New Freshman walk-on: Autumn Chassion [merged thread]

[Carnac]

Autumn brings to mind another UConn player recruited onto a loaded 2000-2001 team. Remember DT, Sue , Svetlana,Swin, Tamika, Shea?

And we got a player from Derby,CT that many thought would never see the floor. Maria Conlon. Geno said “she may be small, but she is also slow”. All she knew how to do was win and out work everyone else. She left with 3 National Championships.

I see the same with Autumn. she knows how to work hard and win. She is right where she wants to be and will be an asset to the team. Rooting for her.

Me too. I was thinking about something I read in this thread yesterday. Her father was her AAU coach, and that team ran UConn's plays. She was his pg for 3+ years. That means she already knows the system. That fact alone may get her on the floor sooner rather than later. Her AAU team did play some of the better teams in their age group in various tournament around the country. A huge upgrade from the competition she saw with her high school team. One thing we all must recognize, she's not your normal or average walk-on. I'm not suggesting she's coming in dressed in blue tights and a red cape, just that she's not your average walk-on.

Anything is possible. Sometimes real nice "gifts" come in plain unassuming packages. Right now she's on the end of the bench. Let's see if she stays there, or moves up. We'll know after 10 games how Geno will tend to use her.

 

[Carnac]

I imagine she will be a nice addition to the bench and to team chemistry, but UConn fans shouldn't get excited by the above quote. I am almost certain it is misleading or inaccurate. The "offers" referred to may have for need-based aid or for some academic money - not for an athletic scholarship. The quote in the original post was from the UConn blog, but it contradicts a number of reports from her HS coach, local papers, and recruiting sites.

For example, at the end of her senior season, her HS coach said he " feels like Chassion has been overlooked by colleges due to her size, she currently has an offer on the table from LSU Eunice and has interest from other schools, including Loyola University New Orleans along with a pair of Ivy League schools." And a Louisiana recruiting site near the end of her senior year, said she had "interest from several Low Majors with offers from all other levels. " No site claimed she had any D1 offers at all, and I think that is accurate.

You're right. Athletes have been getting over looked since the dawn of man. Note how many teams "over looked" Tom Brady. Teams over looked him 5-6 times. Belichick was the only coach who saw something in him he thought he might be able to develop.

Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens). He was taken with the last pick in the 1st round. How many teams would like to have him now that passed on him?

Don't forget about HOF'er Warren Moon. Nobody wanted him coming out of college, but he had a long NFL career AFTER going to Canada first and winning 5 grey cups in 6 years. Over his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named to nine Pro Bowls. So yeah, tell me about how people can easily get over looked by so called "experts". These are just 3, I could name more, but you get the picture.

 

[soxfan23]

Autumn brings to mind another UConn player recruited onto a loaded 2000-2001 team. Remember DT, Sue , Svetlana,Swin, Tamika, Shea?

And we got a player from Derby,CT that many thought would never see the floor. Maria Conlon. Geno said “she may be small, but she is also slow”. All she knew how to do was win and out work everyone else. She left with 3 National Championships.

I see the same with Autumn. she knows how to work hard and win. She is right where she wants to be and will be an asset to the team. Rooting for her.

Conlon was NOWHERE near a walk-on caliber player, she was recruited by UConn from her freshman year in HS, she also had offers from perennial powers of the time Rutgers and Penn St. I hope Autumn can contribute and help the team, but comparing her to Conlon is apples to oranges!

 

[tjhusky]

Conlon was NOWHERE near a walk-on caliber player, she was recruited by UConn from her freshman year in HS, she also had offers from perennial powers of the time Rutgers and Penn St. I hope Autumn can contribute and help the team, but comparing her to Conlon is apples to oranges!

My comparison was that I though Maria was a bit underrated by fans when she first go to UConn. I rooted for her from day 1.
My view of Autumn is that just because she is not on scholarship does not mean she can’t be an impact player for UConn.

 

[ShmiCO]

Autumn's availability video. Wonderful insights into her thought process and goals. After hearing Autumn and Nika talk about their "pod", it seems like it's a great thing for the freshman transition. Good leadership training for the upperclassman too.

 

[eebmg]

Autumn's availability video. Wonderful insights into her thought process and goals. After hearing Autumn and Nika talk about their "pod", it seems like it's a great thing for the freshman transition. Good leadership training for the upperclassman too.

Evina is certainly making an impression on her young fledglings.