So here's my $.02 FWIW.
First, I do not begrudge Walker doing whatever she feels is in her best interest. She's now a college graduate who gave 3 years of her life to UCONN. I'm sure she got as much in return as she gave. She's a Husky Of Honor - a lifetime achievement that gets her up on THE Wall. Kudos to her.
Now. My 2nd point. Do I wish she'd stayed? On paper of course. Imagine a core 4 of starters of Christyn, Anna, Megan and Olivia. I think there is almost zero debate that those 4 would have definitely started. Makes for a stronger team on paper with relying only on either Evina, 1 sophomore (Griffin), or one of the freshman as the 5th starter.
But now with no Megan, IMHO 3 guaranteed starters, 1 very likely starter in Evina, and the 5th will come from Aubrey, Paige, or Aaliyah.
Regardless, on paper more question marks than if Megan had stayed.
BUT... Last season it did not seem to me that Megan coexisted well with Christyn. They rarely had a great game both at the same time, and more often than not, it seemed like Christyn was out of sorts and struggling (not having anywhere near the sophomore leap we expected). BTW I am NOT saying there were any chemistry issues. It just seemed like Christyn was not meshing well.
No idea why that was the case. We could spend a whole different thread discussing why, and probably never get the answer exactly right. But my rambling point is, with no Megan, this team now belongs to Evina, Christyn and Olivia. I think this team has the potential to be even better than if Megan came back. Which team would have been better? We will never know.
As a UCONN fan, on paper, I wish Megan had come back. But my gut tells me this is going to be a special team that oddly (and maybe surprisingly), may end up better, even after the departure of their All-American. We will see, but I'm super excited to see this team play. Oh, and I wish Megan all the success in the world as she continues her pro career.