Diamond Deshields to UNC

[semper]

Would it be illegal for a group of players who know and like each other to talk and decide that they wanted to play together, and then to sign like this to a single team, one that was happy to get them all? Would it be illegal?

 

[doggydaddy]

One elite recruit with a nice supporting cast, the same thing Uconn has done. Stewart is your elite, the rest are good supporting players, and will add to the team!

Lewis was number one coming out of high school, and had a nice freshman year, but Williams of Duke won freshman of the year honors, but came out of high school as the number two player. Rankings mean nothing, it's what the player does on the court that counts!

Yeah, Jefferson and Tuck are just supporting players....lol. You must be thinking of the two Tennessee recruits for 2012 that are supporting Graves, a very good player. Oh, and Graves is not as much an impact player as ANY of the 3 UConn 2012 recruits.

And Lewis had a NICE freshman year? NICE? It was as good as ANY freshman, including Williams. Coming in, they were 1 and 1A. And this year they were 1 and 1A as freshman.

Nice job downplaying Lewis and UConn's incoming freshman. If you are Genevadiva, I'll give you credit for posting on a board that makes you sick. I hope you had your shots.

 

[sarals24]

And look what KML accomplished on a team where she didn't even start!

 

[HuskyNan]

Would it be illegal for a group of players who know and like each other to talk and decide that they wanted to play together, and then to sign like this to a single team, one that was happy to get them all? Would it be illegal?

No, kids getting together and committing to the same place isn't in violation of any rules. First of all, oral commitments are unregulated. A player doesn't have to make an oral commitment to go to a school, all she has to do is sign her LOI during the signing period. If a kid does make an oral commitment, that "commitment" isn't binding on either party. When a kid makes an oral commitment, she's basically just saying that she wants to go to a certain school but it's not a legally binding contract, verbal or otherwise. Someone could commit to UConn today then change her mind tomorrow.

 

[semper]

So if what you say is true, Nan, why all the smelling rotten fish kinda statements?

 

[doubledees]

We're not too caught up in rankings. It's just that we figure a #10 under Geno and CD is about equivalent to a #1 most places, especially UNC.

North Carolina's fanbase may feel the same way about Hatchell. It's all opinionated.

 

[HuskyNan]

So if what you say is true, Nan, why all the smelling rotten fish kinda statements?

I don't know. I certainly hope that there will be no harmful speculation regarding the commitments. I tacked a post to the top of the board saying just that thing.

 

[JS]

So if what you say is true, Nan, why all the smelling rotten fish kinda statements?

Dunno. Looks like UConn's TASSK force in 1998 to me (except not as high ranking), with Diamond playing the role of Keirsten Walters as organizer.

 

[Husky WBB Fan]

So if what you say is true, Nan, why all the smelling rotten fish kinda statements?

At least the way I've read the stories, it appears DD coordinated the mass commits of today and in the course of doing that potentially overloaded the team, leaving some existing members/commits potentially out in the dark as DD appears to organize her team. Hard to know if this is the right reading of a number of threads ... Also, it would appear to put coach Sylvia in an awkward position because of the appearance of "who is in charge here" and because she is now in an awkward position if, in fact, her team is over-booked. So those, in my view, are the basis for some people scratching their heads about the events of today. If valid, it appears that having a common coach and school is about the extent of the commonalities between Maya and DD.

 

[doubledees]

Yeah, Jefferson and Tuck are just supporting players....lol. You must be thinking of the two Tennessee recruits for 2012 that are supporting Graves, a very good player. Oh, and Graves is not as much an impact player as ANY of the 3 UConn 2012 recruits.

And Lewis had a NICE freshman year? NICE? It was as good as ANY freshman, including Williams. Coming in, they were 1 and 1A. And this year they were 1 and 1A as freshman.

Nice job downplaying Lewis and UConn's incoming freshman. If you are Genevadiva, I'll give you credit for posting on a board that makes you sick. I hope you had your shots.

