May recruiting thread

[visitingcock]

I, have the same hopes/feelings. What I'd like to see is Geno WIN one more or 2 NC's. Geno has to dispel the negatives some are throwing around--i.e., Always a bridesmaid, (recently) never a bride. Winning the NC is about coaching but mostly about recruiting the right combinations of players. Geno has a superbly talented team at Uconn right now, those few coming in will make is much better, but ONE perfectly talented 6 ft 5, 7, 9 inches would guarantee his next NC.
I'd say his 15 FF's in a row, his 11 NC's with 12 NC appearances is nothing short of Amazing. Does he need more? NO! But we who believe in him want his final UConn years to end as they were in 1995 and early 2000's.

The main negative (PROBABLY) being thrown around is his age. Opposing coaches on the recruiting trail are probably mentioning his age and wondering aloud to recruits whether he will be around for more than a year or two during their potential UConn careers.

Every coach would like to retire a winner - at the top of his/her game. If Geno can pull off a championship in '23 or '24 with Paige, is it illogical to assert that he would consider retirement then? If so, the '24 prospects { rivals might assert} would never play for him.

I know of no instance where recruits have disclosed that such "negative recruiting" tactics are being used, but I would be completely unsurprised if it is happening. It certainly happens in football to older, successful coaches.

BTW, I hope he and Paige get one more NV (in '24).

 

[CocoHusky]

Normally at this time of year, there are rumors of some 7-foot center from Australia or a 6'6" shooting guard from Lithuania. More seriously, suspect there are some bigs in eastern Europe that could help UConn. Any thoughts?

Kate "The Great" Kovval is actually from Ukraine and playing HS basketball on Long Island. There are quite a few international post prospect 22-24 but none that are outstanding IMO. Even so those players tend to go straight to the WNBA or play professionally. That is yet another reason I'm banking on Kate because she is actually here in the US playing HS basketball. Ironically I think there are better "wings" internationally than anything else. Joycte, Kosu-Russian and Prosper Canadian all are sitting atop the '23 list for Premier Basketball international rankings.

2023

premierbasketballreport.com

 

[Gate81]

unfortunately it is likely a reality the same way that it is rumored that certain recruiters try to use the possible homosexuality of a female coach against them. people will abase themselves to attract recruits.

 

[Bone Dog]

I don't think you are missing something, It is more a case of being close to another great recruiting year and maybe falling just short of that. Almost all programs would love to have Uconn's recruits for 2023 if it ended with KK Arnold and Ashlyn. Hopefully we add another impact player, but the standard here is not how we compare to most programs, but rather do the changes each year move us ahead of our most serious championship competitors.

Each of 4 recruiting years makes a difference for each team. We have 4 consecutive very good recruiting years if it ends with a class of 2 for 2023. 2021 and 2022 were great with the consensus number 1 pick each year, and 2022 and 2023 look on paper to be pretty good. So for Paige's senior year we should be loaded.

But this season we are still affected by one bad recruiting year. We came up short on last year's junior class, failing to get Boston or Jones, so not only did that hurt us, but also it helped our best challengers, and we wound up playing against the same players in the final four. They are both back for their senior years, so it is an issue this year as well. In 2023/24 the impact of those misses will finally be gone, and we should have 4 straight good recruiting classes for Paige's senior year.

So most of us know these are very good recruiting classes compared to most programs, and that keeps us in the hunt for a championship, but the standard may be can we put together a four class roster better than anybody else's, and there are lots of top programs pursuing the same exceptional players, and to a certain extent our loss sometimes winds up being their gain and visa versa.

I have to agree. My only point was that we aren't lagging behind in recruiting. This year, we won't have any seniors, technically. AG, of course, but this will not really be her 4th year. Our team will be led by Paige, Aaliyah, and Nika, three juniors, which kinda proves your point about that recruiting year. Our competition at SC will be led by seniors, and this will be true to a lesser extent of Stanford. But as for recruiting this year, we've done as well as anyone and better than our primary competition.

But, mostly when I think about this stuff, I'm not focusing on the competition so much as on what it means to put together a team, an institution and a culture that carries over year to year. We have a team, and I think getting to the NC even as we did really shows this. I suspect SC and Stanford have teams too. This is what these great coaches have wrought. There aren't that many coaches who have managed this -- though surprisingly there seems to be a few in the Big East. Iowa and Iowa St also seem to be teams. And we've recruited for the team culture, which is not easy. Huskies are hard to find.

 

[Fossil]

I, have the same hopes/feelings. What I'd like to see is Geno WIN one more or 2 NC's. Geno has to dispel the negatives some are throwing around--i.e., Always a bridesmaid, (recently) never a bride. Winning the NC is about coaching but mostly about recruiting the right combinations of players. Geno has a superbly talented team at Uconn right now, those few coming in will make is much better, but ONE perfectly talented 6 ft 5, 7, 9 inches would guarantee his next NC.
I'd say his 15 FF's in a row, his 11 NC's with 12 NC appearances is nothing short of Amazing. Does he need more? NO! But we who believe in him want his final UConn years to end as they were in 1995 and early 2000's.

