Mikayla Coombs to Transfer

[Argonaut]

Millenials. They all want their participation trophies. You can't blame them. They were raised in that particular culture where everybody gets to play.

Really? Playing the millennial card?

She worked hard for two years without any hint of complaint or trouble. By every indication, she bought into the system, but it just didn’t work out for her. Her whole life has been centered around basketball and I don’t think it’s fair to fault her for wanting to live out that dream to its fullest.

And, let us not forget, it was our (yes, our, because I’m a millennial, too) parents’ generation who started that whole participation award thing. Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t hop out of the womb demanding trophies and medals.

 

[UConnNick]

So here's my take. Mikayla hadn't played much in 2 years and was unlikely to play much in the next two years. However, there is a window for at least 1 starter on next year's team, as well as a 6th man. If the Huskies go any deeper than 6 players it'll be a miracle, but as I've said many times before, nobody goes much deeper than 6 players in big games.

Mikayla will have had her post-season review with Geno and there would certainly have been a discussion of how much PT she could expect next year, and what she had to do to earn it. Others may disagree, but if UConn does not bring in another player, based on who's returning along with one talented, but undeveloped freshman, Mikayla would very likely be UConn's 5th starter next year. She was the 2nd player off the bench down the stretch. A healthy Batouly might be a better option as the 5th starter, but sadly I don't think that is in the cards. Had Geno communicated to Mikayla that he was counting on her next season, I think there is a very good chance that she would have stayed. The one thing I would absolutely expect is that Geno would be completely honest with Mikayla.

So the logical conclusion is that Geno has someone else in mind as the 5th starter and perhaps the 6th man as well. We can certainly speculate: Makurat, Westbrook, Laksa, TBD? I believe that all of our questions will be answered in the next few weeks. Until then, try to stay calm and enjoy the warm weather.

That's a long way of saying Geno expects her to get recruited over. On one hand, it sucks for a player to hear that. On the other hand, that's better for any player that has aspirations of more PT, because it's an honest assessment by the coach of what their future will be if they stay.

 

[DaBball]

Another program without a lot of transfer outs is Oregon State. I know they had Taylor Kalmer last year, and a grad-transfer a few years ago, but not much else comes to mind.

 

[tomcat]

So

I did. However, we are not supposed to comment on possible transfers. There are a few new guards coming and maybe, just maybe, Westbrook is one.[/QUOT

Sorry. I guess I've been away for a while. We are expecting "a few" new guards next year? Not to parse every word, but a few means more than one or two. I know of one who's coming in as a freshman. Who else is coming in? Or is this more silly speculation?

 

[uconnfan68]

Really? Playing the millennial card?

She worked hard for two years without any hint of complaint or trouble. By every indication, she bought into the system, but it just didn’t work out for her. Her whole life has been centered around basketball and I don’t think it’s fair to fault her for wanting to live out that dream to its fullest.

And, let us not forget, it was our (yes, our, because I’m a millennial, too) parents’ generation who started that whole participation award thing. Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t hop out of the womb demanding trophies and medals.

She had a major medical issue, from the end of freshman year into pre-season of soph year. No one knew if she’d even be able to play. Just think that set her back a bit. She probably needed a real red shirt year.

 

[cohenzone]

We were returning to the US today from Greece. We met a young woman at the Athens airport who went to U of Dayton and is playing pro hoops in Europe. She mentioned her name but I don’t remember. She’s aPG about 5’10. We chatted about UConn. She said it takes special kids to play for UConn and modern players willing to stick with Geno’s approach are not that easy to find despite the fact that he’s pretty selective in recruiting.

She was on the Dayton team that led UConn at the half a few years ago she said they were exstatic. Didn’t last long.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Sabrina Haines and Lili Thompson are the only out-transfers within the past 5-ish years that come to mind.

Taylor Rooks fits into that time frame. She attended Stanford as a freshman in Brittany McPhee's class, then transferred to Harvard, and then this past year played as a grad transfer for Michigan. LINK

 

[WNBA 09]

Raoul:
"UConn WBB signed 14 players out of HS in the 2014 through 2017 recruiting classes. Mikayla Coombs leaving would make 6 who have transferred, amounting to a 43% attrition rate. If you look at just those ranked in the top 100, it's 6 out of 12 transferring, or 50%."

