Recruiting and players going their own way.

[UcMiami]

I was going to post this in the McCoy thread but decided it needed it own thread. I don't know how many people have posted 'If great recruit _____ doesn't choose Uconn it means she doesn't really care about winning championships', or 'If she chooses ______ school, she is throwing away her talent', or any number of variations of the same. And it really bothers me. Recruits make their choices for all sorts of reasons, and choosing a D2 school rather than Uconn, does not necessarily mean they do not take basketball seriously and intend to pursue it as a career. It may be as simple as developing an incredible relationship with the coaching staff and believing the environment is the best place for them to reach their fullest potential. And the proof of that is our own very special Rebecca Lobo.

When she committed to play at Uconn it was at least six months before Uconn made any noise nationally.
From 1986 to 1988 Uconn finished 7th, T4th, and 5th in the conference (that wasn't all that good) and did not play any postseason games. In 1989 Uconn won the conference and got its first NCAA bid, and lost its first game. In 1990 they tied for 1st, got their bid, and lost in the second round. That was the sum total of their national prominence 1-2 in the NCAA.
Rebecca was being recruited by the Uconn, ND, SC, Baylor, etc. of her day and had the kind of potential of a Cox. She did not choose a team that lived in the FF or even one that knew anything about elite eight or sweet sixteen games. She chose a little school in the middle of nowhere with crap facilities and a dream. After she made her choice, Uconn improbably made it to the 1991 final four - it first journey beyond the second round.

So ... her freshman year and sophomore year Uconn returned to previous form - exits in the 2nd round in 92, and 1st round in 93. But her choice and the FF appearance had changed the dynamic and she was followed to Storrs by other talented recruits and in 94 they made it to the elite eight. And in 1995, her senior year they actually broke through with a 35-0 NC campaign.

SO ... I say thank goodness all great HS basketball players do not choose the current national champion, or even the current FF teams - if they did, we might be getting even better recruiting results but for the fact that we wouldn't have won 10 NCs without that first one, and we wouldn't have won the first one because Lobo would have chosen Tennessee or Stanford or _____.

ANYWAY - maybe before anyone posts the next 'why would anyone commit to _______ - they don't have a chance to be competitive' statement, they should just remember Rebecca and post something else.

 

[Magy Cannon]

Well said, UcMiami.

 

[Dougie]

I was going to post this in the McCoy thread but decided it needed it own thread. I don't know how many people have posted 'If great recruit _____ doesn't choose Uconn it means she doesn't really care about winning championships', or 'If she chooses ______ school, she is throwing away her talent', or any number of variations of the same. And it really bothers me. Recruits make their choices for all sorts of reasons, and choosing a D2 school rather than Uconn, does not necessarily mean they do not take basketball seriously and intend to pursue it as a career. It may be as simple as developing an incredible relationship with the coaching staff and believing the environment is the best place for them to reach their fullest potential. And the proof of that is our own very special Rebecca Lobo.

When she committed to play at Uconn it was at least six months before Uconn made any noise nationally.
From 1986 to 1988 Uconn finished 7th, T4th, and 5th in the conference (that wasn't all that good) and did not play any postseason games. In 1989 Uconn won the conference and got its first NCAA bid, and lost its first game. In 1990 they tied for 1st, got their bid, and lost in the second round. That was the sum total of their national prominence 1-2 in the NCAA.
Rebecca was being recruited by the Uconn, ND, SC, Baylor, etc. of her day and had the kind of potential of a Cox. She did not choose a team that lived in the FF or even one that knew anything about elite eight or sweet sixteen games. She chose a little school in the middle of nowhere with crap facilities and a dream. After she made her choice, Uconn improbably made it to the 1991 final four - it first journey beyond the second round.

So ... her freshman year and sophomore year Uconn returned to previous form - exits in the 2nd round in 92, and 1st round in 93. But her choice and the FF appearance had changed the dynamic and she was followed to Storrs by other talented recruits and in 94 they made it to the elite eight. And in 1995, her senior year they actually broke through with a 35-0 NC campaign.

