Recruiting has been absolutely incredible the past 10 months...

[EricLA]

I have a legit question too - what do folks attribute the insane off the charts recruiting success over the past 10 months? After the disappointments of Horston (expected), Jones (mostly expected) and Boston (unexpected - to me at least), let's take a look-see, shall we??!!!

BTW I'm listing the kids as part of the class their eligibility would let them graduate with... I also put their HG ranking next to their name... also - i'm only listing "new" recruits, not who we already had at that time.

2016 (SR) Adebayo
2017 None
2018 Westbrook (2)
2019 Makurat (NR - I believe top 20 if not top 15)
2020 Bueckers (1), Muhl (I believe she's at least top 15 if not top 10), McLean (21), Gabriel (NR), Edwards (26 - But I believe she's top 5)
2021 Poffenbarger (17), DeBerry (5)
2022 Brady (3)

This is an absolutely insane amount of top talent. 5 kids in the top 5. 3 in the top 20. 1 in the top 25. JUST WOW. Geno must have borrowed the phrase from the WNBA - "Watch me work now"...

 

[CL82]

Geno must have borrowed the phrase from the WNBA - "Watch me work now"...

"Coach they say you can't recruit anymore"
"What? Hold my beer Steph..."

 

[EricLA]

View attachment 49208
"Coach they say you can't recruit anymore"
"What? Hold my beer Steph.."

A great picture of Geno, but man, what a tremendous picture of Stef. She's always so happy and has a bubbly/fun personality - and a genuine 1000 watt smile.

 

[Charliebball]

Three reasons: 1)Top players want to play right away and UConn actually had positions/playing time available 2) it appears Geno decided to travel farther and more often to see recruits and cast a wider net at least temporarily............3)Paige Bueckers.....................

 

[diggerfoot]

Three reasons: 1)Top players want to play right away and UConn actually had positions/playing time available 2) it appears Geno decided to travel farther and more often to see recruits and cast a wider net at least temporarily............3)Paige Bueckers.....................

I'll toss in a possible fourth: no longer coaching the Olympics. I know many people consider this an advantage by association, but I don't think Auriemma needs that type of advantage. However, time wise something has got to give if you are coaching the Olympics, recruiting could have been it. Just speculation on my part.

But I do not want to make too much of recruiting issues. Recruiting goes in cycles for all programs. Our last four year gap between championships a couple of recruiting problems occurred, including losing an entire class of three. Those were considered the dark years, but we still made it to the regionals every year even with our recruiting problems. We just concluded another down turn in recruiting (in the sense of missing on bigs), only this time we still made the Final Four every year (so far).

If Auriemma were to coach ten more years no doubt we would have another down turn, another round of finding fault with recruiting. We might not even make the Final Four every year of the down turn (HORRORS!), yet we will still recuperate once the cycle loops through.

On Edit: Nice list, Eric, but I think there might be an omission.

 

[DEpup]

I have a legit question too - what do folks attribute the insane off the charts recruiting success over the past 10 months? After the disappointments of Horston (expected), Jones (mostly expected) and Boston (unexpected - to me at least), let's take a look-see, shall we??!!!

BTW I'm listing the kids as part of the class their eligibility would let them graduate with... I also put their HG ranking next to their name... also - i'm only listing "new" recruits, not who we already had at that time.

2016 (SR) Adebayo
2017 None
2018 Westbrook (2)
2019 Makurat (NR - I believe top 20 if not top 15)
2020 Bueckers (1), Muhl (I believe she's at least top 15 if not top 10), McLean (21), Gabriel (NR), Edwards (26 - But I believe she's top 5)
2021 Poffenbarger (17), DeBerry (5)
2022 Brady (3)

This is an absolutely insane amount of top talent. 5 kids in the top 5. 3 in the top 20. 1 in the top 25. JUST WOW. Geno must have borrowed the phrase from the WNBA - "Watch me work now"...

Don't forget our new leaper Griffin!

 

[winlots]

I have a legit question too - what do folks attribute the insane off the charts recruiting success over the past 10 months? After the disappointments of Horston (expected), Jones (mostly expected) and Boston (unexpected - to me at least), let's take a look-see, shall we??!!!

ERIC: terrific as always. Somehow had not heard about the girl for 2022. Looks like she is the first and only thus far in the ENTIRE class and sure looks like a great one. When did she sign up for us?

 

[JavaMan]

I think you're all missing the most obvious, just based on the timing alone. Jasmine Lister.

 

[EricLA]

On Edit: Nice list, Eric, but I think there might be an omission.

Don't forget our new leaper Griffin!

