Sadie Edwards to transfer

[Stinger92860]

In retrospect nurse may be the top rated point Guard in this class and next. If you want to be THE point guard, that will be difficult. Can she play the 2, not that it matters now.

 

[Striper69]

Sorry to hear this news but wish her the best!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Heck, from where I'm sitting Duke would be lucky to get her and a whole bunch of other "in the conversation" teams. She has confidence and knows what she wants. I'm thinking she pulled the trigger early, but I'm not in her head or her heart and no one was in the room but Geno and Sadie. Best of luck Sadie.

 

[Striper69]

Thinking about this year. We have three experienced true guards- Messiah, Nurse, Chong. Gabby has been playing the 4 or underneath for the most part. Her ball handling skills are rusty after two years of not playing basketball. In the event of even a minor or nagging injury to one of our guards, we could be in a bit of a pickle. And re Sadie- I don't think there is any reason to think she could not play for a top 10 team. She was a top ranked recruit. And she has quite an athletic build. She may just not fit in here obviously. But I am not sure that seals her fate as a person that couldn't get drafted into the WNBA. Just my thoughts! I wish we had her on the bench for the season as insurance.

It would've been very tough for her to get more playing time with Moriah, Nurse and Chong already competing for those spot minutes. She still has a good chance to get to the next level if she sticks with it.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Edwards is able to transfer to a school where she will have a better chance at significant playing time and the team benefits in that a scholarship opens up for UConn to recruit another player. It was apparent that Edwards was going to be buried on the bench and see very little playing time.

1. The extra scholarship is completely irrelevant since Geno never uses all of them and has plenty of unused ones. That is true every year.

2. Yes, she was going to be buried on the bench this year IF there are no injuries. That is the wild card. As for future years - no-one could predict that at this point.

 

[stamfordhusky]

This is absolutely no surprise. I'll bet she isn't the only one to leave by the end of the year. I think every scholarship player on this year's roster was either a high scool all american or all state player and next year he has several more coming in.
He does not like playing more than seven players so the writing is on the wall for the others. During preseason he had a lot of praise for Gabby Williams, yet she only plays against inferior competition or if there is foul trouble.
I am just guessing, but I bet UCONN has more transfers in the last five years than any other school. That is a lot of recruiting travel money wasted.

1. Geno has often used more than seven players in the rotation in past years. It depends on the players and their experience level.

2. There are dozens of programs who have had more transfers over the past five years.

3. It is not wasted money. No-one knows how these players will work out, and no-one knows who will be happy and who won't. To save money maybe he should have stopped at three recruits last year and not brought in Nurse. How would that have worked out?

 

[HoopsFan21]

This is absolutely no surprise. I'll bet she isn't the only one to leave by the end of the year. I think every scholarship player on this year's roster was either a high scool all american or all state player and next year he has several more coming in.
He does not like playing more than seven players so the writing is on the wall for the others. During preseason he had a lot of praise for Gabby Williams, yet she only plays against inferior competition or if there is foul trouble.
I am just guessing, but I bet UCONN has more transfers in the last five years than any other school. That is a lot of recruiting travel money wasted.

So how do other teams do it? I thought Geno kept a relatively lean team, just enough players to go 5 on 5 in practice. It is kind of crazy to see how many kids quit UConn, but this is an annual thing, so it's not surprising. Look at Stef and Bria's class, as they were only 2 of the 5 to stick with it.

 

[Vowelguy]

and end
up with a short bench again. .

8 players isn't a short bench?

 

[pinotbear]

DickG, your comment about "not lik(ing) playing more than 7 players" got me wondering, so I checked into that.

During 5 of the last 6 seasons, at least 8 players on the roster have averaged over 12 minutes per game. Last year and the year before, 9 players averaged over 14 minutes per game. This year, 8 players are averaging over 14 minutes, not counting Eck, who, in her one game, played 19.
The only exception was the 2010/11 season, where UConn only had a 10-player roster to begin the season - after Walker left, the roster was 9, with 4 freshmen and red-shirt soph Buck on the roster.
So, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that Geno doesn't like playing more than 7.

