Megan Walker

[Vowelguy]

Who was the better option in the post during those years? I think Houston was Auriemma's best option in the post and that's why he went with her.

Holy cow a return of SAKIBOMB! Welcome back.

 

[hart2hart]

Holy cow a return of SAKIBOMB! Welcome back.

 

[hart2hart]

Look at Crystal from Freshmen to Sophomore year. We love MW and we bet she takes the same leap as CD.
On a side note, I wish Geno would just let her play 20 minutes a game,
Especially in the blow-outs. Just MHO.

 

[Sakibomb25]

Holy cow a return of SAKIBOMB! Welcome back.

Haha... thanks. I've been keeping it pretty low-key the last few years... but still keeping tabs on UConn

 

[scubadog]

Geno also tried Gabby as a post a player and that... well that turned out pretty well didn't it?

Well, that goes without saying at this point. I was just saying that it has been tried before, and it hasn't always worked out. Name me another player Gabby's size that has been successful in the post ? She is an extraordinary athlete.

 

[LesMis89]

Good to see you, Saki! Hope all is well.

 

[JRRRJ]

Well, that goes without saying at this point. I was just saying that it has been tried before, and it hasn't always worked out. Name me another player Gabby's size that has been successful in the post ? She is an extraordinary athlete.

Barbara Turner

 

[HuskyNan]

Who was the better option in the post during those years? I think Houston was Auriemma's best option in the post and that's why he went with her.

Welcome back! Haven't seen you for a while.

 

[HuskyNan]

Well, that goes without saying at this point. I was just saying that it has been tried before, and it hasn't always worked out. Name me another player Gabby's size that has been successful in the post ?

Jamelle Elliott.

 

[CL82]

Well, that goes without saying at this point. I was just saying that it has been tried before, and it hasn't always worked out. Name me another player Gabby's size that has been successful in the post ? She is an extraordinary athlete.

An absolute pleasure to watch play. She's something special, for sure.

 

[scubadog]

Barbara Turner

Barbara Turner

Liked Barbara , but she was never a guard. That's what I was implying.

 

[scubadog]

Jamelle Elliott.

Obviously Jamelle did a great job. But I referring to a player that was originally a guard . Bad wording on my part.

 

[scubadog]

Barbara Turner

Rewatched 2005 huskies vs ND last evening at Gampel. Remember being at that game. End of home winning streak. I don't think BT was taller than 5'10. Beginning of the 4 lean years. Strange team makeup, something I could never understand.

 

[Carnac]

Geno also tried Gabby as a post a player and that... well that turned out pretty well didn't it?

If you remember, Gabby did not have a jump shot her first year. Her free throw shooting was dismal. The only option (offensively) open to them was for her to drive to the basket for layups and bunnies, which she did, and became quite good at as the season wore on. I remember her FT shooting improved quite a bit the next year. She has related often that she was not ready to play in a game (Stanford 2014) of that magnitude. I recall that Tuck and Nurse fouled out of that game, and Stokes had 4 fouls. Gabby and fellow freshman Sadie Edwards did not play.

 

[JRRRJ]

Liked Barbara , but she was never a guard. That's what I was implying.

You only mentioned someone Gabby's size who was successful in the post.

BTW, Barbara was listed as a F/G for the 2003 Pan American Games team. Can't find any detail on her HS career.

 

[scubadog]

You only mentioned someone Gabby's size who was successful in the post.

BTW, Barbara was listed as a F/G for the 2003 Pan American Games team. Can't find any detail on her HS career.

You're right , it was bad wording on my part. The real point I was trying to discuss, was guards being converted to a post, as in Charde Houston. I saw her play guard in hs., and always had the impression that Geno and Charde were frustrated with each other. Thanks for the link. Saw BT play many times . She always seemed shorter than 6'0.

 

[Sargassoc]

I think it is a confidence thing. Fear of making a mistake. I'll tell you she looked terrific on that drive to the basket, didn't she?

