Walker and UConn.

[Fightin Choke]

Dolson was ranked #39 Hoopgurlz and #24 Bluestar.

And was ranked 12th by ASGR and was a McDonald's AA and was a member of the U18 USA team and was 3rd team AA (USA Today) and 4th team AA (Parade): LINK
Sounds like a top 20 athlete to me!

 

[Fightin Choke]

and now back to our topic...from her own twitter page

Class of 17: No. 7 Monacan (North Chesterfield, Va.) wing Megan Walker

Please! Try to stick to the thread topic, Charliebball!

Oh yeah.

Nevermind.

 

[Fightin Choke]

We did have witch burning. It was the 2013 NC Semi-final game. It didn't get more torturous for ND than than. After all, "ND was not supposed to be intimidated".

I didn't think the Irish were intimidates. I think they were outplayed.

 

[DaddyChoc]

If I am jump on the mic let me quote my man KRS One!

Uhh! They don't wanna battle
They ain't ready for the battle, uh-uh, uh-uh
Listen, listen, listen
Your spirit AIN'T READY
Your church AIN'T READY
Your bishop AIN'T READY
Your deacons AIN'T READY
Your choir AIN'T READY
Your ushers AIN'T READY
At the Temple of UCONN
WE TEACH MANY!
And up next on the mic.....

The TEACHER

 

[Buzzyboy]

Lol.
Faris, Dolson, and Hayes were top 20 players in HS.

Dolson was not a Top 20 player. I think in some services she was a 25 and in others, a higher pick.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Are you talking about Uconn in 2011 or ND in 2013?

Both! Winning the regular season and tournament and then losing in the NCAA's is bad news but they do say that it is very tough to beat anyone four times in a season.

 

[Buzzyboy]

And was ranked 12th by ASGR and was a McDonald's AA and was a member of the U18 USA team and was 3rd team AA (USA Today) and 4th team AA (Parade): LINK
Sounds like a top 20 athlete to me!

Not me. When she came to UConn, there was not a great expectation of her development. She was slow afoot and heavy and no one had any expectation that she would develop like she did. She was not considered a premier high school player by virtually anyone. She evolved into the player we saw in her last couple of years at UConn. Her transition year was her sophomore year and by her junior year, she had become pretty special. There was no recruiting service that had her as an elite player and she had an amazing transformation. There have been so many stories about her development at Storrs and now all of a sudden there is the suggestion that she was an amazing star coming out of high school. I saw her severe limitations when a freshman and her issues with conditioning and though she had a decent skill set, it was nothing like it would become. Let's be real here!

 

[jdubct]

Not me. When she came to UConn, there was not a great expectation of her development. She was slow afoot and heavy and no one had any expectation that she would develop like she did. She was not considered a premier high school player by virtually anyone. She evolved into the player we saw in her last couple of years at UConn. Her transition year was her sophomore year and by her junior year, she had become pretty special. There was no recruiting service that had her as an elite player and she had an amazing transformation. There have been so many stories about her development at Storrs and now all of a sudden there is the suggestion that she was an amazing star coming out of high school. I saw her severe limitations when a freshman and her issues with conditioning and though she had a decent skill set, it was nothing like it would become. Let's be real here!

Well said. In fact, it was noted by the horde, that some coaches had shied off recruiting her because of weight. By her hard work and strength of will, she lost considerable weight year-to-year, becoming an excellent college and wnba player.

 

[SCGamecock]

Im not worried at all. More depth and experience. Lots of eggs in Dangerfield being super women as a rookie and KLS being more then a 3 point shooter. Can Collier stay healthy? Will Butler and Chong show up this year ? Will U Conn get any production from their bench? Lots of what ifs. N.D. has depth and experience advantage. Your post shows this. Your saying Nurse over Arike and Marina but not both together. Your saying KLS over Boley and Westbeld but not together. Allen and Patberg vs Dangerfield. See the difference? Plus a All American in Turner. We have solid replacements in every position and you dont. You wont be resting your players after the first quarter this year.Games will be more competitive. Geno and his hard practices and lack of depth will wear U Conn down. By the end of the season they will be on empty. They just dont have the balance they had in the past. And they dont have the height or the bigs that can stretch the floor and hit the outside shot or block shots. N. D. will just throw fresh bodies at them and wear them down. For once im not worried about U Conn. South Carolina and Baylor are better as well. They will still be Elite Eight or Final Four. But this could be the worst team they have had in 20 years. And they might only lose 3 games all year. That shows how great they have been for so long. I give credit to the Huskies and Geno. Just think this year someone else will win it all.You can have the mic back Coco.