What is true, I think, is that in "big games", like playing Stanford or Notre Dame on the road early, or tournament (Conference/NCAA) games past the first couple of rounds, Geno does tighten the rotation. The reasoning, for the tournament games, seems obvious: at the end of the season, when it's "one and done", team performance is more important than individual player development. In those early season "big" games, Geno is on record as believing that, if a player isn't ready for that level of competition, then it does more harm than good to put them on the floor. Agree with him or not, at least there's a rational for it.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Interesting. The UConn roster even after the removal of Edwards' name shows 12 players of the roster, though the first player listed is ineligible for this year. I have not heard that any other player of the 11 is not going to definitely be on the court for the Huskies at least by February or March.

So in big games like with ND where even in a blow-out only 8 players see more than a minute of play -- no, 8 is not a short bench.

In the blow-outs of less strong opponents, getting Lawlor or Pulido some playing time seems like a move that even the stat-greediest fans shouldn't be too upset about, since they likely have earned it. It's wrong to throw out the "I" word, but if it does happen like last year then it just means the the main lineup shrinks a bit and players get more PT. And with all the cries about certain players not getting enough PT, it doesn't seem to be a big concern to have one less player on the roster.

On Saturday, Edwards was one of three players getting 1 minute along with Lawlor and Pulido, and for a proud player that must have stung a bit, and it would not have been what she dreamed of coming into the season. Good for her if she wants to get her path sorted out now so she can move ahead with a clear mind and strong spirit.

 

[NSP Hoops]

Bummer to see her go but... she was last on the depth chart not including the walk ons. I wish we had more chances to see her play - I'm not sure if she has potential or not. But better to go now and have 3.5 years elig left wherever she lands.

Like most kids who leave UCONN, they do NOT go to another top 10 school - and I don't imagine Sadie will either. Walker was an exception, but she left for intensely personal reasons that had very little to do with PT or any issues with her status on the team. Others who have left have gone to Wisconsin, PSU, BCU, Delaware, and NC State (Goring).

But my point is the kids who wanted more PT (Johnson, Engeln, Banks and now Edwards) have all transferred to non top 25 programs. This way they are able to grow at their own pace AND earn a bunch of PT where they never would have gotten it at UCONN.

Actually she only will have 2.5 years of eligibility.

 

[sawxfan23]

1. The extra scholarship is completely irrelevant since Geno never uses all of them and has plenty of unused ones. That is true every year.

2. Yes, she was going to be buried on the bench this year IF there are no injuries. That is the wild card. As for future years - no-one could predict that at this point.

1. "Plenty of unused ones" ? With Edwards this year they have 13 scholarship players with 2 graduating and 3 incoming that would have made 14 so 1 available scholly is not exactly "plenty".

 

[Icebear]

So how do other teams do it? I thought Geno kept a relatively lean team, just enough players to go 5 on 5 in practice. It is kind of crazy to see how many kids quit UConn, but this is an annual thing, so it's not surprising. Look at Stef and Bria's class, as they were only 2 of the 5 to stick with it.

It isn't surprising at all. There are many more teams with as many or more transfers as UCONN.

 

[DICKG]

DickG, your comment about "not lik(ing) playing more than 7 players" got me wondering, so I checked into that.

During 5 of the last 6 seasons, at least 8 players on the roster have averaged over 12 minutes per game. Last year and the year before, 9 players averaged over 14 minutes per game. This year, 8 players are averaging over 14 minutes, not counting Eck, who, in her one game, played 19.
The only exception was the 2010/11 season, where UConn only had a 10-player roster to begin the season - after Walker left, the roster was 9, with 4 freshmen and red-shirt soph Buck on the roster.
So, I think it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that Geno doesn't like playing more than 7.

What is true, I think, is that in "big games", like playing Stanford or Notre Dame on the road early, or tournament (Conference/NCAA) games past the first couple of rounds, Geno does tighten the rotation. The reasoning, for the tournament games, seems obvious: at the end of the season, when it's "one and done", team performance is more important than individual player development. In those early season "big" games, Geno is on record as believing that, if a player isn't ready for that level of competition, then it does more harm than good to put them on the floor. Agree with him or not, at least there's a rational for it.

I did mean in big games or close games. I just don't think a player gains much needed experience by only playing in blowout games. For instance, I think Gabby Williams would have helped a lot in the Stanford game. He sings her praises, but doesn't use her. He has done that with many other players over the years.

 

[Icebear]

Actually she only will have 2.5 years of eligibility.

This is not correct. See the earlier detailed discussion and posts in the thread.

 

[malevocalist#]

While we will miss Sadie and wish her the best, if playing time was a top priority for her then she made a good decision. She probably saw the handwriting on the wall with Nurse's incredible start and the intimidating athletic skills of Gabby. Playing time for the foreseeable future would have been sparse.

