Confirmed UConn pursuit of Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams

[Conndog]

I would think that if we got her and she was as good as we think, she starts, backed up by Jana and Ice. Gandy red shirts her first year, learns the game and gets in UConn shape. Gets in lots of college credits to ease the future course load. If she is a work in progress would be good for her. But she may surprise us by how much better she is now than she was a year ago. Ice might also get 5 to 10 minutes backing up Strong, for a total of 20 plus minutes. But much depends on what Ayanna can do when she is back next year. Who knows, many questions marks all around.

And re: Gandy, you can’t teach height!

 

[Bone Dog]

I don't want to dismiss Gandy in advance. Yes, Serah would probably get important minutes, maybe even start. And Jana and Ice would get good minutes too. That's 3 players spread over two post spots. I just wonder if Gandy's athleticism might not turn out to be a difference maker in some matchups even as a freshman despite her raw skills. She's a big lanky kid, probably 6'6", and a former soccer player, a goalie. What little I've seen of her in videos shows her to run the court really well. And those soccer skills might mean she will scrap for loose balls (like Aaliyah and Dorka used to).

 

[Charliebball]

I don't want to dismiss Gandy in advance. Yes, Serah would probably get important minutes, maybe even start. And Jana and Ice would get good minutes too. That's 3 players spread over two post spots. I just wonder if Gandy's athleticism might not turn out to be a difference maker in some matchups even as a freshman despite her raw skills. She's a big lanky kid, probably 6'6", and a former soccer player, a goalie. What little I've seen of her in videos shows her to run the court really well. And those soccer skills might mean she will scrap for loose balls (like Aaliyah and Dorka used to).

Gandy needs quite a bit of work on the offensive end but she certainly could be the best shot blocker and rim protector over Jana and Ice based on what I have seen of her....

 

[Bone Dog]

Gandy needs quite a bit of work on the offensive end but she certainly could be the best shot blocker and rim protector over Jana and Ice based on what I have seen of her....

Exactly. I could imagine twin-tower sets with Gandy or Jana playing next to Serah and freeing her up from the 'heavy lifting'. Gandy or Jana would be the rebounding muscle against big teams and let Serah and Sarah provide the inside scoring punch. Imagine a lineup with Gandy/Jana - Serah - Sarah - Azzi/Ash - KK. Pound on a team with this group and then go small with Sarah - Ice - Azzi - Ash - KK. Add in Caroline, Morgan, Allie, Kelis as needed. How many teams would be able to cope with both versions of Geno's offense and defense? This is what Cori Close should have been doing all along with her roster and for some reason failed to do.

 

[donalddoowop]

Exactly. I could imagine twin-tower sets with Gandy or Jana playing next to Serah and freeing her up from the 'heavy lifting'. Gandy or Jana would be the rebounding muscle against big teams and let Serah and Sarah provide the inside scoring punch. Imagine a lineup with Gandy/Jana - Serah - Sarah - Azzi/Ash - KK. Pound on a team with this group and then go small with Sarah - Ice - Azzi - Ash - KK. Add in Caroline, Morgan, Allie, Kelis as needed. How many teams would be able to cope with both versions of Geno's offense and defense? This is what Cori Close should have been doing all along with her roster and for some reason failed to do.

Evidently what Close has been doing is working. UCLA is ranked number one in the country. When the portal closes, my hope is that Serah chooses UConn.

 

[Bone Dog]

Evidently what Close has been doing is working. UCLA is ranked number one in the country. When the portal closes, my hope is that Serah chooses UConn.

All I meant was that UCLA doesn't have an effective small ball lineup. The challenge for any team playing is grappling with their bigs.

 

[oldhusky]

Exactly. I could imagine twin-tower sets with Gandy or Jana playing next to Serah and freeing her up from the 'heavy lifting'. Gandy or Jana would be the rebounding muscle against big teams and let Serah and Sarah provide the inside scoring punch. Imagine a lineup with Gandy/Jana - Serah - Sarah - Azzi/Ash - KK. Pound on a team with this group and then go small with Sarah - Ice - Azzi - Ash - KK. Add in Caroline, Morgan, Allie, Kelis as needed. How many teams would be able to cope with both versions of Geno's offense and defense? This is what Cori Close should have been doing all along with her roster and for some reason failed to do.

Agree with Charlieball and Bone Dog here. Because of the versatility of Sarah, Serah and Ice there are many possible combinations. I think for most situations Geno would wind up with either a 3 or 4 player big rotation. Presumably Sarah and Serah would be the first two, and then the question is which 1 or 2 from Jana, Ice, Ayanna and Gandy complete the rotation, but the third could be a 5 or a 4.

