Former UCONN players (transfers) - how they are doing...

[EricLA]

Michala Johnson - RS Senior for Wisconsin - pretty awful team at 4-6 but she's 3rd in scoring at 10.8 PPG and plays almost 29 minutes a game. Honestly, I wish she'd hung around - I think there was PT for her at UCONN to be had...

Brianna Banks is coming back in a big way - just scored 26 points in her team's loss to St Bonneventure and played 34 minutes. She missed 2 games this year for a pretty average PSU team (4-6) but is averaging 11.6 PPG - good enough for 2nd on the team. Also wish she'd stayed - with Edwards transferring last year, and Chong being somewhat injured, I think there was PT for her too. Go Brianna!

Lauren Engeln had a pretty poor junior year at BCU and averaged 1.9 PPG. I forget what happened to her but she's not on the roster this year. I think maybe she graduated and decided not to come back to BCU for her last year of eligibility.

Sadie Edwards - transferred to USC and I believe is eligible to play the 2nd half of the season for them. Will be curious to see how she does. Side note - Temi Fagbenle, a top 10'ish kid in her class, originally chose Harvard but transferred to USC. She's a senior this year averaging a team best 14.1 PPG...

 

[mikejays]

Lauren Engeln was dismissed from the Boston College team in February for a violation of team rules.

“Lauren (Engeln) is no longer with the team,” [Erik] Johnson said. “But, again, a great young woman—just sometimes, the fit and philosophies don’t mesh. It’s the hard part about coaching and we miss her.”

 

[Kaizen]

2010, Geno recruited 5 HS graduated:
Samarie Walker (#10 in the class)
Bria Hartley (#14)
Stefanie Dolson (#39)
Michala Johnson (#46)
Lauren Engeln (#95)
Hartley and Dolson are doing pretty good in WNBA, And the other 3, ...LOL

 

[ochoopsfan]

Lauren Engeln is in Germany playing Pro Ball.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I can think of only one UConn transfer who made it really big. How big? She was just the WNBA MVP.

 

[WestCoastFan]

I can think of only one UConn transfer who made it really big. How big? She was just the WNBA MVP.

Too bad she never played a game at UConn

 

[UcMiami]

I find it difficult to have any animosity towards kids age 16-18 making mistakes in choosing their college and basketball program. Lots of stuff going on at that stage in human development and not a lot of experience to fall back on. And a basketball program is a very intense environment that can magnify issue that develop. Add in that it is an intensive sales process on the part of the recruiters and not all of them are completely open and/or honest, and mistakes are inevitable. The NCAA letter of intent puts significant (and unfair?) roadblocks in the way of correcting those mistakes so some students 'tough it out', though it appears more are willing to undergo the process of 'divorce.' The pressure applied for 'early commitment' is probably exacerbating the situation - the 'standard' signing period is spring of senior year - at this point almost no one waits till then (3 out of HGs top 100 are 'undecided' at this point), while 9 of 60 have committed by fall of their junior years.

There are three recruits who I think messed up Uconn's recruiting plans more than anyone else and at three different stages:
Jacki Gemelos - committed very early to Uconn at which point they stopped recruiting PGs, withdrew her commitment the summer before her senior year and signed her letter to USC.

EDD - committed and signed in fairly standard time frames, spent less than 48 hours on campus and went home, never practicing or playing at Uconn. Again, altered the recruiting picture for Uconn in both her year and the following year.

Samarie - as noted above, committed, signed, and made it through the first month of games before leaving the team and school.

They all made mistakes - and probably made the right decisions for themselves at different stages of the process - no team wants a teammate who is unhappy, and overall Uconn was better off with them correcting the mistakes at the time it became apparent to them that they had made a mistake.

The coaching staffs around the country make mistakes too, and they are older and more experienced. We don't tend to blame them, unless they refuse to admit their mistakes and get nasty about granting releases. Uconn's coaching staff is not without its mistakes, too.

 

[trb123]

Kennitra Johnson

Transferred to Perdue (2001) and eventually to Div II Southern Indiana (2002).
Currently, Johnson teaches physical education/health at her alma mater, New Albany High School, Indiana.

Liz Sherwood

Sherwood played for three seasons at Vanderbilt University, earning her degree in Economics in 2008 after transferring from the University of Connecticut in 2004.
She became a graduate assistant to Jeff Walz at Louisville in 2010. She is now a process manager at Humana.
The Sherwood Family would strongly argue that this kind of education and career would not have been possible had she remained at UCONN.
Her name has been purged from the roster on the Huskies webpage although she played a full year.

Marci Bella (nee Gleney)

Transferred to Clemson.
After her playing career was over, she took an assistant job with the women's team at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
Glenney's first job was in sales with Pitney Bowes in Atlanta. She is now an Administrative Coordinator at Emory Healthcare.

 

[HuskyNan]

Please do not call former players (or any players) names.

