2017 Class Rankings | Page 3 | The Boneyard

2017 Class Rankings

Yes, you are correct, it was Nurse who was rated 2 spots behind Ekmark at 31. Here's the 2014 HG final ratings 2014 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100 - ESPN
Take a look at the list, who the 2-10 were than 16-31. Some hits and misses. At least most of the names are still relevant but there are a group of #8-12 ranking who are missing in action.

That class has had a lot of turnover and injuries.

7. Jatarie White - Didn't do much at South Carolina, Transferred to Texas. She committed to a program that was basically stacked at her position, and then transferred to another program with the same problem.

8. LaJahna Drummer - She had some injury this past year where she didn't play until January..but not sure what it was?
Min Avg.: 18.4, Pts Avg.: 5.7 Rebounds Avg. 5.2 (over her freshmen and sophomore years, they haven't updated to included her Junior year)

9. Lynée Belton - Was a strong player but had a lot of injuries and has since retired from basketball. Tore her ACL her freshmen season, Redshirted her Sophomore year, suffered another knee injury her redshirt Sophomore year before the NCAA tournament.
Pts. Avg.: 1.6 Rebounds: 1.7 (Her last season)

12. Gabby Green - Struggled with her shot, but led the team in assists and steals - she missed a stretch of 5 games during her sophomore season and then transferred to Loyola Marymount.
Minutes Avg. 33.9, Rebounds: 5.4, Points: 6.7, Steals: 1.9, Assists 4.

15. Mckenzie Calvert - Transferred to Kansas from USC. Involved in some off the court issues with Josh Jackson (Number 3?? draft pick this past draft) and was suspended from play for a bit and has now transferred again, destination unknown.
At USC averaged 10.2pts a game, 2.1 rebounds a game, 1 assist per game.
Nearly identical stats at Kansas: 10.2pts, 2.3 rbds, 1.5 assists.

16. Sierra Calhoun - Had her drama at Duke, left midseason, is now at Ohio State.
Last Season - Averaged 9.5 points, led Ohio State in field goal percentage from behind the arc (which is surprising to me..)
Duke - Averaged 10.1pts, 3.9 rebounds, 104 assists.

17. Sadie Edwards - seems to have individual success at USC.
At USC - Averaging 10.1 pts, 2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals.

18. Taylor Rooks - Seems she just quietly left Stanford for Harvard after her freshmen year. (She's from the east coast so maybe homesick?)
Averaged 5.9 pts, .4 assists,

19. Receé Caldwell - Transferred to Texas Tech where I think her dad was an assistant coach.
Past season - Averaged 14.5pts, 2.8 Rebounds

22. Asia Robeson - Transferred to Western Michigan (she's from Kalamazoo, Michigan) from Auburn.
She is no longer on the WMU roster. So she is missing in action...haha

Majority of these players either committed to less featured programs or transferred to them. So that would explain their missing in action status.
 
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Which, again, brings me back to the question, why is any top recruit choosing Tenn these days?

1. Playing time. (Largely the most important factor)
2. They believe they will be "the players" to turn the ship back around.
3. They wholeheartedly believe in the vision that was sold to them by the staff that recruited them & their involvement in it, as well as their ability to hold up their end of the bargain.

I'm more interested in seeing how many stay 4 years. Seems like all teams in the Top 25 that recruit even half way decent lose at least 1 player yearly.
 
1. Playing time. (Largely the most important factor)
2. They believe they will be "the players" to turn the ship back around.
3. They wholeheartedly believe in the vision that was sold to them by the staff that recruited them & their involvement in it, as well as their ability to hold up their end of the bargain.

I'm more interested in seeing how many stay 4 years. Seems like all teams in the Top 25 that recruit even half way decent lose at least 1 player yearly.
4. They obviously do read the BY and therefore cannot possibly have formed a correct ( entirely evil ) opinion of TN.
5. They have obviously not seen The Blindside and could not possibly comprehend that Orange is a gaudy color.
6. They obviously knew in advance that Diamond would quit again and that basketball thing called an "assist" is now a realistic possibility.
 
