Courtney Ekmark to Skip Senior Season at St Mary's

[UConnCat]

I don't like the decision.
To me this smacks of "Me" and not whats best for "my team", and for the past three years her team was St. Marys HS. Quite frankly Ms Ekmark has abandoned her school and her team because its not going to be a championship team, nor possibly a top team.
Please spare be the crap about getting in shape and condition. She will have plenty of time to get into better condition, if that's what she wants or needs. Plus, there is more than just being in condition than lifting weights and what ever else she will do. How about the challenge to overcome adversity by finding a way to make your team better, and yourself better. How about finding a way to move the ball on the court when you might be the target or double teamed next season when there aren't anymore future D1 players on your HS team. Its a giant step from HS to college and not every player is cut out to do it. It is even a bigger step from HS to UConn's level. She is going to make the move off of a year off from "game competition" but with some extra arm strength from lifting weights?
I have seen kids, and also coaches, in HS transfer schools because all they want is to be on a winner, or coach a winner, instead making do with what you have. Its not like one more year of HS ball is going to kill her. Plus as a previous poster mentioned you do miss out on social events that are part of a HS students life. You don't get those back.
I wish her all the best and nothing but success at UConn but IMO this decision sucks.

Wow. This decision seems to have struck a nerve. Did you have the same reaction to Recee Caldwell's decision not to play HS ball last year?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...ll-embarks-on-path-least-traveled-4301361.php

 

[John Glass]

What is a typical home-school curriculum for a senior in HS ?

 

[ochoopsfan]

Wow. This decision seems to have struck a nerve. Did you have the same reaction to Recee Caldwell's decision not to play HS ball last year?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...ll-embarks-on-path-least-traveled-4301361.php

Yes Caldwell's decision was also wrong, IMO. There was also a lot more to the Caldwell decision that is mentioned in any article.
Would the posters on this forum thinks it a good move for Ekmark had she been going to UT, ND, UNC, Duke, Louisville, etc.?
What happened to the saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".
Suppose Ekmark has enough credits to graduate from UConn after her junior year and says that she is going to take off her senior year at UConn to be better prepared for her Pro career. Still agree with the decision.

 

[UConnCat]

Yes Caldwell's decision was also wrong, IMO. There was also a lot more to the Caldwell decision that is mentioned in any article.
Would the posters on this forum thinks it a good move for Ekmark had she been going to UT, ND, UNC, Duke, Louisville, etc.?
What happened to the saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".
Suppose Ekmark has enough credits to graduate from UConn after her junior year and says that she is going to take off her senior year at UConn to be better prepared for her Pro career. Still agree with the decision.

I doubt I would have thought much about a decision by another school's recruit. Then again, I didn't have a strong reaction to EDD leaving UConn after 2 days. It's a personal decision made by Courtney and her family and I'm not going to pass judgment on it. Others obviously feel differently.

 

[jsloanjr]

Plus, she can watch every game on TV and get her workout sets from the trainers and strength coaches......Smart moves.

 

[doggydaddy]

I don't like the decision.
To me this smacks of "Me" and not whats best for "my team", and for the past three years her team was St. Marys HS. Quite frankly Ms Ekmark has abandoned her school and her team because its not going to be a championship team, nor possibly a top team.
Please spare be the crap about getting in shape and condition. She will have plenty of time to get into better condition, if that's what she wants or needs. Plus, there is more than just being in condition than lifting weights and what ever else she will do. How about the challenge to overcome adversity by finding a way to make your team better, and yourself better. How about finding a way to move the ball on the court when you might be the target or double teamed next season when there aren't anymore future D1 players on your HS team. Its a giant step from HS to college and not every player is cut out to do it. It is even a bigger step from HS to UConn's level. She is going to make the move off of a year off from "game competition" but with some extra arm strength from lifting weights?
I have seen kids, and also coaches, in HS transfer schools because all they want is to be on a winner, or coach a winner, instead making do with what you have. Its not like one more year of HS ball is going to kill her. Plus as a previous poster mentioned you do miss out on social events that are part of a HS students life. You don't get those back.
I wish her all the best and nothing but success at UConn but IMO this decision sucks.

Making do with what you have? You have got to be kidding me. For the purpose of a few more wins, Ekmark should make do with what she has?



Her decision shows more maturity than you did in trashing a young lady in a public forum.

Really bad form.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Gets a jump star on practice with the team. Spends 6 months with the team. Plays like a sophomore in technically her freshman year. Not a bad idea.

Bad idea. If she were to get hurt, she couldn't take a full redshirt year because she would have burned a semester at the start of her college career when she wasn't allowed to play.

 

[BearJWS]

No. She could enroll 2nd semester but would not be allowed to play under NCAA rules. And it would start her 5-year clock.

