Two Sources Say 2 Aggies Showing Up

[Sluconn Husky]

“Danni and I get along fine,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair on Friday afternoon. “Danni just wants to explore her options and make visits. She doesn’t say she’s leaving, Danni has been nothing but great for us.”

...

“She has the right, since she’s graduating in May to look at any school that if she desires that their situation is a better fit for her than our situation,” Blair said.


Howard, who will graduate in August, announced she’d explore her options during the women’s Final Four. Howard, who averaged 12.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, already has visited Florida State and reportedly will visit South Carolina and Mississippi State with Tennessee and Oregon mentioned as other possibilities in her five schools.

It’s not known what other schools Williams might be considering.


A&M's Williams exploring options, visits UConn with Howard

 

[willtalk]

I do think that this might impact recruiting. Till now a player coming in to Uconn knew who their immediate competition was. For example O figured she was the center of the future because no one was ahead of her. It was a good position to be in. If they are going to have to contend with one year and out players then it would be very difficult to gage your position on the roster. You can not just say it is only one year, because the next year another 5th year student might show up again to replace the last graduate student who left. Is it possible that a team like Uconn could turn into a school with no freshman or underclass players but just graduate students and upper classmen transferring in for one or two years. They get their playing time as underclassmen at another school but then transfer in for their last year or two. Other schools might end up being Uconns Jr College's for basketball.

 

[HuskyNan]

There have been freshman who joined the UConn program and hurt team chemistry. There's always a risk no matter what age or what stage of their careers or how well you think you know them. Geno has known Danni Williams since high school. He certainly knows what kind of family she comes from. I'm sure Lou knows Danni as well. They likely don't know Howard very well but they'll do their best to gauge how she'll fit in with the current team. I trust Geno and Chris to know what their doing. As a fan, that's enough for me.

Most fans would be thrilled to have these 2 young women visiting and considering their schools. Only here does it lead to hand-wringing, kvetching, second-guessing and you name it.

I would be shocked if the current UConn players didn’t know the A&M players, even if superficially. The elite players know one another from USA Basketball, high level AAU tournaments, all-star games, etc. Most of the elite kids are following one another on Twitter or Instagram.

 

[biobioprof]

 

[caramel]

If these players had problems with Carter taking the spotlight over them, what makes you believe they would not also have a problem with Samuelson, Collier and Dangerfield taking the spotlight instead? I can understand players leaving a program due to lack of playing time, or not meshing with the coaches, but that isn't the case here. If they really just don't want to play with Carter, that is one thing, but some of you are assuming that Carter or other dominant players like Deshields or Mitchell are difficult and/or selfish players and no teammate in their right mind would want to play with them. Would you have wanted people on your team who didn't want to play with someone like Taurasi - who was the dominant player on your team for a couple of seasons? Sometimes offenses are built around one player in particular for good reason (think Baylor and Griner). As for leaving A&M just to win a championship, as we have seen for the last two seasons, there is no guarantee they will win one by transferring to UConn. These players could be a great fit for UConn next season or a total disaster - and remember, you only get them for one year. RU had a great experience with Gia Greene, but IMO it pays to remember caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware).

Although this can be true as to one player exhibiting the mindset of trying to carry the team night after night, and possibly inflating their own ego in the process, Connecticut girls are very different, in my opinion. Almost every game was not the same girl leading the scoring, and the assists were spread out among many on the team.
If these girls decided on Connecticut after the visits, and the staff agreed on them joining the team, they, like everyone else on the team, would be coached to team play and success, and they would be expected to join what is truly a family atmosphere. This is why we seldom see a disaster of an incoming transfer, because the staff does their homework and are unwavering in what will be expected of each girl. As far as Diana was concerned, if you go back and check the games, she was one who tried to get others involved in each game, and had quite a few assists. Seems to me the only times she took over was when the game was on the line and time was disappearing.

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't know if this will be of any consolation but Blair seems "unpaniced" by all this, almost to the point of thinking that both players returning is a good possibility. Is he just whistling past the grave yard?

 

[MilfordHusky]

“Danni and I get along fine,” said A&M head coach Gary Blair on Friday afternoon. “Danni just wants to explore her options and make visits. She doesn’t say she’s leaving, Danni has been nothing but great for us.”

