News on DJB [merged thread]

[bschwartz]

via a Tweet.

Also http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012216aab.html

 

[MilfordHusky]

Good for her. She'll help them, get a decent education, and be not too, too far from home.

 

[Kaizen]

via a Tweet.

Also http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012216aab.html

Nice to see she joins Penn State. Hops she can recover her injury and enjoy life in Nittany Lions.

 

[SCGamecock]

Boykin transfers to Penn State.

http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012216aab.html

Wow, good get. She'll do well there. Washington is a very capable coach.

 

[UcMiami]

Huskies Rule - I think the simplest explanation was that being injured with both a wrist that was taking much longer to fully heal than anyone expected and an achilles that was also not responding rapidly, in her first semester at University she was extremely frustrated or 'depressed' and feeling somewhat isolated from the rest of the team because she was seldom able to actually practice. That frustration/depression carried over into other aspects of her experience including the classroom and it all sort of snowballed.

The skills that she exhibited in HS were such that she participated with our other two freshman on USA teams with good success and nice statistics, so thinking she was not up to their 'standards' just seems wrong to me - and I don't really think her situation with zero chance to play and very limited time to practice would create either pressure from CD/Coach or from the general public/media - if she had actually been playing/practicing that might have been an issue, but she wasn't.
For as great an academic institution as uconn is PSU consistently is more highly regarded academically so a transfer there is not going to lessen academic expectations.
Finally - distance two hundred miles is not 'next door' but it is 3 hours, an not arduous 'day trip' vs 6 hours through some of the worst traffic congestion in the country is a significant difference requiring for most at least an overnight stay.

 

[Fiftyish]

Since nobody has presented any unequivocal evidence as to why Boykin left, I have no choice but to use my imagination and suggest the following possibilities:

1. Academics- Boykin struggled and could not perform her classwork satisfactorily, stressing her out and prompting her to look to move on.
2. Basketball- Boykin realized soon after practice began that she was in over her head skills-wise and likely would never be a starter (even after her wrist healed.) Seeing Lou, Gabby, Napheesa and Natalie (AND the 4 returning starters) might have given her pause to question her own ability to get minutes. Sadly, she left without ever putting in the effort to actually find out. A Sadie Edwards-like move, in my book.
3. The Coaches- Geno, CD and the coaching staff were much tougher and far more demanding than the smiling, sweetie-pies they appeared to be while recruiting Boykin.
4. The Program- The pressure, expectations, and constant public scrutiny of playing for the 10 x National Champions was just overwhelming.
5. After spending time living with our kids in Storrs, Boykin decided Lou, Napheesa, Gabby et al. were really mean and rotten and she didn't want to be around them...Nahhhhhhhhh.

I think it was probably a little of 1, 2, 3, and 4. No way 5! But more of #2 than any other. My complete shot in the dark.

One more possibility:
6. She heard that there was this fan website called the Boneyard where fans sometimes come up with the wildest speculation you could imagine. No facts? Just throw out some crap and maybe it will stick. Never wise to shoot in the dark.

 

[Huskies Rule]

One more possibility:
6. She heard that there was this fan website called the Boneyard where fans sometimes come up with the wildest speculation you could imagine. No facts? Just throw out some crap and maybe it will stick. Never wise to shoot in the dark.

7. "Crap" is in the eye of the beholder. Your response is ridiculous. If you take such umbrage to speculation, opinion and reasoned logic, you shouldn't waste too much of your time here...because, sorry, but there's an awful lot of it on the Boneyard..

 

[mrmojack]

Penn St got themselves a top player and a good kid. Best of luck to DJB.

 

[jsloanjr]

Good for her.........

 

[uconnfan68]

Sez who? Can you provide a link or back-up?

It is why she couldn't be with the team. Between injuries and academics.

 

[Lion1]

Okay, Ms. Boykin has left the building. Get over it and move on.

 

[mudcat]

Boykin transfers to Penn State.

http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/012216aab.html

Are we starting a UCONN to Penn State pipeline?

 

[NewCorn]

Are we starting a UCONN to Penn State pipeline?

If we are going to start a pipeline we should start one to Georgetown to thank them for Natalie butler.

 

[ucdt3]

If she stays D-I, my guess is she'll end up at Penn State, Virginia, Virginia Tech or West Virginia. Penn State and Virginia were in her final 5 prior to committing to UConn at the end of her Jr. season.

I guess my gut was right. Glad it's good for something.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sez who? Can you provide a link or back-up?

Academic stadards, he meant.

http://www.centralctcommunications....cle_713ba5ec-a467-11e5-97c5-9bdf8ecbf132.html

 

[Fiftyish]

Academic stadards, he meant.

http://www.centralctcommunications....cle_713ba5ec-a467-11e5-97c5-9bdf8ecbf132.html

Thank you for the link.
Unfortunate that she ran into so many problems right from the get go. She has the potential to be a very good D1 player. I keep wondering if she threw in the towel too soon rather than fighting through.
In any event, as noted by Lion1 above...time to move on.

 

[Woof 101]

Academic stadards, he meant.

http://www.centralctcommunications....cle_713ba5ec-a467-11e5-97c5-9bdf8ecbf132.html

Nice link as always Nan....Most transfers do not bother me but this one did. I thought she would be a nice fit here, even her smile is of UConn ladies caliber. For some the freshman hump is simply too much to get over without taking a step back to regroup. I have seen many a student go off to the school of their dreams only to transfer closer to home. These not being scholarship athletes, rather just an academic student with much less on their plate.
I wish her luck and success as a lion.

 

[Beltway]

I wish her all the best and hope she has a fabulous college experience and playing career.
I don't particularly agree with talking about a student-athlete's academics to the media outlets.

 

[UcMiami]

I wish her all the best and hope she has a fabulous college experience and playing career.
I don't particularly agree with talking about a student-athlete's academics to the media outlets.

Problem with a team as popular as Uconn WCBB is the questions come from the horde whenever a player doesn't play in the first quarter of a game, let alone not travel with the team. Rather than create a frenzy of speculation throughout 'the nation', it is probably better to give a simple explanation from illness to injury to team rules to academics. It doesn't completely quiet the speculation here of course, but it does lessen the buzz.
The explanation wasn't volunteered until a question was raised because she did not travel, similar to the situation a number of years ago with Dixon, and with Dixon that was the last we heard of any academic issues so I think the not traveling may have been the jolt she needed. With Boykin, she appears to have gotten things straightened out as well, though at a different school.