Copper commits to RU/ESPN has analysis on future RU vs UConn

[bbsamjj]

In first bit of news, Khaleah Copper committed to RU this morning, making her the 4th recruit of the class for CVS and co. (Hollivay, Butts, Person, Copper).

http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/news/_/id/122969/kahleah-copper

Immediately following the announcement, ESPN did a write-up comparing the future line-ups for RU and UConn. While more than a bit premature (and I'd love to see how ND fits into the equation), it's an interesting read.

There is going to be a lot of talent in the Big East.

http://espn.go.com/high-school/girl...03/rutgers-set-rival-uconn-big-east-supremacy

 

[UConnCat]

Interesting. I disagree with giving RU the advantage on the wing, however. I'm sure we heard the same talk when Rutgers signed its stellar class a few years ago. We'll see what CViv does with the latest commits.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting. I disagree with giving RU the advantage on the wing, however. I'm sure we heard the same talk when Rutger signed its stellar class a few years ago. We'll see what CViv does with the latest commits.

I agree with you.

 

[EricLA]

certainly gives some discussion material. i'm a bit confused on the wings also - KML is the #1 player in her class. Tuck is better than any of RU's players and i'd put her as ahead of Laney, but i can see the argument either way. i can't see how they give the edge to RU on the wings, but...

 

[D Wynn]

Interesting. I disagree with giving RU the advantage on the wing, however. I'm sure we heard the same talk when Rutgers signed its stellar class a few years ago. We'll see what CViv does with the latest commits.

Hello everyone, I am new to posting on this board but I follow it very closely. I really like the dialogue on this board as there is a passion for women’s basketball here.

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you and the article where it gives UCONN the edge at point guard, I strongly disagree. Shakena Richardson was the best point guard in 2011 class HANDSDOWN and Briana Canty was not far behind! Yeah there was talk about the recruiting class four years ago but what people fail to realize is that RUTGERS has assembled back to back classes that complete one another, fit the mold of Vivian Stringer likes and provide high levels of talent & depth.

Rutgers is back and will be in the mix for years to come!

 

[UConnCat]

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you

Wouldn't be the first time. Good luck to Rutgers and the proof, as always, will be on the court.

 

[HuskyNan]

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you and the article where it gives UCONN the edge at point guard, I strongly disagree. Shakena Richardson was the best point guard in 2011 class HANDSDOWN and Briana Canty was not far behind! Yeah there was talk about the recruiting class four years ago but what people fail to realize is that RUTGERS has assembled back to back classes that complete one another, fit the mold of Vivian Stringer likes and provide high levels of talent & depth.

Rutgers is back and will be in the mix for years to come!

Welcome to the board, D Wynn. I hope you enjoy the give and take here on the Boneyard.

I remain skeptical that C. Viv will suddenly discover a fluid offense. When RU doesn't have a Tasha Pointer, Essence Carson or Epiphanny Prince type playmaker on the roster, the team sputters. This despite having some outrageous talent in Piscataway. That Carson/Prince/Ajavon/Vaughn/Ray/Rushdan team was scary but even that amazing lineup could only average 61.0 points a game for the season. We shall see what tricks the RU coaching staff has learned this past summer.

 

[NCorBust]

"The difference in the paint is depth, and it gives the Huskies a slight edge. But Rutgers has to feel good about having the length and athleticism to really challenge what projects as a dynamic duo of 6-foot-5 post Stefanie Dolson and 6-3 forward Breanna Stewart."

A slight edge, a slight edge?! Really? Dolson and Stewart provide only slight edge? Chris Hansen are you new to women's basketball?

 

[Jmpenn]

I

Hello everyone, I am new to posting on this board but I follow it very closely. I really like the dialogue on this board as there is a passion for women’s basketball here.

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you and the article where it gives UCONN the edge at point guard, I strongly disagree. Shakena Richardson was the best point guard in 2011 class HANDSDOWN and Briana Canty was not far behind! Yeah there was talk about the recruiting class four years ago but what people fail to realize is that RUTGERS has assembled back to back classes that complete one another, fit the mold of Vivian Stringer likes and provide high levels of talent & depth.

Rutgers is back and will be in the mix for years to come!

