UCONN goes down again…

[mlindsay]

Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, and Crystal Dangerfield all had big improvements from freshman to senior year. Even Megan Walker up until she left after her junior year. As much maligned as ONO is, she's still improved every year even if she isn't what the UConn faithful were expecting her to be. The only major recruit I don't think he's developed has been Christyn Williams. She's basically the same player now as she was a freshman. That could very well just be that she came in with a low ceiling, and she was already right up against it. I will say that right now, the team looks like the worst he's fielded since Taurasi graduated. They have zero chemistry together. The Bueckers injury may be a wakeup call to him that he can't just rely on one player. What he does with Fudd, Ducharme (who is already looking like a steal), DeBerry (if she sticks around), and then the two top 5 players he's got coming in next season will tell the story if he's lost his coaching mojo.

If I was a betting man, I'd predict next season that a healthy UConn will be a perennial top 4 team, but they'll be playing 2nd fiddle to SC...possibly 3rd behind Stanford as well.

I get what your saying Amb but my argument is all that you've name (Collier, Wiliams, Walker, Dangerfield) were Top 15 recruits. What is he getting out of Muhl? How is Paith Gabriel playing (she isn't). What did he do with Mir? Poffensbarger? Lately it seems if they aren't Top 15 (already skilled and he just has to know what buttons to push) they don't play. In his conference without Paige and the schedule he had he should've still been able to put a better product on the floor and not cancel games and use Covid as a reason when he could've played the players he had!

Nobody else has gotten a pass for injuries and Covid like he has and it isn't fair to those teams who have been dealt similar situations to have to contend with the fact that he could get a healthy team and play in his own region because ESPN and the other polls are keeping his team in the polls when they shouldn't be where they currently are

 

[Terrells Bay88]

Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, and Crystal Dangerfield all had big improvements from freshman to senior year. Even Megan Walker up until she left after her junior year. As much maligned as ONO is, she's still improved every year even if she isn't what the UConn faithful were expecting her to be. The only major recruit I don't think he's developed has been Christyn Williams. She's basically the same player now as she was a freshman. That could very well just be that she came in with a low ceiling, and she was already right up against it. I will say that right now, the team looks like the worst he's fielded since Taurasi graduated. They have zero chemistry together. The Bueckers injury may be a wakeup call to him that he can't just rely on one player. What he does with Fudd, Ducharme (who is already looking like a steal), DeBerry (if she sticks around), and then the two top 5 players he's got coming in next season will tell the story if he's lost his coaching mojo.

If I was a betting man, I'd predict next season that a healthy UConn will be a perennial top 4 team, but they'll be playing 2nd fiddle to SC...possibly 3rd behind Stanford as well.

You call Ducharme a "steal". Here's her HS rankings:
ASGR# 9
Bluestar #7
Hoopgurlz #5
Prospects Nation #11

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Napheesa Collier, Gabby Williams, and Crystal Dangerfield all had big improvements from freshman to senior year. Even Megan Walker up until she left after her junior year. As much maligned as ONO is, she's still improved every year even if she isn't what the UConn faithful were expecting her to be. The only major recruit I don't think he's developed has been Christyn Williams. She's basically the same player now as she was a freshman. That could very well just be that she came in with a low ceiling, and she was already right up against it. I will say that right now, the team looks like the worst he's fielded since Taurasi graduated. They have zero chemistry together. The Bueckers injury may be a wakeup call to him that he can't just rely on one player. What he does with Fudd, Ducharme (who is already looking like a steal), DeBerry (if she sticks around), and then the two top 5 players he's got coming in next season will tell the story if he's lost his coaching mojo.

If I was a betting man, I'd predict next season that a healthy UConn will be a perennial top 4 team, but they'll be playing 2nd fiddle to SC...possibly 3rd behind Stanford as well.

I would raise my eye at Megan Walker she got the numbers up but she had HUGE numbers against poor competition where as against quality competition she was often a no show. So i could see where she improved but i wouldn't say tk the level of the others.

 

[Bakers1]

I would raise my eye at Megan Walker she got the numbers up but she had HUGE numbers against poor competition where as against quality competition she was often a no show. So i could see where she improved but i wouldn't say tk the level of the others.

