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GlennMacGrady
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 Posted: 04/30/16 3:26 pm ::: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
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NoDakSt
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| Posted: 04/30/16 3:36 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Stevens is coming off injury, so maybe sitting out a year for rehab is such a good thing.
If McCallie is let go, maybe a hardship waiver could be provided. With respect to Romero, I'm not aware that Duke imposed in transfer limitations to Stevens (save for maybe the ACC restrictions) that Kansas State put in front of Leticia. Wildcat administration was positiviely doing everything they could do to delay Romero's transfer.
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cthskzfn
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| Posted: 04/30/16 3:44 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Speaking selfishly, I hope not. I'd rather she spend a year+ in the system and debut w/ the 17-18 team, which could have a legit shot at the NC.
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readyAIMfire53
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| Posted: 04/30/16 6:41 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Y'all have a seriously skewed view of the world. You get one of the top 3 transfers in the last few years and you see it as some sort of decline of your program? OY!!!!!! OMG, you're not gonna FIVE peat? PROGRAM IN TROUBLE. And you think playing for McCallie is funny? Smite thyself!
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sammieee
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GlennMacGrady
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| Posted: 04/30/16 11:50 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| readyAIMfire53 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Y'all have a seriously skewed view of the world. You get one of the top 3 transfers in the last few years and you see it as some sort of decline of your program? OY!!!!!! OMG, you're not gonna FIVE peat? PROGRAM IN TROUBLE. And you think playing for McCallie is funny? Smite thyself! |
I'm sorry to have written so obliquely, since it seems to have resulted in a seriously skewed reading of my OP.
I'm not suggesting that "getting" a 6-6 player with center skills will cause a "decline" in UConn's program. I'm raising the issue that the need for such a transfer was preceded by the failure to recruit such a big since 2011. That recruiting failure has not been much discussed here, and has not been apparent because UConn has had such a successful run under the previously recruited high quality bigs -- Dolson, Stokes and Stewart. Those bigs, however, are now all gone; and next season, the lack of a 6-3+ center will be apparent and somewhat harmful unless another transfer, Butler, pans out.
While I was rhetorically playing with Brando references, my question about a hardship waiver assumed the Duke environment was hostile enough to justify such a waiver -- the opposite of being "funny". (In actual fact, to be fair, I personally know nothing about McCallie's conduct in practices or in private.)
UConn's last relative "dry spell", 2005-07, occurred when they did not have an AA caliber low post big. Butler is nowhere near AA or perhaps even starting caliber, in my opinion, so UConn will have to succeed next season without such a weapon.
I don't know if Stevens provides such a weapon the seasons after, because I really haven't seen her that much. Can she operate at a high level in the low post? Back to the basket? Or is she more of an outside oriented big, such as Iciss Tillis or EDD?
I'm looking for discussion about Stevens and her skills, or how she might fit into UConn's lineup, or whether UConn is recruiting other low post bigs. |
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GlennMacGrady
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| Posted: 05/01/16 12:11 am ::: |
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Just to clarify my reference to Romero and what I'm calling "hardship waivers":
Romero was initially denied a "release" to talk to other schools by KSU. That didn't affect her ability to transfer, but it did disallow her from receiving a scholarship while sitting out a year under the NCAA transfer regulations. After much publicity, she eventually got the release. She transferred to FSU, but still was subject to the normal sit-out year requirement.
There are certain narrow exceptions to the sit-out year requirement. Those are called hardship waivers or exceptions. Romero only sat out one semester at FSU, and I have never heard any reason given as to why she was entitled to a partial hardship waiver.
Someone can get into the weeds of hardship waivers and exceptions if they want to, but I was just raising the possibility that creative "lawyering" by Stevens and UConn might be successful, depending on what actually happened between her and McCallie. |
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Oldfandepot2
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| Posted: 05/01/16 12:18 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
| readyAIMfire53 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Y'all have a seriously skewed view of the world. You get one of the top 3 transfers in the last few years and you see it as some sort of decline of your program? OY!!!!!! OMG, you're not gonna FIVE peat? PROGRAM IN TROUBLE. And you think playing for McCallie is funny? Smite thyself! |
I'm sorry to have written so obliquely, since it seems to have resulted in a seriously skewed reading of my OP.