I don't follow Tennessee's recruiting that much, but Graves is a fairly good player, no game changer, but she's a pretty good player, like Tuck, and your other recruits not named Briana Stewart. They are role players, IMO. Stewart is your elite player, and Deshields is now North Carolina's elite player. Mavunga is a pretty good player, just like Tuck, and Jefferson is a good guard, but she isn't any better than most of the guards that I have seen out there, and that is not saying she isn't a good player, she is. The bottom line is this, their is no need to belittle McDaniel because she went to North Carolina, or any other players that chose North Carolina that Uconn happened to be recruiting.

For the record, I didn't downplay Kaleena's play this year. That's the way your defensive mind chose to interpret it. I gave her credit for being a good player. I was just pointing out the fact that rankings of a player are just that,Rankings! If high school rankings meant anything on the collegiate level, Lewis would have won freshman of the year, not Williams!

 

[HuskyNan]

At least the way I've read the stories, it appears DD coordinated the mass commits of today and in the course of doing that potentially overloaded the team, leaving some existing members/commits potentially out in the dark as DD appears to organize her team. Hard to know if this is the right reading of a number of threads ... Also, it would appear to put coach Sylvia in an awkward position because of the appearance of "who is in charge here" and because she is now in an awkward position if, in fact, her team is over-booked. So those, in my view, are the basis for some people scratching their heads about the events of today. If valid, it appears that having a common coach and school is about the extent of the commonalities between Maya and DD.

There are a couple things in this post that I take issue with:

1. You appear to think the recruits colluded in some way in order to "steal" scholarships from players already in the program. I seriously doubt there was any intent to organize themselves for some kind of takeover or attempt to force out players.
2. Re: the "who's in charge here" thing; as another poster noted, Hatchell had to offer the scholarships so it's not like the kids just announced they were going to UNC whether Hatchell wanted them or not. I'll bet Sylvia never thought all those kids would commit. It's a rare coach that doesn't offer more schollies than she has open slots as it's very uncommon for every offered recruit to accept.
3. "it appears that having a common coach and school is about the extent of the commonalities between Maya and DD." You are tip-toeing around it but this is a nasty shot at Diamond. I am not going to tolerate people on the Boneyard engaging in character assassination. Others might think it's fine but - listen up, everyone - We Do Not Do It Here. Biff, JS and I are on the lookout for things like this and will prune them out. If we miss one, hit the Report link below the post.

 

[doubledees]

Sonny - Doubledees is actually Genevadiva from the Summitt. A real hater so don't waste your time being reasonable.

G - your overuse of exclamation points gave you away

I'd like to have a peek in that crystal ball you're looking through! It should've told you that Deshields was going to North Carolina. You couldn't be further from the truth.

 

[justML]

I'd like to have a peek in that crystal ball you're looking through! It should've told you that Deshields was going to North Carolina. You couldn't be further from the truth.

Good! Night! Genevadiva!!!!!

 

[doggydaddy]

I don't follow Tennessee's recruiting that much, but Graves is a fairly good player, no game changer, but she's a pretty good player, like Tuck, and your other recruits not named Briana Stewart. They are role players, IMO. Stewart is your elite player, and Deshields is now North Carolina's elite player. Mavunga is a pretty good player, just like Tuck, and Jefferson is a good guard, but she isn't any better than most of the guards that I have seen out there, and that is not saying she isn't a good player, she is. The bottom line is this, their is no need to belittle McDaniel because she went to North Carolina, or any other players that chose North Carolina that Uconn happened to be recruiting.

For the record, I didn't downplay Kaleena's play this year. That's the way your defensive mind chose to interpret it. I gave her credit for being a good player. I was just pointing out the fact that rankings of a player are just that,Rankings! If high school rankings meant anything on the collegiate level, Lewis would have won freshman of the year, not Williams!

I guess we will all find out when the players actually play in college. But based on what the people that actually look at these players for a living and the people at USA basketball, Tuck is a better player than Graves. More well rounded offensive game. Mavunga is as good as Tuck? On what planet?

Jefferson was given a 98 rating by hoopgurlz. NINETY EIGTH. I don't know what you are basing your opinoin on her being just as good as any of the other guards out there. You obviously haven't seen Jefferson enough. She is a game changer.

And lastly, your example of Lewis vs Williams to prove that HS rankings don't mean anything on a collegiate level is pretty dumb. They were 1 and 2 in HS and 1 and 2 in College for their class. Now, if you used Novasel as an example, you would have had a good point. She was ranked outside the top 30 and ended up a top player.

