I could write a novel length response to this piece, but I won't. It has so many "truths" in it. Every year, there's always a few Husky fans that criticize the play of freshmen when (in their opinion) they don't come in and produce right away, and live up to their billing or "hype" in high school. They did it to Jefferson, Gabby, Crystal, Megan last year, and now ONO.
I remember Gabby saying at the beginning of her sophomore year (I'm paraphrasing) now I'm ready. I know what I'm doing now. She said she did not play in the Stanford loss because "I was not ready". She knew it, and Geno knew it.
In time, she learned. Crystal showed flashes of brilliance her freshman year, but could not sustain it. Like Jefferson before her, she was always worried about making a mistake, and possibly getting pulled. It took both of them a full season (as Geno says
every year about freshmen needing the whole year to figure things out) to get it.
She'd play well one game, and not the next. During the second or third week of practice, I remember Crystal saying to a reporter that
nothing she did or experienced in high school or AAU, prepared her for what she was going through now. She was not smiling when she said it. She was completely overwhelmed with Geno's practices, demands and expectations. Crystal's upperclassmen teammates tried to help her as best they could. They all told her the same thing, just try to get through it. She did. Look at her now.
“Freshman year was a challenge,” Walker said.
“I had to respond. I didn't want to be the same coming back. I feel like it’s a learning experience. Toward the end of last year, I started to figure it out and key in on what I needed to do. It’s an everyday grind in college basketball, UConn basketball, I should say. It’s at another level. I was a little shocked.”
Megan went from being the best and most experienced player on the court in high school, to being the youngest and most inexperienced player on the team at UConn. Everyone was more experienced than her, and many players were as good or better than she was. Not only that, ALL of the cachet she had earned in high school, meant nothing at UConn. That's a very humbling experience for a player to realize. and endure. There are so many adjustments to make at this level.
"Megan Walker is one of the most physically gifted basketball players I've ever seen," Monacan coach Larry Starr said.
"Once she started being ranked so high, she did not get complacent but continued to work hard to maintain that ranking. It's important to Megan to show people she isn't satisfied where she is, but she always strives for improvement." Geno has said repeatedly that he will never allow a recruit to cheat their potential if they come to UConn.
The demands of a college freshman are challenging to say the least, whether you're an athlete or not. The heightened demands of academics as well as the demands of athletics, coupled with being away from home for the first time, can be a bit of a culture shock to anyone. To say that she was "a little shocked" was an understatement.
Ahhh, but look at her now. The opener is a small sample of what lies ahead. Auriemma has said for months that Walker was having a terrific off season, that she had done a 180 and was virtually unrecognizable.
Last year Walker had a roller coaster freshman season. She was in a new system, the demands and expectations of which were very high. It was difficult for her to process everything she was given all at once, and could not make it work, so she struggled. Walker survived, finding value in her struggles and emerged a better player from a 2017-18 pressure cooker during which
Auriemma yanked her in and out the lineup and was never shy about critiquing her progress, or lack thereof.
“I knew it would be hard,” said Walker, a sophomore who averaged 5.8 points last season.
“I knew it would be tough. I just took a bigger blow than anybody else. We stuck it out. I’m not going anywhere.” Now it's ONO's turn. She's under the microscope. After two games, fans are already criticizing her play. "She looked lost out there" one fan said. That's probably because was was.
There are some things you learn and perfect in practice, some you learn and perfect in games. Playing at UConn isn't for the meek or mild. Auriemma has no filter, and he’s transparent. Freshmen never have to wonder what he thinks. That is as healthy as it is difficult. Walker called it a fair process, and
she never considered leaving. 
Some players get it right away. Not all are Diana or Maya. Eventually, Williams and ONO will get it. Maybe Walker has gotten it. Maybe her approach and understanding are now aligning with her potential. Auriemma has told Walker to model her approach after that of Collier.
“With Megan’s talent, if she gets a motor like Pheesa and goes, she could be incredible,” Auriemma said.
“How do you really describe Walker? Is she a big guard or a small version of a forward? But she has a lot of skill. She obviously has to really add a lot for our team to be what we want it to be, and Sunday was a really good start.”
I can't predict when the light will go on for ONO, no one can. We all hope it's sooner rather than later. Ready or not, she's going to be needed come March. O.J.T. may be what the doctor ordered. Baptismal under fire. The fastest way to learn a thing. This team can't afford to give her a year to "get it". They need her to be functional by the end of February. Remember, EVERY post player she will be matched up with in March will be an
experienced upperclassman. She's going to have her hands full no matter who they play.
No analyzing or critiquing ONO here. I remain ecstatic that she chose to come to UConn. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy watching her play and develop as the season progresses, and hope that she's ready to meet the challenges that will come when the tournament begins.
I understand and realize that I may be in the minority here, but I'm following Geno's lead in that my expectations of freshmen (which mirror his) learning his system quickly are minimal at best.
I do expect ONO to be exactly where Walker is now, this time next year, if not sooner.
I could not tell watching the live stream of the Vanguard game because of the poor quality, but it was easily recognizable during the CBS-HD broadcast how much bigger Megan has gotten during the off season. I looked at an early game from last year to compare the difference. Working out with Napheesa during the spring and summer has really paid off for Walker in several ways. Walker has always appeared to me to be a no nonsense young lady (like Sabrina Ionescu & Morgan Tuck) who is serious about her growth and development.
No doubt (during their summer workouts) that Collier shared her experiences of her sophomore season, mentoring Megan about how she should approach the upcoming season, and the things Geno and staff will be expecting from her.
At the end of this month, UConn will have 8 games behind them. We'll have a much larger sample size to draw from when making our assessments and critiques. I am so happy to have UConn women's basketball back. That was a
l-o-n-g summer. The gray clouds have passed, the skies are clear, it's warming up, and the birds are singing. Life is good!
