July 2021 Recruiting Thread

[donalddoowop]

I like speed and defense. If I have to choose between the two for the next few years, I’d choose defense. We have enough players that can score, and more on the way. We need a “lock-down“ defender, a stopper that can make the top scorer on an opponent’s team disappear. That makes for a balanced team.

It would keep the “Chelsea Dungees“ of WCBB from beating us. Dungee scored 38 to help Arkansas beat us 90-87.

Dungee was averaging 22 ppg at the time. If UConn could have held her to her average, they would have won by 13. Unfortunately no one was able to put her in check, thus she scored at will.

Already have enough players who can score? Have you been reading the board? Many Byers believe that if all five players on the court are not scoring threats then UConn is playing four on five. I don't agree with that. I agree that UConn can definitely use a lock down defender and does not need five scorers on the floor at all times. There are not many lock down defenders in WCBB or even the WNBA from what I have seen..

 

[Mdoggie]

Alls I wanna read is C offered, C commits to UConn. Yeah C!!!

 

[jazz]

Already have enough players who can score? Have you been reading the board? Many Byers believe that if all five players on the court are not scoring threats then UConn is playing four on five. I don't agree with that. I agree that UConn can definitely use a lock down defender and does not need five scorers on the floor at all times. There are not many lock down defenders in WCBB or even the WNBA from what I have seen..

well said.

I believe we already have a very good defender on the team that could have helped out more on the defensive end. Taking your point with the AZ game, GA should have done more to stop a great start out the gates by AZ. This was not done and we ended up losing (discounting free throws at the end) by a similar point difference in the early part of the game.

Now if we could have run better offense, especially in the first half we could have won as well. I don't think we will have offensive problems in big games this coming year. It looks to me that we can score 70 plus in every game, including the top teams.

 

[nuna23]

Alls I wanna read is C offered, C commits to UConn. Yeah C!!!

c ?

 

[Purchase1]

I know our focus is mainly on recruits in the US because that’s all we really have access to, I’m just curious to know if there are any more foreign recruits on our radar Morgan Valley seems to follow a few but can’t really tell if those are new names or former ones that she has been following since her stint at UHart.

 

[Blakeon18]

c ?

Ciera Toomey. I'm with Mdoggie for sure.

 

[Geesworld]

Already have enough players who can score? Have you been reading the board? Many Byers believe that if all five players on the court are not scoring threats then UConn is playing four on five. I don't agree with that. I agree that UConn can definitely use a lock down defender and does not need five scorers on the floor at all times. There are not many lock down defenders in WCBB or even the WNBA from what I have seen..

I agree defensive stopper/effort type of player is much needed!

The days of High level, versatile player, in High School, who love the intangible work, such as Lock Down defense, Rebounds and all out hustle is dead. Mixtape/Highlight tape, has killed that mindset. For high school kids, It's all about training to put the ball in the basket. These days, Every kid in the country that plays basketball has a highlight tape of them on offense. You never see defensive Highlight tapes.

Top tier High school talent tend to not work as hard on defense because they are usually just better than everyone. So bad habits develop and Coaches don't break them from the bad habits. The better you are as a Player the less demands of you on defense. You see this all the time with the top players.
Then these kids struggle understanding the demands of fitting into a college roll, because they're so used to having everything running thru them. Those struggles tend to fall on the defensive side.

High school game has to do better.

 

[victor64]

I agree defensive stopper/effort type of player is much needed!

The days of High level, versatile player, in High School, who love the intangible work, such as Lock Down defense, Rebounds and all out hustle is dead. Mixtape/Highlight tape, has killed that mindset. For high school kids, It's all about training to put the ball in the basket. These days, Every kid in the country that plays basketball has a highlight tape of them on offense. You never see defensive Highlight tapes.

Top tier High school talent tend to not work as hard on defense because they are usually just better than everyone. So bad habits develop and Coaches don't break them from the bad habits. The better you are as a Player the less demands of you on defense. You see this all the time with the top players.
Then these kids struggle understanding the demands of fitting into a college roll, because they're so used to having everything running thru them. Those struggles tend to fall on the defensive side.

