You don’t know what you are talking about. UConn was a team and had very well balanced scoring last year. Paige averaged 20 ppg but CW was right behind her at 16.5 ppg, Ono averaged 12 ppg, and EW averaged 10 ppg IIRC. Iowa or even DePaul doesn’t come close to that kind of scoring spread, both are one player teams and their WL records reflect that, this year or last year.
Caitlin Clark
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I would suggest it's a whole lot easier to opine on the value of "team basketball" when basically every player on the roster was an elite prospect and wanted by virtually every program in the country. Which isn't to devalue that. UConn was able to recruit those players and they've earned that. But it isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison either.
Uh…..so Anna Makurat, Piath Gabriel, Nika Muhl, and Aliyah Edwards were elite prospects wanted by every team in the country? Gabriel wasn’t even in the Espn top 100, and I doubt the others were.
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Why is it necessary to slight these players?
1) We don't know all of the programs that were recruiting these players.
2) Having an ESPN ranking doesn't predict how they'll turn out once they get to the NCAA.
3) If UConn recruited them, they were elite in their eyes because they saw a fit with the program.
4) International players are looked at very differently and don't always make a ranking services radar.
I slighted them? How exactly? I think they are all terrific players, and other than UConn and a handful of other programs, all would start on many many teams throughout the country. Some kids are McDonalds All Americans and some are not, but it doesn’t mean some kids can’t come to a top program and learn from the greatest womens basketball coach in history.
Again, this isn't meant to slight UConn. They have really great players. Iowa has some good players too. Both have good players that weren't ranked. But it seems pretty clear to me from the tables below that Iowa needs Clark to do more and that's okay. She's certainly not perfect and can get better, but she's an incredible talent and is great for women's basketball (right along with Paige and Azzi).
UConn's Roster
Iowa's Roster
UConn's Roster
| Player | ESPN Rank | Year | Current MPG |
| Christyn Williams | 1 | 2018 | 35.1 |
| Paige Bueckers | 1 | 2020 | 36.2 |
| Azzi Fudd | 1 | 2021 | 24.4 |
| Evina Westbrook | 2 | 2017 | 31.3 |
| Olivia Nelson-Ododa | 5 | 2018 | 29.3 |
| Caroline Ducharme | 5 | 2021 | 25.5 |
| Amari Deberry | 15 | 2021 | 7.3 |
| Aubrey Griffin | 21 | 2019 | 0 |
| Aaliyah Edwards | 23 | 2020 | 23.2 |
| Dorka Juhasz | n/a | 2018 | 22 |
| Nika Muhl | n/a | 2020 | 21.9 |
| Piath Gabriel | n/a | 2020 | 5.2 |
Iowa's Roster
| Player | ESPN Rank | Year | MPG |
| Caitlin Clark | 4 | 2020 | 34.8 |
| AJ Ediger | 39 | 2021 | 4 |
| Kylie Feuerbach | 71 | 2020 | 17.6 |
| McKenna Warnock | 84 | 2019 | 29.9 |
| Addison O'Grady | 92 | 2021 | 10 |
| Tomi Taiwo | n/a | 2018 | 16.6 |
| Kate Martin | n/a | 2018 | 29 |
| Logan Cook | n/a | 2018 | 8.9 |
| Monika Czinano | n/a | 2018 | 28.5 |
| Gabbie Marshall | n/a | 2019 | 30.3 |
| Shateah Wetering | n/a | 2020 | 0 |
| Sharon Goodman | n/a | 2020 | 0 |
| Sydney Affolter | n/a | 2021 | 11.9 |
bballnut90
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Do your homework before making such claims:
Iowa last year had:
Clark: 26.6 PPG
Czinano: 19.3 PPG
Warnock: 12.0 PPG
Marshall: 9.1 PPG
Martin: 7.0 PPG
UCONN had:
Bueckers: 20.0 PPG
Williams: 16.3 PPG
ONO: 12.0 PPG
Edwards: 10.7 PPG
Westbrook: 9.4 PPG
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AE was an elite prospect ranked by ESPN at 23 overall and 3rd at her position.
Even Piath was ranked 23rd at her position and sought after by some top schools, as I believe that all the players mentioned were.
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You stated that none of the players listed for your example were wanted by majority of top programs throughout the country. It's an unfair assumption to make when we aren't privy to what when on during the recruiting process.
Edwards chose UConn over programs like Maryland, Louisville, and South Carolina to name a few from some of the unofficial visits she completed. Per ESPN HoopGurlz, Muhl also considered Oregon and Louisville before choosing UConn. Who knows who else were trying to get them to commit to their program?
bballnut90
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Great post. Drives me nuts how people see an accomplishment by Clark and their immediate instinct is to undermine and discredit her without even watching the game, or taking 5 minutes to research more about Iowa women's basketball. I've followed women's basketball for 25 years and I've never seen a display like Clark had in the 4th quarter yesterday. Appreciate it for what it is and move on if you don't have anything constructive to say.