I truly believe that UConn should have two more titles but unfortunately Stevens left with a year of eligibility and Walker left with a year of eligibility and if we had those two players in the tournament on their senior years I believe those would’ve been the pieces that would’ve put Connecticut over the top. It’s just a shame that Connecticut lost those two players when they did. UConn should be going for NC #14

 

[Mdoggie]

I truly believe that UConn should have two more titles but unfortunately Stevens left with a year of eligibility and Walker left with a year of eligibility and if we had those two players in the tournament on their senior years I believe those would’ve been the pieces that would’ve put Connecticut over the top. It’s just a shame that Connecticut lost those two players when they did. UConn should be going for NC #14

Possibly

 

[Longtime fan]

April Recruiting Thread

Link to March Recruiting Thread

the-boneyard.com

We are getting the door shut on us for 2023 class...so far.

 

[Purchase1]

We are getting the door shut on us for 2023 class...so far.

Umm we have the number 5 & 8 players from that class coming in that’s hardly the door shut lol

 

[sun]

We are getting the door shut on us for 2023 class...so far.

There appears to be quite a few 5 star recruits in the class of 2023 that have not declared.
I guess that we'll find out after NIL signing day on August 1, 2022 if more will chose UConn.

2023 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.

www.espn.com

 

[AmeriConn]

We are getting the door shut on us for 2023 class...so far.

I don’t see it. Two great players walked through the door and it’s still open.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Connecticut has not lost its Mystic, last time I checked still on the map as a town and River. UCONN still has its mystique, also.

And the BY still has its @Carnac !

 

[sun]

The main negative (PROBABLY) being thrown around is his age. Opposing coaches on the recruiting trail are probably mentioning his age and wondering aloud to recruits whether he will be around for more than a year or two during their potential UConn careers.

Every coach would like to retire a winner - at the top of his/her game. If Geno can pull off a championship in '23 or '24 with Paige, is it illogical to assert that he would consider retirement then? If so, the '24 prospects { rivals might assert} would never play for him.

I know of no instance where recruits have disclosed that such "negative recruiting" tactics are being used, but I would be completely unsurprised if it is happening. It certainly happens in football to older, successful coaches.

BTW, I hope he and Paige get one more NV (in '24).

With respect to Geno's potential retirement, he signed a 5 year contract retroactive to 2020-2021.
The contract also provides for 2 one year extensions.
And in case Geno decides to retire, he would be eligible to continue working in the athletic dept. for up to another 5 years in lieu of a lump sum payout, probably in order to continue to provide continuity to the program while paying him even more compensation than the lump sum alone just for sticking around and helping out.

"....When asked about retirement in recent years, Auriemma said he suspects he’ll just know when it’s time to step away. Part of his equation, he’s mentioned, would entail whether he can still recruit the hard-working, championship-minded kids he’s had come to Storrs over the last 36 years...."

Around the time of the contract signing in May, 2021, Geno issued a statement:

“I would like to thank David Benedict and the University of Connecticut leadership for their continued commitment to me and the women’s basketball program,” Auriemma said in a statement. “UConn has been great to me for the last 36 years and I look forward to being here for at least a few more years. I think the future for our program, and UConn Athletics, is exciting.”

Paywall article:

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma signs contract extension through 2025

Geno Auriemma isn’t going anywhere. The 11-time national championship-winning head coach of the UConn women’s basketball team signed a five-year contract extension, retroactive for 2020…

www.courant.com

 

[Alydar]

UCONN can't keep missing out on these quality post players and still hope to be fine. Cunningham would have been a good - it didn't happen so on to the next one. Del Rosario if she wants to come. I'm all in on Kate (The Great) Koval '24 as the next great UCONN post player from the Empire state none the less.

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

 

[BobbyJ]

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

If this is Cardoso, she's a great post? Maybe a good backup. Saxton is better and more valuable than her. If a player is really "great", smart coaches don't play them 13 mpg.

 

[Alydar]

Kate "The Great" Kovval is actually from Ukraine and playing HS basketball on Long Island. There are quite a few international post prospect 22-24 but none that are outstanding IMO. Even so those players tend to go straight to the WNBA or play professionally. That is yet another reason I'm banking on Kate because she is actually here in the US playing HS basketball. Ironically I think there are better "wings" internationally than anything else. Joycte, Kosu-Russian and Prosper Canadian all are sitting atop the '23 list for Premier Basketball international rankings.

https://premierbasketballreport.com/2023-1[/

http://

If this is Cardoso, she's a great post? Maybe a good backup. Saxton is better and more valuable than her.

I agree she is unproven and again will play as a sub ... in her junior year. My point was about the annual scarcity of elite level posts and that having Brady & Patterson coming in is a recruiting home run and it's rare to do that back to back. I'd be very pleased for a 4 like Strong to pick UConn.

