UConn's Greatest Recruiting Advantage

[VaConnFan11]

I didn't read through every post, but I think one thing that was left out is the number of UConn players in the WNBA.

 

[oldude]

Agreed. I think many programs have teams full of wonderful young women. That factor alone doesn't explain UConn's success.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the wonderful young women at UConn are the only factor in the team's success. It is one of several important factors. The disagreement on this thread is over the relative importance of that factor in the recruiting process.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Here you are making my argument. Geno recruits these players.

I forget which coach said this, but to paraphrase, "UConn doesn't get all the good players, they just get the players they want". Geno doesn't recruit just for talent, he recruits for personality, which includes things like the willingness to buy into his philosophy, the willingness to work hard, be coachable, disposition, etc. After that, unlike other coaches, he doesn't have to micromanage off the court stuff. This is part of him being The Grandmaster.

I would say that UConn doesn't get all the players they want, but they get many or maybe even most of those who are a good fit for them in terms of talent, athleticism, intelligence, diligence, ambition, character, personality, team focus, and competitiveness.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I don't think anyone is arguing that the wonderful young women at UConn are the only factor in the team's success. It is one of several important factors. The disagreement on this thread is over the relative importance of that factor in the recruiting process.

Certainly if you combine a high talent level with high quality people who are committed to a team concept, it's a winning formula.

 

[j66kicker]

I would say that UConn doesn't get all the players they want, but they get many or maybe even most of those who are a good fit for them in terms of talent, athleticism, intelligence, diligence, ambition, character, personality, team focus, and competitiveness.

I think you nailed the checklist. I think every coach in the country would like to "only" recruit kids who can check every box. IMO the big difference is Geno CAN. Like Nick Saban said, [sic] "In the NFL the worst team gets the first draft pick. In the NCAA the best team gets the first 10 draft picks."

 

[bbsamjj]

No doubt Geno and UConn will always bring in great players--as they should. What somewhat concerns me though, and this might veer too closely to the dreaded "UConn is bad for WCBB" territory (which I don't agree with), is that it seems like the very best recruits all want to play FOR UConn, but there's doesn't seem to be enough of the top players who want to BEAT UConn.

I think it was easier when there was the old Big East, and Muffet and CVS won a lot of recruits by telling them they'd get to compete with UConn twice a year. They could do that because they were both top 25 teams already, so the idea of getting to take on UConn (and maybe even beat them sometimes) didn't seem like a far off dream. As mentioned in another thread, the Diggins ND teams all had the confidence they could compete with and beat UConn--they wanted to play in those annual matchups.

Next year, UConn will have THREE/FOUR #1 recruits in the nation. I have no doubt Samuelson, Walker, and Williams will all become great players at UConn. But it's not like former #1 A'ja Wilson hasn't become a great player at South Carolina--in fact, she'll almost certainly be the #1 pick in the draft. EDD still became an Olympian after going to Delaware. In fact, this last Olympic team is basically all former #1 recruits (Charles, Stewie, EDD, Griner, Augustus, Moore, Catchings, Fowles, Taurasi) a top 20 player who was vastly underrated (Bird), and two people who kind of came out of nowhere to be college and WNBA stars (Whalen and McCoughtry).

As good a coach as Geno is--and he is the very best--he is only as good as his players. The last time UConn had an extended streak without a championship was the time when he legitimately didn't have the best players in the country. Success begets success, but I personally am more interested in Williams vs Walker than a lineup of Williams AND Walker.

 

[HoopsFan21]

No doubt Geno and UConn will always bring in great players--as they should. What somewhat concerns me though, and this might veer too closely to the dreaded "UConn is bad for WCBB" territory (which I don't agree with), is that it seems like the very best recruits all want to play FOR UConn, but there's doesn't seem to be enough of the top players who want to BEAT UConn.

I think it was easier when there was the old Big East, and Muffet and CVS won a lot of recruits by telling them they'd get to compete with UConn twice a year. They could do that because they were both top 25 teams already, so the idea of getting to take on UConn (and maybe even beat them sometimes) didn't seem like a far off dream. As mentioned in another thread, the Diggins ND teams all had the confidence they could compete with and beat UConn--they wanted to play in those annual matchups.

Next year, UConn will have THREE/FOUR #1 recruits in the nation. I have no doubt Samuelson, Walker, and Williams will all become great players at UConn. But it's not like former #1 A'ja Wilson hasn't become a great player at South Carolina--in fact, she'll almost certainly be the #1 pick in the draft. EDD still became an Olympian after going to Delaware. In fact, this last Olympic team is basically all former #1 recruits (Charles, Stewie, EDD, Griner, Augustus, Moore, Catchings, Fowles, Taurasi) a top 20 player who was vastly underrated (Bird), and two people who kind of came out of nowhere to be college and WNBA stars (Whalen and McCoughtry).

As good a coach as Geno is--and he is the very best--he is only as good as his players. The last time UConn had an extended streak without a championship was the time when he legitimately didn't have the best players in the country. Success begets success,

Geno has said something along those lines as well. I forget his exact quote. It was something like there are two kinds of coaches one that gets great players and one that is no longer coaching.