Ezi Magbegor signs w/ WNBL club for three years | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Ezi Magbegor signs w/ WNBL club for three years

bbballfan23 said:
I’ve heard Azura Stevens staying is no sure thing...
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Maybe the reporter from Australia should do a piece on Azura, drop an incorrect word or two about her going to the WNBA...and then find out that she's actually staying for her final year. :D
 
Sluconn Husky said:
If Stevens returns. And ONO, of course, might not be a contributor as a freshmen. Only a select few are at UConn.
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IMO, Stevens to the WNBA would be a mistake at this point. She'd have no chance against the physical, pro posts and she has no perimeter game whatsoever. Until she gets stronger and learns a post game, she would not be a factor as a pro.
 
BobbyJ said:
IMO, Stevens to the WNBA would be a mistake at this point. She'd have no chance against the physical, pro posts and she has no perimeter game whatsoever. Until she gets stronger and learns a post game, she would not be a factor as a pro.
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It is quite simply wrong that she wouldn't be a factor as a pro. Defense is obviously her weak point, and she's going to get pushed around a little, but with her length, height, and quickness, she's got a lot of upside. At the same time, she's scoring .71 points per minute while shooting 60% from the floor, which is outstanding. For comparison, in Maya Moore's outstanding senior season, she scored .69 points per minute while shooting 52% from the floor (obviously at a different position). Breanna Stewart scored .67 points per minute. Tina Charles scored .66. We've never had a player come close to producing offensively what Azura has produced this year who wasn't a factor in the WNBA.
 
Bummer for us, but good luck to her. Having a chance to be trained by Lauren Jackson or Geno? Tough call.
 
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Ezi on Lauren Jackson. "She’s the best basketballer Australia has seen and most probably the world,” Magbegor said.

Really?
:rolleyes:

The cynic in me wonders whether or not Ezi courted US schools, always knowing that what she really wanted was to negotiate the best possible deal back in Australia.
 
oldude said:
Ezi on Lauren Jackson. "She’s the best basketballer Australia has seen and most probably the world,” Magbegor said.

Really?
:rolleyes:

The cynic in me wonders whether or not Ezi courted US schools, always knowing that what she really wanted was to negotiate the best possible deal back in Australia.
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Lol. If she did, more power to her.
 
oldude said:
Ezi on Lauren Jackson. "She’s the best basketballer Australia has seen and most probably the world,” Magbegor said.

Really?
:rolleyes:
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She's on a very short list for best ever. You don't think so?
 
nwhoopfan said:
She's on a very short list for best ever. You don't think so?
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No doubt Jackson was a great player. My skepticism has more to do with Ezi’s implication on playing for Jackson vs say, playing for the greatest WBB coach of all time...just saying.
 
oldude said:
No doubt Jackson was a great player. My skepticism has more to do with Ezi’s implication on playing for Jackson vs say, playing for the greatest WBB coach of all time...just saying.
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Well I'm sure her perspective is very different than a UConn fan's is. She's Australian, LJ is probably a hero of hers, the draw to be mentored by her must be strong. Geno's reputation probably is not nearly as prominent in Australia as it is here.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Well I'm sure her perspective is very different than a UConn fan's is. She's Australian, LJ is probably a hero of hers, the draw to be mentored by her must be strong. Geno's reputation probably is not nearly as prominent in Australia as it is here.
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Back to my original post, I don’t think it has anything to do with playing for Jackson or Geno. I suspect that the courtship of UCLA & UConn by Ezi had as its express purpose, the effort to negotiate the best possible contract with the WNBL.

I say that because of the string of stories that all were published by the same sportswriter in Canberra. First, her coach was praying that Ezi didn’t leave. Next she was definitely going to the states. Finally, she was going to the states to play for UConn.

Then silence for two weeks, followed by the announcement of a 3 year contract to play for Melbourne in the WNBL.

Call me skeptical that Ezi ever really considered going to school in the U.S.
 
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TitleTown said:
I posted that he just probably made a mistake or was inaccurate with his reporting and everybody told me I was crazy. When the reporter was contacted by UConn beat writers to confirm that Magbehor was coming to UConn and he did not reply back I knew that he was incorrect in his reporting.
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I'm not sure that thought was specific to this thread or had anything to do with Ezi. :D
 
Longtime fan said:
I know little about that league in Australia. I assume it is professional? That means she can never play for NCAA school, right?
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I think you can play in NCAA if you weren’t paid. She must not have gotten paid for playing in the WNBL last season, but now she’s probably getting paid. Even if she’s not getting paid, she signed for three years and they play during our winter (summer for them), so she won’t be available for college for three more years. By then will anybody care?
 
Longtime fan said:
I know little about that league in Australia. I assume it is professional? That means she can never play for NCAA school , right?
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Wonder how much she's making there? I'm guessing that it's not a small sum.

As the saying goes, "Money talks"!
 
oldude said:
Back to my original post, I don’t think it has anything to do with playing for Jackson or Geno. I suspect that the courtship of UCLA & UConn by Ezi had as its express purpose, the effort to negotiate the best possible contract with the WNBL.

I say that because of the string of stories that all were published by the same sportswriter in Canberra. First, her coach was praying that Ezi didn’t leave. Next she was definitely going to the states. Finally, she was going to the states to play for UConn.

Then silence for two weeks, followed by the announcement of a 3 year contract to play for Melbourne in the WNBL.

Call me skeptical that Ezi ever really considered going to school in the U.S.
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I hope it wasn't some kind of ploy. Wasting the team's time entertaining her while trying to prepare for a big game (Louisville) would be irritating.
 
