John A. on Wilson

[Ozzie Nelson]

I'm not knocking Wilson just stating she IS UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE BY LOCALS TO STAY IN THE AREA ON ATTEND usc AND IF NOT THERE, THEN to attend the other local choice of UNC. (I hit the caps button by accident)

That kind of intense pressure by everyone from friends, family, etc is a lot for ANYONE and I just don't necessarily think she is so strong as to rise above it and go to the school that is furthest away. I certainly hope she does go to UCONN but will be really surprised if she does. UCONN is the CLEAR CHOICE from a COMBINED academic and women's bbal perspective. I think she hasn;t made the decision as of yet becuase of all the pressure she is under.

Anyway, its jsut my opinion and not a knock on Wilson.

How have you deternined the degree of local pressure, her personal response to it, and her strength of character?

 

[Icebear]

UNC is one of the premier public universities in the country. UConn aspires to be a UNC. But agree UNC would be a mistake for a kid looking for championships.

You mean the university under investigation for cheating is a quality academic institution. Interesting theory. Since there purports to be some connection to the women's team what NCAA sanctions might there be.

 

[jdubct]

You mean the university under investigation for cheating is a quality academic institution. Interesting theory. Since there purports to be some connection to the women's team what NCAA sanctions might there be.

Well it is a fine academic institution in general, but is more than willing to cheat academics when sports ($) is involved.

 

[ndmb]

Me too. Does she want to be the superstar on a team of lesser talent (a la Delle Donne at Delaware)? I'm sure she'd win an SEC Championship at South Carolina...National Championship - not so much.

I wouldn't be positive about that. They've got a good young framework with Mitchell and Coates. Dawn Staley can coach. Add in Jatarie White, Bianca Cuevas, and Aja Wilson, and they will be competitive.

And it's too early to know what future recruiting could bring. I'm not saying that getting Wilson would make SC favorites to win a championship, but they'd certainly be in the discussion.

 

[TheTruthBelow]

It is almost as difficult to gain acceptance to UNC as it is to Ivies if you are out of state...never ceases to amaze me how confidently uniformed some BoneYarders are.

Yeah, that comment made me chuckle. Let's see UCONN top $2 billion in endowment.

 

[doggydaddy]

I'm not knocking Wilson just stating she IS UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE BY LOCALS TO STAY IN THE AREA ON ATTEND usc AND IF NOT THERE, THEN to attend the other local choice of UNC. (I hit the caps button by accident)

That kind of intense pressure by everyone from friends, family, etc is a lot for ANYONE and I just don't necessarily think she is so strong as to rise above it and go to the school that is furthest away. I certainly hope she does go to UCONN but will be really surprised if she does. UCONN is the CLEAR CHOICE from a COMBINED academic and women's bbal perspective. I think she hasn;t made the decision as of yet becuase of all the pressure she is under.

Anyway, its jsut my opinion and not a knock on Wilson.

It is most certainly a knock on Wilson. You are questioning her strength of character.

 

[JS]

1. She doesn't seem like a strong enough person to not swuccumb to the pressure to stay in state. - - - 2. I just don't necessarily think she is so strong as to rise above it.

You're on thin ice, Eddy, when you start voicing character judgments about players you don't know.

You have no idea what factors will tip the balance, in her case, toward one school or another. If you take Ms. Wilson and her family at their word, and there's no apparent reason why you shouldn't, they aren't sure yet either.

Saying from where you sit that she lacks strength is pejorative speculation on your part and detracts from the quality of the discussion.

 

[kibblesnbits]

It is almost as difficult to gain acceptance to UNC as it is to Ivies if you are out of state...never ceases to amaze me how confidently uniformed some BoneYarders are.

Well, that's partly true. UNC restricts out of state freshman enrollment to 18% - which is low compared to most comparable universities and drives up the admissions standards for that portion of the applicant pool. However, that also creates a loophole. Because the in-state admissions standards are significantly lower, NC students tend to leave in higher numbers after their freshman year. Guess who fills many of those slots? That's right - out of state transfers. We know someone who was not admitted as a freshman but was counseled by a contact in admissions to try again as a transfer when it would be easier. Sure enough, after a year at USC (the East Coast version) she successfully transferred to Chapel Hill.

 

[TheTruthBelow]

Sometimes our selectivity ranking goes down b/c we have multiple branches (Hfd, Wtby, AP) that area ll under the UCONN name and some of thise students are not quite at the super high level that UCONN STORRS students are at right out of high school.

You realize this is true of the universities you're disparaging as well, right?

UNC system has 17 campuses.

 

[HawkHusky]

I wouldn't be positive about that. They've got a good young framework with Mitchell and Coates. Dawn Staley can coach. Add in Jatarie White, Bianca Cuevas, and Aja Wilson, and they will be competitive.

And it's too early to know what future recruiting could bring. I'm not saying that getting Wilson would make SC favorites to win a championship, but they'd certainly be in the discussion.

Good points. She and South Carolina could very well win a NC (and Staley is a great coach). IMO I still see them more as a Duke-caliber team - highly ranked throughout the year with deep tournament runs.

