Courtney Ekmark Article

[FollowerCT]

FYI ... http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-comme...gh-school-updates-progress-senior-bucket-list

 

[winlots]

Fun to read about her again. If I once knew, I had forgotten that she was number one academically in her class........something the Snows and Wilsons etc might find interesting and encouraging. As I posted once a couple months back, based on exposure to many universities including those thought to be top, anyone willing to study can get a VERY fine education at UCONN.
Courtney sounds like such a solid person and from such a solid family. The three, thus far, arriving next year seem like perfect fits for "Our Girls."

 

[UcMiami]

thx for posting!

 

[msf22b]

"She is training with former Phoenix Suns coach Frank Johnson, who was an NBA guard and first-round pick in the 1980s. Being home-schooled, Ekmark said, has allowed her to train more times a day.​

Ekmark also is playing with her brother's club team, which is otherwise all male.​

"I've gotten bigger, faster and stronger," she said. "My No. 1 goal is to be ready to play right away at UConn."​

_______________________________________________​

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It will be interesting to see if it is possible to so prepare a High School player no matter how talented for the next level so as to be game ready on day 1 of her freshman year.​

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Long article for a "#31 prospect"...

 

[meyers7]

Long article for a "#31 prospect"...

Unusual situation (foregoing playing Sr year). And she's a UCONN recruit.

 

[UcMiami]

"She is training with former Phoenix Suns coach Frank Johnson, who was an NBA guard and first-round pick in the 1980s. Being home-schooled, Ekmark said, has allowed her to train more times a day.​

Ekmark also is playing with her brother's club team, which is otherwise all male.​

"I've gotten bigger, faster and stronger," she said. "My No. 1 goal is to be ready to play right away at UConn."​

_______________________________________________​

​

​

It will be interesting to see if it is possible to so prepare a High School player no matter how talented for the next level so as to be game ready on day 1 of her freshman year.​

Ummm - lets see ... Maya, DT3, Kelly, Bria, Stef, CD the younger, etc. I think it is not that hard to be prepared which doesn't mean that you do not learn on the job as well. And continue learning for four years.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Unusual situation (foregoing playing Sr year). And she's a UCONN recruit.

Is there an irony emoticon?

 

[Fightin Choke]

Long article for a "#31 prospect"...

I know you were being sarcastic, but ESPN has had such articles on many women that weren't ranked in the top 20:

• Brittany McPhee is ranked 25th: STORY LINK
• Alexa Middleton is ranked 28th: STORY LINK
• Bianca Cuevas is ranked 44th: STORY LINK
• Saniya Chong was ranked 75th: STORY LINK
• Yacine Diop is ranked 84th: STORY LINK
• Aja Ellison is unranked and only has 3 stars: STORY LINK
• Jackie Kemph is unranked and only has 3 stars: STORY LINK

 

[pppggg]

The difference between top ranked players is often small and in some respects subjective. It often depends on the eye of the ranker. What makes them successful at the next level are the intangibles such as heart and the inner drive to compete. Geno is pretty good at gaging those things. Kelly Faris is a perfect example that type of a kid.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I know you were being sarcastic, but ESPN has had such articles on many women that weren't ranked in the top 20:

• 
  [ ]Brittany McPhee is ranked 25th: STORY LINK
  [ ]Alexa Middleton is ranked 28th: STORY LINK
  [ ]Bianca Cuevas is ranked 44th: STORY LINK
  [ ]Saniya Chong was ranked 75th: STORY LINK
  [ ]Yacine Diop is ranked 84th: STORY LINK
  [ ]Aja Ellison is unranked and only has 3 stars: STORY LINK
  [ ]Jackie Kemph is unranked and only has 3 stars: STORY LINK

Ironic, not sarcastic...I meant she sould be ranked higher.

 

[pap49cba]

A lot of this is stuff I read elsewhere.... I just can't remember where!

 

[Fightin Choke]

The difference between top ranked players is often small and in some respects subjective. It often depends on the eye of the ranker. What makes them successful at the next level are the intangibles such as heart and the inner drive to compete. Geno is pretty good at gaging those things. Kelly Faris is a perfect example that type of a kid.

I read this a lot on the Boneyard about Kelly Faris but the truth is that she WAS highly regarded. She was a McDonald's AA and ranked 34th in Hoopgurlz. Both Notre Dame and Purdue recruited her hard before Geno came calling. But once Geno entered the picture, Kelly chose UConn. I am not arguing that Geno doesn't have an eye for talent, but rather that Geno gets what he wants far more often than almost any school in the country. For UConn, a 'diamond in the rough' is Dolson (ranked 39th) or Faris (ranked 34th). For other highly ranked teams, players ranked in the 30's are considered gems, while the median value of Geno's recruits since the class of 2008 is FAR LOWER (16.5)! (I chose 2008 because that's the earliest year I can access on ESPN's site).

