Saylor Poffenbarger in Transfer Portal [merged thread]

[RedStickHusky]

I would guess her local NIL is no longer happening.

Not for nothing but did you hear Kara W go off on this topic Sunday? "What happens when you have two kids on a team getting paid? Does that start affecting who you pass to?" Not the popular position but she's a hard no.

 

[Cuango]

Hoping she’ll come to Tucson to play for Adia Barnes. Wishing Saylor all the best wherever she ends up.

 

[hoophuskee]

Too bad. Thought she could've been a good pf as long as she got her shot down.

 

[Dokey]

2 free semesters of college - check
10 months of the best basketball learning environment in the world - check
Trip to the Final Four before you were supposed to graduate high school - check
Used zero eligibility in the process - check

So she got hit with the reality that she is and never was going to be good enough to play on one of the best teams in the nation. There are zero negatives for her.

Well, to be fair we don’t know for sure if she is or is not good enough. A few minutes when she was really still a high school student isn’t a good basis for judging. Did she have stiff competition? Yes. But she is likely to end up at a top program in need of her skill set and have stiff competition there, though joining Shea at Vandy might be just what that program needs to build on, something akin—akin, I said, meaning sort of—to Lobo picking UConn over much better opportunities. After all, there is a reason why Geno recruited her.

 

[D J B]

Not for nothing but did you hear Kara W go off on this topic Sunday? "What happens when you have two kids on a team getting paid? Does that start affecting who you pass to?" Not the popular position but she's a hard no.

What? You make no sense with this comment.

 

[stamfordhusky]

So she got hit with the reality that she is and never was going to be good enough to play on one of the best teams in the nation.

Silly comment! None of us, including you, have any idea if that is true. It will be two or three years before we can really evaluate this. But her performance while in high school suggests she can eventually play at this level.

 

[RedStickHusky]

What? You make no sense with this comment.

Jordy brought up NIL. Kara Walters had some pregame comments on NIL being a potential team building problem.... Sorry if it was confusing, made sense to me.

 

[D J B]

Jordy brought up NIL. Kara Walters had some pregame comments on NIL being a potential team building problem.... Sorry if it was confusing, made sense to me.

OK. Just trying to tie it into Saylor's decision, somehow, since that is the subject of this thread.

 

[D J B]

I would guess her local NIL is no longer happening.

What are you talking about?

 

[mbr33ct]

Middletown's Saylor Poffenbarger transferring from UConn

Saylor Poffenbarger graduated from Middletown High in the middle of last school year to get started on her college career at Connecticut in 2021. Now, not a year later, she’s

www.fredericknewspost.com

not just basketball

“It’s been a conversation, and it’s not all basketball,” Amy Poffenbarger said regarding Saylor’s decision. “The academic [side] wasn’t super-engaging, there wasn’t much to the campus life, and there wasn’t the ability to get out and meet a lot of people. Unfortunately that part of college life ... that part wasn’t happening for her.”

I'm glad she didn't blame it on playing in front of cardboard cutouts.

 

[ktuck911]

Gotta think this young lady would be a primary target for Shea Ralph's Vanderbilt program..

 

[Argonaut]

Middletown's Saylor Poffenbarger transferring from UConn

Saylor Poffenbarger graduated from Middletown High in the middle of last school year to get started on her college career at Connecticut in 2021. Now, not a year later, she’s

www.fredericknewspost.com

not just basketball

IDK what her major is, but if the academics are engaging enough for folks like Molly Bent and Briana Pulido, I have to wonder what’s missing for Saylor on that front. I know she’s said that she wants to become a mortician, but that’s mostly a two year program. I don’t know if any big time schools where she’ll be able to get that degree while she’s playing.

Morgan Tuck ended up joining a sorority on top of her basketball obligations, so the opportunity has been there in the past to get more traditionally involved. I wonder what the team rules are regarding COVID and social functions on campus. While Storrs isn’t a booming metropolis, there is never a shortage of parties. I’ve been to many and remember some… lol.

Best of luck, kiddo. I hope your next stop is the experience you’ve dreamed of.

 

[Vancat]

“It’s been a conversation, and it’s not all basketball,” Amy Poffenbarger said regarding Saylor’s decision. “The academic [side] wasn’t super-engaging, there wasn’t much to the campus life, and there wasn’t the ability to get out and meet a lot of people. Unfortunately that part of college life ... that part wasn’t happening for her.”

See ya.

 

[Bald Husky]

If you watch that "virtual campus tour" of UConn on youtubeTV you can see that there is alot to do on campus. If she wants things to engage in off campus activities, then Storrs isn't the place. I think that the basketball situation was indeed the primary reason and good old mom decided ( her ex coach ) she wanted more for her daughter than a non vital role on this team. I wish her the best of luck and hope she finds a great school with an opportunity to play much and in a city that will make mom happy.

