bballnut90
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Looking at the roster, the rotation of 7-8 players might be the most talented we've seen:
C-Stevens, RS-SR. Will likely be a top 3 pick in the pros next year. Was extremely under ranked coming out of HS and was an HM AA as a sophomore. Has a good shot to be an AA in the next 2 seasons.
F-Collier, SR. Former top 10 recruit, 1st team AA as a sophomore and AAC POY. Likely top 4 pick and could easily wind up being a 3x 1st Team AA.
F-Samuelson, SR. Former #1 recruit, 1st team AA as a sophomore and AAC POY. Likely top 4 pick and could easily wind up being a 3x 1st Team AA.
G/F-Walker, SO. #1 recruit in 2017, what she accomplishes in her first (and 2nd) season remain to be seen.
G-Dangerfield, JR. #3 recruit, early indications are that she's going to be one of the best point guards in the country this year and could wind up being an AA either this year or next.
Bench:
G/F-Williams, FR. #1 recruit in 2018
F/C-ONO, #5 recruit in 2018, was ranked #1 prior to ACL
Not to mention the rest of the roster and how they pan out.
If these players follow the UCONN standard in regards to how they develop over 4 years, I'd expect that all 7 will be All-Americans, with all but Stevens making 1st or 2nd team AA in multiple seasons. All 7 of these players have potential to be in top 3 in their draft class as well. If they're going to be the most talented team ever, a lot will depend on how ready the incoming freshmen are and how improved Walker is. For example, the 2016 squad on paper might be the best ever when looking at collegiate accomplishments, but Samuelson/Collier/Chong/Williams were not close to being as good as they were a year later....so when looking at how good the 2016 team was, you have to look at Gabby Williams as a player in 2016 instead of the Gabby Williams we see today.
The other squads who can compete with this roster in talent/collegiate accomplishments are:
2016 Huskies:
Stewart, Tuck, Jefferson, Nurse, Samuelson, Collier, Chong, Williams...as mentioned, the latter 4 were shadows of the players they developed into a year later..but that roster has likely 6 players who will be top 3-4 draft picks plus Nurse and Chong.
2015 Huskies:
Stewart, Tuck, Jefferson, Nurse, KML, Stokes, Chong, Williams...same roster as above but sub KML and Stokes for Collier and Samuelson. KML was a top 3 pick and 2x AA, Stokes wasn't a standout in college but has been a steady contributor as a 3rd year pro. Williams didn't play in big games that year.
2001 Huskies:
Bird, Abrosimova, Ralph, Cash, Jones, Williams, Taurasi, Schumacher....on paper this team was stacked when you looked at their collegiate accomplishments. Only issue is, in 2001 none of these players besides Abrosimova were close to being at their peak at Connecticut. Bird was much better in 2002, as was Taurasi/Cash/Jones. Ralph was much better in 2000. Still though, you have 3 players who would earn POY awards, Cash and Abrosimova earned AA honors in their career, and Jones was a 3rd team AP AA in 2002.
C-Stevens, RS-SR. Will likely be a top 3 pick in the pros next year. Was extremely under ranked coming out of HS and was an HM AA as a sophomore. Has a good shot to be an AA in the next 2 seasons.
F-Collier, SR. Former top 10 recruit, 1st team AA as a sophomore and AAC POY. Likely top 4 pick and could easily wind up being a 3x 1st Team AA.
F-Samuelson, SR. Former #1 recruit, 1st team AA as a sophomore and AAC POY. Likely top 4 pick and could easily wind up being a 3x 1st Team AA.
G/F-Walker, SO. #1 recruit in 2017, what she accomplishes in her first (and 2nd) season remain to be seen.
G-Dangerfield, JR. #3 recruit, early indications are that she's going to be one of the best point guards in the country this year and could wind up being an AA either this year or next.
Bench:
G/F-Williams, FR. #1 recruit in 2018
F/C-ONO, #5 recruit in 2018, was ranked #1 prior to ACL
Not to mention the rest of the roster and how they pan out.
If these players follow the UCONN standard in regards to how they develop over 4 years, I'd expect that all 7 will be All-Americans, with all but Stevens making 1st or 2nd team AA in multiple seasons. All 7 of these players have potential to be in top 3 in their draft class as well. If they're going to be the most talented team ever, a lot will depend on how ready the incoming freshmen are and how improved Walker is. For example, the 2016 squad on paper might be the best ever when looking at collegiate accomplishments, but Samuelson/Collier/Chong/Williams were not close to being as good as they were a year later....so when looking at how good the 2016 team was, you have to look at Gabby Williams as a player in 2016 instead of the Gabby Williams we see today.
The other squads who can compete with this roster in talent/collegiate accomplishments are:
2016 Huskies:
Stewart, Tuck, Jefferson, Nurse, Samuelson, Collier, Chong, Williams...as mentioned, the latter 4 were shadows of the players they developed into a year later..but that roster has likely 6 players who will be top 3-4 draft picks plus Nurse and Chong.
2015 Huskies:
Stewart, Tuck, Jefferson, Nurse, KML, Stokes, Chong, Williams...same roster as above but sub KML and Stokes for Collier and Samuelson. KML was a top 3 pick and 2x AA, Stokes wasn't a standout in college but has been a steady contributor as a 3rd year pro. Williams didn't play in big games that year.
2001 Huskies:
Bird, Abrosimova, Ralph, Cash, Jones, Williams, Taurasi, Schumacher....on paper this team was stacked when you looked at their collegiate accomplishments. Only issue is, in 2001 none of these players besides Abrosimova were close to being at their peak at Connecticut. Bird was much better in 2002, as was Taurasi/Cash/Jones. Ralph was much better in 2000. Still though, you have 3 players who would earn POY awards, Cash and Abrosimova earned AA honors in their career, and Jones was a 3rd team AP AA in 2002.