I don't think Shakena Richardson is the best point guard in the 2011 class and Jefferson should also be better in the 2012 class. Why do you think Richardson is the best pg? Thanks.

 

[EricLA]

Hello everyone, I am new to posting on this board but I follow it very closely. I really like the dialogue on this board as there is a passion for women’s basketball here.

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you and the article where it gives UCONN the edge at point guard, I strongly disagree. Shakena Richardson was the best point guard in 2011 class HANDSDOWN and Briana Canty was not far behind! Yeah there was talk about the recruiting class four years ago but what people fail to realize is that RUTGERS has assembled back to back classes that complete one another, fit the mold of Vivian Stringer likes and provide high levels of talent & depth.

Rutgers is back and will be in the mix for years to come!

i totally agree that RU has been recruiting very well of late and was really happy to see you land Hollivay over tennessee. however, Shakena was not even close to the best PG in the class. Ariel Massengale was. in fact, Richardson was rated 4th behind Massengale, Samantha Logic and Ariya Crook-Williams. Canty is a legit top 10 - i'll give you that for sure, but Blue Star had Davis rated #52.

but ultimately, RU got some very good kids - in fact, i'd rate RU's class of 2011 ahead of tennessee's class (but still behind UCONN and Duke). and i think it's great to see RU in the discussion again as a top team in the BE. the BE would be brutal down the road if it stayed together - UCONN, RU, ND, L'ville, Syracuse, have all been recruiting really well lately and there are probably 3-4 other teams who have enough good players to be competitive in the league.

 

[D Wynn]

Welcome to the board, D Wynn. I hope you enjoy the give and take here on the Boneyard.

I remain skeptical that C. Viv will suddenly discover a fluid offense. When RU doesn't have an Tasha Pointer, Essence Carson or Epiphanny Prince type playmaker on the roster, the team sputters. This despite having some outrageous talent in Piscataway. That Carson/Prince/Ajavon/Vaughn/Ray/Rushdan team was scary but even that amazing lineup could only average 61.0 points a game for the season. We shall see what tricks the RU coaching staff has learned this past summer.

Husky Nan, thank you for the warm regards, its appreciated!

You are exactly right about the lineup of Carson/Prince/Ajavon/Vaughn/Ray/Rushdan but you have to remember they lost to a Tennessee team that had the best college player on the planet in Candace Parker and a team full of 6-4 players (Candace Parker, Nicky Annosike, Vicky Baugh and Alex Fuller).

People don't give Vivian Stringer enough credit that she has tried a number of things to get her team going over the last 3 years. We all know she does not like to change so to see her try new offenses and allow more freedom on offensive is a positive. It appears she understands that change is needed with this generation of players and she has gone back to recruiting players that fit the Rutgers mold.

Yesterday's victory over California was a great sign because they have a good team early in the season and will only be stronger next year!

 

[D Wynn]

I
I don't think Shakena Richardson is the best point guard in the 2011 class and Jefferson should also be better in the 2012 class. Why do you think Richardson is the best pg? Thanks.

Hello Jmpenn,

Shakena Richardson went from being unranked to the #7 overall player in the country by hoopgurlz on May 10, 2010.

Please review this link to article, it talks about her #7 overall ranking at that time:
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/story/_/id/5176668/on-radar

Ariel Massengale is a good point guard but its political that she was ranked the top point guard in the country due to playing on the Olympic team and winning AAU national championship. Richardson was an unknown who hit the radar in her junior/senior year of high school at #7 in the country. Check out the WBCA All American game box score where Richardson & Massengale went head to head: http://www.wbca.org/includes/media/docs/WBCA-All-Star-Game.pdf

Richardson is better because she clearly has more skill than any guard in the 2011 class, her ranking dropped to #18 overall in the final ranks but I know who the better point guard is!

 

[D Wynn]

i totally agree that RU has been recruiting very well of late and was really happy to see you land Hollivay over tennessee. however, Shakena was not even close to the best PG in the class. Ariel Massengale was. in fact, Richardson was rated 4th behind Massengale, Samantha Logic and Ariya Crook-Williams. Canty is a legit top 10 - i'll give you that for sure, but Blue Star had Davis rated #52.

but ultimately, RU got some very good kids - in fact, i'd rate RU's class of 2011 ahead of tennessee's class (but still behind UCONN and Duke). and i think it's great to see RU in the discussion again as a top team in the BE. the BE would be brutal down the road if it stayed together - UCONN, RU, ND, L'ville, Syracuse, have all been recruiting really well lately and there are probably 3-4 other teams who have enough good players to be competitive in the league.

