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October non-UConn recruiting thread

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I think people over-fixate on the ranking of a single class in evaluating Close's results and tagging her with the underachiever label. I don't think she's a great coach or a horrible coach; I've seen better and I've seen worse.

First of all, would the 2014 class have even been ranked #1 if Caldwell had been subtracted from the equation? Food for thought.

Just as important as one strong recruiting class is how well you recruit around it, and the recruiting in the surrounding years was simply not very good. That's the difference between being a top 8 or top 16 type team and a Final Four team. I believe Fields and Burke were the only recruits within two years before or after the 2014 class who materialized into strong impact players. That's just not enough if the expectation is to win titles.

What would have happened if Gottlieb signed Kelsey Plum or Ionescu did not commit to Oregon?

And therein lies the argument: Did Fields and Burke materialize into strong impact players because or Close, despite her or a combination? Or were the rankings simply wrong? It's hard not to remember the article in the Daily Bruin where she and the coaches were so unhappy at their players effort that they walked out of the gym. Kari Korver took over the practice the afternoon. That was when people were thinking that the players were running the program, not the coaches.

In the end, Close isn't going anywhere unless another strong school signs her away. She's promoted a strong culture at the school, has a respectable record, loves UCLA and the administration (reciprocal for the administration) and hasn't had a whiff of scandal, super important that her name was nowhere near athlete gate.
 
What would have happened if Gottlieb signed Kelsey Plum or Ionescu did not commit to Oregon?

And therein lies the argument: Did Fields and Burke materialize into strong impact players because or Close, despite her or a combination? Or were the rankings simply wrong? It's hard not to remember the article in the Daily Bruin where she and the coaches were so unhappy at their players effort that they walked out of the gym. Kari Korver took over the practice the afternoon. That was when people were thinking that the players were running the program, not the coaches.

In the end, Close isn't going anywhere unless another strong school signs her away. She's promoted a strong culture at the school, has a respectable record, loves UCLA and the administration (reciprocal for the administration) and hasn't had a whiff of scandal, super important that her name was nowhere near athlete gate.

Just out of interest? What is Kari Korver doing now? Playing overseas?
The reason I ask is that I could see her running a practice -- she struck me as a person who saw the whole picture when she played. Jordin Canada was a huge fan of hers.

Same thing applied to Michaela Mabrey at ND. Muffet told stories that Mabrey would stop drills so often to talk to her peers that she and Niele let her run them. Of course, she's now an assistant coach there....

Could coaching be in Korver's future?
 
Just out of interest? What is Kari Korver doing now? Playing overseas?
The reason I ask is that I could see her running a practice -- she struck me as a person who saw the whole picture when she played. Jordin Canada was a huge fan of hers.

Same thing applied to Michaela Mabrey at ND. Muffet told stories that Mabrey would stop drills so often to talk to her peers that she and Niele let her run them. Of course, she's now an assistant coach there....

Could coaching be in Korver's future?
She’s with the LA Sparks:
 
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Does anyone know how good she is? I saw 2 Crestwood games this year to watch Edwards. When Lattimore got into foul trouble, they just moved Edwards to the 5 and brought in another guard. They didn't put this girl into the game....
 
Does anyone know how good she is? I saw 2 Crestwood games this year to watch Edwards. When Lattimore got into foul trouble, they just moved Edwards to the 5 and brought in another guard. They didn't put this girl into the game....
Here are some of her highlights (h/t to @Stoli for sharing):

Seems raw but a lot of upside. Oregon and Texas seem to be making big pushes, with multiple players from each school trying to persuade her.

I believe this will be her first year at Crestwood. A few of their top players transferred out.
 
Here are some of her highlights (h/t to @Stoli for sharing):

Seems raw but a lot of upside. Oregon and Texas seem to be making big pushes, with multiple players from each school trying to persuade her.

I believe this will be her first year at Crestwood. A few of their top players transferred out.