I'm not suggesting that "getting" a 6-6 player with center skills will cause a "decline" in UConn's program. I'm raising the issue that the need for such a transfer was preceded by the failure to recruit such a big since 2011. That recruiting failure has not been much discussed here, and has not been apparent because UConn has had such a successful run under the previously recruited high quality bigs -- Dolson, Stokes and Stewart. Those bigs, however, are now all gone; and next season, the lack of a 6-3+ center will be apparent and somewhat harmful unless another transfer, Butler, pans out.
While I was rhetorically playing with Brando references, my question about a hardship waiver assumed the Duke environment was hostile enough to justify such a waiver -- the opposite of being "funny". (In actual fact, to be fair, I personally know nothing about McCallie's conduct in practices or in private.)
UConn's last relative "dry spell", 2005-07, occurred when they did not have an AA caliber low post big. Butler is nowhere near AA or perhaps even starting caliber, in my opinion, so UConn will have to succeed next season without such a weapon.
I don't know if Stevens provides such a weapon the seasons after, because I really haven't seen her that much. Can she operate at a high level in the low post? Back to the basket? Or is she more of an outside oriented big, such as Iciss Tillis or EDD?
I'm looking for discussion about Stevens and her skills, or how she might fit into UConn's lineup, or whether UConn is recruiting other low post bigs. |
What she is not is your traditional back to the basket post player. What she is the new quick, athletic, front line player we are now seeing across the WCBB who is as comfortable playing on the perimeter as she is adept at playing in the paint. She can score deftly from the perimeter as she can from the inside. She can adjust to playing in a transition or half court game. Considering her versatility, she can fit in anyone's system so fitting into Geno's will take an adjustment as with all new players but will not be a problem. I can see her playing the high post like Dolson did or swinging to to either one of the front line position as needed.
Under the capable tutelage of Chris D. her game will improve. I would not be surprised to see her as a first team AA by her senior year.
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NoDakSt
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| Posted: 05/01/16 12:27 pm ::: |
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| I remember PMac saying that as a frosh Azura was one of the players who could create their own shot, (Greenwell and then Dukie frosh Calhoun being the other two). Given PMac's level of knowledge, I was skeptical but then watching her play, Stevens did show some skills in that area as well as agility moving without the ball.
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summertime blues
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| Posted: 05/01/16 12:43 pm ::: |
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| I think there's basically a shortage of *skilled* post players, period. The majority of them need a couple of years to really develop as players for reasons which are not at all their fault. First is the very obvious point that many of them have come into their height fairly recently and some may even be still growing. A 6'2+ young woman may still not be at all comfortable or confident in her own body and may still not be skilled in moving it well. The other is a point that I think Glenn M. (forgive me if it was someone else and I misquote!) made in another thread, which is that young girls might move from team to team in AAU and neither their AAU coaches nor their HS coaches really take time to teach them skills properly, since the focus in both programs is on winning first and foremost. So if a potential post player does not have someone to teach her the right things, she's going to have to pick up on them in college. Very few players are "naturals". So there is going to be a lot of competition for the ones who already have the skills, or who are showing the potential for picking them up quickly.
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Fighting Artichoke
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| Posted: 05/01/16 1:59 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| Oldfandepot2 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
| readyAIMfire53 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Y'all have a seriously skewed view of the world. You get one of the top 3 transfers in the last few years and you see it as some sort of decline of your program? OY!!!!!! OMG, you're not gonna FIVE peat? PROGRAM IN TROUBLE. And you think playing for McCallie is funny? Smite thyself! |
I'm sorry to have written so obliquely, since it seems to have resulted in a seriously skewed reading of my OP.
I'm not suggesting that "getting" a 6-6 player with center skills will cause a "decline" in UConn's program. I'm raising the issue that the need for such a transfer was preceded by the failure to recruit such a big since 2011. That recruiting failure has not been much discussed here, and has not been apparent because UConn has had such a successful run under the previously recruited high quality bigs -- Dolson, Stokes and Stewart. Those bigs, however, are now all gone; and next season, the lack of a 6-3+ center will be apparent and somewhat harmful unless another transfer, Butler, pans out.
While I was rhetorically playing with Brando references, my question about a hardship waiver assumed the Duke environment was hostile enough to justify such a waiver -- the opposite of being "funny". (In actual fact, to be fair, I personally know nothing about McCallie's conduct in practices or in private.)