I'm a fan of your boldness. I will say that.

 

[CocoHusky]

UConn will be very good this year. Of that, I am certain. But Notre Dame should be right there as well. Notre Dame's bench players may sit behind All-Americans this season, we'll see.

You're right about UConn's conditioning. The vast majority of their players could play all 48 minutes if only cardiovascular conditioning was considered. But bench players enter big games for other reasons as well, such as fouls and injury. UConn's starters have been fairly immune to each recently, but that could change.

Collier played injured all season last year. Following the season she had hip surgery to fix a problem that had bothered her since high school. She is expected to be healthy for the start of this season: LINK

I do not agree with some of your matchup conclusions. Some of them seem irrelevant. For example, you compare Butler to Nelson and Thompson. First, I don't see Butler starting or playing much vs. Notre Dame (unless she makes big strides this season). I also do not expect Nelson to play either, and if Thompson sees the floor, then the game is a blowout and thus the outcome is not in doubt. Hence I think the comparison is irrelevant. Would I compare Mychal Johson to Molly Bent or Tierney Lawlor? No, because none of them would play a significant role in a clash between ND and UConn. Usually, only starters see significant minutes.

Center: Huskies will start either Butler (doubtful) or Gabby vs. ND's Brianna Turner. I give ND the nod here.

PF: Huskies start Collier (probably) vs. Westbeld or Boley. UConn wins this one, but ND freshmen sometimes play pretty well in big games. Westbeld is steady but not in Collier's league. Boley may be in the same league as Collier, but she's younger and less experienced.

W: KLS will be matched up against Mabrey. That's a good matchup, and it may depend on which shooter is hotter on that day. Remember that Marina had a great game @Uconn last season and there is no Mo Jeff to shut her down in the second half this season. Notre Dame also has Jackie Young, so she should be an excellent backup that should see meaningful minutes this season.

SG: Nurse vs. Arike. Interesting matchup. Kia was surprisingly good her freshman year and the summer following her freshman season, but she had a somewhat disappointing sophomore year. Arike was raw as a freshman and didn't pass well. On paper, UConn has the edge, especially when one considers defense. But Arike is a very dangerous offensive player because she is a slasher, and UConn has to prove that their interior defense won't suffer too much this season with the graduation of the big 3. UConn wins this one, but let's see the sophomore jump for Arike. If she can make decisions with the ball this season, she could be fantastic. Big if, of course. Young could also see minutes at the 2.

PG: Do you really think that Dangerfield will outplay Lindsay Allen this season? I mean anything is possible, but my money is on a very good senior PG over a freshman who may not even start. Do you remember Mo Jeff's freshman year? I think while your opinion may be common on the BY (although I think many would oppose it), most basketball observers would expect Lindsay to have a considerable edge.

My positional analysis shows a much closer matchup than yours. Seems to me it comes down to coaching and intangibles. It should be an exciting matchup!

Don't see KLS guarding Mabrey as perimeter defense is not KLS' strength. Also agree that there is no MoJeff like defender to shut Mabrey down were she to get on a roll. ND graduated 2 players that shot better than 40% from 3 last year in Cable and the Older Mabrey. Last year any one of the three could be fatal, this year there ND has one 3 point threat not 3.
Yes I'm banking (perhaps too much) on Dangerfield being special and better than Allen. Freshmen Nurse was better than Allen and if you recall MoJeff had one of the worst games of her life @ND and UCONN still rolled. I like Allen just don't think she shoots well enough to be special and needs too much help to beat elite teams.
No one ( maybe the UCONN staff) knew that Collier played injured all of last year. She played in all 38 games and started a few games before conference play began. If she was injured all year and played like that Watch Out!

