Transfer thread

[pvdoggy]

Any player coming to UConn will have to make a total commitment and be coachable, especially a player who is coming from another team with only a year or two of eligibility left. With that said a player who has been playing the post and wants to play on the outside, when infront of her are a bunch of AA's who may be shorter but have experience on the outside and are better from the outside.

I did not know Uconn has a bunch of AA going to be playing on the outside already.

 

[j66kicker]

Does he still have any eligibility left?

Depends whether you ask him or Belichick

 

[DefenseBB]

The portion of the schedule which Brenda had control over was ranked 84th. If that’s upping her strength of schedule that really says everything about her scheduling practice and philosophy.

Jonathan-the point is Brenda did play a very good schedule this year and WON. As such, Maryland would have been the 4th #1 seed. That right there says she did as good a job as she was expected to do-earning a #1 seed.

I get that many people don't like her for any number of reasons mostly because she's not Geno, Kim, MM, Tara or Dawn. After that group, she's in the discussion for top coaches as she not only recruits as well as anyone, she also wins consistently with those players. Her accomplishments compare as well or better than most. I put together a short list of "others deemed to be top coaches" -Kelly Graves, Scott Rueck, Jeff Walz, Gary Blair and Vic Schaefer (note I didn't include the top 5 active top coaches above). Love her, hate her or be agnostic to her but she is a good coach. Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion.

Coach	Yrs D1	Champ	FF	E8	S16	Conf^	Cons NCAAT
Brenda Freese	21	1	2	3	2	12	9
Kelly Graves	23	0	1	3	2	19	3
Jeff Walz	13	0	3	2	4	4	9
Scott Rueck	9	0	1	1	2	4	6
Gary Blair	35	1	1	2	8	17	14
Vic Schaefer	15	0	2	1	1	3	5
Conf^-means both reg season and tournament

 

[donalddoowop]

I have no insider info but there's a lot of reason to think she might be considering it.

Most high profile recruits (Collier was #2 coming into college) want to play for teams
that are likely title contenders or at least in the top 10-15. Texas hasnt been that her first 2 years despite having a ton of talent. Next year they're likely in rebuilding mode, losing a big senior class and Collier is the only standout returning.

Collier also switched her commitment twice prior to entering college and Texas has had several top recruits transfer out in recent years.

On top of that, Aston's contract ends this year so who knows if it'll be renewed or if Texas brings in a new coach in the offseason.

Some of the people saying they don't know why Collier's name comes up in transfer conversations, know about the Texas situation and what you stated is true, but act as if they can't figure out why her name keeps surfacing.

 

[mhshuskies]

understood but while ONO is considered a center she's in need of help from the four on the boards and if Austin fancies herself more of a wing that's not going to fill UConn's biggest need............they need a player who enjoys rebounding and spending a good amount of time in and around the lane..........Stevens was a far more accomplished outside shooter then Austin and yet Geno forced her to stay closer to the basket where she was far more effective when her outside shot failed her.......

I don’t think it was “Geno forced her to stay closer”, it was to help her develop a more complete game. She did not have much of an inside game prior to coming to UCONN and Geno was trying to help her develop that, similar to Stewie. It helped the team, but it also helped the player with their deve. He doesn’t seem to mind when Liv steps out for that mid-range jumper.

Again she scheduled only one ranked team. NC State was part of the ACC vs BIG10 match up, Brenda did not schedule NC State. She was 1-2 against the top 15 teams. It was a weak year for all the P5 conferences. Ranking are not facts, they are based on reputation and records. Only the top 5 or 10 ranked teams really matter......look at how much the rankings change after the cupcakes are no longer played

How many top 10 teams did UConn play? Baylor? Any team higher than # 20 are nothing special.... the record against premier teams is what counts.

I would say anything higher than # 10 is not too special. The Big Ten was competitive as was the ACC, but that was due to a lot of good, but no great teams. Huskies would have been undefeated in either conference this past season.

 

[Mdoggie]

Some of the people saying they don't know why Collier's name comes up in transfer conversations, know about the Texas situation and what you stated is true, but act as if they can't figure out why her name keeps surfacing.