The papers didn't always print the full story behind transfers so please don't presume you know everything that went on. I can say this with some certainty because sometimes some on the Boneyard would trash a kid after the transfer was announced causing parents or siblings to contact me. They often told me the kid's reason for leaving. I am NOT going to reveal the confidences but I will say that there have been wildly inaccurate statements made here re: current and former UConn transfers.

 

[Carnac]

I find it difficult to have any animosity towards kids age 16-18 making mistakes in choosing their college and basketball program. Lots of stuff going on at that stage in human development and not a lot of experience to fall back on. And a basketball program is a very intense environment that can magnify issue that develop. Add in that it is an intensive sales process on the part of the recruiters and not all of them are completely open and/or honest, and mistakes are inevitable. The NCAA letter of intent puts significant (and unfair?) roadblocks in the way of correcting those mistakes so some students 'tough it out', though it appears more are willing to undergo the process of 'divorce.' The pressure applied for 'early commitment' is probably exacerbating the situation - the 'standard' signing period is spring of senior year - at this point almost no one waits till then (3 out of HGs top 100 are 'undecided' at this point), while 9 of 60 have committed by fall of their junior years.

There are three recruits who I think messed up Uconn's recruiting plans more than anyone else and at three different stages:
Jacki Gemelos - committed very early to Uconn at which point they stopped recruiting PGs, withdrew her commitment the summer before her senior year and signed her letter to USC.

EDD - committed and signed in fairly standard time frames, spent less than 48 hours on campus and went home, never practicing or playing at Uconn. Again, altered the recruiting picture for Uconn in both her year and the following year.

Samarie - as noted above, committed, signed, and made it through the first month of games before leaving the team and school.

They all made mistakes - and probably made the right decisions for themselves at different stages of the process - no team wants a teammate who is unhappy, and overall Uconn was better off with them correcting the mistakes at the time it became apparent to them that they had made a mistake.

The coaching staffs around the country make mistakes too, and they are older and more experienced. We don't tend to blame them, unless they refuse to admit their mistakes and get nasty about granting releases. Uconn's coaching staff is not without its mistakes, too.

 

[Carnac]

Kansas State made it's entire athletic program look petty and selfish by the way they handled the Leticia Romero matter.
It's just like marriage, if a player (spouse) no longer wants to be there, why refuse to let them go? They won't play hard for you (if at all).

They're going to have a negative attitude that will spread to some degree to the rest of the team. If a player no longer wants to be a part of your program, let them go, and wish them good luck wherever they choose to go. That frees up a scholarship for someone else that really wants to be there, and give you everything they've got.

 

[trb123]

Please do not call former players names.

The papers didn't always print the full story behind transfers so please don't presume you know everything that went on. I can say this with some certainty because some on the Boneyard would trash a kid after the transfer was announced causing parents or siblings to contact me. They often told me the kid's reason for leaving. I am NOT going to reveal the confidences but I will say that there have been wildly inaccurate statements made here re: current and former UConn transfers.

Nan

Not calling anybody names. I am aware that Liz Sherwood was suffering from some ailment when she played here (courtesy your post long time ago). Geno prized her off to UCONN in the teeth of strong opposition from her dad. He called UCONN a basketball factory. He implied that his daughter would get an inferior education here. One only has to check the rosters (Huskies archive) to verify that her name is not there. I do not support the purging of her name. I am strongly against it. Should have separated that comment from the rest of my post. It has bothered me since I discovered it two yrs ago.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kennitra Johnson

Transferred to Perdue (2001) and eventually to Div II Southern Indiana (2002).
Currently, Johnson teaches physical education/health at her alma mater, New Albany High School, Indiana.

Liz Sherwood

Sherwood played for three seasons at Vanderbilt University, earning her degree in Economics in 2008 after transferring from the University of Connecticut in 2004.
She became a graduate assistant to Jeff Walz at Louisville in 2010. She is now a process manager at Humana.
The Sherwood Family would strongly argue that this kind of education and career would not have been possible had she remained at UCONN.
Her name has been purged from the roster on the Huskies webpage although she played a full year.

Marci Bella (nee Gleney)

Transferred to Clemson.
After her playing career was over, she took an assistant job with the women's team at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.
Glenney's first job was in sales with Pitney Bowes in Atlanta. She is now an Administrative Coordinator at Emory Healthcare.

KJ Kennitra Johnson---a personal favorite. We met her at Gampel sitting alone in the upper bleachers, the rest of the team was a tier below sitting together. We sat and talked with her, a very quiet kid, kind of shy, but very nice. We knew there was something amiss at that time, but hoped it would work out. The kid could handle the point and shoot the 3. I'm pleased she became a teacher--that is one kid that has always owned a part of my heart!!!

 

[BroadwayVa]

Nan

Not calling anybody names. I am aware that Liz Sherwood was suffering from some ailment when she played here (courtesy your post long time ago). Geno prized her off to UCONN in the teeth of strong opposition from her dad. He called UCONN a basketball factory. He implied that his daughter would get an inferior education here. One only has to check the rosters (Huskies archive) to verify that her name is not there. I do not support the purging of her name. I am strongly against it. Should have separated that comment from the rest of my post. It has bothered me since I discovered it two yrs ago.