I was actually looking at the most recent 10 month period. Griffin was our first to verbal in that 2019 class, but it was back on 9/27/18. There was a 6 month gap until our next commitment. The floodgates really started opening up on April Fool's Day, 2019, when Bueckers committed...

 

[UConn2SF]

Paige Bueckers (half kidding, half serious)

 

[ABCDFE]

Three reasons: 1)Top players want to play right away and UConn actually had positions/playing time available 2) it appears Geno decided to travel farther and more often to see recruits and cast a wider net at least temporarily............3)Paige Bueckers.....................

4. Geno read the BY posts from Charlieball and it pissed him off.

 

[pvdoggy]

4. Geno read the BY posts from Charlieball and it pissed him off.

or took Charlieball's suggestion

 

[MilfordHusky]

11 players over 4 classes committed in 8-1/2 months. That's unreal. Then, of course, there are the silent verbals out there!

 

[JoePgh]

Paige Bueckers (half kidding, half serious)

I think this is totally serious as it applies to the "bigs" who have recently committed to UConn. I am sure that Geno, CD, and Jasmine have not been shy about pointing out that Paige will be the guard dropping dimes to them for all or most of their UConn careers, and that should pad their stats and their resumes for professional basketball.

If I were a very tall, talented, female basketball player (a hypothesis contrary to fact in all four dimensions), I would certainly be influenced by that sales pitch. It happens to be well founded in fact.

 

[JonathanXIV]

or took Charlieball's suggestion

Yeah, that’s it.

 

[meyers7]

or took Charlieball's suggestion

Yeah, that’s it.

I think charlie's suggestion was to not concentrate on the top talent, but to go after lower level talent (wider net). Doesn't seem like what's happening.

 

[Kaizen]

Three reasons: 1)Top players want to play right away and UConn actually had positions/playing time available 2) it appears Geno decided to travel farther and more often to see recruits and cast a wider net at least temporarily............3)Paige Bueckers.....................

UConn should give Paige an award for helping recruit. I just love this girl more and more.

 

[oldude]

After the struggles with the freshman class in 2017, when 3 of 4 players ultimately left and the swings and misses with the top 3 players in the 2019 class, I think Geno, CD and the staff changed their approach significantly.

• First and foremost, I believe Geno has changed the way he deals with players, particularly in public. His criticisms now appear as gentle nudges as opposed to harsh rebukes. As a result UConn projects a much more comfortable image to prospective recruits. I suspect CD had a strong influence on this change in Geno’s personality.
• While I don’t necessarily believe that any of these options will be ongoing, so long as Geno can continue to bring in classes like 2020, it is clear that Geno has belatedly embraced transfers and foreign born players as needed to fill holes in the roster.
• Geno and every other coach’s preference would be to wait until a player completes their junior year of HS basketball to offer a scholarship, so that you have a better idea of what you’re getting. But the pressure to recruit top talent has pushed offers further and further out. So Geno has bought in to the challenging process of extending offers earlier. As a result, UConn has verbal commitments from 2 HS jrs & 1 Soph who are barely into their seasons.
• In the past, Geno has focused on bringing in a class of 3-4 top players at most. If 2-3 of those players went elsewhere, so be it. It now appears that Geno is extending more offers. So if 5 players all commit to UConn, like next year, and who knows how many in the following years, UConn will just have to deal with the inevitable PT issue that results.
• I do agree with the post that Jas has had a significant impact on recruiting. While she doesn’t necessarily have the title of Recruiting Coordinator, in practice she does appear to fill that role at UConn.
• Finally, with all the championship banners, AA’s and top pros that UConn has, the biggest single advantage that the Huskies have in recruiting is the players themselves, both past and present. The current players are a wonderful group of “team first” young ladies who certainly impress HS recruits with a friendly vibe that goes a long way towards convincing them that Storrs is where they want to be. In addition, to the extent that recruits run into former UConn greats like Stewie or KML on campus, it has to be a thrilling experience that can only reinforce the advantages of playing basketball at UConn.

 

[Charliebball]

I think charlie's suggestion was to not concentrate on the top talent, but to go after lower level talent (wider net). Doesn't seem like what's happening.

actually I said do both and do more of it and he has............it's a nice mix of top ten talent, slightly less highly rated talent and foreign talent.............that took one big net............

 

[BroadwayVa]

I have a legit question too - what do folks attribute the insane off the charts recruiting success over the past 10 months? After the disappointments of Horston (expected), Jones (mostly expected) and Boston (unexpected - to me at least), let's take a look-see, shall we??!!!

BTW I'm listing the kids as part of the class their eligibility would let them graduate with... I also put their HG ranking next to their name... also - i'm only listing "new" recruits, not who we already had at that time.

