megan walker

[cabbie191]

Please don't think I'm a religious person, but:

O ye men of little faith.

And is there a problem with you, or anyone else, being a religious person?

 

[boontonbomber]

I feel like the major difference with MW and other highly rated recruits is that it seems like she has had very minimal impact on this season. Excluding the UCLA game, and 4th qtr of the ND game, she has been pretty absent.

Yes Stewie was benched but she started her career scoring more points in her first 10 games than any other freshman ever. Gabby was benched one game, but still got minutes as a very raw guard playing in the post. Kia started from game 3 and earned minutes by working hard, playing d, and finishing with contact. Lou had stretches where she was benched for playing passive on the perimeter, but she played her way into the starting lineup and really blossomed tournament time. Same with Jefferson. Up and down season but her growth was a big factor down the stretch of the NCAA tournament. Dangerfield had an outburst against Baylor, was very up and down, but earned minutes and produced when on the court (not always consistent but she always showed flashes). KML showed up to UConn and was a terror for opponents with her sharp shooting.

My observation is that of the many highly rated recruits that have rolled through in the past few years- each has made contributions as a freshman. It’s normal to lack consistency, but to me it’s alarming that MW hasn’t been able to put together any string of good practices, games etc. It’s just unusual to see a top recruit struggle like this but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t very talented.

She still has the opportunity to be a major factor down the stretch. I hope she puts things together and grows to be a major player over the remainder of her UCONN career. You can see the talent is there, but when I watch it just looks like she is trying so hard not to make a mistake.

I’m really rooting for her to get over the hump.

You are absolutely correct, that Megan not playing is nowhere near the same as the other players you mention. This is an entirely different situation, which I think is alarming. I don't see Walker , or Coombs, having made any kind of progress this season. Even so, when they are on the court it's clear, at least to me, why they were such highly regarded recruits. The many here shrugging it off as, "it's what all the freshman go through at UConn", I think are not really paying attention. It's different with them, and it's not good. Your comment about Megan trying hard not to make a mistake is spot on, and certainly not the way you want a talented player performing. I find it painful to watch. It really doesn't matter whether it's the players or coaches( I know, never blame the coaches), or both to blame at this point. As the old saying goes, "something's got to give". Thanks for your insights.

 

[UConnCat]

Geno was a lot tougher on Tina Charles and it didn't stop after Tina's freshman year. Walker hasn't even approached Tina Territory. How 'bout what Geno used to say about Wilnett Crocket during her freshman year? She didn't deserve to wear a UConn uniform. Remember that one?

Chris Dailey tells an interesting story about Tina's mom. Angela asked the coaches what she could do to support the message they were sending her daughter. She may not have liked hearing Geno talk about Tina publicly but she knew ultimately it would help her kid get the most out of her immense talent.

I believe Wilnett wanted to return to California during her freshman year and her parents wouldn't allow it. Those same parents, lovely people btw, could not stop talking about how much their daughter had grown and matured by Senior Night in 2006.

These kids tend to be a lot tougher than the majority of fans on this board. Maybe there's a lot of projection going on here too.

Geno hasn't changed and isn't going to change. Things will work out for these kids or they won't.

 

[Carnac]

It's interesting to me to read the different comments in this thread. They cover the spectrum for one end to the other of folks being concerned almost to the point of anger and rebellion, to the other end where folks are completely understanding and have absolutely no problem with Geno's motives or actions. I talking about very knowledgeable and "seasoned" fans, not newbies or casual fans. It's amazing to watch the dichotomy manifest itself over this topic.

 

[vballcoach]

If you watch the replay, you'll see that MW and MC react to Kyla's fun little turnaround-fadaway shot, and they were laughing and cheering just like everyone else.

 

[JS]

Mods, Pls clean this up or shut it down.

How about both?

Like I said earlier, too high maintenance.

Maybe in one case a mod thought something was implied that wasn't. But we don't need a whole bunch of posts about it. As the rules say, take it to PM.

Other than that, some people just go on, oblivious to the rules violations. The hunger to talk about it, as armchair sports psychologists, seems preferable in those cases to talking about actual basketball.

Problem, aside from the little matter of the rules, is superficiality in the absence of facts. Time to give it a rest until and unless something more comes out.