Jana El Alfy Enrolling Early

[TeamFirst!]

Do you think that maybe Uconn initiated this? Given the current health situation. Azzi goes down and they really don't know if she's coming back this year. They don't know if Caroline can come back this year. It may be that this was initiated by the program. It seems like it happened after the semester started. My bet is Uconn initiated it.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Not sure why my post was disliked but I was just being honest. You guys could use any player right now. Having a game postponed after not having enough players is not good. No harm intended.

Because I don’t think the plan is for her to play but just practice and be another body in the bench that could play to avoid anymore postponements.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Only boys grow after they hit about 15 years old. She will get a lot stronger though.

I'm with you and @Carnac and @cgshuskie . Just participating in practices will be huge. We don't even have enough bodies for a full 5 on 5 practice session now. Plus, just learning the system will be important. And maybe getting an academic head start so her workload is reduced in future years is important too.

I don't know the eligibility rules if she does get into a few games this season. Can she play less than some number and still have 4 years? Is this what Saylor was able to do?

Whatever else comes from this, I'm sure she'll bring a big emotional lift to the rest of the team knowing she's there, getting to know her and accept her into the fold. There are just so many positive dimensions to this development beyond just playing in a few games.

I don't know the eligibility rules if she does get into a few games this season. Can she play less than some number and still have 4 years? Is this what Saylor was able to do?

If she plays even one second this year, she burns a year of eligibility and cannot get it back. Saylor was able to play because the NCAA decided the covid year would not count towards using up eligibility.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Pretty unlikely she will grow much, if any taller. Girls tend to reach their adult height before the age of 17. Not impossible, of course, just unlikely. She can, and likely will, get stronger, quicker, more skilled and more knowledgeable by enrolling early. I was already happy with her signing but this exponentially increases the chances that she will b a major contributor from day one of her freshman season!

True. At age 17, very few girls get any taller. It would be very unusual to grow another inch at that age.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Say Jana does play this season and loses a year of eligibility, can she still play an extra year as a grad student if she’s willing to do so?

No. Barring an early-season injury that keeps her out for the year, she can play four years and that is it. It doesn't matter whether one or more of those years comes as a grad student.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Hey another healthy player is another healthy player. Even if she can't contribute much right now , she can posssibly soak up a few minutes and some experience here and there in blowouts.

Why would she (or Geno) want to burn a year of eligibility soaking up a few minutes in blowouts?

 

[DEpup]

Wait a minute. She totally should enroll early and get a jump on her English gen eds as well as get in the weight room and practice regularly with the team. In no way should anyone burn a year of her eligibility for what's left of this season by putting her on the court in a game.

 

[UcMiami]

Covid year is specific to that single year 2021 where no one knew if a full season would or could be played as we struggled through the first wave,. The idea was to encourage the student athletes to commit to playing with all the uncertainty and not lose a year of eligibility if everything went to hell. Saylor and a few other high school athletes whose seasons had been cancelled or greatly curtailed decided to enroll early since the year would not count against their 4 year eligibility. Under normal NCAA rules in basketball, playing any games during the second half of a college season makes that year count as a full season of the four, which means if Jana (or any other early enrollee) plays this spring she will only have 3 more years of eligibilty. Those are the rules.

As far as Jana is concerned ... if she amazes the coaches and quickly picks up everything and integrates with the team quickly then maybe they will talk to her and her advisors/parents about playing this year, but I think that is pretty unlikely. Not very many freshmen come to Uconn and are able to contribute significant minutes immediately, and the ones that do, have already had 2+ months of summer pick-up games plus another month of practice. While I hope that Jana will be able to contribute a lot to the team over her time here - expecting her to do so during her first three months around the team is wishful thinking.

I would love to be surprised, but I am not counting on it. If she can help the current team in practice that would be a great contribution as they are seriously short handed.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Totally surprised on this one.

I'm with others that I do not think she will play this season.

If the calendar for their school system is markedly different from the US, definitely a good move on her part to acclimate.

 

[oldhusky]

Jana learns the system and what it means to play for UCONN in real time! However, if
she does play this year (I'm guessing 'no') and she "burns' an eligibility year it might.
not make a difference in her career plans (that she means to play pro in
Europe / WNBA and for her National Team. Good luck to JANA!

I think we may be making a mistake in assuming her intentions more from a US players standpoint. Here almost everyone intends to play 4 years and hopefully graduate at that time as well. A few are old enough to declare for the draft their senior year, but not many.

Foreign players have a more immediate professional option. The best ones have a choice to turn professional in Europe or go to a US College. That choice is available to them after they commit to a US university as well. Think Anna Makurat who returned to the professional ranks rather than stay in college.

Also Jana graduated from HS early, and apparently is a good student so she may want to, and be capable of graduating early at Uconn as well. It is conceivable that she may want to complete her collegiate career and degree in 3 and a half years and move on a year earlier to a professional career in Europe.

The arguments against "burning" a full year of eligibility probably make sense if she wants to be here for 4 years. Because of academics and her foreign professional options, which are there each year, she could play for 3 and a half, start her professional career and get her degree a year earlier.

I don't know what her thought process is, I'm just saying I think her situation is different, and she could be deciding between playing 3 and a half years instead of just 3 if she arrived now but didn't play until the fall. If she wanted to graduate a year early, playing this semester could be adding a half year, not subtracting a half from how much she played for us.