If Gandy was the best rim protector/rebounder she could get situational minutes, end of quarters on the defensive end etc, even if she didn't crack the regular rotation. If she really is top notch on one end of the floor, however, being in the rotation shouldn't be ruled out yet IMO.

 

[Charliebball]

Exactly. I could imagine twin-tower sets with Gandy or Jana playing next to Serah and freeing her up from the 'heavy lifting'. Gandy or Jana would be the rebounding muscle against big teams and let Serah and Sarah provide the inside scoring punch. Imagine a lineup with Gandy/Jana - Serah - Sarah - Azzi/Ash - KK. Pound on a team with this group and then go small with Sarah - Ice - Azzi - Ash - KK. Add in Caroline, Morgan, Allie, Kelis as needed. How many teams would be able to cope with both versions of Geno's offense and defense? This is what Cori Close should have been doing all along with her roster and for some reason failed to do.

If Azzi doesn't return (and I don't think she will) they'll need to rely far more on their interior offensive game next season

 

[packwrap]

UConn is constructing a new School of Nursing Building thanks to an alum donor.

Ceilings will be 10feet to accomodate 6'4" nursing students.

 

[SinBin]

Heather Buck graduated from UConn’s School of Nursing with a BSRN.

I bumped into her at CCMC once.

 

[Blueberries]

If Azzi doesn't return (and I don't think she will) they'll need to rely far more on their interior offensive game next season

This didn’t age well

 

[jerz2atl]

Do you think Kia Nurse, from Canada, could encourage a
Nursing Student from Ontario (by way of Brooklyn!) to come
to Storrs.? Maybe just a loose association on my part. But I do think that
former Wisconsin H.C. Marisa Moseley years at UCONN
as assistant coach (2009 -2018) may make the decision easier
for Serah Williams... and the transition/ learning curve at Gampel
a little less of an issue. GO SERAH!, Come to Storrs.

Nurse didn't help to much with Agot Makeer and she played in her organization.

 

[Charliebball]

This didn’t age well

Thank God no!!!

 

[drweo]

Any more recent info on Williams?

 

[oldude]

Any more recent info on Williams?

She’s tall…….

 

[Rowdy831]

UConn looks to be adding three before the portal so if they have a full roster now which I think they do that means they will only have spots vacated by players who are moving on. You have Paige, Aubrey and KC for sure with maybe one or two that could finish their days at UConn. If they do add another post player I would like to see them hire a coach that can teach them how to play. Size is important but only if they are good enough to contribute on the floor.

 

[uconnfan68]

UConn looks to be adding three before the portal so if they have a full roster now which I think they do that means they will only have spots vacated by players who are moving on. You have Paige, Aubrey and KC for sure with maybe one or two that could finish their days at UConn. If they do add another post player I would like to see them hire a coach that can teach them how to play. Size is important but only if they are good enough to contribute on the floor.

Seriously?

 

[tower1]

Seriously?

Yes, I don't see our bigs developing the way that they should .

 

[ScottCT]

UConn looks to be adding three before the portal so if they have a full roster now which I think they do that means they will only have spots vacated by players who are moving on. You have Paige, Aubrey and KC for sure with maybe one or two that could finish their days at UConn. If they do add another post player I would like to see them hire a coach that can teach them how to play. Size is important but only if they are good enough to contribute on the floor.

Pathetic comment.

 

[oldude]

UConn looks to be adding three before the portal so if they have a full roster now which I think they do that means they will only have spots vacated by players who are moving on. You have Paige, Aubrey and KC for sure with maybe one or two that could finish their days at UConn. If they do add another post player I would like to see them hire a coach that can teach them how to play. Size is important but only if they are good enough to contribute on the floor.

A coach that can teach them how to play??? It’s too bad UConn didn’t have anyone to teach Rebecca, Kara, Swin, Asjha, Tamika, Tina, Steph, Stewie, Liv & Aaliyah to name a few…..

 

[maple]

UConn looks to be adding three before the portal so if they have a full roster now which I think they do that means they will only have spots vacated by players who are moving on. You have Paige, Aubrey and KC for sure with maybe one or two that could finish their days at UConn. If they do add another post player I would like to see them hire a coach that can teach them how to play. Size is important but only if they are good enough to contribute on the floor.

Unserious comment.

 

[uconnfan68]

Yes, I don't see our bigs developing the way that they should .

You mean, you don’t see them developing as you would like? Bigs historically take longer to develop. And Kerry, Rebecca, Kara, Tina, Jess Moore, Steff, Stewie, Kiah, Liv, and Aliyah all did ok. Bunch of AA and a few NPOY.

 

[DennieEddy]

A subscriber article from Maggie Vanoni. Mentions Williams is a nursing major. Doesn't UConn have a quality nursing program?