Walker was ranked #1 in her class. I saw very little improvement myself. As you said she put up good numbers against bad teams. I had a bet with a Uconn fan she would not excel in the W. That she would be a role player at best if she could stay on a team. So far I'm winning that bet. Her #s are atrocious.

 

[Amb3096]

I would raise my eye at Megan Walker she got the numbers up but she had HUGE numbers against poor competition where as against quality competition she was often a no show. So i could see where she improved but i wouldn't say tk the level of the others.

Walker was inconsistent her first two years, but was a first team AA as a senior and averaged 19.7 pts and 8.4 rbs. Her lowest scoring outputs as a senior were: Oregon (8 pts, 3-16 FG), Tennessee (9 pts, 3-15 FG), and SC (10 pts, 5-11 FG). I don't think those are bad numbers as all.

I do agree with @Bakers1 in that I didn't think she would have much of a career in the W, but it's been shown time and again that success at the college level doesn't translate to a WNBA career.

 

[Amb3096]

I get what your saying Amb but my argument is all that you've name (Collier, Wiliams, Walker, Dangerfield) were Top 15 recruits. What is he getting out of Muhl? How is Paith Gabriel playing (she isn't). What did he do with Mir? Poffensbarger? Lately it seems if they aren't Top 15 (already skilled and he just has to know what buttons to push) they don't play. In his conference without Paige and the schedule he had he should've still been able to put a better product on the floor and not cancel games and use Covid as a reason when he could've played the players he had!

Nobody else has gotten a pass for injuries and Covid like he has and it isn't fair to those teams who have been dealt similar situations to have to contend with the fact that he could get a healthy team and play in his own region because ESPN and the other polls are keeping his team in the polls when they shouldn't be where they currently are

Muhl was fine. She was the starting PG for a FF team averaging about 5 ppg and shooting nearly 40% from the floor. I don't think it's unexpected for her to come out of the gates slowly this season since she's been injured and been in and out as a result, but she proved herself last year. I believe Poffenbarger was out injured all season and then transferred. McLean and Gabriel...no argument there. But is that any different than Jessie Rennie and Saunders? It's not like every recruit is going to be a contributor.

We all know that HS rankings are not foolproof. I don't think Matthew Mitchell was a coaching genius because of what he got out of Rhyne Howard from the get-go. She came to college ready to play. There are many others like her. Same with players that were top 10-15, but couldn't transition to the college game. Sometimes it's on the coaching, sometimes it's because of who the player is, sometimes it's both. Geno has been lucky that he recruits so strongly that he's always got someone else ready.

I agree that UConn should be better than they are even with Paige out. What Kellie did after Burrell went down was pretty darn exceptional, but I don't think that's the minimum standard. Any team will struggle when they lose their leading scorer (or in the case of the Oregon loss, their two leading scorers). Even then, losses to Oregon and Louisville aren't exactly bad (and they hung with Louisville until the end). GT was unranked, but is that a worse loss than SC losing to Mizzou? They aren't playing as well as they should with the players they have left, but it's not like the freefall that ND or MSST had after their FF runs...or even what Baylor is suffering now in spite of having a pretty talented team. They'll still be a solid S16 team at a minimum and likely higher if they get the two injured guards back into playing shape.

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Walker was inconsistent her first two years, but was a first team AA as a senior and averaged 19.7 pts and 8.4 rbs. Her lowest scoring outputs as a senior were: Oregon (8 pts, 3-16 FG), Tennessee (9 pts, 3-15 FG), and SC (10 pts, 5-11 FG). I don't think those are bad numbers as all.

I do agree with @Bakers1 in that I didn't think she would have much of a career in the W, but it's been shown time and again that success at the college level doesn't translate to a WNBA career.

I mean she left at a good time but numbers can be deceiving and playing for uconn has its perks. those numbers are good no doubt but she was not the number 1 player and her numbers were inflated. Unlike Breanna Stewart who stayed at the top of her game against all opponents just wouldn't put her on the level of Collier, Dangerfield, etc. Also circumstances where a kid like dangerfield excelled and exceeded across the board. Collier guarded 1-5 successfully and became more versatile. I won't say she didn't have impressive numbers just wasn't impressed with her overall progress.

