Christyn Williams watch intensifies (new ESPNW article)

[Go/huskies]

Megan Walker???

Megan is a wing, I think she'll be more of a forward then guard, but time will tell.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I see Meg as a SG and possibly SF. Christyn is more of a SG, but could play SF as well in a small lineup.

All the other schools have put on a show for CWill. UConn will take a different approach. She already visited—with Lexi—but Geno will host her for dinner and show her 11 trophies. She’ll bond with the team. Any thoughts on who will be her host—Gabby or Lou??

 

[JordyG]

I see Meg as a SG and possibly SF. Christyn is more of a SG, but could play SF as well in a small lineup.

All the other schools have put on a show for CWill. UConn will take a different approach. She already visited—with Lexi—but Geno will host her for dinner and show her 11 trophies. She’ll bond with the team. Any thoughts on who will be her host—Gabby or Lou??

Honestly with either she'll see lots of the other. Plus with either Gabby or Lou she'll see lots of Pheese as well. All's good for me.

 

[SCGamecock]

Megan Walker???

Mikayla Coombs???? Andra E-H????

You know you're rich when you don't have to think about how much money you have in the bank.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Christyn’s mother’s accident remind me of Jayne Appel’s father. He slipped on ice while visiting UConn and broke his leg. Apparently accidents can happen even in sunny Santa Monica.

With all due respect to parents and wanting the best for their children, Jayne Appel's father stands out as a stereotypical "stage parent."

As an example, during the initial part of the recruiting process, Mr. Appel sent 50-question surveys to all of the schools who had sent any sort of mail to his daughter trying to recruit her. The school/coaches were required to complete the questionnaires before continuing with the recruiting process.

I am unsure how many (if any) schools actually completed the questionnaire or if Mr. Appel decided to forego this requirement during recruiting. But let me say that there were a number of coaches left with a bad taste in their mouths regarding Mr. Appel's behavior.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

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I thought she visited Texas last week end.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought she visited Texas last week end.

I think Tennessee was last weekend.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I gave South Carolina the benefit of the doubt

Why, isn't that sweet.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Gabby or Lou??

I understand Diana is hanging with Lou that weekend. Sorry, must be the versed hasn't worn off completely.

 

[hjoerring]

From the article it appears she has emotional relationships with schools other than UCONN or that she was impressed by their recruiting efforts. Nothing mentioned that about a connection to or efforts by UCONN?

That is also my thinking. Thinking that TX and USC might be the finalists.

 

[TitleTown]

I think Texas and South Carolina end up as her two finalists and she ends up at South Carolina. Hope I am wrong and that she will make her way to Storrs but I just don't have a good feeling about this one.

 

[CocoHusky]

From the article it appears she has emotional relationships with schools other than UCONN or that she was impressed by their recruiting efforts. Nothing mentioned that about a connection to or efforts by UCONN?

@Jimbo posted this quick video a while back.

She seems emotionally connected to me. She also called Geno one of the funny people she ever met. One of the very first article ever written about her stated that she demands that her coaches tell her how to get better.

 

[MilfordHusky]

@Jimbo posted this quick video a while back.

She seems emotionally connected to me. She also called Geno one of the funny people she ever met. One of the very first article ever written about her stated that she demands that her coaches tell her how to get better.

If Christyn is 5’11”, then Geno is 6’. Hmmm.

Christyn went to Storrs on her own dime with Lexi. If she’s looking for a coach who is both demanding and funny, no one is better than Geno.

 

[Sonny44]

The most interesting thing I learned from the article is that Christyn's father is named Sherman Williams. But he's not involved in the college selection process. Probably doesn't want to paint her into a corner.

Ugh.

 

[Go/huskies]

Well the article did say she didn’t talk about her final two stops, so if she had gone to Uconn already then I’m sure she would have had good things to say as well. I think her final two will be Uconn and USC, with Uconn winning out.

 

[mhshuskies]

Well the article did say she didn’t talk about her final two stops, so if she had gone to Uconn already then I’m sure she would have had good things to say as well. I think her final two will be Uconn and USC, with Uconn winning out.

If that is the way it works out, then it would actually be that Chrystin wins out. By choosing UCONN that is the greatest win. Any other choice is choosing second best.

 

[connboy77]

Well the article did say she didn’t talk about her final two stops, so if she had gone to Uconn already then I’m sure she would have had good things to say as well. I think her final two will be Uconn and USC, with Uconn winning out.

We can only hope!