...

“She has the right, since she’s graduating in May to look at any school that if she desires that their situation is a better fit for her than our situation,” Blair said.


Howard, who will graduate in August, announced she’d explore her options during the women’s Final Four. Howard, who averaged 12.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, already has visited Florida State and reportedly will visit South Carolina and Mississippi State with Tennessee and Oregon mentioned as other possibilities in her five schools.

It’s not known what other schools Williams might be considering.


A&M's Williams exploring options, visits UConn with Howard

Anriel’s list of schools in this article may be dated. Her mother said 5 schools, though perhaps she meant 5 more. The list in the article contains 6, including UConn.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Can anyone confirm the rumor that Anriel Howard got an offer from Lauren Jackson to play in Melbourne?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Anriel’s list of schools in this article may be dated. Her mother said 5 schools, though perhaps she meant 5 more. The list in the article contains 6, including UConn.

Yes, Oregon's the new name in there.

 

[mbr33ct]

Well their percentages won't be better at "share the ball" UCONN.

True but a much different scenario than Texas A&M. There's this whole thing called "team" basketball being played at UConn where there's no one player taking 30% of FGA while others suffer for it.

 

[HGN]

I guess next year Notre Dame will be able to get beating Texas A&M and UConn out of the way in a single game rather than 2.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

 

[biobioprof]

I don't know if this will be of any consolation but Blair seems "unpaniced" by all this, almost to the point of thinking that both players returning is a good possibility. Is he just whistling past the grave yard?

I don't know what he knows, but I suspect some of that is based on being a coach for a long time and having learned that being panicked in public isn't going to help.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

There are some who just like being able to say that UConn recruited them.

 

[oldude]

I don't know what he knows, but I suspect some of that is based on being a coach for a long time and having learned that being panicked in public isn't going to help.

Agreed. At 72, with 45 years coaching basketball, Blair is not going to overreact, particularly if he believes there is any chance that the two players might elect to stay at A&M after doing some window shopping.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Agreed. At 72, with 45 years coaching basketball, Blair is not going to overreact, particularly if he believes there is any chance that the two players might elect to stay at A&M after doing some window shopping.

Not quite sure what they're doing if they don't intend to leave:


And according to local reports, Williams is weighing her options on not only leaving to play her senior season elsewhere as a grad transfer but also possibly continuing to play with Howard as a teammate.


Texas A&M Aggies basketball: Reports: A&M women's guard Danni Williams considering transfer

 

[cohenzone]

I guess next year Notre Dame will be able to get beating Texas A&M and UConn out of the way in a single game rather than 2.

4 less foul calls and the Charity Stripe Irish are soda bread toast.

 

[oldude]

Not quite sure what they're doing if they don't intend to leave:


And according to local reports, Williams is weighing her options on not only leaving to play her senior season elsewhere as a grad transfer but also possibly continuing to play with Howard as a teammate.


Texas A&M Aggies basketball: Reports: A&M women's guard Danni Williams considering transfer

What better opportunity to play together on a great team than coming to Storrs where the Huskies are looking to fill a starting front court spot and a starting 2-guard spot?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

What better opportunity to play together on a great team than coming to Storrs where the Huskies are looking to fill a starting front court spot and a starting 2-guard spot?

Seems pretty ideal to me. Perfect fit, great system, no one player controlling the ball, lots of talent around, best coaching staff, the opportunity to be pushed to their limits.

 

[Tenspro2002]

True but a much different scenario than Texas A&M. There's this whole thing called "team" basketball being played at UConn where there's no one player taking 30% of FGA while others suffer for it.

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That's amazing that Stevens was our 6th leading minutes-getter, far behind the starters, but took the 2nd most shots.

 

[southie]

Not a fan of players taking official visits (at the schools' expense) to "explore their options", and then having the option to not transfer at all. Either you are, or you aren't. Pick a side. If the school "released" you, that should mean something.

