley Jones is 100% not going to UCONN!!! South Carolina or Stanford!! My guess South Carolina will land jones!!!!

One thing you may not be thinking about is there are only maybe 4 good teams in WBB right now. None of these teams are world beaters.

 

[shizam]

Just devastating for the program. No way around it. The dynasty is over. The team has ZERO size and physical presence for the foreseeable future. Geno has some explaining to do.....Time for some new blood to take over as the game has passed him by. He cost us last year's title & looks like 11 will be it.

I thought I was emotional and reactive. The claws are out for Geno.

 

[bantamlaker]

For all the pessimists here who think it’s over for Geno and UConn

 

[SCGamecock]

If only the people on this board could summon half the grace and composure that you've consistently demonstrated.

I vividly remember your palpable disappointment, and I'm as happy for you as I am for Dawn Staley. She is continuing to build something very special in Columbia.

You consoled me a few times after recruiting misses with your words of encouragement, which I'm still appreciative for. Just trying to return the favor my friend.

 

[Dove]

I opened this thread thinking it was for long-distance Thanksgiving traveling advice.

 

[hjoerring]

UCONN will lose out on jones!! Watch jones sign with the gamecocks!!! UCONN future is over!!! Sadly genos recruiting style needs to change!!! Put all marbles into one bag.. no back up plan. If we lose out on jones then UCONN will be done a roster of 10... say juco or walk ons. UCONN dominance and dynasty is over. Sad day

Don't know how to read you-- even if your GUESS about Boston bored fruit. We are all guessing, aren't we?
What I'm surprise about is not her decision-- I simply wanted her at Uconn, but the fact that she chose the setting of the VI to do so, knowing that Uconn would be there in the house playing. It was a slap in the face. Someone around her-- family, HS coach, etc, should have said, delaying the process or doing it before Uconn arrived. Of course it is possible that Boston had already informed Geno that she wasn't coming to Uconn on or right after her visit.
From afar with nothing to go on but boneyard speak, I thought then and still do, that pairing Jones and Boston visits was a last attempt by Uconn to salvage them. So, if Jones couldn't sell the goods to Boston or the latter could.t sell to the former then I doubt that Jones will have the appetite to eat alone.
Uconn may have an impression problem to be solved-- nothing worst than that empty sign in which all can fill in the blank. You know something about that-- don't you?

 

[Scrutineer]

Geno has no role in the day-to-day operations of his restaurant...

I didn't say he did. He must, however, spend some time with his managers, etc. All such outside interests have to take some time and focus away from coaching his team. So did coaching the National Team, but that time with the players likely helped with building relationships that lead to Stewart and others signing with UConn.

 

[Orangutan]

Perhaps it's important to remember that recruiting is about what the chosen school did right rather than what the runners-up did wrong.

Dawn is a Hall of Fame player that now has proven an elite coach. South Carolina now has a robust fanbase and strong attendance. They're only a season removed from a National Championship and SC players are thriving as pros.

Dawn seems to have a great relationship with her players. I scoff at her comments sometimes but there is no doubt she defends her players and her program unfailingly.

Setting aside the fact that UConn has been amazingly successful in recruiting over the past several years, Boston's choice does not reflect a failure on Geno's part or a repudiation of his methods.

Instead, it is a validation of Staley and South Carolina's program.

 

[TitleTown]

I didn't say he did. He must, however, spend some time with his managers, etc. All such outside interests have to take some time and focus away from coaching his team. So did coaching the National Team, but that time with the players likely helped with building relationships that lead to Stewart and others signing with UConn.

No, he doesn't! He is nothing more than a name on the side of the building!

 

[TitleTown]

Honestly, as much bad juju as this board put out with cocky threads like "Can we celebrate yet" , and virtually every poster on here claiming that Boston was a "lock". I am not surprised one bit. I think the saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" is very applicable here.

 

[donalddoowop]

Honestly, as much bad juju as this board put out with cocky threads like "Can we celebrate yet" , and virtually every poster on here claiming that Boston was a "lock". I am not surprised one bit. I think the saying "don't count your chickens before they hatch" is very applicable here.

There was nowhere near every poster on here claiming Boston was a lock, virtually or otherwise. Some, but not as many as you indicate. However I will state this, I don't believe Jones has chosen UConn either. I think Griffin is the only 2019 commit for UConn.

