New Anna to Transfer thread

[Centerstream]

Whether it’s fair or not (since there is a different coaching staff...), I would imagine that Evina has told the team the complete story about why she left Tennessee. And I don’t think we’ll see a UConn to UT transfer for a looooooong time.

I have no idea what Evina's situation was when she decided to transfer, in fact my only impression was that she had thrown her coach and team under the bus. This completely wrong impression was based on 1 video I saw, probably on YouTube. Anyway, didn't the current coach hire or bring her own coaches so that the Evina environment is no longer there?
I am just curious about your last question.

I certainly am not a fan of the LadyVols but do think that Kellie has done an ok job in the short time that she has been there.

 

[FairView]

Basketball aside, she just seems like a great kid.
There should be points in life just for being nice.
Plus, UConn would have been in a heap of trouble without her in the 2019-2020 season.
She's one of those kids that makes you wish there were enough minutes in the game to let everybody play.
I'll root for her wherever she lands and hope she makes a choice that makes her happy.

 

[Argonaut]

I have no idea what Evina's situation was when she decided to transfer, in fact my only impression was that she had thrown her coach and team under the bus. This completely wrong impression was based on 1 video I saw, probably on YouTube. Anyway, didn't the current coach hire or bring her own coaches so that the Evina environment is no longer there?
I am just curious about your last question.

I certainly am not a fan of the LadyVols but do think that Kellie has done an ok job in the short time that she has been there.

She pretty candidly agreed with a reporter’s question that steps needed to be taken in the off-season with some off the court issues. I don’t think she threw anyone under the bus the way it has been remembered. And there were some even more inflammatory questions the reporter kept asking that she didn’t answer.

Yes, the coaching staff has changed, and that’s why I said it might not be fair. But I think a player’s overall experience and how they talk about that experience with their peers leaves a big impression.

 

[Centerstream]

She pretty candidly agreed with a reporter’s question that steps needed to be taken in the off-season with some off the court issues. I don’t think she threw anyone under the bus the way it has been remembered. And there were some even more inflammatory questions the reporter kept asking that she didn’t answer.

Yes, the coaching staff has changed, and that’s why I said it might not be fair. But I think a player’s overall experience and how they talk about that experience with their peers leaves a big impression.

No argument here.

 

[Dokey]

Colorado coach emailed me to say they are going after Anna, which would be a great lift, with All-PAC-12 Mya Hollingshed returning for a Covid 5th year to raise her draft stock (projected mid 2nd round this year), Sherrod returning from surgery, Peanut in her senior year, Finau looking good, and add Anna’s passing to Mya and matching 3 point shooting with Danish sophomore to be Frida Forman and CU rapidly moves up in conference play, especially with Kiwi Charlotte Whitaker out for season with surgery. Where Ola goes is questionable. After a great season at Liberty, transferring to Utah ended in bench time.

 

[Plebe]

Man, I hope yall turn it around. A good UVA squad is good for the ACC.

By that logic you should also be rooting for UNC, no?

 

[triaddukefan]

By that logic you should also be rooting for UNC, no?

 

[ShmiCO]

Colorado coach emailed me to say they are going after Anna, which would be a great lift, with All-PAC-12 Mya Hollingshed returning for a Covid 5th year to raise her draft stock (projected mid 2nd round this year), Sherrod returning from surgery, Peanut in her senior year, Finau looking good, and add Anna’s passing to Mya and matching 3 point shooting with Danish sophomore to be Frida Forman and CU rapidly moves up in conference play, especially with Kiwi Charlotte Whitaker out for season with surgery. Where Ola goes is questionable. After a great season at Liberty, transferring to Utah ended in bench time.

I love the idea of Anna at Colorado.

 

[MilfordHusky]

UVA did get the 2 Ivy transfers who will certainly start here. One was defensive player of the year. We’re building a TT - Team of Transfers! Or a TTT - Thompson’s Team of Transfers!

I see that Eleah Parker from Penn is one of them. One of the Boneyarders was hoping that she would consider UConn.

 

[hart2hart]

I personally hope she chooses a team that Geno can schedule a game with. I think that would be so much fun! Our family misses Anna Mak ALOT!!