Did anyone else hear her WTIC interview after the AAC tournament game against Cincinnati (or was it Tulane)? At the end, she said something to the effect that she was really happy to be playing at UConn. It made me think that she was putting it all together -- and I thought it reflected a certain ingenuous charm (as well as a harbinger of the good yet to come with her).

 

[Sakibomb25]

You only mentioned someone Gabby's size who was successful in the post.

BTW, Barbara was listed as a F/G for the 2003 Pan American Games team. Can't find any detail on her HS career.

From the UConn media guide:

"A two-time All-American from East Technical High School under head coach William Stovall...named a 2002 First Team All-American by USA TODAY, WBCA, and Parade Magazine...also named a First Team McDonald’s All-American and played in the inaugural High School All-American game...2002 Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year and Ms. Ohio Basketball...2002 Naismith Player of the Year finalist...averaged 23.5 points per game, 17.6 rebounds per game, 10.2 assists per game and 4.6 blocks per game as a senior leading East Tech to the 2002 state title...the state title was the first ever by a Cleveland Municipal school...named the 2002 Ohio Division II State Tournament MVP."

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Geno also tried turning Charde Houston into a post player, which didn't work well. I remember seeing her as a quick h.s. guard. Suddenly she was bulking up and playing the frontcourt . I never did understand that. But that's awhile ago.

I thought Strother had Jess Moore, Wil Crockett and Brittany Hunter in the post when she played at UConn.

 

[Carnac]

Look at Crystal from Freshmen to Sophomore year. We love MW and we bet she takes the same leap as CD.
On a side note, I wish Geno would just let her play 20 minutes a game,
Especially in the blow-outs. Just MHO.

Thanks hart2hart. Unfortunately, school's out. It's not about developing Megan or anyone else at this point of the season. It's tournament time. It's now about the next 6 games..........period!!! Geno cannot be concerned about playing time, hurt feelings or anything of that nature. It's about the team winning the next 6 games and nothing else! ALL of the players understand this. Morale will not be a problem. No one in this group of players is selfish. EVERYONE wants to win the championship. EVERY member on the team has a part to play. Every player knows their role, and will fulfill it.

Geno will go into battle with 7 players, Megan being one of them. The rest of the team will become cheerleaders. They will be engaged in the game as if they were on the floor. How much Megan plays depends on the score, the frequency of the starters needing a blow (or gets in foul trouble), and how well Gabby holds up. Megan will be the 7th man after Azura Stevens. We ALL expect Walker to make the same sophomore leap that Dangerfield made.

 

[Sakibomb25]

I thought Strother had Jess Moore, Wil Crockett and Brittany Hunter in the post when she played at UConn.

Hunter never really played at UConn because of a pre-existing injury from Duke. Didn't Moore do a redshirt year for one of the years? And Crockett was a solid player, but one player can't play two positions

 

[PhillyCoach]

In the UCONN program, the impactfulness of a player is largely determined by the player herself. You earn minutes if you practice well. The more minutes you earn, the more meaningful those minutes become, and the more potential there is that you can make an impact. The system is entirely merits based, independent of your ranking. MW is the number one recruit in her class. To argue that she has not been impactful so far because she has not been needed to be impactful seems to me to turn logical thinking on its head.

Geno himself has expressed his frustration with the benchers on multiple occasions, and at least on one occasion explicitly refuted the idea that he did not need a deeper bench; in fact, he stated quite the opposite: he needed the bench to contribute. If MW had earn Geno's trust, I could easily have imagined that he would have inserted her earlier in many games and for longer stretches of time, but he elected not to do so. In one blow out game, he even went so far as to not play her at all to send a message.

I think highly of MW's talents; she was not ranked number one for no reason. With the kind of coaching that is available to her at UCONN, her potential is literally limitless. What she does with that potential and how she impacts the team rest largely in her own hands.

