New school commitments by Transfers - March 2024

[Dillon77]

Not certain the “she” you refer to in your post. I don‘t think playing time concerns entered into Bessoir’s decision. She tore her left ACL twice in three years. Emily had a starting spot on Germany’s National WBB Team that earned entry to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Germany then clinched a spot in the Paris Olympics, marking its first ever appearance. Emily returned to Germany in April to facilitate her recovery. If successful she will play in the Olympics after eight months of rehab. She will then enter the professional leagues somewhere in Europe.

Sontag, on the other hand, battled nagging injuries that started in FIBA tournament play last summer. Lina never really got going last season. Lina did play for the German National Team squad that qualified for the Olympics in February. Could PT considerations have shaped her decision to retire? Perhaps. Lina is very intent on becoming a physician. Her situation is similar to Arizona forward Maya Nnaji‘s decision to give up basketball (temporarily) to concentrate on her medical school program.

Christeen Iwuala transferred to Ole Miss. She cherished her time as a Bruin and was beloved by her teammates, staff and fans. But she wanted more opportunity to play and saw limited upside serving as Lauren Betts backup and with Sienna Betts arrival in 2025.

Thanks for the information. It was Christeen Iwuala I was referring to there.

 

[Dillon77]

Congrats on the LAX championship. I didn't realize that the center of power had shifted from Maryland/Virginia.

Thanks. The Irish were flying on cylinders this year to get the repeat championship.

The nexus of lacrosse was always Maryland/northern Virginia - Long Island/northern New Jersey - Upstate New York - New England prep schools. But that has been expanding rapidly over the years to Atlanta and Chicago suburbs to Southern California and even parts of Florida. The main collegiate powers are still mostly Eastern, but Notre Dame and Denver led the charge in the men's game out west. Denver, with a former Princeton coach, won a NC in 2015 and ND finally broke through in 2023 and this year. This year's Irish are heavily from the metro- New York and NJ area, but have key starters from all over, including Florida. In fact, Jordan Faison, the starting wide receiver for the football team, starts as a midfielder. Great player with superior athletic and technical skills.

I love the game, in parr, because it employs so many similar attributes of basketball....ISo's, pick and roll, skip passes, weakside picks on offense. Man on man, doubles, slides on defense. Really feels like home on both court and field.

 

[Vowelguy]

.

 

[LoTrader]

UCLA is going to be scary good. I don't think everyone understands how good Timea Gardiner is already, and TG's upside is ridiculous. If Cori Close doesn't make to the F4 this next season, that will be a massive underachievement.

 

[cancontent]

UCLA is going to be scary good. I don't think everyone understands how good Timea Gardiner is already, and TG's upside is ridiculous. If Cori Close doesn't make to the F4 this next season, that will be a massive underachievement.

If they don't, that's on them. Haven't seen as many Oregon State games like you have, but you don't have to convince me.

 

[jdote33]

 

[GoChips20]

UCLA is going to be scary good. I don't think everyone understands how good Timea Gardiner is already, and TG's upside is ridiculous. If Cori Close doesn't make to the F4 this next season, that will be a massive underachievement.

I genuinely really like Cori Close but I just haven’t seen anything from her schematics or adjustments that lead me to believe she can lead a team to the Final Four. This team could be talented enough that it doesn’t matter, though.

I’ll be really interested to see who lands in the starting lineup. I personally think Gardiner is handily better than Barker but I wonder if it’ll be a SC-type style where everyone plays in flux lineups.

 

[Rooster C.]

. View attachment 101102

Ramani Parker committed to Seton Hall

 

[Dillon77]

Raoul got the tape measure out last night....

"The three tallest WBB players in the portal this cycle (each 6-7) have all now landed at a new school:
—Kennedy Basham: Oregon → Arizona State
—Hawa Doumbouya: Maryland → Virginia
—Lety Vasconcelos: Baylor → Illinois"

 

[GamecockFam]

Raoul got the tape measure out last night....

"The three tallest WBB players in the portal this cycle (each 6-7) have all now landed at a new school:
—Kennedy Basham: Oregon → Arizona State
—Hawa Doumbouya: Maryland → Virginia
—Lety Vasconcelos: Baylor → Illinois"

6'7" for women must be the the equivalent to the 7'3" threshold for men. We don't really hear about too many women in basketball that are taller. Britney Griner and Hans Xu are the only two women that come to mind that are taller than 6'7". But we have a "bunch" that are around 6'7"... McCowan, Cardoso, Betts, JJ, the above players, etc.

 

[Rooster C.]

6'7" for women must be the the equivalent to the 7'3" threshold for men. We don't really hear about too many women in basketball that are taller. Britney Griner and Hans Xu are the only two women that come to mind that are taller than 6'7". But we have a "bunch" that are around 6'7"... McCowan, Cardoso, Betts, JJ, the above players, etc.

