January UConn Recruiting Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

January UConn Recruiting Thread

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Blue Star Elite Invitational:


Azzi Fudd – 2021 – 5-11 – Guard – St. John’s College – She’s back!!…Long awaited return from knee…Stroke and form still smooth and fluid…Some shots came up short as legs get their lift back…Comfort came later in game with more attacking off the dribble…Fourth quarter made key shots including winning free throws…Her best??…Of course not…yet!!…Smart approach by those around her


Mir McLean – 2020 – 5-10 – Forward – Roland Park –
Showing more and more diversity…Working efficiently away from the rim as well as down low…Seeing the floor and sharing the ball effectively…Aggressive interior play is still her calling card…Vertical sets her apart from the crowd…Going up with confidence and authority…Possibilities on defense are endless…Dominant force on the glass


KiKi Rice – 2022 – 6-0 – Point Guard – Sidwell Friends –
Adding highlights to already impressive resume…Scoring effectively and in multiple ways…Confidence is there from deep as well as on the pull up…Gets to the rim in transition…Forcing defenders to make early decisions…Keeps both on ball and weakside defenders honest with range…Elite advancements



 
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This should be the year we find out where Fudd is going. Feels like we've been tracking this recruit forever. Hopefully UCONN + her good friend Paige is enough of a draw to lure her to Storrs.

She’s #1 on my want list. There are others, but she heads the list.
 
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1/7

Kayla McPherson : 32 points

Shay Bollin: 28 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals
 
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Is she a lean anywhere in particular?
Yes. A bit in the arms. If however she comes to UConn she'll have a lien on my heart.
 
PBR's Jason Key and Shane Laflin review the first couple month of high school basketball based on live viewings.

Among their stars from three classes are UConn POI:

Olivia Miles, Rori Harmon, Kiki Iriafen, Carleigh Wenzel, Ashlon Jackson, Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Janiah Barker, Timea Gardiner, and Judea Watkins.

Plus recruit Isuneh Brady.

They also say Rice has improved her jumper.


 
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Ashlon Jackson scored 15 points Tuesday (1/7).


About 2 minutes of Jackson talk with some highlights in the video below:


 
Confirmed 2021 recruits considering UConn as listed on ESPN:

Saniya Rivers
Payton Verhulst
Talia Von Oelhoffen
Teonni Key

I'm sure there are several others (ie. Fudd) who haven't listed their considerations as of today.
 
Confirmed 2021 recruits considering UConn as listed on ESPN:
Saniya Rivers
Payton Verhulst
Talia Von Oelhoffen
Teonni Key
I'm sure there are several others (ie. Fudd) who haven't listed their considerations as of today.
Can we talk for a minute about this:
Amari and Saylor are committed. Some including @Alydar are of the opinion that UCONN should avoid a big class (4-5) on top of a big class -5 in 2020. Fudd is hopefully UCONN bound which would be a class of 3. At most you are looking at 1 or 2 more players. What position(s)?
Here are some others that may still be in consideration for UCONN based on social media following and what not.
1) Aaliyah Moore F/PF
2) Okikiola Iriafen F
3) Rayah Marshall SF/SG/F-Reportedly has a UCONN offer and my personal favorite.
4) Sonia Citron SG
5) Jersey Wolfenbarger SG/PG
6) Jillian Hollingshead F/PF
7) Caroline Ducharme SG-Visited UCONN with Fudd & DeBerry :eek:

Here what I've been thinking:
-I love Rayah but Saylor is the same type player and Saylor signed up first.
-I love Payton but with Azzi, Paige, & Nika , Payton might become an very expensive luxury at UCONN
-I love Rivers for UCONN because of her defensive versatility with Saniya, Mir, and Aubrey on the perimeter UCONN's would have to borrow a slogan from Public Enemy- "Welcome to the Terror Dome"
-Any one of Citron, Von Oelhoffen, Wolfenbarger, or Ducharme would be a great piece on the roster as a dedicated markswoman. But.... I'm not sure how many of those shots are going to be available. Paige can stroke it, Nika can stroke it, Saylor can stroke it, when Fudd hits the rim on one of her deep balls that makes national news.
-Any one of Moore, Iriafen, Key, or Hollingshead would have work as a complementary piece to Edwards at SF/PF position but all might have become non-essential with the commitment of Brady.

