June 2020 UCONN recruiting thread

[hoophuskee]

I agree after seeing Lewis, Lou, and Walker, who were all good players but not at a POY level, or clear top players on there UConn teams, I’m hoping Paige will be a POY level player, but we’ll have to wait and see. Lewis did play with Stewart so she gets a bit of a pass not being the go to player on her team, and Williams still has 2 years of college left before she’s a pro, but I don’t see her being “Legendary” just yet.

Who is Lewis? You meant CWill, right?

And btw, none of them you just mentioned were ever considered the best player in their class as a junior. Players of that caliber have been Parker and Maya and assume Stewart. While Paige wasn't a consensus number 1 vs seniors as a junior I believe she was in some circles. And she was MVP of FIBA U19 as junior - not Boston.

You are comparing apples to oranges when you use Lou, CWill and Walker as examples. Paige in some circles is a two-time POY while the others are just one. The others were not considered extremely close to the SR POY when they were juniors, were they? So why compare them?

 

[BobbyJ]

Who is Lewis?

Kaleena Mosqueda- Lewis

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Who is Lewis? You meant CWill, right?

And btw, none of them you just mentioned were ever considered the best player in their class as a junior.

Pretty sure KLS was #1 in her class as a junior, and I believe as a sophomore as well.

 

[hoophuskee]

Pretty sure KLS was #1 in her class as a junior, and I believe as a sophomore as well.

I mean nationally number 1. For example I know Maya was considered as a junior better than Tina as a sr. And I believe Parker was number 1 as a junior. No way Lou was considered better than Wilson.

 

[Alydar]

I’m pretty sure the OT and the WBB player are not competing for the same spot at Stanford. The Stanford FB Coach and Tara both have a finite number of scholarships to award. To the degree they recruit qualified candidates who want to attend Stanford, they can sign as many as they want up to their respective scholarship limit.

But they may have a limit to how many academic exceptions are allowed among all athletic recruits each year. That limit led to my post about a choice. Who do you think more boosters would lobby for? And it's the same at every school that has football.

 

[Alydar]

Who is Lewis? You meant CWill, right?

And btw, none of them you just mentioned were ever considered the best player in their class as a junior. Players of that caliber have been Parker and Maya and assume Stewart. While Paige wasn't a consensus number 1 vs seniors as a junior I believe she was in some circles. And she was MVP of FIBA U19 as junior - not Boston.

You are comparing apples to oranges when you use Lou, CWill and Walker as examples. Paige in some circles is a two-time POY while the others are just one. The others were not considered extremely close to the SR POY when they were juniors, were they? So why compare them?

Just for the record, when Bueckers was a junior the POY was a sophomore. Bueckers and Fudd were both better than all the seniors last season. That's what all the praying for Fudd is about.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I mean nationally number 1. For example I know Maya was considered as a junior better than Tina as a sr. And I believe Parker was number 1 as a junior. No way Lou was considered better than Wilson.

That's hard to determine though. Even with all of Azzi's accolades, have any of the recruiting outlets come out and said she's a better prospect than any of those in the classes before and after hers?

FYI, A'ja Wilson was only the #1 player in two of the five services as a senior. Two of them had Brianna Turner #1 and one had Kelsey Mitchell.

 

[Majic Hands]

I must have a bad memory. I could swear I was hearing how Boston was the NC answer for UConn. UNTILl, she went somewhere else to play. Now it seems she is a bottom dweller that probably needs help tying her shoes.

I'm sorry but the Boston kid is the same kid that so many BYers wanted at UConn. That ship sailed. LET it go.

 

[hoophuskee]

Just for the record, when Bueckers was a junior the POY was a sophomore. Bueckers and Fudd were both better than all the seniors last season. That's what all the praying for Fudd is about.

Yes but Fudd got hurt during her soph year, didn't she? So at end of season Paige was POY, wasn't she? Not that it matters much but I know you and I agree that Paige is "freakish" anyways. That was the purpose of my post;- she was regarded as an underclassman in H/S better than the best senior (including Boston). That rarely happens. So nobody should compare her as the same as Lewis, Lou, Walker and CWill. Paige was something in H/S that these others were not.

 

[Alydar]

Yes but Fudd got hurt during her soph year, didn't she? So at end of season Paige was POY, wasn't she? Not that it matters much but I know you and I agree that Paige is "freakish" anyways. That was the purpose of my post;- she was regarded as an underclassman in H/S better than the best senior (including Boston). That rarely happens. So nobody should compare her as the same as Lewis, Lou, Walker and CWill. Paige was something in H/S that these others were not.