Because BYers can’t let go. See Elena Delle Donne

 

[MilfordHusky]

I have no insider info but there's a lot of reason to think she might be considering it.

Most high profile recruits (Collier was #2 coming into college) want to play for teams
that are likely title contenders or at least in the top 10-15. Texas hasnt been that her first 2 years despite having a ton of talent. Next year they're likely in rebuilding mode, losing a big senior class and Collier is the only standout returning.

Collier also switched her commitment twice prior to entering college and Texas has had several top recruits transfer out in recent years.

On top of that, Aston's contract ends this year so who knows if it'll be renewed or if Texas brings in a new coach in the offseason.

Agreed. I have no word on Charli's situation. If staying near home is still her priority, she won't transfer unless it's in-state. Texas was 19-11 overall and 11-7 in conference, and they lose several good players. Next year looks to be a rebuilding year, so the Longhorns won't make the Final Four or overtake Baylor for the conference championship in Charli's career. In addition, Karen's contract situation seems to be tenuous.

 

[JordyG]

Agreed. I have no word on Charli's situation. If staying near home is still her priority, she won't transfer unless it's in-state. Texas was 19-11 overall and 11-7 in conference, and they lose several good players. Next year looks to be a rebuilding year, so the Longhorns won't make the Final Four or overtake Baylor for the conference championship in Charli's career. In addition, Karen's contract situation seems to be tenuous.

All of which I've said a bunch of times before. But let's remember the reasons she stayed close to home. I don't believe those reasons (excuse the pun) hold much water now.

 

[JordyG]

Jonathan-the point is Brenda did play a very good schedule this year and WON. As such, Maryland would have been the 4th #1 seed. That right there says she did as good a job as she was expected to do-earning a #1 seed.

I get that many people don't like her for any number of reasons mostly because she's not Geno, Kim, MM, Tara or Dawn. After that group, she's in the discussion for top coaches as she not only recruits as well as anyone, she also wins consistently with those players. Her accomplishments compare as well or better than most. I put together a short list of "others deemed to be top coaches" -Kelly Graves, Scott Rueck, Jeff Walz, Gary Blair and Vic Schaefer (note I didn't include the top 5 active top coaches above). Love her, hate her or be agnostic to her but she is a good coach. Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion.

Coach	Yrs D1	Champ	FF	E8	S16	Conf^	Cons NCAAT
Brenda Freese	21	1	2	3	2	12	9
Kelly Graves	23	0	1	3	2	19	3
Jeff Walz	13	0	2	2	4	4	9
Scott Rueck	9	0	1	1	2	4	6
Gary Blair	35	1	1	2	8	17	14
Vic Schaefer	15	0	2	1	1	3	5
Conf^-means both reg season and tournament

There are a lot of other reasons people on this board don't like Frese, and it has little to nothing to do with her not being named Geno, Kim, MM, Tara or Dawn. I'll let others rehash the oddness that has gone one around her over the years.

 

[Zanzman]

So she stayed home after her father passed and area got hit by major flooding but a pandemic will make her more comfortable leaving home interesting

 

[sivad40]

Jonathan-the point is Brenda did play a very good schedule this year and WON. As such, Maryland would have been the 4th #1 seed. That right there says she did as good a job as she was expected to do-earning a #1 seed.

I get that many people don't like her for any number of reasons mostly because she's not Geno, Kim, MM, Tara or Dawn. After that group, she's in the discussion for top coaches as she not only recruits as well as anyone, she also wins consistently with those players. Her accomplishments compare as well or better than most. I put together a short list of "others deemed to be top coaches" -Kelly Graves, Scott Rueck, Jeff Walz, Gary Blair and Vic Schaefer (note I didn't include the top 5 active top coaches above). Love her, hate her or be agnostic to her but she is a good coach. Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion.

