[formerly] Duke's Azura Stevens | Page 4 | The Boneyard

[formerly] Duke's Azura Stevens

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CocoHusky

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Most players being forced to sit out because of injury talked about how much they have grown in understanding of the game and how it renews their passion and commitment and for recognizing the privilege of being able to play. I think that can be true for transfers as well.
There is also Azurá Stevens' plantar fascia tear which will also benefit from an additional year away from game competition.

Stevens tears plantar fascia Monday, status day-to-day.
 
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In earlier interviews, she's also said that she wants to put on muscle, so she'll get extra time in the weight room, as well as let her body heal.

While I'm sure it'll be hard for her not to play competitive basketball next year, it will also give her some emotional space to grow in other ways and to adjust to UConn. A non-athlete who transfers after 2 years elsewhere has to learn the new environment, make new friends, etc. I imagine for a D-1 athlete, it's in someways easier (because you're looked after by the sport's staff) but also harder precisely because much of your time is not your own. AZ will have a bit more emotional flexibility next year to expand her friendships and have greater focus on her academics (she likes reading and writing poetry, she said somewhere), etc. A restorative year for her in all ways.
 

CoachBill

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Azura is already a proven commodity.
she averaged 19 ppg - 10 Boards ( 9.5 ) & 2 Blocks in an Elite conference... with in my opinion limited coaching, slow tempo Offense & on a team this past year that was very inexperienced on the perimeter.
With Stewie now graduated... could easily make a case that Azura is the most talented, versatile player in WBB.

for me.. the "potential" with this young lady...exists in now receiving coaching from the best coach in the sport / playing in a program with high level execution.
She was & is the closest thing to Stewie, wbb has to offer.

Every single time I saw her play last season... I would express how I would loved to have seen what she could do / be if she was at UConn or Notre Dame.
 

bballnut90

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Azura is already a proven commodity.
she averaged 19 ppg - 10 Boards ( 9.5 ) & 2 Blocks in an Elite conference... with in my opinion limited coaching, slow tempo Offense & on a team this past year that was very inexperienced on the perimeter.
With Stewie now graduated... could easily make a case that Azura is the most talented, versatile player in WBB.

for me.. the "potential" with this young lady...exists in now receiving coaching from the best coach in the sport / playing in a program with high level execution.
She was & is the closest thing to Stewie, wbb has to offer.

Every single time I saw her play last season... I would express how I would loved to have seen what she could do / be if she was at UConn or Notre Dame.

Agreed. It's truly mindboggling how Duke misses the NCAAs with Stevens and Greenwell in the lineup. Stevens will be a star at Connecticut. She has a really unique game--sort of a mix between Iciss Tillis and Breanna Stewart. Great perimeter skills and has a ways to go with her post game/putting on strength, but all of the tools are there for her to be a true monster for opponents. The only other 6-4/6-5 players I can think of who have had such polished perimeter skills are Stewart and Parker. The year off will only make her better, as she'll get accustom to a new offensive system, new coaching and new teammates, but she will be able to address particular areas of her own game (3 pt shooting, back to the basket post game, putting on muscle, etc.) to improve upon. A full year and a half to do this, and then she likely stays 2 years playing under Geno.

Another thing to note--she put up those great numbers while playing in a mediocre offensive system where she drew the bulk of the attention from opposing defenses. Put her in a better offensive system, with teammates draw more attention from opposing defenses and pass the ball, and it's a scary thought for non-UCONN fans.

Also--a couple of things to note. She typically has outperformed Brianna Stewart in head to head matchups, at least from ra statistical standpoint. Turner plays a smaller role at ND than Stevens did at Duke, but in watching the Duke/ND games, I usually came away more impressed with Azura. She also put together a solid game her freshman year in a blowout loss at Connecticut, but she has struggled twice going up against A'ja Wilson and South Carolina. Not sure if there's a whole lot to read into her performances against some of the better posts, but something to consider, too.

Barring injuries/transfers, Notre Dame and Connecticut will both be insanely stacked come 2017-18, and we still don't know where most of the 2017 kids are going, but both figure to be in the mix for several of the top players. Everyone else needs to hit the recruiting trail hard or work on improving their teams, because even if UCONN is down for a season, they wont be down for long.
 
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Azura is already a proven commodity.
she averaged 19 ppg - 10 Boards ( 9.5 ) & 2 Blocks in an Elite conference... with in my opinion limited coaching, slow tempo Offense & on a team this past year that was very inexperienced on the perimeter.
With Stewie now graduated... could easily make a case that Azura is the most talented, versatile player in WBB.

for me.. the "potential" with this young lady...exists in now receiving coaching from the best coach in the sport / playing in a program with high level execution.
She was & is the closest thing to Stewie, wbb has to offer.

Every single time I saw her play last season... I would express how I would loved to have seen what she could do / be if she was at UConn or Notre Dame.

Agreed too. In due time you'll be see more and more players like Stewie and Azura but as of now players like those two are fairly unique.

Give it some time you'll see more high schoolers develop skills which allow them to stretch the floor shooting, have with the ability to protect the rim, help defend, and handle and dish the ball. As of now they're a rare commodity in the game. So it's a HUGE get for Geno to get one of the few now as soon as Stewie goes to the WNBA.

Honestly it's hard to the think anyone else who comes close as to Stewie's skillset as Azura
 

triaddukefan

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This thread makes me

sad_face-600x450.jpg
 

CocoHusky

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Azura is already a proven commodity.
she averaged 19 ppg - 10 Boards ( 9.5 ) & 2 Blocks in an Elite conference... with in my opinion limited coaching, slow tempo Offense & on a team this past year that was very inexperienced on the perimeter.
With Stewie now graduated... could easily make a case that Azura is the most talented, versatile player in WBB.

for me.. the "potential" with this young lady...exists in now receiving coaching from the best coach in the sport / playing in a program with high level execution.
She was & is the closest thing to Stewie, wbb has to offer.

