Mir McLean to UConn [merged thread]

[Sifaka]

The Big East Bueckers announcement is already paying dividends.

There. Fixed it for you.

 

[LouS]

OMG, it looks like Geno has LOST his recruiting touch, RIGHT!!! I get so annoyed by the NASAYERS, have some faith in the greatest women's coach EVER and enjoy what he bring to us LOYAL FANS...He is doing it AGAIN...

 

[Lawrence]

I have great faith in Geno and his staff..,

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Given that she is named for a celestial object, we could call her ET.

Or.... just plain MIRaculous!

"Mir" actually means "peace" in Russian.

 

[meyers7]

"Mir" actually means "peace" in Russian.

Our own little cosmonaut.

 

[huskeynut]

Geno never lost his recruiting touch as some of our naysayers on this board have said. BTW - they seem to be conspicuously absent.

Geno has always been very particular as to who he recruits and recruits hard. He recruits from a smaller pool of players than most. He has stated this many times. And you win some and you loose some. He's had some hits and missing and he's had players transfer out - which our naysayers were very vocal about. But this is the new norm - or so it seems. Texas not doing to well in retaining some of their big recruits. ND having problems over the last few years. Stanford has lost some too.

Geno is also changing his strategy. He is looking at transfers seriously. Do not be surprised of Geno becomes the master of this phase of recruiting.

 

[Charliebball]

I believe Geno is already calling her Sput short for Sputnik.........................

 

[Ozimoto]

Nice to see some local talent going to UConn. Roland Park has a great academic reputation so no surprise that Mir is a good student. With the move to the new Big East and assuming the series with Maryland resumes I will actually be able to take in more games. Me likey!

 

[Plebe]

Do we know which other schools were Mir's finalists?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

That is curious @Plebe. The verbal is already up on the ESPN service but the others considered is blank. This article on Mir from the Crimson Tide (which I have seen published elsewhere) suggests Alabama was in the picture at one point.

Basketball prospect Mir McLean of Roland Park and Team Takeover soars on court, in classroom

Here is her Maryland USA First Team article. Thankfully she avoided Reese's problem with UConn. 2018-19 ALL-USA Maryland Girls Basketball Team

 

[CocoHusky]

I just watched her once on one of the videos for a whole game. I don't see any BT in her game.
Mir looks like an "off-the-ball hybrid" offensively. The game didn't show any skills of her ball-handling or shooting other than 5 feet and in (maybe she has it but the game didn't show because they kept her inside the whole game.). BT had handle and could shoot from the outside. Mir jumps out of the gym. BT didn't really have great hops. Not bad but not much. Mir has great, great hops. She doesn't appear to be a scorer but you have to wonder with Paige as the team's pg - if Mir isn't really a scorer she could still "flourish."

Mir is also skinny while BT was more rugged. Mir seems to have very long arms- BT didn't. BT wasn't much if at all of an offensive rebounder. Mir can be due to her hops and arms. She seems to get her hands on the ball a lot inside even if she can't pull down the rebound. I don't think she is "the best rebounder in her class (but "pound for pound probably a BIG yes)" but because of her freak hops and long arms (she is a quick jumper) and she'll be playing in a motion offense - she can create some offensive chaos in the paint though teams with good quickness from their "very big" bigs will probably be able to neutralize that aspect.

Didn't get a chance to see what she could do defensively. They had her pinned in the back of a zone or defending inside. But if she could move well laterally defensively -- she could be a defensive freak on the perimeter but would need help vs "powerful/sturdy" power forwards. Depending on her quickness laterally - she could impact the game much differently than BT did. And she could probably be super in help defense - such as coming from behind/or weak side tipping balls and blocking shots (even blocking much, much, much taller players) But offensively right now I didn't see her try anything that BT was able to do. Not saying she can't. I only saw one full game from her.

I agree with most of what you are saying. I also don't see BT either.

What I did see and like very much was the following:
Great set of feet and lateral quickness.
A nose for the ball.
A high level of athleticism especially when finishing at the rim.
Versatile defender-top of the press, wing, on the block.

Here is what I saw and am not necessarily worried about:
No defined position-too slightly built to play PF and not good enough shooter to play wing or guard.
No evidence of mid range game or deep ball.
Not enough movement off the ball to be effective in a motion offense.
To say I'm was not impressed by her AAU coaching is a vast understatement. When your tallest player is trying to be a PG and facilitating the offense from the top of the key and can't make a cross court pass that's pretty sorry coaching. And yes I'm talking about Angel Reese. All of that will change when she gets to UCONN. She will be taught to move, shoot and will get the ball when she's open. For now Geno got himself an athlete. My guess is she'll grow into a complete basketball player.

 

[Vowelguy]

Geno never lost his recruiting touch as some of our naysayers on this board have said. BTW - they seem to be conspicuously absent.

Uhhh ... you seem to have missed a few posts in this very thread.

 

[Charliebball]

my major complaint in the past has been about UConn's limited number of offers .......................recently they appear to have cast a wider net and whether it was out of necessity or a new philosophy I'm very pleased to see it..................;.

 

[DaddyChoc]

32nd at ESPN

17th at Prospects Nation

40th Blue Star

That’s gonna change soon

 

[DaddyChoc]

Gabby Williams are some big shoes to fill... don’t put that kind of pressure on this young lady

 

[DaBball]

Another game of Team Takeover vs. FBC Hunt. This one is from July 2018. It is a very good game.

She looks good, but she doesn't really stand out in this one IMO. She is guarding Esmery Martinez a good bit. Will post some times for those who want to look at specific Mir moments.

