I would disagree. (as would most of the rating services) But we'll see down the road. Hopefully we'll be able to compare them both here at UCONN.
Only the videos you can get on-line, YouTube. But it's enough to see the talent. And we've seen how she has performed with USA Basketball.
I agree. She may not start her Freshman year just cause that's Geno's MO, but I can't see her not starting her Sophomore year.
Was told by who?
It is hard to be the overwhelming choice in a vacuum - she hasn't visited a lot of schools and seems to have been a bit restricted in her travel compared to other recruits, so ... she is waiting to compare Uconn vs. those she has yet to visit. At that point, maybe Uconn does stand out as the 'overwhelming' choice and maybe it doesn't.
That was my point. As you said, you can always go back and find exceptions where a player started as a freshman. But it was based on the needs of the team. Most of the all time UCONN greats did not start as freshmen - Sales, Taurasi, Moore, KML, etc.
In Geno's system those are most often meaningless labels. Watch the motion and resulting positioning in the UCONN offense. Look how often Stef is outside as our center. She ends up with threes for gosh sakes and numerous available shots from the top of the key the foul line and yes, in the low post. That diversity is what A'ja needs to be pursuing because it is what will make her a better basketball player overall. Look where Stewie plays, inside and outside with plenty of time of the perimeter just like Stef because that is how the offense moves and flows. Look at Morgan Tuck in game film and see where her shots come from. And yes, Kiah, too. Inside and outside, too. Get the picture? Labeling position within the UCONN offense is a meaningless endeavor because of the tremendous movement.
You wrote "Katie Samuelson is 6'2" so therefore we will have to insert her at the forward position" and I was struck by the fact that you implied we would get her (anything but automatic) and that she was automatically locked in at forward. I seem to remember Magic Johnson coming out of Michigan State and he was something like 6'8" or bigger and no one automatically decided he has to be a forward. Someone 6'8" back in the 70's was comparable to someone 6'10" or bigger today and my point is he you can't automatically pigeon hole someone based strictly on their height. EDD seemingly would have been a center based on her height but she played much more of a perimeter game and that's how she was utilized. Time will tell about Samuelson but I would hope that she does decided to attend UConn because she does sound amazing.
I agree with what you're saying that even in the worst case scenario Geno and Chris would manage to adjust and make this team highly successful despite a lack of height. However, that is certainly not a scenario that Geno is striving for. His and Chris's work would be so much easier if they have a couple of big gals in the middle to utilize in various situations. That is the thrust of most people's remarks and concerns regarding big girls. Not only that, you really don't want to have a major imbalance on your team where every girl seems to be exactly the same. If potential recruits looked at UConn's roster and it seemed that everyone UConn presently had was exactly the same size and played exactly the same positions that you strived for, why wouldn't a recruit look elsewhere where they felt that there was more of a need for their services and more of a chance for them to contribute.
I misread your post. I thought that you were saying that any of those players would be better for UConn (because of positional need) than Durr. Sorry.
Slow? No, that's not how I would describe her.
K
I can't agree. Geno is going to have a tough time as it is keeping all the guards happy. Best is a steady influx of all the skills needed.
