Felicia Aiyeotan at Blair Academy

[Hoopdreams]

Hoopsdreams - interesting observations, but obviously USA basketball had a different impression of her, selecting her as 'one in a dozen' for the U16 team, and the misguided coach of the U16s gave her more court time than any other player.

That I can't explain. Don't know what the thought process was in coaching that 16U team. Whatever was attempted failed.

 

[UcMiami]

And therein lies the key. I've read that Boothe is maybe even better than Walker. I've also read that she is poison. I hear she is now playing in Fla at some athletic factory disguised as a prep school. The fact that UConn hasn't been associated with such an obviously skilled and talented player should give us hint about what UConn looks for and what they avoid. Geno is in the fortunate and enviable position of being able to pass on tainted talent.

Alydar - while I agree with the general observations about Uconn recruiting, I want to mildly call you out on the comments specific to Boothe. She is a player who sort of exploded onto the scene this past year and is obviously talented. But we have no information regarding whether Uconn has interest in her, has ever contacted her, whether she has any interest in Uconn, etc. To imply that Uconn has no interest in her because she is not 'a Uconn' type player or has some character flaw is unfair and premature I think. There have been and will continue to be players that Uconn has interest in early, who on being contacted initially have shown no reciprocal interest, and the recruiting is still-borne.
There are in fact a number of players that Uconn showed interest in for the 2016 class, that I think everyone would have liked to see at Uconn - but recruiting of them never got beyond that first contact because the staff recognized early it was not going to happen. I am pretty sure Geno would have loved to have Griner for four years, but never recruited her because it was obvious early on she wasn't leaving TX.

So ... please be a little careful on the rumor/implication side with 16 year olds - poison is a pretty strong term to use about someone I doubt you have met.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Alydar - while I agree with the general observations about Uconn recruiting, I want to mildly call you out on the comments specific to Boothe. She is a player who sort of exploded onto the scene this past year and is obviously talented. But we have no information regarding whether Uconn has interest in her, has ever contacted her, whether she has any interest in Uconn, etc. To imply that Uconn has no interest in her because she is not 'a Uconn' type player or has some character flaw is unfair and premature I think. There have been and will continue to be players that Uconn has interest in early, who on being contacted initially have shown no reciprocal interest, and the recruiting is still-borne.
There are in fact a number of players that Uconn showed interest in for the 2016 class, that I think everyone would have liked to see at Uconn - but recruiting of them never got beyond that first contact because the staff recognized early it was not going to happen. I am pretty sure Geno would have loved to have Griner for four years, but never recruited her because it was obvious early on she wasn't leaving TX.

So ... please be a little careful on the rumor/implication side with 16 year olds - poison is a pretty strong term to use about someone I doubt you have met.

Happens too much, before signing and after signing. Grandparents trying to destroy the reputation of young adults is weird

 

[j66kicker]

Recent Category on Jeopardy !!! But it was labeled -----Ahem! or Contronym's

Ahem - no apostrophe in Contronyms

 

[Alydar]

Alydar - while I agree with the general observations about Uconn recruiting, I want to mildly call you out on the comments specific to Boothe. She is a player who sort of exploded onto the scene this past year and is obviously talented. But we have no information regarding whether Uconn has interest in her, has ever contacted her, whether she has any interest in Uconn, etc. To imply that Uconn has no interest in her because she is not 'a Uconn' type player or has some character flaw is unfair and premature I think. There have been and will continue to be players that Uconn has interest in early, who on being contacted initially have shown no reciprocal interest, and the recruiting is still-borne.
There are in fact a number of players that Uconn showed interest in for the 2016 class, that I think everyone would have liked to see at Uconn - but recruiting of them never got beyond that first contact because the staff recognized early it was not going to happen. I am pretty sure Geno would have loved to have Griner for four years, but never recruited her because it was obvious early on she wasn't leaving TX.

So ... please be a little careful on the rumor/implication side with 16 year olds - poison is a pretty strong term to use about someone I doubt you have met.