Coach	Yrs D1	Champ	FF	E8	S16	Conf^	Cons NCAAT
Brenda Freese	21	1	2	3	2	12	9
Kelly Graves	23	0	1	3	2	19	3
Jeff Walz	13	0	2	2	4	4	9
Scott Rueck	9	0	1	1	2	4	6
Gary Blair	35	1	1	2	8	17	14
Vic Schaefer	15	0	2	1	1	3	5
Conf^-means both reg season and tournament

There's people out there that don't like the coaches that you mentioned either for whatever reason.

 

[CocoHusky]

Any player coming to UConn will have to make a total commitment and be coachable, especially a player who is coming from another team with only a year or two of eligibility left. With that said a player who has been playing the post and wants to play on the outside, when infront of her are a bunch of AA's who may be shorter but have experience on the outside and are better from the outside. Well I dont see that happening. IMO in most cases its takes to long to develop a post player let alone a post player who wants to play outside. If you gonna play a position like Stewie or Lobo did and your not Stewie or Lobo well I dont think theres much chance of you playing for a top team with 2 years left. Stewie and Lobo played their positions from high school forward and were developed. Two years imo isnt enough time to be developed.

Top teams need post players who can step outside on occasion . Stewie and Lobo were one of a kind. There arent may players like those two AA's. UConn is in very good shape for the next few years.

To bring in Austin and her not willing to play underneath could create an attitude problem and thats one thing UConn does not need. UConn is young talented and will be developed. If shes willing to play underneath and be developed and then work on coming out and taking shots that might work, then who sits?????

Again UConn has great recruits coming in, in the next 2 years and they will need alot of attention and work to be developed. We have discussed not having enough positions and playtime and with Megan turning pro will now have that opening. I would not be jump on this. We could use a good post player who is willing to share time with Liv and then Paith and DeBerry and they would have to be willing to share time too????? Alot of questions that only Geno and Chris can answer.

@Tonyc I'll sum up my disagreement in two words-Sedona Prince. A few shorts months ago UCONN evaluated Sedona Prince and thought she would be a good fit. Prince is a very similar player to Austin. At USA basketball Prince spent way too much time on the perimeter and was going to need UCONN coaching attention to diversify her game and make her into a post contributor. Since Prince's waiver was denied she will be WNBA eligible at the same time as Austin. The investment and potential payoff is the same for Austin as it was for Prince. The only wrong move here is to not do the evaluation.
Lastly I think some (you included) are overstating . E.g." To bring in Austin and her not willing to play underneath...." I have not read where Austin is " unwilling" to play down there. My interpretation is that she does not want to play down there "all the time". UCONN doesn't need her to play down there all the time.

 

[bballnut90]

@Tonyc I'll sum up my disagreement in two words-Sedona Prince. A few shorts months ago UCONN evaluated Sedona Prince and thought she would be a good fit. Prince is a very similar player to Austin. At USA basketball Prince spent way too much time on the perimeter and was going to need UCONN coaching attention to diversify her game and make her into a post contributor. Since Prince's waiver was denied she will be WNBA eligible at the same time as Austin. The investment and potential payoff is the same for Austin as it was for Prince. The only wrong move here is to not do the evaluation.
Lastly I think some (you included) are overstating . E.g." To bring in Austin and her not willing to play underneath...." I have not read where Austin is " unwilling" to play down there. My interpretation is that she does not want to play down there "all the time". UCONN doesn't need her to play down there all the time.

Prince transferred after her freshman season, so she will play 2 years before she's eligible to declare. Austin will sit a year and only play 1 year before she's eligible.

Prince also has potentially up to 4 years of eligibility left, Austin at max has 2. The potential payoff for Prince had a lot more potential than the payoff for Austin does.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

So she stayed home after her father passed and area got hit by major flooding but a pandemic will make her more comfortable leaving home interesting

Nobody will be playing basketball anywhere as long as the pandemic exists.

All the speculation refers to the time when people are playing basketball again.

 

[KY Card Fan]

Jonathan-the point is Brenda did play a very good schedule this year and WON. As such, Maryland would have been the 4th #1 seed. That right there says she did as good a job as she was expected to do-earning a #1 seed.

