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Transfers have been around since the dawn of college sports. in the last 10-15 seasons player transfers have become the norm. UConn WBB had its share of outbound transfers over the years. Almost all have found success at other programs, securing a starting role and additional PT. This makes sense. UConn recruits the top players in the country and, to the extent they learn the demands of UConn WBB, they are usually well prepared for their new schools.
As for inbound transfers, UConn joined the party later than many schools. However, the 2021-22 season will be the 7th consecutive season when the Huskies have fielded a team with at least one eligible transfer on the roster.
UConn fans are usually thrilled whenever a transfer announces their intention to matriculate to Storrs because it is often so unexpected, like finding a $20 bill in your couch. The paradox is that while outbound transfers often earn PT and even stardom at their new schools, most inbound transfers to UConn were already stars at their former school and, to succeed at UConn, they must adjust to a different, sometimes limited role.
In assessing the impact of inbound transfers to UConn, it is fair to say it’s been a mixed bag. Here is a brief review of the impact of 6 years of inbound transfers along with some comments on our newest transfer for 2021-22:
Natalie Butler – Nat was a big strong kid out of Georgetown. Injuries and a deep roster limited her contribution in 2015-16. The next season Nat played some important minutes off the bench in several big games, including wins over Baylor and SC, where she was able to use her size and strength to match up well against traditional Bigs. But against quicker teams, Nat often struggled to have an impact. Against MS St in the national semifinals, Nat played just 6 minutes, accumulating 1 PF and 2 TO’s. Nat transferred to George Mason as a grad transfer where she was a dominant Big in the CAA.
Batouly Camara – Touly was a physical kid who could rebound and had a nice shooting touch when she transferred to UConn out of KY. Unfortunately, we never had a chance to see what Touly could do at UConn, as she dealt with chronic knee problems throughout her four years as a Husky.
Azura Stevens – Z was certainly one of the more talented players to ever transfer to UConn, coming from Duke. To our disappointment, she only played the one season, but Z had a very nice year in 2017-18. However, Z’s season at UConn demonstrates the difficulty of optimizing the individual talents of several players into a team. At 6’6”, Z came to UConn with a reputation as a player who was effective in the paint, with the ability to step outside and knock down shots from the arc. Unfortunately, Z never found her 3-pt shot at UConn. That created a challenge for UConn in playing both Z & Pheesa at the same time. With Z inside, Pheesa spent more time on the perimeter, which moved perhaps the best low post scorer in the country away from the basket. It is not a coincidence that in her 3 seasons as a starter at UConn, the only season that Pheesa did not earn 1st Team AA honors was 2017-18.
Evelyn Adebayo – Evelyn was the first graduate transfer to UConn, coming to Storrs from Murray St where she led the team in scoring, rebounding and mpg. With a few months to learn the system at UConn, Evelyn was never able to adjust from being the “go to player” for Murray St to being an effective role player at UConn.
Evina Westbrook – E came to UConn from TN, where she was often criticized by Lady Vol fans, usually unfairly, as the once proud TN WBB program declined under HW. At UConn, after the disappointment of the NCAA denying her waiver request, along with 2 knee surgeries, it is hardly a stretch to suggest that E has been the most effective transfer ever to play for UConn WBB. E became a total team player at UConn. She is a super-Swiss Army knife that gives the Huskies whatever they need on any given night. E works so seamlessly with Paige that it appears as if they’ve been playing together for years. When Geno went with a 4-guard offense, E accepted the challenge of defending opposing forwards. As good as she is as a player, E’s greatest contribution may well be assuming a leadership role and “surrogate mom’ to an exuberant band of youngsters. Best of all, we get her for one more season.
Dorka Juhasz – Dorka is the 2nd grad transfer to come to UConn after graduating early at tOSU where she earned 1st Team All-Big Ten Honors as a player while also earning Academic All-Conference recognition. At 6’5” Dorka is a Big who can rebound, defend and score. Some BY’ers think that Dorka will challenge Liv for a starting role. For many reasons, I don’t. Rather than having either one or the other on the court, I believe that UConn’s best lineup, particularly against teams like SC and Stanford, might just have both Liv & Dorka on the floor together. That will likely depend on Dorka finding her 3-pt shooting stroke from her sophomore season, when she shot almost 40% from the arc, rather than the 20% clip she shot as a junior.