What's going to happen? In the spirit of @Carnac :
UCONN will close out the 2021 recruiting class as soon as Fudd commits.
UCONN 2021 class might include Von Oelhoffen.
If (God forbid) Azzi goes elsewhere Payton & Saniya will be needed to fill the void.
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Coco,

There are too many variables that must be considered before three becomes the optimal number for 2021.

Wonder if:

--Megan turns pro.
--the coaches sense that Makurat doesn't stay four years.
--Evina decides she would rather get paid than risk hurting her knee again.
--Nika's shooting has not progressed.

I know I am being "cup half empty" guy but I do think Megan's class and losing Jones and Boston has altered recruiting strategy.

I would take one more in addition to Fudd. The only person from that list that I am not a fan of is Ducharme.
I would prefer Moore and Verhulst. I think get the kids here and let playing time sort itself out.
 
Can we talk for a minute about this:
Amari and Saylor are committed. Some including @Alydar are of the opinion that UCONN should avoid a big class (4-5) on top of a big class -5 in 2020. Fudd is hopefully UCONN bound which would be a class of 3. At most you are looking at 1 or 2 more players. What position(s)?
Here are some others that may still be in consideration for UCONN based on social media following and what not.
1) Aaliyah Moore F/PF
2) Okikiola Iriafen F
3) Rayah Marshall SF/SG/F-Reportedly has a UCONN offer and my personal favorite.
4) Sonia Citron SG
5) Jersey Wolfenbarger SG/PG
6) Jillian Hollingshead F/PF
7) Caroline Ducharme SG-Visited UCONN with Fudd & DeBerry :eek:

Here what I've been thinking:
-I love Rayah but Saylor is the same type player and Saylor signed up first.
-I love Payton but with Azzi, Paige, & Nika , Payton might become an very expensive luxury at UCONN
-I love Rivers for UCONN because of her defensive versatility with Saniya, Mir, and Aubrey on the perimeter UCONN's would have to borrow a slogan from Public Enemy- "Welcome to the Terror Dome"
-Any one of Citron, Von Oelhoffen, Wolfenbarger, or Ducharme would be a great piece on the roster as a dedicated markswoman. But.... I'm not sure how many of those shots are going to be available. Paige can stroke it, Nika can stroke it, Saylor can stroke it, when Fudd hits the rim on one of her deep balls that makes national news.
-Any one of Moore, Iriafen, Key, or Hollingshead would have work as a complementary piece to Edwards at SF/PF position but all might have become non-essential with the commitment of Brady.

What's going to happen? In the spirit of @Carnac :
UCONN will close out the 2021 recruiting class as soon as Fudd commits.
UCONN 2021 class might include Von Oelhoffen.
If (God forbid) Azzi goes elsewhere Payton & Saniya will be need to fill the void.
.
All good points. Just seems to be easier to find high end wings and guards than to get skilled board bangers who don’t care about trying to be perimeter players. So of that group I’d take Iriafen if they can get her out of Cali. All around skilled and a high compete level, sort of insurance on DeBerry. Then if you hit on both along with Brady, you’re set inside for a long time.
 
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Coco,

There are too many variables that must be considered before three becomes the optimal number for 2021.

Wonder if:

--Megan turns pro.
--the coaches sense that Makurat doesn't stay four years.
--Evina decides she would rather get paid than risk hurting her knee again.
--Nika's shooting has not progressed.

I know I am being "cup half empty" guy but I do think Megan's class and losing Jones and Boston has altered recruiting strategy.

I would take one more in addition to Fudd. The only person from that list that I am not a fan of is Ducharme.
I would prefer Moore and Verhulst. I think get the kids here and let playing time sort itself out.
Good points to consider. I’m not concerned about Walker turning pro. From what I’m seeing of Makurat, she’ll be a decent all around contributor like Irwin but won’t be a major impact in any one area or on recruiting. I agree Westbrook may be gone after next year but her replacements are already on the way. As for Muhl, I agree she won’t be an elite shooter but they’ll have enough scoring so her other skills will play well. In total, I think their recruiting is covering all areas pretty well.
 
Good points to consider. I’m not concerned about Walker turning pro. From what I’m seeing of Makurat, she’ll be a decent all around contributor like Irwin but won’t be a major impact in any one area or on recruiting. I agree Westbrook may be gone after next year but her replacements are already on the way. As for Muhl, I agree she won’t be an elite shooter but they’ll have enough scoring so her other skills will play well. In total, I think their recruiting is covering all areas pretty well.