I get that many people don't like her for any number of reasons mostly because she's not Geno, Kim, MM, Tara or Dawn. After that group, she's in the discussion for top coaches as she not only recruits as well as anyone, she also wins consistently with those players. Her accomplishments compare as well or better than most. I put together a short list of "others deemed to be top coaches" -Kelly Graves, Scott Rueck, Jeff Walz, Gary Blair and Vic Schaefer (note I didn't include the top 5 active top coaches above). Love her, hate her or be agnostic to her but she is a good coach. Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion.

Coach	Yrs D1	Champ	FF	E8	S16	Conf^	Cons NCAAT
Brenda Freese	21	1	2	3	2	12	9
Kelly Graves	23	0	1	3	2	19	3
Jeff Walz	13	0	2	2	4	4	9
Scott Rueck	9	0	1	1	2	4	6
Gary Blair	35	1	1	2	8	17	14
Vic Schaefer	15	0	2	1	1	3	5
Conf^-means both reg season and tournament

Walz has been to three Final Fours - 2009, 2013 and 2018. I didn't check any of your other numbers.

 

[HopJim]

Agreed. I have no word on Charli's situation. If staying near home is still her priority, she won't transfer unless it's in-state. Texas was 19-11 overall and 11-7 in conference, and they lose several good players. Next year looks to be a rebuilding year, so the Longhorns won't make the Final Four or overtake Baylor for the conference championship in Charli's career. In addition, Karen's contract situation seems to be tenuous.

Until recently, lived near Dallas and got all the UT games on cable. From watching Collier many times, not sure Geno would want her as a transfer with limited years remaining. Saw some good games, but many times she looked lost. Could be a result of what I always felt was a poor Texas system but in any case, her performance was not stellar.

 

[Zanzman]

Nobody will be playing basketball anywhere as long as the pandemic exists.

All the speculation refers to the time when people are playing basketball again.

You don’t think I know that please. But after a world changing event like this I find it hard to believe she would not want to stay close to family

 

[donalddoowop]

You don’t think I know that please. But after a world changing event like this I find it hard to believe she would not want to stay close to family

Interesting.

 

[donalddoowop]

All of which I've said a bunch of times before. But let's remember the reasons she stayed close to home. I don't believe those reasons (excuse the pun) hold much water now.

I have a feeling if she leaves Texas she will go to Baylor. They are losing Cox, she can stay closer to home, she will be surrounded by excellent talent, and they have a good chance of winning the NC. But I hope that does not happen. She'd give UConn an experienced, tall, talented front line.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Ending a post with "Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion." may not be the most diplomatic way to defend one's opinion and invite civil responses. Just saying.

 

[Dillon77]

Have no idea whatsoever if Ellie Mack, the Patriot League Player of the Year, can play at the high(est) levels, but she's going to give it a shot. And she apparently has quite a good one, both overall (50%+) and from 3-pt. land.
Plus, she's 6'3". Not a huge rebounder, but looks capable. One-year gig as a grad transfer.



Raoul on Twitter

2019-20 (Senior): Patriot League Player of the Year … First Team All-Patriot League … Preseason All-Patriot League … led the team in scoring and ranked third in the Patriot League with 15 points per contest … second in the league in 3-point percentage (.432) and eighth in 3-pointers per game (1.6) … ranked fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.507) … led the team in rebounding with 6.5 per game … led the team with 2.4 assists per game … six games with double-digit rebounds … scored in double figures in all but three games, including each of the last 16 … posted four double-doubles … scored a career-high 33 points at Quinnipiac … went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc with 22 points at Loyola (Md,) … scored 1000th career points in the fourth quarter of a win over Lehigh (2/22).

 

[DefenseBB]

Ending a post with "Everything stating otherwise is just an ill-informed opinion." may not be the most diplomatic way to defend one's opinion and invite civil responses. Just saying.