 

[CocoHusky]

Not me. When she came to UConn, there was not a great expectation of her development. She was slow afoot and heavy and no one had any expectation that she would develop like she did. She was not considered a premier high school player by virtually anyone. She evolved into the player we saw in her last couple of years at UConn. Her transition year was her sophomore year and by her junior year, she had become pretty special. There was no recruiting service that had her as an elite player and she had an amazing transformation. There have been so many stories about her development at Storrs and now all of a sudden there is the suggestion that she was an amazing star coming out of high school. I saw her severe limitations when a freshman and her issues with conditioning and though she had a decent skill set, it was nothing like it would become. Let's be real here!

If you want to be real don't use such superlatives. Non-Premier HS players don't get selected to play in the McDonalds ALL-American game. Non-Premier players don't get offered by UCONN. In AAU ball Dolson team went up against My Daughter's three times and I pronounced her "not UCONN material"- I was wrong. @meyers7 saw her in HS and thought she would be a great fit at UCONN- he was right. Geno saw something no one else saw-Geno was, as usual, right about Dolson but he was wrong about Moriah and had to be convinced.

 

[HoopsFan21]

If you want to be real don't use such superlatives. Non-Premier HS players don't get selected to play in the McDonalds ALL-American game. Non-Premier players don't get offered by UCONN. In AAU ball Dolson team went up against My Daughter's three times and I pronounced her "not UCONN material"- I was wrong. @meyers7 saw her in HS and thought she would be a great fit at UCONN- he was right. Geno saw something no one else saw-Geno was, as usual, right about Dolson but he was wrong about Moriah and had to be convinced.

If Geno saw something no one else saw, explain Rutgers, Duke, and others interest in her? This legend that Geno took the kid picked last for pick up ball and turned them into LeBron seems to grow by the day. Do people really think Geno is saving kids that otherwise would have to pay for their education?

 

[CocoHusky]

If Geno saw something no one else saw, explain Rutgers, Duke, and others interest in her? This legend that Geno took the kid picked last for pick up ball and turned them into LeBron seems to grow by the day. Do people really think Geno is saving kids that otherwise would have to pay for their education?

I understand your point and agree with you. Specifically what Geno saw was great hands and toughness-Geno has stated this. Debatable if others saw the same thing-I certainly did not. She also was not going to be picked last for anything. Her AAU team were National Champions at 15U. Later in AAU career she was highly sought after Nationally playing with Tennessee Flight and a made for primetime AAU team from NY, NJ with some other high caliber D1 Players like Lauren Mincy. She made herself into an AA player and the best WCBB center since Griner. What she was in HS is sort of irrelevant.

 

[meyers7]

And was ranked 12th by ASGR and was a McDonald's AA and was a member of the U18 USA team and was 3rd team AA (USA Today) and 4th team AA (Parade): LINK
Sounds like a top 20 athlete to me!

Well your hearing is a little off then. Might want to get that checked.

Top 30? Sure. Top 20? Not quite. (close though)

 

[Orangutan]

Don't see KLS guarding Mabrey as perimeter defense is not KLS' strength. Also agree that there is no MoJeff like defender to shut Mabrey down were she to get on a roll. ND graduated 2 players that shot better than 40% from 3 last year in Cable and the Older Mabrey. Last year any one of the three could be fatal, this year there ND has one 3 point threat not 3.
Yes I'm banking (perhaps too much) on Dangerfield being special and better than Allen. Freshmen Nurse was better than Allen and if you recall MoJeff had one of the worst games of her life @ND and UCONN still rolled. I like Allen just don't think she shoots well enough to be special and needs too much help to beat elite teams.
No one ( maybe the UCONN staff) knew that Collier played injured all of last year. She played in all 38 games and started a few games before conference play began. If she was injured all year and played like that Watch Out!

Arike also shot 39.1% from 3. Boley has a reputation as a shooter specifically and Young became a very good shooter as her HS career went on. So I think ND still has 3 or 4 legit 3-point threats - Marina, Arike, Boley, maybe Young. ND will also be better at attacking off the dribble, which Cable and Mabrey1 could not do.

Allen is not a great 3 point shooter, but she shot 49.8% last year, which is pretty fantastic for a guard. She is very reliable out 17 or 18 feet. I don't think freshman Nurse was better than her. She may have looked better in ND-UConn games but everyone for ND looks horrible in those games and that had a lot to do with Stewart, MoJeff, and Tuck. Dangerfield would have to be MUCH better than Jefferson was as a freshman to approach Allen.