Every single time I saw her play last season... I would express how I would loved to have seen what she could do / be if she was at UConn or Notre Dame.
Coach good stuff as always, but I going to pretend I did not read the last three words of your post.
 

JordyG

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Coach good stuff as always, but I going to pretend I did not read the last three words of your post.
He had me "at UConn".
 
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:). But fair is fair. If not Gino, then SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED would be the best coach and team for her. I'm sure that watching UConn's players drafted 1, 2, 3 in the WNBA made it impossible to resist coming to Storrs. It's a slam-dunk for anyone in her situation...or at least should be.
 
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At 6:5 ranked 57 in one service what do you guys think?


:
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It does not matter where she is "ranked"---with Uconn fans, at this point in the season, she is our number ONE woman.
Where ever she is ranked--you must believe that with Geno and staff she will be among the best in the land in 2017/18 if not the best!!
 
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:). But fair is fair. If not Gino, then SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED would be the best coach and team for her. I'm sure that watching UConn's players drafted 1, 2, 3 in the WNBA made it impossible to resist coming to Storrs. It's a slam-dunk for anyone in her situation...or at least should be.

So will Azure remain at Connecticut for three years, playing her full two years of eligibility? Or will she get in one good year, and then bolt to the WNBA and European leagues after her redshirt junior season when she becomes eligible to play pro? She's already been named All-ACC. If she does well her first year at UConn, what will hold her back?
 
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:). But fair is fair. If not Gino, then SHE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED would be the best coach and team for her. I'm sure that watching UConn's players drafted 1, 2, 3 in the WNBA made it impossible to resist coming to Storrs. It's a slam-dunk for anyone in her situation...or at least should be.
You got me guessing, who shall not be named?
 
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So will Azure remain at Connecticut for three years, playing her full two years of eligibility? Or will she get in one good year, and then bolt to the WNBA and European leagues after her redshirt junior season when she becomes eligible to play pro? She's already been named All-ACC. If she does well her first year at UConn, what will hold her back?

you could be right. But would Geno take her just for 1 year?
 

Sluconn Husky

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So will Azure remain at Connecticut for three years, playing her full two years of eligibility? Or will she get in one good year, and then bolt to the WNBA and European leagues after her redshirt junior season when she becomes eligible to play pro? She's already been named All-ACC. If she does well her first year at UConn, what will hold her back?

Would seem odd to me to transfer, sit out a year, and then leave after just one season at a program you reportedly have always wanted to play for. She doesn't have the circumstances Tuck did when choosing to leave; 4 years with UConn, 4 titles, leaving with the friends in her class, and having a balky knee well after two major surgeries.

I could understand Tuck not coming back for a 5th year. Don't really know why Stevens would leave early.
 

CocoHusky

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So will Azure remain at Connecticut for three years, playing her full two years of eligibility? Or will she get in one good year, and then bolt to the WNBA and European leagues after her redshirt junior season when she becomes eligible to play pro? She's already been named All-ACC. If she does well her first year at UConn, what will hold her back?
I think she will stay and complete her full eligibility at UCONN. But then I would have said the same thing about Jewell Loyd at ND. Like Jewel she could be the first pick in the WNBA draft then I think she makes the best decision for her and family and I will wish her well. That will be a tough choice for a WNBA GM among Turner, Wilson & Stevens.
 

shinobimono

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I think she will stay and complete her full eligibility at UCONN. But then I would have said the same thing about Jewell Loyd at ND. Like Jewel she could be the first pick in the WNBA draft then I think she makes the best decision for her and family and I will wish her well. That will be a tough choice for a WNBA GM among Turner, Wilson & Stevens.
Perhaps that is another reason for Azurá to stay a second year. I think Jewell's declaring for the draft a year early had more to do with her future earning power as a professional player aboard. In my view, she realized that she would not be the number one pick ahead of Stewie if she stayed her last year. Coming out when she did made her the number one draft pick plus she became rookie of the year, which are undoubtedly factors that help push one's earning potential upward with prospective overseas employers. I think it was a pretty shrewd business decision on her part. In Azurá's case, it may be the opposite, where she could be a higher draft pick if she stays the second year, instead of competing with Turner and Wilson. Just a thought.
 
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I think she will stay and complete her full eligibility at UCONN. But then I would have said the same thing about Jewell Loyd at ND. Like Jewel she could be the first pick in the WNBA draft then I think she makes the best decision for her and family and I will wish her well. That will be a tough choice for a WNBA GM among Turner, Wilson & Stevens.

But of course, it's not really about the WNBA, but about the Big Bucks in Europe. If Azura is named a first team AA, then she could leave for a summer with the WNBA, then use the months she would have been playing for UConn for free to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars playing in Russia or elsewhere. She wouldn't have to be the top pick in the WNBA draft to get the bucks in Europe.

Would friendship and Geno's coaching be enough to remain an undergraduate for a fifth year? I wonder....
 

Kibitzer

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So will Azure remain at Connecticut for three years, playing her full two years of eligibility? Or will she get in one good year, and then bolt to the WNBA and European leagues after her redshirt junior season when she becomes eligible to play pro? She's already been named All-ACC. If she does well her first year at UConn, what will hold her back?

Geez, she's not even here yet and won't put on her first UConn game jersey for 18 months. Take your meds and calm down.
 
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