High school game has to do better.

Your thoughts line up with Geno's exactly on this topic. Well said.

 

[Mdoggie]

I agree defensive stopper/effort type of player is much needed!

The days of High level, versatile player, in High School, who love the intangible work, such as Lock Down defense, Rebounds and all out hustle is dead. Mixtape/Highlight tape, has killed that mindset. For high school kids, It's all about training to put the ball in the basket. These days, Every kid in the country that plays basketball has a highlight tape of them on offense. You never see defensive Highlight tapes.

Top tier High school talent tend to not work as hard on defense because they are usually just better than everyone. So bad habits develop and Coaches don't break them from the bad habits. The better you are as a Player the less demands of you on defense. You see this all the time with the top players.
Then these kids struggle understanding the demands of fitting into a college roll, because they're so used to having everything running thru them. Those struggles tend to fall on the defensive side.

High school game has to do better.

Agreed

 

[DaBball]

 

[Purchase1]

Not sure if this is a new follow or not but seems fairly new because I snoop often lol but Morgan Valley seems to have followed a player by the name of LT Poa who looks to be a junior college wing player.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Must mean MacKenley Randolph.

https://twitter.com/BloggedByRain/status/1367213685589049350

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[PacoSwede]

I agree defensive stopper/effort type of player is much needed!

The days of High level, versatile player, in High School, who love the intangible work, such as Lock Down defense, Rebounds and all out hustle is dead. Mixtape/Highlight tape, has killed that mindset. For high school kids, It's all about training to put the ball in the basket. These days, Every kid in the country that plays basketball has a highlight tape of them on offense. You never see defensive Highlight tapes.

Top tier High school talent tend to not work as hard on defense because they are usually just better than everyone. So bad habits develop and Coaches don't break them from the bad habits. The better you are as a Player the less demands of you on defense. You see this all the time with the top players.
Then these kids struggle understanding the demands of fitting into a college roll, because they're so used to having everything running thru them. Those struggles tend to fall on the defensive side.

High school game has to do better.

seems to me that uconn's done pretty well dealing with all those lousy kids swarming across america these days ...

wonder how it's managed that?

had to go to croatia, i guess ... geez, what a joke (though nika emphatically does put a lie to the poppycock that uconn is currently lacking in an an 'effort type of player' )

regarding the 'defensive stopper' who would have quelled dungee (or aari) -- ya know, folks, there are occasions when a talented player just 'goes off' and NOBODY is gonna shut 'em down. it happens. that's life. just accept it. there ain't a surefire cure for everything. don't waste effort trying to find one. (mo jeff got beat sometimes, BTW)

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[BobbyJ]

Not sure if this is a new follow or not but seems fairly new because I snoop often lol but Morgan Valley seems to have followed a player by the name of LT Poa who looks to be a junior college wing player.

Last-Tear Poa

Last-Tear Poa

www.nwfraiders.com

 

[Rings R Us]

Saylor posted on her Instagram that she is there watching too.

 

[Carnac]

Already have enough players who can score? Have you been reading the board? Many Byers believe that if all five players on the court are not scoring threats then UConn is playing four on five. I don't agree with that. I agree that UConn can definitely use a lock down defender and does not need five scorers on the floor at all times. There are not many lock down defenders in WCBB or even the WNBA from what I have seen..

Yes, I believe so. Ayanna Patterson (2022) is advertised to be able to defend 1-5. We'll see about that. She is touted to be a very good defender. I too agree that UConn does not need 5 players on the floor that are "dead-eye" go to snipers. Four on the floor at any given time should be enough. At least one of them should be a stopper. Reports so far this summer suggest that Christyn Williams is willing to assume that role.

If said stopper can also score, then all the better. I believe the example I used in my prior narrative is sufficient to make my point. You've got to be able to outscore your opponent. What good is it if you score 88 points if your opponent score 91? Or if you score 120, and your opponent scores 121? You've got to be able to make some stops during the game.