Sorry - didn't want to turn this into ND cheerleading on the Bboneyard but that line was crossed a while ago...

 

[mdakota]

If I am jump on the mic let me quote my man KRS One!

Uhh! They don't wanna battle
They ain't ready for the battle, uh-uh, uh-uh
Listen, listen, listen
Your spirit AIN'T READY
Your church AIN'T READY
Your bishop AIN'T READY
Your deacons AIN'T READY
Your choir AIN'T READY
Your ushers AIN'T READY
At the Temple of UCONN
WE TEACH MANY!

Lesson begins here!
Someone else "might" win this year. Worst UCONN team in 20 years? Still one of the best in the country-I'll take that.
ref: See the Difference? No I'm afraid I don't. These are projected matchups Allen will be your sarting PG and Patberg will back her up. Crystal Dangerfield will "likely" be UCONN's. So Crystal doesn't have to be "super woman" (she graduated from UCONN)- Crystal just has to be better than Allen.

I can see why you admire Geno so much because he had the same development plan for KLS- being more than 3pt shooter. Since Geno is smarter than both of us he already implemented his plan. KLS is more than just a 3 point shooter. Go and check the the box score from her last three games in the NCAA tournament before she got hurt.

Bench players are bench players for a reason. The big difference between ND bench players that you will rely this year and UCONN bench players is that UCONN bench players were on the bench because they were playing behind All Americans. ND players were on the bench playing behind player that did not even make the 1st Team all ACC

About that conditioning thing and UCONN players being worn down-make like Aerosmith and Dream On. Geno has won two national championships with max rotation of 6 & 7 players. Note to self: It would be extremely cruel to remind this pupil that both of those championships were against ND and in both cases it was ND sucking wind not UCONN.

Collier played in all 38 UCONN games last year so I'm not sure what would prompt an injury concern on your part-wishful thinking?

And up next on the mic.....

The mic's been dropped... Twice.... Let it go new guy

 

[Kibitzer]

Games will be more competitive. Geno and his hard practices and lack of depth will wear U Conn down. By the end of the season they will be on empty. N. D. will just throw fresh bodies at them and wear them down. For once im not worried about U Conn. But this could be the worst team they have had in 20 years.

Take your meds and get some rest. You should recover by November.

 

[bags27]

I disagree. U Conn was getting top recruits for years. The Irish just started getting them in the last 5 years and they went from never beating the Huskies except in 2001 to beating them 3 times in one year and a few more times in the tournament. I think they work just as hard. They might not get yelled at as much lol. Stewart was the reason for the recent success. Without her they might not of won any titles in her 4 years. U Conn would of been in big trouble losing Stewart and Tuck and Geno knew it. Thats why he went against his norm and picked up 3 transfers to fill the void. Without them they had no height. The game is changing. Other teams are getting blue chips to. Not just U Conn. They got a few years head start but the gap is closing. I truly think those multiple titles and undefeated back to back seasons are gone. Parity is the future of the women's game. Turner can hang with Stevens. I take Boley and Westbeld over Camara and Butler all day long. And i like N.D. guards better as well. Why do you think that they have no shot and U Conn will be so much better then them ?

Welcome to the board. I'm assuming you went to Notre Dame, but thinking that you didn't manage to take courses in their fine Department of History, because your chronology of events and facts is fantastical at best.

 

[Kibitzer]

Welcome to the board. I'm assuming you went to Notre Dame, but thinking that you didn't manage to take courses in their fine Department of History, because your chronology of events and facts is fantastical at best.

S/he also had difficulty with English Composition 101.

 

[Carnac]

While there may be some truth in this, with no disrespect intended, there is a fair amount of presumption in it as well. I yield to no one in my admiration for UConn coaching, but....

1. Every athlete wants to win championships. So, by the above logic, no recruited player should ever turn down UConn, or, if they do, they don't really want to win championships but value even more something "lesser" instead: more immediate playing time, more individual glory, or they are afraid of Geno's reputation for toughness. Those are speculative reasons: we can't read what's in their hearts. Of course, many of them decide ostensibly to play closer to home or prefer some aspect of that school, but they have almost certainly convinced themselves that they can have that while at the same time competing for championships. Elite high school players will rarely surrender at least the dream of winning a national championship.
2. Many athletes double down on their dreams by wanting also to slay the giant. I suspect (I can't know) that's one very important reason why a great number of UConn recruits choose instead to go to UConn's competitors: to fight the great fight in hopes of gaining even greater glory than "just" having yet another jersey number on the wall at Gampel Pavilion. It's like LeBron returning to Cleveland or Phelps dragging himself back into the pool: it's heroic.