I don’t know why Iowa doesn’t get more top recruits, Lisa Bluder has been one of the top womens head coaches for many years.
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What the heck is there to do in Iowa besides play bball lol . I think student athletes these days are looking for other aspects of a college life besides playing bball. Just my opinion.
No, that’s not what I stated. I responded to the original posters post. …..
“Moogs said:
“I would suggest it's a whole lot easier to opine on the value of "team basketball" when basically every player on the roster was an elite prospect and wanted by virtually every program in the country. Which isn't to devalue that. UConn was able to recruit those players and they've earned that. But it isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison either.”
To which I responded…..and asked
“Uh…..so Anna Makurat, Piath Gabriel, Nika Muhl, and Aliyah Edwards were elite prospects wanted by every team in the country?”
I questioned his assertion that the UConn players I cited were wanted by every team in the country.
Then you misquoted me with a ridiculous statement saying I slighted them. Geno has always recruited “diamonds in the rough” along with the many top high school players in the country who have chosen UConn.
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I really like Phelia too, but she would be a lot less effective if forced left every time.
bballnut90
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You are correct that not all 15 UCONN players were coveted by all 300+ programs in the country, but I think the you missed the main point that @Moogs was making, which is that UCONN has far and away more talent than Iowa does, so it isn't an apples to apples comparison. (Even though as pointed out above, both teams had similar balance last season despite your claim--worth noting, you chose not to reply to that post.)
Also, you claim Geno has "always recruited diamonds in the rough", who are some of these players you speak of?
And Piath and AE were wanted by virtually every team in the country?AE was an elite prospect ranked by ESPN at 23 overall and 3rd at her position.
Even Piath was ranked 23rd at her position and sought after by some top schools, as I believe that all the players mentioned were.
That’s the part I questioned.
Oh yeah? How about this year so far?
bballnut90
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Lmao almost the exact same:
Clark: 27.4 PPG
Czinano: 20.2 PPG
Warnock: 11.7 PPG
Marshall: 7.2 PPG
Martin: 6.7 PPG
Seriously, watch a game or do your homework before making statements that are blatantly inaccurate.
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How is it not possible that more programs, possibly "every" program out there in addition to the examples provided didn't make an attempt to reach out when they could be contacted? These kids get inundated by schools non-stop when the contact period officially opens up, not to mention what they probably sent via mail before they can be contacted. I'm sure a lot of programs attempted to put their hat in the ring in the hopes they could get a chance to be considered.
I actually only checked the scoring balance of Iowa this year vs UConn this year, which no one even touched, including you. I included last year because Clark had a similarly spectacular season last year.
As for “diamonds” in the rough, how about Jessica Moore, Maria Conlin, Kelly Schumacher, Svetlana Abrosimova, or Anna Makurat. Would you call Caroline Ducharme a diamond in rough? She was well known coming out of high school, but I would call her a diamond in the rough for a freshman that no one expected to lead the team.
I didn’t miss his main point, he falsely embellished his post and I called him out on it.
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nwhoopfan
hopeless West Coast homer
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Some just feel a need to do this with pretty much any player. Heard the same kind of stuff w/ Plum, Ionescu, McDonald, and probably many others.
nwhoopfan
hopeless West Coast homer
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Des Moines has a population over 200,000 according to wiki. There must be something to do there. Storrs clocks in at about 15,000 by comparison.
bballnut90
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I didn't talk about UCONN last year because you specifically cited last season, not this season when you said:
"You don’t know what you are talking about. UConn was a team and had very well balanced scoring last year. Paige averaged 20 ppg but CW was right behind her at 16.5 ppg, Ono averaged 12 ppg, and EW averaged 10 ppg IIRC. Iowa or even DePaul doesn’t come close to that kind of scoring spread, both are one player teams and their WL records reflect that, this year or last year."
If you look at Iowa stats this year, you're nuts if you can conclude theyre a 1 man team. They literally have another player who is top 20 in the country in PPG, and a third player in double figures.
And all of those players cited were recruited 20+ years ago. Have any other more current examples? I'll give you Makurat, but she essentially played 1 season and transferred when it was clear she was pushed down on the depth chart. Id also say "diamond" is a generous term too considering her impact. Even if you count her, 1 player in 20 years doesn't validate that claim IMO.
And in no way shape or form can you call a top 5 blue chip recruit a "diamond in the rough." Is she performing better than expected? Absolutely. Is she a "diamond in the rough?" Not at all.
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undersized
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Only a UConn fan would claim that the #5 recruit in her class qualifies as a diamond in the rough.
TheFarmFan
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HAHA. So true. The only reason no one expected her to lead the team is because that team has the frosh, soph, and senior #1 recruits, the super senior #2 recruit, and a senior #4 recruit. Only in such rarified air can a #5 recruit exceed expectations by occasionally leading the team in scoring.
