UCONN #1 Recruiting Classes - WBB

[CamrnCrz1974]

ASGR (2005), with commentary from ASGR:

3. Connecticut

No. 1 Transfer- Brittney Hunter, 6-3, C (Duke)
No. 30- Kalana Greene, 5-11, F
No. 52- Renee Montgomery, 5-7, PG
No. 63- Cassie Kerns, 6-2, C
No. 72- Tahirah Williams, 6-0, F

Brittney Hunter didn't find success at Duke, but the former prep All-American is ready for a second chance in Storrs.

White's Points: "Hunter, who was a Top 10 recruit out of high school, will have an immediate impact when she becomes eligible. Greene and Montgomery may not be elite perimeter players, but they should do quite well in Connecticut's system."


ASGR (2006), with commentary from ASGR:

8. Connecticut

The Huskies' class is highlighted by a trio of post prospects. Tina Charles (6-4, C, No. 1), who is a tremendous finisher in the paint, is the star in the group. Kristen Phillips (6-5, C, No. 62) is more of a finesse post, while Kaili McLaren (6-3, C, No. 43) is a big, strong athlete with great hands. Meghan Gardler (6-0, WF, No. 138) is a perfect system player for Geno Auriemma.


ASGR (2007), with commentary from ASGR:

6- CONNECTICUT (Big East)

No. 2 Maya Moore, 6'0" SG
No. 33 Lorin Dixon, 5'4" PG

The addition of Moore is critical for the Huskies. She is a great athlete who has the full package. Dixon is an athletic point guard from the Christ The King program.


ASGR (2008), with commentary from ASGR:

(1) CONNECTICUT

No. 1 Elena Delle Donne, 6’5, WF
No. 10 Caroline Doty, 5’11, SG
No. 11 Heather Buck, 6’5, C
No. 15 Tiffany Hayes, 6’0, SG

This outstanding class is highlighted by Delle Donne, who is the best shooter in the country although she is 6-5. Delle Donne has an all-around game, and she will have a major impact from Day One. Doty is working her way back from a knee injury, while Buck will bring important size to the Husky lineup. Hayes is big time athlete who is explosive to the rim and knocks down the 3.

 

[UcMiami]

CamCraz - thanks for that - interesting write-ups. But got to ask, who did they rank above Maya Moore in the 2007 class - for that they get an F- on player rankings!

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

CamCraz - thanks for that - interesting write-ups. But got to ask, who did they rank above Maya Moore in the 2007 class - for that they get an F- on player rankings!

No. 1 Victoria Baugh, 6'4" PF
No. 2 Maya Moore, 6'0" SG
No. 3 Jantel Lavendar, 6'4" C
No. 4 Khadijah Rushdan, 5'10" SG
No. 5 Jasmine Thomas, 5'10" PG

 

[bballnut90]

No. 1 Victoria Baugh, 6'4" PF
No. 2 Maya Moore, 6'0" SG
No. 3 Jantel Lavendar, 6'4" C
No. 4 Khadijah Rushdan, 5'10" SG
No. 5 Jasmine Thomas, 5'10" PG

Interesting to look back on. Moore was always projected to be the better impact player coming out of high school, but IIRC, Baugh's performance in the U17 or U18 World's was a big reason why she skyrocketed in the rankings. She outperformed both Tina and Maya overseas as a sophomore or junior. In college she showed solid potential as a freshman and then was hampered by injuries. In hindsight, Moore was clearly the best player to come out of this class by a wide margin (I think her and Parker were the most polished freshmen to enter the collegiate field in the last 20 years), but I thought Baugh was going to be a good one for Tennessee until she had all of the injuries.

 

[MarieYLee]

ASGR had 2014 as #1. And I'm pretty sure based on Lou #1, Collier #3 and Boykin #6 for his rankings, 2015 as well.

1. Connecticut: Gabby Williams, No. 2, 5’11 PG; Sadie Edwards, No. 6, 5’10 SG; Courtney Ekmark, No. 8, 6’0 SG.

McCormick on the Huskies: “Gabby Williams is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. She’s like Maya Moore in that she could play just about any position. She does it all on the court, and she has Olympic potential in the high jump. Sadie is a combo guard who is a great athlete. She’s tremendous off the bounce with a nice floater in the lane. She is a big time scorer, but she will involve her teammates. Courtney is a high IQ player. She is a great shooter with deep range, and she is a gym rat who has a unique understanding of the game. Courtney Ekmark will make her mark at Connecticut.”

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting to look back on. Moore was always projected to be the better impact player coming out of high school, but IIRC, Baugh's performance in the U17 or U18 World's was a big reason why she skyrocketed in the rankings. She outperformed both Tina and Maya overseas as a sophomore or junior. In college she showed solid potential as a freshman and then was hampered by injuries. In hindsight, Moore was clearly the best player to come out of this class by a wide margin (I think her and Parker were the most polished freshmen to enter the collegiate field in the last 20 years), but I thought Baugh was going to be a good one for Tennessee until she had all of the injuries.