Rather than dismissing these players out of hand as wanting something other than championships, another way to look at it is to admire them for taking a different road. And to the current discussion: if Walker chooses to go elsewhere, to my mind at least, it doesn't for one picosecond make her less desirous of winning championships.

We could start a running list of all of the reasons we can think of that are/could be legitimate reasons why a highly coveted recruit chooses not to go to UConn. I'll give you 5 to start it off: 1. They don't like Geno (coaches)/girls on the team. 2. They don't like the campus or the surrounding area of Storrs (too cold in the winter/completely devoid of any meaningful social activity for their age group). This may be a factor for a recruit from the south, Texas, or California. 3. Too far from home. Parents would not get to see her play more than a handful of games a year. To some recruits, this is very important. 4. The school does not offer a curriculum of classes that satisfies their major course of study. As much as we revere UConn, we must remember that UConn is not revered by everyone, or is for everyone. 5. They've been steered by coaches/parents to go in another direction.

Each side (Coaching staff & player) has a list of "boxes" (a want list). All of the boxes must be checked for BOTH sides before a marriage can take place. It would be very interesting reading if some of the highly coveted potential UConn recruits that went else where were to share (anonymously of course), the real and honest reason(s) why they chose not to accept UConn's scholarship offer. NO doubt some of the reasons would amaze us.

 

[Carnac]

Uconn can not be dethroned this year because they have not won anything. Notre Dame beat them 7 out of 8 and they deserve that recognition. Are there other teams that work like Connecticut,I dont know but Doris Burke has seen many teams practices and she says no. Until 1999 Tennessee was the best programm in WCBB because they earned it. From 2000 Connecticut is the best program and remains so. They are the best program of all time and Geno has cemented his place as the best coach of all time. Before people argue about Pat Summit being the best. Head to head Uconn 13 to 9 with Tennessee winning the last 3. Pats record in NC games is 8-5 which is really good! Geno is 11-0 in NC which is just amazing! The difference between Pat and Geno is Connectcut 4 and Tenn.0 in National Championship Games. Once the games over the final score is all that matters.All the rest is just part of the game.

You make a statement, then you turn right around and contradict yourself. "The "this year" is most important two words in your first sentence. Then, you try and support your argument by going back in time, to days/years gone by, which have absolutely nothing to do with this past season, which is what we are talking about. The last championship game was played 4 months ago. It was won by UConn.

UConn is sitting on the championship "throne" until another program wins this coming season's national championship, and de-thrones UConn. The general thought is, when you win a championship, you are the reigning champion for a year until someone knocks you off, or supplants you.

UConn, and only UConn has been sitting atop the throne for the last 3 years (it will be 4 years come April).
You may not like or agree with that concept, but that's the way it is. If UConn is not sitting on the throne TODAY, then who is?. I'll hang up and listen.

 

[CocoHusky]

We could start a running list of all of the reasons we can think of that are/could be legitimate reasons why a highly coveted recruit chooses not to go to UConn. I'll give you 5 to start it off: 1. They don't like Geno (coaches)/girls on the team. 2. They don't like the campus or the surrounding area of Storrs (too cold in the winter/completely devoid of any meaningful social activity for their age group). This may be a factor for a recruit from the south, Texas, or California. 3. Too far from home. Parents would not get to see her play more than a handful of games a year. To some recruits, this is very important. 4. The school does not offer a curriculum of classes that satisfies their major course of study. As much as we revere UConn, we must remember that UConn is not revered by everyone, or is for everyone. 5. They've been steered by coaches/parents to go in another direction.

Each side (Coaching staff & player) has a list of "boxes" (a want list). All of the boxes must be checked for BOTH sides before a marriage can take place. It would be very interesting reading if some of the highly coveted potential UConn recruits that went else where were to share (anonymously of course), the real and honest reason(s) why they chose to accept UConn's scholarship offer. NO doubt some of the reasons would amaze us.

What do you mean we could start a list? Such a list has already been started two year old now!