SO ... I say thank goodness all great HS basketball players do not choose the current national champion, or even the current FF teams - if they did, we might be getting even better recruiting results but for the fact that we wouldn't have won 10 NCs without that first one, and we wouldn't have won the first one because Lobo would have chosen Tennessee or Stanford or _____.

ANYWAY - maybe before anyone posts the next 'why would anyone commit to _______ - they don't have a chance to be competitive' statement, they should just remember Rebecca and post something else.

Excellent post. I too have noted other posts that have implied that if you don't commit to a team that's going to give you a great chance to win National Championships then there's something wrong with you. The Rebecca Lobo example was terrific. Sure we want every great recruit but we tend to get angry when they choose other schools. Their choices are not for us to judge.

 

[nd2tty]

Nice post.

(Although the slight difference with Lobo (vs. McCoy, say, or others) was that she was local: born in Hartford, raised in Southwick, and played at Southwick-Tolland.)

 

[Wally East]

Great post that articulates exactly what I've been thinking. To say a recruit doesn't want to win if she goes somewhere else is incredibly narcissistic.

In 1989 Uconn won the conference and got its first NCAA bid, and lost its first game. In 1990 they tied for 1st, got their bid, and lost in the second round. That was the sum total of their national prominence 1-2 in the NCAA.

Just one minor correction. They were 0-2 in the NCAA tournament. Getting into the second round in '90 was due to a bye.

 

[UcMiami]

Thanks Wally - I was wondering when the various changes occurred when I was typing my post, but was lazy and didn't check.

nd2tty - good point, but the posts about Cox if she chooses say TX Tech would not giver her credit for staying close to home.

 

[nd2tty]

Thanks Wally - I was wondering when the various changes occurred when I was typing my post, but was lazy and didn't check.

nd2tty - good point, but the posts about Cox if she chooses say TX Tech would not giver her credit for staying close to home.

True true.

Though to the point of your original post: what local emergent or resurgent program would Cox be given that kind of credit for? Would it have to be Dallas/Fort Worth area? Or are we in a different era as far as recruiting goes and media attention goes?

When Lobo committed (in Fall 1990 (?)), the UConn program would have been in a comparable position (1 Big East title, 2 NCAA appearances + 1st round losses) to which local Texas program? TCU? TCU is only recently in the Big-12, doesn't have a Big-12 title of course, or an NCAA appearance as a Big-12 school (though they had a couple while in the Mountain West)...

Obviously UTexas, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma are already far past the point of UConn c. 1990 in their respective programs (and though Texas Tech is pretty bad at the moment, they certainly have a respectable history).

 

[triaddukefan]

I was going to post this in the McCoy thread but decided it needed it own thread. I don't know how many people have posted 'If great recruit _____ doesn't choose Uconn it means she doesn't really care about winning championships', or 'If she chooses ______ school, she is throwing away her talent', or any number of variations of the same. And it really bothers me. Recruits make their choices for all sorts of reasons, and choosing a D2 school rather than Uconn, does not necessarily mean they do not take basketball seriously and intend to pursue it as a career. It may be as simple as developing an incredible relationship with the coaching staff and believing the environment is the best place for them to reach their fullest potential. And the proof of that is our own very special Rebecca Lobo.

When she committed to play at Uconn it was at least six months before Uconn made any noise nationally.
From 1986 to 1988 Uconn finished 7th, T4th, and 5th in the conference (that wasn't all that good) and did not play any postseason games. In 1989 Uconn won the conference and got its first NCAA bid, and lost its first game. In 1990 they tied for 1st, got their bid, and lost in the second round. That was the sum total of their national prominence 1-2 in the NCAA.
Rebecca was being recruited by the Uconn, ND, SC, Baylor, etc. of her day and had the kind of potential of a Cox. She did not choose a team that lived in the FF or even one that knew anything about elite eight or sweet sixteen games. She chose a little school in the middle of nowhere with crap facilities and a dream. After she made her choice, Uconn improbably made it to the 1991 final four - it first journey beyond the second round.