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Williams might have better opportunity for playing time and to take on a major role early on at UCONN over Texas. At Texas, her freshman year she'll have to share time with Higgs, Patterson, and Sutton...all players who were top 10 recruits. At UCONN, she'd have to beat out Coombs, Espinoza-Hunter and Gordon to play with Walker/Dangerfield.

UCONN would be fine without her, but adding her would mean having 2 #1 overall recruits on the team which historically puts the odds greatly in UCONN's favor to win it all:
Teams with 2 HS POYs:
95-Sales and Lobo (title)
97-Ralph and Sales (no title)
99-Ralph and Williams (no title)
00-Ralph and Williams (title)
01-Ralph, Williams and Taurasi (no title)
02-Taurasi and Williams (title)
03-Taurasi and Strother (title)
04-Taurasi and Strother (title)
08-Moore and Charles (no title)
09-Moore and Charles (title)
10-Moore and Charles (title)
13-KML and Stewart (title)
14-KML and Stewart (title)
15-KML and Stewart (title)
16-Stewart and KLS (title)

Overall 11/15

In the years where they didn't have 2 HS POYs, (96, 98, 05, 06, 07, 11, 12, 17) they came up short (0-8).

Fortunately for you guys, you'll have 2 more years with Walker/KLS, which means you just need to nab Williams or Brunelle to continue having 2 POYs on the team year in and year out.

Didn't Strother and Brittany Hunter play together for 1 year? like the 06?

 

[Huskee11]

With all due respect to parents and wanting the best for their children, Jayne Appel's father stands out as a stereotypical "stage parent."

As an example, during the initial part of the recruiting process, Mr. Appel sent 50-question surveys to all of the schools who had sent any sort of mail to his daughter trying to recruit her.

Did he happen to work for the Federal government by any chance? Maybe IRS? Department of Labor?

Actually, would have been 100 if he was from DOL.

 

[CocoHusky]

With all due respect to parents and wanting the best for their children, Jayne Appel's father stands out as a stereotypical "stage parent."

As an example, during the initial part of the recruiting process, Mr. Appel sent 50-question surveys to all of the schools who had sent any sort of mail to his daughter trying to recruit her. The school/coaches were required to complete the questionnaires before continuing with the recruiting process.

I am unsure how many (if any) schools actually completed the questionnaire or if Mr. Appel decided to forego this requirement during recruiting. But let me say that there were a number of coaches left with a bad taste in their mouths regarding Mr. Appel's behavior.

So just maybe Mr. Appel didn't actually "slip" when he visited UCONN?

 

[JordyG]

So just maybe Mr. Appel didn't actually "slip" when he visited UCONN?

FOTFLOL. Double like you dog. Maybe Appel was pushed by a closing Gates.

 

[Huskee11]

Texas already has three top 100 recruits for next year. If Williams goes to UConn she might be a class of one. Wonder how that situation impacts her decision making process. Is possibly being the only one a negative or a positive? Or neither?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Texas already has three top 100 recruits for next year. If Williams goes to UConn she might be a class of one. Wonder how that situation impacts her decision making process. Is possibly being the only one a negative or a positive? Or neither?

There are certain duties the freshmen class must perform, carrying Kia's Skittles onto the bus and such. Nice to have company with such onerous chores.

 

[Charliebball]

@Jimbo posted this quick video a while back.

She seems emotionally connected to me. She also called Geno one of the funny people she ever met. One of the very first article ever written about her stated that she demands that her coaches tell her how to get better.

that picture was taken a long, long time ago in recruiting days...........at that time I figured her as a strong UConn lean if not a lock but her eyes have been opened to other possibilities since then.........hopefully those good feelings will be rekindled if she makes it to Storrs next weekend

 

[Canuck]

Any news on her visit to Austin yesterday?

 

[Carnac]

The more I read about how "well" her visits to other campuses went, and how much she wants to play with other players, it gives me pause for concern. Yes, early on, she was considered by some recruiting "experts" to be a UConn lean. Even though UConn will be the last campus she'll visit, I'm not so sure she hasn't already made up her mind as to where she wants to "plant her flag" the next four years.

She's keeping her feelings and expectations about her last two visits close to the vest, but I just have a gut feeling that the choice has already been made, and she's just playing out the string. Do you really think UConn be her final choice? Personally, I would be shocked if Williams picks UConn.

Geno continues to be successful in recruiting top 5 guards and forwards. Why has he had such a problem (lately) with recruiting quality/dominant posts? Dolson was the last quality big he recruited, but he had to mold/coach her into the dominant post player she became. She was not considered one of the best or coveted bigs in her high school class. The last two post players with real size (Butler & Stevens) came via transfer, and had to sit out a full season before they could play.

