UConn (only) Recruiting (only) Speculation

[AmeriConn]

Duke wbb has a crazy fanbase?

Duke men.

 

[HuskyNan]

Fair point. Somfai is criminally under ranked in ESPN's Top 100 right now. She's at #33, should probably be around 20-25z


Update: Brynn unfollowed UCONNWBB on Instagram. Currently follwing Iowa and Washington like I suspected.

Lara was playing in Australia until she enrolled at the IMG Academy in December 2023. The ranking services are just getting their first looks at her now

 

[GenoWept]

Update: Brynn unfollowed UCONNWBB on Instagram. Currently follwing Iowa and Washington like I suspected.

I definitely think UConn is not a contender anymore (especially learning this info). My money is on Iowa

 

[Rings R Us]

Janiah Barker has committed to UCLA from the transfer portal. I know some people were wondering if there was any UConn interest.

 

[yhun89]

I definitely think UConn is not a contender anymore (especially learning this info). My money is on Iowa

we must be 10000000% certain we’re landing Somfai. Else we’ve screwed up bad.

 

[HuskyNan]

Have you guys forgotten Gandy? (The 6-5 girl on the far left)

 

[GenoWept]

Sad UConn didn’t get her, but also glad that no other major program got her We definitely need to get Lara Somfai now though.

 

[yhun89]

Sad UConn didn’t get her, but also glad that no other major program got her We definitely need to get Lara Somfai now though.

I think we can land Lara.

 

[Zarathustra]

In this interview with Lara Somfai, she was asked which 3 past or present players would she like to have dinner with. She said one of the players would have been Paige Bueckers (but she already got to have dinner with her), she also said Maya Moore was another one of the players! I’m liking her answers. Also, I’m not intending for this to be a thread only about Lara Somfai speculation, she’s just the only recruit right now that is giving any information to speculate about lol.

Note to Geno: Send Lara some SPANISH MUSIC! UCONN needs her on the
basketball court... not in the law courts. (N.B. listen to the whole interview for the
appropriate details!)

 

[Bald Husky]

Note to Geno: Send Lara some SPANISH MUSIC! UCONN needs her on the
basketball court... not in the law courts. (N.B. listen to the whole interview for the
appropriate details!)

Wow, she seems so sweet and innocent. She talks lot about her parents being so important to her, so she needs a "family" environment to get her through her college years. Can you think of the best place for her? I sure do!!

 

[GenoWept]

Wow, she seems so sweet and innocent. She talks lot about her parents being so important to her, so she needs a "family" environment to get her through her college years. Can you think of the best place for her? I sure do!!

I sure hope Lara can see how the UConn players, staff, and fans all made Dorka, Nika, Ines, and Lou all feel like part of the family at times when their own families could not be present.

 

[yhun89]

I sure hope Lara can see how the UConn players, staff, and fans all made Dorka, Nika, Ines, and Lou all feel like part of the family at times when their own families could not be present.

She should just watch the draft again, where Geno and CD stood in as family for Nika's table. What a guy.

 

[Zarathustra]

I saw a thread about Blanca Quinonez, a teenager who plays in Italy for club
Malingana (sp) and who represents ECUADOR in the FIBA South American
Women's Championship: 2018 u15, 2019 u16, and the 2022 EuroCup.
FIBA has hers listed as 182 cm = 6'0" (which could be off due to growth
with increased age). The EuroBasket has Blanca also at 182cm = 6'0"
Her club height is listed as 186 cm = 6'1" and as a " small forward".
Playing for her club in Italy in 2023 - 2024 she participated in 29 games:
10.4 ppg with a FG % of 43.3 %, a three point % of 29.2 and a free throw
percentage of 72.5. This is an improvement over her stats in the 2022
South American Championships.
Ms. Quinonez was born on August 3, 2006. So, she is currently 17 years old.
Extra info and stats are at EUROBASKET, Blanca Quinonez and FIBA: South
American U 15 (2018), South American U 16 (2019) and Euro Cup (2022).
Enjoy.