CT Insider has confirmed from a source that UConn is pursuing 6-4 forward Serah Williams, who recently announced her plan to enter the transfer portal after playing three seasons at Wisconsin.

https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/transfer-portal-serah-williams-uconn-huskies-20226699.php

I guess I'm just too cheap to spend $.25 for 3 months.

 

[jeff30189]

Yes, I don't see our bigs developing the way that they should .

If you look back over the past few seasons, he's not wrong. Ice has been underwhelming at best. Jana is the stereotypical "but she has so much potential" player. Neither one can make a layup, tip-in or free throw at an acceptable percentage and they foul everything they can reach. Sarah as a small ball post player is great, but anchoring her in the post takes away her value as a 3 point threat.

Assuming its not a lack of coaching - what is it? How can you be this wrong on a presumptive #1 recruit (Ice) and a consensus difference maker (Jana) two years in a row? You've got Gandy coming in soon and by all accounts she is "raw". At some point you have to look at how you're either evaluating post players or developing them, because something is off.

 

[HuskyNan]

If you look back over the past few seasons, he's not wrong. Ice has been underwhelming at best. Jana is the stereotypical "but she has so much potential" player. Neither one can make a layup, tip-in or free throw at an acceptable percentage and they foul everything they can reach. Sarah as a small ball post player is great, but anchoring her in the post takes away her value as a 3 point threat.

Assuming its not a lack of coaching - what is it? How can you be this wrong on a presumptive #1 recruit (Ice) and a consensus difference maker (Jana) two years in a row? You've got Gandy coming in soon and by all accounts she is "raw". At some point you have to look at how you're either evaluating post players or developing them, because something is off.

Ice was not a #1 ranked high school recruit. And despite being undersized in the paint she has 14 fewer fouls in the paint than Jana in the same number of minutes

 

[Topdawg]

If I look at the success of our ”recent“ post players in the W, Aaliyah is doing very well. Liv, Dorka, and Kiah are making important contributions, and Dolson is doing very well too. None are dominant and not everyone needs to be. They are all good basketball players that got better while at UConn.

 

[uconnfan68]

Ice was not a #1 ranked high school recruit. And despite being undersized in the paint she has 14 fewer fouls in the paint than Jana in the same number of minutes

She was 4 or 5, and Ayanna was 5 or 4. Neither have shown much to date, and injuries have slowed development of either. Hoping the switch is flipped for next year, but we could use some Ice this year.

 

[rugbymate]

Gandy needs quite a bit of work on the offensive end but she certainly could be the best shot blocker and rim protector over Jana and Ice based on what I have seen of her....

sounds like Kiah Stokes....and she worked out pretty well

 

[JoePgh]

If you look back over the past few seasons, he's not wrong. Ice has been underwhelming at best. Jana is the stereotypical "but she has so much potential" player. Neither one can make a layup, tip-in or free throw at an acceptable percentage and they foul everything they can reach. Sarah as a small ball post player is great, but anchoring her in the post takes away her value as a 3 point threat.

Assuming its not a lack of coaching - what is it? How can you be this wrong on a presumptive #1 recruit (Ice) and a consensus difference maker (Jana) two years in a row? You've got Gandy coming in soon and by all accounts she is "raw". At some point you have to look at how you're either evaluating post players or developing them, because something is off.

Or could it be just the oft-repeated truism that post players take longer to develop?

Tina Charles was not at all a star in her freshman and sophomore years, and she turned out OK. I wasn't following the team in 1992 and 1993, but by all accounts, Rebecca Lobo was no star in her freshman and sophomore years.

Other UConn post players were pretty good (only) in their freshman and sophomore years, but got much better in their later years. I'm thinking of Liv, Stef, and Kiah Stokes. Dorka only had two years and Azura only had one year as an active player, but they both became noticeably more effective in their inside games during their time in Storrs.

I expect to see a similar development curve for Ice and especially Jana. Which is not to say that UConn shouldn't seek a good post player in the portal if she is available.

 

[freshler40]

If you look back over the past few seasons, he's not wrong. Ice has been underwhelming at best. Jana is the stereotypical "but she has so much potential" player. Neither one can make a layup, tip-in or free throw at an acceptable percentage and they foul everything they can reach. Sarah as a small ball post player is great, but anchoring her in the post takes away her value as a 3 point threat.

Assuming its not a lack of coaching - what is it? How can you be this wrong on a presumptive #1 recruit (Ice) and a consensus difference maker (Jana) two years in a row? You've got Gandy coming in soon and by all accounts she is "raw". At some point you have to look at how you're either evaluating post players or developing them, because something is off.

Agreed. Something is amiss, injuries?