Fudd was hurt at the very end of her sophomore season and won NPOY. She missed all but the last month of this past season.

 

[bluedevil]

Very Interesting

 

[hoophuskee]

I must have a bad memory. I could swear I was hearing how Boston was the NC answer for UConn. UNTILl, she went somewhere else to play. Now it seems she is a bottom dweller that probably needs help tying her shoes.

I'm sorry but the Boston kid is the same kid that so many BYers wanted at UConn. That ship sailed. LET it go.

Can you provide the post that says she is a bottom dweller?

There is a comparison between Paige and Boston. UCONN could win a championship with Boston if she came and things were normal, but Paige could still end up being better, isn't that possible? Unless you are implying if Paige is better then that means Boston is bottom dweller?

Please look back at all the posts. There are valid discussions on what to expect from Paige as a frosh and other discussions who would be a higher pick Paige or Boston. There is nothing on here suggesting Boston is a bottom dweller. Just a disagreement on what to expect from Paige and who would be a higher draft pick and who might be the better pro. IMO it's all Paige all day. That doesn't mean Boston is a bottom dweller.

If other posters are going to bring up Boston like she is so super (she is) - can't we counter in a friendly manner that we think we got "our Boston" but she is going to be better in Paige? If others bring up Boston on a pedestal I don't see why we can't counter with Paige.

This is all friendly amongst us rabid UCONN fans - especially most of us stuck at home with no sports to watch.

 

[oldude]

But they may have a limit to how many academic exceptions are allowed among all athletic recruits each year. That limit led to my post about a choice. Who do you think more boosters would lobby for? And it's the same at every school that has football.

All of the 15 WBB scholarships at Stanford are endowed by big money boosters who expect those scholarships to be filled. I don’t know if the 88 scholarships permitted in D1 football are also endowed by Stanford, or simply paid for out of the multimillion dollar Revenue pool for football.

 

[Alydar]

All of the 15 WBB scholarships at Stanford are endowed by big money boosters who expect those scholarships to be filled. I don’t know if the 88 scholarships permitted in D1 football are also endowed by Stanford, or simply paid for out of the multimillion dollar Revenue pool for football.

You keep missing something. I'm not talking about awarding scholarships but rather admitting outstanding athletes that don't meet the academic standards. Some have said that Tara never signs anyone unless they meet the academic standard for other students. Someone else has said that there are exceptions to those standards for some athletes and my post was that it's likely only a limited number of these exceptions is allowed for the entire athletic dept then it's likely that they were used for other sports with a higher profile. It has nothing to do with limiting how many scholarships Tara can award.

 

[oldude]

You keep missing something. I'm not talking about awarding scholarships but rather admitting outstanding athletes that don't meet the academic standards. Some have said that Tara never signs anyone unless they meet the academic standard for other students. Someone else has said that there are exceptions to those standards for some athletes and my post was that it's likely only a limited number of these exceptions is allowed for the entire athletic dept then it's likely that they were used for other sports with a higher profile. It has nothing to do with limiting how many scholarships Tara can award.

OK I got it. But I don’t necessarily buy the description of a 320 lb OT with 1300 SAT’s, who is probably in the top 10% of his class, as an academic exception. In my mind, that is an extraordinarily talented young man and true student-athlete.

 

[Go/huskies]

I was talking about Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis my bad.

 

[hoophuskee]

I was talking about Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis my bad.

Same story with KML. She was not considered better than the top senior in her junior year. To do that it means you are extremely special. Page was considered better her junior year than the seniors. KML was not. They aren't comparable. All "number 1's" are not the same.

 

[CompSci87]

You keep missing something. I'm not talking about awarding scholarships but rather admitting outstanding athletes that don't meet the academic standards. Some have said that Tara never signs anyone unless they meet the academic standard for other students. Someone else has said that there are exceptions to those standards for some athletes and my post was that it's likely only a limited number of these exceptions is allowed for the entire athletic dept then it's likely that they were used for other sports with a higher profile. It has nothing to do with limiting how many scholarships Tara can award.

I understand some schools give the coaches a certain number of exceptions, where they will admit a student at the coach's request who is an NCAA minimum qualifier but does not meet the school's own admissions standards. Stanford does not have exceptions in that sense.