 

[MD#12Fan]

I wish we could have an intellectual discussion about recruiting in general. I am looking at any transfer as a failure by the program. Imagine in your own life having to take a new car back to the dealer after 2 years, or having to change jobs after turning your life upside down two years prior. Obviously we make the most of it and "change is just another opportunity" but we're talking about a huge life-change. What about for a young woman from another country?
Of course I echo all of these "good luck Anna, we love you Anna" posts, but how about examining the recruiting of the last 5 years or so. Is it worse than or better than "the glory years" past?
Next year too just seems odd to me. Like we're stockpiling 2's and 3's. The talk on BY of Nika and Evina getting less playing time next year seems absurd to me. They were crucial to the surprising success of this year's team. One more factor never discussed is that players improve from year-to-year. Couple of thoughts.....

 

[Redux]

talk on BY of Nika and Evina getting less playing time next year seems absurd to me

I think they'll both get less playing time, as will some others, probably even Paige. I think we're going to see a team and a coaching style we haven't seen here in many years with the potential depth. There are, to example Paige, stretches of a game where there's a slog going on, a flat spot, like heavyweights trading inneffective punches. Paige doesn't have to be in there for that; fresh legs and a different style might be more valuable. If the game starts to shift in the wrong direction, no harm, she gets a one minute rest instead of three. I think you're going to see a lot of that kind of thing. Change it up, fresh energy, try new attacks. Some will work and some will not, but Geno has a range of options that will overwhelm most teams and be effective against the best of them.

I had hoped Anna would stay because I think she could have been a key part of all that (how many times in 2019-20 did she not start, but bring in a spark, a preview of exactly what I'm talking about), but in a more limited role than she was probably going to be comfortable with. Certainly there are opportunities for her to have a more up-front role and I wish her well.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

She pretty candidly agreed with a reporter’s question that steps needed to be taken in the off-season with some off the court issues. I don’t think she threw anyone under the bus the way it has been remembered. And there were some even more inflammatory questions the reporter kept asking that she didn’t answer.

Yes, the coaching staff has changed, and that’s why I said it might not be fair. But I think a player’s overall experience and how they talk about that experience with their peers leaves a big impression.

You are right. Memories aren't the greatest. Here is a contemporaneous article about what she said:

"Sophomore guard Evina Westbrook spoke to reporters after the Lady Vols’ 89-77 loss to UCLA in the first round of the tournament, and she was candid with her responses. When asked if there are steps that need to be taken this offseason to help improve the team, she said there were and got specific.

“Most definitely. I just think off the court stuff. Steps need to be taken with our staff,” Westbrook responded. “Just overall, it’s off the court with this team.”

When pressed about what the off the court issues are, Westbrook declined to explain, stating instead, “I don’t want to say.”

Evina Westbrook: "Steps Need to be Taken" with Lady Vols' Staff | RTI

Lady Vols sophomore guard Evina Westbrook spoke candidly after Tennessee's first round exit in the NCAA Tournament about the future of UT's coaching staff.

www.rockytopinsider.com

 

[MD#12Fan]

I think they'll both get less playing time, as will some others, probably even Paige. I think we're going to see a team and a coaching style we haven't seen here in many years with the potential depth. There are, to example Paige, stretches of a game where there's a slog going on, a flat spot, like heavyweights trading inneffective punches. Paige doesn't have to be in there for that; fresh legs and a different style might be more valuable. If the game starts to shift in the wrong direction, no harm, she gets a one minute rest instead of three. I think you're going to see a lot of that kind of thing. Change it up, fresh energy, try new attacks. Some will work and some will not, but Geno has a range of options that will overwhelm most teams and be effective against the best of them.

I had hoped Anna would stay because I think she could have been a key part of all that (how many times in 2019-20 did she not start, but bring in a spark, a preview of exactly what I'm talking about), but in a more limited role than she was probably going to be comfortable with. Certainly there are opportunities for her to have a more up-front role and I wish her well.

He could have done that this year! He had the athleticism to press and all he did was tinker with that 1-3-1 half court trap. Stanford used 10 players, why couldn’t we?
I hope you’re right about next year

 

[JordyG]

Man, I hope yall turn it around. A good UVA squad is good for the ACC.

So is a good Duke squad. I'd rather see her there.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

When is the youngest Makurat heading to the States for college? It could be that Anna is joining her favorite University....

It might not be about the Championships at all, or the preparation for the WNBA...

 

[CL82]

So is a good Duke squad. I'd rather see her there.

Pains me to say it, but I agree.

 

[UcMiami]

MD#12Fan
Recruiting is a very inexact science and one with many variables.
It starts with a 16-18 year old making a choice based on limited knowledge and experience. A simple choice of a college for non-athletes is difficult enough and leads to a large percentage of transfers, and a large number of dropouts as well. Why we would expect athletes to do a better job than the general population?

