Davis & Gray Declare for the Draft

[oldude]

They wouldn't necessarily be changing their minds. For participants in the NC game, you have only one day to determine whether or not you will put your name in for the draft. After the excitement of the game, it might take a few days to really determine which path you wish to take. By putting in your name for the draft, you buy another 5 days to ruminate (as long as you don't hire an agent). If you decide to come back to school and use your remaining eligibility, you can do so. If you opt for the draft, just leave your name in.

I was just pointing out that Alisha has probably already made up her mind and won't be pulling her name. But putting one's name in the draft is not a firm indicator that a player has actually made up her mind.

I would be very surprised if the 1st time Gray & Davis thought about declaring for the draft was the day after the championship game. I'm sure their decisions were tee'd up and ready to go. They would certainly not make them public beforehand so as not to distract from SC's pursuit of the championship. Just like Tuck knew she was leaving before the championship game last year, but held off the announcement until the day after.

 

[drweo]

Wow... lessons the chance of a back to back. Didn't see that coming.

I agree on all three: Wow (= that's a big deal)...less chance of a repeat NC....and a surprise: I thought they would want to stay to try for the repeat with Wilson. And after Coach Staley's statements after the game about sticking with it, persevering, believing, etc., I thought they might be persuaded to stay for her...Phew. What will be the next surprise???

 

[SCGamecock]

That might be one of the most underwhelming lineups of any powerhouse program. That would probably put them 4th or 5th in the SEC and barely in the top 20... IMHO.

We're not going to be UConn talented, bringing in waves of top 20 players off the bench, but we were never going to be that regardless of whether Gray and Davis had elected to stay or not...

Wilson alone separates SC from the middle of the SEC pack.. and she's joined by another McDAA in Cuevas who (like I predicted in the preseason) took a step forward for us. Wilson will also have a frontcourt partner in Alexis Jennings, a former top 40 player that can score inside and out. You also have Tyasha Harris, a former top 30 player who was thrown in the fire as a freshmen and played the point guard position very well. Harris will take a sophomore leap, she's talented. I don't know who's going to play SF for us..

5. Jennings
4. Wilson
3. ????
2. Cuevas-Moore
1. Tyasha Harris

So no, we're not going to be UConn-level talented.. but the cupboard is not bare at South Carolina. It's just not as full.


ps: three of those players started for the team that just won the national championship, with one of the three winning MOP, and that experience can't be underestimated.. it's not a flashy lineup, but it will be an effective one.

 

[SCspur]

We're not going to be UConn talented, bringing in waves of top 20 players off the bench, but we were never going to be that regardless of whether Gray and Davis had elected to stay or not...

Wilson alone separates SC from the middle of the SEC pack.. and she's joined by another McDAA in Cuevas who (like I predicted in the preseason) took a step forward for us. Wilson will also have a frontcourt partner in Alexis Jennings, a former top 40 player that can score inside and out. You also have Tyasha Harris, a former top 30 player who was thrown in the fire as a freshmen and played the point guard position very well. Harris will take a sophomore leap, she's talented. I don't know who's going to play SF for us..

5. Jennings
4. Wilson
3. ????
2. Cuevas-Moore
1. Tyasha Harris

So no, we're not going to be UConn-level talented.. but the cupboard is not bare at South Carolina. It's just not as full.


ps: three of those players started for the team that just won the national championship, with one of the three winning MOP, and that experience can't be underestimated.. it's not a flashy lineup, but it will be an effective one.

Grissett could come in and start the 3. She has the physique and stature that Kaela has and an excellent rebounder. Cliney could also start at the 3 due to her experience this year. Most people forget that Cliney is just a sophomore and did all of the utility things that coaches love like getting key rebounds, defending the best offensive players, or just being in the right place at the right time. If she works on her offensive game this summer her potential is limitless. Jackson and Troup are prime time shooters and can light it up in a hurry. I like the fact everyone think that SC will be chopped liver next year due to losing Davis and Gray. Harris and Herbert Harrigan can make the same kind of leap KLS and Collier made. I don't necessarily think it will be an AA kind of leap but both could be All SEC players next year due to their FF experience and Confidence. I like who we're bring to the table and I think the girls notice everyone doubting their chances next year and will certainly play with chips on their shoulders! CANT WAIT!!!