If I was choosing I'd rather have the 2 best guards in the country than the best post. My team might lose the last game but the pleasure I would get all season watching those guards would more than compensate for the disappointment at the end. My regret for the past season wasn't the loss to SCar, it was the loss of Bueckers and Fudd for much of the season.

 

[visitingcock]

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

Well, Dawn did sign the highest rated “ big” in 2021 which had no highly rated “posts.”

 

[Zarathustra]

Kate "The Great" Kovval is actually from Ukraine and playing HS basketball on Long Island. There are quite a few international post prospect 22-24 but none that are outstanding IMO. Even so those players tend to go straight to the WNBA or play professionally. That is yet another reason I'm banking on Kate because she is actually here in the US playing HS basketball. Ironically I think there are better "wings" internationally than anything else. Joycte, Kosu-Russian and Prosper Canadian all are sitting atop the '23 list for Premier Basketball international rankings.

2023

premierbasketballreport.com

And... did you notice Agata Makurat, Poland, listed at # 15??

 

[CocoHusky]

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

First of all I don't care about what other schools are doing. That is a rather odd strawman for me to name a school that that signed top 5 post in consecutive years but SC signed Cardoso and Feagin in same year so there you go. Baylor signed Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox in consecutive years. South Carolina signed Aliana Coates and A'ja Wilson in consecutive years. UCONN signed Tina, Maya and EDD* in consecutive years. I repeat UCONN cannot afford to keep missing out on these quality post players and continue to hope things will be alright.

* Brady is not a post any more than I would consider Maya or EDD a post but since you opened that door... I took advantage.

Now if you want to talk specifically about who were the UCONN post misses, that's a more worthwhile than me having to jog your memory.

 

[CocoHusky]

And... did you notice Agata Makurat, Poland, listed at # 15??

I did indeed. Quite honestly though, if you are talking about #15 on this list I'm not sure you are talking about a UCONN level prospect. Hana Muhl is #15 on the 2022 listing and was supposed to be heading to Illinois. #16 on the 2021 list played at Lasalle.

 

[Longtime fan]

Umm we have the number 5 & 8 players from that class coming in that’s hardly the door shut lol

I think I meant 2024.

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

Why would a top post go to SC when Boston is blocking them? Maybe when she is a senior. Like now.

 

[TCC Kid]

I truly believe that UConn should have two more titles but unfortunately Stevens left with a year of eligibility and Walker left with a year of eligibility and if we had those two players in the tournament on their senior years I believe those would’ve been the pieces that would’ve put Connecticut over the top. It’s just a shame that Connecticut lost those two players when they did. UConn should be going for NC #14

No one can dispute your belief. Azure was a talent, but I strongly believe she was a fish out of water in the post position. Had she stayed, it is possible she may have been more of a post, who knows? If she had a post of even mineable post talent she may have stayed and an NC MAY have happened. Talented forwards, we have seen, rarely make good effective posts. Walker, the one that went to Kentucky? I don't know about her--we saw her about 1 Semester or less.

 

[darrell]

I think I meant 2024.

Why would a top post go to SC when Boston is blocking them? Maybe when she is a senior. Like now.

Kamilla Cardoso might have an answer for you.

 

[TCC Kid]

I keep reading that UConn is missing on all these posts and all I can surmise is that Brady isn't very good because UConn didn't miss on her.
Maybe you can name a school that signed top 5 posts in consecutive years? I imagine that it has happened. Stokes in 2011 and Stewart in 2012? But Stokes spent most of her career sitting on the bench as a sub and so while I consider her a great post some fans think you have to start to qualify. SCar has 2 great posts but one was a transfer. Dawn has missed on every top HS post since Boston arrived. Is SCar on a downslide as a result?

I liked your post. When a school get the top guard in a class, the next few classes guards don't go there, That true of posts. As you point out, even terrific posts sit. Stokes, in my less than knowledgeable opinion--was many times getter than we got to see. She, Stokes was one of my favorites, under appreciated, she showed her talent in the Pro's. She is my idea of a perfect post to go with scoring guards and forwards. She was the perfect back stop. Those pesky guards didn't drive on her, with other posts they scored easily. Don't be too quick to put SC on a slide--remember Geno has been on one since 1995.

 

[CocoHusky]

Kamilla Cardoso might have an answer for you.

If Cardoso doesn't then Sania Feagin definitely will.

 

[CocoHusky]

I liked your post. When a school get the top guard in a class, the next few classes guards don't go there, That true of posts. As you point out, even terrific posts sit. Stokes, in my less than knowledgeable opinion--was many times getter than we got to see. She, Stokes was one of my favorites, under appreciated, she showed her talent in the Pro's. She is my idea of a perfect post to go with scoring guards and forwards. She was the perfect back stop. Those pesky guards didn't drive on her, with other posts they scored easily. Don't be too quick to put SC on a slide--remember Geno has been on one since 1995.

Uhn... That just not correct. Crystal Dangerfield was the top guard in her class. Megan Walker followed her to UCONN and Christyn Williams followed Megan. Paige and then Azzi? You are not a terrific post if you "have" to sit. Kiah Stokes had Dolson & Tuck ahead of her.