New Uconn Target

[tnvolfan65]

Keil Moore just tweeted that Uconn is showing interest in Erica McCall out of Cali.

 

[alexrgct]

HoopGurlz profile. Currently ranked #16.

Not sure what this means as far as prospects of landing any current offers (may mean nothing, may be connected), but she's certainly very long at 6'3".

 

[EricLA]

wow thanks for the update. not sure i like that with regards to Diamond and Taya, and maybe it means nothing, but oh well.

 

[TDiNozzo]

Keil Moore just tweeted that Uconn is showing interest in Erica McCall out of Cali.

Thanks for the info...I guess there is some use for twittering... I never did...

 

[tnvolfan65]

With Davis' decommittment, all 10 of the top 2013 prospects are uncommitted. Of course I'm rooting for Tenn to land Deshields and Taya to go anywhere but Uconn, but possibly Geno is just making a plan A, B, and C.

Anything can happen, and Uconn has had a lot of success recently in landing the recruits they want, but I was surprised to see y'all only had three targets at the moment. It's not unimaginable by any means that Deshields and Reimer go elsewhere and Samuelson joins her sister at Stanford.

Not that y'all need much help from this class, but I was curious to see who else y'all got involved with.

 

[tnvolfan65]

Thanks for the info...I guess there is some use for twittering... I never did...

For sure. It's how I learned Tennessee was involved with 3 new prospects as well last week.

 

[pap49cba]

Interesting development. I wonder if Geno has cooled on Reimer after watching her a few weeks ago. IIRC, a day later he made the Geno Show crack about big kids in h.s. just standing around.

 

[Wbbfan1]

IMHO sometimes Geno and the coaching staff don't show enough interest in players in a given year. Depending on the number of recruits they hope to sign, they should be interested in at least double the number of recruits. So if they hope to sign 3 players, they should have identified 6 to 10 players who would fit their needs.

 

[connboy77]

Obviously UCONN'S two top targets are Diamond and Taya, but it doesn't hurt to have a plan B and C!

 

[UConnCat]

McCall is Dewanna Bonner's sister. Here are Hoopgurlz's observations at the U16 trials:

Hustles and runs the floor, still raw offensively but has the toughness and work ethic to improve. (Bodine)

Terrific showing, especially as the trials progressed. She showed more offensive skills than we've seen in the past and against better competition. She could still add and refine her back to the basket skills, but her hustle and tenacity keeps her a factor on every play. She just produces whether given touches on the blocks or not. (Hansen)

http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/138727/erica-mccall

 

[alexrgct]

Hustle and tenacity= UConn basketball. If Geno saw the same thing, not surprised he'd be interested.

 

[speedoo]

From "On the Trail":

Erica McCall of Bakersfield, Calif., has been on a tear in recent weeks, posting triple-doubles in her last three games. The 6-foot-3 junior forward for Ridgeview High School (Bakersfield, Calif.) scored 24 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked 11 shots in Tuesday's 61-32 win over Golden Valley (Bakersfield, Calif.), lifting her team to 12-4 on the season.

McCall, who is No. 16 in the ESPNU HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2013 class, kicked off her seven-game hot streak on Dec. 27, when she finished with 40 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 97-37 win over Frazier Mountain (Lebec, Calif.). In her last seven games she is averaging 28.1 points, 18.9 rebounds and 7.9 blocks per game.

She seems to be coming on strong. Dewanna Bonner's sister... some good genes, I assume.

 

[HGN]

Interesting development. I wonder if Geno has cooled on Reimer after watching her a few weeks ago. IIRC, a day later he made the Geno Show crack about big kids in h.s. just standing around.

Pap49, I think Geno is just sniffing around. I really dont think he is all that interested unless he doesn't get DD and/or Reimer. If he doesn't get one or the other , interest in McCall could heat up. But since DD nor Reimer has committed , he would be crazy not to develop a backup plan. All the recruits have a backup plan or school on their list, why not the coaches and schools?

 

[UcMiami]

IMHO sometimes Geno and the coaching staff don't show enough interest in players in a given year. Depending on the number of recruits they hope to sign, they should be interested in at least double the number of recruits. So if they hope to sign 3 players, they should have identified 6 to 10 players who would fit their needs.

I think they probably start with a list of about 20 that they quickly narrow down to 10. And of those ten, they may not get much return interest from around half - so, probably early in the Junior year they are in the 4 to 6 range, of which maybe 1 or 2 do not show normal progression from sophmore to junior year, decide they are not really interested in Uconn, or Uconn decides they are not really interested in them for whatever reason. And during junior year one or two players may become visible to Uconn that they didn't have on their radar before, either from lack of exposure or because they mak a big development leap, or because the had previously not shown interest in Uconn. Geno and the coaches are pretty picky about the players they like - they do not tend to have log jams at a position on the team, are willing to walk away from great talent if they don't like something about the situation, and they have been pretty successful with their system for at least a decade.
Occasionally they miss out and end up with a single player like Kelly, but not often. And they prefer that situation to taking players that they do not feel are 'right' for the team. And occasionally they take a player who may never have the skill to be a starter, because they are 'right' and they have the scholarship room.

