Chris Hansen: UNC's bombshell a "Fab Five" redux...

[VAMike23]

Chris Hansen of ESPN HoopGurlz says "Phase II" of the plan has Mavunga still leaning on Russell to complete the Fab Five (or Future Five)

At least that part's not a shocker...

LINK TO STORY

--- DeShields, a 6-foot-2 wing from Norcross, Ga., called Mavunga, a 6-2 forward from Brownsburg, Ind., to put the plan, which was two weeks in the making, into action. The two then used three-way calling to loop in Washington, a 5-foot-8 point guard from Tulsa, Okla. "I was shivering," Mavunga said. "I didn't know what I wanted to say."

----But both DeShields and Mavunga have more work to do to bring Phase II of their master plan to fruition. DeShields is hoping her connection with fellow Peach State star Allisha Gray of Sandersville, Ga., the No. 8 prospect in the 2013 class, will help the Tar Heels also land the 6-foot sharpshooter. [Already done...!] Meanwhile, Mavunga plans to lean on her close friend Mercedes Russell, a 6-5 post from Springfield, Ore., who is the top-ranked player in the class.
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[triaddukefan]

Well the original Fab 5 never won anything

 

[pap49cba]

Yeah, and the coach and school got in deep as a result.

 

[HuskyMJ]

We don't need a ring leader at uconn we need kids who want to come here for themselves and not to find a school they can just bring 5 buddies along with even if there isn't enough scholarship room for them. how do these new unc recruits feel about their new coaches having to not renew other kids scholarships? Really nice gesture.

 

[rjp172]

I usually prefer to let kids be kids and not judge them. I've never been in their position before as a star player and massively recruited. That being said, this does seem immature and with more than a touch of ego involved. What I remember about the Fab 5 was that they replaced upperclassmen and there was major issues inside the locker room.

 

[VAMike23]

Looks as though Russell may be planning a visit to Chapel Hill soon. Saw this on the North Carolina board:

"Mike Richman, who covers high school sports OregonLive.com, just tweeted this...

Mike Richman ‏ @mikegrich
@rellevent21 just talked to Mercedes Russell said she is visiting chapel hill in early june. Could be big summer for the heels"

 

[justML]

I'm unclear how a coach can take away a student's scholarship if she hasn't broken team rules or met academic criteria.

 

[pap49cba]

I'm unclear how a coach can take away a student's scholarship if she hasn't broken team rules or met academic criteria.

Unfortunately it happens all the time.... Particularly in football. Scholarships are for one year (renewable).

 

[justML]

Unfortunately it happens all the time.... Particularly in football. Scholarships are for one year (renewable).

I always thought athletic scholarships were like academic ones. If you held up your end of the bargain i.e. GPA, on-campus work, community service, etc. then your scholarship was renewed. If my college scholarship has been pulled because smarter kids came in behind me I would have been devastated.

If Sylvia does this, I will lose all respect for her.

 

[Kibitzer]

If all this speculation about DD's intrigue is accurate (which I doubt), I guess LeBron James emerges as the role model.

 

[msf22b]

If the Stories are true and that's a big if:

I find myself somewhat impressed by what the kid pulled off, even if ultimately a selflish egotistical act.
There's something vaguely corrupting in the present system (which is going to take a lot of thought before I'm willing to articulate what it is).

I sense that DD sensed it and trumped it; good for her, she's developed a totally new approach. Recruiting as we knew it previously has competition. And there may be more stuff about to hit the fan (no special knowledge or intelligence here...mere conjecture)

Fascinating!

 

[easttexastrash]

Unless DD had committed to Geno there is no reason to be irritated with her. Geno is a big boy...he knows how the recruiting game works. And so what if DD orchestrated a deal. I applaud her for her efforts to set herself up for success at UNC. Sour grapes are not very tasty so I try to avoid them.