 

[Charliebball]

Who says they can't thrive in UConn's system? We're not talking about green underclassmen here. And, again, who is ready to make their mark that will have minutes taken away? Gordon, Camara, Bent, Irwin, and Coombs (health) are huge question marks. You wanna depend on the latter instead of two really good players who might want to finish their careers in Storrs?

I have mixed feelings about it..............on one hand it would be great to have additional players that can step right in and fill the holes left due to graduation, on the other hand I would have much preferred not needing to fill those holes via transfer..............the folks here view UConn as being a cut above when it come to recruiting and the four years of Geno tutelage that leads to a tight knit team on and off the court...............now everybody is happy that UConn is jumping right into the transfer game..............for those who constantly pound their chests about the UConn way I find it just a tiny bit hypocritical............

 

[biobioprof]

Not a fan of players taking official visits (at the schools' expense) to "explore their options", and then having the option to not transfer at all. Either you are, or you aren't. Pick a side. If the school "released" you, that should mean something.

Nobody is forcing the schools to offer the visits. And visiting multiple schools defore making a decision is exploring options. How does having their original school as one more option change that?

Should the original school have the option to rescind the remaining years of their scholarships? OK. But it would be an option A&M prefers to not use here.

 

[Charliebball]

Not a fan of players taking official visits (at the schools' expense) to "explore their options", and then having the option to not transfer at all. Either you are, or you aren't. Pick a side. If the school "released" you, that should mean something.

I find the whole graduate transfer road trip to be kind of distasteful.......

 

[oldude]

I have mixed feelings about it....on one hand it would be great to have additional players that can step right in and fill the holes left due to graduation, on the other hand I would have much preferred not needing to fill those holes via transfer....the folks here view UConn as being a cut above when it come to recruiting and the four years of Geno tutelage that leads to a tight knit team on and off the court.....now everybody is happy that UConn is jumping right into the transfer game....for those who constantly pound their chests about the UConn way I find it just a tiny bit hypocritical..

I suspect if any combination of MW, Batouly, Kyla, Molly, Mikayla, Lexi and AEH had earned Geno’s trust, or if Z had elected to return next year, UConn would not now be pursuing the two A&M grads.

As it stands right now Geno has 3 solid returning players, plus MW who should be a 4th starter. After that, it’s anyone’s guess whether any of the returning players or the two incoming freshmen will be able to step up as starters or key reserves.

 

[EricLA]

I have mixed feelings about it....on one hand it would be great to have additional players that can step right in and fill the holes left due to graduation, on the other hand I would have much preferred not needing to fill those holes via transfer....the folks here view UConn as being a cut above when it come to recruiting and the four years of Geno tutelage that leads to a tight knit team on and off the court.....now everybody is happy that UConn is jumping right into the transfer game....for those who constantly pound their chests about the UConn way I find it just a tiny bit hypocritical..

Come on. You keep saying the same stuff over and over in different ways.

First, the "UCONN way" has zero to do with transfers. Geno has a LONG history of taking transfers starting at least with Rita Williams back in 1995 - that was 10 years into his UCONN career and 23 years ago. So let's stop with the pretending that Geno has never done that, or that somehow he's suddenly changing the UCONN way that we supposedly "pound our chests" about.

The UCONN way has to do with a coaching philosophy that looks for kids with great character, who are good students, who play hard, who want to win, and who want to embrace the team concept of basketball. It has zero to do with UCONN accepting transfers.

Second, I guarantee you Geno was surprised that Stevens announced she was leaving early and he had no contingency plan for losing an expected starter for next season. This means we are thin in the post, hence the interest in Howard.

Third, Coombs is suffering from Deep Vein Thrombosis. At this time no one has any idea how serious it is, if she will be able to play next year, or if she will be able to play basketball again. We all hope for the best for her. However, if she's not good to go, UCONN's 1st guard off the bench MAY end up being Molly Bent. Geno would be foolish not to explore options.

Fourth, KLS and Pheesa will be seniors next season. Geno wants to do everything in his power to help THEM go out with a NC. He has 11. He'd love for them to get #2.

I believe you are a more recent follower of UCONN basketball - not a graduate of UCONN - and maybe more a fan of WCBB than a fan of UCONN, but to propound the idea that we are hypocritical (in this instance) is unfair...