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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 3361488, member: 5798"] Thanks Eric. Great post. You touched on some points that are sometimes either dismissed or overlooked by most fans i.e., why is Boston starting at South Carolina. Is it because of promises made during her recruitment, or because she's the best post on their roster? The contrast between South Carolina and UConn is broad as you stated. It would not surprise me to learn that Boston was guaranteed to start (among other things) if she came to SC. The only guarantees Geno gives potential recruits is the opportunity to compete for playing time. If one understands that the standards and expectations are different at UConn versus other programs, they would more easily be able to temper their expectations of incoming freshmen. Geno reiterates his philosophy on incoming freshmen every year. No matter how great or accomplished they were in high school, they must be broken down, then built up, similar to what the armed services do to “boots” during basic training. The level of play between HS and elite Division 1 wcbb is as wide as the grand canyon. Some players can make that transition, some can't. For those reasons, I follow Geno’s lead in having zero expectations for freshmen. Anything we get from them is gravy because Geno says it takes the average freshman a full year to grasp and completely understand his system. Sometimes UConn freshmen are forced to start (Christyn Williams) because of injuries or personnel shortages. Megan had a difficult freshman year because of the media hype that preceded her arrival and her difficulty in learning the system. Look at her now. She’s got first team All American written all over her. She’s ready now. What she’s done these first 8 games, she’ll be doing all year. The freshmen will get it eventually. Some take longer than others. The dynamics of recruiting changes from year to year. it's "cut throat" to say the least. The "elite" programs all recruit the same players. Coaches know their jobs/future depend on getting 1-2 of the best recruits from each up coming class. The standards that each coach has may be different from other coaches, which is why some programs are more appealing to recruits than others. Sometimes you miss on a recruit and realize later that you're glad you did. They didn't pan out to be as good as anticipated. Sometimes the ones you do get don't work out for different reasons, and transfer to other programs. Some recruits (Dee, Maya, KML, Stewie, Megan, Azzi, etc) are guaranteed "locks" to be great at the next level. With some, you roll the dice and hope you guessed right. Some fall through the cracks and are not highly recruited, but turn out to be great. Aubrey is fun to watch right now. But as Geno reminded us, this is as bad as Aubrey and Anna will be during their time here. They’re improving and becoming more comfortable with every game. Think for a moment how good they’ll be 8 games into the season next year. We’ve got a lot to look forward to the next few years. All of the talented freshmen scheduled to come in, going back home to the BIG East and renewing old rivalries and creating new ones. I'm fired up!!! This is a great time to be a UConn WBB fan. Hoo Rah!!! [/QUOTE]

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