 

[pap49cba]

Pap49, I think Geno is just sniffing around. I really dont think he is all that interested unless he doesn't get DD and/or Reimer. If he doesn't get one or the other , interest in McCall could heat up. But since DD nor Reimer has committed , he would be crazy not to develop a backup plan. All the recruits have a backup plan or school on their list, why not the coaches and schools?

I don't disagree at all. I just thought the timing of the Geno Show comment was curious.... Could have been totally unconnected to the Reimer scouting trip and just a general observation of what he sees watching h.s. games.

 

[Kibitzer]

Obviously, Geno did not consult with anyone here. No wonder he is such great recruiter. It wasn't long ago that this board was buzzing away about Sara Hammond, who went to Louisville and has not exactly set the world afire.

Geno also has a remarkable knack for springing surprises on us. I doubt many knew much about Kalana Greene or Tiffany Hayes or Brianna Banks (or Kara Wolters) before Geno showed his cards.

There is, of course, that legendary front court of Goring and Walker and that tall kid that toured Italy with the team in the summer, then disappeared, and finally popped up at Richmond. This group would be backed up by Sherwood and the guards would be Wright and Robinson.

A lot of water flows under the bridge between "new recruiting target" day and Senior Night. It's called attrition.

 

[Wonkster]

.
McCall = Xylina replacement.
.

 

[Wonkster]

... It wasn't long ago that this board was buzzing away about Sara Hammond, who went to Louisville and has not exactly [made] people there forget about Angel McCaughtry...

.
Sheesh, Kib - the kid is only halfway through her freshman year. McCaughtry herself wasn't exactly setting the Big East on fire at that point, either.

And, let's not forget - Geno didn't offer McCaughtry, but he did offer Hammond.
.

 

[UConnCat]

A Bakersfield reporter is reporting that Geno will be in CA next week to watch McCall play. He'll most likely head to CA after the Oklahoma game.

UConn chasing Ridgeview's McCall

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will be in Bakersfield next week to see Ridgeview junior center Erica McCall, Bakersfield Californian reporter Zach Ewing says.
That's a whopper when you consider UConn has won six of the past 12 national titles.
The 6-2 McCall is averaging 26.2 points, 17.1 rebounds and 7.3 blocks per year after going 19.8, 8.4 and 16.0 in those departments while leading the Wolf Pack to the D-III title.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/06/2712491/valleys-best-grab-attention-for.html

 

[MilfordHusky]

A Bakersfield reporter is reporting that Geno will be in CA next week to watch McCall play. He'll most likely head to CA after the Oklahoma game.

UConn chasing Ridgeview's McCall

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will be in Bakersfield next week to see Ridgeview junior center Erica McCall, Bakersfield Californian reporter Zach Ewing says.
That's a whopper when you consider UConn has won six of the past 12 national titles.
The 6-2 McCall is averaging 26.2 points, 17.1 rebounds and 7.3 blocks per year after going 19.8, 8.4 and 16.0 [sic--wrong order] in those departments while leading the Wolf Pack to the D-III title.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/06/2712491/valleys-best-grab-attention-for.html

Huge numbers of rebounds and blocks! Points are not too shabby either.

 

[winlots]

She SOUNDS plenty interesting to me. I'm glad Coach is going to see her.

 

[VAMike23]

For sure. It's how I learned Tennessee was involved with 3 new prospects as well last week.

Who are the new LV prospects?

Besides McCall, it's quite possible that Saniya Chong could become a 4th player-of-interest for Geno fairly soon. (Which you probably know since you follow the board and SC is the hot topic du jour )

I don't know how good our chances are with Taya, but I am guardedly optimistic about Diamond coming to Connecticut. Taya is an outstanding player for sure(!), but something about Diamond just makes her extra special.

 

[MarieM]

maybe Bonner asked Taurasi to tell GA to check her out lol

 

[MarieM]

A Bakersfield reporter is reporting that Geno will be in CA next week to watch McCall play. He'll most likely head to CA after the Oklahoma game.

UConn chasing Ridgeview's McCall

UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma will be in Bakersfield next week to see Ridgeview junior center Erica McCall, Bakersfield Californian reporter Zach Ewing says.
That's a whopper when you consider UConn has won six of the past 12 national titles.
The 6-2 McCall is averaging 26.2 points, 17.1 rebounds and 7.3 blocks per year after going 19.8, 8.4 and 16.0 in those departments while leading the Wolf Pack to the D-III title.

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/06/2712491/valleys-best-grab-attention-for.html

WOW those are some amazing stats almost a triple double

 

[magical2]

wow thanks for the update. not sure i like that with regards to Diamond and Taya, and maybe it means nothing, but oh well.

Eric this connects with the conversation that I need to get back to you about re recruits.
I do know she made the U16 USA team and won gold. She has been playing real well and getting alot of attention out west! I always wonder if one recruit may be connected with another. In this case we know she is friends with many of the top players in the 2013 class and some in the 14 class. I am trying to figure out who she plays with in non High School games.
Of course I get obcessive and anxious when we don't immediately get commitments from kids we offer and are interested in I want to have the best and have them immediately. Your conversation comments re DD and Taya and others calmed me down when I was worrying. There are a few Ca gals, the Samuelson sisters included that we have her eyes on
I can never get enough recruiting inf. There are also at least 3 kids in NY that we are watching.
2013 and 2014.