Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 10/24/19

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Well, my limb that I talked about yesterday was plenty strong!!! Aaliyah Edwards, a 6'2" forward from Canada has decided to attend UConn completing the 2020 class.

This is a shot of her playing for Canada against Team USA. Yes, that's Katie Lou Samuelson watching Edwards after she stole the ball from some former Notre Dame player.

Here is a video of the entire announcement that she made. It's 26 minutes of her pretty much talking without notes thanking everyone she could think of. Her former teams, her current teams, her experience on the Canadian national team, her teachers, her trainers, the camera people and of course her family. It was actually wonderful if not too long. She got choked up a few times. She appears to be a sweet young woman and UConn is lucky to have her.

And a great interview giving you a good look at her personality.

Here are a couple of videos of her in action. She is No. 24

I spotted this from a recruiting Guru - "Edwards ranking somehow dropped on ESPN. She even had 9 PTS (3-5 FG) and 4 STL against the USA Senior National Team, with the likes of Sylvia Fowles and Tina Charles on that team. There aren't 25+ HS kids in the country that could do that. Closer to top 5 than 25 IMO."

I couldn't agree more. She looked right at home against the talent of Team USA. Where she will exceed is on the break and on defense. She appears to be able to guard almost every position on the court.

Here is more about her interaction with Geno -

She notified Auriemma of her decision last weekend while on campus for First Night.

And then she cried.

“It was a great feeling just to tell him,” Edwards told Hearst Connecticut Media. “I actually just broke down because it’s been a lot going through the process. A lot of decisions that you really don’t think you need to make are necessary to make.

“Just for him to him to kind of give me that hug back and embrace me, and just say, ‘I got you and I’m glad that we got you, and we’re going to do magic together,’ I was just really grateful.”

Welcome to UConn Aaliyah! I foresee a few National Championships for you at UConn!!

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Image result for 2020

As I said, this probably completes the 2020 class. Here are two shots of these terrific players that will more than likely be the No. 1 class for 2020.

Below is from left to right, 5'11" forward Mir Mclean, 6'5" center Piath Gabriel, 5'11" guard Nika Muhl, 6'2" forward Aaliyah Edwards and 5'11" guard Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers is ranked No. 1 (ESPN), Mclean is ranked 21 (ESPN), Edwards is ranked 26 (ESPN), Muhl is a top ranked European player and Piath is ranked No. 44 (Prospect Nation). Look for the rankings for Mclean and Edwards to improve by the end of their senior season.

What is interesting with this 5 player class is that there is really no position overlap. You have two guards, two forwards and a center. However, as usual, Geno does recruit versatile players that can be moved around the court. Also, all five of these players can run the court. I would love to see Paige Bueckers leading a fast break with Mir Mclean on one side and Aaliyah Edwards on the other. That will be something to see.

Can you imagine how devastating they will be by their senior season? Add in Fudd, the best player in the class of 2021 and it becomes unfair to the rest of WCBB.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Most UConn fans know Geno and his teams are 11-0 in the National Championship games. Eleven games, eleven titles. But Geno and the Huskies also have 9 semi-final losses, including the last 3 years in a row. The good news is that totals 20 trips to the Final Four. The bad news is 11 wins and 9 losses is a winning % of 55%. Clearly, getting to the Final Four is hard and winning the NC is even harder.

In 2nd place for winning NC's is Tennessee with 8 Championships. But the Lady Vols have 5 losses in the Final. Worst of all for Vols fans, 4 of those 5 losses were to UConn. Without Geno and company, Tennessee might have 12 National Championships. No wonder they hate the Huskies..!!

The 3rd thru 7th place for National Championships are Baylor with 3 and Notre Dame, Stanford, Louisiana Tech and USC (California) with 2 each. Tech and USC won their titles prior to 1989. Stanford last won in 1992. Notre Dame and Baylor won the last two Championships.

Go Huskies..!!

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