Oregon trying to pad their bench even more with yet another big...ok, I get it, but why would she be much interested knowing they have up to 4 potential all stars at F/C already who have not even played yet (at least not yet at Oregon anyway). I don't get it.
 
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What bigs do Oregon have? I thought Oregon State had all the big players.
 
What bigs do Oregon have? I thought Oregon State had all the big players.
Oregon has:
NYARA SABALLY 6'5" (redshirt soph)
ARIELLE WILSON 6'6" (jr)
LYDIA GIOMI 6'6" (sr)
KYLEE WATSON 6'4" (fr)
ANGELA DUGALIC 6'4" (fr)
SEDONA PRINCE 6'7" (redshirt soph)

Oregon State has:
ANDREA AQUINO 6'9" (redshirt soph, but won't play this year, so doesn't really count)
TAYA COROSDALE 6'3" (redshirt jr)
JELENA MITROVIC 6'9" (redshirt fr)
ELLIE MACK 6'3" (redshirt sr)
JOVANA SUBASIC 6'4" (redshirt sr)
KENNEDY BROWN 6'6" (soph, but probably won't play this year, so doesn't really count)
TAYLOR JONES 6'4" (soph)

So, if you subtract the 2 OSU gals who won't play this season, Oregon is just as tall as OSU if not taller.
 
Does anyone know how good she is? I saw 2 Crestwood games this year to watch Edwards. When Lattimore got into foul trouble, they just moved Edwards to the 5 and brought in another guard. They didn't put this girl into the game....
She went to Father Lacombe HS in Calgary last season. She wore #15. Obviously she is a rim protector. She has good agility getting up and down the court. From what I saw, she has no offensive game whatsoever. However, the one thing I saw that was impressive, when she gets the ball in the low post, she is really good at passing it out to an open teammate for a basket. She is a project. This screams Texas to me because her game is so similar to Teaira McCowan.
 
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Oregon has:
NYARA SABALLY 6'5" (redshirt soph)
ARIELLE WILSON 6'6" (jr)
LYDIA GIOMI 6'6" (sr)
KYLEE WATSON 6'4" (fr)
ANGELA DUGALIC 6'4" (fr)
SEDONA PRINCE 6'7" (redshirt soph)

Oregon State has:
ANDREA AQUINO 6'9" (redshirt soph, but won't play this year, so doesn't really count)
TAYA COROSDALE 6'3" (redshirt jr)
JELENA MITROVIC 6'9" (redshirt fr)
ELLIE MACK 6'3" (redshirt sr)
JOVANA SUBASIC 6'4" (redshirt sr)
KENNEDY BROWN 6'6" (soph, but probably won't play this year, so doesn't really count)
TAYLOR JONES 6'4" (soph)

So, if you subtract the 2 OSU gals who won't play this season, Oregon is just as tall as OSU if not taller.
Thank you for the information. I had no idea Oregon had so many tall players.
 
She went to Father Lacombe HS in Calgary last season. She wore #15. Obviously she is a rim protector. She has good agility getting up and down the court. From what I saw, she has no offensive game whatsoever. However, the one thing I saw that was impressive, when she gets the ball in the low post, she is really good at passing it out to an open teammate for a basket. She is a project. This screams Texas to me because her game is so similar to Teaira McCowan.


Fair assessment, however I think she'll develop a lot more than expected working with the HC from Crestwood. It's been hard to gauge her development the last few years when she's competed at Canadian Nationals as she's be in the post primarily.

The other question is whether her team will have a chance to compete. The OSBA league Crestwood plays out of has delayed the start of competition until January 2021 due to COVID protocols. Seeing her play against some of the talent in this league would provide a better sense as to how she's progressed.
 
