How might DT and Maya have turned out ??

[Huskies Rule]

After listening to the perpetually whining Frese speak of the top HS recruits and the different collegiate paths they choose...

... I have always wondered how two of the greatest players ever, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore, how would they have turned out if they went to a Maryland or a Duke and never had the opportunity to be coached by Geno and CD, but instead they spent 4 years under the tutelage of a Frese or McCallie? As freshmen, they were raw but supremely talented, so just how critical and impactful were their college coaches' input? Would they have developed into the superstars they are regardless, with or without GA and CD? Were they so incredibly gifted that their stardom was going to happen no matter?

Is it conceivable that under different coaches, in different programs, Diana and Maya might have become nothing more than really good players? Or was their greatness pretty much written in their DNA. [Kind of like the Nature versus Nurture debate on human development.]

 

[Hongster]

You'd never know.

 

[j66kicker]

DNA

 

[ctmom04]

As good as Candace Parker is, there is something there that is lacking-besides a WNBA title. Is it that grit and constant intensity that UConn demands of it's players. She should be right up there in conversation with Diana and Maya in terms of talent and championships but she's not. Why? I often wonder if she was coached collegiately by Geno if she would be part of the conversation. I think it is more than just DNA.

 

[Bestiarius]

Certainly both would be superior players regardless of where they played. But would they be great? I doubt it.

Recruits know what they need and want when they select a school. Selecting a Duke or Maryland indicates the lack of a certain something that is part of being great. Perhaps it’s the need to be the only star on the team, or that factors other than basketball are more important, or winning is not a primary goal, or the feeling that I’m good enough might prevail.

It is not my intent to be critical of those programs as every player is duty bound to themselves to select the program that best meets their goals. It’s just that if a player selects UConn, they understand that they have joined the basketball equivalent of the Navy SEALs. They want to be the best they can be. No other schools come close in providing that result.

 

[Oldbones]

I'm thinking the best history teachers at the University of Wisconsin

 

[pvdoggy]

There have been great players coming from school not named UConn, and there will always be.
In the history of the WNBA, UConn-ex have only won 3 out of 18 MVP.

 

[Henry]

They probably would have started as Freshman since most coaches sell their souls to get such players. Without earning the startin job, most likely they would have felt entitled and may not have learned some of the life lessons CD and Geno teaches. They would have still been great players just as Angel McCoughtry has been.

 

[JellyBean]

Who knows. There are so many factors at play: coaching, style of play, teammates, and their own motivation for playing.

 

[chrissaran]

How many championships have UConn players won in the WNBA is the question, not how many MVPs? After all, it's a team sport, which is about winning championships.
Sue has 2, Diana has 2, Maya has 2, Swin has won 3 and who knows how many other players have won. That's 9 championships among 4 players. Not bad.

 

[Henry]

How many championships have UConn players won in the WNBA is the question, not how many MVPs? After all, it's a team sport, which is about winning championships.
Sue has 2, Diana has 2, Maya has 2, Swin has won 3 and who knows how many other players have won. That's 9 championships among 4 players. Not bad.

It's not just the number of championships. It's the championships with former UCONN players as the key player on their team.

 

[choochoo]

I think you can add shuie and rizottie and I think Walters to that list.

 

[CocoHusky]

I am glad that Maya Stewie & DT came to UCONN because that is my favorite team. Much like CP I think these players were going to be great no matter where they went. I also don't think it is in these players that you readily see the distinction of the UCONN program. Charles Jefferson Faris Greene ....are better examples of players that had their potential maxamized by UCONN perhaps better than any other program could have.

 

[CocoHusky]

As good as Candace Parker is, there is something there that is lacking-besides a WNBA title. Is it that grit and constant intensity that UConn demands of it's players. She should be right up there in conversation with Diana and Maya in terms of talent and championships but she's not. Why? I often wonder if she was coached collegiately by Geno if she would be part of the conversation. I think it is more than just DNA.