2016 (SR) Adebayo
2017 None
2018 Westbrook (2)
2019 Makurat (NR - I believe top 20 if not top 15)
2020 Bueckers (1), Muhl (I believe she's at least top 15 if not top 10), McLean (21), Gabriel (NR), Edwards (26 - But I believe she's top 5)
2021 Poffenbarger (17), DeBerry (5)
2022 Brady (3)

This is an absolutely insane amount of top talent. 5 kids in the top 5. 3 in the top 20. 1 in the top 25. JUST WOW. Geno must have borrowed the phrase from the WNBA - "Watch me work now"...

Geno and CD took a personal interest in recruiting. Geno for the past 2 or 3 summers was doing a lot of Coaches trips around the state and other states for UConn sports. The man can't be ever where.
Some of the (for @Meyers7_) Bigs Uconn wanted for what ever reason didln't want Uconn that happens.
When push came to shove---Geno beat the bushes and (I believe) Doug helped with the European players and now Uconn has enough to actually play the game this year. Where would Uconn WBB had he not??
Take away Ania and Molly 6 realistic players and one a brand new Frosh. Not a nice place to be.
If Uconn makes the FF this year, and why not?, it shall be a testament to Geno's recruiting and coaching.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I'll toss in a possible fourth: no longer coaching the Olympics. I know many people consider this an advantage by association, but I don't think Auriemma needs that type of advantage. However, time wise something has got to give if you are coaching the Olympics, recruiting could have been it. Just speculation on my part.

But I do not want to make too much of recruiting issues. Recruiting goes in cycles for all programs. Our last four year gap between championships a couple of recruiting problems occurred, including losing an entire class of three. Those were considered the dark years, but we still made it to the regionals every year even with our recruiting problems. We just concluded another down turn in recruiting (in the sense of missing on bigs), only this time we still made the Final Four every year (so far).

If Auriemma were to coach ten more years no doubt we would have another down turn, another round of finding fault with recruiting. We might not even make the Final Four every year of the down turn (HORRORS!), yet we will still recuperate once the cycle loops through.

On Edit: Nice list, Eric, but I think there might be an omission.

After Walters and Lobo the bigs were 6'1 or 6'2. and Uconn did pretty well with them even against a big (Riley).
Geno in the mid years played well with fast guard oriented teams.

 

[UcMiami]

I don't really think much has changed with Uconn recruiting. Perhaps the offers are made a little earlier, and certainly the increase in transfers has affected everyone from players to programs - for Uconn the quality of player looking to transfer in and the holes created by players leaving the program have created interest.

Otherwise I see the same cyclical nature - yeah they have a five person class next year, but that has happened before when the stars align. The fact that the roster has been somewhat depleted from where it was a few years ago probably attracts some more recruits, but I do not see a difference in the quality of players being offered both talent and personality wise. I do not think standards have changed, nor do I think Geno, CD and the staff are behaving differently.

 

[donalddoowop]

I'm glad for Jasmine. Her first year did not produce the recruits UConn was used to getting. I believe some wondered if she would produce and at least one person said the fact that the AC who went to coach at Boston College hurt recruiting. I believe some of the American recruits have noticed that foreign players have said that UConn was their dream school and Geno is recruiting them, not waiting for the American recruits. Now, American recruits who look at UConn as their dream school are committing early to make sure there is room for them because Geno has widened his area of recruiting and if they wait too long they will miss out. Just my thoughts.

 

[huskeynut]

Let's remember than recruiting these players has [not] occurred in just the last 10 months. In some cases, recruiting may have been a 2 to 4 year project/ journey. The entire staff works hard to recruit the right player for UConn. We all know Geno is very selective in who he offers a scholarship to.

As we have seen, it always doesn't work out as you want. That is the nature of recruiting.

 

[eebmg]

I'm glad for Jasmine. Her first year did not produce the recruits UConn was used to getting. I believe some wondered if she would produce and at least one person said the fact that the AC who went to coach at Boston College hurt recruiting. I believe some of the American recruits have noticed that foreign players have said that UConn was their dream school and Geno is recruiting them, not waiting for the American recruits. Now, American recruits who look at UConn as their dream school are recruiting early to make sure there is room for them because Geno has widened his area of recruiting and if they wait too long they will miss out. Just my thoughts.

I am surprised alot of people are directly connecting success or failure of our recruitment to our Assistant Coaches. Of course, they are in the trenches making first appraisals, doing the legwork etc. but I am sure Geno gets involved in the process in detail (at least for the top recruits) and in the end, the recruits will choose UConn because of Geno and his interactions with them, their family, their coaches etc.

The buck starts and stops with Geno