 

[oldude]

I have to wonder now if it wouldn’t have been better for Saylor to finish HS with her class in MD, even though her HS season was largely cancelled. When she showed up at UConn in January she was the odd man out, so to speak, not quite part of last season’s freshman class and not quite part of this season’s either.

Between campus life being significantly curtailed by pandemic protocols and her basketball development being curtailed by various injuries I can understand how Saylor might have felt somewhat isolated at Storrs.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to admit to yourself that you’re unhappy, understand why and take steps to fix the problem. It sounds like Saylor is heading in the right direction, wherever she ends up.

 

[eebmg]

It takes alot of courage to realize you need to change direction in your life. Hope she gets 100% healthy and she finds the best fit in basketball and life.

 

[HopJim]

Having a parent bash a school’s academics and campus life isn’t necessarily the best look, good luck to her though. Hopefully where she lands next is the right place for her.

Amy Poffenbarger's comments were confusing. Acedemics not engaging? Didn't have the opportunity to meet others? Huskies traveled throughout the US, had a diverse group of players, and got visiters from around the US and world. Not worth alot of commentary but seems like she was trying to justify her daughter's change and didn't have the proper words.

 

[LarryLegend]

Modeling opportunities in Los Angeles.

looking at her social media it appeared that maybe she had things other than basketball in mind. Sounds like the family jumped at a UCONN offer before fully considering all factors.

 

[Lawrence]

She's made her decision and I wish her the best !

 

[Majic Hands]

Taking advantage of going to collage, playing, practicing, getting a handle on what she needs to work on, half way into the regular season ahead of her fellow classmates had the potential of moving her ahead of her fellow freshman for playing time.

Injuries! Dang Injuries! The wheels came off the axle. Instead of being ahead of her fellow freshman, she is looking at competing with next year's class for playing time.

To me, plan A was good, just didn't work. Plan B is a good idea. I hope it works well for her and the team/school she goes to.

And yes, it would cause me to smile if she went to Vandy. Players with her potential are needed there.

Just-Say-N

 

[Bald Husky]

I wondered if Geno called Shea to give her a heads up before the news was released. I think it would really piss off VolNation if she eventually chose Vandy. I think that would be a great choice for Saylor as Shea could really use her help, plus the best academics, vibrant city, and a very good BB conference.

 

[fightinterp]

I wish Saylor nothing but the best, she is a very nice person. I reffed a few of her high school games. She was a very good player, but when I saw she committed to UConn, I was skeptical. I had also reffed the Jones sisters, Brionna & Stephanie for Aberdeen high school. They were in a much higher skill class. Would LOVE to see her transfer to Mt St Mary's so I can watch her play, but I think she as higher aspirations.

 

[cordarone]

Ralph was the first person Saylor met who was associated with the team; in a sense her recruiting began with their meeting:

In the summer leading up to her freshman season, Saylor was playing in an AAU tournament in Chicago when she bumped into Ralph in a Starbucks. Saylor proceeded to mug for pictures with Ralph, who actually had tabbed Saylor as one of the players she wanted to scout at the tournament. Soon after the tournament, Ralph touched base with Saylor, marking the beginning of UConn’s recruitment of the 6-foot-2 guard.

Knights' Poffenbarger commits to UConn

It makes sense that Vandy would be a viable destination for her.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

It was inevitable that players would transfer. That's what the minutes breakdown on BY over the summer showed: a number of very talented players simply could not get anywhere near an appropriate number of minutes commensurate with their talent. But what surprises me is that she transferred so soon. I suspect that the combination of isolation- a kid from Maryland a long way from home in a Covid-restricted environment- injuries, which must not only be painful, but depressing for such a talented young athlete, and the prospect of never breaking through weighed on her emotionally. She left not halfway through the season after competing to the fullest and coming to the realization that she wasn't going to bet her big break, but after the first game of the season. And she's a coach's kid, meaning she's been taught to be a team player, and learn all she can. I'm guessing that this was much more an emotional decision than a basketball decision.

What remains to be seen is whether she will fully recover from the injuries that plagued her from last year, and finally become the player she's expected to be. Wonder how she transfers when she's in a boot, and suffers from a chronic back injury? Likely sit out the remainder of the season hoping to recover? But why not redshirt at UConn while thinking it through?

If she recovers from injury, I'd bet she will help a very good team become excellent. All the best to her.

 

[Stymie]

If you watch that "virtual campus tour" of UConn on youtubeTV you can see that there is alot to do on campus. If she wants things to engage in off campus activities, then Storrs isn't the place. I think that the basketball situation was indeed the primary reason and good old mom decided ( her ex coach ) she wanted more for her daughter than a non vital role on this team. I wish her the best of luck and hope she finds a great school with an opportunity to play much and in a city that will make mom happy.

...and Bald Husky returns it with a backhand...