Then you have the issue of a step up in the general talent pool and projections of development and fit in a program both by a coaching staff and by the 16-18 year old.

And then you have the changing landscape with the specific team as classes get recruited, develop at different rates and graduate. With no guarantee about who will want to come in following years and who will leave as well. There is no easy way to plan those changes, nor how the changes effect the team.

And for the recruit, there is also everything outside of the team - friends, significant relationships, family circumstances that change, and minor things like pandemics.

And a team is a pressurized environment - lots of hours spent with a small group of people in intense competition within and against a changing world of opponents over 4 years of college - not everything is rosy, and team dynamics change year to year.

Saying transfers are a failure is harsh and ignores the human condition.

 

[mhshuskies]

I think they'll both get less playing time, as will some others, probably even Paige. I think we're going to see a team and a coaching style we haven't seen here in many years with the potential depth. There are, to example Paige, stretches of a game where there's a slog going on, a flat spot, like heavyweights trading inneffective punches. Paige doesn't have to be in there for that; fresh legs and a different style might be more valuable. If the game starts to shift in the wrong direction, no harm, she gets a one minute rest instead of three. I think you're going to see a lot of that kind of thing. Change it up, fresh energy, try new attacks. Some will work and some will not, but Geno has a range of options that will overwhelm most teams and be effective against the best of them.

I had hoped Anna would stay because I think she could have been a key part of all that (how many times in 2019-20 did she not start, but bring in a spark, a preview of exactly what I'm talking about), but in a more limited role than she was probably going to be comfortable with. Certainly there are opportunities for her to have a more up-front role and I wish her well.

Less playing time for starters and AE would only happen if other players provided more consistent 3 point shooting, no drop off of productivity in the paint by the bigs or the ability of others players to play strong defense. If Geno can rely on more than 7 players than he will implement a more pressing, full court defense and be able to rotate players without tiring them out.

 

[MD#12Fan]

MD#12Fan
Recruiting is a very inexact science and one with many variables.
It starts with a 16-18 year old making a choice based on limited knowledge and experience. A simple choice of a college for non-athletes is difficult enough and leads to a large percentage of transfers, and a large number of dropouts as well. Why we would expect athletes to do a better job than the general population?

Then you have the issue of a step up in the general talent pool and projections of development and fit in a program both by a coaching staff and by the 16-18 year old.

And then you have the changing landscape with the specific team as classes get recruited, develop at different rates and graduate. With no guarantee about who will want to come in following years and who will leave as well. There is no easy way to plan those changes, nor how the changes effect the team.

And for the recruit, there is also everything outside of the team - friends, significant relationships, family circumstances that change, and minor things like pandemics.

And a team is a pressurized environment - lots of hours spent with a small group of people in intense competition within and against a changing world of opponents over 4 years of college - not everything is rosy, and team dynamics change year to year.

Saying transfers are a failure is harsh and ignores the human condition.

It beggars an examination, as opposed to blatant idolatry. Of course, everything about young people playing a team sport involves the human element. That’s not part of a good rebuttal.
Many of us have followed men’s programs closely as well and I assert that I have never seen recruiting like I’ve seen the last 5 years at UConn. I know UMD basketball men’s from about 1970- present. UMD had the best recruiter in the history of sports, Lefty Driesell. He could sell beach front property in New Mexico. He recruited players that he needed and was a serious factor in the ACC every year. Coach K ever had such issues.
Lack of true centers, players with zero chance of being big contributors for UConn, such as Coombs and Hunter. And now this obvious overcompensation we see going into next year.
These are young women with their college careers at stake. You’re the one being harsh. I’m being realistic. IMO recruiting deserves a commitment, on both sides really. It cannot be taken lightly or cavalierly.

 

[Rb335]

Recruiting is very complex, and coaches go after lots of kids because they never know who will actually commit, perform well, and stay all four years. If I recall correctly, Anna was a pretty late commit, and she directly filled a huge whole in our roster. We all knew what we had in Dangerfield, Walker, Williams, and ONO, but until Anna committed, we really didn’t have a wing player. And the Evina situation was really unknown.

Anna came in and improved and was an integral part of the 2019-2020 team. She also came in this past year and earned a starting role. She was derailed by injury, and never got her footing this year. It’s an unknown, but I think she could’ve been a big asset this year if healthy.

