Saylor Rumored To Be In Portal

Here's another look at her decision to move on! Perhaps the urban Vanderbilt Campus will be a better fit for her?

www.fredericknewspost.com/sports/level/collegiate/middletowns-saylor-poffenbarger-transferring-from-uconn/article_5074d683-5516-5e26-8a8c-bb64d2794ba0.html

“It’s been a conversation, and it’s not all basketball,” Amy Poffenbarger said regarding Saylor’s decision. “The academic [side] wasn’t super-engaging, there wasn’t much to the campus life, and there wasn’t the ability to get out and meet a lot of people. Unfortunately that part of college life ... that part wasn’t happening for her.”

Let's unpack this a bit. 
1. academic side: well, the spring was a covid semester. This semester, maybe she's not in the best classes (freshmen often aren't). But even so, a large public university, academically, is only what you make it. And being a D-1 athlete in an elite program, if you want "super-engaging" classes, you have to pay the price of putting in a lot of time, often more than an athlete can give.

2. Campus life: ditto covid. But, agreed: UConn in Storrs isn't (say) UCLA ( ). But the reason most chose UConn is because they're so completely focused on developing their basketball skills.

Mom sounds like sour grapes, since Saylor wasn't destined to get a lot of playing time even if healthy. But maybe in the end, Saylor's not sure she wants to position herself as a professional athlete. Maybe she wants the full "college experience." Far less likely at UConn, where her teammates think basketball 24/7/365.

Agreed.  I hope she will ... Finish out this semester, make a good decision, focus on health - physical and mental, relax, be at peace with her life and her future

True, although her mom's comments probably didn't give the webmaster a reason to delay that.

I think she wants to transfer at the end of this semester, even without playing, so I don't blame her for announcing her decision right now.

I suspect her mom's statement didn't make her a more attractive recruit for another team. Nothing like a "Tiger Parent" to chill potential recruitments. 

That's how our generation would have handled it.  In many cases, that path would have been better.  Tough it out, learn from your remaining time, then move on.  But we also see evidence where that attitude would have been terrible - like abusive marriages or any from a string of coaches accused of unfortunate behaviors.  Of course, that isn't the case here with Geno and company, but a dramatic change may be the right course for Saylor.  

I wasn't really mature enough to handle college all those many years ago, and I didn't start early and didn't have the distraction of a full time athletics commitment.  Add COVID and going from all-everything to the back end of the bench and being far from home and ... and ... and whatever else is in her life.  Sometimes you just need a shakeup and a new direction.  Hopefully, her mom knows her better than we do, and is able to offer more input than ... "You should be getting more minutes."

I've never met her, but I never got the impression that Saylor was an impetuous or selfish kid.  She seems thoughtful and engaging and eager.  I may never know if that's right or wrong, but I'd prefer to keep that view until and unless something proves otherwise.

After reading the article, I concur.  UConn is most definitely not a place that you can "get out and experience" at.  You're in cow country. I wish her well, and hope that she finds a place she is most comfortable with.  Funny that in Nika's interview, she said that they typically don't go off campus much and they are ok with that.  Another thought is that she came in last year, and isn't being treated as an incoming freshman..no reporters itching to interview her, no real focus on her, etc. Parents need to step back and let the kids speak for themselves. It does seem a bit "whiney".