Gusters to Baylor

[soxfan23]

Can't wait to see the "sky is falling" posters change to the "we are winning the next 4 NCs" posters when we get

2020
Edwards
Cardoso
2021
Fudd
Deberry

 

[Wbbfan1]

While a few bounces going UConn's way could have enabled Geno and team to win any of the three last National Championships, but lack of a talented true Post Player and/or Power Forward hurt their chances. Rebounding against talented Bigs cost them dearly. They gave up too many second and third chance opportunities. Ono will help in the future, but UConn needed experienced Post/Power Forwards already on the roster to enhance their chances at the National Championships.

Not saying Geno/Chris aren't recruiting talented Bigs, but for whatever reason until last season with Ono's signing, UConn haven't successfully recruited a true potential All American Post/Power Forward since Morgan Tuck signing in the 2012/13 Class. Then you have to go back to Stef Dolson in the 2010/11 Class. Stef wasn't ready when she arrived but with Stef's hard work and coaching, she ended up as an All American. While not an All American, can't forget the role Kiah Stokes played on defense and rebounding.

As I've said in a prior post, Geno/Chris are able to send Post/PF's to the WNBA as 1st round picks and they're still in the league. Just wonder what other teams are using to successfully recruit against Geno/Chris when the roster shows a need for Post/Power Forwards and playing time should be available. UConn needs a Physical Talented Post Player/Power Forward going forward. Some days shots don't fall. Rebounding and Defense will win the close games against teams that have equal talent. Hope Geno gets one or two in the 2020 Class.

Small Ball will win a lot of games, but sometimes when you're going up against the Baylor's, Miss St and yes even Notre Dame who rely on small ball but have the bigs to get them rebounds and points when necessary, you need some size to get Rebounds and play Defense. UConn hasn't had the Physical Player to match up in the last three years.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Your list is deceiving. You don’t include ONO, but you do mention her. So UConn got 1 “yes” in 3 years. No other team got more than 2. So it’s not as if any one team is monopolizing bigs. It’s only when you pit UConn against the rest of WCBB that it looks like we are the only school getting “no’s.” Honestly, how many “bigs” is UConn supposed to get? 1 or 2 a year?

I seem to recall seeing two top bigs starting for Baylor, the national champs.

Anyone who's paying attention has to question why Connecticut appears to have such a difficult time attracting top post players over a period of years. We wanted A'ja Wilson; she went to South Carolina. We wanted Brianna Turner; she went to Notre Dame. Wanted Lauren Cox; she went to Baylor. Wanted Charli Collier; she went to Texas.

It's a lot of whiffs over a period of years. And let's keep in mind Coach Geno's admission that we missed on two years of recruiting, which put us in a "bind" (was that the word he used?). ONO is doing well, but I wouldn't think that everyone here agrees that she's one of the top post players in the nation, at least not yet.

Just wondering why those bigs aren't all lining up to sign their letters for UConn.....

 

[Vowelguy]

It's a lot of whiffs over a period of years.

You mean: over 30 years.

I may be forgetting someone, but I believe UConn has gotten 4 elite HS posts -- Lobo, Sauer, Charles, ONO.

This is nothing new, and yet the results have been fairly decent over that time period.

 

[DeeHusky]

So this year,

Nataija Marshall (6'6")- Notre Dame
Cameron Brink (6'4")- Stanford
Hannah Gusters (6'4") Baylor
Angela Dugalic (6'4") Oregon

Last year:
Aliyah Boston (6'4") South Carolina
Ashten Prechtel (6'5") Stanford
Maori Davenport (6'4") Rutgers
Laeticia Amihere (6'3") South Carolina
Kennedy Brown (6'6") Oregon State
River Baldwin (6'5") Florida State

The year before that:

Charli Collier (6'5") Texas
Shakira Austin (6'5") Maryland
Sedona Prince (6'7") Baylor
Andrea Aquino (6'9") Oregon State
Olivia Owens (6'4") Maryland

So we got ONO. But that is a whole heckuva lot of talented bigs who couldn't be bothered to attend the premier WCBB program in the country. WOW!

That's a lot of "No's". And a whole lot of "yes's" to our biggest competitors.

Perhaps Coach Geno needs to boost his assistant coaching staff who have big responsibility for recruiting. Perhaps the loss of Marisa Moseley is hurting more than was expected. Whatever the cause, that is a huge number of top post players who have said no to UConn, and continue to say no to UConn.