Your comments are fair. I agree I have never met Boothe. I have never met any recruit for that matter, nor have the vast majority of people who post here. I agree that the word poison was inappropriate. But if posts here are to be limited to those who have actually met and talked to recruits we might as well just read the horde's articles.

My assumption that UConn hasn't had any interest in Boothe is based on not having read any of the horde mentioning her ever. I can understand Bent flying ynder their radar, she was totally unrecognized by any ranking service but Boothe is up among the elite recruits in her class and yet I've not seen one word from any writer who covers UConn about anyone even going to see her play. My negative comment came from another board. I should know better than to repeat things like that.

But the fact is that Geno has said that there are criteria he has in choosing who he recruits and some have nothing to do with their talent on the court. When I see an uber-talented HS player and never hear her associated with UConn I tend to wonder why.

 

[Huskies Rule]

I don't know what the transfer rules are in NJ but that wouldn't fly in California. Especially since The Blair coach went to her legal guardians camp this summer and talked to her real mother. Unfortunately the consequences of these sort of things will end up impacting other players by making it more difficult to take advantage of the opportunities her and the other girl who attended NG but recently graduated had. I personally saw no problem with allowing them that opportunity, but now it just seems like there seems to be just a bit too much funny stuff involved- recruiting wise and stuff.

The rational for allowing them to go to high school in America was not framed in the context of their athletic abilities. Rather that those abilities would help to farther their education. It seems like this transfer is geared purely for athletic reasons. Why else would a girl leave the state her senior year. I realize that this is not the first time that players have done so, transfer to another state for a better basketball program, but in this case we are talking about a player from another country who need a dispensation to attend in the first place. Does not look good.

I'd consider it charitable and humanitarian if Neuman-Goretti brought Aiyeotan and Aborowa (ex-NG teammate and now a Texas freshman) over from Nigeria for the purpose of escaping crushing poverty, inadequate educational opportunities, repression, etc. To that end, I'd like to know if Neuman-Goretti brought any other young girls over from Nigeria, regular, 'ordinary' girls who were NOT 6'3" or 6'9" and DID NOT play basketball. That would be telling and could go a long way in elucidating whether N-G's motivation was altruistic or basketball-istic. [relax, Kib, I know]

 

[CocoHusky]

I'd consider it charitable and humanitarian if Neuman-Goretti brought Aiyeotan and Aborowa (ex-NG teammate and now a Texas freshman) over from Nigeria for the purpose of escaping crushing poverty, inadequate educational opportunities, repression, etc. To that end, I'd like to know if Neuman-Goretti brought any other young girls over from Nigeria, regular, 'ordinary' girls who were NOT 6'3" or 6'9" and DID NOT play basketball. That would be telling and could go a long way in elucidating whether N-G's motivation was altruistic or basketball-istic. [relax, Kib, I know]

Neuman-Goretti cannot and had nothing to do with these girls coming to the US. If it were not for basketball these specific girls (Aiyeotan and Aborowa) would not have been in the US. This NY times article complete with quotes from Mike Flynn states that the girls are in the US as a result of a foundation (Hope 4 Girls Africa) spotting them and helping them come to America. Hope 4 Girls Africa is a basketball based foundation so of course they are looking for good girls basketball players. Guess what height is a good thing to have if you want to be a good basketball player. There are many other foundations (not basketball aaffiliated) helping Nigerian children come to the US.
Guess what Mike Flynn is in the Girls Basketball business so as the article says he help get them here. How? He might have arranged for the host famalies, and he runs an AAU team where these girls play. The girls are of high school age so the host famalies have to decide where to send them-Mike probably had some say in that also.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/s...e-reaching-highest-levels-of-sports.html?_r=0
Aiyeotan might end up at UCONN and Aborowa is at Texas because of basketball ability, do you seriously believe this would have happened had they stayed in Nigeria?

 

[Oldbones]

"a free ride, a better quality education, and the opportunity to play on championship teams every year."

It's what I'd want for my granddaughters.......................................................

