Based on our own experience with transfers, DeWolfe, Watson, Dodson, Sniezek

So one of the under classmen's minutes will probably dip significantly, since coaches value experience.

Very good player and several Ivies have killed it in the transfer portal (Abby Meyers at Maryland; most of USC's starters not named Juju Watkins last year).

Also, Carla Berube -- a Geno clone now coaching at Princeton -- must've felt the fit was right for her star. However, this strikes me as being painfully close to what we'd call a "recruiting over" situation, popularized by coaches like he-who-used-not-to-named at Louisville: get transfers over players you have or have just signed as frosh.

As noted, Paige Bueckers isn't really a power forward and should be moving back to either off guard or lead guard, particularly with Sarah Strong coming into be some kind of power/point forward.

However, Azzi Fudd is coming back, too, and she's strictly a #2. So what does this do with KK Arnold, a lead guard, and Ashlynn Shade a #2 or #3. Plus, there's Allie Ziebell or Morgan Cheli coming in and both of them play either the #2 (Ziebell) or #3 (Cheli).

Well, there's zounds of talent there and maybe Geno will get a rotation...but he's never been a rotation kind of guy. Maybe Auriemma just felt he got close last year with a hybrid team and now he doesn't have any proven forwards; so load it up with guards.

Stay tuned.

They've had a deep roster and short rotation for a while now, but players don't seem to transfer out and apparently it isn't stopping new players from transferring in.

Amari DeBerry averaged 6.1 minutes per game over 3 years. For reference, that is less than Becky Obinma's 7.1 minutes this year. DeBerry was ranked 15 in her recruiting class, so she obviously expected to play, but it was pretty clear early on that she was never going to get meaningful minutes. Yet she stayed for 3 years?

What is Geno doing that Niele is not? He hasn't won a title in almost a decade. He has a long history of keeping a relatively short bench, so minutes shouldn't be expected. Yet he continues to land the top recruits and players that have been riding the bench seemingly assume that minutes are just around the corner. (I'm looking at you Ayanna Patterson.)

- Why do players keep coming? The UConn brand is still strong, even though they haven't won a title since Stewie graduated. However, they keep making Final Fours (barely in this case, but they make them).

- Why else? The startingly long pro careers of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi (effective or not) keeps them in the news, as does the absurdity of having DT on the Olympic team (due to Jen Rizzotti having a key role in Olympic team management).

- And you keep having writers like Michael Voepel writing that UConn prepares people better than any other college, even though only 'Phee Collier has been the only decent Husky in the league since Stewie.
ND brings up that the Irish are Guard U, but it's got to be even stronger.

- So you get lots of players like Amari Deberry who hang around. Maybe she felt "I'll finally break through" in an old-school way. Well, after this year, she saw the light and left.

However, Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Ayanna Paterson (to start with the "A" of it) are all injured and stick around because they all think they're superstars and, well, they're getting better. Will Paterson ever see the court again in Storrs given the frosh coming in? If I'm her, she's got to know Aubrey Griffin will get first dibs -- why waste the time?

UConn isn't a guarantee to pro success? Remember "Megotron Walker?" Out of the league.

- But people do leave. Saylor Poffenbarger's mom pulled her out before Xmas..she saw the writing on the wall. Mir McClean left. And now, McLean finally left.

- Why does Chen come? Who knows...I've gotta think the Berube-Auriemma connection did that.

- As for Niele, she's developed four superb players in Westbeld, Miles, Citron and Hidlago. Let's not take that away. Now, she's gotta get that group to the next level...a Final Four.

four superb players in Westbeld, Miles, Citron and Hidlago. Let's not take that away. Now, she's gotta get that group to the next level...a Final Four." but she also has to have a Roster ready to move in day 1 for the 2025-26 Season and compete in the top 24 and not end up biting our fingernails if we even make the Big Dance in 2026. Coach needs to think ahead more and not put us in the same position as 2020-21.🍀

Want to avoid anything close to the 20219-20 "fall off the cliff"-esque situation the marked MM's last season.

Even though Hannah Hidalgo & Kate Koval, along with Cass Prosper, KK Bransford and Emma Risch -- plus Kylee Watson? -- all should be coming back, there will be holes to fill with Maddy Westbeld and Soni Citron moving on (and Olivia Miles possibly doing the same, even though she'll have a medical year.)

It's one reason why I think Niele shouldn't discount viable freshmen or sophomores in the portal if they can add perceivable value for multiple years (See T. Gardiner, M. Douda, MA Stevenson as examples). And, of course, work on those Class of 2025ers...hard. There won't be as many grad transfers available next year due to the expiration of the Covid exemption.