And defensive? No...I'm just amazed how little you know about UConn's recruits.

 

[uconnfan68]

Jim Calhoun offered a scholly he didn't have to Andre Drummond. Fortunately for JC, Michael Bradley gave up his scholly for a year for the #1 ranked Drummond.

Not quite true according to all parties later in the year. Andre paid his own way this year.

 

[uconnfan68]

Sounds like a moon shot attempt. Shooting star last ditch effort for one more NC before retirement. Not a strategy to build a long term superior program. I can see where it would be possible for a group of 18 year old stellar recruits to be convinced to band together a la LeBron to create a superteam that would play together for four years and get a couple of NCs in the process. I say shooting star, because future recruiting would be difficult because of the bad public relations created by all of the kids losing their schollies to make way for the superteam members. Who would like to attend a school that might abandon you after a year or two?

If this is what is happening,, I think the NCAA will step in to prevent this kind of thing in the future, so it's a one time only possibility. If nothing is done, I think women's basketball is finished. I hope I'm not interpreting this correctly.

I hope you aren't serious about expecting the NCAA to have the student-athletes best interests at heart. That's like an oxymoron.

 

[MilfordHusky]

This is interesting for Xylina, particularly if she opted for UNC because of uncertainty about her ability or PT at UConn. I'm not saying this is certain, but she could be the best player on the team as a frosh and then spend 3 years backing up Mavunga. The landscape shifted today, and it will take a while to make sense of it.

 

[jsloanjr]

DD was not the right choice for UCONN and I am not surprised by her choice. I wish her well at UNC.....Plus, she did not have to see UCONN for a few years.

 

[DaddyChoc]

So sorry we continue to disappoint you by thinking positively about the team and its chances to land top recruits. Our optimism must be a constant source of annoyance to you.

nah I just like to annoy you... Im sure Im doing a great job (I new HuskyNan would say something smh)

 

[Husky WBB Fan]

There are a couple things in this post that I take issue with:

1. You appear to think the recruits colluded in some way in order to "steal" scholarships from players already in the program. I seriously doubt there was any intent to organize themselves for some kind of takeover or attempt to force out players.
2. Re: the "who's in charge here" thing; as another poster noted, Hatchell had to offer the scholarships so it's not like the kids just announced they were going to UNC whether Hatchell wanted them or not. I'll bet Sylvia never thought all those kids would commit. It's a rare coach that doesn't offer more schollies than she has open slots as it's very uncommon for every offered recruit to accept.
3. "it appears that having a common coach and school is about the extent of the commonalities between Maya and DD." You are tip-toeing around it but this is a nasty shot at Diamond. I am not going to tolerate people on the Boneyard engaging in character assassination. Others might think it's fine but - listen up, everyone - We Do Not Do It Here. Biff, JS and I are on the lookout for things like this and will prune them out. If we miss one, hit the Report link below the post.

Nan,
1. I don't think they actively colluded to steal (I did not use this word, so not sure where the quotes came from). I am speculating (happens all the time on the BY) that they just wanted to get all their friends together and did not really focus on the ramifications to the full team in terms of total scholarships.
2. Yes, SH offered the scholarships, but the way verbals more typically go, there is the element of time for a coach to finesse the pool of offers out there when they come in spaced apart, by withdrawing, in one form or another, an offer to balance the team and number of recruits. The group verbals today kind of took that opportunity away from her.
3. Can't disagree with you on the tip-toe. sorry, will be more cautious as I usually am, but this one just popped out at me after a long day.

 

[cferraro04]

Here is my answer to all the excitement today:

Stephanie Dolson
Kiah Stokes
Heather Buck
Breanna Stewart
Morgan Tuck
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
Caroline Doty
Kelly Faris
Bria Hartley
Laura Engeln
Brianna Banks
Moriah Jefferson

 

[ASweet3781]

What the heck is this elite business? KML is not Elite? Moriah and Morgan don't have the potential to be elite?

Pure drivel. I guess in your world Ashja Jones and Sue Bird wouldn't be labeled as Elite the day they signed with UConn.