 

[cohenzone]

Have you guys forgotten Gandy? (The 6-5 girl on the far left)

View attachment 101067

We will see how good she is, but she sure looks very strong. She is built for contact. And that isn’t just because she is so tall compared to the other kids in the pic. Strong looking legs and thighs and strong looking upper body.

 

[fireford]

Janiah Barker has committed to UCLA from the transfer portal. I know some people were wondering if there was any UConn interest.

Would have been nice to get Barker but she seemed like a longshot because she had made some anti-UConn remarks in the past.
I also see Dauda went to South Carolina which kind of stings because I thought there was a more realistic chance of getting her and now it's a case of the rich getting richer.

 

[oldhusky]

Would have been nice to get Barker but she seemed like a longshot because she had made some anti-UConn remarks in the past.
I also see Dauda went to South Carolina which kind of stings because I thought there was a more realistic chance of getting her and now it's a case of the rich getting richer.

I'm not sure we were even trying, or even hoping for Barker or Dauda, or anyone else at this point. It depends on how important you consider the possible impact on 2025 recruits. If those players only had one year left, we could have been far more interested, and I have heard that Barker possibly could go pro after next year.

It is possible that the only player in the portal that Uconn had interest in, with more than one year of eligibility left was Beers. Getting two years of her would probably be worth risking the possibility of missing out on a 2025 recruit for 4 years. After Beers decided we were likely looking at a very small subset of the portal, namely a very talented big, with only one year left.

Karlen was probably the last possible candidate with those restrictions, and the search may have ended at that point. Could there be a big with one year left that might be insurance ala Ines? Perhaps, but by that I mean someone who would only be played in competitive minutes if probably at least two of our bigs were injured at the same time, not a difference maker in normal situations.

I don't consider Barker and Dauda misses, because I'm not sure we were ever that interested. Iriafen, Beers and Karlen certainly were. I think we were pretty much done after Karlen decided.

 

[Huskee11]

There was enough social media chatter to suggest we were in on Beers. I don’t recall if we ever heard that she made a visit or not. Karlen made logical sense but I don’t recall any buzz. I do realize that unlike some other schools, UConn keeps a lid on that stuff.

So we go into the season with a wealth of talent and experience in the backcourt, and a young but talented frontcourt. Once again, health is a question mark.

Geno is very high on Jana. Reason to believe she will be fully healthy (encouraged by how well Brionna Jones is playing and it will be well over a year from her injury when the first game is played). She is the key, in my opinion. Ayanna’s health and ability to contribute, and the timing of Aubrey’s return are also question marks. If things break right, we are deep up front. If health concerns linger, we will wish we added someone and will be trying to win with smaller lineups.

 

[Bone Dog]

I'm not sure we were even trying, or even hoping for Barker or Dauda, or anyone else at this point.

This is exactly where I was on this question a few weeks ago. We have enough. Neither of them would have fit the team culture, and I'm not sure Iriafen or Beers would have either. As far as I'm concerned, we dodged a bullet this time around.

So we go into the season with a wealth of talent and experience in the backcourt, and a young but talented frontcourt. Once again, health is a question mark.

This is Geno's and Paige's destiny, so it seems. They each need a healthy team around them in order to fully express their talents. We've seen Paige use her heroics to salvage flawed teams enough already. It's time to see Paige [and Geno] march triumphant to an NC.

This is my prayer to the injury demons: Whatever sin or misstep set this fate upon the Huskies, it was unintentional. Please recognize how deserving of glory Paige & Co really are. If some karmic penalty had to be endured, surely they have paid enough by now. Give them the opportunity to shine once again.​

And one last word on behalf of Ayanna. She may be the hidden gem in this group, if only she can recover all her vitality and vigor. She has strong arms and quick feet and can be a menace on defense and on the boards. She may not be an offensive powerhouse, but as long as she runs the floor well, she will be an important contributor. Let's not judge her in comparison to Stewie, but in comparison to Kiah. Bring it, Girl!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

'25 Lara Somfai down to UConn, Duke, and Stanford after removing Tennessee and VA Tech from her list.

