Recruiting Boost?

[meyers7]

I think Blue Star had Kelly at #4 behind Griner, Bone and Diggins.

#9 when I saw it. But not sure if that was the final.

UCONN's recruiting "class" was ranked #49 that year (2009). #3 in 2010, #2 in 2001, and #1 in 2012.Per ESPN Hoopgurlz.

Not in the top 20 for 2013.

 

[Jim]

Winning a national championship doesn't help in recruiting must at all if any. In fact it can motivate top players to look elsewhere they can have a clearer impact on getting a program over the top.

Players like that want glory for themselves (i.e., Kelsey Bone) and tend not to be the team-oriented players UConn prefers to recruit.

 

[WNBARookFan]

I don't think UConn's recruiting needed a "boost" of any kind. Although we have years where we don't have an incredible haul like 2012, we do well year-in and year-out.

It'll probably have a two-fold effect. One, it will prompt players to go to schools in order to try & beat UConn and secondly, those who want to work their butts off for four years for the chance to play for national championships and have the very best demanded of them will look at UConn. So basically the same it has been for the past 13+ years.

 

[alexrgct]

Players like that want glory for themselves (i.e., Kelsey Bone) and tend not to be the team-oriented players UConn prefers to recruit.

Depends on the motivation. Rebecca Lobo chose UConn for this very reason. If it's about minutes or starting immediately, it's another story.

Some kids legitimately want to help a program get (or regain) its sea legs, especially one close to home. For other kids, playing for an NC is something they want to experience. At this point, with six consecutive F4s and seven NCs, I don't think an eighth will make too much difference. Recruits already know UConn is the best choice for that, and if they don't, I doubt #8 will convince them.

 

[DanDar]

Aja Wilson does not want to play the post. She says she's a guard in a 6'5 body. Doesn't it kind of sound like Stewie? With one year apart, who will be UConn's post player?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Overall recruiting rankings are not as important as getting right pieces. That includes the superduperstars, as well as the right complementary players. Uconn has consistently gotten #1 overall players and has had at least one #1 high school recruit on the team since 1994 (Nykesha, Shea, Tamika, D, Annie, Tina, Maya, KML, Stewie). And that doesn't include someone like Svet who wasn't ranked or Sue, who was criminally underranked or Stef, who's going on the Wall and will most likely be the best center in the country next year. UConn tends not to have top ranked recruiting classes because Geno doesn't like having a roster of 15 and is looking for very specific qualities (that he's usually right on in identifying, albeit not 100% by any means).

What Uconn doesn't have right now is the next game changing recruit. Stewie was heralded as the next great one, and she certainly has the potential to be. The question is: who's the next one, and can Uconn get her? I think Geno signing a contract extension helps more than another NC. A lot of kids come to Uconn because it's the place where you're most likely to be in the NC hunt. As long as Geno's in Storrs, that will continue to be the case.

Add to that the WNBA hunt.

 

[Icebear]

Aja Wilson does not want to play the post. She says she's a guard in a 6'5 body. Doesn't it kind of sound like Stewie? With one year apart, who will be UConn's post player?

She needs to face up to the fact that no one in college is goiing to let her play guard despite whatever they may promise her. And if they did so they would be hurting her development as a whole player and any future in the WNBA. UConn offers the most diverse development of tall skilled players and she will benefit from the development under Geno and staff just like Stef and Breanna. I believe she and Breanna will be two years apart since she is the class of 2014.

 

[Waquoit]

Overall recruiting rankings are not as important as getting right pieces. That includes the superduperstars, as well as the right complementary players.

And if you happened to get the No. 1 ranked players in two consecutive years that compliment each other beautifully, so much the better.

 

[DobbsRover2]

What number 8 would help to reinforce though is UConn' reputation for stability at a time when there is a whole lot of shaking going on in the conference alignment picture. UConn is the big name regardless, but having another recent title in pocket assures recruits that the school is still completely in the driver's seat in the WCBB, and a team like ND may have the ACC but it still won't have a an NC trophy during the last decade for recruits to look at.

Personaly, I'd rather have a nice new shiny trophy than a pillow next to BC and Clemson. Still gotta go grab it though.

 

[rocky rococo]

That was reported in an April Fool's Day post, not a real one.

Oh mon Dieu, I'm the April fish.

 

[MilfordHusky]

And if you happened to get the No. 1 ranked players in two consecutive years that compliment each other beautifully, so much the better.

It got us 78 consecutive wins by an average of over 30 points and 2 NCs. Not too shabby!

 

[01Neaggrad02]

We have one recruit for next year and the following year is slowly and I mean slowly picking up. Would this make the slowly picking up turn into a couple of verbals? Could this convince players like Wilson, Calhoun, et al. that UCONN is the place to be?

 

[Scotter]

We have one recruit for next year and the following year is slowly and I mean slowly picking up. Would this make the slowly picking up turn into a couple of verbals? Could this convince players like Wilson, Calhoun, et al. that UCONN is the place to be?

Most likely not. You're thinking like a fan, not a recruit. It is still early in 2014 recruiting. To have 3 verbals already like UConn does is not a slow recruiting year. Letters of intent don't get signed for almost 7 more months. More than likely a number of the players UConn is recruiting will wait until the official visits in the fall to make a decision.

 

[Sonny44]

C'mon Geno, find us another Kelly.

 

[Buzzyboy]

But boy was the first one a great and the second may be, too.

We all know that sometimes a top rated recruit ends up being just another player while a lower rated player evolves into a monster player. It happens everywhere when those people evaluating are susceptible to err. A different sport but Tom Brady, a sixth round draft pick????? How many knowledgeable people passed up on him?????????? Kelly was highly recruited by UConn because the staff obviously saw what she brought to her teams. The player evaluations that the UConn staff do are incredible.