Ericsandiago,

As i mentioned in a prior response, Shakena Richardson went from being unranked to the #7 overall player in the country regardless of position, that has NEVER HAPPEND! Please review the link to the article as of May 10, 2010: http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/story/_/id/5176668/on-radar

According to report, she might be the best player of all the players in 2011 class from the State of New Jersey and currently playing at Rutgers from the 2011:
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/story/_/id/4856419/garden-state-talent-full-bloom
Just my opinion but Shakena is going to be a very deadly point guard once Khadijah Rushdan leaves Rutgers, she has to wait her turn.

 

[bbsamjj]

The most important thing is that given UConn's assault on the top tier of the recruiting ranks recently, RU actually needed to be as prolific as it's been just to compete. CVS was blessed with an upswing in local talent, but I'm sure the entire staff also worked their tails off. Should be fun!

 

[Kevin G]

Recruiting great players and players with potential is one thing to conquer. BUT, knowing what to do with them esp. on the offensive side of the ball is another. C. Viv is not known for her "offensive" game. Sorry, I'm not convinced. I do think that RU will be competitive and give UCONN a good challenge. Looking forward to it

 

[Replicant]

Hello everyone, I am new to posting on this board but I follow it very closely. I really like the dialogue on this board as there is a passion for women’s basketball here.

"UConnCat" some may disagree with you and the article where it gives UCONN the edge at point guard, I strongly disagree. Shakena Richardson was the best point guard in 2011 class HANDSDOWN and Briana Canty was not far behind! Yeah there was talk about the recruiting class four years ago but what people fail to realize is that RUTGERS has assembled back to back classes that complete one another, fit the mold of Vivian Stringer likes and provide high levels of talent & depth.

Rutgers is back and will be in the mix for years to come!

I appreciate your enthusiasm. Looks like you've got a very good recruiting class coming in and have every right to be excited. But as Nan so eloquently pointed out, we've seen this Rutgers movie before. As good as the talent level that has been coming RU's way over the past 15 years or so, they've consistently managed to underachieve year-in and year-out because of CViv's inability to coach TEAM offense. All the one-on-one play from outstanding players like Cappie, Essence, Matee, etc. has made for some very good WNBA pros, but hasn't translated well into titles and winning at the collegiate level. Unless something has dramatically changed with CViv's coaching philosophy and style that I'm unaware of, I would expect RU's offense to continue to be it's Achille's heel.

 

[Zorro]

Maybe CViv will bring in Harry to teach her kids some Villanova type offense.

 

[Coler]

Actually Rutgers class last year was ranked #3 behind UConn, and Tennessee. Yesterday RU fans saw glimpses of the a very bright future for us. All the freshman did well, and they will only improve over time. I'll say this with Davis on the wing, you do NOT wanna play the player she's guarding the ball.. most likely she poke it loose for another teammate to take, or she'll steal it herself. Should be fun years to come!

 

[EricLA]

maybe our RU friends can educate us a bit since i'm sure they've seen way more games than we have - i recall last year comments from Vivian stating that she was going to allow for more free flowing offense (not sure what that meant unless it was supposed to be a more "motion" offense). i recall asking Coler and Knightsbridge (i think those were the two i asked) if they felt the offense was flowing differently and i honestly can't recall what they said.

i think everyone will agree that traditionally RU has been a guard-centric offense that was usually driven by 1 or sometimes 2 star guards. and i'm not talking about the guards controlling play, playing inside out ball with the post players, setting screens, reverse screens, pick and rolls, crisp passing, reversing the ball, etc., i'm referring to the "dribble the ball a lot around the perimeter and either drive to the hoop or have the guard jack up a 3".

but with the talent she's getting, and some of it very good wing and post talent, i think she needs to change things up. i always thought Vaughn and Carson weren't used at RU to their best ability, and Carson seemed a prototypical wing to me, who (IMHO) has blossomed much more in the WNBA than she did at RU. Laney seems similar and it will be interesting to see if the additions of Hollivay to go along with Oliver and Lee makes for a more balanced offense.