1) Because there are over 300 more Division I programs out there.

2) UCONN requires a skill set that most do not have

3) College for most is about the education, not basketball

4) I want my family to be in the stands when I play so I staying as close to home as I can

5) My grades so far might get me into an Ivy league school, so if I get in that is where I'm going

6) I want to major in Fashion or (fill in the blank) and UCONN is just not that highly regarded in that major

7) I grew up a Tennessee fan & I don't mind orange so much

8) The line from The Blindside: That's where my family went so that where I'm going

9) UCONN is Just not for me, they go too hard all the time

10) Geno is going to yell at me

11) My AAU coach says UCONN is just not for me

12) Sadie transferred after 1 semester and she was a McDonalds AA

13) EDD went there and never made it to 1 single class

14) Seems like it is always snowing up there in Storrs

15) UCONN doesn't have people that look like me (Diversity Angle)

16) Mark Emmert used to work at UCONN and look what he's done to the NCAA

17) I'm just a regular kid and UCONN says regular kids need not apply.

...

...

 

[Carnac]

Sorry - didn't want to turn this into ND cheerleading on the Bboneyard but that line was crossed a while ago...

That's OK. This thread started out being about Meagan Walker, then the wind shifted, some folks got "puffy", and the conversation went in a completely different direction.

 

[Carnac]

What do you mean we could start a list? Such a list has already been started two year old now!

You're right!. I should have said........we could dust off the list that was started over years ago (that's still current).............and go from there. A list of this nature will NEVER die or become irrelevant.

 

[Icebear]

I would say frustrating, not embarrassing. Both schools have experienced that.

It was embarrassing and heart breaking. You could see it on ND's faces.

 

[CocoHusky]

It was embarrassing and heart breaking. You could see it on ND's faces.

As a UCONN fan in 2011 I was heart broken for Maya going out like that, but I was not embarrassed. Suspect the ND fans felt the same in 2013 for Skylar.

 

[bags27]

Regarding why recruits might turn down UConn: this isn't going to go over well, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the attraction of the top academic schools (something we talk about especially when considering certain privates: Duke, ND, and Stanford; no offense to Baylor, but it doesn't usually get put in that cluster, though it's obviously a fine academic school). I think--I'm ducking, so throw whatever you want at me--that it really shouldn't count much in a recruit's decision.

1. What does it mean to be better academically? Frankly, it means the U.S. News and World Report rankings, which are based largely on things that don't concern elite athletes: things like amount of financial aid (all recruited D-1 athletes already get full rides); size of the library (alas, no one uses libraries much anymore); student-to-faculty ratio which is largely a manipulated number and doesn't matter, because you can always take small classes if you really want, etc.
2. Of course, some universities have "more prestigious" faculty. Undeniably, for example, Stanford's full-time faculty is the strongest of any school we usually discuss; more Noble prize winners, etc. But: a. how many classes do students take with the very top faculty; and b. do they actually learn more in those classes? These faculty are important for highly ambitious students who want to do research in their labs, write honors theses, etc. But how many top athletes do that? And even so, the same can certainly be done at schools lower in the rankings. Believe me, a 20 year student can learn just as much in the average UConn classroom as s/he can in the average Stanford classroom academically speaking; however:
3. To a very large extent, going to these schools--and why they are ranked so highly--is about networking: meeting similarly very smart and ambitious fellow students who will support your own ambitions and intellectual curiosity and be your friends for life. But great athletes with professional aspirations network with similar athletes on their teams already. Heck, it's a lot easier for athletes to discover their natural cohort than it is for non-athletes.

In sum, any honest study of course and major selection among highly competitive D-1 teams would, I'm convinced, show that these athletes don't take fullest advantage of the academic offerings of their university nor hang with the most academically ambitious students. WHICH IS NOT TO SAY THAT THEY DON'T GET A GREAT EDUCATION. Education in team practice, working in groups, setting and achieving a goal, dealing with disappointment, etc. are extremely important--maybe more important--than what many non-athletes ever learn anywhere. For two decades, I've believed that Geno Auriemma is among the greatest college teachers I've ever heard of, and that learning from him for 2 hrs/day is among the highest privileges one could receive at any university, anywhere.