Raoul (@Raoul_000) | Twitter

He shouldn't post this. Could hurt future recruiting #'s if upcoming players see posts like this from such a trusted source.

 

[donalddoowop]

So

Griffin, Bueckers, Muhl, Makurat, and possibly Fudd. Is that enough for a Few?? A few is three or more.

 

[stick]

We were returning to the US today from Greece. We met a young woman at the Athens airport who went to U of Dayton and is playing pro hoops in Europe. She mentioned her name but I don’t remember. She’s aPG about 5’10. We chatted about UConn. She said it takes special kids to play for UConn and modern players willing to stick with Geno’s approach are not that easy to find despite the fact that he’s pretty selective in recruiting.

She was on the Dayton team that led UConn at the half a few years ago she said they were exstatic. Didn’t last long.

Probably Andrea Hoover. That Dayton team had only 2 potential pros, Mallott (a forward and 6'2") being the other.

 

[eebmg]

We were returning to the US today from Greece. We met a young woman at the Athens airport who went to U of Dayton and is playing pro hoops in Europe. She mentioned her name but I don’t remember. She’s aPG about 5’10. We chatted about UConn. She said it takes special kids to play for UConn and modern players willing to stick with Geno’s approach are not that easy to find despite the fact that he’s pretty selective in recruiting.

She was on the Dayton team that led UConn at the half a few years ago she said they were exstatic. Didn’t last long.

Here is the box score. Does it jog your memory about who it was?

 

[Anke]

Don't believe Westbrook would be eligible to play next year unless she gets a special waiver.

I believe the change of coaches will permit her to play next year

 

[TheFarmFan]

Sabrina Haines and Lili Thompson are the only out-transfers within the past 5-ish years that come to mind.

Lili and Marta are both grad transfers. And both were starters for most of their time at Stanford, so they were the last players to be transferring for minutes. In Marta's case, it was a season-ending injury before her senior year coupled with no scholarship spots for her for the following year (because, again, Tara always uses all her scholarships and essentially no one transfers before they pocket their degree.

The only out transfers I know of prior to degree were Jamie Carey, which was because Stanford medical staff wouldn't clear her from concussion protocol, and Texas would, and Taylor Rooks, who transferred to Harvard and was very clearly not the top 15 recruit she was expected to be.

 

[Plebe]

We were returning to the US today from Greece. We met a young woman at the Athens airport who went to U of Dayton and is playing pro hoops in Europe. She mentioned her name but I don’t remember. She’s aPG about 5’10. We chatted about UConn. She said it takes special kids to play for UConn and modern players willing to stick with Geno’s approach are not that easy to find despite the fact that he’s pretty selective in recruiting.

She was on the Dayton team that led UConn at the half a few years ago she said they were exstatic. Didn’t last long.

Andrea Hoover or Kelley Austria?

 

[Jmsdawg]

This guy really is a tool. It's never quite clear what his point is other than he picks out a few coaches and programs he dislikes and then offers up what seems like a criticism. A few years ago after Azura and Batouly announced they were transferring to UConn he went on a rant about teams like UConn hoarding players. I know, right? Truth be told, he was upset because he wanted Stevens and Batouly to transfer to Michigan but that was never happening. He's transparent and a bit of a baby.

I see Raoul as a real source of information. Information coming from Raoul has generally, at least to me, been accurate and timely. I have not seen any bias toward any team just useful information. As for transfer rates, I really do not see any school that stands out for excessive transfers and I for one think the ability to play vs sitting on the bench is the main motivation rather than the tough coaching.

 

[PoppaBear]

I never worry about transfers other than providing depth from the team perspective. I always say how many of them went on to become a star (or even make a difference) at their new school? I can't really think of one. Which means you're left with the question of did Geno and Co. blow it when they recruited them, or did the recruits have a different expectation or role in mind, and when it didn't work out the way they had envisioned they transferred?

Chloe Jackson did quite well as a transfer. How soon we forget. Final Four MVP

 

[TheFarmFan]

Really? Playing the millennial card?

