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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 3162541, member: 2117"] I dont think Geno was expecting to go smaller the past 3 years....players leaving really hurt them. In 2017 he likely expected Butler to develop into a better player by that point but she just didnt. She was expected to be on the 2018 team as well but transferred again. In 2018 he did have an excellent F/C in Stevens but she didnt break the starting lineup and appeared to not enjoy playing inside. In the semifinals, Stevens dominated inside in Q2 and turned the game around for UCONN but inexplicably sat almost the entire the 3rd and ND got back into the game. She was expected to return as a dominant frontcourt player in 2019 but bolted for the pros leaving UCONN without any proven height inside. Collier also decommitted after the hurricane and would've contributed last year. This last recruiting cycle he struck out on both Boston and Jones, plus there doesnt appear to be any extremely high profile bigs on the transfer/grad transfer market. Seems more like a string of bad luck than anything else. UCONN absolutely dominated inside from 2013-2016 with Dolson, Stokes and Stewart. Fortunately for Geno, he seems to be landing every top guard and has by far the most stacked backcourt in the country the next 2-3 seasons. If Westbrook is eligible this year, the starting 5 will have two #1 recruits, a #2 recruit, a #3 recruit and a #5 recruit who was ranked #1 until an injury. The following year you swap out the #3 recruit with the incoming #1 recruit. I don't think any team has ever assembled a roster with that many top kids in a starting 5. Anyone who thinks Geno is struggling as a recruiter needs their eyes checked. I also fully expect ONO to be a much better player next year with year under her belt. UCONN players almost always follow a pattern of taking a year or so to adjust before blossoming as sophomores. We saw it with Walker, Dangerfield, Stewart, Jefferson, KLS, Collier, Bird, Taurasi, Montgomery, etc. Zero reason to believe it doesnt happen again with ONO, especially with the strong finish down the stretch. [/QUOTE]

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