Its sad because this is a quality basketball player. Followed her throughout high school. She was just looking for a little more than just 4 minutes off the bench & a chance to have at least an opportunity help the team against qulity competition.

However, Geno is not into just giving more minutes, they are earned. Some players like the great ones earned and receives them coming in (#1 prospects). Yet it's off the bench. The kid has skills & she just don't want to see those skills suffer without the proper minutes.

I saw this coming weeks in advance. However, I wished she had stuck it out it more with some patients. She would have been good playing alongside Dangerfield and benefited with a little more playing time (which I believe she would have gotten prior to Dangerfield's arrival.

I wish you the best Sadie.

 

[xHunt3r]

This is absolutely no surprise. I'll bet she isn't the only one to leave by the end of the year. I think every scholarship player on this year's roster was either a high scool all american or all state player and next year he has several more coming in.
He does not like playing more than seven players so the writing is on the wall for the others. During preseason he had a lot of praise for Gabby Williams, yet she only plays against inferior competition or if there is foul trouble.
I am just guessing, but I bet UCONN has more transfers in the last five years than any other school. That is a lot of recruiting travel money wasted.

Nurse 26.6 mpg
Jefferson 26.4 mpg
Tuck 26.0 mpg
Chong 21.9 mpg
Stokes 20.7 mpg
Ekmark 19.0 mpg (only 1 game played due to injury)
Williams 14.3 mpg (played a few minutes in first half of ND game)
Edwards 4.8 mpg
Lawlor 2.8 mpg
Pulido 2.2 mpg


The only two playing more minutes then Nurse is KML and Stewart. Edwards is barely getting on the floor at the end of games just before Lawlor and Pulido. I can see to some degree why she would want to talk to coach about it. Guess she didn't the response she hoped for. Don't see anyone else in the same situation and don't think anyone will ask for a release because of play time.

 

[RadyLady]

Its sad because this is a quality basketball player. Followed her throughout high school. She was just looking for a little more than just 4 minutes off the bench & a chance to have at least an opportunity help the team against qulity competition.

However, Geno is not into just giving more minutes, they are earned. Some players like the great ones earned and receives them coming in (#1 prospects). Yet it's off the bench. The kid has skills & she just don't want to see those skills suffer without the proper minutes.

I saw this coming weeks in advance. However, I wished she had stuck it out it more with some patients. She would have been good playing alongside Dangerfield and benefited with a little more playing time (which I believe she would have gotten prior to Dangerfield's arrival.

I wish you the best Sadie.

Playing time is indeed earned and sometimes people need to look down the road to see the big picture. let's hearken back to the frosh days of Sue Bird's class. there were 5 Steller kids in that class and they were a force to be reckoned with when they came into games as freshman, but they didn't get their starting minutes until after folks graduated or suffered injuries. it's always the big picture, and it's always earned playing times. The rule is in practice is that you do it until you don't get it wrong and that is a criteria I believe for getting minutes on this UConn team.

 

[RadyLady]

1. "Plenty of unused ones" ? With Edwards this year they have 13 scholarship players with 2 graduating and 3 incoming that would have made 14 so 1 available scholly is not exactly "plenty".

13?

let's see
Stokes
Lewis
Stewart
Tuck
Jefferson
Chong
Nurse
Williams
Ekmark
Butler
Edwards....

That looks like 11 to me. Did I forget a scholarship player?

Edwards leaves...makes 10

 

[Tonyc]

A lot of speculation on what happened. We don't know what happened. We do know she didn't get much playing time. We know she spoke to Geno and what was said we don't know. We know she is transferring and imo with the up and coming AAC schedule she may have seen more playing time but we don't know that either. Evidently she didn't hear from Geno and the coaches what she wanted to hear about playtime so shes leaving to go someplace where she will get it. That's it. Understand there is no blame here. Yes its hard to swallow when you a top player and your not getting the minutes you think you should get or would like to get. In big games at UConn most freshman don't see many minutes if any minutes. In most big time programs unless they are very special players they don't see time in big games either. Lack of experience is the major factor. I think Sadie made the right choice for her based on what we've seen so far this season. Good Luck to her.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Actually she only will have 2.5 years of eligibility.

This is not correct. See the earlier detailed discussion and posts in the thread.