So ... her freshman year and sophomore year Uconn returned to previous form - exits in the 2nd round in 92, and 1st round in 93. But her choice and the FF appearance had changed the dynamic and she was followed to Storrs by other talented recruits and in 94 they made it to the elite eight. And in 1995, her senior year they actually broke through with a 35-0 NC campaign.

SO ... I say thank goodness all great HS basketball players do not choose the current national champion, or even the current FF teams - if they did, we might be getting even better recruiting results but for the fact that we wouldn't have won 10 NCs without that first one, and we wouldn't have won the first one because Lobo would have chosen Tennessee or Stanford or _____.

ANYWAY - maybe before anyone posts the next 'why would anyone commit to _______ - they don't have a chance to be competitive' statement, they should just remember Rebecca and post something else.

 

[caramel]

I was going to post this in the McCoy thread but decided it needed it own thread. I don't know how many people have posted 'If great recruit _____ doesn't choose Uconn it means she doesn't really care about winning championships', or 'If she chooses ______ school, she is throwing away her talent', or any number of variations of the same. And it really bothers me. Recruits make their choices for all sorts of reasons, and choosing a D2 school rather than Uconn, does not necessarily mean they do not take basketball seriously and intend to pursue it as a career. It may be as simple as developing an incredible relationship with the coaching staff and believing the environment is the best place for them to reach their fullest potential. And the proof of that is our own very special Rebecca Lobo.

When she committed to play at Uconn it was at least six months before Uconn made any noise nationally.
From 1986 to 1988 Uconn finished 7th, T4th, and 5th in the conference (that wasn't all that good) and did not play any postseason games. In 1989 Uconn won the conference and got its first NCAA bid, and lost its first game. In 1990 they tied for 1st, got their bid, and lost in the second round. That was the sum total of their national prominence 1-2 in the NCAA.
Rebecca was being recruited by the Uconn, ND, SC, Baylor, etc. of her day and had the kind of potential of a Cox. She did not choose a team that lived in the FF or even one that knew anything about elite eight or sweet sixteen games. She chose a little school in the middle of nowhere with crap facilities and a dream. After she made her choice, Uconn improbably made it to the 1991 final four - it first journey beyond the second round.

So ... her freshman year and sophomore year Uconn returned to previous form - exits in the 2nd round in 92, and 1st round in 93. But her choice and the FF appearance had changed the dynamic and she was followed to Storrs by other talented recruits and in 94 they made it to the elite eight. And in 1995, her senior year they actually broke through with a 35-0 NC campaign.

SO ... I say thank goodness all great HS basketball players do not choose the current national champion, or even the current FF teams - if they did, we might be getting even better recruiting results but for the fact that we wouldn't have won 10 NCs without that first one, and we wouldn't have won the first one because Lobo would have chosen Tennessee or Stanford or _____.

ANYWAY - maybe before anyone posts the next 'why would anyone commit to _______ - they don't have a chance to be competitive' statement, they should just remember Rebecca and post something else.

Let us not forget EDD either.She verballed ,then changed her mind,went to where she was comfortable,and I would think she turned out okay,as well as helping Delaware gain quite a bit of success.

 

[HuskyNan]

I did post in the Tori McCoy thread but I'll sum it up here - the decision these kids make isn't all about basketball. They're choosing their more than a basketball team - they're choosing their college, using their own criteria. We should stop assuming they're thinking like us, like adults decades older than their tender age of 16, and remember that their choices don't need to make sense to us, only to them.

 

[ursusminor]

There is so much more than just playing ball at any level. I've been playing with the university club softball team this year, and have (and have played against) quite a few people who could have gone at least D3. At least. We're a club team.

Our senior player-captain-manager-coach is a legitimate softball triple threat - pitching, hitting, and defense. She had scholarship offers. She also has a shoulder that's about ready to fall off and at least one cranky knee. If she had gone to varsity competition she almost certainly would have needed surgery and a redshirt year. The physical and mental demands are extreme for college varsity sports, and not everyone wants to deal with that. This is someone who turned down a free degree in order to play on her own terms at the school she wanted to attend.

To play at the top, you have to love, love, love, love what you're doing. For some people, winning a championship barely factors into that equation.