One thing is for sure. For UConn to win banner # 12 this coming season, our two grad transfers will both need to come up big.
As for inbound transfers, UConn joined the party later than many schools. However, the 2021-22 season will be the 7th consecutive season when the Huskies have fielded a team with at least one eligible transfer on the roster.
UConn fans are usually thrilled whenever a transfer announces their intention to matriculate to Storrs because it is often so unexpected, like finding a $20 bill in your couch. The paradox is that while outbound transfers often earn PT and even stardom at their new schools, most inbound transfers to UConn were already stars at their former school and, to succeed at UConn, they must adjust to a different, sometimes limited role.
In assessing the impact of inbound transfers to UConn, it is fair to say it’s been a mixed bag. Here is a brief review of the impact of 6 years of inbound transfers along with some comments on our newest transfer for 2021-22:
Natalie Butler – Nat was a big strong kid out of Georgetown. Injuries and a deep roster limited her contribution in 2015-16. The next season Nat played some important minutes off the bench in several big games, including wins over Baylor and SC, where she was able to use her size and strength to match up well against traditional Bigs. But against quicker teams, Nat often struggled to have an impact. Against MS St in the national semifinals, Nat played just 6 minutes, accumulating 1 PF and 2 TO’s. Nat transferred to George Mason as a grad transfer where she was a dominant Big in the CAA.
Batouly Camara – Touly was a physical kid who could rebound and had a nice shooting touch when she transferred to UConn out of KY. Unfortunately, we never had a chance to see what Touly could do at UConn, as she dealt with chronic knee problems throughout her four years as a Husky.
Azura Stevens – Z was certainly one of the more talented players to ever transfer to UConn, coming from Duke. To our disappointment, she only played the one season, but Z had a very nice year in 2017-18. However, Z’s season at UConn demonstrates the difficulty of optimizing the individual talents of several players into a team. At 6’6”, Z came to UConn with a reputation as a player who was effective in the paint, with the ability to step outside and knock down shots from the arc. Unfortunately, Z never found her 3-pt shot at UConn. That created a challenge for UConn in playing both Z & Pheesa at the same time. With Z inside, Pheesa spent more time on the perimeter, which moved perhaps the best low post scorer in the country away from the basket. It is not a coincidence that in her 3 seasons as a starter at UConn, the only season that Pheesa did not earn 1st Team AA honors was 2017-18.
Evelyn Adebayo – Evelyn was the first graduate transfer to UConn, coming to Storrs from Murray St where she led the team in scoring, rebounding and mpg. With a few months to learn the system at UConn, Evelyn was never able to adjust from being the “go to player” for Murray St to being an effective role player at UConn.
Evina Westbrook – E came to UConn from TN, where she was often criticized by Lady Vol fans, usually unfairly, as the once proud TN WBB program declined under HW. At UConn, after the disappointment of the NCAA denying her waiver request, along with 2 knee surgeries, it is hardly a stretch to suggest that E has been the most effective transfer ever to play for UConn WBB. E became a total team player at UConn. She is a super-Swiss Army knife that gives the Huskies whatever they need on any given night. E works so seamlessly with Paige that it appears as if they’ve been playing together for years. When Geno went with a 4-guard offense, E accepted the challenge of defending opposing forwards. As good as she is as a player, E’s greatest contribution may well be assuming a leadership role and “surrogate mom’ to an exuberant band of youngsters. Best of all, we get her for one more season.
Dorka Juhasz – Dorka is the 2nd grad transfer to come to UConn after graduating early at tOSU where she earned 1st Team All-Big Ten Honors as a player while also earning Academic All-Conference recognition. At 6’5” Dorka is a Big who can rebound, defend and score. Some BY’ers think that Dorka will challenge Liv for a starting role. For many reasons, I don’t. Rather than having either one or the other on the court, I believe that UConn’s best lineup, particularly against teams like SC and Stanford, might just have both Liv & Dorka on the floor together. That will likely depend on Dorka finding her 3-pt shooting stroke from her sophomore season, when she shot almost 40% from the arc, rather than the 20% clip she shot as a junior.
One thing is for sure. For UConn to win banner # 12 this coming season, our two grad transfers will both need to come up big.
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