February Recruiting Thread

[BobbyJ]

What about Williams?

Williams is a 6-0 guard. I'm sure UConn would take her in a nano second if she wanted to come and has an offer. I'm just not seeing any UConn connection with her as with Toomey, Shade, and Arnold from the '23 class.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

2/16

Kate Koval: 18 points, 14 rebs, 5 blocks


2/15

Olivia Olson: 30 points

Devin Coppinger: 23 points

Aniya Foy: 26 points


2/14

Zamareya Jones: 34 points

 

[hoophuskee]

Williams is a 6-0 guard. I'm sure UConn would take her in a nano second if she wanted to come and has an offer. I'm just not seeing any UConn connection with her as with Toomey, Shade, and Arnold from the '23 class.

At 6'0/6'1 UCONN did play Megan Walker that played PF. And Evina was a small PF too 6'0/6'1. And with that said Ducharme is 6'2 (and ofc we have the 2022 recruits also PF's). Anyhow Williams seems like sg/sf. Last year UCONN's SF was 5'10 CWill and SF never was a problem it seemed.

But what do you mean by "connection?" She hasn't produced a list yet I think? So who does have a connection with her?

 

[CocoHusky]

At 6'0/6'1 UCONN did play Megan Walker that played PF. And Evina was a small PF too 6'0/6'1. And with that said Ducharme is 6'2 (and ofc we have the 2022 recruits also PF's). Anyhow Williams seems like sg/sf. Last year UCONN's SF was 5'10 CWill and SF never was a problem it seemed. But what do you mean by "connection?" She hasn't produced a list yet I think? So who does have a connection with her?

Kim Mulkey LSU in her home state.

 

[HopJim]

She's apparently a POI.

Jazzy a POI? She noted Stanford is her "dream school" on the video.

 

[BobbyJ]

At 6'0/6'1 UCONN did play Megan Walker that played PF. And Evina was a small PF too 6'0/6'1. And with that said Ducharme is 6'2 (and ofc we have the 2022 recruits also PF's). Anyhow Williams seems like sg/sf. Last year UCONN's SF was 5'10 CWill and SF never was a problem it seemed.

But what do you mean by "connection?" She hasn't produced a list yet I think? So who does have a connection with her?

Just that because Toomey, Shade, and Arnold have verbally committed, Auriemma has been out to see them play recently. And although Williams hasn't committed anywhere yet, if UConn was heavily recruiting the top player in the class they probably would have gotten someone from the staff out to see her play recently as well. If they did it probably would've popped up somewhere on social media by now and @Sluconn Husky would have been on it.

 

[Bald Husky]

Just that because Toomey, Shade, and Arnold have verbally committed, Auriemma has been out to see them play recently. And although Williams hasn't committed anywhere yet, if UConn was heavily recruiting the top player in the class they probably would have gotten someone from the staff out to see her play recently as well. If they did it probably would've popped up somewhere on social media by now and @Sluconn Husky would have been on it.

WHAT? When did Toomey commit?

 

[BobbyJ]

WHAT? When did Toomey commit?

Sorry, slip of the mind. Correct, she has not. Which puts her in Williams' uncommitted category and since GA has been out to see Toomey play and not Williams, it makes me question the connection with Williams.

 

[hoophuskee]

Just that because Toomey, Shade, and Arnold have verbally committed, Auriemma has been out to see them play recently. And although Williams hasn't committed anywhere yet, if UConn was heavily recruiting the top player in the class they probably would have gotten someone from the staff out to see her play recently as well. If they did it probably would've popped up somewhere on social media by now and @Sluconn Husky would have been on it.

I understand your point. And I understand what coco is saying (I definitely do see La mentioned with her as she has visited them) but I see no schools listed for Williams. But isn't UCONN Morgan Valley (on Aug 2021 recruiting thread posted by Slu) following her on Instagram? Or did she stop?

And has Toomey verbally committed?

Anyhow I tend to think there is another year for MW to decide and if she hasn't put out even a list yet and UCONN is following her on Instagram, I wouldn't count UCONN out.

 

[oldhusky]

Williams is a 6-0 guard. I'm sure UConn would take her in a nano second if she wanted to come and has an offer. I'm just not seeing any UConn connection with her as with Toomey, Shade, and Arnold from the '23 class.

I think we are interested in her, the question is more from her perspective. She would overlap with Fudd for two years and Shade for three. She could play the 3 easily, but Caroline would be there for a couple of years. The recruitment of all three of those players probably reduced the odds of getting Williams. To the extent she is still in the mix, I think Booker is still a factor. If Booker would commit to us, that might really end Williams interest in us, but I suspect our odds are better with Booker, more of a natural 3.

Williams would still be very high on my wish list, but at this point I expect us to make her short list, but may be just one of a half dozen schools with a chance, and not necessarily among the top couple with the best chance. Who knows, there has been minimal info on how Williams is thinking and who is on her potential short list. Time will tell.

