January Recruiting Thread

[nomdoux]

Interesting option on the transfer portal: "Mississippi State women's basketball forward Rickea Jackson, the SEC's leading scorer this season, plans to enter the transfer portal, she announced in a social media post Monday."

I caught some of Rickea Jackson’s game @ Arkansas last night. Obvious talent but lots of standing around on perimeter & no defensive intensity. She did not engage at all in paint or on boards despite obvious length, athleticism. Stark contrast to similarly sized foil Sasha Goforth, who was active & had big imprint on both ends.

 

[Mdoggie]

You bring up an interesting question/comparison. I believe Toomey will be exceptional because she is an elite shot maker from all three levels of the floor who is capable of creating her own shot. Samantha Brunelle was no slouch she was a very good player at a comparable age. I just think Toomey is a little more skilled mainly in ball handling, sheer athleticism, & passing.
Toomey is also 2 inches taller than Brunelle and when you combine that with the difference in athleticism that may be all the difference in the world. Simply put Brunelle is a tweeter- not good enough to defend the perimeter as a wing on a consistent basis and not big enough to bang in the post consistently. Toomey is agile enough to defend the perimeter in a pinch and is plenty big enough to bang and be successful as well. It is also notable that Brunelle sharp decline and fall from the #1 player in the class started with and was mainly about shooting. At USA basketball U16 and U17 Brunelle became a very very poor shooter.

Additionally C is our friend, Sam is not.

 

[CocoHusky]

Could be interesting. The player for 1 year is a good match. Don't know about the issues she had at MS but her stats suggest an athletic and tall 3. A player who is more a volume scorer than a shooter. Pretty good on the boards and blocking shots, but ball-handling numbers not that good. May be more of a 3/4 than a 2/3 which I think is the greater need.

I haven't heard anything more on that girl from Princeton that was in the portal, Abby something, but her stats were impressive too.

It is Abby Meyers and she is still listed as being in the transfer portal. Here is an interesting tidbit- Meyers is from Potomac Maryland which means the University of Maryland is right there in her back yard and was though to be the major contender for her services as a graduate transfer. Maryland recently signed Lavender Briggs from Florida who is perhaps a better player.
I'm sure others players will enter into the transfer portal but I"m not sure that there will be any that will fit UCONN's need next season more than Briggs would have or Jackson and Meyers still can.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Simply put Brunelle is a tweeter- not good enough to defend the perimeter as a wing on a consistent basis and not big enough to bang in the post consistently.

Did you mean tweener?

 

[Charliebball]

Interesting option on the transfer portal: "Mississippi State women's basketball forward Rickea Jackson, the SEC's leading scorer this season, plans to enter the transfer portal, she announced in a social media post Monday."

she considered Ohio State, Texas, South Carolina and Tennessee among others as a high school senior........impossible to know if those schools are still of intertest

 

[Charliebball]

I caught some of Rickea Jackson’s game @ Arkansas last night. Obvious talent but lots of standing around on perimeter & no defensive intensity. She did not engage at all in paint or on boards despite obvious length, athleticism. Stark contrast to similarly sized foil Sasha Goforth, who was active & had big imprint on both ends.

I would assume her heart wasn't in playing there anymore and that's why she's off the team in the middle of the season..... thus the lackluster play perhaps.....

 

[CocoHusky]

I would assume her heart wasn't in playing there anymore and that's why she's off the team in the middle of the season..... thus the lackluster play perhaps.....

Jackson was having an AA caliber season 20.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG which is not bad for "lackluster" play. Consider the major things that have happened to her since she enrolled at MSU. There was COVID. The coach that recruited her Vic left for Texas, The coach that convinced her to stay Nikki has been out all year battling cancer. One of her teammates and perhaps the teams best player Jessika Carter gets arrested. 6 of her teammates decide to transfer in March of 2021. In April of 2021 she inherits 3 brand new teammates from the Hayes clan of players that was clearly a package deal dumped on her.
That is quite a lot. Coming out of high school I had her rated as the second best defender in the class behind Jordan Horston. I was also very careful to point out that it was going to take the right coach for both of them to play defense up to their full potential. Vic was that right coach for Rickea. It really pains me to watch Rickea play lately because rarely is she not the best athlete on the floor and almost none of that athletic ability gets applied to the defensive side of the ball. If she chooses her next stop wisely she could be a defensive monster. Hint: Head northeast from your current location Rickea, stop once you get to 41.8084° N, 72.2495° W, a masterful instructor awaits you.

 

[Mdoggie]

Kennedy Smith

 

[Charliebball]

Jackson was having an AA caliber season 20.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG which is not bad for "lackluster" play. Consider the major things that have happened to her since she enrolled at MSU. There was COVID. The coach that recruited her Vic left for Texas, The coach that convinced her to stay Nikki has been out all year battling cancer. One of her teammates and perhaps the teams best player Jessika Carter gets arrested. 6 of her teammates decide to transfer in March of 2021. In April of 2021 she inherits 3 brand new teammates from the Hayes clan of players that was clearly a package deal dumped on her.
That is quite a lot. Coming out of high school I had her rated as the second best defender in the class behind Jordan Horston. I was also very careful to point out that it was going to take the right coach for both of them to play defense up to their full potential. Vic was that right coach for Rickea. It really pains me to watch Rickea play lately because rarely is she not the best athlete on the floor and almost none of that athletic ability gets applied to the defensive side of the ball. If she chooses her next stop wisely she could be a defensive monster. Hint: Head northeast from your current location Rickea, stop once you get to 41.8084° N, 72.2495° W, a masterful instructor awaits you.