If she transfers before the start of second semester, then she will be eligible after first semester ends next year - giving her somewhat more than 2.5 years. If for some reason she opted not to play at all next year (doubtful), then she would have three full seasons left.

 

[stamfordhusky]

1. "Plenty of unused ones" ? With Edwards this year they have 13 scholarship players with 2 graduating and 3 incoming that would have made 14 so 1 available scholly is not exactly "plenty".

No, your math is off by a bit. Counting Edwards, they had 11 scholarship players. Now they have 10. With two leaving and three coming in, they will have 11 next year. Would have had 12 with Edwards. That, as I said, is "plenty of unused ones".

Geno has never had a full allotment of scholarship players - ever. He certainly did not need Edwards' scholarship, and he won't be using it.

 

[Zorro]

Well said, Tony.

 

[EricSD]

No, your math is off by a bit. Counting Edwards, they had 11 scholarship players. Now they have 10. With two leaving and three coming in, they will have 11 next year. Would have had 12 with Edwards. That, as I said, is "plenty of unused ones".

Geno has never had a full allotment of scholarship players - ever. He certainly did not need Edwards' scholarship, and he won't be using it.

Just as a follow up:

next year:

Jefferson, Stewie
Chong, Tuck
Ek, Wililams, Nurse, Butler
Collier, Boykin, Samuelson

I think you said 11. that is correct. The following year:

Chong, Tuck
Ek, Williams, Nurse, Butler
Collier, Boykin, Samuelson
Dangerfield, Irwin, ???, ???

I think now in that class Geno will try for 4 kids. Currently that's a roster again of 11. I know he wants a post player. One of McCoy, Cox or Holmes, and then one guard - maybe Ionescu or Chou. But of all those names i'm not sure how good a shot we have at any of them not named McCoy. It was earlier reported that Cox/Holmes wanted to stay close to home, but that seems to have changed so maybe we have a good shot with them? have not heard anything new on Chou or Ionescu for a long time so maybe they are no longer interested in UCONN. I would think Geno would go after another guard in that class - maybe a good shooter and a 2/3 type of player but even if he still only lands 1 post player, it's more than enough IMHO...

The problem as I see it is identifying kids who will fall into 3 categories:

True stars who maybe won't start their freshman year but will likely be starters for at least 3 years at UCONN (KML, Jefferson, Stewie, Tuck, Nurse)
Really good players who will be likely not be starters but earn enough PT at UCONN to be happy (Chong, Williams, Ekmark, Stokes)
True role players who are hard workers and know that they may never get a ton of PT but want to be on the team anyway (players like Gardler, Tahirah Williams, and Irwin from 2016)

It seems that Sadie wanted to be in category 1 or 2 but currently was in category 3 and that was not enough. I think Banks, Johnson and Engeln all fell into that category too so maybe Geno and the staff need to do a better job of preparing kids for the possibility that they won't see PT even though they may consider themselves "really good" coming out of HS.

It's a super fine line. How do you tell a kid like Edwards, who had a composite ranking of 12 or so, that based on what you've seen, she has a very long way to go to earn any significant PT at UCONN? Obviously Geno has many more "hits" than "misses". I mean no disrespect to any of the quartet of Johnson, Engeln, Banks and now Edwards who have transferred, but none of them seemed to be on track to be starters during their UCONN careers and at best would likely be solid role players... At UCONN it's almost never the kids who are really really good that leave...

 

[Huskies Rule]

The decision to transfer is a really really difficult one. With 2 National Championship rings in her pocket and just one year of eligibility left, Brianna Banks packed her bags and left her friends at UConn solely (I'm pretty sure) for the opportunity to play more minutes in one final season at what is a pathetic Penn State program (2-6, with losses to Samford and Liberty). I don't think PSU's declining program matters a bit to her, she just wants to play max minutes, one last time before her bball career is forever over. BBanks, an incredible athlete beset with injuries, understandably wearied of her UConn splinters. Why she was unable to get on the floor more, when healthy, is a matter of conjecture. I would be really interested to know Brianna's thinking today- is she glad for the 3-year UConn experience, 2 NC's and all that entailed, or in hindsight does she wish she had chosen to attend some other, "lesser" program as a freshman, where (ACL be damned) she might have had a real shot at becoming a 3-4 year starter. A helluva difficult call to make. Whatever- I wish Brianna great success. And Sadie, too.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Just as a follow up:

next year:

Jefferson, Stewie
Chong, Tuck
Ek, Wililams, Nurse, Butler
Collier, Boykin, Samuelson

I think you said 11. that is correct. The following year:

Chong, Tuck
Ek, Williams, Nurse, Butler
Collier, Boykin, Samuelson
Dangerfield, Irwin, ???, ???