Yuck! enough talking about uconn i'm going to enjoy our #5 team that actually likes one another

 

[Volfan2012]

Walker, Williams, Westbrooks, Ono, and several others were all very good players but none ever lived up to their Hoopgurlz ranking. I could say that for a lot of players on a lot of teams it is just more visible at UConn. He's had several players that did live up to their ranking, but that was a few years backwards and keep going that way. He knows he has a star in Bueckers that is why he needs her back because she is a difference maker. He has a lot of highly ranked players playing now none are huge difference makers. They can be better players with a star player to guide them and that would be Bueckers.

 

[LadyVols_WBK]

Walker was inconsistent her first two years, but was a first team AA as a senior and averaged 19.7 pts and 8.4 rbs. Her lowest scoring outputs as a senior were: Oregon (8 pts, 3-16 FG), Tennessee (9 pts, 3-15 FG), and SC (10 pts, 5-11 FG). I don't think those are bad numbers as all.

I do agree with @Bakers1 in that I didn't think she would have much of a career in the W, but it's been shown time and again that success at the college level doesn't translate to a WNBA career.

She got waived by Phoenix and Atlanta picked her off the waivers yesterday

 

[Amb3096]

She got waived by Phoenix and Atlanta picked her off the waivers yesterday

Hopefully the coach tells Megan to stay away from the damn food trucks...

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

Walker, Williams, Westbrooks, Ono, and several others were all very good players but none ever lived up to their Hoopgurlz ranking. I could say that for a lot of players on a lot of teams it is just more visible at UConn. He's had several players that did live up to their ranking, but that was a few years backwards and keep going that way. He knows he has a star in Bueckers that is why he needs her back because she is a difference maker. He has a lot of highly ranked players playing now none are huge difference makers. They can be better players with a star player to guide them and that would be Bueckers.

i thought the difference maker was Fudd from all the "notable players out" she has been getting i. game. I've never seen a player (a freshman especially) averaging 7.5 pts a game get the love she has. I guess they can't back track from
all the promos they've done

 

[Volfan2012]

i thought the difference maker was Fudd from all the "notable players out" she has been getting i. game. I've never seen a player (a freshman especially) averaging 7.5 pts a game get the love she has. I guess they can't back track from
all the promos they've done

Really have no idea about her she has never been the best player on any team she played on other than high school as far as I know. She played on that USA team that Horston was the best player and she played this last summer on a team where several players did better than she did. She has been injured most of this season so for her it is still wait and see exactly what she brings. I think she is a very good player, but not as good a Bueckers JMO.

 

[Amb3096]

Really have no idea about her she has never been the best player on any team she played on other than high school as far as I know. She played on that USA team that Horston was the best player and she played this last summer on a team where several players did better than she did. She has been injured most of this season so for her it is still wait and see exactly what she brings. I think she is a very good player, but not as good a Bueckers JMO.

Are you talking about Fudd? I think she's been overhyped, tbh. Definitely not on the same level as Bueckers, and maybe not even the best in her class. Saniya Rivers is another one that has me scratching my head. I thought she was supposed to be a scoring machine...

 

[Volfan2012]

Are you talking about Fudd? I think she's been overhyped, tbh. Definitely not on the same level as Bueckers, and maybe not even the best in her class. Saniya Rivers is another one that has me scratching my head. I thought she was supposed to be a scoring machine...

Don't really know about either one of them until they play some actual minutes where you can get an idea. On this last USA team Citron, Johnson, Betts, and a couple others were getting the playing time over her. DeBerry was also on that team and could not get off the bench until the game was decided.

 

[Amb3096]

DeBerry was also on that team and could not get off the bench until the game was decided.

DeBerry has at least carried that same experience over to college...except she doesn't get off the bench at all. Maybe at her next school...

 

[Remy]

Poor old tonyc (a familiar name here) was rambling incoherently about how people had been asking why Geno didn't play his nmbench and that now we can see why they weren't playing...because they aren't good enough!

(It never seems to dawn upon some that maybe, just maybe, getting experience would make them better).

Of course, the same folks are (rightfully) singing the praises of Ducharme...who was languishing on the bench until there were few other options.

CONN fans...gotta love 'em.

Nobody gets better watching everybody else play.

 

[Remy]

Walker, Williams, Westbrooks, Ono, and several others were all very good players but none ever lived up to their Hoopgurlz ranking. I could say that for a lot of players on a lot of teams it is just more visible at UConn. He's had several players that did live up to their ranking, but that was a few years backwards and keep going that way. He knows he has a star in Bueckers that is why he needs her back because she is a difference maker. He has a lot of highly ranked players playing now none are huge difference makers. They can be better players with a star player to guide them and that would be Bueckers.