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4. They obviously do read the BY and therefore cannot possibly have formed a correct ( entirely evil ) opinion of TN.
5. They have obviously not seen The Blindside and could not possibly comprehend that Orange is a gaudy color.
6. They obviously knew in advance that Diamond would quit again and that basketball thing called an "assist" is now a realistic possibility.
Mercedes would still have to catch the ball (She has quite a few fumbles. Almost like she caught the "Carson Syndrome" from the NFL last year.) and the guards would still have to finish.... we shall see my friend, we shall see.
 
Which, again, brings me back to the question, why is any top recruit choosing Tenn these days?

Say what we will about the deficiencies of the current coaching staff, the program still has a storied history and is very well supported..........I could see why a top recruit would want to be part of a team that brought back the magic...........
 
Say what we will about the deficiencies of the current coaching staff, .....

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With all due respect to Mercedes, perhaps the new guards (rookies) will put the ball in a place that Mercedes can catch it and at a velocity she can handle.
She still needs to develop a basic hook shot with both hands,
 
A 4-6 player class, determined to be a top recruiting class, can create more problems then it solves. Just look at Brenda's top recruiting class from last year, or DD and her posse at UNC.

..... or the Dolson, Hartley, Engeln, Johnson, Walker class at UConn.
 
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That class has had a lot of turnover and injuries.

7. Jatarie White - Didn't do much at South Carolina, Transferred to Texas. She committed to a program that was basically stacked at her position, and then transferred to another program with the same problem.

8. LaJahna Drummer - She had some injury this past year where she didn't play until January..but not sure what it was?
Min Avg.: 18.4, Pts Avg.: 5.7 Rebounds Avg. 5.2 (over her freshmen and sophomore years, they haven't updated to included her Junior year)

9. Lynée Belton - Was a strong player but had a lot of injuries and has since retired from basketball. Tore her ACL her freshmen season, Redshirted her Sophomore year, suffered another knee injury her redshirt Sophomore year before the NCAA tournament.
Pts. Avg.: 1.6 Rebounds: 1.7 (Her last season)

12. Gabby Green - Struggled with her shot, but led the team in assists and steals - she missed a stretch of 5 games during her sophomore season and then transferred to Loyola Marymount.
Minutes Avg. 33.9, Rebounds: 5.4, Points: 6.7, Steals: 1.9, Assists 4.

15. Mckenzie Calvert - Transferred to Kansas from USC. Involved in some off the court issues with Josh Jackson (Number 3?? draft pick this past draft) and was suspended from play for a bit and has now transferred again, destination unknown.
At USC averaged 10.2pts a game, 2.1 rebounds a game, 1 assist per game.
Nearly identical stats at Kansas: 10.2pts, 2.3 rbds, 1.5 assists.

16. Sierra Calhoun - Had her drama at Duke, left midseason, is now at Ohio State.
Last Season - Averaged 9.5 points, led Ohio State in field goal percentage from behind the arc (which is surprising to me..)
Duke - Averaged 10.1pts, 3.9 rebounds, 104 assists.

17. Sadie Edwards - seems to have individual success at USC.
At USC - Averaging 10.1 pts, 2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals.

18. Taylor Rooks - Seems she just quietly left Stanford for Harvard after her freshmen year. (She's from the east coast so maybe homesick?)
Averaged 5.9 pts, .4 assists,

19. Receé Caldwell - Transferred to Texas Tech where I think her dad was an assistant coach.
Past season - Averaged 14.5pts, 2.8 Rebounds

22. Asia Robeson - Transferred to Western Michigan (she's from Kalamazoo, Michigan) from Auburn.
She is no longer on the WMU roster. So she is missing in action...haha

Majority of these players either committed to less featured programs or transferred to them. So that would explain their missing in action status.
That was pretty impressive, thank you. That is a lot of transferring though for those players especially considering these are highly sought after players who should be able to assess and assimilate into the program they like.Something to keep an eye on over the next few years.
 
Maybe it's the case that UConn doesn't "get all the best players" but superior coaching helps them maximize their potential better than any program in the country.
Been saying that for years. The one thing to remember is that the high quality of players UConn gets - while not unique and not "all the best players" - is necessary for the dominance UConn displays as well. Geno might win respectably with many other team's rosters, but the dominance and superior excellence is the combination of the recruits he gets and how he coaches them. It is one advantage of college coaches that they do their own "shopping" as Parcells would say.
 