HoopsFan21 said:
I hope it wasn't some kind of ploy. Wasting the team's time entertaining her while trying to prepare for a big game (Louisville) would be irritating.
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Agreed, but given the stream of stories coming out of Australia, all pointing to the conclusion that she was heading to the states to play basketball, this about face is difficult to fathom.
 
Sluconn Husky said:
Certainly a bit deflating. An Aliyah Boston would more than make up for it though, imo. She may not have Ezi' quickness but her IQ and timing are fantastic. Built like a powerhouse too. Be nice if she'd make her list public.
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Boston is talented, but don't sleep on Watson. I understand she's a few inches shorter that Boston but Watson seems to be a tough interior defender but its a bit quicker and aglile and maybe less plotting. Watson would be a solid get too.
 
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oldude said:
Agreed, but given the stream of stories coming out of Australia, all pointing to the conclusion that she was heading to the states to play basketball, this about face is difficult to fathom.
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We don't really know if it's an about face though do we? All we have to go on is that one reporter, and for all we know Ezi herself was feeding him the "stories."
 
Deeply disappointing for UConn and its fans, but hoping it's exactly the right decision for Ezi. College and college ball isn't the only avenue to a happy life. She'd have been going a long way from home, and there were certainly enough comments in the previous threads that explored the differences in life style in Storrs and her current home. Far worse than her not coming at all is her coming and then soon deciding to leave (we've seen that movie before). Honesty and clarity is best, and now the coaches know what they have to do. Speculating on what we knew, what we thought we knew, what Ezi was saying, what Ezi was trying to say, who is, who isn't a friend of UConn's is just pure guessing.
 
JustinesGuy said:
Boston is talented, but don't sleep on Watson. I understand she's a few inches shorter that Boston but Watson seems to be a tough interior defender but its a bit quicker and aglile and maybe less plotting. Watson would be a solid get too.
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Watson and Boston are different classes. Also two completely different body types. Boston is built solidly to withstand post contact. Watson is not nearly as solid and I'm not sure I agree with Watson being more mobile either.
 
CocoHusky said:
Watson and Boston are different classes. Also two completely different body types. Boston is built solidly to withstand post contact. Watson is not nearly as solid and I'm not sure I agree with Watson being more mobile either.
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All u say is true. I think Watson would be a solid 4 as opposed to a typical 5. I'm not a huge typical center guy. I think Watson would be a solid fit.
I do like Boston too, seems like a fun sweet kid.
 
HoopsFan21 said:
We don't really know if it's an about face though do we? All we have to go on is that one reporter, and for all we know Ezi herself was feeding him the "stories."
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I guess the point I’m trying to make is that Ezi, or someone close to Ezi, was feeding this reporter stories indicating her intent to head to the states, while all the time the intention was to negotiate the best deal with the WNBL.

As you point out, we don’t really know. But the sequence of events is suspicious to say the least.
 
This whole situation seems similar to what Erin Phillips, another Aussie, had to deal with in the runup to the 2008 Olympics. She started playing for the Connecticut Sun in 2006 as a 19-year-old, and clearly felt a lot of loyalty to Mike Thibault and her Sun teammates.

But the basketball "establishment" in Australia leaned on her hard, suggesting that training with the Olympic team (rather than playing for the Sun) was her patriotic duty. They may also have suggested that playing for the Sun in 2008 might have adverse consequences for her basketball future in the WNBL. So she ended up not playing for the Sun until after the Olympics that year. Ironically, even after doing that, she hardly played any minutes in the Olympics.

It seems plausible to me that Ezi may have been prevailed upon using similar strong-arm tactics. She may be sacrificing personal preference to national duty, not to mention professional survival in Australia.
 
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oldude said:
No doubt Jackson was a great. My skepticism has more to do with Ezi’s implication on playing for Jackson vs say, playing for the greatest WBB coach of all time...just saying.
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To take that thought a bit further, one person by themselves is unlikely to prep someone for the WNBA. UConn has a variety of proven tactics, approaches, and mentors. Suspect her decision based as much on staying close to home and pressure from local sources. Not seeing family and friends for much of the year is important to most 19 year olds-not a surprising decision.
 
Maybe in threads in which BYers speculate about about what lineups will look like, folks will be less likely to toss in these "maybes" until they actually sign up. Posting that wau get some folks all excited for something that ultimately never happens. It's important to remember that a player isn't coming until...she's , and even then it doesn't always work out.
 
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Next case.
 
Those Aussies. Never know when they'll just go off on a walkabout. Good luck to her. I'm sure Team USA will be dealing with her for a long, long vexing time.
 
UConnCat said:
As I recall, some said it was "spinning wheels" to even discuss her visiting UConn. Others here knew a visit would happen and that there was quite a bit of talk among people in WBB (non-UConn) who believed she was coming to UConn, none of which was posted here. Still, there were obstacles including a big push to keep her in Australia which apparently has prevailed. It ended up not being a long shot. It was very close.

Recruiting Magbegor had no bearing on Brunelle.
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yup, I said that folks were "spinning their wheels"here...................not sure if it was about her even visiting or just about her not ending up at UConn.................regardless in the end despite all the best efforts it was not to be....................hopefully Boston was not alienated by UConn's interest in another post.......
 
CocoHusky said:
Watson and Boston are different classes. Also two completely different body types. Boston is built solidly to withstand post contact. Watson is not nearly as solid and I'm not sure I agree with Watson being more mobile either.
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I'm pretty sure Watson is more mobile............haven't seen Boston in person but Watson eats up the floor for a girl of her size
 
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