Big CP fan here- not sure I agree that she is lacking anything. She is probably one of the 5 best players in the world. CP not having a WNBA championship is a function of many factors it is a team sport after all.

 

[iri10]

Certainly both would be superior players regardless of where they played. But would they be great? I doubt it.

I disagree. I think that those with the potential to be great players will go on to be great regardless of where they attended college. Maya and DT certainly fall into that category, IMO. Cream rises to the top. To make an academic analogy: a driven, superior thinker is still a superior thinker even if they attend college in an unheralded state school, vs. some world-class prestigious place.

Would they have the exact same skill set that they got from UConn? Well, no. Certain skills or aspects of their mentality might be missing. Instead, they might have specialized in other attributes beyond what they did at UConn. Who can rightly say?

UConn is especially advantageous for those with a talent level a notch or two below "all-time great," but with an iron will to improve. UConn gives them a great opportunity to improve, and then get noticed by the pros and get to prove themselves there.

 

[VAMike23]

Big CP fan here- not sure I agree that she is lacking anything. She is probably one of the 5 best players in the world. CP not having a WNBA championship is a function of many factors it is a team sport after all.

I agree she is on the starting 5 of the best players, but I have read a number of times over the years, and not on the BY, that CP3 has not historically been noted to have the same kind of motor as a Maya Moore or a Tamika Catchings. I think Dee's crazy intensity is similar to these two and she got to the same level (motor-wise) as she progressed but that she was not at their level of dedication early on.

If CP3 had the same motor as Catch I believe she would have at least one ring because that kind of drive is contagious and would, IMO, have raised the level of those around her by a slight but meaningful degree. Catch had to wait a long time but she is not quite at CP3's talent level. Of course, very few players in WBB are.

I would also note that "motor" as I'm thinking of it is not equivalent to in-game competitiveness. It is a simpler but broader term. It doesn't shut off when the lights do.

 

[CocoHusky]

I agree she is on the starting 5 of the best players, but I have read a number of times over the years, and not on the BY, that CP3 has not historically been noted to have the same kind of motor as a Maya Moore or a Tamika Catchings. I think Dee's crazy intensity is similar to these two and she got to the same level (motor-wise) as she progressed but that she was not at their level of dedication early on.

If CP3 had the same motor as Catch I believe she would have at least one ring because that kind of drive is contagious and would, IMO, have raised the level of those around her by a slight but meaningful degree. Catch had to wait a long time but she is not quite at CP3's talent level. Of course, very few players in WBB are.

I would also note that "motor" as I'm thinking of it is not equivalent to in-game competitiveness. It is a simpler but broader term. It doesn't shut off when the lights do.

IMO it is unfair criticize someone for not having a "motor" like Maya or Catch. Isn't Maya's motor what makes MAYA magnificent. On all access this year the UCONN coaches were lamenting not having someone to drive the tempo of practice " the way Maya used to". Curious with MoJeff and Stewie on the team. My point is everyone is going to come up short if Maya is the standard.

 

[NoelAustin]

One thing that made Maya so special is that she excelled so quickly as a freshman. As much as any player in WCBB history, Maya could have skipped college altogether and immediately started in the WNBA. It is hard for me to believe that she would be noticeably less capable today had she not attended UConn.

 

[baggerbob]

I disagree. I think that those with the potential to be great players will go on to be great regardless of where they attended college. Maya and DT certainly fall into that category, IMO. Cream rises to the top. To make an academic analogy: a driven, superior thinker is still a superior thinker even if they attend college in an unheralded state school, vs. some world-class prestigious place.

Would they have the exact same skill set that they got from UConn? Well, no. Certain skills or aspects of their mentality might be missing. Instead, they might have specialized in other attributes beyond what they did at UConn. Who can rightly say?

UConn is especially advantageous for those with a talent level a notch or two below "all-time great," but with an iron will to improve. UConn gives them a great opportunity to improve, and then get noticed by the pros and get to prove themselves there.

Brittany is a great player, so is EDD, might Geno have made them better, maybe, but they still are great players.