Mirror Mirror on the Wall

[RockyMTblue2]

"The bubble is a familiar concept in college sports, that anxious limbo as a team waits to find out whether it made the NCAA tournament. Azurá Stevens lived it when her Duke team missed the postseason in 2016.

But she also endured an anxiety peculiar to women's basketball a season earlier, one that affects even teams whose postseason places are assured.

"It didn't matter who else we were playing against, we just didn't want to be in UConn's bracket until the championship," Stevens recalled. "It was like if you got in their bracket, your shoulders just slumped because eventually you had to play them, and probably you're going to lose."

Stevens immediately makes UConn even better

"Now a roster that features three returning All-Americans (Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson Gabby Williams) and a Canadian Olympian (Kia Nurse) includes a 6-foot-6 player with a soft touch and the potential to be the best of them all. The best in Storrs, Connecticut. The best in America. As if there is a difference. And that's why she came. Not because wins would be easier but because there is one thing more difficult than beating UConn on any given day.

That is being UConn every single day.

So here is Stevens. So much for everyone else's hope."

 

[eebmg]

"The bubble is a familiar concept in college sports, that anxious limbo as a team waits to find out whether it made the NCAA tournament. Azurá Stevens lived it when her Duke team missed the postseason in 2016.

But she also endured an anxiety peculiar to women's basketball a season earlier, one that affects even teams whose postseason places are assured.

"It didn't matter who else we were playing against, we just didn't want to be in UConn's bracket until the championship," Stevens recalled. "It was like if you got in their bracket, your shoulders just slumped because eventually you had to play them, and probably you're going to lose."

Stevens immediately makes UConn even better

"Now a roster that features three returning All-Americans (Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson Gabby Williams) and a Canadian Olympian (Kia Nurse) includes a 6-foot-6 player with a soft touch and the potential to be the best of them all. The best in Storrs, Connecticut. The best in America. As if there is a difference. And that's why she came. Not because wins would be easier but because there is one thing more difficult than beating UConn on any given day.

That is being UConn every single day.

So here is Stevens. So much for everyone else's hope."

Fantastic article. It's hard for me to figure out how stupid Duke must have been to have her sour on the program to such a level. It great she gets a chance to become the best player in the game over time.

 

[j66kicker]

"It didn't matter who else we were playing against, we just didn't want to be in UConn's bracket until the championship," Stevens recalled. "It was like if you got in their bracket, your shoulders just slumped because eventually you had to play them, and probably you're going to lose."

Stevens immediately makes UConn even better

"Now a roster that features three returning All-Americans (Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson Gabby Williams) and a Canadian Olympian (Kia Nurse) includes a 6-foot-6 player with a soft touch and the potential to be the best of them all. The best in Storrs, Connecticut. The best in America. As if there is a difference. And that's why she came. Not because wins would be easier but because there is one thing more difficult than beating UConn on any given day.

That is being UConn every single day.

So here is Stevens. So much for everyone else's hope."

Great article!

"I was just looking for a place that would help me to grow and push me to further limits. Just an environment that was not as negative. I don't want to say toxic, but my sophomore year [at Duke] was really, really hard."

Azurá Stevens

 

[MilfordHusky]

I feel for Azura. She must have been very unhappy at Duke 2 years ago. She seems much, much happier now.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Some parallels in this thought:

"It's as if the Golden State Warriors slipped in the NBA Finals after a record-setting regular season and then added the closest thing to a unique talent in the game."

 

[LasVegasYank]

I feel for Azura. She must have been very unhappy at Duke 2 years ago. She seems much, much happier now.

She hasn't stopped smiling, as far as I can tell.