For you and @JordyG, I am not a Brenda fan and a search of my posts will show I don't like her at times from 1-Totally Vitriol to maybe a 5-can tolerate but still not openly rooting for her on the scale of 1-10 with 10 being Geno affection. That said, I just pointed out that "resume wise" she has all the credentials of any top coach other than the top 5 I mentioned. I am saying you can dislike her personality and other "quirks" but when it comes to her actual job the school is paying her to do, she is pretty good at it. So you don't like her scheduling as you think it points to her being a less than good coach. The evidence says otherwise. Same goes for Baylor and all the pathetic teams that Kim regularly schedules. That hasn't necessarily hindered her from achieving elite status. My quibble with Kim is that as an elite coach, please promote the game and schedule other quality games to showcase WCBB. I am an analyst by trade so when anyone says "so and so isn't good", I like to see facts or data to support that opinion. Otherwise it is illogical. So yes, not to pick a battle with you but until you show me how Brenda's scheduling has hurt her from being an elite coach (7-15 range), I would say you are being emotional on her, not logical. Emotion is fine but own it as "emotion" not as some logical argument. I despise the Red Sox, 49ers, Packers and Lakers but I mostly respect what they have accomplished.

 

[Steelerone]

I'd have to disagree with most of that. Part of every coaches due diligence when considering transfers is to talk to the coach from the school the player is departing. This is no different than talking to the HS or AAU coach about the kids coming directly from HS. At the end of the evaluation you have to make a decision on whether a kid is a good fit for your program. Sometimes the coaches flat out guess wrong or as Geno put it "a couple of bad recruiting classes" . The transfer pool is easier to evaluate IMO because they have a track record of NCAA play vs relying on HS and AAU which at all levels lacks quality competition. Second it is not as if the evaluations that were done one these players get thrown away. In the case of Austin specifically Geno though enough of her to visit her home. Other examples of the HS evaluations not getting thrown away was Batouly and Evina- Both of who were evaluated as HS players by the UCONN staff and then reconsidered when they became transfers.
BTW that 6'4" issue is a red herring. Two years ago and last year the biggest UCONN need was for a 3rd guard to be part of the rotation. Players like Danni Williams were evaluated to fit that need and decided to go else where. Today the biggest need is for a post player with size to backup and provide some muscle next to ONO. The UCONN needs change and UCONN CANNOT afford to sit on the sidelines and not evaluate the players in the transfer pool.

Coco, disagreement is a great part of life. Keeps us going. Having said that I would have to say that first of all, when a coach has a problem with a player and wants to see him go I seriously doubt that he is going to bad mouth that player to another coach if he feels he has a chance to get rid of him. What you say about evaluations is exactly the point I was trying to make. It is easier to mold that player to your needs coming out of high school. And make no mistake about it. Coaches, by nature, are controlling creatures. Also, over the years there have been very few transfers into the women's program who have made a dynamic impact. I can't recall seeing any of their names on the wall.

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco, disagreement is a great part of life. Keeps us going. Having said that I would have to say that first of all, when a coach has a problem with a player and wants to see himquite honestly go I seriously doubt that he is going to bad mouth that player to another coach if he feels he has a chance to get rid of him. What you say about evaluations is exactly the point I was trying to make. It is easier to mold that player to your needs coming out of high school. And make no mistake about it. Coaches, by nature, are controlling creatures. Also, over the years there have been very few transfers into the women's program who have made a dynamic impact. I can't recall seeing any of their names on the wall.

True enough. A transfer has not made a dynamic impact for the UCONN WBB & there are no names of transfer on the Husky Wall of Honor. The WoH is too high a standard when considering a UCONN transfer though. Quite honestly this UCONN team could benefit from a transfer the caliber of Natalie Butler or a healthy Kentucky version of Batouly Camara. A post transfer the caliber of Azura Stevens would surely help UCONN secure number 12. BTW, I checked, I didn't see any of the returning UCONN players names on the WoH either.

 

[Tonyc]

I did not know Uconn has a bunch of AA going to be playing on the outside already.

Really at 6'5 with next years class and the following years class which may include Azzi you dont see it. At 6'5 do you think she has the moves, the quickness and the ball handleing skills to outperform who UConn has and is bringing in? I dont. If she plays underneath and comes out for an occasional jumper fine. But with 2 years left of eligibility and the next 2 classes coming it I dont see her on the perimiter. JMO