Recruiting Recruiting Recruiting

[UConnCat]

UConn and Azura should have been more aggressive in seeking a waiver. Geno said he didn’t think there was a case to be made. As the Shepard case showed, that doesn’t matter. There’s an Indy Star story out over the weekend in which Shepard’s family says they have no idea why the waiver petition was successful.

Geno probably thought there would be no way the NCAA would allow Azura to play immediately on the heels of 4 straight NCAA championships. He was probably right.

 

[Geesworld]

Geno was counting on Stevens as his big & the recruiting seemed to center around her being on board. When she suddenly departed that left a big whole in the rebounding game. The staff was unprepared, after all the training time & effort had been put into her. Injured, Camara, was unable to provide much because of her injuries. Enough !

Great points!

 

[j66kicker]

Watched Azzi Fudd on TV yesterday playing for what ESPN2 claimed was the HS national championship. I was not all that impressed. Her team lost, and she looked lost. Of course it's one game. But was more impressed by her sophomore counterpart Jada Walker:

jada-walker

Wasn't she playing hurt?

 

[cohenzone]

I made that trip regularly by car to visit Fillmore Hospital and Doctor Giddi Doktar, (loved that name). She'd be smart to fly.

I worry if I had a giddy doctor.

 

[pvdoggy]

Watched Azzi Fudd on TV yesterday playing for what ESPN2 claimed was the HS national championship. I was not all that impressed. Her team lost, and she looked lost. Of course it's one game. But was more impressed by her sophomore counterpart Jada Walker:

jada-walker

I can almost guarantee that you would not want Fudd to commit to ND.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I can almost guarantee that you would not want Fudd to commit to ND.

Exactly. She should commit to Stanford.

 

[pvdoggy]

Exactly. She should commit to Stanford.

Better than ND. Did I mention I hate ND? I have no idea why, but I have always hated ND.

 

[j66kicker]

Better than ND. Did I mention I hate ND? I have no idea why, but I have always hated ND.

I can give you a lot of reasons, if you need to justify it. I’m good with just plain old un-thought-out straight-from-the-heart hate, though.

 

[trb123]

In the past, criticizing Geno's recruitment always brought a host of defenders on you and it may continue to do so. It is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle than for a HS player to meet Uconn recruitment standards. Only if we knew where they are falling short!

 

[Kurebeach5]

Better than ND. Did I mention I hate ND? I have no idea why, but I have always hated ND.

You really don't need a reason !! But they are numerous.

 

[Kurebeach5]

In the past, criticizing Geno's recruitment always brought a host of defenders on you and it may continue to do so. It is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle than for a HS player to meet Uconn recruitment standards. Only if we knew where they are falling short!

1- Talent
2- Attitude

 

[NewCorn]

I guess another Civil War is too drastic?

Yes, and the South might win!

 

[Charliebball]

Wasn't she playing hurt?

yes she had an ankle injury but still played...................

 

[ucbart]

She would be great. Buffalo, though, is closer to 8-9 hours by car. I think she’d be flying.

I live in Syracuse, which is 2 hours from Buffalo. I takes 4 hours to get to Storrs from here. Buffalo to Storrs is not an 8-9 hour car ride.

 

[UConnNick]

I can give you a lot of reasons, if you need to justify it. I’m good with just plain old un-thought-out straight-from-the-heart hate, though.

Hate gives life purpose and meaning, especially when you hate ND.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I worry if I had a giddy doctor.

If you had a very sick child that is one Giddi Doktar you'd be thrilled to have available to you. She was in charge of everything Babies--Doctors don't easily impress me but this woman did that and more. The name was very appropriate, exceptional Md, with a bubbly personality.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Oh no I m not selling low. I'm Definitely selling high on ONO. In fact I wanted more ONO. Call me crazy but I even thought she should have started and CW come of the bench. CW would have brought energy and offensive surge coming off the bench and also made for better rotations. My point was more about moving forward and giving her another big to relieve some of the load she will have to carry next season. She is fouled prone and will not be able to play as aggressive defensively as she did this year because our depth at PF/C is weak. Another Defensive Big will also free up ONO who I believe is very athletic and has more range than what we seen this season. I thought she was a good passer at the high post and showed the ability to maybe hit a elbow shot to keep others bigs honest. Remember, ONO will be on an Island next year. No Pheesa to draw attention away from her.

I'm in full agreement with this--I'm not sure the Foul thing will be as big an issue as currently, we'll see.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Azzi had ankle supports on both ankles yesterday. She stayed in the locker room for all of halftime and had an adjustment made by the trainer just before the start of her second half. She limped some in the second half and did not have her usual lift. As a result, most of her misses were short.

Azzi's team went 36-2 this year. Their 2 losses were by 3 to formerly #1 Miami Country Day in the Nike TOC and yesterday's loss to formerly #4 New Hope. BTW, New Hope beat Miami Country Day on Friday. So Azzi was playing a very, very good team.

I've seen Azzi play 6x in person this year. This was by far her worst game of the season. In the D.C. City championship game, Azzi had 38 on very efficient shooting, equaling the point total of opponent Georgetown Visitation.

Don't judge Azzi on a poor performance, one in which her injury may have had an effect. Despite yesterday's game, she's a 50/40/90 shooter. I still see her as a combo of Kaleena and Maya. She and Paige were the best non-seniors in the country this season.

 

[Checkmate 2.0]

When does the dead recruiting period end?

 

[hjoerring]

This year's line up not only meant 2-3 Huskies played out of position but against the better teams, a bigger player switched out on many of the KLS/Collier pick and rolls, reducing one of UConn's core plays. Collier and Meg took most of the hit.

Finally, someone doing more than talking. When you only see replays, you cannot help feeling humbled in the cacophony of chatter that may just know/see more than what might have been edited out of a tape. But assuming the games I saw this year (and including the F4) were real, we really played well. All those games were winnable at critical junctures. We lost the games-- we didn't get beaten. As superior as Baylor (is) suppose to be, any other team could have triumphed over us that night. We were offensively bad with and without their doings. And we could have won the F4 against ND. And that is not wishful thinking. Interestingly, Baylor didn't blow-out Oregon. Here is what we all know and what came back to do us in: extremely poor rebounding (basically putting it in the hands of one player and occasionally a fr. guard) and, players (though well conditioned) being forced to play full minutes in highly competitive situations against players who might be equally talented, but bigger and stronger.

As for Arike at ND, it seems to me that it might have been a strategy of the coaches or herself to start slow and finish strong. That is, ND can score enough to have her conserve herself until the 4th quarter. At this jucture there are few defenders who can contend with her-- given her aggressive playing style. Aggressive here is not intended to be or seen as negative, just punishing. Uconn does not have such a luxury. All 5-players must go full-out from start to finish.