I think you are selling Anna M short.....................remember she is still only a freshman leaving home to live in a foreign country..................while she certainly hasn't been a consistent shooter so far this season she clearly possesses the kind of basketball smarts that are hard to find these days...............if she gets the playing time I fully expect her to be a 12-14 point, 5-6 rebound, 4-5 assist player for her next three years and that's not chopped liver!!
 
I think you are selling Anna M short.....................remember she is still only a freshman leaving home to live in a foreign country..................while she certainly hasn't been a consistent shooter so far this season she clearly possesses the kind of basketball smarts that are hard to find these days...............if she gets the playing time I fully expect her to be a 12-14 point, 5-6 rebound, 4-5 assist player for her next three years and that's not chopped liver!!

after her 0-10 shooting to start the season clearly due to nerves, she has been one of our best shooters. 11-21 from 3 pt over the last 7 games.
 
I think you are selling Anna M short.....................remember she is still only a freshman leaving home to live in a foreign country..................while she certainly hasn't been a consistent shooter so far this season she clearly possesses the kind of basketball smarts that are hard to find these days...............if she gets the playing time I fully expect her to be a 12-14 point, 5-6 rebound, 4-5 assist player for her next three years and that's not chopped liver!!
Not questioning her smarts, that's why the Irwin comparison. I'll just say that I feel she's limited athletically in a couple areas that I think are necessary to play at a high level in a program like UConn. For that reason I don't see her getting the PT beginning next season to put up those kind of numbers. Maybe she'll surprise me but I'll go with my eyes and see a possible 2nd off the bench type scenario considering the talent coming in next year.
 
Coco,

There are too many variables that must be considered before three becomes the optimal number for 2021.
Wonder if:

--Megan turns pro.
--the coaches sense that Makurat doesn't stay four years.
--Evina decides she would rather get paid than risk hurting her knee again.
--Nika's shooting has not progressed.
I know I am being "cup half empty" guy but I do think Megan's class and losing Jones and Boston has altered recruiting strategy.
I would take one more in addition to Fudd. The only person from that list that I am not a fan of is Ducharme.
I would prefer Moore and Verhulst. I think get the kids here and let playing time sort itself out.
Excellent points all of which supports UCONN extending the 2021 class to 4 or 5 players. Here are my thoughts:
Megan and Evina turning pro-IMO this would be bad but not the worst thing in the world because I'm extremely high on the 2020 class and Aubrey Griffin. If this happens Paige gets to start on day 1-she might anyway. Aaliyah, Mir, Aubrey, Anna & Paith will be the forward rotation. Amari & Saylor arrives a year later and Brady a year after that to reinforce that rotation. To simplify things Is UCONN going to get a player in the 2021 class that going to crack that rotation? I don't think so, and would rather wait until 2022 because I know that Betts and Barker can both crack that forward rotation.
I not as concerned about Nika's shooting as some (most?). Megan Walker had similar shooting woes at USA basketball and look at her now.
Lastly I would rather have the kids, and coaches & parents "realistically" factor the roster into their recruiting decisions. I'm not in favor of "playing time sorting itself out" because there is always a downside to that sorting process. The downside includes transfer, injuries or recruiting mishits.
Take Payton Verhulst as an example, who I think is a terrific player. If she were to pick UCONN she will be the same class as Azzi Fudd and a year behind Paige. Azzi has already won a Naismith trophy as the best HS player and Paige might win one this year. How many minutes could Payton realistically play behind those two considering that Nika and Saylor are likely Paige & Azzi backups and BTW Christyn is still on the roster.
 
Not questioning her smarts, that's why the Irwin comparison. I'll just say that I feel she's limited athletically in a couple areas that I think are necessary to play at a high level in a program like UConn. For that reason I don't see her getting the PT beginning next season to put up those kind of numbers. Maybe she'll surprise me but I'll go with my eyes and see a possible 2nd off the bench type scenario considering the talent coming in next year.


as far as I can tell there's only one sure starter among the freshman next year...............who knows how Geno handles the remaining incoming recruits..................the rebounding and assists are already there, if AM consistently makes 35% or more on her threes she'll play plenty.............
 
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