Just because Cierra Burdick was invisible this year doesn't mean every top 10 recruit who is not ranked #1 will be underwhelming or non elite lol.

It all matters what the coach does with the players and the sky is the limit for many of the players on our roster. I can't say the same about some other programs though! Has Hollie flown out to Oregon yet?

 

[UConnChapette]

This creates a conundrum for Hatchell. Of course many coaches offer more scholarships than they actually have available. No coach reasonably expects for every kid they offer to accept. But that appears to be what is happening, and may not be over.

Despite the embarrassment of riches, I doubt Sylvia is the happiest coach in America tonight. In fact, she may have a similar reaction to that of Robert Redford's character in "The Candidate" when he wins an election he was told was unwinable - "What do we do now?"

Hatchell is in a very difficult spot. Unless some of these verbals are retracted or existing players transfer, at some point she is going to have some very difficult conversations.

Her choices:

1) Tell existing players that come 2013 they will not be offered a renewal of their scholarships and will need to transfer
2) Tell some of the players who have verballed that there will be no room for them and she has to rescind the scholarship offer
3) Tell some players they can stay on the team but not under scholarship (does the NCAA limit the total number of scholarship and non-scholarshp players?)

It will be fascinating to watch how this plays out. Will existing players leave on their own, or will Sylvia have to make the hard call and tell some of them to make plans to transfer? How will this impact the players that remain, who may have developed very close friendships with those "forced" out? Will there be team chemistry problems due to lingering resentment as a result? If Sylvia has to rescind one or more offers, how will that impact future recruiting?

I don't envy the position Hatchell is in. She has always struck me as a woman of honor. Yet, how do you honor scholarship offers to possibly 20 student athletes when the rules say you are only allowed 15? It seems to be a no-win situation all around.

Is there any precedent for this happening before?

 

[Goodies07]

According to Bluestar Basketball's listing, UNC now has 10 players COMMITTED to their program spanning the classes of 2013-2015. Committed-not signed, not currently playing. That is an appalling number in my opinion. This doesn't even take into account the 4 players they signed for this season. In other words, if all commitments hold (a big IF if you ask me), their roster is basically set for their incoming frosh class' senior year...with just one spot remaining which apparently has a good shot of being held for Russell.

If anybody wants to work out how this roster would look from year to year, feel free. I haven't read the entire thread so maybe someone already has.

But amazing recruiting job by Hatchell (with big help from Trisha Stafford-Odom likely). This is probably the biggest recruiting haul for any women's basketball program in one day ever. Not the biggest fan of Hatchell's system (played out) but she's still finding a way to attract players to it.

 

[EricLA]

Geno recruited McDaniel, and maybe offered her a scholarship, so are you now saying she isn't good because she was barely top 25? Geno saw something in her! North Carolina got one elite recruit, one that was said here to be a gamechanger when it was believed she was coming to Uconn. So has that changed now that she is going to NC? Mavunga isn't chopped liver either! North Carolina has done fine! One elite recruit with a nice supporting cast, the same thing Uconn has done. Stewart is your elite, the rest are good supporting players, and will add to the team!

Don't get too caught up in the ranking of a player! That number besides their name doesn't tell you how they will adjust to the collegiate game. For instance, Lewis was number one coming out of high school, and had a nice freshman year, but Williams of Duke won freshman of the year honors, but came out of high school as the number two player. Rankings mean nothing, it's what the player does on the court that counts!

Geno also offered scholarships to Heather Buck, Michala Johnson, and Lauren Engeln. absolutely nothing wrong with them and Buck was top 20 per Blue Star IIRC.

and BTW, Geno also rescinded the scholly offer to Xylena. she couldn't make up her mind so he made it up for her. and i don't recall a single post that said anything about Xylena being a game changer. and i mean this as no disrespect to her, but she's nowhere near the caliber of player that Tuck, Jefferson or Stewart are.

and seriously? what are you talking about KML? she and Williams had great freshmen years. both had ups and downs. are you seriously telling me McDaniel is as good as KML? and "one elite recruit with a nice supporting cast"? that's actually funny. i'm not trying to be rude, but your post is insane. give us a shout when you're not on the sauce...