 

[Charliebball]

Gee I[m not sure I would trade a second chance at a national championship and a college degree for $75,000

 

[Charliebball]

I'm with you. Jury still out on Tennessee and how dominant they will be. They are just adding freshman that have yet to play a college game. It will take HW time to merge these players together. I'm still not convinced that its entirely coaching that's holding them back. Another part of me says its players as well. Jordan Reynolds said herself in a post game interview that they overlooked Alabama in SEC tourney, a team that had beaten them twice before. It will be very interesting to see how their season plays out. Do they have the talent--unquestionably! Can they play as team and execute--to be continued.

Holly hasn't merged the first group she has together yet as far as I'm concerned

 

[Charliebball]

Don't forget about Baylor and Texas for next season..............no reason they shouldn't be considered prime contenders and they both just jumped over South Carolina I do believe..............

 

[Alydar]

Speculation alert

Players get a good idea of where they will be drafted from WNBA sources. I wouldn't be surprised if DeShields found out that she was not going to be the No 1 pick and maybe not even No 2 and that it had an effect on her decision. While I see little difference between Davis and Deshields, Diamond has a history of chronic injury and perhaps WNBA teams weren't eager to pay her to sit.

And IMO Tenn will right in the middle of the race for the SEC title next year. In addition to getting Cooper back and assuming she is 100%, the obviously talented freshmen will enable Warlick to demand more effort. This year her depleted roster meant that she had little choice if a player or two gave less than their best in both practice and in games. This year she can sit them.

As for all the transfers, there are a lot of possible reasons talked about and given out by the players, the most common being "home sickness". Conspicuous in it's absence as a reason for their withdrawal is academic difficulty. Without being specific and without knowing the intricacies of the NCAA rules about maintaining academic eligibility it seems that there has been a spike of high profile players leaving programs and it started at the same time that the UNC situation hit the news. Again, it's just speculation but only a naive person would believe that UNC is the only school in the country that "arranged" classes for it's athletes. It may be that AD's all over the country, afraid of seeing their own programs being closely examined made it clear to their staff that there would be a zero tolerance of anyone involved with anything approaching what went on at UNC, and as a result any athletes in danger of losing their academic eligibility were faced with withdrawing from their school and finding another as opposed to having a phone call placed to their instructors.

 

[Alydar]

Grissett could come in and start the 3. She has the physique and stature that Kaela has and an excellent rebounder. Cliney could also start at the 3 due to her experience this year. Most people forget that Cliney is just a sophomore and did all of the utility things that coaches love like getting key rebounds, defending the best offensive players, or just being in the right place at the right time. If she works on her offensive game this summer her potential is limitless. Jackson and Troup are prime time shooters and can light it up in a hurry. I like the fact everyone think that SC will be chopped liver next year due to losing Davis and Gray. Harris and Herbert Harrigan can make the same kind of leap KLS and Collier made. I don't necessarily think it will be an AA kind of leap but both could be All SEC players next year due to their FF experience and Confidence. I like who we're bring to the table and I think the girls notice everyone doubting their chances next year and will certainly play with chips on their shoulders! CANT WAIT!!!

S Carolina will find out how it feels when every opponent they face has the game vs the Gamecocks circled on their calendars.

 

[sharris952]

That might be one of the most underwhelming lineups of any powerhouse program. That would probably put them 4th or 5th in the SEC and barely in the top 20... IMHO.

With Wilson, Cuevas, Harris and Alexis Jennings you have four top shelf players who are former McD AA and/or have competed and won in USA basketball. Cliney may start or give way to talented 5 star Grissett. We have two more top 50 players and as dawn stated earlier a possible head transfer or two that may be coming in. We will be fine. It may affect us in a final four but we will have enough to try and defend our SEC crown. Our bench will be longer than it was this year and we won the National Championship. Final four involves Uconn, SC, Stanford &Miss St. who all had small rotations other than Miss St that had no All Americans. Maybe the other teams that stockpiled massive talent (Lou, ND, OU, MD) may need to step back and get some talent that has chemistry and are well coached.