I think now in that class Geno will try for 4 kids. Currently that's a roster again of 11. I know he wants a post player. One of McCoy, Cox or Holmes, and then one guard - maybe Ionescu or Chou. But of all those names i'm not sure how good a shot we have at any of them not named McCoy. It was earlier reported that Cox/Holmes wanted to stay close to home, but that seems to have changed so maybe we have a good shot with them? have not heard anything new on Chou or Ionescu for a long time so maybe they are no longer interested in UCONN. I would think Geno would go after another guard in that class - maybe a good shooter and a 2/3 type of player but even if he still only lands 1 post player, it's more than enough IMHO...

The problem as I see it is identifying kids who will fall into 3 categories:

True stars who maybe won't start their freshman year but will likely be starters for at least 3 years at UCONN (KML, Jefferson, Stewie, Tuck, Nurse)
Really good players who will be likely not be starters but earn enough PT at UCONN to be happy (Chong, Williams, Ekmark, Stokes)
True role players who are hard workers and know that they may never get a ton of PT but want to be on the team anyway (players like Gardler, Tahirah Williams, and Irwin from 2016)

It seems that Sadie wanted to be in category 1 or 2 but currently was in category 3 and that was not enough. I think Banks, Johnson and Engeln all fell into that category too so maybe Geno and the staff need to do a better job of preparing kids for the possibility that they won't see PT even though they may consider themselves "really good" coming out of HS.

It's a super fine line. How do you tell a kid like Edwards, who had a composite ranking of 12 or so, that based on what you've seen, she has a very long way to go to earn any significant PT at UCONN? Obviously Geno has many more "hits" than "misses". I mean no disrespect to any of the quartet of Johnson, Engeln, Banks and now Edwards who have transferred, but none of them seemed to be on track to be starters during their UCONN careers and at best would likely be solid role players... At UCONN it's almost never the kids who are really really good that leave...

You get my award for best and longest posts! I always have a sandwich at the ready when preparing to read an Eric and Diego post

 

[triaddukefan]

Heck, from where I'm sitting Duke would be lucky to get her and a whole bunch of other "in the conversation" teams. She has confidence and knows what she wants. I'm thinking she pulled the trigger early, but I'm not in her head or her heart and no one was in the room but Geno and Sadie. Best of luck Sadie.

So she would go from one team overloaded with guards to a team with 5 freshman guards coming in next season ?

 

[Scotter]

I knew the transition for Sadie was going to be difficult early on as it is for nearly every player coming to UConn with her initial skill set. It's not an environment where players that are used to playing off the dribble with the ball in their hands are going to be comfortable initially. Saniya's freshman year was like that, except she could at least be put on the floor as a 3-point shooter. Moriah's freshman season is a great example of that. If an incredibly athletic and talented player like that struggled mightily to get comfortable and make an impact then the road for Sadie was going to be long as well.

For that reason UConn rarely recruits players with that skill set. My hope, and probably the coaching staff's as well, was that Sadie's desire to play at UConn would carry her through the difficult times until she developed and then maybe an opportunity would present itself like it has for other players that stuck it out all four years. In the end the desire to play proved greater the desire to be at UConn. Good luck to her.

 

[RadyLady]

I knew the transition for Sadie was going to be difficult early on as it is for nearly every player coming to UConn with her initial skill set. It's not an environment where players that are used to playing off the dribble with the ball in their hands are going to be comfortable initially. Saniya's freshman year was like that, except she could at least be put on the floor as a 3-point shooter. Moriah's freshman season is a great example of that. If an incredibly athletic and talented player like that struggled mightily to get comfortable and make an impact then the road for Sadie was going to be long as well.

For that reason UConn rarely recruits players with that skill set. My hope, and probably the coaching staff's as well, was that Sadie's desire to play at UConn would carry her through the difficult times until she developed and then maybe an opportunity would present itself like it has for other players that stuck it out all four years. In the end the desire to play proved greater the desire to be at UConn. Good luck to her.

great post. Thank you.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

So she would go from one team overloaded with guards to a team with 5 freshman guards coming in next season ?

My bad! I was just reacting to current team. Don't follow Duke recruiting.