..... or the Dolson, Hartley, Engeln, Johnson, Walker class at UConn.
What problems did that class create? I guess you could say that Samarie created a problem by leaving after one semester, but that only counts if the coaches could have recruited another front court player who was almost as good and who would have stayed. I think that is dubious.

Michala and Lauren made so little impact during their Husky careers that it really didn't matter that they were ever in Storrs. Again, that is a problem only if another player could have been recruited who was more talented and who would have stayed. Do we have any reason to believe that was the case?
 
Mercedes would still have to catch the ball (She has quite a few fumbles. Almost like she caught the "Carson Syndrome" from the NFL last year.) and the guards would still have to finish.... we shall see my friend, we shall see.
Mercedes had her best year so far. It was also the best year by a true center at Tennessee. Since 1990-91 season Deadra Charles.
 
Mercedes had her best year so far. It was also the best year by a true center at Tennessee. Since 1990-91 season Deadra Charles.
I actually like MR but as the #1 prospect her HS senior year, she has not developed under HW and while I respect your views on here, your comment is dubious at best. Nuyoika's comments are not completely wrong as MR should be more dominant. She could still blossom however, offensive development has not been a site seen in Knoxville in 10+ years.
 
I actually like MR but as the #1 prospect her HS senior year, she has not developed under HW and while I respect your views on here, your comment is dubious at best. Nuyoika's comments are not completely wrong as MR should be more dominant. She could still blossom however, offensive development has not been a site seen in Knoxville in 10+ years.
I got that from her bio on UT site. Mercedes Russell - 2017-18 Women's Basketball Roster - University of Tennessee Athletics
I think she has developed since being there. Her stats were better last year. This year I think she will be even better. She led the SEC in double doubles.
I do agree. That Tennessee should have found a way to get her the ball more. Look at the way Nared developed last year.
 
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Mercedes had her best year so far. It was also the best year by a true center at Tennessee. Since 1990-91 season Deadra Charles.
Russell I thought was good, almost great , at times. My favorite on Tn was/is Nared, she earns her keep. My take on 3 of the Tn players was coaching was lacking. Things they didn't do--Geno would have yanked them.
 
I actually like MR but as the #1 prospect her HS senior year, she has not developed under HW and while I respect your views on here, your comment is dubious at best. Nuyoika's comments are not completely wrong as MR should be more dominant. She could still blossom however, offensive development has not been a site seen in Knoxville in 10+ years.

If a player of Russell, Diamond,Nared and others potential--and team chemistry/control is lacking, or players don't develop as expected---what would be your conclusion?
 
Russell I thought was good, almost great , at times. My favorite on Tn was/is Nared, she earns her keep. My take on 3 of the Tn players was coaching was lacking. Things they didn't do--Geno would have yanked them.
All three did improve their numbers last year. I do agree about Nared.
 
Mercedes had her best year so far. It was also the best year by a true center at Tennessee. Since 1990-91 season Deadra Charles.
Oh I wasn't saying she had a bad year. I was saying I don't trust her hands. It was very apparent that Holly & Co. wanted her to be the center of the offense (no pun intended). At 6'6" & the #1 player out of HS she should be basically unguardable going into her last season. I wouldn't say that's the case (she struggles gathering any sort of bounce pass, and while she can hold her own with similar sized defenders, she has trouble with smaller ones, but she has been steady for the Vols).

I hope the post coach has taught her how to put a player on her hip instead of posting with her entire back otherwise that new 3 second rule is gonna eat her alive this year. When you post with your back the ball has to be received at the chest (immediately negating any size advantage you had) when you post with your hip the ball can be gathered in the air above your head. I honestly rarely see post players not in a UConn jersey get position in front of their defender and put them on their hip... it's almost always using their back. I have seen other teams players apply the hip when trying to receive a lob which is traditional. Putting a player on your hip on the front side seems to be more prevalent in the men's game than in the women's. Unless a player is taught to do it, they won't.
 
If a player of Russell, Diamond,Nared and others potential--and team chemistry/control is lacking, or players don't develop as expected---what would be your conclusion?
(Cue to visual of a class room with students sitting attentively) Oohh ooh Choose me choose me! I know this, I know this! (As the hand and arm wave vigorously back and forth)...:p
 
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