I know its allowed on the board to talk about playtime for recruits. But for recruiting purposes talking about how many minutes a freshman will play which many on here feel is just a few minutes cant help the top 20 players who are looking at UConn thinking will I play or will I not play. A perfect example is Sara Hammond at Louisville who played in the NC game and how many minutes do you think she would've gotten at UConn. Bottom line she didn't come. There was another player who I cant think of right now who went to UNC. Now UConn is looking at a lot of great kids Sierra Calhoun, and A'ja Wilson being 2. If you post they're only going to get a few minutes they most likely wont come. Now you can disagree with me but I know that playtime for both is a major concern and yes their coaches and parents read this board. IMO we need to stop these threads as it can only hurt recruiting.
In all honesty, Tony, and you know I love ya, but IF a recruit or their parents REALLY take what we say on the BY with regards to potential playing time, instead of listening to Geno, CD, Marisa, Shea, their high school coaches, and other players they meet at UCONN (don't you think all our current players on the US National teams are talking to these kids), then they don't deserve to come to UCONN. And if all they care about is playing "more than a few" minutes as freshmen, then Geno won't recruit them. It's Team First at UCONN, and there is no flexibility in that mantra. Remember what Geno flat out told Shea Ralph when she asked what kind of minutes he could promise her if she came to UCONN? "If you are really, really good, then you'll have a chance to play a lot. But if you suck, you won't play at all..."
Those kind of comments and the Team First quality of UCONN's program are things that are not only well known, but widely available to anyone who searches the internet. I would almost guarantee you Shea tells that story to every recruit she talks to. It's no mystery how other coaches will try to recruit against UCONN. And "No PT" is one tactic they will use.
One thing, IMHO, that all potential incoming freshmen should be aware of - they should NEVER expect to start at UCONN their first year UNLESS we are either desperate for their position, or unless there are injuries that force Geno's hand. Neither DT, nor Maya, nor Breanna started as freshmen from day 1.
The key is that the kids who want to come here also need to want to work harder than they ever have in their lives, and push themselves further than they thought possible. We all know UCONN is not for everyone. But we also know that while playing time is always earned in practices, the multiple benefits of playing with, and learning from, the best are things that can be taken with the kids the rest of their lives.
And for the record, if many people on here think Becca Pope could see north of 10 minutes per game AVERAGE next season, I'd say there is PLENTY of playing time to be had. When we are predicting possibly more than 10 MPG for a walk on, that indicates there is a ton of PT for anyone interested. In fact, I'd go so far as to say all our discussions of PT would BENEFIT any parents or potential recruits who read the board.