We can continue to view everything through rose-colored glasses, but someone who is being realistic has to admit that we have a problem recruiting posts. Yes, we got Tina Charles and Rebecca Lobo. But that was years ago. And look at the bigs on the bench right now of Oregon State, Oregon, Baylor, Maryland, and others. Yet we're going into the new season with one player who can possibly be considered front court.

Something's not working here. A stable full of guards will not get us to a national championship, no matter how the people here want to deny reality.

All have gone else where and UConn still will get to at least the final four without them and some may never get to experience the final four festivities!

 

[JoePgh]

You mean: over 30 years.

I may be forgetting someone, but I believe UConn has gotten 4 elite HS posts -- Lobo, Sauer, Charles, ONO.

This is nothing new, and yet the results have been fairly decent over that time period.

Dolson? Stewart? Stokes? Or for that matter, Asjah Jones / T. Williams / Cash?

 

[Vowelguy]

Dolson? Stewart? Stokes? Or for that matter, Asjah Jones / T. Williams / Cash?

Dolson & Stokes weren't top 10 IIRC. Stewart/AJ/TW/SC were not posts.

 

[HuskyNan]

How long before that one dude shows back up here with one of his epic panic attacks?

Never

 

[HuskyNan]

Dolson? Stewart? Stokes? Or for that matter, Asjah Jones / T. Williams / Cash?

Stef wasn’t considered elite coming out of high school. Neither were Schuie or Jess Moore. Don’t remember what Kiah was ranked. Stewie wasn’t considered a post player

 

[JoePgh]

Stef wasn’t considered elite coming out of high school. Neither were Schuie or Jess Moore. Don’t remember what Kiah was ranked. Stewie wasn’t considered a post player

Isn't the relevant question what UConn's success rate is in recruiting players who can be effective posts in college, as opposed to its success in recruiting top-rated high school post players? And doesn't the category of effective college post players include players like Stewie and Asjah Jones, regardless of the position assigned to them by rating services?

 

[Go/huskies]

Of course big recruits might look at ONO and say she has post for next three years and turn their attention elsewhere.

I agree with this, I personally think this played a part with Boston picking South Carolina. When UConn brought Tina Charles in, it was a while before another big signed with UConn, Nneka Ogwumike and Bone, picked other places coming out of high school, probably knowing there was a chance they would be playing behind Charles for a few years, Stokes is the only player I can think of who was a center that signed with UConn after they signed a elite big the year before, but at the time Dolson wasn’t who she would turn out to be and Stokes couldn’t have known she would be playing behind Dolson for 3 years. Why would Hannah sit behind Liv the next 2 years when she will be stepping in at Baylor right when Cox leaves and shouldn’t have much trouble beating Queen out for a starting position.

 

[meyers7]

Dolson & Stokes weren't top 10 IIRC. Stewart/AJ/TW/SC were not posts.

Stef wasn’t considered elite coming out of high school. Neither were Schuie or Jess Moore. Don’t remember what Kiah was ranked. Stewie wasn’t considered a post player

Dolson wasn't top 10 overall. But she was one of the top 1-2 posts that year. Weren't very many. Also she was a McD AA.

 

[EricLA]

Dolson wasn't top 10 overall. But she was one of the top 1-2 posts that year. Weren't very many. Also she was a McD AA.

Yep you got it. Stef's highest ranking was from ASGR - #12. She was in the mid 20's per Blue Star and Peach State (became PN), and 39 per HG...

Kiah Stokes was 42 (HG), 14 (BS), 6 (PS/PN) and 9 (ASGR)

 

[TheFarmFan]

Just a third-party perspective here, but it seems like every time another elite program lands a recruit that hypothetically would have been helpful to UConn, a lot of posters use it as a referendum on the state of the program, which somehow manages to come off as both hubristic and insecure all at once. Hubristic because hey, UConn doesn't get to have all the top recruits folks - there are legit reasons to pick other schools. And insecure, because some people immediately claim that recruit was "overrated all along," while others act as if somehow the one recruiting miss shows that suddenly Geno's "past his prime," "doesn't know how to recruit anymore," or is "stubborn and won't adjust to the needs of today's players."

IMHO, it's not a good look for Huskies fans and not a great look for the program if its fans are so bothered by every time a top recruit goes elsewhere. Good fans stay confident in their team through thick and thin and don't care who other teams get. And that should be UConn fans, because no matter what recruit they get that you don't get, you have is Geno. And they don't.