 

[sharris952]

S Carolina will find out how it feels when every opponent they face has the game vs the Gamecocks circled on their calendars.

Been ther e done that for the last 3 years in the SEC. We got each teams best shot and normally their fans best attendance. We continued to be successful and I expect it would not be a shock for them.

 

[wallman]

With Wilson, Cuevas, Harris and Alexis Jennings you have four top shelf players who are former McD AA and/or have competed and won in USA basketball. Cliney may start or give way to talented 5 star Grissett. We have two more top 50 players and as dawn stated earlier a possible head transfer or two that may be coming in. We will be fine. It may affect us in a final four but we will have enough to try and defend our SEC crown. Our bench will be longer than it was this year and we won the National Championship. Final four involves Uconn, SC, Stanford &Miss St. who all had small rotations other than Miss St that had no All Americans. Maybe the other teams that stockpiled massive talent (Lou, ND, OU, MD) may need to step back and get some talent that has chemistry and are well coached.

So that means Slocum is going to SC

 

[Charliebball]

So that means Slocum is going to SC

unless my geography is wrong, South Carolina is on the wrong side of the Mississippi River to be of interest to Ms Slocum

 

[Vowelguy]

Gee I[m not sure I would trade a second chance at a national championship and a college degree for $75,000

It's not 75. Foreign money is more, so they're getting an extra year of WNBA and foreign $.
And given that both are transfers, they have already been in college for 4 years and thus likely will have their degrees this year.

 

[wallman]

unless my geography is wrong, South Carolina is on the wrong side of the Mississippi River to be of interest to Ms Slocum

I don't think some kids take geography

 

[Charliebball]

It's not 75. Foreign money is more, so they're getting an extra year of WNBA and foreign $.
And given that both are transfers, they have already been in college for 4 years and thus likely will have their degrees this year.

It would be interesting to know if they leave with their degrees.........I wonder if these two are good enough to get some bigger contracts overseas..............

 

[Alydar]

Been ther e done that for the last 3 years in the SEC. We got each teams best shot and normally their fans best attendance. We continued to be successful and I expect it would not be a shock for them.

Small potatoes compared to what a defending National Champion gets.

 

[CocoHusky]

Gee I[m not sure I would trade a second chance at a national championship and a college degree for $75,000

Your implied assumption that these girls do not have their is likely not correct. If they don't have their degree they are both likely a few correspondence courses away from it so let's not put the degree in your proposed trade.

 

[CocoHusky]

Speculation alert
Players get a good idea of where they will be drafted from WNBA sources. I wouldn't be surprised if DeShields found out that she was not going to be the No 1 pick and maybe not even No 2 and that it had an effect on her decision. While I see little difference between Davis and Deshields, Diamond has a history of chronic injury and perhaps WNBA teams weren't eager to pay her to sit.

And IMO Tenn will right in the middle of the race for the SEC title next year. In addition to getting Cooper back and assuming she is 100%, the obviously talented freshmen will enable Warlick to demand more effort. This year her depleted roster meant that she had little choice if a player or two gave less than their best in both practice and in games. This year she can sit them.

As for all the transfers, there are a lot of possible reasons talked about and given out by the players, the most common being "home sickness". Conspicuous in it's absence as a reason for their withdrawal is academic difficulty. Without being specific and without knowing the intricacies of the NCAA rules about maintaining academic eligibility it seems that there has been a spike of high profile players leaving programs and it started at the same time that the UNC situation hit the news. Again, it's just speculation but only a naive person would believe that UNC is the only school in the country that "arranged" classes for it's athletes. It may be that AD's all over the country, afraid of seeing their own programs being closely examined made it clear to their staff that there would be a zero tolerance of anyone involved with anything approaching what went on at UNC, and as a result any athletes in danger of losing their academic eligibility were faced with withdrawing from their school and finding another as opposed to having a phone call placed to their instructors.

