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UConn recruiting Speculation, part 3

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Plenty of playing time for Sarah, especially if Aaliyah goes on to WNBA. Can you imagine a line-up of Sarah, Paige, Azzi, Jana, Ice, Ashlynn, KK, Qadence plus Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli, and maybe Caroline and Ayanna too? That would almost be unfair!
 
Conndog said:
Plenty of playing time for Sarah, especially if Aaliyah goes on to WNBA. Can you imagine a line-up of Sarah, Paige, Azzi, Jana, Ice, Ashlynn, KK, Qadence plus Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli, and maybe Caroline and Ayanna too? That would almost be unfair!
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That would put you up there with Carolina!!! Can you imagine a home game with Carolina (with those mentioned) coming to Storrs? It would be one of the most watched women's basketball games of all-time...
 
I wouldn't get too excited about Sarah like shes the answer to all our problems. She looks good but so do most top recruits. Some pan out and some don't. But still, she's going to be a freshman and needs to learn Geno's system. She'll need time to adjust.
 
Just more speculation. Why would she wait until April? I tried to find out her birthdate but the USAB website is a mess of buttons and no longer lists rosters that include DOB. It may be that she is not 18 now but will be in April. Perhaps there is disagreement between her and her parents as to where she should go but when she turns 18 it will be her sole decision.
 
Alydar said:
Just more speculation. Why would she wait until April? I tried to find out her birthdate but the USAB website is a mess of buttons and no longer lists rosters that include DOB. It may be that she is not 18 now but will be in April. Perhaps there is disagreement between her and her parents as to where she should go but when she turns 18 it will be her sole decision.
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Interesting thought, but I mentioned April because I think that is when the next signing period begins.
 
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oldude said:
Correct. April 17 - May 15.
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And to add the crazyness (dates hidden for space) -
  1. Portal overlaps NCAAT completely (how many players will portal while team is still in tourney?)
  2. Portal (45 days) overlaps NLI signing period (29 days) for 15 days
1705500579793.png
 
Blond D. said:
I wouldn't get too excited about Sarah like shes the answer to all our problems. She looks good but so do most top recruits. Some pan out and some don't. But still, she's going to be a freshman and needs to learn Geno's system. She'll need time to adjust.
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Not sure what all UConn’s problems are
Seem to be doing quite well
I don’t know of any unaimous number one rated recruits, who have not become very good players
The last 5 number one ranked recruits Haley Jones Paige Beckers Azzi Lauren Betts Ju Ju Watkins
With the exception of Azzi have been or will be all americans
Obviously Azzi injuries have limited her career
Imho in the 5 games last season. Before he first injury imho she was avg over 25 pts per game and headed for an all American year
So so the statement and I quote you some pan out and some don’t it’s not at all factual

I don’t think m moore or page Beckers needed any time to adjust to the Uconnsystem

But hey don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story

In December on a drive to Florida I was fortunate enough to stop and see you Sarah strong play against Camden, South Carolina with Joyce edwards
Sarah, strong imho has a very good chance to be a generational player
While her list is 6 foot two is rather generous
She has a combination of great physical size and strength
Excellent athleticism great feel for the game
And elite skill

Range is well beyond three
Has a powerful and quick first step to the basket
Great foot work on her post game
Passing is exceptional
Had a great attitude
And seeks out rebounds

Her defense while not as strong as her offence
Is very good

To say she would fit a need and fit perfectly with uconn
Would be an understatement

As a UConn Wbb fan I will be ecstatic
If we are fortunate enough
 
Zonepress said:
Not sure what all UConn’s problems are
Seem to be doing quite well
I don’t know of any unaimous number one rated recruits, who have not become very good players
The last 5 number one ranked recruits Haley Jones Paige Beckers Azzi Lauren Betts Ju Ju Watkins
With the exception of Azzi have been or will be all americans
Obviously Azzi injuries have limited her career
Imho in the 5 games last season. Before he first injury imho she was avg over 25 pts per game and headed for an all American year
So so the statement and I quote you some pan out and some don’t it’s not at all factual

I don’t think m moore or page Beckers needed any time to adjust to the Uconnsystem

But hey don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story

In December on a drive to Florida I was fortunate enough to stop and see you Sarah strong play against Camden, South Carolina with Joyce edwards
Sarah, strong imho has a very good chance to be a generational player
While her list is 6 foot two is rather generous
She has a combination of great physical size and strength
Excellent athleticism great feel for the game
And elite skill