If Russell ends up at UNC then the landscape of women's basketball suddenly looks very different. I may have to rescind my prediction that UCONN will go three years without losing a game. Who could have seen this coming? A team with Russell, DD, Gray, Mavunga and Washington, and then throw in Day and Brown, would certainly surpass the class of Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck, at least as far as player rankings are concerned.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Unless DD had committed to Geno there is no reason to be irritated with her. Geno is a big boy...he knows how the recruiting game works. And so what if DD orchestrated a deal. I applaud her for her efforts to set herself up for success at UNC. Sour grapes are not very tasty so I try to avoid them.

If Russell ends up at UNC then the landscape of women's basketball suddenly looks very different. I may have to rescind my prediction that UCONN will go three years without losing a game. Who could have seen this coming? A team with Russell, DD, Gray, Mavunga and Washington, and then throw in Day and Brown, would certainly surpass the class of Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck, at least as far as player rankings are concerned.

and where does Baylor fit in all this stuff

 

[triaddukefan]

and where does Baylor fit in all this stuff

On top of the Big 12..... but looking up at UCONN, DUKE and Possibly Maryland and UNC

 

[DaddyChoc]

On top of the Big 12..... but looking up at UCONN, DUKE and Possibly Maryland and UNC

well said

 

[Sonny44]

Unless DD had committed to Geno there is no reason to be irritated with her. Geno is a big boy...he knows how the recruiting game works. And so what if DD orchestrated a deal. I applaud her for her efforts to set herself up for success at UNC. Sour grapes are not very tasty so I try to avoid them.

If Russell ends up at UNC then the landscape of women's basketball suddenly looks very different. I may have to rescind my prediction that UCONN will go three years without losing a game. Who could have seen this coming? A team with Russell, DD, Gray, Mavunga and Washington, and then throw in Day and Brown, would certainly surpass the class of Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck, at least as far as player rankings are concerned.

Yea, you don't recruit players anymore; you recruit packages, cadres or modules?

 

[BRS24]

If Russell ends up at UNC then the landscape of women's basketball suddenly looks very different. I may have to rescind my prediction that UCONN will go three years without losing a game. Who could have seen this coming? A team with Russell, DD, Gray, Mavunga and Washington, and then throw in Day and Brown, would certainly surpass the class of Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck, at least as far as player rankings are concerned.

You might get all the AAs or "talent" in the world, but if you don't get the right direction and coaching, you may not win anything. That is not directed at anyone .. how many times have we thought that there were certain teams (ours, others) that "should" have won and didn't.

 

[sarals24]

Yep. Team chemistry counts for a LOT. Teams with lots of highly talented players like Tennessee the past few seasons are not guaranteed anything. And teams with good players that were not as highly ranked coming out of high school (Notre Dame, TAMU last year) have proven that four years together and good coaching makes a huge difference.

 

[msf22b]

Sonny the world is changing, they are recruiting us!

 

[Drumguy]

Iirc, we were all impressed with our own KML being our biggest cheerleader so can't blame the kids for being kids and wanting to build a team. My only beef is the apearance of tossing out not one, not 2, but up to 4 or 5 players "encouraged" to find greener pastures.

 

[msf22b]

Which they will find and may be better off.

 

[CL82]

At the end of the day the answer is just to win games. Beat the new fab (4) and there is no paradigm shift. In the meantime, let’s see if we can talk Hatchell into schedule a few games. It's good for us and good for them.

I wonder if she had a sense of this when she didn't renew the series? Probably not.

 

[msf22b]

I'm waiting for the various coaches to comment. It'll be interesting to hear what Geno, Muffet, Pat and Tara have to say about this.

 

[easttexastrash]

What would the coaches say? I doubt that any of them would want to insult Hatchell by making some type of bitter comment. Im not sure that I've seen any coaches comment on UCONN landing Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck to go along with KML. They better get their butts out there and pick up the remaining top 10 players or they will be watching someone else lift the trophy for several years. At this point it will be a two team race for a few years.

 

[Zorro]

Not to worry. UNC will have a multitude of talented players. UConn will have a smaller, more cohesive group which will be the creme-de-la-creme. Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck will be here until the UNC twelve-pack, or whatever, will be seniors, and Geno just might pick up some other talent along the way. Besides which, when it comes to developing talent it is no contest. Not to worry.