Kyei at Oregon is 6'8"

 

[Rooster C.]

I believe Utah also has a 6'8" player from Belgium but don't think she plays much.

 

[YoDore]

I wasn't counting Derrick. I was counting Starkey, Mitchell, Redus, Rice, Schwartz, and now Augustus.

Returning to this because Vandy announced today they are promoting a staff member whose new duties will include assistant coach, which would give them six assistants. In typical Vanderbilt fashion, there is no explanation. Is someone leaving? Are you actually allowed more than five assistants? I have no clue. I also have no clue why you would feel the need to have more than five assistants for basketball except that it does give someone else an opportunity to get their foot in the door. (sorry for the thread hijack)

Women’s Basketball Adds To Staff

Head coach Shea Ralph announces four new additions and two promotions to her 2024-25 staff

vucommodores.com

 

[Vowelguy]

Returning to this because Vandy announced today they are promoting a staff member whose new duties will include assistant coach, which would give them six assistants. In typical Vanderbilt fashion, there is no explanation. Is someone leaving? Are you actually allowed more than five assistants? I have no clue. I also have no clue why you would feel the need to have more than five assistants for basketball except that it does give someone else an opportunity to get their foot in the door. (sorry for the thread hijack)

Women’s Basketball Adds To Staff

Head coach Shea Ralph announces four new additions and two promotions to her 2024-25 staff

vucommodores.com

Looking at the roster page, I see 4 assistants -- Garrick, Earley, DeMille, Mundinger?

 

[bballnut90]

And Graves has a extensive review scheduled with the AD next week. Yikes!

Can't imagine they'd let him go this late in the offseason..but I'm surprised he's still there altogether. Losing 14 games to end the season, including your last game 79-30, then losing your best players to the portal is definitely grounds for firing. If he doesn't deliver this year (NCAA bid or better), I'm guessing he's out the door.

 

[YoDore]

Looking at the roster page, I see 4 assistants -- Garrick, Earley, DeMille, Mundinger?

Katie Lou Samuelson and Kyla Irwin are also assistants. Their only restriction is off-campus recruiting.

 

[Vowelguy]

Katie Lou Samuelson and Kyla Irwin are also assistants. Their only restriction is off-campus recruiting.

They're listed as Directors, not coaches.

Women's Basketball

The Official Athletic Site of the Vanderbilt Commodores. The most comprehensive coverage of the Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, schedule and rosters. Powered by WMT Digital.

vucommodores.com

 

[YoDore]

They're listed as Directors, not coaches.

Women's Basketball

The Official Athletic Site of the Vanderbilt Commodores. The most comprehensive coverage of the Vanderbilt Women’s Basketball on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, schedule and rosters. Powered by WMT Digital.

vucommodores.com

I know. The website is not updated include their coaching positions for some reason. Shea talked all season about getting Katie Lou working as a coach because she is interested in being a full-time coach after her WNBA career ends. She even explained that she could do anything another assistant coach can do except recruit off campus. Same for Kyla. They were added when the NCAA changed its rule to allow two more assistant coaches.

They also retained their former positions along with coaching duties, which for Katie Lou means director of player development. It could be they just rolled the coaching duties into their former position and didn't feel the need to formally designate them as coaches.

 

[jdote33]

Was waiting for this one. I'm on the KY bandwagon now

 

[Wildcatfan3]

Really excited about the job Brooks has done this offseason. Built a really nice roster out of nothing.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I know they lost a lot, but Kentucky quickly added a lot from the portal. Plus, Brooks can actually coach. I look for a quick turnaround.

 

[GoChips20]

I know they lost a lot, but Kentucky quickly added a lot from the portal. Plus, Brooks can actually coach. I look for a quick turnaround.

They look like a well-constructed team now. They’ve got an elite PG, solid support pieces, and an excellent 6’6” post tandem in Clara Strack and Clara Silva. Strack looked great filling in for Kitley in the NCAAT and Silva’s been said to be a top-10 caliber recruit but wasn’t ranked as an international prospect.

I think they’ll be in the upper third of the SEC and could steal a game against Carolina, Texas, or LSU.

 

[LoTrader]

Kentucky has secured my favorite player from last years OSU WBB squad. This is a great fit for Dominka and Kentucky head coach. Kentucky has secured a player with MASSIVE upside (and already very good baller). I too, am now a Kentucky WBB fan. Not a Kentucky baseball fan (Kentucky plays my OSU Baseball Team in the Super Regional this weekend).

 

[cancontent]

I know they lost a lot, but Kentucky quickly added a lot from the portal. Plus, Brooks can actually coach. I look for a quick turnaround.

How quick?

 

[Vowelguy]

I think SC - Tx - Ok - LSU are top 4.

Cats seem in contention for #5