There wasn't the competition among the top 10 programs for Dolson's services like there was for Collier, or there is for ONO and the other highly rated bigs. UConn is and remains the hallmark of WCBB. One would think post players across the country (including Texas) would be lining up to join that program, but they're not. Why not? What's going on here?

 

[CocoHusky]

Geno continues to be successful in recruiting top 5 guards and forwards. Why has he had such a problem (lately) with recruiting quality/dominant posts? Dolson was the last quality big he recruited, but he had to mold/coach her into the dominant post player she became. She was not considered one of the best or coveted bigs in her high school class. The last two post players with real size (Butler & Stevens) came via transfer, and had to sit out a full season before they could play.

There wasn't the competition among the top 10 programs for Dolson's services like there was for Collier, or there is for ONO. UConn is and remains the hallmark of WCBB. One would think post players across the country (including Texas) would be lining up to join that program, but they're not. Why not? What's going on here?

Theory 1: Post player take longer to develop. This generation of players (starting with the class of 2013) want instant gratification=transfers rates are way up. UCONN is a special place, would rather they not come, especially if they are not willing to put in the work. @Tonyc says UCONN will be alright and I believe him.
Theory 2: Back to the basket post player (Not that Dolson was) have gone the way of the dinosaur.

 

[Dillon77]

Theory 1: Post player take longer to develop. This generation of players (starting with the class of 2013) want instant gratification=transfers rates way are up. UCONN is a special place, would rather they not come, especially if they are not willing to put in the work. @Tonyc says UCONN will be alright and I believe him.
Theory 2: Back to the basket post player (Not that Dolson was) have gone the way of the dinosaur.

Coco: Going to add a theory or two to what you have.
Theory 3: The tall(er) kids that are able to want to be able to do it all, from attacking the rim on drives and hitting intermediate jumpers from the elbow to doing shifts in the lane to stretching out to the three-point line. MM made this point a few years back.
You look at descriptions of players like Emily Engstler or Faith Masonius, where they're described as everything from wings to posts. Depending on the offense they play, they probably have the skill sets to do just that, although in ball-control and movement offenses like UConn and ND, they're best situated at the 4. This leads me to the next theory....
Theory 4: Great ball control offenses are generally using three guards/ two guards and a wing (small forward?) and a forward (who could be a stretch 4 or hybrid) and one low-post player. And the demands on those low-post players are considerable: anchor the defense; rebound; outlet passes; be able to pass; and, be a cog in the motion offense. Yes, Brianna Turner does not have much of a mid-range jumper, but she supplies most of the attributes of today's modern 5 and also runs the floor well.
Theory 5: There just are not that many of these players around, at least who play in the systems I just described. Geno and MM know exactly what they're looking for and they'll take a player who might not be as highly rated. In the case of the Irish this fall, they're hoping Mikki Vaughn will demonstrate Turner-like abilities, because she's the 5. Danielle Patterson is supposed be like an Erica Haney (remember her?), who combined rebounding and some agility to play a hybrid-forward position. And in 2018, they're bringing in Danielle Cosgrove, who they're hoping might be a Westbeld with a bit more height and range.

And if you can't find a "4," you play up an athletic "3," which can work until you run into a team that throws a very legitimate 4 and 4 at a team.

Me thinks the competition for these adept 5's is going to be intense beyond belief (Hello, Miss Boston and Watson), as well as for the 4s, whether they be stretch or hybrids. 2019 recruiting will be intense for the Irish because chances are they'll only have Turner and Shepard for the 18-19 season. And it will be critical for the Huskies, too.

 

[LasVegasYank]

She's keeping her feelings and expectations about her last two visits close to the vest, but I just have a gut feeling that the choice has already been made, and she's just playing out the string. Do you really think UConn be her final choice? Personally, I would be shocked if Williams picks UConn.

It would be classless of her to make the UConn staff run through hoops for her visit if she's already made her mind up to go elsewhere. If that's the case, do the right thing and cancel the visit.

 

[eebmg]

It would be classless of her to make the UConn staff run through hoops for her visit if she's already made her mind up to go elsewhere. If that's the case, do the right thing and cancel the visit.

I don't think we have to worry about the UConn staff and players being overtaxed rolling out the welcome wagon. I am sure this is a very efficient process like everything else associated with UConn. Even if a recruit thinks she may have decided, something can always click. In any case, we should always be happy to show off what we have under any circumstances.