Sam Brunelle vs. Our Own Anna

[JoePgh]

Most of us are aware that Sam Brunelle (who played for Notre Dame in the 12/8 game) was interested in UConn and may have received an offer, which she may have wanted to accept. But because of some contretemps with Geno (no details known), her actual arrival in Storrs never happened, and she committed to Notre Dame -- the school whose approach to WBB is probably more similar to UConn's than any other team's (maybe Oregon?).

UConn did sign Anna Makurat rather late, and I wonder if Geno would have recruited Anna if Sam were going to be a Husky. They appear to me to be very similar players in many ways:

• About the same size (6-1 vs. 6-2);
• Both are known as 3-point shooters, and can be expected to shoot better in their college careers than they have shown thus far this season;
• Both are strong enough to be effective rebounders, but neither has any great leaping ability;
• Both are somewhat slow on defense;
• Both have guard skills and can handle the ball reasonably well.

So, who would you rather have (assuming that both would play happily in Storrs)? I am honestly not sure how I would answer that question. Obviously I've seen a lot more of Anna than of Sam, and I especially like her tenacity on the boards. (I didn't see this yesterday from Sam -- on the play when Megan got her two offensive rebounds, Sam was standing a few feet away watching and not contesting those rebounds.) If Anna can be an effective shooter and a strong rebounder, she can have a good career for UConn, although I doubt that she will ever be a starter after this year.

Without doubt, a happy Anna is a whole lot better than an unhappy Sam would have been.

 

[ABCDFE]

Too early to say who I’d rather have. I’m happy we have Anna. She has the tools to be a solid player. Her shot is getting better and I think she will be more comfortable on the court with her teammates as the season progresses.

 

[Argonaut]

Even though Anna held an offer, she signed quite late because she wanted to finish her season before formally announcing her plans for the next year.

I’m happiest with the players who want to be at UConn. Anna wanted to be at UConn and Sam wanted to be at ND, so Anna is the one I want.