2008: 1, 10, 11, 31 (Delle Donne, Doty, Hayes, Buck)
2009: 34 (Faris)
2010: 10, 14, 39, 46, 95 (Walker, Hartley, Dolson, Johnson, Engeln)
2011: 1, 24, 42 (KML, Banks, Stokes)
2012: 1, 2, 6 (Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck)
2013: 75 (Chong)
2014: 15, 18, 31 (Williams, Edwards, Ekmark)

When Geno has dug deeper (>30), he has been less successful. Dolson (39th) and Faris (34) were successful, but Johnson (46th) and Engeln (95th) were not, with the jury still out on Stokes and Chong.

Notre Dame has had far less success recruiting, with most of the success coming in the past 3 classes, which are only sophomores, freshman, and high school seniors:

2008: 45, 72, unranked, unranked (Novosel, Solomon, Miller, Watson)
2009: 3, unranked (Diggins, Turner)
2010: 20, 25*, unranked (McBride, Achonwa, Braker)
2011: 52, unranked, unranked (Cable, Holloway, Wright)
2012: 4, 33, 52 (Loyd, Mabrey, Huffman)
2013: 4, 25, 39, unranked (Reimer, Allen, Nelson, Thompson)
2014: 2, 21, 80 (Turner, Westbeld, Johnson)

*Achonwa was unranked because she was Canadian, but was considered top 25 if she were American, according to Hoopgurlz)

Notre Dame's median rank is 48.5, three times higher than UConn's.

 

[pap49cba]

I think the jury is out on Johnson. She was still dinged up while at Uconn. It will be interesting to see how she does at Wisconsin having had a full season off. The early reports are pretty good.

 

[Fightin Choke]

I think the jury is out on Johnson. She was still dinged up while at Uconn. It will be interesting to see how she does at Wisconsin having had a full season off. The early reports are pretty good.

I had read that thread and it made me smile. I wish Engeln well, too. In fact, I hope all the present Huskies stay healthy and do well, but that their best is somehow not quite good enough to beat Notre Dame in the NCAA's this year.

 

[pap49cba]

I had read that thread and it made me smile. I wish Engeln well, too. In fact, I hope all the present Huskies stay healthy and do well, but that their best is somehow not quite good enough to beat Notre Dame in the NCAA's this year.

Them's fightin' words Fightin!

 

[Wonkster]

I had read that thread and it made me smile. I wish Engeln well, too. In fact, I hope all the present Huskies stay healthy and do well, but that their best is somehow not quite good enough to beat Notre Dame in the NCAA's this year.

Them's chokin' words, Choke!

 

[Fightin Choke]

Them's fightin' words Fightin!

Them's chokin' words, Choke!

And Notre Dame fans wonder why I hang out here. It's because of all the LOVE I feel!

 

[Wonkster]

And Notre Dame fans wonder why I hang out here. It's because of all the LOVE I feel!

That, and the fact you don't have to wait 2 weeks for a response!

 

[Glenn]

Actually, Geno has done very well with his recruits ranked below #30. In recent years about 5 to 10 percent of those end up in the WNBA. And look at Geno:
Buck: no (But some great minutes against Griner)
Faris: WNBA
Dolson: probably yes and Johnson Engeln probably not.
So that is 2/5--I think he has an eye for talent and can help develope it.

 

[pap49cba]

You obviously have no where else to go!

 

[Scotter]

Actually, Geno has done very well with his recruits ranked below #30. In recent years about 5 to 10 percent of those end up in the WNBA. And look at Geno:
Buck: no (But some great minutes against Griner)
Faris: WNBA
Dolson: probably yes and Johnson Engeln probably not.
So that is 2/5--I think he has an eye for talent and can help develope it.

Neither Faris nor Dolson was anything close to a consensus a below 30 recruit though. Basically everyone but Hoopgurlz had Faris inside their top 10 or at least top 15. At least one service had Dolson inside the top 15 and most had her inside to the top 30.

