oldude
bamboo lover
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2016
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I am amazed at the range and depth of knowledge of many BY’ers regarding HS recruits from coast to coast. My knowledge of recruits is far more limited, usually confined to just those top recruits on UConn’s radar, typically commencing during their junior year of HS. But there is one exception. Five years ago, when I lived in Chesterfield, VA, a neighbor who knew how much I loved UConn WBB, invited me to attend a game at his daughter’s HS to watch a kid I’d never heard of before. Megan Walker was just a freshman, but she took over the game that night, and I became a huge fan, hoping that she would find her way to Storrs one day.
Through her sophomore year at Monacan HS, I watched Megan play on 4 or 5 occasions. She had a “Jordanesque” quality to ease into a game and turn it on whenever her team needed her. She was a streak shooter at times, but her greatest strength has always been the ability to drive to the basket like a freight train and rebound relentlessly. My wife and I moved to upstate NY after Megan’s sophomore year, but I continued to follow her career as best as I could. Needless to say, I was delighted when she decided to become a Husky.
Even great players can take time to reach their potential, and as we all know, UConn is not for everyone. While Megan’s freshman year at UConn was uneven at best, what I always knew about her was that she was a fierce competitor who would not give up. Lead by Megan, Monacan won 3 state championships. In her senior year, with Monacan down in the 4th qtr of the championship game, Megan took over the game scoring 18 pts in the qtr while leading the team to yet another championship. Megan's future coach was at the game. After the game Geno, ever the coach, told Megan that, “if you can play like that in the 4th qtr, you can play like that in the 1st qtr too.”
Patience is a virtue, but not necessarily here on the BY. Many here questioned whether Megan was overrated in HS. Some even believed she would pack up and leave. While I was thrilled with Megan’s performance yesterday, I always knew it was just a matter of time. When Geno was asked to explain Megan’s performance last night, he gave an unusually succinct answer, “Hard work.” Megan deserves a great deal of credit for the enormous effort she’s put in. We’ve all seen the video of Megan working with Pheesa over the summer.
We shouldn’t expect Megan to score 30 pts every game from now on. She might even have a bad game or two. But I do expect Megan to continue her upward trajectory to eventually become yet another UConn AA. I was delighted to see Megan burst into a series of big, beautiful smiles yesterday. While her smiles have been few and far between at UConn, in HS she smiled all the time as she was dominating one opponent after another. As I watched Megan put the finishing touches on a brilliant 34 pt, 10 rb performance yesterday, one thought jumped into my head: “Now that’s what I’m talkin about!”
Through her sophomore year at Monacan HS, I watched Megan play on 4 or 5 occasions. She had a “Jordanesque” quality to ease into a game and turn it on whenever her team needed her. She was a streak shooter at times, but her greatest strength has always been the ability to drive to the basket like a freight train and rebound relentlessly. My wife and I moved to upstate NY after Megan’s sophomore year, but I continued to follow her career as best as I could. Needless to say, I was delighted when she decided to become a Husky.
Even great players can take time to reach their potential, and as we all know, UConn is not for everyone. While Megan’s freshman year at UConn was uneven at best, what I always knew about her was that she was a fierce competitor who would not give up. Lead by Megan, Monacan won 3 state championships. In her senior year, with Monacan down in the 4th qtr of the championship game, Megan took over the game scoring 18 pts in the qtr while leading the team to yet another championship. Megan's future coach was at the game. After the game Geno, ever the coach, told Megan that, “if you can play like that in the 4th qtr, you can play like that in the 1st qtr too.”
Patience is a virtue, but not necessarily here on the BY. Many here questioned whether Megan was overrated in HS. Some even believed she would pack up and leave. While I was thrilled with Megan’s performance yesterday, I always knew it was just a matter of time. When Geno was asked to explain Megan’s performance last night, he gave an unusually succinct answer, “Hard work.” Megan deserves a great deal of credit for the enormous effort she’s put in. We’ve all seen the video of Megan working with Pheesa over the summer.
We shouldn’t expect Megan to score 30 pts every game from now on. She might even have a bad game or two. But I do expect Megan to continue her upward trajectory to eventually become yet another UConn AA. I was delighted to see Megan burst into a series of big, beautiful smiles yesterday. While her smiles have been few and far between at UConn, in HS she smiled all the time as she was dominating one opponent after another. As I watched Megan put the finishing touches on a brilliant 34 pt, 10 rb performance yesterday, one thought jumped into my head: “Now that’s what I’m talkin about!”