Hello Mister2 - You make a solid point that the impact is largely determined by the player. Agree with Merit based all the way.
You were right when Geno stated the bench was driving him nuts. In that regard IMHO he was looking for improvement and especially consistency. Let's agree that it is very difficult to follow Geno's system (new to most benchers), play with frosh and other benchers, and then have an impact on a game where you are 40 points ahead. Geno changes the style when the lead is humongous.
In addition, there is necessary requirement (IMO) of a pressure game/close game/ or even behind in the game where impact is called for. Who gets bumped out of the top 6 so Megan can be impactful? Who does not practice with the starters-plus Z- so Megan can earn pressure game time? Answer - it is not there. This is not turning logical thin king on its head. It is a fact.
When you are the 7th player you are basically limited. Megan is not going to take the ball out of Lou's hands, Z hands, Crystal's hands. Megan is not going to bump Kia or Gabby off the hot shooter from the other team. This team did not need a 5th starter like Lou or Kia filled. This team did not need a 6th man either. And to think that Megan could learn the new system, deal with the HS to college transition, and then take Z's spot, or anyone else's spot is a pipe dream. NO ONE had that expectation because it wasn't needed.
Lots of good points Mister2. Just don't agree with all of them. Have a good evening.

 

[Sargassoc]

Hunter never really played at UConn because of a pre-existing injury from Duke.

I beg to differ. She played in 87 games, scoring 464 points for the Huskies, shooting 55.9 percent from the field. She was a big part of of UConn's 2007-08 Final Four team. She couldn't practice regularly, but the coaching (and athletic training) staff clearly figured out a way for her to be productive.

 

[Mister2]

Hello Mister2 - You make a solid point that the impact is largely determined by the player. Agree with Merit based all the way.
You were right when Geno stated the bench was driving him nuts. In that regard IMHO he was looking for improvement and especially consistency. Let's agree that it is very difficult to follow Geno's system (new to most benchers), play with frosh and other benchers, and then have an impact on a game where you are 40 points ahead. Geno changes the style when the lead is humongous.
In addition, there is necessary requirement (IMO) of a pressure game/close game/ or even behind in the game where impact is called for. Who gets bumped out of the top 6 so Megan can be impactful? Who does not practice with the starters-plus Z- so Megan can earn pressure game time? Answer - it is not there. This is not turning logical thin king on its head. It is a fact.
When you are the 7th player you are basically limited. Megan is not going to take the ball out of Lou's hands, Z hands, Crystal's hands. Megan is not going to bump Kia or Gabby off the hot shooter from the other team. This team did not need a 5th starter like Lou or Kia filled. This team did not need a 6th man either. And to think that Megan could learn the new system, deal with the HS to college transition, and then take Z's spot, or anyone else's spot is a pipe dream. NO ONE had that expectation because it wasn't needed.
Lots of good points Mister2. Just don't agree with all of them. Have a good evening.

PhillyCoach: I take your basic point that UCONN did not need to fill a 5th starter slot with MW as it did with Kia and KLS, and in that sense it has made life somewhat more difficult for MW. However, you can also look at it in a different way: how much more difficult life would have been for Kia and KLS had they not performed well enough to hang on to their starting roles. In the case of KLS, she was not the first choice for the 5th starter, not even the second choice if I remember correctly. I believe Geno first started Gabby, then Pheesa, then KLS. The competition for that 5th starter was intense. Had KLS not performed well in practice at the time, I doubt Geno would have hesitated at all to benching her.

You are also on point that, at critical moments in a close game, Geno is not going to sub out KLS (or any of the other 4+1 starters for that matter) for MW. However, even in close games there will often be stretches of time the 7th player could come in and make a significant contribution and impact the game. In other words, a player's impactfulness on the team does not depend on whether she has the starting role. A good example of that was Butler last season: she never started, but without her contributing the kind of meaningful minutes she had, UCONN would surely have lost a game or two in the regular season.

Ultimately, I think our disagreement is fairly small. You tend to put more emphasis on the circumstance a particular player faces; I tend to put more emphasis on the player's ability to alter that circumstance. I don't think my emphasis is asking too much of a top recruit.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Hunter never really played at UConn because of a pre-existing injury from Duke. Didn't Moore do a redshirt year for one of the years? And Crockett was a solid player, but one player can't play two positions

Yep, I remember Moore doing a redshirt. I just don't remember Strother playing post , I remember those three playing there at times during her time but that was awhile ago.