Our future classes bring in a lot of 2 and 3 players. Nobody knows why, but when good players want to come, the coaches aren’t going to say no. And players committing know they are coming to Connecticut where they need to compete not only against other teams, but against their teammates for court time.

It’s unfortunate she was injured, and is now leaving. But at the time she committed, her commitment made perfect sense. Now with Evina returning and some wings coming in, it’s more crowded. I have no doubt she’ll be a big lift for another program.

 

[BRS24]

I wish Anna well, no matter what school she chooses. It's hard enough as an 18 year old to pack up and go to college. I cannot imagine leaving family and friends in another country and going to college, especially after what everyone has been through this past year. Regardless of whether she picks a new school for basketball, academics, to play with her older sister, I hope she finds what's important to her.

 

[Gurleyman]

He could have done that this year! He had the athleticism to press and all he did was tinker with that 1-3-1 half court trap. Stanford used 10 players, why couldn’t we?
I hope you’re right about next year

I don’t think we could in big games (we could play anything we wanted against the BE). Too much of a dropoff with Paige going to the bench - and also CW once she came around. If you think your best players have to play close to 40 against South Carolina or Baylor, then you can’t play much of a full court pressing and trapping style - since then your key weapons will be gassed down the stretch when they are most needed.

The difference next year is that if Azzi is what we hope, as long as 2 of the 3 of PB, CW and are out there, we will have two go-to options (with other weapons around them) and there hopefully won’t be as much of a dropoff if Paige goes to the bench for a few minutes. But that’s what we hope on paper - seeing it come to fruition is another matter.

 

[oldhusky]

I wish we could have an intellectual discussion about recruiting in general. I am looking at any transfer as a failure by the program. Imagine in your own life having to take a new car back to the dealer after 2 years, or having to change jobs after turning your life upside down two years prior. Obviously we make the most of it and "change is just another opportunity" but we're talking about a huge life-change. What about for a young woman from another country?
Of course I echo all of these "good luck Anna, we love you Anna" posts, but how about examining the recruiting of the last 5 years or so. Is it worse than or better than "the glory years" past?
Next year too just seems odd to me. Like we're stockpiling 2's and 3's. The talk on BY of Nika and Evina getting less playing time next year seems absurd to me. They were crucial to the surprising success of this year's team. One more factor never discussed is that players improve from year-to-year. Couple of thoughts.....

I think many have issues with the thought of replacing a starter who has been good, or reducing a player's time even if she improves, or going from a very good backup to irrelevant from no fault of your own. But in a competitive world it is what it is. In essence Anna was a badly needed recruit in a down year for Uconn recruiting, and all things considered she had a pretty good year. Then they upgraded with players better than her.

Take players like Mir or Piath. Not superstar recruits but still elite recruits that would have playing time virtually guaranteed at all but a dozen or so programs. I know I will get grief for this, but their best opportunity for playing time here was this year. They did pretty well, maybe meeting expectations for a freshmen year for Piath and probably exceeding expectations for Mir. Both players could be substantially better next year and get fewer minutes than the limited ones they got this year. The normal progression is get your feet wet as a freshmen, and continue to improve and get more time in subsequent years. That is normal, but our roster the next couple of years is no more normal than a year of Covid.

If you constantly are trying to upgrade the good players you just recruited with the next year's class, you can improve the team of course, but the days of being able to project who the team will be a couple of year's out is pretty much gone with this kind of a roster and approach. Next year even with Anna's departure, we should have 13 players capable of being good players in a rotation of a championship contender, but in a system that usually uses only 7 or 8.

Even if Geno expands that to 10, some previous starters might lose their spot, some good bench players in the rotation could be out of it next year, some players who were not relevant this year may continue to be so next year despite significant improvement, and some highly recruited players may never achieve more than a Pulido like role here. The extra year of eligibility is unique this year, but the expected immediate eligibility of transfers and growing popularity of grad transfers means that the durability of rosters for all teams will be lessened quite a bit, but even more so when a team has quality starter level talent on their third string. That is probably more of a revolving door year to year plan, than a long term one. Maybe now we are recruiting more for next year, than the next four years, at least for kids outside of the top 4 or 5.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

I am really sad to see Anna go. She is a great player and good from behind the arc. I remember when we all found out she was coming here. People started to talk about her younger sister and how she was also a great player... and how it would be awesome if we got her as well. I believe they did the same with with that one we had from Texas a couple years back. Talked about how great she was and how she had a sister and she should come to UCONN..... interesting the things you remember. Well I do wish Anna well.