I never said she'd play, but could enroll and jump start her college education. Also, NCAA rules do not prohibit a player from playing if they enroll second semester. Enosch Wolf did so a couple years back and more notably Jarnell Stokes of Tennessee Men's basketball did so with more success. He was a highly ranked player who graduated from High School in December and and playing for Tennessee in January, one of his first games was against the UConn men's team in 2011. These events are rare, but are possible.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Got to remember her father is no longer coaching the St Mary's team. IMHO there's more to this story as it makes no sense for him to not coach his daughter during her Senior Year. Not having any facts, but I suspect the reason he left St Mary's contributed to Courtney's decision.

Got to respect Courtney's decision, but as a fan, I sure would like to see her enroll at UConn and be part of next years team.

 

[Bestiarius]

I don't like the decision.
To me this smacks of "Me" and not whats best for "my team", ......

What a novel concept. A woman doing what she wants to do rather than what she is "supposed to do" or "should do", as determined by others. I applaud her.

 

[Stinger92860]

I find it odd, but we don't know the detail. For me this raises a red flag. When playing at these levels, it's not hs ball which prepares these girls for playing d1 at schools like uconn, it's Aau, so she will be fine when she enroll in summer classes next year. I hope it's not a case of not wanting to play for another coach. I've seen that and the results are usually not the best, tho there exceptions.

 

[winlots]

Sounds like a well-grounded kid and family.

PAP - yes...reminds me a bit of what we read about the Calhoun family. At the same time, I understand the differing opinions about this, as it is a rather unusual move, and many get unsettled by that which seems unusual or outside the box. From my vantage point, it is the family's business.....though certainly interesting fodder for a sports board.

 

[msf22b]

What a novel concept. A woman doing what she wants to do rather than what she is "supposed to do" or "should do", as determined by others. I applaud her.

Years ago, a wonderful violinist forcefully told me over lunch why she was quitting my ensemble and not listening to all the "men"…Pablo Casals, Alexander "Sasha" Schneider and (the much lesser) me who were telling her what she should do with her life…It was the dawn of woman's lib. And Ms. Lucy just went on to do her thing

 

[pppggg]

Bad idea. If she were to get hurt, she couldn't take a full redshirt year because she would have burned a semester at the start of her college career when she wasn't allowed to play.

I hate to say this she could get hurt crossing the street or anytime during any practice.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

This threads is in great need of the details used to form the decision…

 

[Joe6cats]

This threads is in great need of the details used to form the decision…

Just so. We get threads like this from time to time, where a recruit makes a decision and a bunch of 'yarders feel compelled to criticsize it EVEN THOUGH they know they don't have essential information. Sure it's all in fun and free speech and all that, but the people we talk about and their families read this stuff, and is it to much to ask to self-edit?

 

[chrissaran]

Email her family and her Dad The Coach...perhaps they missed that nugget of wisdom.

Taking off a year to just work out without playing competitively is not a good idea. It's not like Bria, KML, Breanna, and Morgan who play on the International teams and may be tired from the traveling and playing. Courtney's not Michael Jordan coming back. Even Michael couldn't come back a second time. Time will tell, but rust builds with extended layoffs.

 

[doggydaddy]

How is this time away from team competition going to hurt her? Players miss full seasons all the time due to injury. There might be a little rust but for the most part, they are up to speed fairly quickly.

In Ekmarks case, she is not rehabbing. She can shoot 500 three's a day. Work out at the gym 4 hours a day. Do drills.

And she will join the Huskies next summer, getting plenty of time with the team in scrimmage workouts.

Can someone explain how playing for a new coach next year with 4 new starters, getting double and triple team against HS defenses will help prepare her for the next level?

And for all worried about her missing out on her HS senior year, she can still hang with her friends after school and weekends.

Boy, we are so judgmental on this board.

 

[chrissaran]

doggydaddy, what's the point of this board if it's not to post your opinion. She we all say we agree with her decision if we don't. That's become the problem in this country. If you say what's on your mind, your being negative or in your words "judgmental". Doing drills is not the same as playing against competition. Who is going to be defending her? Who is she going to be passing to? Who is she going to defend? At some point you need to play the game. How is playing under difficult circumstances not a positive experience? Do you think she's going to play for UConn and not face adversity? The first time she'll face adversity is the first time she screws up in practice. Then she'll know what adversity is about. No freshman is ready for Geno. No freshman.

 

[johnnyc]

Do you think she's going to play for UConn and not face adversity? The first time she'll face adversity is the first time she screws up in practice. Then she'll know what adversity is about. No freshman is ready for Geno. No freshman.

So it doesn't matter whether she plays HS ball or not her senior year. Like you said UConn is going to be whole nother ball game whether she did or not.

 

[doggydaddy]

doggydaddy, what's the point of this board if it's not to post your opinion. She we all say we agree with her decision if we don't. That's become the problem in this country. If you say what's on your mind, your being negative or in your words "judgmental". Doing drills is not the same as playing against competition. Who is going to be defending her? Who is she going to be passing to? Who is she going to defend? At some point you need to play the game. How is playing under difficult circumstances not a positive experience? Do you think she's going to play for UConn and not face adversity? The first time she'll face adversity is the first time she screws up in practice. Then she'll know what adversity is about. No freshman is ready for Geno. No freshman.