Range is well beyond three
Has a powerful and quick first step to the basket
Great foot work on her post game
Passing is exceptional
Had a great attitude
And seeks out rebounds

Her defense while not as strong as her offence
Is very good

To say she would fit a need and fit perfectly with uconn
Would be an understatement

As a UConn Wbb fan I will be ecstatic
If we are fortunate enough
Expand ...
Just a stat reference concerning the statement that Sarah Strong being 6 ' 2 " is "rather generous ".
While I tend to believe that all height measurements are open to doubt, the FIBA.org webpage has
Sarah's height as 190 cm. So ... 190 cm = 6 foot and 0.23355958 inches. I tend to
trust the FIBA stats.
 
Zarathustra said:
Just a stat reference concerning the statement that Sarah Strong being 6 ' 2 " is "rather generous ".
While I tend to believe that all height measurements are open to doubt, the FIBA.org webpage has
Sarah's height as 190 cm. So ... 190 cm = 6 foot and 0.23355958 inches. I tend to
trust the FIBA stats.
Expand ...
The conversion I get is 190 cm = 74.8", or very nearly 6'3"
 
.-.
Zarathustra said:
Just a stat reference concerning the statement that Sarah Strong being 6 ' 2 " is "rather generous ".
While I tend to believe that all height measurements are open to doubt, the FIBA.org webpage has
Sarah's height as 190 cm. So ... 190 cm = 6 foot and 0.23355958 inches. I tend to
trust the FIBA stats.
Expand ...
Sure gotta go with fiba
 
Zonepress said:
Not sure what all UConn’s problems are
Seem to be doing quite well
I don’t know of any unaimous number one rated recruits, who have not become very good players
The last 5 number one ranked recruits Haley Jones Paige Beckers Azzi Lauren Betts Ju Ju Watkins
With the exception of Azzi have been or will be all americans
Obviously Azzi injuries have limited her career
Imho in the 5 games last season. Before he first injury imho she was avg over 25 pts per game and headed for an all American year
So so the statement and I quote you some pan out and some don’t it’s not at all factual

I don’t think m moore or page Beckers needed any time to adjust to the Uconnsystem

But hey don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story

In December on a drive to Florida I was fortunate enough to stop and see you Sarah strong play against Camden, South Carolina with Joyce edwards
Sarah, strong imho has a very good chance to be a generational player
While her list is 6 foot two is rather generous
She has a combination of great physical size and strength
Excellent athleticism great feel for the game
And elite skill

Range is well beyond three
Has a powerful and quick first step to the basket
Great foot work on her post game
Passing is exceptional
Had a great attitude
And seeks out rebounds

Her defense while not as strong as her offence
Is very good

To say she would fit a need and fit perfectly with uconn
Would be an understatement

As a UConn Wbb fan I will be ecstatic
If we are fortunate enough
Expand ...
I don’t have any idea as to whether we will get her or not. Funnily enough, as time goes by I find myself more optimistic as I believe more and more that she may simply be waiting for the roster situation to clear up. I had given up completely but now I’m hoping again. I think she is the missing piece that will turn this team into a juggernaut for the next four years! If she comes, she will likely have at least one year with Paige, perhaps two, she will have a solid post in Jana, outstanding guards around her and major high quality depth throughout the roster. The passing, shooting, and defense will be off the charts good! I believe we will once again see entire breaks ending in baskets where the ball never touches the floor! Of course, we’re gonna be great anyway (assuming good health) but she could be the supercharger that makes this team go from great to legendary!
 
BRS24 said:
And to add the crazyness (dates hidden for space) -
  1. Portal overlaps NCAAT completely (how many players will portal while team is still in tourney?)
  2. Portal (45 days) overlaps NLI signing period (29 days) for 15 days
View attachment 95279
Expand ...
Ok, so I've seen two different timings on the deadline for Final Four participants to declare. Wikipedia says 24 hrs after final game, an ESPN says 48, however 48 hrs after the championship puts it on draft day?
 
Hello Boneyard! It has been a while. I am going to throw a name out - Lillie Graves - McCutcheon High School in Indiana. Freshman tha has to be averaging close to 30 per game. High IQ, good ball handler, and rebounds with intensity. Going to be fun to watch her continue to develop the next three years.
 