Stanford does try to admit a diverse and well rounded student body, by no means just the very top of the academic performers. Non-academic abilities count towards the overall admissions decision, and a coach's recommendation counts strongly. But athletes still have to meet Stanford's own academic requirements, which are high but not stratospheric. The coaches are well aware of the requirements and work closely with admissions to avoid the embarrassment of offering and having someone commit who is then not admitted. That does happen on rare occasions, though.

Of course regardless of what I say, I expect people here will still believe what they want to believe.

 

[Go/huskies]

Same story with KML. She was not considered better than the top senior in her junior year. To do that it means you are extremely special. Page was considered better her junior year than the seniors. KML was not. They aren't comparable. All "number 1's" are not the same.

I haven’t seen anything that said Paige was better then 2019 Jones or Horston, but maybe you did.

 

[hoophuskee]

I haven’t seen anything that said Paige was better then 2019 Jones or Horston, but maybe you did.

I can't find the links other than on the BY here and maxpreps -- but here on the Boneyard the link below identifies Paige, Azzi and Jones as top 3 with the link to an article stating as such.. So Paige was ranked ahead of Horston (and Boston.). And she sort of backed it up that summer by being MVP in FIBA U19. She was the most efficient player on the team as well. Stats show that (though no Jones or Horston). The stats identify her as most efficient on her team - better than Boston. Which is why she was MVP of the tournament. Here is link for her being top 3// better than Horston: Pg 69 of this site. Post came form UconnCat.

Azzi Fudd: 2019 Gatorade National POY

the-boneyard.com

 

[Jmsdawg]

Wow-- I just disagree with this so much. What makes Boston so unique? She is big. But she is 6'4, right (I don't think she is as talla s Olivia)? The super players in the WNBA that were 6'4 and above most had games 15 feet and out. The ones that were dominant inside were players like Fowles who is 6'6. The WNBA attracts more than just USA players which means when Boston gets into the WNBA there will be more players to match up to her size.

Boston is going to overwhelm college players because she is so much bigger and she has very good teammates that will deliver her the ball. What makes her special other than "big?" I'm not saying she is going to be "average."

She is physical. There are other taller players but in my opinion Boston is as physical as McCowan and has a better offensive game. Again, my opinion, she will be dominate in the pros.

 

[eebmg]

She is physical. There are other taller players but in my opinion Boston is as physical as McCowan and has a better offensive game. Again, my opinion, she will be dominate in the pros.

She has a really nice efficient Offensive game but for me, it is her timing, instincts and overall positioning on Defense that really separates her from the rest in the post. And unlike most posts nowadays, she likes it in there.

 

[oldude]

She has a really nice efficient Offensive game bit for me, it is her timing, instincts and overall positioning on Defense that really separates her from the rest in the post. And unlike most posts nowadays, she likes it in there.

Imagine that, a post player that doesn’t think she should be hanging out at the arc hoisting up shots. As info, Boston was 2-12 from the arc all season.

 

[HopJim]

There is no definition of "generational" imo. I think we all manufacture it (me too) for discussion purposes. Otherwise I would like anyone to explain what is the defintion of a generational player. OFC we can say "DT, Maya, Stewie" but again that;s not a definition.
----------------
But again I'd like to ask -- can I assume that whenever UCONN gets a much ballyhooed recruit, that you will always say "she appears to be special but let's wait?" There will probably never be a player for you to acknowledge ever in h/s that she will be tremendous in college and beyond, correct? Please don't take this as I am "knocking you."

You continue to miss the point. You anoint players as the best in college before they have any college experience. I expected KLS to be in the same class as Maya and Stewie. She is one of my favorite players ever but never reached this level. Will Paige be in the KLS or DT class? You are correct - I expect her to be very good but don't have any idea how good until I see her play for Geno, typically after her frosh year.

 

[Jmsdawg]

You continue to miss the point. You anoint players as the best in college before they have any college experience. I expected KLS to be in the same class as Maya and Stewie. She is one of my favorite players ever but never reached this level. Will Paige be in the KLS or DT class? You are correct - I expect her to be very good but don't have any idea how good until I see her play for Geno, typically after her frosh year.

I think it is easier to look dominate in high school because many of the teams are not conditioned to the collegiate level and a 6 ft guard is one of the taller players, whereas at the college level a 6 ft guard is getting to be the norm. In my opinion, the major differences between HS and college are conditioning and physically.