 

[CL82]

Boost, not so much. Maintenance, probably.

 

[EricLA]

We all know that sometimes a top rated recruit ends up being just another player while a lower rated player evolves into a monster player. It happens everywhere when those people evaluating are susceptible to err. A different sport but Tom Brady, a sixth round draft pick????? How many knowledgeable people passed up on him?????????? Kelly was highly recruited by UConn because the staff obviously saw what she brought to her teams. The player evaluations that the UConn staff do are incredible.

Much of the time the staff gets it right. Greene was barely in the top 20. Same for Bird (altho some would say her low ranking had to do with high school hoops politics), Moore, Conlon, Schuey, Faris (think she was rated really low by someone), and even Tiff come to mind (Tiff was highly rated, but only after she verbaled to UCONN did she rocket up the rankings)... But there are also the misses - Sauer, Morgan V (granted injuries), Sadiq, Houston, and Buck - all who were highly rated by one service or another, but never really lived up to expectations.

We are so lucky to have the staff that we have. No one out there does it better. Just as important as recruiting talented kids is recruiting kids who can play different positions. Some teams stock up on guards and don't have the necessary quality in the post. for others it's vice versa. Not so much for UCONN. Sure they swing and miss on their fair share of talent, but no one does it better than Geno and co...

As for attracting kids, I think it's pretty obvious to most everyone, recruits included, that UCONN will be at the very top for the foreseeable future. But not every kid wants the pressure of playing for the best. Some would rather go elsewhere where there is less pressure, they are closer to home, or feel they can help build something at another school...

 

[CL82]

Who rated Heather highly?

 

[JoePgh]

C'mon Geno, find us another Kelly.

Courtney Ekmark certainly sounds as if she may be that.

 

[JoePgh]

She needs to face up to the fact that no one in college is goiing to let her play guard despite whatever they may promise her. And if they did so they would be hurting her development as a whole player and any future in the WNBA. UConn offers the most diverse development of tall skilled players and she will benefit from the development under Geno and staff just like Stef and Breanna. I believe she and Breanna will be two years apart since she is the class of 2014.

Well, EDD played "more or less" like a guard, at least on offense, at Delaware. Moreover (and this surprised me a lot), she expects to be a full-time guard in the WNBA, and she said that her biggest challenge is likely to be perimeter defense. I think her natural position is on the wing, not chasing Renee Montgomery around the floor.

Geno allowed Ann Strother to be a wing and to stay out of the paint for the most part, despite her size. If Kiah or Morgan develop into really effective in-the-paint players at both ends, Stewie may spend most of her time on the wing, which is probably her natural position.

I don't think that being tall disqualifies you from playing on the wing, assuming you can shoot the 3 reliably. But wings are expected to rebound even when it involves contending with physical play by opponents, and hopefully Wilson accepts that.

 

[cardfan]

Depends on the motivation. Rebecca Lobo chose UConn for this very reason. If it's about minutes or starting immediately, it's another story.

Some kids legitimately want to help a program get (or regain) its sea legs, especially one close to home. For other kids, playing for an NC is something they want to experience. At this point, with six consecutive F4s and seven NCs, I don't think an eighth will make too much difference. Recruits already know UConn is the best choice for that, and if they don't, I doubt #8 will convince them.

Lobo wanted to stay close to home, too.

 

[EricLA]

Who rated Heather highly?

On edit Blue Star had her at 74. Maybe it was ASGR? Or AGR back then also ranked them? Not sure. I really think someone had her in the top 20... But i don't have my notes anywhere so it's possible i got that wrong. I'm sure someone on here knows and can either confirm, or correct me...

 

[cardfan]

And if you happened to get the No. 1 ranked players in two consecutive years that compliment each other beautifully, so much the better.

exactly. Stewie and KML were keys getting you to the NC game. And how many other No. 1 ranked players have you landed consecutively? Hello? UConn doesn't need a boost in recruitment. Even if they lost in F4 or before, they'll be fine. Recruiting is cyclical for all top programs, but because Uconn often gets the 1 player in h.s (DT, Maya, Tina, KML, Stewie, etc), you will continue to get them and win. It's all about landing the difference maker, not the class.

 

[semper]

Look, this past year was simply not a good recruiting year for us. You can slice it anyway you want, it wasn't. And we do have to work hard this you, so it's a GREAT time to win an NC (as if there isn't?). A one-person class is not a good idea. Now we have three great guards signed up, but we must get a big to work in when Stef graduates. I know, I know, no problems, pie in the sky. I don't agree. This is a serious situation, and coupled with the miserable break-up of the Beast, I'm kinda concerned. Geno will pull the rabbits out; he always has. But I'll be happy when I see them hopping around.

 

[Icebear]

Well, EDD played "more or less" like a guard, at least on offense, at Delaware. Moreover (and this surprised me a lot), she expects to be a full-time guard in the WNBA, and she said that her biggest challenge is likely to be perimeter defense. I think her natural position is on the wing, not chasing Renee Montgomery around the floor.

Geno allowed Ann Strother to be a wing and to stay out of the paint for the most part, despite her size. If Kiah or Morgan develop into really effective in-the-paint players at both ends, Stewie may spend most of her time on the wing, which is probably her natural position.

I don't think that being tall disqualifies you from playing on the wing, assuming you can shoot the 3 reliably. But wings are expected to rebound even when it involves contending with physical play by opponents, and hopefully Wilson accepts that.

You didn't see enough Blue Hen basketball EDD spent plenty of time in the post, too.