 

[pppggg]

I read this a lot on the Boneyard about Kelly Faris but the truth is that she WAS highly regarded. She was a McDonald's AA and ranked 34th in Hoopgurlz. Both Notre Dame and Purdue recruited her hard before Geno came calling. But once Geno entered the picture, Kelly chose UConn. I am not arguing that Geno doesn't have an eye for talent, but rather that Geno gets what he wants far more often than almost any school in the country. For UConn, a 'diamond in the rough' is Dolson (ranked 39th) or Faris (ranked 34th). For other highly ranked teams, players ranked in the 30's are considered gems, while the median value of Geno's recruits since the class of 2008 is FAR LOWER (16.5)! (I chose 2008 because that's the earliest year I can access on ESPN's site).

2008: 1, 10, 11, 31 (Delle Donne, Doty, Hayes, Buck)
2009: 34 (Faris)
2010: 10, 14, 39, 46, 95 (Walker, Hartley, Dolson, Johnson, Engeln)
2011: 1, 24, 42 (KML, Banks, Stokes)
2012: 1, 2, 6 (Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck)
2013: 75 (Chong)
2014: 15, 18, 31 (Williams, Edwards, Ekmark)

When Geno has dug deeper (>30), he has been less successful. Dolson (39th) and Faris (34) were successful, but Johnson (46th) and Engeln (95th) were not, with the jury still out on Stokes and Chong.

Notre Dame has had far less success recruiting, with most of the success coming in the past 3 classes, which are only sophomores, freshman, and high school seniors:

2008: 45, 72, unranked, unranked (Novosel, Solomon, Miller, Watson)
2009: 3, unranked (Diggins, Turner)
2010: 20, 25*, unranked (McBride, Achonwa, Braker)
2011: 52, unranked, unranked (Cable, Holloway, Wright)
2012: 4, 33, 52 (Loyd, Mabrey, Huffman)
2013: 4, 25, 39, unranked (Reimer, Allen, Nelson, Thompson)
2014: 2, 21, 80 (Turner, Westbeld, Johnson)

*Achonwa was unranked because she was Canadian, but was considered top 25 if she were American, according to Hoopgurlz)

Notre Dame's median rank is 48.5, three times higher than UConn's.

 

[pppggg]

by your own post, Kelly was 34th and you could hardly call her a "can't miss" kid. top 50 kids get recruited by many schools at once because the schools and they don't know where they will end up. it's no surprise she was recruited by ND and Purdue given where she lived.

 

[winlots]

I read this a lot on the Boneyard about Kelly Faris but the truth is that she WAS highly regarded. She was a McDonald's AA and ranked 34th in Hoopgurlz. Both Notre Dame and Purdue recruited her hard before Geno came calling. But once Geno entered the picture, Kelly chose UConn. I am not arguing that Geno doesn't have an eye for talent, but rather that Geno gets what he wants far more often than almost any school in the country. For UConn, a 'diamond in the rough' is Dolson (ranked 39th) or Faris (ranked 34th). For other highly ranked teams, players ranked in the 30's are considered gems, while the median value of Geno's recruits since the class of 2008 is FAR LOWER (16.5)! (I chose 2008 because that's the earliest year I can access on ESPN's site).

2008: 1, 10, 11, 31 (Delle Donne, Doty, Hayes, Buck)
2009: 34 (Faris)
2010: 10, 14, 39, 46, 95 (Walker, Hartley, Dolson, Johnson, Engeln)
2011: 1, 24, 42 (KML, Banks, Stokes)
2012: 1, 2, 6 (Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck)
2013: 75 (Chong)
2014: 15, 18, 31 (Williams, Edwards, Ekmark)

When Geno has dug deeper (>30), he has been less successful. Dolson (39th) and Faris (34) were successful, but Johnson (46th) and Engeln (95th) were not, with the jury still out on Stokes and Chong.

Notre Dame has had far less success recruiting, with most of the success coming in the past 3 classes, which are only sophomores, freshman, and high school seniors:

2008: 45, 72, unranked, unranked (Novosel, Solomon, Miller, Watson)
2009: 3, unranked (Diggins, Turner)
2010: 20, 25*, unranked (McBride, Achonwa, Braker)
2011: 52, unranked, unranked (Cable, Holloway, Wright)
2012: 4, 33, 52 (Loyd, Mabrey, Huffman)
2013: 4, 25, 39, unranked (Reimer, Allen, Nelson, Thompson)
2014: 2, 21, 80 (Turner, Westbeld, Johnson)

*Achonwa was unranked because she was Canadian, but was considered top 25 if she were American, according to Hoopgurlz)

Notre Dame's median rank is 48.5, three times higher than UConn's.[/quote


FC: very, very interesting to this reader. Your time, effort, and analysis all appreciated here.