UConn's last relative "dry spell", 2005-07, occurred when they did not have an AA caliber low post big. Butler is nowhere near AA or perhaps even starting caliber, in my opinion, so UConn will have to succeed next season without such a weapon.
I don't know if Stevens provides such a weapon the seasons after, because I really haven't seen her that much. Can she operate at a high level in the low post? Back to the basket? Or is she more of an outside oriented big, such as Iciss Tillis or EDD?
I'm looking for discussion about Stevens and her skills, or how she might fit into UConn's lineup, or whether UConn is recruiting other low post bigs. |
What she is not is your traditional back to the basket post player. What she is the new quick, athletic, front line player we are now seeing across the WCBB who is as comfortable playing on the perimeter as she is adept at playing in the paint. She can score deftly from the perimeter as she can from the inside. She can adjust to playing in a transition or half court game. Considering her versatility, she can fit in anyone's system so fitting into Geno's will take an adjustment as with all new players but will not be a problem. I can see her playing the high post like Dolson did or swinging to to either one of the front line position as needed.
Under the capable tutelage of Chris D. her game will improve. I would not be surprised to see her as a first team AA by her senior year. |
Azura is a great player and she would have been an AA at Duke, so she will certainly reach that level at UConn. First team AA is pretty much an expectation, given the team success she will enjoy in Storrs. What a fantastic coup for UConn (like they need any)! Congrats on a great pickup!
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GlennMacGrady
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| Posted: 05/01/16 3:17 pm ::: |
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Wow, two posters predicting Stevens will be a first team AA! We'll see.
Stevens' two year stats on Duke are impressive, but Duke hasn't been. So I'm not sure how to weigh those stats. In high school, Stevens was ranked No. 57 (Prospect Nation), No. 55 (Blue Star), No. 27 (ASGR), and No. 23 (Girls Basketball Report/HoopGurlz). She did not make McD or WBCA All-American. How often does a player with those high school credentials make first team AA in college?
She'll have only two playing years at UConn (at most) and will be in the same class as Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier. On the 2015 USAB U19 team, Collier played more minutes than Stevens, averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, and had a higher FG%. On UConn, Samuelson had a stronger freshman year than Collier.
Stevens will also be one year behind Gabby Williams and Kia Nurse. I think it will be quite a challenge for Stevens to be a first team AA over her UConn intramural competition, especially Samuelson, though it has happened (rarely) that two players from the same class and school have both made first team.
No, STB, I have not commented recently on the slower development of bigs or the lack of development by players in AAU ball. However, I agree with both sentiments and have written about both in the past and elsewhere.
So far, I'm not getting a vibe that Stevens is a low block force on offense. I don't recall seeing her this year, or much of Duke on TV at all. I'll look for video. |
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GlennMacGrady
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| Posted: 05/01/16 3:19 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| linkster wrote: |
| Correct me Glen if I misspeak. |
Ok. It's Glenn. |
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Oldfandepot2
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Shades
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| Posted: 05/02/16 10:22 am ::: |
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| When's the last time UConn accepted a transfer in? I guess anything can happen when you're desperate enough. Any chance Stevens knew she would be accepted at UConn before she bailed on Duke?
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Phil
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| Posted: 05/02/16 10:38 am ::: |
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| Shades wrote: |
| When's the last time UConn accepted a transfer in? I guess anything can happen when you're desperate enough. Any chance Stevens knew she would be accepted at UConn before she bailed on Duke? |
Natalie Butler. She played this year, but sat out last year. Came from the mess that was Georgetown.
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cthskzfn
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GlennMacGrady
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| Posted: 05/02/16 1:40 pm ::: |
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In order to talk to coaches at other schools, Stevens would first have had to gotten a release to do so from Duke. Having gotten that permission, it certainly makes sense to have a transfer-to school and scholarship lined up before making the final decision to transfer away. So, I would assume Stevens did have the UConn offer in process before she made her final transfer decision.
One could even speculate that Stevens transferred only because she wanted specifically to go to UConn for a championship and got the offer, and that she wouldn't have transferred from Duke otherwise. Repeat: speculation.