 

[BobbyJ]

I understand your point. And I understand what coco is saying (I definitely do see La mentioned with her as she has visited them) but I see no schools listed for Williams. But isn't UCONN Morgan Valley (on Aug 2021 recruiting thread posted by Slu) following her on Instagram? Or did she stop?

And has Toomey verbally committed?

Anyhow I tend to think there is another year for MW to decide and if she hasn't put out even a list yet and UCONN is following her on Instagram, I wouldn't count UCONN out.

No, Toomey has not committed. That was my slip of mind. It appears that MW is keeping her recruitment low key but she is in the same class of ‘23 with all the kids I mentioned.

 

[CocoHusky]

I think we are interested in her, the question is more from her perspective. She would overlap with Fudd for two years and Shade for three. She could play the 3 easily, but Caroline would be there for a couple of years. The recruitment of all three of those players probably reduced the odds of getting Williams. To the extent she is still in the mix, I think Booker is still a factor. If Booker would commit to us, that might really end Williams interest in us, but I suspect our odds are better with Booker, more of a natural 3.
Williams would still be very high on my wish list, but at this point I expect us to make her short list, but may be just one of a half dozen schools with a chance, and not necessarily among the top couple with the best chance. Who knows, there has been minimal info on how Williams is thinking and who is on her potential short list. Time will tell.

Williams is the only HS junior still on the Naismith HS watch list and is being projected as a Maya Moore level talent. Bret McCormick of All Star Girls Report call her the best recruit he has ever seen. Regardless of where she ends ends up it is the other players that will have to worry about playing time not Mikaylah. It is also only a few short months ago that many BYers ( including me) were concerned about adequate minutes and shots for Azzi, Nika, Paige, Saylor, Aubrey & Caroline while still hoping that UCONN would still land Kiki Rice. Booker and Williams also project a MONSTER defenders ,UCONN could use either or both and I hope the UCONN staff is still heavily involved.

 

[HuskylnSC]

I don't disagree but the three best real bigs are Cunningham, Del Rosario, and Vasconcelos. Cunningham is in my opinion the only one who's a UConn level talent and I believe she'll stay on the west coast. If they can get Toomey they may have to hope for one or both of Booker and Kitts who are in the 6-1 to 6-2 range to get to a 5 player class.

I consider Booker in my grouping of 3 bigs. She is physical and can defend inside and grab rebounds. My preferred list for the 3 bigs is C, Cunningham, and Booker.

 

[Charliebball]

I'll take the bait. What makes you think Amari has more talent than she's shown so far ? Talent is typically the fist thing you see in a player. Can she get better , absolutely, can she be more talented I highly doubt it. Can she be a productive piece of the puzzle, for sure she can.

I've been following her from her soph year in high school.........she's got a sophisticated offensive arsenal that has yet to be seen in her limited minutes at UConn...........if there had been a need for her to play major minutes during the course of the season due to injury as was the case for CD, I'm pretty confident she'd be far more productive..............playing the final four minutes of every third game is not conducive to bringing out the best in any player....

 

[CocoHusky]

I consider Booker in my grouping of 3 bigs. She is physical and can defend inside and grab rebounds. My preferred list for the 3 bigs is C, Cunningham, and Booker.

That's three entirely different skills sets you are talking about here.
Cunning is a pure post who is not going to stray even to the Arc unless it is to set a screen.
C is going to be utilized as a stretch 4 type who can play all over the floor including in occasionally posting up.
Booker is a dynamic ball handling power wing and a monster perimeter defender. It would be an enormous waste of Booker's talent to put her in the post considering you have Ice, Patterson, AE and DeBerry on the roster.

 

[Mdoggie]

That's three entirely different skills sets you are talking about here.
Cunning is a pure post who is not going to stray even to the Arc unless it is to set a screen.
C is going to be utilized as a stretch 4 type who can play all over the floor including in occasionally posting up.
Booker is a dynamic ball handling power wing and a monster perimeter defender. It would be an enormous waste of Booker's talent to put her in the post considering you have Ice, Patterson, AE and DeBerry on the roster.

So what I’m hearing is C is a must get?

 

[HuskylnSC]

That's three entirely different skills sets you are talking about here.
Cunning is a pure post who is not going to stray even to the Arc unless it is to set a screen.
C is going to be utilized as a stretch 4 type who can play all over the floor including in occasionally posting up.
Booker is a dynamic ball handling power wing and a monster perimeter defender. It would be an enormous waste of Booker's talent to put her in the post considering you have Ice, Patterson, AE and DeBerry on the roster.

Agree whole heartedly. The disconnect in our posts is that I consider her a 3 but also a powerful player as opposed to Ashlyn and KK who fill the 1 and 2 roles. I originally said I want 3 bigs and considered Booker in that grouping. Your comments are why I consider C, Cunningham, Booker, Shade, and KK a perfect unit

 

[Huskie02]

Just that because Toomey, Shade, and Arnold have verbally committed, Auriemma has been out to see them play recently. And although Williams hasn't committed anywhere yet, if UConn was heavily recruiting the top player in the class they probably would have gotten someone from the staff out to see her play recently as well. If they did it probably would've popped up somewhere on social media by now and @Sluconn Husky would have been on it.