 

[Charliebball]

I think it is easier to look dominate in high school because many of the teams are not conditioned to the collegiate level and a 6 ft guard is one of the taller players, whereas at the college level a 6 ft guard is getting to be the norm. In my opinion, the major differences between HS and college are conditioning and physically.

I've been watching Bueckers since her sophomore year in high school and I believe she could have started for the majority of college teams back then...........she has rarely played all out at the offensive end of the floor preferring to get her teammates easy baskets as opposed to scoring 35-40 points a game...........she is fully capable of averaging 25 points per game at the college level if Geno gives her the green light.............she's going to be living on the foul line for the next four years never mind her outside and mid range games which are top tier......

 

[eebmg]

Personally, I like Paige's assessment of herself

Some players can shoot the 3 better, some might be able drive better, some may play better defense ....... but no one passes as well as me.

And since I care as much about how UConn plays (pass first unselfish style) as the final results, I fully expect Geno will hone her natural instincts to a Dee / Sue level while filling in any holes over the next 4 years.

 

[donalddoowop]

Kaleena Mosqueda- Lewis

Thank you. I tried to remember who Lewis was but just could not. Not used to seeing her name that way.

 

[DeeHusky]

Your opinion is definitely biased if you don’t think Boston is good. She can be the player of the year this year in my opinion if not Rhyne Howard.

As for Paige, she is the closest thing to DT that I’ve seen with the talent, swag, the ability to make teammates better, etc. However, as Geno has said plenty of times, we just don’t know yet. We won’t know until she’s on the court. You can’t preordain players who haven’t played a collegiate game yet the NPOY especially at UConn. He will be on you like white on rice when he knows your potential and all the hype around her makes it no better. That can make or break you. It will not be so much as the players she’s competing against, it will be the pressure from the outside noise and Geno’s expectations for her. And as we have seen so many times before, there are not a lot of freshman that can come into Geno’s program and handle it like Maya Moore as a freshman. Let’s hope she does!

 

[hoophuskee]

She is physical. There are other taller players but in my opinion Boston is as physical as McCowan and has a better offensive game. Again, my opinion, she will be dominate in the pros.

***I just want to to start with I am not arguing that Boston won’t be a fine/terrific pro. I’m arguing that at this point in time I would take Paige over Boston. If I were to draft – she is the player I’m drafting over Boston.

In regards to Boston's physicality:

In the pros - the professional players work fulltime on their game and their fitness and their physicality. They are grown women. . There are plenty of physical players in the pros when you consider other countries.

In terms of physicality other countries have physical women who will continually work on their strength too. While they might not be as good as Boston in terms of overall player there will be quit e a few that can negate her strength enough that it won't make Boston “as dominant.” Case in point -- if her physicality is so awesome then can you explain why she only shot 44.3% in the 7 games in the FIBA U19 tournament? If her physicality is so dominant then why couldn't she shoot better vs other countries?

What you’re seeing right now in college is that there isn't enough bigs to counter her physicality. When she goes into the WNBA she is going to need "more." People in her own age group held her to 44%. That is a supposed strength of hers. Can you explain why she only shot 44%? It's because there are more "bigs" to match up with her physicality. BTW, McCowan is 6'7 or 6'8. Big difference between 6'7 and 6'4.

In regards to Bueckers vs Boston:

Boston might be terrific in the pros as you say. But stats show while still being good that there are bigs that can negate her efficiency in the low post. As for Paige – what’s her strength? It’s passing. She still had slightly above 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the FIBA U19 Tourney. So her strength even as a “junior” (while Boston is a senior) still could not be negated much while Boston’s strength of scoring efficiency down low was. That doesn’t make Boston a bottom-dweller. Take her 2nd overall in the draft or 3rd -whatever - but Paige is superior – so take her 1st.

1—Paige as a junior was higher rated than Boston was a senior. 2—Paige’s overall stats of “+/-" was superior to Boston in the FIBA U19 along with her efficiency ratio. 3—Further, Paige’s strength wasn’t stopped. 4—Further Paige was MVP of that Tourney. 5—look at the history going back 15+ years when ratings became more prevalent—possibly just one senior was better than Paige. I say “possibly.” There is an equal chance Paige was better. The only players that have achieved better than seniors when they were a junior that I am aware of are Parker, Maya and probably Stewart. I can never predict anyone would be these players but all I know is Paige Bueckers is going to be one hellluva player whether she is “generational” or not. And I would draft her without a 2nd thought ahead of Boston.