12:05 -- nice drive, didn't finish.
12:15 -- takes a charge on Cochran.
14:15 -- gets up for the rebound, doesn't grab it.
Side note -- very impressed with Reese BB IQ at 23:07.
25:48 -- once again bulldozed by Cochran - forces a travel.
29:55 -- nice rebound, but turns it over.
32:00 -- little out of control on the drive, but draws a foul. (1-2 FT)
34:45 -- really nice offensive board off the FT, shot gets blocked into a jump.
35:58 -- nice poke on Madison Hayes drive, forces TO.
Side note -- 43:20 -- Reese is so dirty, elbowing Martinez.
46:37 -- really nice rebound.
47:21 -- gets outrebounded by Cochran who gets an easy 2.
48:30 -- gets scored on by Hunt, though a wild shot.
49:10 -- gets her pocket picked, gets away with a little pull on Raven Johnson.
49:50 -- gets a jumpball OREB after FT.
51:45 -- forces 3 second call on Martinez.
53:25 -- lack of communication, 3 for Treasure Hunt.
1:10:10 -- Martinez scores and-1 on her.
1:10:45 -- scored on by Martinez again.
Side note -- 1:12:35 -- Reese gets T for a staredown.
1:19:40 -- 1-2 FT.
1:22:44 -- rebound tipped out of hand.

I think she only had two points, but she falls under the category of Geno's recent quote, a good player is one who has an impact without scoring (it was along those lines).

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Forgive me if this has been dealt with elsewhere, but how do the players fit in in the 20/21 year? Mir is 5'11".

Would she be a guard? Forward? Coach Geno is usually fluid regarding how his players are used, but not entirely fluid.

Who would we have at which positions? Who's first off the bench? Second off the bench?

 

[Vowelguy]

Forgive me if this has been dealt with elsewhere, but how do the players fit in in the 20/21 year? Mir is 5'11".

Would she be a guard? Forward? Coach Geno is usually fluid regarding how his players are used, but not entirely fluid.

Who would we have at which positions? Who's first off the bench? Second off the bench?

PG = Bueckers (Fr)
PG/G = Westbrook (Jr/Sr), Muhl (Fr)
G/W = CW (Jr), Makurat (So)
SmlF = McLean (Fr)
F = Griffin (So), Walker (Sr)
C = ONO (Jr)

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Leave it to Adamec... See, it was fated!



NOW, will it be feted?

 

[JavaMan]

Our own little cosmonaut.

Yea, maybe Svetlana will come back to Storrs more often now. Cold war or hot war, Svet will always be welcome.

 

[winlots]

KAIZ: Very nicely presented and helpful.

 

[oldude]

Excuse me if someone already mentioned this, but much like Evelyn, Mir appears to be another stealth recruit by Geno. Other than Jas and Mir following each other on Twitter, was there any indication that Mir visited UConn or that any of the coaches visited Mir or even watched her play?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

 

[Alydar]

I just watched her once on one of the videos for a whole game. I don't see any BT in her game.

Mir looks like an "off-the-ball hybrid" offensively. The game didn't show any skills of her ball-handling or shooting other than 5 feet and in (maybe she has it but the game didn't show because they kept her inside the whole game.). BT had handle and could shoot from the outside. Mir jumps out of the gym. BT didn't really have great hops. Not bad but not much. Mir has great, great hops. She doesn't appear to be a scorer but you have to wonder with Paige as the team's pg - if Mir isn't really a scorer she could still "flourish."

Mir is also skinny while BT was more rugged. Mir seems to have very long arms- BT didn't. BT wasn't much if at all of an offensive rebounder. Mir can be due to her hops and arms. She seems to get her hands on the ball a lot inside even if she can't pull down the rebound. I don't think she is "the best rebounder in her class (but "pound for pound probably a BIG yes)" but because of her freak hops and long arms (she is a quick jumper) and she'll be playing in a motion offense - she can create some offensive chaos in the paint though teams with good quickness from their "very big" bigs will probably be able to neutralize that aspect.

Didn't get a chance to see what she could do defensively. They had her pinned in the back of a zone or defending inside. But if she could move well laterally defensively -- she could be a defensive freak on the perimeter but would need help vs "powerful/sturdy" power forwards. Depending on her quickness laterally - she could impact the game much differently than BT did. And she could probably be super in help defense - such as coming from behind/or weak side tipping balls and blocking shots (even blocking much, much, much taller players) But offensively right now I didn't see her try anything that BT was able to do. Not saying she can't. I only saw one full game from her.

I never watched Turner play in high school. I'm surprised that you saw her taking a lot of outside shots then. Do you have a link to videos of her HS play? Most players who excel inside stay inside in HS. Hell, from memory, I once looked up Stewart's offensive stats in HS and she had only taken about a dozen 3 point shots total during her first 3 years at Cicero South. I guess you labeled her "strictly inside".

I love freshmen who come in eager to learn great defense and with the tools to accomplish it. Gabby Williams, despite her meager outside shooting, was a joy to watch play. It seems that any player <6' is judged with great weight placed on her ability to dribble and create her own shot. I myself place the greater emphasis on passing and catching passes when it comes to UConn recruits. If McLean can catch em Paige can throw em. I see a possibly great battery in the spirit of Reynolds/Berra or Guidry/Munson.

 

[Vowelguy]

PG = Bueckers (Fr)
PG/G = Westbrook (Jr/Sr), Muhl (Fr)
G/W = CW (Jr), Makurat (So)
SmlF = McLean (Fr)
F = Griffin (So), Walker (Sr)
C = ONO (Jr)

Westbrook, CW, Walker, ONO likely starters with possibly Griffin for size or Bueckers as the 5th