 

[GenoWept]

'25 Lara Somfai down to UConn, Duke, and Stanford after removing Tennessee and VA Tech from her list.

I like our chances against Duke or Stanford. I’m wondering how much of a factor academics are for Lara, Duke and Stanford would both be appealing if that was her main focus. Or if she was wanting to be somewhere warmer like Australia, Duke or Stanford might also be more appealing. But I just have a feeling Lara is UConn’s to lose.

 

[Bone Dog]

I like our chances against Duke or Stanford. I’m wondering how much of a factor academics are for Lara, Duke and Stanford would both be appealing if that was her main focus. Or if she was wanting to be somewhere warmer like Australia, Duke or Stanford might also be more appealing. But I just have a feeling Lara is UConn’s to lose.

I do too. I doubt it will come down to academics, since depending on the major UConn is quite competitive with either of those places. I suspect it will come down to bbq vs ice cream.

 

[yhun89]

I like our chances against Duke or Stanford. I’m wondering how much of a factor academics are for Lara, Duke and Stanford would both be appealing if that was her main focus. Or if she was wanting to be somewhere warmer like Australia, Duke or Stanford might also be more appealing. But I just have a feeling Lara is UConn’s to lose.

Called it that the coaching changes affected her decision.

Academics is 100% a factor. I think her dad likes Stanford (he might be an alum or something.) Duke might just be in there for whatever, the program isn't above average by any means, but the academics are terrific. I think she likes us a lot though, the photo of her in the UCONN jersey when she was younger is telling.

Realistically, other than academics, what can Stanford and Duke offer her?

She'd be part of a rebuild at Stanford I suppose, and get a lot of play time under a (decent coach/someone who coached with a legend).

At Duke, she'd either take minutes or play behind Fournier/Roberson under a purely defensive minded coach (seriously, I haven't seen a Lawson lead Duke team that produces a consistent offense).

At UCONN, she'd play under the best coach out of the three, and probably behind Sarah (Jana and Gandy are centers, while Lara might qualify as a wing), or split minutes.

Out of all coaches, if her goal is the WNBA, Geno is the objectively right choice here. Lawson hasn't sent anyone to the W since 2020. Kate Paye is a head coach for the first time, but did coach under a legacy Stanford program.

I think that had Georgia and Kenny stayed at Tech, they could've swayed her. Georgia pulled another Aussie to VTech/Kentucky a little over a month before Lara put out her Top 5.

 

[freekimchee]

'25 Lara Somfai down to UConn, Duke, and Stanford after removing Tennessee and VA Tech from her list.

She's the one I really want out of the '25 class but I'm just not as confident about our chances as some are. Her family (esp grandparents) are high on academics and her dad is a huge Cardinal fanboy. I hope Stanford's coaching change could really sway things in our favor.

 

[yhun89]

She's the one I really want out of the '25 class but I'm just not as confident about our chances as some are. Her family (esp grandparents) are high on academics and her dad is a huge Cardinal fanboy. I hope Stanford's coaching change could really sway things in our favor.

It’s not like UCONN academics are bad though. Plus, Sarah’s family wanted her to stay close to home, but she still chose us because we were her best shot at getting to the W. Could be what Lara does.

 

[Alydar]

She's the one I really want out of the '25 class but I'm just not as confident about our chances as some are. Her family (esp grandparents) are high on academics and her dad is a huge Cardinal fanboy. I hope Stanford's coaching change could really sway things in our favor.

So it's plausible that Duke and Stanford on finalists only to please her parents and grandparents. Just like the US recruit who keeps her home state university on her list.