When did Toomey give a verbal commit?

 

[Dogstar]

When did Toomey give a verbal commit?

Does he know something tht the rest of us may be wanting to know? Withholding important info on the BY might be a infringement on some rules, I suggest the poster be brought in front of the moderators for questioning/torture to fully clarify the statement tht said poster has stated.

 

[BobbyJ]

When did Toomey give a verbal commit?

She didn't. I said in another post I'd had a slip of the mind.

 

[oldhusky]

Williams is the only HS junior still on the Naismith HS watch list and is being projected as a Maya Moore level talent. Bret McCormick of All Star Girls Report call her the best recruit he has ever seen. Regardless of where she ends ends up it is the other players that will have to worry about playing time not Mikaylah. It is also only a few short months ago that many BYers ( including me) were concerned about adequate minutes and shots for Azzi, Nika, Paige, Saylor, Aubrey & Caroline while still hoping that UCONN would still land Kiki Rice. Booker and Williams also project a MONSTER defenders ,UCONN could use either or both and I hope the UCONN staff is still heavily involved.

I get your point and agree that most places she would consider she could be confident of playing and IMO be a starter very soon. But she would probably be an underdog to unseat Paige or Azzi as a starter next year for example. She might bump Caroline at the 3, but that would still be a pretty high bar, but certainly doable as a freshman, and if she was recruited with Booker she would on paper be substantially ahead of her for projected minutes.

Recruiting is a difficult process with many tradeoffs. Make it very clear the top prospect is your number one priority for a position, and your plan B (possibly Booker) might lose interest and move on elsewhere. Show too much interest in the plan B player that might be more probable, and you could lose out on the chance of getting the top dog, although I generally agree the downside in that strategy is less, because as you say the best player, if considered a generational talent like Williams, might not have to worry about playing time.

The difference with us vs. other teams is we will have two projected starters with experience, who were also considered generational talents already penciled in at PG and SG, and a SF we could probably be happy with for the rest of her Uconn career. Williams would still find playing time and would ultimately start, but if she wants to start her whole career, this is one of the few places where that is uncertain.

 

[BobbyJ]

I get your point and agree that most places she would consider she could be confident of playing and IMO be a starter very soon. But she would probably be an underdog to unseat Paige or Azzi as a starter next year for example. She might bump Caroline at the 3, but that would still be a pretty high bar, but certainly doable as a freshman, and if she was recruited with Booker she would on paper be substantially ahead of her for projected minutes.

Recruiting is a difficult process with many tradeoffs. Make it very clear the top prospect is your number one priority for a position, and your plan B (possibly Booker) might lose interest and move on elsewhere. Show too much interest in the plan B player that might be more probable, and you could lose out on the chance of getting the top dog, although I generally agree the downside in that strategy is less, because as you say the best player, if considered a generational talent like Williams, might not have to worry about playing time.

The difference with us vs. other teams is we will have two projected starters with experience, who were also considered generational talents already penciled in at PG and SG, and a SF we could probably be happy with for the rest of her Uconn career. Williams would still find playing time and would ultimately start, but if she wants to start her whole career, this is one of the few places where that is uncertain.

Just a heads up, this class of 2023 won't be at UConn next year. They will arrive in the fall of 2023.

 

[From France]

Saw a UConn practice video recently and all DeBerry did was consistently make shots and rebound. If it was any other year where we had less close games and more time for DeBerry to expand her confidence in a real game environment, suspect she would be in the rotation. Similar to Charlie, seeing good things for her next year.

Don't know much about the girl, what I saw is mostly USA Junior BB and it was good.
Now, I wonder why the school recruited her if she nearly never plays.
We play 6 guys, but 2 (Piath & Amari) are waiting to play ....
Sure this season is one of his kind, but I can't understand this choice, not to play the kid you recruited ...
Geno style, nothing to say, he's proven he's right for huskies

 

[Sluconn Husky]

2/17

Dunmore led 31-0 tonight. Toomey only played the first half.

Ciera Toomey: 18 points (9-13 FG, 0-2 3-PT), 5 reb, 6 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

 

[Charliebball]

Williams is the only HS junior still on the Naismith HS watch list and is being projected as a Maya Moore level talent. Bret McCormick of All Star Girls Report call her the best recruit he has ever seen. Regardless of where she ends ends up it is the other players that will have to worry about playing time not Mikaylah. It is also only a few short months ago that many BYers ( including me) were concerned about adequate minutes and shots for Azzi, Nika, Paige, Saylor, Aubrey & Caroline while still hoping that UCONN would still land Kiki Rice. Booker and Williams also project a MONSTER defenders ,UCONN could use either or both and I hope the UCONN staff is still heavily involved.

I'm not sure the NCAA would even allow Williams to join a team with Bueckers, Fudd and Ducharme already on the roster..........too many 100 point games would not be good for the reputation of women's basketball.........