So, I've come to appreciate in my own terms why (say) Lou turned down Stanford and Molly turned down (likely) multiple Ivy offers: they will get, in their own way, a fantastic education, just as we know that, while the military academies can't compete on pure academics with the top (say) 15 universities, the overall education cadets and midshipmen receive is priceless. (I'm not trying to compare basketball to a military commission.)

So, frankly, I think that the vast majority (not for all, but the vast majority) of the most elite athletes should chase their dream and not let the considerations of us wannabe-jock alums who brag about silly academic rankings sway them.

 

[Paul1969]

As a UCONN fan in 2011 I was heart broken for Maya going out like that, but I was not embarrassed. Suspect the ND fans felt the same in 2013 for Skylar.

Maya left with Two NC's> Skylar left with Zero.

 

[CocoHusky]

Regarding why recruits might turn down UConn: this isn't going to go over well, but I've been thinking a lot lately about the attraction of the top academic schools (something we talk about especially when considering certain privates: Duke, ND, and Stanford; no offense to Baylor, but it doesn't usually get put in that cluster, though it's obviously a fine academic school). I think--I'm ducking, so throw whatever you want at me--that it really shouldn't count much in a recruit's decision.

1. What does it mean to be better academically? Frankly, it means the U.S. News and World Report rankings, which are based largely on things that don't concern elite athletes: things like amount of financial aid (all recruited D-1 athletes already get full rides); size of the library (alas, no one uses libraries much anymore); student-to-faculty ratio which is largely a manipulated number and doesn't matter, because you can always take small classes if you really want, etc.
2. Of course, some universities have "more prestigious" faculty. Undeniably, for example, Stanford's full-time faculty is the strongest of any school we usually discuss; more Noble prize winners, etc. But: a. how many classes do students take with the very top faculty; and b. do they actually learn more in those classes? These faculty are important for highly ambitious students who want to do research in their labs, write honors theses, etc. But how many top athletes do that? And even so, the same can certainly be done at schools lower in the rankings. Believe me, a 20 year student can learn just as much in the average UConn classroom as s/he can in the average Stanford classroom academically speaking; however:
3. To a very large extent, going to these schools--and why they are ranked so highly--is about networking: meeting similarly very smart and ambitious fellow students who will support your own ambitions and intellectual curiosity and be your friends for life. But great athletes with professional aspirations network with similar athletes on their teams already. Heck, it's a lot easier for athletes to discover their natural cohort than it is for non-athletes.

In sum, any honest study of course and major selection among highly competitive D-1 teams would, I'm convinced, show that these athletes don't take fullest advantage of the academic offerings of their university nor hang with the most academically ambitious students. WHICH IS NOT TO SAY THAT THEY DON'T GET A GREAT EDUCATION. Education in team practice, working in groups, setting and achieving a goal, dealing with disappointment, etc. are extremely important--maybe more important--than what many non-athletes ever learn anywhere. For two decades, I've believed that Geno Auriemma is among the greatest college teachers I've ever heard of, and that learning from him for 2 hrs/day is among the highest privileges one could receive at any university, anywhere.

So, I've come to appreciate in my own terms why (say) Lou turned down Stanford and Molly turned down (likely) multiple Ivy offers: they will get, in their own way, a fantastic education, just as we know that, while the military academies can't compete on pure academics with the top (say) 15 universities, the overall education cadets and midshipmen receive is priceless. (I'm not trying to compare basketball to a military commission.)

So, frankly, I think that the vast majority (not for all, but the vast majority) of the most elite athletes should chase their dream and not let the considerations of us wannabe-jock alums who brag about silly academic rankings sway them.

Agree mostly. A couple major points of sharp departure.

DI athletes don't take fullest advantage of the academic offerings of their university nor hang with the most academically ambitious students because there is simply no time for it.

You are mistaken to think military academies can't compete on pure academics with the top (say) 15 universities. I can assure you that academic component only of a successful military academy applicant would get the same applicant admitted to any top US News top 10 rated school. The academies have a different mission, thumping your chest and checking US News rankings doesn’t do anything to support that mission.

 

[CocoHusky]

Maya left with Two NC's> Skylar left with Zero.

Factually correct, but my emotions were not about facts are even reality. I was heart broken for Maya because she lost her last game in a UCONN uniform-that too is factual but consider the emotional baggage (my baggage I know).