Not all opinions are equal. Some are contructive, some are insulting, some are analyitic, and some are just downright rude.

I have no problem with saying you don't agree with her and her families obviously well thought out decision. But the comments disparaging the family and this 2014 UConn recruit in my opinion have been insulting and rude. And I think this particular fan site is the wrong place to post like that.

"Dropping out is not a good idea unless Courtney's going to be playing competitive basketball somewhere."

She is not dropping out. It's an insult, whether you think so or not.

"To me this smacks of "Me" and not whats best for "my team", and for the past three years her team was St. Marys HS. Quite frankly Ms Ekmark has abandoned her school and her team because its not going to be a championship team, nor possibly a top team."

"Please spare be the crap about getting in shape and condition."

"What happened to the saying "when the going gets tough, the tough get going"."

"Suppose Ekmark has enough credits to graduate from UConn after her junior year and says that she is going to take off her senior year at UConn to be better prepared for her Pro career. Still agree with the decision."

None of these quotes are what I would call just an opinion. They insult the player and family.

And your Michael Jordan comparison? He was out of basketball for 3 years. THREE. And he still manages to average 26.5, only 1.8 lower than his career average at age 38. Please tell me how this is relevant to this conversation.

 

[UConnCat]

There is no recruit who wants to succeed at UConn more than Courtney Ekmark. Her father has been her coach for years and he played Division 1 ball at Marquette. I have confidence that they are not making a decision that will in any way hurt her ability to reach her goals. I'll say it again: not playing HS ball in Arizona won't hurt her in any way. The relevant question is what is she going to do what will help her succeed at UConn. Let's wait and see what Courtney spends her senior year doing before we judge the decision. Along these lines, I was impressed with what Courtney had to say after watching UConn up close in New Orleans:

And it gave me another sense of exactly how they [UConn] play. It was very interesting for me to see that in person; how fast the game is played, how physical UConn was.”

To prepare, Ekmark has been focusing tightly on improving her skills and conditioning.

“I have been playing basketball with a lot of guys lately to help me get used to playing faster,” she said. “And I’ve been going to a personal trainer to help me get my body right. I just want to be ready when my time comes.

 

[doggydaddy]

90% of the posts in this thread have been positive and supportive. I really appreciate that.

 

[alexrgct]

Seems much ado about nothing. She has already proved she belongs at uconn. Uconn needs an influx of freshmen in 2014-15. In the interim, there is little gained by playing, and there's risk of injury. As long as Eckmark is at Storrs starting the summer of 2014 and she's healthy, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Hello?! What happened to the value of "socialization" among 16, 17, 18 yr. olds. etc.? I'm not liking this and wonder why??!!

Exactly. I think it's really, really odd. Kids need to be kids even if they are good hoopsters. Never heard of a kid doing this.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Exactly. I think it's really, really odd. Kids need to be kids even if they are good hoopsters. Never heard of a kid doing this.

Good...your world of change, difference, and information has now been augmented. Never too late to experience new stuff.

 

[doggydaddy]

Good...your world of change, difference, and information has now been augmented. Never too late to experience new stuff.

Nicely done.

My question would be what exactly haven't they seen before? A kid being home schooled? Well, I just looked it up. In 2007, the number of homeschooled students was about 1.5 million, an increase from 850,000 in 1999. So my guess is that it's over 2 million.

So how is this odd? That she is just doing it her senior year? Well, I would have to believe out of the 2 million being home schools, a few thousand or more did it just their senior year.

Maybe it's nitpicking on my part, but the use of the words odd or weird has a negative flavor to it that the word unusual doesn't have.

And the socialization? Do you know that she has totally ditched her HS friends? Is she not seeing them after school hours? Weekends? Can't she still go to the prom with a male student there?

She is very serious about starting her freshman year in the best possible condition, stronger and faster.

I agree that this is something different. And experimental in some regard. But in preparing her for her freshman year of basketball? I don't see how this is a bad thing.

 

[pap49cba]

MoJeff was home schooled. Doesn't seem to have impacted her bb or social skills one iota.

 

[pinotbear]

MoJeff was home schooled. Doesn't seem to have impacted her bb or social skills one iota.

No, but, I think she had access to way too much coffee - jittery quickness, and stunted growth? World's fastest 8th-grader? I'm thinking she had an expresso machine on her kitchen counter!

 

[ursusminor]

Exactly. I think it's really, really odd. Kids need to be kids even if they are good hoopsters. Never heard of a kid doing this.

I really, really don't understand why everyone is so concerned about her social life. When did every skilled athlete in the world become an extrovert? Maybe she likes spending Friday nights at home with a book. Some kids are like that.