 

[UcMiami]

I think there are legitimate reasons to have negative impressions of Flynn and many others in the AAU/HS ranks of 'facilitators' and 'evaluators' and 'counsellors' - they seldom act in completely altruistic ways. But ...
Most of the kids that fall under the spheres of these folks who may cause negative feelings are just that - kids. I think we should leave them out of the criticisms we have for the adults.

Athletic skill, exceptional beauty, extraordinary intelligence, and also just dumb luck have all been ways for some children to escape desperate situations - in Africa, in Asia, anywhere in the world including our own inner cities and rural economically challenged areas. Rejoice in those that both get that ticket, and are able to follow through on that opportunity. It would be wonderful if more did get the opportunity, and we can all work toward that goal, but don't knock the ones that do.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Ahem - no apostrophe in Contronyms

Mis spoke---no mis typed. Oh you saw that show too, do you recall the winner??
My miss type was : It was NOT labeled ----Ahem or Contronyms !!! Good show, interesting categories. Alex was funny this Category.
Apologies to K.

 

[TFintheMix]

The top ranked football teams in the state, every year, (Bergen Catholic, St. Peters, St. Joseph's) DO RECRUIT and DO GO OUT SEARCHING FOR THE BEST. They cherry-pick the elite athletes from all over the state, and out-of-state, and do whatever they can get away with to encourage them to transfer. And that is unethical and illegal in New Jersey. You are sadly mistaken if you think it's about "academics," "monitoring," or "religion" for these top athletes and their parents. It's about the publicity that comes with winning championships and getting that prized college football scholarship.

The same for the top ranked basketball teams in New Jersey, year in and year out (St. Anthony's, St.Benedict's, Roselle Catholic). They DO recruit and they DO go "searching for the best." It's no secret, and it is an issue of great concern for the many public school athletic programs that yearly are decimated by illegal recruiting and transfers. Recruiting has killed any kind of fair competition.

The only "bias" is that which results from the unlevel, unfair playing field created when so many of the best athletes are illegally recruited away from the publics (and non-publics) in New Jersey and transfer to the parochial and private school powerhouses, so they can continue to dominate their chosen sports and gain acclaim and recognition (and to entice increased enrollment at these tuition-driven schools). The issue of illegal recruiting in New Jersey is so important that it's being litigated in the courts right now.

IMHO. Why shouldn't a super talented player not get the opportunity to compete at the highest level, even in high school, if that is what is important to them? The only thing that is "illegal" about high school recruiting is self-serving regulations imposed by less committed sports programs to limit talented athletes from going to schools that better serves the students needs (academic, resources, coaching, etc.).

What other high school, extra-curricula activity has this level of restrictions and scrutiny? If a high school student who has a particular talent transfers to go to another school with a better theater department, music program, science program or gymnastic program, for example, we often applaud this as an accomplishment. However, talented athletes of "popular" sports get pilloried (in NJ and other states with these restrictions) for transferring to high schools of their choice, even when the transfer requires additional sacrifice.

 

[UcMiami]

Your comments are fair. I agree I have never met Boothe. I have never met any recruit for that matter, nor have the vast majority of people who post here. I agree that the word poison was inappropriate. But if posts here are to be limited to those who have actually met and talked to recruits we might as well just read the horde's articles.

My assumption that UConn hasn't had any interest in Boothe is based on not having read any of the horde mentioning her ever. I can understand Bent flying ynder their radar, she was totally unrecognized by any ranking service but Boothe is up among the elite recruits in her class and yet I've not seen one word from any writer who covers UConn about anyone even going to see her play. My negative comment came from another board. I should know better than to repeat things like that.

But the fact is that Geno has said that there are criteria he has in choosing who he recruits and some have nothing to do with their talent on the court. When I see an uber-talented HS player and never hear her associated with UConn I tend to wonder why.