UConn will be a top program as long as Geno is coach. UConn will miss on many top recruits. There are tons of other great programs worthy of top recruits, so that is rational, natural, and good for the sport. But UConn will get many others. It has always been thus, and always will be. Every program has peaks and troughs. No other program's peaks are 4 straight national championships. Ever. Some people on this board could really use a little perspective.

 

[sivad40]

I have noticed both Notre Dame and UConn have had issues over the years signing multiple posts over the years, while other schools like Baylor, South Carolina, Oregon St, Texas, etc can sign multiple posts in the same recruiting class (Yes, some of them end up transferring) or go there regardless of and elite posts being one class ahead of them (Cox still went to Baylor despite Brown and Mompremier being there). I think one of the issues is that the systems that ND and UConn run isn't going to have bigs clogging the lanes.

 

[HuskyNan]

Isn't the relevant question what UConn's success rate is in recruiting players who can be effective posts in college, as opposed to its success in recruiting top-rated high school post players? And doesn't the category of effective college post players include players like Stewie and Asjah Jones, regardless of the position assigned to them by rating services?

In this case, @vowelguy had specified “elite posts”

 

[soxfan23]

I have noticed both Notre Dame and UConn have had issues over the years signing multiple posts over the years, while other schools like Baylor, South Carolina, Oregon St, Texas, etc can sign multiple posts in the same recruiting class (Yes, some of them end up transferring) or go there regardless of and elite posts being one class ahead of them (Cox still went to Baylor despite Brown and Mompremier being there). I think one of the issues is that the systems that ND and UConn run isn't going to have bigs clogging the lanes.

What does that tell you? Bigs want to go to schools like Baylor, SC, Oregon St., etc where the offense is built around them, so they can put up big numbers. Those teams run offenses heavy with set plays designed for the Post. That is not going to happen in UConn's motion offense or ND's triangle offense. It is really tough to be a Post and play for Coach Auriemma. You have to be able to rebound, run the floor well, play solid smart defense, set strong screens, move without the ball, and have both a solid back to the basket game and face up game.

 

[DaBball]

I have noticed both Notre Dame and UConn have had issues over the years signing multiple posts over the years, while other schools like Baylor, South Carolina, Oregon St, Texas, etc can sign multiple posts in the same recruiting class (Yes, some of them end up transferring) or go there regardless of and elite posts being one class ahead of them (Cox still went to Baylor despite Brown and Mompremier being there). I think one of the issues is that the systems that ND and UConn run isn't going to have bigs clogging the lanes.

Bigs going to Baylor and Texas often has a lot to do with staying home and playing for good programs, and, in Baylor’s case, an elite coach. Obviously it happens, but a lot of the top Texas bigs stay in Texas (Egbo, Prince, Collier, Smith, Cox, Gusters). If Geno went after a bigs who weren’t in such high demand, I think we would see more huskies over 6’4”.

 

[cferraro04]

Kara Wolters - 6'7"
Azura Stevens - 66"
Stefanie Dolson - 6"5"
Kelly Schumacher - 6'5"
Rebecca Lobo - 6'4"
Tina Charles - 6'4"
Liz Sherwood - 6'4"
Breanna Stewart - 6'4"
Jessica Moore - 6'3"
Kia Stokes - 6'3"
Ann Strother - 6'3"
Katie Lou Samuelson - 6'3"

 

[Go/huskies]

Kara Wolters - 6'7"
Azura Stevens - 66"
Stefanie Dolson - 6"5"
Kelly Schumacher - 6'5"
Rebecca Lobo - 6'4"
Tina Charles - 6'4"
Liz Sherwood - 6'4"
Breanna Stewart - 6'4"
Jessica Moore - 6'3"
Kia Stokes - 6'3"
Ann Strother - 6'3"
Katie Lou Samuelson - 6'3"

Gabby Williams 5’11”

 

[Charliebball]

I don't recall UConn being in on Brown, Davenport, Prechtel, or Dugalic.

Collier did choose UConn then went home to be with her family. Can't get too upset about that one.

UConn watched Aquino and Owens but I'm not sure how much interest there was in them.

I kind of like Davenport's game but I don't think she got much of a look from UConn.............

 

[Charliebball]

Would be interesting to see that vs. Rueck’s 6’9, 6’9, 6’7, 6’6, and 6’3 lineup.

looks like there's an NCAA championship for combined team height.....................that's one award UConn isn't winning this year............