I share the skepticism that Auriemma required any persuasion to accept Stevens as a transfer. Since he's not yet recruited any post height I'm aware of from the high school classes of 2016 or 2017, he would have everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting Stevens as a transfer.
I watched a lot of high school and some Duke tape on Stevens since my OP, and now recall I watched her on the U19 team and maybe once or twice on Duke her freshman year.
She doesn't impress me as having sophisticated low post skills, other than a turnaround jumper and the obvious ability to put back offensive rebounds. She seems to fancy herself more as wing or even guard player, and has good ball handling and driving skills for her height. She also has a good shooting touch. She's slightly reminiscent to me of a taller but slower DeWanna Bonner.
My preliminary and always subject to change impression: If as a 6-6 player she focuses her offensive game near or outside the arc, she'll be a somewhat above average player who doesn't effectively exploit her height advantage. If, on the other hand, she spends a year at UConn significantly improving her low and high post offensive repertoire -- supplementing her outside skills -- she can become a significantly above average player. I have no idea if she's any good at defense, but with her athleticism she's now in the best program to learn individual and team defensive skills. |
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readyAIMfire53
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| Posted: 05/02/16 3:14 pm ::: Re: Azurá Stevens and UConn's recruitment of bigs |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
| readyAIMfire53 wrote: |
| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
So Azurá Stevens has transferred from Duke to UConn.
This surely will be greeted with wine and roses by UConn fans.
But it raises into bas-relief the inability of UConn to recruit a player over 6-3, or who can legitimately play center, since Breanna Stewart committed to UConn in February 2011. The two players who fit that big bill, Natalie Butler and now Stevens, were never recruited by Geno and became belatedly available to UConn only because of fortuitous transfers.
Does this evidence a recruiting concern for UConn?
On another aspect of this transfer, can Stevens get a hardship waiver from sitting out a year because of the The Horror, The Horror that has allegedly been perpetrated at Duke by "Colonel Kurtz" McCallie? Leticia Romero somehow swung such a waiver with the lawyers at FSU. |
Y'all have a seriously skewed view of the world. You get one of the top 3 transfers in the last few years and you see it as some sort of decline of your program? OY!!!!!! OMG, you're not gonna FIVE peat? PROGRAM IN TROUBLE. And you think playing for McCallie is funny? Smite thyself! |
I'm sorry to have written so obliquely, since it seems to have resulted in a seriously skewed reading of my OP.
I'm not suggesting that "getting" a 6-6 player with center skills will cause a "decline" in UConn's program. I'm raising the issue that the need for such a transfer was preceded by the failure to recruit such a big since 2011. That recruiting failure has not been much discussed here, and has not been apparent because UConn has had such a successful run under the previously recruited high quality bigs -- Dolson, Stokes and Stewart. Those bigs, however, are now all gone; and next season, the lack of a 6-3+ center will be apparent and somewhat harmful unless another transfer, Butler, pans out.
While I was rhetorically playing with Brando references, my question about a hardship waiver assumed the Duke environment was hostile enough to justify such a waiver -- the opposite of being "funny". (In actual fact, to be fair, I personally know nothing about McCallie's conduct in practices or in private.)
UConn's last relative "dry spell", 2005-07, occurred when they did not have an AA caliber low post big. Butler is nowhere near AA or perhaps even starting caliber, in my opinion, so UConn will have to succeed next season without such a weapon.
I don't know if Stevens provides such a weapon the seasons after, because I really haven't seen her that much. Can she operate at a high level in the low post? Back to the basket? Or is she more of an outside oriented big, such as Iciss Tillis or EDD?
I'm looking for discussion about Stevens and her skills, or how she might fit into UConn's lineup, or whether UConn is recruiting other low post bigs. |
OY OY OY. The further explanation only furthers my view of your seriously skewed view of the world outside UConn. Every program has ebbs and flows in recruiting. I hardly think a program coming off a four peat has any sort of "problem." Basically, you're saying that whenever you don't have a sure fire NC team, it means there's a problem. And that, sir, is seriously skewed. You're like the king with piles and piles of gold complaining that one pile is less shiny. So maybe another king in another land has a shinier pile of gold than you do - meaning that it's a BIG problem that ONE year you don't have the shiniest pile of gold in the world. This is the height of trifle. God forbid Azura' didn't become available and UConn experiences another "drought" of not winning an NC for several years. OMG. End of a dynasty. Get a grip. That kind of personal naval exploration belongs only with fellow naval explorers who also feel UConn should win an NC every year. And, yeah, putting "Colonel Kurtz" in quotes implies that the descriptions of McCallie's behavior are not being taken seriously. Romero's hardship waiver was due to bad behavior of the AD at K.State, independent of anything the coach did. An AD should not refuse to allow a student athlete to transfer. Period.