We all comment about players (recruits and team members we have never met), so of course that is allowed. And completely agree with your last paragraph and have posted the same.
The issue I have was just the speculative nature of the comments and the negative connotations placed on the fact that we have no information on Uconn interest.
Another example of that type of situation (no hint of interest) was Tiffany Hayes - we learned she had committed the same time we learned Geno had gone to see her and she was much more highly regarded before that commitment than was Bent.

Uconn cannot comment on anybody they are recruiting, and really on any HS kid prior to them signing their LOI, so all the news we get is third hand - A coach was at a game, a coach talked to Geno, a family member says Uconn was in touch, etc. Some recruiting situations are done in the public eye, with the HS/AAU coaches constantly talking, or lots of reports from family or friends or the players themselves, and others are very quiet indeed. I haven't actually seen much info about who is watching Boothe play, who is recruiting, where she is considering, etc. And there is always the possibility that Uconn made contact with a coach who told them - you can pursue her, but she has told me point blank she is not going anywhere further than 100 miles from home for college.

 

[j66kicker]

Mis spoke---no mis typed. Oh you saw that show too, do you recall the winner??
My miss type was : It was NOT labeled ----Ahem or Contronyms !!! Good show, interesting categories. Alex was funny this Category.
Apologies to K.

Nope - never heard of the show, just suspect they had a grammar editor

 

[CocoHusky]

The issue I have was just the speculative nature of the comments and the negative connotations placed on the fact that we have no information on Uconn interest.
And there is always the possibility that Uconn made contact.

I sincerely hope UCONN has made contact with Boothe because I believe she is an incredible talent. I would also understand if UCONN did not make contact because Boothe is a 2017 F who would overlap with Boykin, KLS, & The Pheenom, for 2 years Irwin for 3 years, Walker & Cox for a while years God willing.
There is also appears to be no interest in UCONN on the part of Boothe:
Maryland is currently Boothe's No. 1 school, with Tennessee and Auburn also on her short list.
"I really like [Maryland coach Brenda Frese]," Boothe said.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12378990/star
During this interview she said all the right things and sounded very much like a UCONN kid, including that she wanted to play for a great college coach who was going to push her-Geno fits that bill better than Frese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyPGhKn6Cmk
However there are a few published perhaps negative connotations & perhaps unfairly associated with Boothe I while I definitely do not agree with the use of the word poison these would need to be explained.
1) In the aftermath of the U16 trials this summer where she did not make the team, there were some tweets very critical of the selection process, people and bias against players from Florida by Silverio Ford.
2) There was also a hype video created featuring ALL her highlights from the U16 trials with the pompous (IMO) title “Rellah Boothe, "Grown Woman Status". Of course the hype video only partially squares with the critique of her performance at the trials which I’m paraphrasing (“At times she was the best player on the floor, at other times she was invisible”)
3) Boothe said she wants to work on her attitude and on having positive body language after getting tossed out of a game for talking back to a referee.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12378990/star
4) Boothe played on one of the best HS teams in the country last year Potters House Christian Academy. Her HS team even beat Crystal Dangerfield’s team ( #1 Nationally at the time) in a show case tournament, in which Boothe scored 37 points and had 22 rebounds. This school year her Junior year she has decided to transfer IMG academy. Nothing wrong with transferring high school Kids do it all the time. When kids transfer IMO, it is fair to ask why.
Does Boothe have UCONN level talent? Absolutely! The right fit for UCONN is the pertinent question that needs to be answered.

 

[UcMiami]

Coco - nice outline of her profile. I was certainly aware of the stuff right after trials, but ... I think both #1 and #2 are not specific to Boothe herself - this falls into that category of adult interference in the process that kids may have absolutely no input in. No idea who created the video and the title for it, and most of those tweets were coming from FL based AAU/Handlers/Promoters/whatever. A lot of players have gotten that sort of support after missing a USA game including Moriah.
#3 is a first for me, but she certainly isn't the first or last kid to have a learning curve re refs - that particular curve continues throughout a players career, as DT can attest to!