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Somebody call me when we have run this thread up to 238 posts like it's inane predecessor.

 

[PJCLaw]

So this year,

Nataija Marshall (6'6")- Notre Dame
Cameron Brink (6'4")- Stanford
Hannah Gusters (6'4") Baylor
Angela Dugalic (6'4") Oregon

Last year:
Aliyah Boston (6'4") South Carolina
Ashten Prechtel (6'5") Stanford
Maori Davenport (6'4") Rutgers
Laeticia Amihere (6'3") South Carolina
Kennedy Brown (6'6") Oregon State
River Baldwin (6'5") Florida State

The year before that:

Charli Collier (6'5") Texas
Shakira Austin (6'5") Maryland
Sedona Prince (6'7") Baylor
Andrea Aquino (6'9") Oregon State
Olivia Owens (6'4") Maryland

So we got ONO. But that is a whole heckuva lot of talented bigs who couldn't be bothered to attend the premier WCBB program in the country. WOW!

That's a lot of "No's". And a whole lot of "yes's" to our biggest competitors.

Perhaps Coach Geno needs to boost his assistant coaching staff who have big responsibility for recruiting. Perhaps the loss of Marisa Moseley is hurting more than was expected. Whatever the cause, that is a huge number of top post players who have said no to UConn, and continue to say no to UConn.

We can continue to view everything through rose-colored glasses, but someone who is being realistic has to admit that we have a problem recruiting posts. Yes, we got Tina Charles and Rebecca Lobo. But that was years ago. And look at the bigs on the bench right now of Oregon State, Oregon, Baylor, Maryland, and others. Yet we're going into the new season with one player who can possibly be considered front court.

Something's not working here. A stable full of guards will not get us to a national championship, no matter how the people here want to deny reality.

Why are you are so negative. Relax!! UConn is not Walmart, it does not profess to offer everything to everyone! Besides, you have NO evidence that Geno even offered to most of the bigs you highlighted. Just like Geno doesn't offer to every guard or wing either. If we had a surplus of bigs, you'd probably find something else to complain about. We UConn fans are so spoiled that we can't see the embarrassment of riches we've had for almost THREE decades. Remember, we WON a NC with a front line of 6"2", 6'2", and 6'2" ('02) and two more with essentially ONE dominant big ('09 and '10), and then two without even an AA big ('03 and '04)....What we have NEVER done is win a NC without strong guard play!! Not a single one of the 11 NC have been won without multiple AA guards (starting and/or on the bench) or ONE transcendent guard (DT). If ONO develops as I am confident she will, the pieces around her will probably be enough.

 

[soxfan23]

So this year,

Nataija Marshall (6'6")- Notre Dame
Cameron Brink (6'4")- Stanford
Hannah Gusters (6'4") Baylor
Angela Dugalic (6'4") Oregon

Last year:
Aliyah Boston (6'4") South Carolina
Ashten Prechtel (6'5") Stanford
Maori Davenport (6'4") Rutgers
Laeticia Amihere (6'3") South Carolina
Kennedy Brown (6'6") Oregon State
River Baldwin (6'5") Florida State

The year before that:

Charli Collier (6'5") Texas
Shakira Austin (6'5") Maryland
Sedona Prince (6'7") Baylor
Andrea Aquino (6'9") Oregon State
Olivia Owens (6'4") Maryland

So we got ONO. But that is a whole heckuva lot of talented bigs who couldn't be bothered to attend the premier WCBB program in the country. WOW!

That's a lot of "No's". And a whole lot of "yes's" to our biggest competitors.

Perhaps Coach Geno needs to boost his assistant coaching staff who have big responsibility for recruiting. Perhaps the loss of Marisa Moseley is hurting more than was expected. Whatever the cause, that is a huge number of top post players who have said no to UConn, and continue to say no to UConn.

We can continue to view everything through rose-colored glasses, but someone who is being realistic has to admit that we have a problem recruiting posts. Yes, we got Tina Charles and Rebecca Lobo. But that was years ago. And look at the bigs on the bench right now of Oregon State, Oregon, Baylor, Maryland, and others. Yet we're going into the new season with one player who can possibly be considered front court.

Something's not working here. A stable full of guards will not get us to a national championship, no matter how the people here want to deny reality.

You realize that about half that list is not good enough to play at UConn right?