Bone Dog said:
The conversion I get is 190 cm = 74.8", or very nearly 6'3"
Expand ...
HELLO! Well, I must stand corrected. The conversion ratio for both you and I is 1 inches = 2.54 cm.
But with I plugged in 190 cm (i.e. Fiba stat) I asked for the conversion from 190 cm to FEET, not inches.
So, I got the answer as 190 cm = 6.23355958 = "FEET" I mistook the .23355958 as being in inches! MY BAD!
So, we agreed that SARAH, by FIBA's reconning, is your 74.8 inches. Now we just have to guess whether the
190 cm was rounded UP or rounded DOWN... with shoes or without shoes, with socks or without socks, and how Sarah
was wearing her hair on that particular day... etc., etc., etc. Either way Sarah Strong will be SIGNIFICANT
plus to the program of her choice... GO, UCONN! GO, Sarah.
 
.-.
Zarathustra said:
HELLO! Well, I must stand corrected. The conversion ratio for both you and I is 1 inches = 2.54 cm.
But with I plugged in 190 cm (i.e. Fiba stat) I asked for the conversion from 190 cm to FEET, not inches.
So, I got the answer as 190 cm = 6.23355958 = "FEET" I mistook the .23355958 as being in inches! MY BAD!
So, we agreed that SARAH, by FIBA's reconning, is your 74.8 inches. Now we just have to guess whether the
190 cm was rounded UP or rounded DOWN... with shoes or without shoes, with socks or without socks, and how Sarah
was wearing her hair on that particular day... etc., etc., etc. Either way Sarah Strong will be SIGNIFICANT
plus to the program of her choice... GO, UCONN! GO, Sarah.
Expand ...
As always, I never believe any measurement not expressed in Hartley units.
 
oldhusky said:
Thanks for this info. What I worry about is losing a great potential addition because of timing of player's decisions. I have no idea what Sara's timeline is, but could we lose out on a major portal addition because we are holding a position for her, she ultimately goes elsewhere, and we missed the boat on the portal because those decisions have been made? Yes, unfortunately that is the reality.

The same is true of our extra year candidates. If we go deep into the tournament and they don't decide until just before the draft, we might be late pursuing someone who has already entered the portal. We have to the best of our knowledge 6 players with decisions they have to ultimately make. Four with an optional year, and two outstanding offers to Strong and Rodriquez.

The players don't have to make decisions before the quagmire of deadlines, but for teams that don't have any idea if they have an available roster spot or not (like us) it would be a tremendous benefit if they did. Our existing players with the option can help Geno in that regard.

If hypothetically Nika and Aaliyah had made a decision to not use their optional year, it helps a lot to make sure Geno knows now, even if you don't declare it publicly. I presume to the extent they know, they are probably doing that. But if he knew two were not coming back, at least at that point he would know he had one spot to offer, be it Sarah, Rodriquez, or a portal addition, but only one of those three. If Sarah said yes, then no portal or Rodriguez in that scenario, but if Sarah declined it might be a decision between pursuing Rodriquez or using the portal.

Senior night might be a significant clue. I am hoping Paige chooses not to participate which would be a clear indication she was returning. I am guessing Nika and Aaliyah probably will, but who knows, and Aubrey because of the injury might now have greater chance of returning than before the injury.

My best case scenario is Paige and Aubrey return, we have one spot and Sarah takes it. If Sarah comes but Aubrey leaves, then use the portal option on a big. If we lose out on Sarah, I think I would prefer my chances in the portal to Rodriquez, but if Aubrey doesn't come back you could try for both or two portal additions.

Too many permutations and combinations combined with incredible uncertainty over how many roster spots if any we have. Hopefully some of these decisions can happen soon and start to provide some clarity.
Expand ...
Very tough to decide between Rodriguez and the portal but assuming no Strong, I believe I’d have to go with Rodriguez over the portal. I have to believe there’s a reason Geno offered her! She certainly passes the eye test as she looks a lot like Strong imo. Big, strong and skilled! What's not to like! Obviously, there are a couple of portal possibilities that ould be very tempting if they entered but there’s no guarantee they will And even if they did, it’s basically a one year deal. I think Rodriguez could be the real deal!
 
Rodriquez would be a solid addition assuming a roster spot opens for her. Strong not coming to UConn so there only needs to be that one spot for Emily.
 