Time will tell, but I wouldn't mind seeing her play this semester, because of an immediate need, and because I don't assume she necessarily would be playing 4 full years anyway. She likely will have valid professional European options well before that, and apparently has the academic ability to graduate early if she wants to.

 

[Skeets]

Only boys grow after they hit about 15 years old. She will get a lot stronger though.

I wanted to say that, but I didn't have the courage. It's correct, but not PC.

 

[HuskyNan]

Only boys grow after they hit about 15 years old. She will get a lot stronger though.

Not true. I grew an inch between mt senior year in high school and college

 

[visitingcock]

I wanted to say that, but I didn't have the courage. It's correct, but not PC.

What’s non-PC about saying girls mature (at least physically) earlier than boys?

I hated hearing it from female teachers when I was 12 years old (and the same height I am now) but my observations over the next 6 years sure backed it up

 

[Boreifs]

Edwards and Juhasz are also forwards. And despite being 6'5 so is Deberry.

Of all the players for next year Brady has the best body for banging in the paint even though she has a perimeter game. Edwards is locked into the front court and the competition for the other starting job should be very competitive. Deberry, Patterson, Brady, El Alfy.

I have my money on Aubrey. After this season, how could she be on the bench? Geno will have plenty of subs for the guards.

 

[oldude]

Stevie’s is no more of a center than Edwards. And you seem to have left off many of the championships without AA centers. That’s called cherry picking.

Also Boston isn’t going to be at South Carolina next year.

Stewie effectively matched up with and outplayed SC’s Wilson on several occasions. Not bad for someone who wasn’t a center??? As for next year, Boston will most likely be gone, if she doesn’t use her 5th year of eligibility, but Cardosa & Amihere will be back.

 

[Hist-teacher]

IMO Ice & Aaliyah are forwards. UConn can certainly get by with either of them playing center vs BE teams and many P5 programs around the country. But when the Huskies face the towering front lines of SC or Stanford, I think it’s essential that they have a true center in the lineup.

The idea of having two guards, two forwards and a post player doesn't exist anymore in today's game and hasn't for awhile. Stewie wasn't a post player but she played in the post neither was Dolson.

 

[Ralph]

Can she be put on team so we have 7 eligible players, but not play 1 second and not burn a year?

 

[HuskylnSC]

Ice = Forward

ice is a post not a forward. Her game will merge well with 'Liya

 

[connboy77]

Isn't a forward and a post the same thing?

 

[oldude]

The idea of having two guards, two forwards and a post player doesn't exist anymore in today's game and hasn't for awhile. Stewie wasn't a post player but she played in the post neither was Dolson.

I agree, but that’s not really my point. UConn needs a Big who can match up with opposing Bigs in order to win another championship. Aaliyah is an incredibly talented and physical player who can bang in the lane with anybody. But I am not comfortable with having her match up for an entire game with the likes of Boston, Brink or another true Big. Both Stewie & Steph could match up favorably with any Big in the country. I just don’t see UConn winning another championship without a true Big or two in the lineup.

 

[oldude]

ice is a post not a forward. Her game will merge well with 'Liya

In HS Ice was typically the biggest & strongest player on the court. Once healthy, we’ll see how she does in college. But at 6’3” she will play against a lot of teams with players bigger than she is and just as strong.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Isn't a forward and a post the same thing?

You know there's this trend to rename things when in reality nothing has changed at all. For example, the term 'wing'. That's a forward with just a better jump shot and maybe ball-handling skills. There's the term "positionless" basketball. Again, that just points to players having more advanced skill sets than what was traditionally associated with a position. There's "stretch" 4, 5...bigs that can hit a mid to long-range jump shot. Sure, it changes the dynamics of the offense and defensive strategies, but it's still a forward or center. If a team plays "small ball" with 5 guards, it doesn't magically make 3 of the guards...a center and 2 wings or forwards. I think it's just mixing adjectives and calling them nouns.

 

[Huskee11]

There are a lot of positives to be gleaned here.

The major one is that she will have a full 9-10 months to get acclimated, train, and learn before she plays a minute of college basketball.

I think there is virtually no chance she plays this season. It makes no sense to me that they would burn a year of her eligibility under the circumstances.

What is being overlooked here is that this will give the coaching staff a great opportunity to assess what she will likely bring for 2023-2024 and beyond. They will get a better idea of what position she plays, can she run the floor, bang inside, etc.

That will impact how they recruit at the high school level position-wise. It may also impact whether they feel the need to get a one year portal player for 2023-2024 to provide insurance and experience at the center position.

 

[oldude]

There are a lot of positives to be gleaned here.

The major one is that she will have a full 9-10 months to get acclimated, train, and learn before she plays a minute of college basketball.

I think there is virtually no chance she plays this season. It makes no sense to me that they would burn a year of her eligibility under the circumstances.

What is being overlooked here is that this will give the coaching staff a great opportunity to assess what she will likely bring for 2023-2024 and beyond. They will get a better idea of what position she plays, can she run the floor, bang inside, etc.

That will impact how they recruit at the high school level position-wise. It may also impact whether they feel the need to get a one year portal player for 2023-2024 to provide insurance and experience at the center position.

From the recent videos I have seen of the FIBA U18 tournament, there is no doubt that Jana can run the floor. She also possesses a nice shooting touch around the lane with both hands, and the ability to put the ball on the floor. Not sure about her shooting range just yet, but she clearly is an exceptionally skilled Big with a tremendous upside.

 

[Bald Husky]

Playing center is not always measured by height, sometimes it's measured with the fight.
Aneesha Morrow

Gabby Williams