As a freshman, Maya was #2 in the AP POY voting behind Parker. She was the only freshman ever other than Courtney Paris to be named 1st team AP AA. Maya was the best freshman I've ever seen. I saw Collins Hill play Winter Haven and St. Elizabeth (courtesy of a DVD from DaddyChoc). I also saw Maya in the McD's AA game. She was head and shoulders better than Tiffany, Khadijah Rushdan, and everyone else in the AA game.

 

[Kaizen]

How about Jamelle Elliott? She was in the class of 1992.
And She Ralph, 1996, In 1996 she was named the USA Today National High School Player of the Year.

 

[Wally East]

How about Jamelle Elliott? She was in the class of 1992.
And She Ralph, 1996, In 1996 she was named the USA Today National High School Player of the Year.

Shea Ralph, Paige Sauer, and Stacy Hansmeyer made a #1 recruiting class as incoming freshmen for '96-'97.

Jamelle wasn't that highly touted coming out of high school.

 

[Wally East]

I can't find any documentation (although, I looked for about a second while making chocolate chip cookies) but 2001 was definitely a #1 class with Strother (1), Wolff (4), Turner (8), and Crockett (13). (So, does that clear up how good Diana's teammates were in '03 and '04? No? You're going to continue claiming that D won two titles by herself? Okay then. )

Oh, found this: "This now makes Connecticut No. 1 this year," said Joe Smith, director of the Women's Basketball News Service. "The Duke kids ranked very high, but not quite that high."

 

[MilfordHusky]

I can't find any documentation (although, I looked for about a second while making chocolate chip cookies) but 2001 was definitely a #1 class with Strother (1), Wolff (4), Turner (8), and Crockett (13). (So, does that clear up how good Diana's teammates were in '03 and '04? No? You're going to continue claiming that D won two titles by herself? Okay then. )

Oh, found this: "This now makes Connecticut No. 1 this year," said Joe Smith, director of the Women's Basketball News Service. "The Duke kids ranked very high, but not quite that high."

Wally, that's the 2002 class.

 

[Wally East]

Wally, that's the 2002 class.

Ugh. Yes. Thank you.

That's what I get for posting between steps of making cookies

 

[ktuck911]

No. 1 Victoria Baugh, 6'4" PF
No. 2 Maya Moore, 6'0" SG
No. 3 Jantel Lavendar, 6'4" C
No. 4 Khadijah Rushdan, 5'10" SG
No. 5 Jasmine Thomas, 5'10" PG

How was Maya Moore not the #1 player in this class? Because she wasn't 6'4???? Wow... Victoria who????

 

[CocoHusky]

As a freshman, Maya was #2 in the AP POY voting behind Parker. She was the only freshman ever other than Courtney Paris to be named 1st team AP AA. Maya was the best freshman I've ever seen. I saw Collins Hill play Winter Haven and St. Elizabeth (courtesy of a DVD from DaddyChoc). I also saw Maya in the McD's AA game. She was head and shoulders better than Tiffany, Khadijah Rushdan, and everyone else in the AA game.

How was Maya Moore not the #1 player in this class? Because she wasn't 6'4???? Wow... Victoria who????

Both Victoria Baugh and Khadijah Rushdan were the truth as prep players. I'm not saying they were Maya Moore good but both were robbed of their potential by multiple knee injuries. By the time of McD's AA game I think
Khadijah was still recovering from her second major knee injury. Vicki was ultra smooth can do it all from any position on the court and was especially punishing in transition. Khadijah was unique a bully strong PG, that could shoot over you, break you down off the bounce, back you down, and bruise you defensively if you weren't careful.

 

[CocoHusky]

Can anyone here tell me how many number one recruiting classes the Lady Huskies had and what years did they occur?
Would also love to know the same for the number of times they landed the #2 recruiting Class..

Now that several posters have supplied you with information about #1 UCONN recruiting classes, is there a hypothesis you like to propose so that we can shoot it down?

 

[Bajan Best]

Now that several posters have supplied you with information about #1 UCONN recruiting classes, is there a hypothesis you like to propose so that we can shoot it down?

just saw this ... I'm still fact checking and researching, was for something else I was working on but when I'm done I will post the results here for you guys to see

 

[BroadwayVa]

Just as a guess #1 classes 1998 TASS, 2002 Ann, Barb, Willnett, and Nicole, 2008 Tiff, Caroline, Heather, EDD*, 2012 for #1 classes - with EDD leaving 2008 would have fallen down a bit. And 2012 might not have ended up as #1 because a couple of schools had 5 or 6 recruits and the ranking is often volume over talent.

No disrespect to your or the players: TASS (add DT) and Stew, Moriah, Tuck I rate the Number one Recruiting classes on production--not hype at the time of entry into Uconn
The class of Tiff, Caroline, Heather and EDD (the last two lacked PT at Uconn)
Ann (I will always love her), The BT express, Will, and Nicole--had exceptional potential both BT and Will saved their greatest games for their last--it was truly a gift to watch that game.