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readyAIMfire53
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| Posted: 05/02/16 4:39 pm ::: |
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| GlennMacGrady wrote: |
Wow, two posters predicting Stevens will be a first team AA! We'll see.
Stevens' two year stats on Duke are impressive, but Duke hasn't been. So I'm not sure how to weigh those stats. In high school, Stevens was ranked No. 57 (Prospect Nation), No. 55 (Blue Star), No. 27 (ASGR), and No. 23 (Girls Basketball Report/HoopGurlz). She did not make McD or WBCA All-American. How often does a player with those high school credentials make first team AA in college?
She'll have only two playing years at UConn (at most) and will be in the same class as Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier. On the 2015 USAB U19 team, Collier played more minutes than Stevens, averaged more points, more rebounds, more assists, and had a higher FG%. On UConn, Samuelson had a stronger freshman year than Collier.
Stevens will also be one year behind Gabby Williams and Kia Nurse. I think it will be quite a challenge for Stevens to be a first team AA over her UConn intramural competition, especially Samuelson, though it has happened (rarely) that two players from the same class and school have both made first team.
No, STB, I have not commented recently on the slower development of bigs or the lack of development by players in AAU ball. However, I agree with both sentiments and have written about both in the past and elsewhere.
So far, I'm not getting a vibe that Stevens is a low block force on offense. I don't recall seeing her this year, or much of Duke on TV at all. I'll look for video. |
Azura's game is in the mold of Breanna Stewart. She's a wing player who suddenly grew. A lot. She does not shy away from contact and is a very good rebounder. She can definitely benefit from post coaching and a different offensive scheme. Through the grapevine I heard it said that she "got her only coaching while in college as part of national teams." I believe she hits a similar number of outside shots as Breanna, but has yet to be tested as to whether she can hit them in the biggest games. Basically Duke has had no big games. I could see Azura' blocking three shots in the same possession as Breanna famously did, after learning the Huskie's defensive scheme. She's best when paired with a defensive minded post who will do the dirty work inside while she looks to close out fast on hot shooters. Having a mobile 6'6 player is very effective in getting a piece of a shot or rattling the shooter trying to alter a shot at the last minute. But if Geno tells her to stay in the paint on defense, she'll be totally happy to do so. In other words, she's craving some good coaching and knows how high her ceiling is. Most/all longtime Duke fans would have been surprised if she had stayed at Duke, given her earning potential as a pro baller.
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| Posted: 05/02/16 4:55 pm ::: |
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Not sure why you are reacting to Glenn the way you are, after all he is just giving his opinion, just as yours is an opinion.
I disagree with you, IMO Stevens game is not in the mold of Stewarts and I doubt very much that she could block 3 shots in succession. Stewart is who she is after being at Uconn for 4 years. Stevens from watching her at Duke and with USA does not play with any of the same intensity as the Uconn players. In fact the knocks on Stevens have been her lack of intensity and hustle.
Now, clearly it seems she wants to get better and she must realize that trying to play at Uconn will be much more difficult than any of her efforts at Duke. IMO she will need to improve greatly on defense which is what Uconn can do for players but not all, she will need to improve her speed and quickness and her ability to read and react both offensively and defensively. Duke hasn't exactly helped in any of those areas.
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cthskzfn
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 12851
Location: In a world where a PSYCHOpath like Trump isn't potus.
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Davis4632
Joined: 14 Jul 2014
Posts: 861
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| Posted: 05/02/16 7:26 pm ::: |
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| Didn't the Boneyarders accuse Dawn Staley of accepting transfers as a way to shore up her recruiting shortcomings? Well Geno hasn't signed a center out of high school since Dolson, Butler hasn't panned out yet, and their 2015 PF Boykin transferred. Stevens basically replaces Boykin in the lineup and I don't blame Geno for accepting her.
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