Yes, Geno likes players that can play defense, but as we all know, all of our girls ARE NOT defensive standouts. I'd like to see at least one of the top ranked "defensive" players in 2022 & 2023 come to UConn. Great basketball teams are good on BOTH ends of the floor. I remember the good old days when teams found it almost impossible to score more than 65 points against UConn. Only a very few cracked 70. That was because UConn was able to make stops, keep the other team's leading scorer in check and limit teams to one shot per possession. We need to return to those days.

 

[CocoHusky]

NEPA Elite is coached by Ciera's mom. Who herself was a college all-american, and played in England. Ciera's sister is currently a D1 player, and Elite is loaded with talent. Two D1 commits and every player on that team is going to play college bball. They are taught to play as a team. Blowout win. C was comfortable with 8 shots!

C is A+ in my book! Where/when did her mom suit up? Older sister?

 

[RoadMaster]

C is A+ in my book! Where/when did her mom suit up? Older sister?

Mom - Franklin and Marshall; Sister at Rider.. Also of note.. Some competition for Paige?

Dunmore Sophomore Ciera Toomey Earns Second All Region For Golf

By Steve Svetovich Work hard when no one is looking. That’s the mantra for Dunmore sophomore Ciera Toomey. The Dunmore sophomore is well known throughout the area for her basketball skills, …

thedunmorean.com

 

[eebmg]

 

[hoophuskee]

I don't agree with the sentiment that UCONN needs to forfeit scoring for a stopper. IMO it's a bit of slap-in-the-face for the other players. If they are incapable of playing very good defense with an ability to stop another opponent then maybe they aren't as good as we thought? . CWill was able to do well enough.

Who is this super-super stopper UCONN is supposed to look for? It doesn't exist. Aubrey is as fine of an athletic defender as I can see and yet what did she do vs Arkansas?

Get the best players you can and turn them into "good enough stoppers." If some of these players are as great as we project then they should be also trying to take pride in becoming their own individual "Stopper."

Get the best player 2-way you can get. Basketball is fluid - not one-dimensional.

 

[Purchase1]

I don't agree with the sentiment that UCONN needs to forfeit scoring for a stopper. IMO it's a bit of slap-in-the-face for the other players. If they are incapable of playing very good defense with an ability to stop another opponent then maybe they aren't as good as we thought? . CWill was able to do well enough.

Who is this super-super stopper UCONN is supposed to look for? It doesn't exist. Aubrey is as fine of an athletic defender as I can see and yet what did she do vs Arkansas?

Get the best players you can and turn them into "good enough stoppers." If some of these players are as great as we project then they should be also trying to take pride in becoming their own individual "Stopper."

Get the best player 2-way you can get. Basketball is fluid - not one-dimensional.

Couldn’t agree more with this, you can teach a good offensive player to play team defense but you can’t teach a kid who’s offensively deficient how to score.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Must mean MacKenley Randolph.

https://twitter.com/BloggedByRain/status/1367213685589049350

She looks so much like her dad!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Already have enough players who can score? Have you been reading the board? Many Byers believe that if all five players on the court are not scoring threats then UConn is playing four on five. I don't agree with that. I agree that UConn can definitely use a lock down defender and does not need five scorers on the floor at all times. There are not many lock down defenders in WCBB or even the WNBA from what I have seen..

I think having 5 scoring options keeps the defense honest and prevents double-teaming, but maybe the best lineup I've seen--as measured by many scoring runs--was Stef, Stewie, Kiah, Moriah, and Kaleena. We went on scoring runs because Kiah stopped inside scoring by blocking or altering shots and/or grabbing nearly every defensive rebound. Kiah was not much of a scoring threat, but she was great on the defensive end.

Stokes triple-double leads Huskies over East Carolina 87-32

Stokes puts up a triple-double to lead Huskies to 87-32 win over East Carolina

www.usatoday.com