Ionescu

[Zorro]

Did we make any attempt to recruit Ionescu? If not, why not? Anyone know?

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think we looked at her early on.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

It was evident early in her recruiting she was staying on west coast.

 

[Carnac]

It was evident early in her recruiting she was staying on west coast.

Agreed. From all the reports we got, UConn was never high on her wish list if at all.

 

[mrmojack]

She's a heck of a player.

 

[HGN]

Agreed. From all the reports we got, UConn was never high on her wish list if at all.

And I think Geno and UConn were just fine with that.

 

[VAMike23]

She's a gamer! That much is certain (and was obvious even at the McD game last year)

 

[Tenspro2002]

And I think Geno and UConn were just fine with that.

My impression was that she was a little me-oriented, made a big show out of her recruitment. Not necessarily the attitude we look for in this program, for good reason.

 

[Carnac]

The older I get, the more I appreciate Bill Belichick, and his philosophy: "We are only concerned about the players that are here".

 

[nwhoopfan]

Her recruitment was really drawn out and kind of bizarre. Beyond that, I haven't seen any hint of selfishness as a player from her. To characterize as "me first" I believe is inaccurate and does her a disservice. As mentioned above she was going to stay out West, whichever school she chose. That's okay isn't it? Not every good player winds up at UConn.

 

[noirwestern]

There was a side issue of playing near her brother, a twin, was going to play as a walk on. Shades of another elusive star with strong family ties.....

Miramonte’s Sabrina Ionescu chooses Oregon Ducks – The Mercury News

 

[nwhoopfan]

What's goofed up about all of that is her twin didn't even end up at UO. He's at a JC in San Francisco. I thought it was dumb she was following him, should've been the other way around. She's the one w/ the talent, he could walk on anywhere.

At the time of the McDonald's All American game, her 3 finalists were UO, Oregon St. and Cal. Then she eliminated OSU and Cal and out of nowhere added UW to the mix. But the Huskies made overtures to her HS/AAU coach to bring him in as an assistant. I think if that had happened, she would've ended up in Seattle. But it didn't, and the rest is history. Like I said, it was a bizarre recruiting saga.

 

[EricLA]

She's a terrific talent and would have been wonderful and beloved by Husky fans if she had come to Storrs. The fact that she eliminated us early on, and took a very long time to decide is not any proof or indication that she is a "me first" or "selfish" player of any kind. People who continue to perpetuate this sort of malarkey reflect negatively on UCONN fans in general, and on themselves specifically.

She had 18 points and led the team with 6 assists. She also led the team all season with 5.6 APG. Again, hardly a number attributed to a "selfish" player.

 

[jonson]

She's a terrific talent and would have been wonderful and beloved by Husky fans if she had come to Storrs. The fact that she eliminated us early on, and took a very long time to decide is not any proof or indication that she is a "me first" or "selfish" player of any kind. People who continue to perpetuate this sort of malarkey reflect negatively on UCONN fans in general, and on themselves specifically.

She had 18 points and led the team with 6 assists. She also led the team all season with 5.6 APG. Again, hardly a number attributed to a "selfish" player.

I would add that I have watched Ionescu in every game she has played this season, and she is the opposite of a selfish player. Of her four triple doubles (all of them points, assists, rebounds), only one (if I remember correctly) included more than 20 points. She is Kia Nurse tough, a very good rebounder from the guard position, and doesn't take possessions off.

Ionescu is a freshman, obviously, and makes freshman sorts of mistakes, but she has had to carry a very heavy load on a team that starts three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior, and has little, in any, upper class leadership. And she's had to deal with a broken thumb as well. Confident? You bet. But imo it's a DT kind of confidence. I think she would be great fit at UCONN.

 

[tomcat]

IIRC UConn was interested but it was clear she was staying in the West. She is a real talent.

 

[Carnac]

She's a terrific talent and would have been wonderful and beloved by Husky fans if she had come to Storrs. The fact that she eliminated us early on, and took a very long time to decide is not any proof or indication that she is a "me first" or "selfish" player of any kind. People who continue to perpetuate this sort of malarkey reflect negatively on UCONN fans in general, and on themselves specifically.

He had 18 points and led the team with 6 assists. She also led the team all season with 5.6 APG. Again, hardly a number attributed to a "selfish" player.

I just looked up a Oregon box score from Nov 27. It appears that she's been a starter from day 1. Her coach no doubt realized early on, that she had too much talent to come off the bench. She's the real deal. She's good. I don't know if UConn was ever on her radar, as many commenters have mentioned. She always preferred to stay close to home on the west coast. Remember how we gushed and got excited about Gabby's "triple-double"? Ionescu already has 3-4 this season. How much better is she going to become in the next 3 years? She'll probably become unstoppable like K. Mitchell and Plum.

 

[DaddyChoc]

She's a terrific talent and would have been wonderful and beloved by Husky fans if she had come to Storrs. The fact that she eliminated us early on, and took a very long time to decide is not any proof or indication that she is a "me first" or "selfish" player of any kind. People who continue to perpetuate this sort of malarkey reflect negatively on UCONN fans in general, and on themselves specifically.

She had 18 points and led the team with 6 assists. She also led the team all season with 5.6 APG. Again, hardly a number attributed to a "selfish" player.

yup some fans tend to throw that around when players go elsewhere

 

[Zorro]

I seem to remember a story about Ionescu that she was not invited to the Olympic trials, showed up anyway, and made the team. (u18 or whatever) I remember thinking that a kid like that would be perfect for UConn. (I could be wrong about this; have not checked up on the story and my memory is always suspect!)