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco - nice outline of her profile. I was certainly aware of the stuff right after trials, but ... I think both #1 and #2 are not specific to Boothe herself - this falls into that category of adult interference in the process that kids may have absolutely no input in. No idea who created the video and the title for it, and most of those tweets were coming from FL based AAU/Handlers/Promoters/whatever. A lot of players have gotten that sort of support after missing a USA game including Moriah.
#3 is a first for me, but she certainly isn't the first or last kid to have a learning curve re refs - that particular curve continues throughout a players career, as DT can attest to!

UC completely agree on the first two item being adult interference- I tried not to include them. I would not have included them if I could find something like I have heard from so many Kids Moriah, Dangerfield, Gillespie, Williams, Brown on not making USA age group team which is "I learned alot will be better prepared next time if I get an opportunity". Didn't hear anything from Boothe-which doesn't mean she didn't say it just that I could not find it.
Good point about DT and the learning curve. Talent only trumps attitude when you have enough talent. Too many of our posters think there is an absolute UCONN standard=equal to no attitude. IMO, the attitude is part of the package, the more talent =more tolerance on the part of UCONN.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Nope - never heard of the show, just suspect they had a grammar editor

No editor only the kid from Tolland that produces the show. Think he went to Uconn.

 

[stamfordhusky]

IMHO. Why shouldn't a super talented player not get the opportunity to compete at the highest level, even in high school, if that is what is important to them? The only thing that is "illegal" about high school recruiting is self-serving regulations imposed by less committed sports programs to limit talented athletes from going to schools that better serves the students needs (academic, resources, coaching, etc.).

What other high school, extra-curricula activity has this level of restrictions and scrutiny? If a high school student who has a particular talent transfers to go to another school with a better theater department, music program, science program or gymnastic program, for example, we often applaud this as an accomplishment. However, talented athletes of "popular" sports get pilloried (in NJ and other states with these restrictions) for transferring to high schools of their choice, even when the transfer requires additional sacrifice.

I wouldn't have any big objection to parochial/private schools recruting athletes IF they played in their own self-contained leagues and had their own championships. But it's unfair to allow them to steal players from public schools that realistically cannot recruit athletes from outside of their town (unless they are coached by people like Jack Cochran).

 

[stamfordhusky]

I went to a Catholic school. No one "recruited" anyone. For good athletes some got tuition reduced, some may have had it paid for.
No one went out searching for the best, but obviously the best were known. I see nothing wrong with offering kids a scholarship if they are great athletes if their parents cannot pay their way. All great athletes in the Catholic system don't get a "free ride". It is usually by need. Is that wrong? Kids go to Catholic schools for Education and because their parents believe they are better monitored than in the public system. Education isn't only about academics or religion and the kids that get this education generally --not always--get to go to very good colleges. Who would want to stop this? Remember Bias works both ways for and against some schools.

There are MANY Catholic schools that recruit athletes, including ones in Conncecticut. Many of my kids' teammates were illegally recruited. This is simply a matter of fact.

 

[BroadwayVa]

There are MANY Catholic schools that recruit athletes, including ones in Conncecticut. Many of my kids' teammates were illegally recruited. This is simply a matter of fact.

Apparently I went to different Catholic schools. But please define "illegally", if that is truly the case, one could have them arrested, fined, jailed or even sued for financial settlement if those recruited away reduced the "gate" at the school from which they were taken!!
If you really have a case SUE. If you don't maybe Illegal isn't the right word.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Apparently I went to different Catholic schools. But please define "illegally", if that is truly the case, one could have them arrested, fined, jailed or even sued for financial settlement if those recruited away reduced the "gate" at the school from which they were taken!!
If you really have a case SUE. If you don't maybe Illegal isn't the right word.

One of the first definitions of illegal is: "contrary to or forbidden by official rules, regulations ,etc.". That is what I meant by "illegal". These schools frequently violate the rules/bylaws of the CIAC - rules they agreed to follow when they joined the association. I know dozens of athletes who were recruited in violation of the rules. The first example I saw was 15 years ago. The most recent one was in the past year.