Lauren Betts in the Portal

[and one]

I don't know if Cardoza is thinking about entering the portal (or why she would) but should she, who would be the better pickup for UConn, her or Betts?

 

[Zarathustra]

With only one roster spot left, it seems like the Coaching staff are being very meticulous IF they are looking to fill it. Lauren would be that person for me (unless Cameron Brink joins also).

Why Not LAUREN BETTS over Brink? Three years to develop her in the UCONN mold.
This is earth shattering. At least to my earth! Best luck and good wishes to Lauren!

 

[UcMiami]

Does anyone know why her minutes with Stanford were so limited after her outstanding high school and USA Basketball performances?

Stanford has had a huge pool of bigs for a few years now - as much as anything, I think it has to do with the older players:
Brink 6'4" JR, Prechtel 6'5"SR, Iriafen 6'3"SO, Demetre 6'3"SO, Belibi 6'1"SR
Of those only Prechtel played fewer minutes/game, but only Brink played more than 20 minutes, the rest played 13.5 to Betts 9.9 and Prechtel's 7.5 - so a rotating group of bigs all getting a quarter +/- of playing time per game.

 

[Zarathustra]

I don't know if Cardoza is thinking about entering the portal (or why she would) but should she, who would be the better pickup for UConn, her or Betts?

Betts.

 

[Heytherego]

Wow. Big loss for Stanford. I was always surprised she didn’t get a lot of minutes for how efficient she was. I could see ND or UCLA but I’m hoping for UCONN!!! I think she would round out the team perfectly

 

[Charliebball]

If she wants to stay out west, UCLA is certainly building a powerhouse program........I'd say South Carolina would be a distinct possibility because Dawn needs to collect every promising center 6'5" and above.......Baylor and ND would both greatly benefit from her presence as would UConn.....,.,.I wonder how much recruiting progress Geno has made with his top centers of interest in the next couple of classes..........would he prefer Betts to one of them?

 

[Zarathustra]

I think ND has a very high possibility.

Please, NO!... Come to Storrs, Lauren!

 

[Charliebball]

What about South Carolina as a Boston replacement?

sure could happen........

 

[jbc021592]

Please, NO!... Come to Storrs, Lauren!

You guys have like 3 bigs already. It’ll be Stanford all over again. She’ll get ZERO playing time. Lol.

 

[Charliebball]

I'd take Brink over any other player in the country outside of UConn but that's an unlikely scenario....

 

[Heytherego]

 

[oldude]

I don't know if Cardoza is thinking about entering the portal (or why she would) but should she, who would be the better pickup for UConn, her or Betts?

Having already transferred once, Cardoso would have to sit a year if she transferred again as an undergrad. Aside from that, with Boston & Amihere heading to the pros, Cardoso is SC’s center next season.

 

[darrell]

Why Not LAUREN BETTS over Brink? Three years to develop her in the UCONN mold.
This is earth shattering. At least to my earth! Best luck and good wishes to Lauren!

Cameron has one less year of eligibility, but has proven that she can compete against the top dogs of the country already.

Of course this is only hypothetical, as she likely won’t even enter the portal.

 

[oldhusky]

The only way I see Betts coming to UConn is with an understanding that she's in an understudy role to Edwards/DeBerry/Brady, and that the staff will not make promises of PT nor upset the already existing chemistry that the players have both on and off the court. The ol' sacrifice a little, be part of something big.

On edit - imagine if this is what Geno was referencing?

I'm sorry but this is a little hard to take seriously. First this was the number 1 ranked recruit in her class. Even though she only played 10 minutes a game, her performance in those minutes was exceptional. Her player efficiency rating overall was right up there comparable yes with Boston, Brink, Cardosa and at other positions Clark.

Like Cardosa she was behind another superstar C in Brink. South Carolina frequently used the twin towers lineup, giving Cardosa more than just Boston's backup minutes and this year she will be a star. Stanford did not do the same, and Brink is around for one more year that could keep Betts on the bench.

This is a player that many would probably project to be as good or better than Aaliyah or Ice, and Dorka and Liv, and saying she needs to be an understudy to Amari is just laughable.

Betts will be picking a school where she expects to start. That is probably true of Morrow and maybe even Prince as well. For sure Betts will have plenty of paths to a starting position on numerous highly ranked programs with playing time, championship aspirations, and plenty of NIL opportunities. She doesn't have to accept anything less than that, it will be available to her wherever she winds up.

 

[UcMiami]

Uh, @UcMiami she isn't leaving Stanford 'cuz she was happy playing 10 minutes. I don't think we can say anything about what would make her happy. What I'd like to know was what did those 10 minutes look like?

Sorry - I had just been posting about Morrow who was playing 35 min/game and taking 24 shots. I was implying that telling Morrow she was only going to play 20-25 minutes would be a hard sell. Telling Betts she if she works well she can be in the 20+ minute range would be more attractive. (That is what Brink was playing by the way - 24.7.)