I hear you..........I was responding to the post that said she didn't look involved defensively in the Arkansas game the other night.......I can't imagine leaving a team in the middle of the season, especially a season in which she was playing so well........she must have some serious issues with the program to bail out now..........

 

[Mdoggie]

Kennedy Smith 18 points is about a quarter and 1/2. Really hard to judge vs a very bad team. She does make it look easy. Need to see more of her versus good competition. Final score was 70-17.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

1/25

Sahara Williams: 26 points

Aaliyah Chavez: 13 points

 

[Sluconn Husky]

1/25

Ayanna Patterson: 23 points (11-15 FG, 1-4 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 blocks

AP hit four jumpers in this game including an impressive step-back and an almost three but for a toe on the line.

 

[sun]

A coach can trace a student in the transfer portal to find out if they've matriculated at another college or not, and to be updated when there's been any changes to their transfer portal contact status.

https://ncaa.s3.amazonaws.com/files/apps/transfer/DII_TransferPortal_UserGuide.pdf

Rickea Jackson played for Team USA in the FIBA 3X3 U18 World Cup 2019

 

[Sluconn Husky]

1/25

KK Bransford: 27 points (8-19 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 9-10 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, fouled out

 

[Sluconn Husky]

1/25

Mikaylah Williams: 29 points

Blanca Thomas: 15 points

 

[ScottCT]

1/25

KK Bransford: 27 points (8-19 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 9-10 FT), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, fouled out

I think you meant to put KK Arnold.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I think you meant to put KK Arnold.

Whoops. I'm blaming that on the time....

 

[nomdoux]

Jackson was having an AA caliber season 20.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG which is not bad for "lackluster" play. Consider the major things that have happened to her since she enrolled at MSU…

Fair points. Certainly host of issues justifying decision. Was unaware of RJ’s portal entry/disclosure timing vis-a-vis Arkansas game. Haven’t followed her college career closely. Was simply relaying my game observations in limited viewing, esp given her talent/profile.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

1/24

Sarah Strong ('24): 25 points (9-15 FG, 3-5 3-PT), 18 rebounds, 6 assists

Video from this performance and, unlike most highlight packages, this one contains plays of all sorts, both positive and negative.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

The recruiting could get intense, but Strong isn’t all that consumed by it now. Most of the schools that Strong is interested in have offered, except for Harvard and perhaps Oregon. She has unofficially visited NC State, North Carolina, Connecticut, Clemson and Harvard.

“I watch NC State a lot,” Strong said. “It’s been very exciting. They make it clear they want me to come.

What makes Strong a unique post player is that her vision on the court is high level and she also has great hands catching the ball or snagging rebounds. She believes she has improved both her vertical jump and speed since the summer, but that will continue to be emphasized.

“I really like sharing the ball,” Strong said. “I think that is important than me scoring points. The vision, I don’t know, it just comes natural I guess. I watch a lot of basketball at home, so I just know where to be and where to go.”

Danny Strong joked that she didn’t get that kind of passing skills from him.

“When I played, I wanted to score,” Danny said. “I was a scorer. I’d shoot first and pass second. She’s pass first and shoot second. She understands how to make people around her better.”

Sophomore Sarah Strong forging her own successful path

SANFORD — Sanford (N.C.) Grace Christian sophomore post player Sarah Strong is considered a five-star prospect.

ncstate.rivals.com

 

[Mdoggie]

Mdoggie and the all knowing Carnac at the Etiwanda game in our UConn regalia. Carnac said he knew I would be there before I did. Mdoggie (not short) Carnac (tall)
Sorry for the sideways pic. I couldn’t figure out how to right it.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Prospects Nation finally does a small update on the verbals from both KK Arnold (not Bransford) and Ashlynn Shade.

Brandon Clay:

Class of 2023 Guard KK Arnold of Germantown, Wisconsin, made the choice to continue her college career at the University of Connecticut. Currently ranked as the nation’s No. 1 Point Guard in the class, expect the USA Basketball 16-and-under selection to provide the Huskies with another elite level piece to the roster puzzle.

...

Since Arnold made her choice, fellow junior guard Ashlynn Shade of Noblesville, Indiana, has also chosen Storrs as her future home. The two have the tools to combine forming yet another notable backcourt pairing for a school that has no shortage of legendary perimeter players.

Arnold Chooses UConn | Prospects Nation

prospectsnation.com

 

[eebmg]

Prospects Nation finally does a small update on the verbals from both KK Arnold (not Bransford) and Ashlynn Shade.

Brandon Clay:

Class of 2023 Guard KK Arnold of Germantown, Wisconsin, made the choice to continue her college career at the University of Connecticut. Currently ranked as the nation’s No. 1 Point Guard in the class, expect the USA Basketball 16-and-under selection to provide the Huskies with another elite level piece to the roster puzzle.

...

Since Arnold made her choice, fellow junior guard Ashlynn Shade of Noblesville, Indiana, has also chosen Storrs as her future home. The two have the tools to combine forming yet another notable backcourt pairing for a school that has no shortage of legendary perimeter players.

Arnold Chooses UConn | Prospects Nation

prospectsnation.com

“I believe that I will bring a quicker up-tempo point guard mentality and presence to the roster," Arnold said. "In addition, I expect that my on the ball defense abilities will keep climbing during my career there.”

 

[nomdoux]

It is Abby Meyers and she is still listed as being in the transfer portal… Meyers is from Potomac Maryland which means the University of Maryland is right there in her back yard…

Recall that another sharpshooting Ivy League G, Katie Benzan, left Harvard for Maryland 2 years ago.

 

[Sluconn Husky]