Players respond to serious injuries differently. Even when one comes back it mentally takes time for them to trust the rehabbed part not to mention playing to avoid the injury again. Bueckers is a star player, but if people and her coach think she's going to pick up right where she left off would be surprising to me. It's rare when it does happen like that.

 

[lvocd]

Saniya Rivers is another one that has me scratching my head. I thought she was supposed to be a scoring machine...

I believe Rivers' time is coming. Seems to me like she may just need more time to grasp the game. Physically, there's not a more pure athlete in the country as far as what my trusty eye test has seen. The lift she has on even a short jumper is crazy. She's like a Tweetie Nolan in that area.

I'm both looking forward to/dreading our Lady Vols facing her in the future. If her brain catches up to her body, her quickness and leaping ability will catch the attention of WNBA scouts who may drop suggestions she may want to jump to the pros early. I could be wrong, but I could see it. Again, that's IF the light bulb goes on.

 

[Volfan2012]

Players respond to serious injuries differently. Even when one comes back it mentally takes time for them to trust the rehabbed part not to mention playing to avoid the injury again. Bueckers is a star player, but if people and her coach think she's going to pick up right where she left off would be surprising to me. It's rare when it does happen like that.

I think she will be ready by the NCAA tourney. Getting back by the 15th of February gives her a month to get there about the same amount of time it took Burrell.

 

[SandyO]

I bet Kellie thanks the basketball gods that Ms. Westbrook took her talents up north.

Oh my lord, yes. I could not be happier watching her negativity and bad disposition bring UConn down like it used to us. I wonder if her stock in the WNBA is dropping. Mama E ain’t gonna like that.

 

[Amb3096]

I believe Rivers' time is coming. Seems to me like she may just need more time to grasp the game. Physically, there's not a more pure athlete in the country as far as what my trusty eye test has seen. The lift she has on even a short jumper is crazy. She's like a Tweetie Nolan in that area.

I'm both looking forward to/dreading our Lady Vols facing her in the future. If her brain catches up to her body, her quickness and leaping ability will catch the attention of WNBA scouts who may drop suggestions she may want to jump to the pros early. I could be wrong, but I could see it. Again, that's IF the light bulb goes on.

Saniya's athleticism is eye popping, but it doesn't matter much if the ball isn't going in the hoop. We've had P-L-E-N-T-Y of examples at Tennessee of players that were athletes first and basketball players second, and not all of them pan out.

She is really smooth moving around the court though...

 

[djtee]

DeBerry has at least carried that same experience over to college...except she doesn't get off the bench at all. Maybe at her next school...

You could be correct she moves on, But from what i`m hearing she will stay put because she will start at the 5 next year ?

 

[Amb3096]

You could be correct she moves on, But from what i`m hearing she will stay put because she will start at the 5 next year ?

UConn could easily start a lineup of Bueckers, Fudd, Ducharme, Patterson and Juhasz...and then there's Aliyah Edwards and freshman Brady coming off the bench. She could be sitting in the same spot at the end of the bench next to Piath again next season. I would bet money that Piath moves on, and wouldn't be surprised if DeBerry follows her out the door.

 

[VA_VOLFAN]

UConn could easily start a lineup of Bueckers, Fudd, Ducharme, Patterson and Juhasz...and then there's Aliyah Edwards and freshman Brady coming off the bench. She could be sitting in the same spot at the end of the bench next to Piath again next season. I would bet money that Piath moves on, and wouldn't be surprised if DeBerry follows her out the door.

I think your assessment and line is much more likely than Deberry starting.. could be wrong but i would think the potential starting center would get some burn when the inside game has been marginal at best.

 

[mlindsay]

UConn could easily start a lineup of Bueckers, Fudd, Ducharme, Patterson and Juhasz...and then there's Aliyah Edwards and freshman Brady coming off the bench. She could be sitting in the same spot at the end of the bench next to Piath again next season. I would bet money that Piath moves on, and wouldn't be surprised if DeBerry follows her out the door.

I agree and I am really shocked Paith didn't leave already, I wonder how much of it has to do with her brother, you would think she could go where he played and get a lot of minutes next season.