 

[doggydaddy]

"The difference in the paint is depth, and it gives the Huskies a slight edge. But Rutgers has to feel good about having the length and athleticism to really challenge what projects as a dynamic duo of 6-foot-5 post Stefanie Dolson and 6-3 forward Breanna Stewart."

A slight edge, a slight edge?! Really? Dolson and Stewart provide only slight edge? Chris Hansen are you new to women's basketball?

I have to agree with you here. I don't think he read their own article on how good Stewart is. And to give them the edge in shot blocking? Stewart is a shot blocking machine!!

 

[doggydaddy]

I agree with you.

If he didn't give them the edge there, he had nothing to write about.

 

[UConnCat]

If he didn't give them the edge there, he had nothing to write about.

And I agree with you.

 

[Coler]

maybe our RU friends can educate us a bit since i'm sure they've seen way more games than we have - i recall last year comments from Vivian stating that she was going to allow for more free flowing offense (not sure what that meant unless it was supposed to be a more "motion" offense). i recall asking Coler and Knightsbridge (i think those were the two i asked) if they felt the offense was flowing differently and i honestly can't recall what they said.

i think everyone will agree that traditionally RU has been a guard-centric offense that was usually driven by 1 or sometimes 2 star guards. and i'm not talking about the guards controlling play, playing inside out ball with the post players, setting screens, reverse screens, pick and rolls, crisp passing, reversing the ball, etc., i'm referring to the "dribble the ball a lot around the perimeter and either drive to the hoop or have the guard jack up a 3".

but with the talent she's getting, and some of it very good wing and post talent, i think she needs to change things up. i always thought Vaughn and Carson weren't used at RU to their best ability, and Carson seemed a prototypical wing to me, who (IMHO) has blossomed much more in the WNBA than she did at RU. Laney seems similar and it will be interesting to see if the additions of Hollivay to go along with Oliver and Lee makes for a more balanced offense.

I'll have to see more games to say if yesterday was a one time thing or not, however yesterday we were running and looking to run alot more then we normally do. And it payed off, yes we missed alot of layups that we'll make later on in the season. But even last year when you asked, I believe I said I couldn't really tell a difference. This year I can, CVS said she would change our style to up-tempo due to this years class. She certainly has.

We seem to run, and press. And we seem to run our offense better this year then last year. But again, that was one game. So we'll see on Wednesday against BC if we can do it again.

 

[D Wynn]

We all know that UCONN will be loading with talent and will be in the running for another national championship, can't take that away from them.

Rutgers will be fine too and are off to fine start for the season & recruiting.

I see why Geno wanted Betnijah Laney so badly. She is very good even better than Essence Carson offensively and If she stays injury free will be the Big East Freshman of the Year! Yup you heard it hear first people.

 

[pasteurize]

Agreed, it's hard to say much based on one game alone, but there are some things that are clear.

Stringer has more players to work with this year than she's had in recent years. She seems to already trust the freshmen - they played more minutes in their first game than I ever recall any freshman class playing. Because of this, our players weren't as gassed, and we had the ability to press nonstop pretty much throughout the entire game and play a more up tempo offense. Sure, there were a few times when we dribbled around the perimeter and used up most of the shot clock, but the majority of possessions were executed more quickly.

It's clear that this freshman class fits Stringer's system way better than the class that are seniors now. There's only two players from that class that are playing this year (two transferred, and Chelsey Lee is out with the shoulder injury). And while April Sykes and Nikki Speed aren't the typical CVS type players, they've both adjusted by now. April was the leading scorer last year, and I expect her to build on that and have another great year. Nikki is comfortable handling the ball and running the offense for us.

Our big weakness this year is post play. Monique Oliver is going to be a monster this year - she has some serious post moves on offense and never gives up on defense (great shot blocker, especially considering she's only 6'2), but she's pretty much alone in the post. Freshman Christa Evans showed the least of all the freshmen yesterday, and she's the only other one on the team above 6'0 and capable of playing center. So Monique really has to stay out of foul trouble, and we'll need to hope she doesn't get worn out by the end of the season. Hopefully Evans shows more promise than she did last night and can spell Monique for a good ten minutes a game.