Time will tell, and we'll see what happens after Wilson makes her decision.

 

[rvwsleep]

It is almost as difficult to gain acceptance to UNC as it is to Ivies if you are out of state...never ceases to amaze me how confidently uniformed some BoneYarders are.

Though many of us wear a UConn sweatshirt or a UConn cap, I think you mean UNINFORMED.

 

[stwainfan]

I think Wilson will announce in April.

 

[pap49cba]

It still cracks me up when John A. - Mr. I Don't Give Two Hoots About Recruiting... Talk To Me When A Prospect Signs On The Dotted Line - writes an article like this.

 

[doggydaddy]

I think Wilson will announce in April.

Why do you think that. Because she has said that from the beginning?

 

[bschwartz]

While FASTEDDY's post wasn't altogether correct, UNC is only 14 spots above UCONN. And I think UNC's recent academic scandals have put questions in many peoples' minds regarding their academic prestige.

Gee, not like UConn doesn't have its own recent scandals. I think she is handling things just fine. It is unfortunate that she gets pelted with questions all the time because people feel like she has to work on their timeline rather than her own. Hope she enjoys her senior year and goes where she thinks she will be the happiest in life. I am going to enjoy this season and worry about her after the Huskies capture #9.

 

[ndmb]

Why do you think that. Because she has said that from the beginning?

What I'm pretty sure everyone else was thinking...

 

[stwainfan]

Why do you think that. Because she has said that from the beginning?

Yes! I think she is smart for not rushing the commit. She had a lot of offers and has her choice down to four.

 

[Tonyc]

Let me say this. UNC SC and Tenn are all competing to win their conference championships and trying to make the NCAAs. UConns focus is to win a NC. Uconn is built to win NC. No other team can make that claim. With Breanna UConn is in position to win the next 3 NCs. Looking at how much Breanna has improved this season compared to last season makes me believe that Geno will harness her talent and abilities and make her the greatest player in WCBB history.

All the other contenders for Wilson can not offer what Geno can offer to make her a better player. When you look at Stef Morgan Kiah and Breanna and where they were talent wise their freshman years and where they are today. No other team can claim anything close to that plus no other team has the players to compliment her talent and run the plays to free her up to score. UConns accomplishments in the womens game speak for themselves and no other team can claim they can compete with UConn. Defense wins championships whether its conference championships or National Championships. Bottom line is none of the other schools competing for A'ja can match up with UConn offers and if they get A'ja they still may not win their conference championship and if they make the NCAAs they still will be looking up to UConn.

From everything I've heard SC leads and UConn is a close second and many believe UConn is a very very close second. Much like one other posted said in this thread trying to figure out the thoughts of a teen ager gives you a headache. I do remember what A'jas dad said to the CT press. IF comes down to BB UConn leads. So A'ja and her parents will weed out the pros and cons of each school and do what they feel is best for her.

 

[Tonyc]

It is almost as difficult to gain acceptance to UNC as it is to Ivies if you are out of state...never ceases to amaze me how confidently uniformed some BoneYarders are.

Good points Also remember UNC is Diamonds team and Tenn with all their talent is struggling. What makes you think that having A'ja or anybody else will make them a contender. That's why so many people say SC is leading and UConn is a very close second.

 

[Icebear]

Can we just let these every third day descents into the unknown go and stop the second and third guessing and let the speculation go? Let the kid sort it out.

 

[HawkHusky]

Gee, not like UConn doesn't have its own recent scandals. I think she is handling things just fine. It is unfortunate that she gets pelted with questions all the time because people feel like she has to work on their timeline rather than her own. Hope she enjoys her senior year and goes where she thinks she will be the happiest in life. I am going to enjoy this season and worry about her after the Huskies capture #9.

Not sure why you quoted me regarding Aja. I didn't say she was doing anything wrong like some other posters.

In regards to the academic scandals - all I said was some people take issue with UNC's recent troubles. If someone wants to say UCONN aspires to be like UNC academically, IMO that's not true. UCONN aspires to be a top national academic institution and doesn't want or need to be "like" any other school.

If the UNC allegations prove to be true, it is a lot more serious than UCONN's now resolved APR issues. UCONN's APR issues only had to do with its men's basketball team, whereas UNC's seem to span across multiple sports. UCONN didn't try to falsify its student-athletes' academic progress, and those students were admitted to UCONN with higher than a Fourth grade level reading/writing ability. Again its allegations, but incredibly more serious than UCONN's if proven to be true.

 

[doggydaddy]

Yes! I think she is smart for not rushing the commit. She had a lot of offers and has her choice down to four.

It's like posting to rainman.

 

[arch]

You mean the university under investigation for cheating is a quality academic institution. Interesting theory. Since there purports to be some connection to the women's team what NCAA sanctions might there be.

You mean the only university that failed to qualify its men's basketball team for the NCAAs last year is a quality academic institution. Interesting theory.
Of course neither of these occurrences has anything to do with overall quality of these institutions.

 

[cohenzone]

I think she's going to Disneyworld.

 

[Icebear]

I think she's going to Disneyworld.

That is an idea I can get behind.