 

[tkaes]

Does anyone know why her minutes with Stanford were so limited after her outstanding high school and USA Basketball performances?

Know? No. But Brink is their best player. How many minutes should a team sit their best player in favor of a freshman?

 

[BobbyJ]

So, calling on Stanford fans - what did you see this past season with Betts' production, development, etc, that showed a marked difference from her HS years? That's what I'd be interested in knowing - her growth this past year.

Her finalists were ASU, Baylor, UCLA, UConn, L'ville, ND, OR, S Carolina.

WEB (I know, I know) twitter has a poll listing AZ, CO, SC, LSU, UConn, UCLA

I'm obviously not a Stanford fan but from a distance I have a couple observations. 1) I believe she's a better player now than when coming out of HS. Better conditioning, quicker footwork, more confident handling and shooting the ball, plus she's always had a very good BB IQ. Practicing against older and stronger players like Brink, Belibi etc. will do that for her. 2) I have no idea if PT is a main issue but I suspect it could be although you would think that it wouldn't be going forward. But also from a distance it seems like Van Derveer had some odd substitution patterns that Kiki Iriafen couldn't have been too pleased with either. That's a couple of big talents that I would have been developing as quickly as possible. Decisions should be made soon because there will be a ton of interest.

 

[BobbyJ]

Betts is the most attractive to me as well, with a caveat.

I never used to watch any high school footage until Bueckers came along. I still do not watch much, but I watched a little of both Brady and Betts. Out of those two I thought Brady was more skilled. I understood Betts being #1 due to her height, but Brady really seemed to know what she was doing.

We have one spot left and I can see using it on Betts, but not to the detriment of developing Brady. One way or another I suspect Brady will be a major contributor for us, with or without adding Betts.

I agree 100%. I too am all in on Brady and have been since seeing her HS sophomore video. And I don't believe it would be detrimental to her development. With Edwards, Brady, and El Alfy, Betts would help form a rock solid 4 way post rotation this coming season and maybe/probably a formidable 3 way one with room for a 4th going forward into the next year if Edwards leaves. That's a lot of depth and insurance against foul trouble or injury.

 

[bballnut90]

If Betts picks UCONN it'd put UCONN in a somewhat unprecedented territory, as they will have nabbed 5 of the last 6 #1 recruits (2017: Walker, 2018: Williams, 2020: Bueckers, 2021: Fudd, 2022: Betts)

I think Betts best destinations to take on a big role and play for a title contender would be UCONN, Notre Dame, Iowa or UCLA. All of those programs could use a center and have 4 of the best PGs in the country (Bueckers, Miles, Clark, Rice).

 

[CTinLA]

Clark to Betts would set Caitlin up to have as many assists as points! Almost doesn’t seem fair. As for the Huskies, Betts is the last piece needed for a strong shot at the NC. Although we have a really good team without her, we don’t have a true center and we don’t yet know how Ice or Jana will play at the D1 level. A real center like Betts playing alongside Aaliyah with Paige and Azzi in the backcourt (I’ll leave the fifth starter discussion alone for right now) would make this a formidable team. I’m looking forward to the fall, but add Betts to our already incredible group and I’ll be drooling!

 

[tkaes]

The only way I see Betts coming to UConn is with an understanding that she's in an understudy role to Edwards/DeBerry/Brady, and that the staff will not make promises of PT nor upset the already existing chemistry that the players have both on and off the court. The ol' sacrifice a little, be part of something big.

On edit - imagine if this is what Geno was referencing?

Do you really believe Geno would make such a stipulation? I don't. I believe he would say something like, "We'd love to have you, you can come here and compete for minutes along with everyone else.". If Betts were to transfer to UCONN, I think DeBerry would be the one whose minutes were significantly reduced.

I think Betts could come in and start along side of Edwards just like Juhasz. Brady and El Alfy would be there backups.

 

[bballnut90]

The only way I see Betts coming to UConn is with an understanding that she's in an understudy role to Edwards/DeBerry/Brady, and that the staff will not make promises of PT nor upset the already existing chemistry that the players have both on and off the court. The ol' sacrifice a little, be part of something big.

On edit - imagine if this is what Geno was referencing?

Silly to think the #1 recruit will be an understudy to a player ranked lower than her from the same class (who hasn't played a minute of college basketball), Deberry who can't break the rotation and Edwards who is 4 inches shorter and plays a different position. If Betts picks UCONN she's likely starting from day 1.

 

[hoopsfan22]

If Betts picks UCONN it'd put UCONN in a somewhat unprecedented territory, as they will have nabbed 5 of the last 6 #1 recruits (2017: Walker, 2018: Williams, 2020: Bueckers, 2021: Fudd, 2022: Betts)

And yet zero national championships, so I'm not sure what that's worth anymore.

 

[VA Huskie]

UConn and ND are the most likely landing spots for her imo

Unless she wants to be in the Western part of the country. Where is she from?