Obviously Liz's dad was right----the factory is the only one to win men's and women's NC in the same year twice and to damn the factory more they have 10 and are working on 11. That is a factory.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Heather Buck's defense of Griner was better than ANYONE defended Griner---and to me came out of left field, I never expected it but cheered her performance loudly as it happened\\ That and the steal and court long drive at the end of the NC game are certainly two high lights she can cherish her entire life--along with being a great nurse.

 

[pinotbear]

Glad you reminded me of this, Cajun: Heather was a tough match-up for BG. Buck was so strong, that she managed to keep Griner just a little bit further away from the basket than BG liked, got her a little bit out of her comfort zone. And for some reason, some aspect of personality or something, Heather seemed, not only to not be intimidated, but, seemed to relish the challenge of Griner.

 

[pinotbear]

Between Heather Buck and Kiah Stokes, the UConn football team missed out on a fine pair of tight ends - tall, strong, physical, decent hands.

 

[Sonny44]

Is Samarie playing anywhere now?

 

[Bonpland]

Nan

Not calling anybody names. I am aware that Liz Sherwood was suffering from some ailment when she played here (courtesy your post long time ago). Geno prized her off to UCONN in the teeth of strong opposition from her dad. He called UCONN a basketball factory. He implied that his daughter would get an inferior education here. One only has to check the rosters (Huskies archive) to verify that her name is not there. I do not support the purging of her name. I am strongly against it. Should have separated that comment from the rest of my post. It has bothered me since I discovered it two yrs ago.

TRB I'm glad you mentioned that her name was purged from the archives. My daughters and I noticed it one night when we were checking rosters remembering past teams and we stopped when we saw that there was no mention of her. I remembered that she went to the same HS as Ann Strother and then wondered why she was erased from UCONN history.

Following Nan's advice I'm not interested in knowing what happened, why she was expunged. I just always thought it odd and slightly mysterious.

And I'm with UcMiami concerning the pressure kids are under to choose a career path when they are 16-17. The daughter of a friend of ours tranferred from Middlebury a few years ago and her mother told me that the reason was that she couldn't stand the cold in Vermont. I wondered if she was bright enough to get into Middlebury how it was that she apparently could not read an atlas. The mother said that she really liked how beautiful it was in the summer but was shocked when the cold hit in November. Silly mistake by her, and she wasn't under pressure to choose a team, a coach, a conference, or a fan base when she was a junior in high school (while everyone she talks to has advice on what she should do).

Kids should be allowed to be happy and to find a place where they can work hard and improve as students, athletes and individuals.

I'm still making mistakes of judgement and it's fifty years since I took a college visit.

Most coaches understand that if a kids not happy that they should be allowed to move on and make the most of their time in school. We here at the Boneyard should be just as understanding.

 

[HuskyNan]

Nan

Not calling anybody names. I am aware that Liz Sherwood was suffering from some ailment when she played here (courtesy your post long time ago). Geno prized her off to UCONN in the teeth of strong opposition from her dad. He called UCONN a basketball factory. He implied that his daughter would get an inferior education here. One only has to check the rosters (Huskies archive) to verify that her name is not there. I do not support the purging of her name. I am strongly against it. Should have separated that comment from the rest of my post. It has bothered me since I discovered it two yrs ago.

Your statement above regarding the way Liz ended up at UConn is inaccurate.

 

[trb123]

And I'm with UcMiami concerning the pressure kids are under to choose a career path when they are 16-17. The daughter of a friend of ours tranferred from Middlebury a few years ago and her mother told me that the reason was that she couldn't stand the cold in Vermont. I wondered if she was bright enough to get into Middlebury how it was that she apparently could not read an atlas. The mother said that she really liked how beautiful it was in the summer but was shocked when the cold hit in November. Silly mistake by her, and she wasn't under pressure to choose a team, a coach, a conference, or a fan base when she was a junior in high school (while everyone she talks to has advice on what she should do).

We are fortunate here in California. Students learn in the geography class that Vermont has two seasons - winter and severe winter.

 

[pinotbear]

We are fortunate here in California. Students learn in the geography class that Vermont has two seasons - winter and severe winter.

Reminds me of the old line from "Vermont is Where You Find It". "Just when summah comes varies from yeah t' yeah - lahst year, t'was a Thursday".

 

[trb123]

Your statement above regarding the way Liz ended up at UConn is inaccurate.

I read it in
Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection
By Geno Auriemma, Jackie MacMullan

I am unable to quote it here because the web page does not allow copying. There no page number unfortunately.
In it Geno says that he is in a battle with her father who thinks Liz should go to ND or Vandy. He (the dad) also calls UCONN a basketball factory.

I still do not understand what is wrong with my first post. There I do not say anything about how Liz Sherwood arrived at Uconn or why she left it.