Cuango said:
Very tough to decide between Rodriguez and the portal but assuming no Strong, I believe I’d have to go with Rodriguez over the portal. I have to believe there’s a reason Geno offered her! She certainly passes the eye test as she looks a lot like Strong imo. Big, strong and skilled! What's not to like! Obviously, there are a couple of portal possibilities that ould be very tempting if they entered but there’s no guarantee they will And even if they did, it’s basically a one year deal. I think Rodriguez could be the real deal!
Expand ...
I probably agree with most of your assessment of Rodriquez, and four years of a good player is better than 1 or 2 years from a portal pickup. My main reason for considering the portal vs. Rodriquez is position need. If Aaliyah departs and we don't get Sarah then the need for a 4 or even better 5, is way higher than for other positions, and an experienced plug and play type more valuable to us next year, than a freshmen learning the ropes.

Rodriquez seems to me to be more of a 3/4 who could play some 4. In the portal we might get a more natural or bigger 4 or 5. With Sarah's delay the potential options for another big in the class of 2024 were just about gone, nobody left in the top 100 uncommitted, maybe a late foreign recruit, but the portal was starting to look like the last chance for a big if Sarah went elsewhere.

When I look at the videos that have been posted, Rodriquez looks like someone that should be ranked in the top 100, perhaps more toward the top of that list than the bottom. Perhaps that is because this was her first year in this country and she was off the radar a bit. Same thing might explain the lack of ranking for Gandy for example.

I hate not knowing if we have any available spots, and if so how many. If for the sake of argument you assume we wind up with just one spot, and Aaliyah moves on, then given the choices, my priority would be Sarah first, my chances in the portal second, and Rodriquez third. I think she would be a fine addition, but IMO we are in a position where taking one player means we are likely closing the door on other options. If we were several players under the limit the opportunity cost would not be nearly as great. But in terms of your question, "What's not to like!", the answer is nothing, I like your analysis of her skills and talent.
 
Recruiting topics for non-UConn teams goes on the General Women’s board, available at the link at the top of the UConn (only) board. Non-UConn discussion will be removed
 
oldhusky said:
I probably agree with most of your assessment of Rodriquez, and four years of a good player is better than 1 or 2 years from a portal pickup. My main reason for considering the portal vs. Rodriquez is position need. If Aaliyah departs and we don't get Sarah then the need for a 4 or even better 5, is way higher than for other positions, and an experienced plug and play type more valuable to us next year, than a freshmen learning the ropes.

Rodriquez seems to me to be more of a 3/4 who could play some 4. In the portal we might get a more natural or bigger 4 or 5. With Sarah's delay the potential options for another big in the class of 2024 were just about gone, nobody left in the top 100 uncommitted, maybe a late foreign recruit, but the portal was starting to look like the last chance for a big if Sarah went elsewhere.

When I look at the videos that have been posted, Rodriquez looks like someone that should be ranked in the top 100, perhaps more toward the top of that list than the bottom. Perhaps that is because this was her first year in this country and she was off the radar a bit. Same thing might explain the lack of ranking for Gandy for example.

I hate not knowing if we have any available spots, and if so how many. If for the sake of argument you assume we wind up with just one spot, and Aaliyah moves on, then given the choices, my priority would be Sarah first, my chances in the portal second, and Rodriquez third. I think she would be a fine addition, but IMO we are in a position where taking one player means we are likely closing the door on other options. If we were several players under the limit the opportunity cost would not be nearly as great. But in terms of your question, "What's not to like!", the answer is nothing, I like your analysis of her skills and talent.
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WE NEED A BIG CENTER !!! WE have enough guards and forwards . We need bigs first, we are short on scholarships.
 
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With UConn not being a finalist for Jazzy Davidson, I believe the chances of landing a Top 10 for ‘25 are a lot more slim. My prediction is that a bunch of them stay local.

IMG_8872.jpeg


Landing Sarah Strong would soften the blow for sure. Lara Somfai seems most likely of those offered in ‘25, Leah Macy (8) and Brynn McGaughy (15) are still on my shortlist. They’d be amazing to pair with the Ashlynn & KK and Allie & Morgan.
 
I've seen this one before.. Plays with Katie Fiso in Washington...
I double-checked the link
 
darrell said:
With UConn not being a finalist for Jazzy Davidson, I believe the chances of landing a Top 10 for ‘25 are a lot more slim. My prediction is that a bunch of them stay local.

View attachment 95480

Landing Sarah Strong would soften the blow for sure. Lara Somfai seems most likely of those offered in ‘25, Leah Macy (8) and Brynn McGaughy (15) are still on my shortlist. They’d be amazing to pair with the Ashlynn & KK and Allie & Morgan.
Expand ...
Soften the blow? What blow?
 
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