 

[JordyG]

WTF! Not gonna lie. This hurts.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Getting some high recruits doesn't guarantee anything! TN has recruited some top talent and has gone no where with that talent! SoCar got Wilson and some other names but won their Title because UCONN was upset by MissSt and faced MissSt instead of UCONN in the finals! If UCONN made the finals then they would have beaten SoCar by 20+ points for the Championship!
Duke, Baylor, Stanford, NoCar, TX, and others to numerous to mention have had top recruits and not reached the "promised land!" You have to have the coaching staff that brings that talent out year after year to have the success that Geno and staff have consistently had with whoever they've recruited!
It's sickening to read the comments I have above!
You’re gungho UCONN fans when things go 100% UCONN's way, crying now but Geno will still bring out the best from the roster he has during each season!
You gloom and doomers don't jump ship just yet, Geno and crew may surprise you!

 

[JordyG]

Geno's style is no longer working with today's players. Without naming names, it was pretty clear that some players left here unhappy in the past few years. Reading Boston's comments on why she picked SC, its pretty clear that Geno needs to change if he is going to connect with current players.

???????????????????????? Okay just step away from that ledge slowly. Here, try a doughnut.

 

[Bayareahusky]

You consoled me a few times after recruiting misses with your words of encouragement, which I'm still appreciative for. Just trying to return the favor my friend.

Hey SCG Congrats on Boston.... I am sure she will do well for you!

 

[bballnut90]

Wow, very stunned by this. Another massive get for Dawn, she really cleaned up this year. SC, Baylor, Oregon, and UCONN will all be very formidable next year. Possibly Oregon State and Mississippi State too....lots of time between now and then.

If UCONN strikes out on Jones too I'd expect that Geno might opt for a grad transfer or a transfer of sorts in the offseason. Really slim roster for next year, especially in the post unless he's comfortable making Irwin a rotation player.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Boston is a generational type player. She has the size & skill-set that UConn needed. I could have cared less about the other recruits. Boston was the 1 recruit that Geno needed to keep the program running. Devastating. The ones who are belittling this loss is just trying to keep things positive, but anyone who knows WCBB knows this is a loss you dont recover from quickly.

Is Aliyah the next A'ja Wilson or the next Alaina Coates? Or in between? I'm biased, but the UConn coaching is superior to S.C. coaching.

 

[MilfordHusky]

What is puzzling about this whole Boston thing is the frequent attendance of UConn games and planning to attend the UConn games at this Paradise Jam. Like, what is the point of all that if you weren't going to UConn? Did Boston just really want to watch Miss, St John's, and Purdue?

Excellent question.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Were those Aliyah's plans or Our plans for her?

She knew she was going to be in the V. I. and UConn was going to be there too. I still think she should have announced earlier and from a different place.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I disagree about Boston being a generational player. I do think she is a solid post player with good offensive skills in a solid build. As I mentioned in the other thread, Hannah Gusters has all the potential of Boston IMO. I wouldn’t mind going after Cardosa too. They’re the two elite 2020 centers.

I thought Boston was more of a defensive specialist with an evolving offensive game. A very good post player, but not generational. I think Gusters would be a good alternative.

 

[MilfordHusky]

If you give me enough time, I could compile an EXTENSIVE list of players from 2015-2018 that SC was in the top 5 or better for. It’s basically a who’s who of the current WCBB landscape. We missed A LOT after 2014 and thrived off the transfer market to get by, but not this year. Finally breaking through in recruiting.

By being the USA coach, Dawn gets many recruits to put S.C. on their list. Some are seriously interested; others aren't. It can be hard to tell which players are which.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm proposing a simple theory why a kid would choose one place over another. One that has in the past been cited by recruits for seemingly inexplicable decisions. You know that whole Occam's Razor thing and all. You are free to throw your ideas out there.

Two words: Marisa Moseley.

 

[IrishTiger]

She knew she was going to be in the V. I. and UConn was going to be there too. I still think she should have announced earlier and from a different place.

She’s from there why can’t she do it where she is from? She doesn’t have to appease any fanbase.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I opened this thread thinking it was for long-distance Thanksgiving traveling advice.

A sense of humor always helps!

 

[jonson]

As disappointing as Boston's decision is (and as Jones's may be), UCONN's cupboard next year will hardly be bare. The roster will include returning players who were ranked #1(2 of them), #3, #5, #13, and #27 by Hoopgurlz, with (at least) another ranked #33 arriving next fall. Although the breakdown of positions and skills may not be ideal, I think wbb coaches with very few exceptions would kill to have talent like this. And for a coach almost universally recognized as the best in the game, doing more with less (less by UCONN standards, that is ) may very well be an invigorating challenge.

As for the business of recruiting, itself, do these "disappointments" (again, mostly by UCONN standards) mean that Geno should change the way he goes about things? Should he, for example, cast a wider net when recruiting? Although I'm inclined to say "yes," for this to be helpful I believe that it would also require giving freshmen recruits more time on the court--or, to put it differently, being able to live with/forgive their mistakes and boneheaded plays. For Geno, that might be a bridge too far.