She worked hard for two years without any hint of complaint or trouble. By every indication, she bought into the system, but it just didn’t work out for her. Her whole life has been centered around basketball and I don’t think it’s fair to fault her for wanting to live out that dream to its fullest.

And, let us not forget, it was our (yes, our, because I’m a millennial, too) parents’ generation who started that whole participation award thing. Contrary to popular belief, we didn’t hop out of the womb demanding trophies and medals.

+1000. I got participation trophies in elementary school and rolled my eyes even then. My boomer mother still keeps them.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Interesting choice of words here “overcrowded backcourt”

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting choice of words here “overcrowded backcourt”

I'm hoping it becomes overcrowded. Or at least a little crowded.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Here is the box score. Does it jog your memory about who it was?

View attachment 42558

Not to hijack the thread, but I really like the stat line for KML. She was one of the greatest players and scorers in NCAA tourney history and was often overshadowed by her other-worldly teammate whom she had dubbed "Baby Husky."

 

[stick]

Not to hijack the thread, but I really like the stat line for KML. She was one of the greatest players and scorers in NCAA tourney history and was often overshadowed by her other-worldly teammate whom she had dubbed "Baby Husky."

Yeah, I agree. I think she and Collier are the two most underrated All-American UConn players. IMO, KML was the greatest shooter in program history and she seemed to have a knack for making plays in key situations.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Not entirely surprising. If you watch the games last year, Combs usually does not seem that enthusiastic from the bench, maybe that's how she is as a person, but I always felt like she was not particularly happy. Coombs always seems to play hard when she is on the court.

So I kept hearing from many Uconn fans on here asking why would recruits not want to come and play for the best program in wbb, for the best coaching staff, etc... How do you explain the high rate of transfer in the past few years of players who have actually gone through the experience?

Some kids are led to believe that they'll be able to perform up to Geno's standards because they've been built up during their high school and AAU days by a variety of people. Geno's demands not only include talent but a massive amount of effort and some kids don't or won't or can't put in the effort that Geno feels warrant them getting substantial real time ..... he's a bit softer and more lenient than he was but he's still pretty headstrong about a great contributing a certain amount of effort .......

 

[Buzzyboy]

And on top of this, UConn loses 2020 recruit Natalja Marshall, a 6'4" post player, to Oregon, right from under our noses- Christ the King in New York.

Ouch!

Were they ever recruiting her????? I am not here as consistently as I previously had been but I've absolutely no knowledge of her .......

 

[Buzzyboy]

She is highly rated, and let's recall that Stephanie Dolson was no superstar when she was in high school. Slow, not good hands, and out of shape. But a couple of years later, she became strong underneath, dynamic, a great passer, and one of the best posts in the nation.

It appears that there are 5 players among the top 25 who are 6'4" or taller. Three have already been taken- and by Oregon, Notre Dame, and Stanford. We're desperate for size, yet our most bitter rivals have stolen three of the five. And one whom we're supposedly targeting, Gusters, is from Texas, which is susceptible to schools in that region.

This is a tough off-season. Fingers crossed....

Stephanie Dolson almost completely transformed herself when at UConn and it was an astounding revelation. That type of thing happens so very rarely and someone said earlier in this post that beyond being somewhat slow afoot, that her effort, Marshalls, often left much to be desired. That's not what Geno wants or will tolerate ......

 

[Buzzyboy]

If you really love the game, you want to play. Being on a championship team that you seldom get to play in the game you love has to be tough. I can see how a player would want to leave a great team for a good team where she could significantly participate in the games. Got to be a real challenge for the coach of the great team to keep the bench players motivated, just playing in those games where the outcome has been determined before you get to play can’t be too satisfying. My take, developing and motivating the bench is critical and will become even more difficult with the transfer trend we see today.

I think that Geno (and some other coaches) makes a point of not guaranteeing anyone anything but a chance for playing time, based on their skill and their effort and when they're in the midst of their visit or visits, they come in contact with present players who I'm sure have no problem sharing stories about how difficult things are and the expectations that Geno and the staff have. These kids can't be that naive or sheltered, can they????