Understand that you are speculating but would just like to offer a few counter points. First, we are still talking about WCBB for the most part and although WCBB is getting to be more like MCBB the stakes $$$ are not the same thus the incentive to cheat is significantly less. Second, easier college majors have always been a part of the academic/ athletic tug a war since probably since the first dollar was made off college athletics. The en vogue major for many athletes since about 2005 has been communications. Why? Because at many schools that major can be what ever you want it to be i.e, not that hard.
Third, the scope of the academic fraud at UNC is so grand and absurd (based on UNC own report) that it must be separated from almost everything to be fully digested. How is this for absurd? Part of UNC defense is that all those no show classes were also available to the rest of UNC students therefore the NCAA should not be concerned.
Lastly academic eligibility is progressive-meaning that is always about the next semester. When you come is a freshmen eligibility to play depends on HS GPA of 2.0. or SAT >860 and or >16 on the ACT.
Your first semester grades then determine your eligibility to play 2nd semester. Just like any other student a transfer grades also follows them to the new school. So I don't thing these students are transferring to avoid the eligibility requirement as you might have been suggesting.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Not sure what exactly might cause them to change their minds. Gray & Davis are intelligent young ladies who have probably given their decisions a lot of thought and consulted with family and friends beforehand. They will leave SC with their degrees, a national championship and will almost certainly be top 5-10 in a generally weak draft class.

They may not have expected to be champions. Once they won on Sunday, that changed their lives. Given the rules of having 1-2 days to decide to possibly be in the draft and then another 4-5 days to potentially withdraw, it makes sense to jump in and buy a little more time to be sure. I have no idea where these 2 stand on their decision, but declaring for the draft and then backing out is a sensible course in general.

 

[Charliebball]

Understand that you are speculating but would just like to offer a few counter points. First, we are

Lastly academic eligibility is progressive-meaning that is always about the next semester. When you come is a freshmen eligibility to play depends on HS GPA of 2.0. or SAT >860 and or >16 on the ACT.
Your first semester grades then determine your eligibility to play 2nd semester. Just like any other student a transfer grades also follows them to the new school. So I don't thing these students are transferring to avoid the eligibility requirement as you might have been suggesting.

Can't a transfer who has to sit out a year then have the opportunity to improve their grades during that time or are they considered a member of the team even though they are unable to play in games leaving the grade rules intact.....?

 

[Alydar]

Understand that you are speculating but would just like to offer a few counter points. First, we are still talking about WCBB for the most part and although WCBB is getting to be more like MCBB the stakes $$$ are not the same thus the incentive to cheat is significantly less. Second, easier college majors have always been a part of the academic/ athletic tug a war since probably since the first dollar was made off college athletics. The en vogue major for many athletes since about 2005 has been communications. Why? Because at many schools that major can be what ever you want it to be i.e, not that hard.
Third, the scope of the academic fraud at UNC is so grand and absurd (based on UNC own report) that it must be separated from almost everything to be fully digested. How is this for absurd? Part of UNC defense is that all those no show classes were also available to the rest of UNC students therefore the NCAA should not be concerned.
Lastly academic eligibility is progressive-meaning that is always about the next semester. When you come is a freshmen eligibility to play depends on HS GPA of 2.0. or SAT >860 and or >16 on the ACT.
Your first semester grades then determine your eligibility to play 2nd semester. Just like any other student a transfer grades also follows them to the new school. So I don't thing these students are transferring to avoid the eligibility requirement as you might have been suggesting.

Like I said, I'm not knowledgeable as to the requirements, but when I was in school one could simply drop classes one was failing and not have them count on your GPA. For someone on an athletic scholarship that may have made them ineligible to play the next semester due to insufficient credits but by transferring and spending a year sitting, they would be able to re-establish their academic qualifications. No?

 

[CocoHusky]

Like I said, I'm not knowledgeable as to the requirements, but when I was in school one could simply drop classes one was failing and not have them count on your GPA. For someone on an athletic scholarship that may have made them ineligible to play the next semester due to insufficient credits but by transferring and spending a year sitting, they would be able to re-establish their academic qualifications. No?

Yes you can certainly do that. On the receiving end that coach would be taking a risk by putting a player on scholarship that was not eligible at their old school hoping that the same player works their way into eligibility for you.

 

[Paul1969]

Bye Felicia!

 

[Phil]

Hold your Horses! It's certainly hasn't been made official and neither Allish or Kaela stated the allegations are true, so we'll just have to see what happens.

Actually, at least one has confirmed, although if they don't hire an agent (and neither has) they can change their mind up until the last minute.