She went to Father Lacombe HS in Calgary last season. She wore #15. Obviously she is a rim protector. She has good agility getting up and down the court. From what I saw, she has no offensive game whatsoever. However, the one thing I saw that was impressive, when she gets the ball in the low post, she is really good at passing it out to an open teammate for a basket. She is a project. This screams Texas to me because her game is so similar to Teaira McCowan.
Are you speaking from what you saw in the video above or elsewhere? The agility was what stood out to me from that video especially when she was changing direction. You don't see that kind of agility in girls basketball players that size. That kind of agility would be a great foundation to developing better basketball skills.
 
Are you speaking from what you saw in the video above or elsewhere? The agility was what stood out to me from that video especially when she was changing direction. You don't see that kind of agility in girls basketball players that size. That kind of agility would be a great foundation to developing better basketball skills.
There are videos out of games with her former high school team Father Lacombe. She wear the #15. Those games didn't really show her offensive skills. But her rim protection was pretty obvious.
 
There are videos out of games with her former high school team Father Lacombe. She wear the #15. Those games didn't really show her offensive skills. But her rim protection was pretty obvious.

In fairness, those high schools games don't do her justice. Here's a link from Canadian Nationals last year where Alberta played against Quebec (Kiandra Browne - Indiana Commit). Yvonne Ejim was on the U17 Alberta roster too. It may offer a better perspective.

 
After seeing the game, I can say she is a project on the offensive side of the ball. Granted, her teammates didn't try very hard to pass her the ball. From what I saw, her unofficial stat line was 2 pts., 6 reb., 2 blocks, 1 steal. She played a lot in the 3rd quarter but didn't play at all in the 4th. However, the 5 teams on her list will be thrilled if she chose them to go to college.
 
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She went to Father Lacombe HS in Calgary last season. She wore #15. Obviously she is a rim protector. She has good agility getting up and down the court. From what I saw, she has no offensive game whatsoever. However, the one thing I saw that was impressive, when she gets the ball in the low post, she is really good at passing it out to an open teammate for a basket. She is a project. This screams Texas to me because her game is so similar to Teaira McCowan.
Thank you for the info!
 
After seeing the game, I can say she is a project on the offensive side of the ball. Granted, her teammates didn't try very hard to pass her the ball. From what I saw, her unofficial stat line was 2 pts., 6 reb., 2 blocks, 1 steal. She played a lot in the 3rd quarter but didn't play at all in the 4th. However, the 5 teams on her list will be thrilled if she chose them to go to college.

That's why I noted her upcoming year at Crestwood. Regardless if there is a season, she'll get an opportunity to work on becoming more of an offensive player through the skill development work there.
 
That's why I noted her upcoming year at Crestwood. Regardless if there is a season, she'll get an opportunity to work on becoming more of an offensive player through the skill development work there.
Thanks for that video. I'm looking forward to watching her development at Crestwood. You seem to be very knowledgeable about her situation. Do you know if any of her listed schools (Texas, Miami, Maryland, Oregon & Louisville) have actually offered her a scholarship?
 
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Thanks for that video. I'm looking forward to watching her development at Crestwood. You seem to be very knowledgeable about her situation. Do you know if any of her listed schools (Texas, Miami, Maryland, Oregon & Louisville) have actually offered her a scholarship?
Texas and Oregon have almost certainly offered her scholarships. Players from both teams had multiple players comment on her post persuading her to their respective schools (likely influenced by the coaches). Teaira McCowan even followed her (she was likely asked by Vic).

They definitely seem to want her.
 
Thanks for that video. I'm looking forward to watching her development at Crestwood. You seem to be very knowledgeable about her situation. Do you know if any of her listed schools (Texas, Miami, Maryland, Oregon & Louisville) have actually offered her a scholarship?

Appreciate the compliment. I'm not fully in the know about her however as I'm in Ontario. I've been watching the development of Canadian women's basketball over the last few years. I find it fun to learn more as the talent being developed and the potential for the future looks promising.

How Canadian players are developed is different from what I've seen in the US, but it's evolving. In the past, majority of the really good players who have gone NCAA D1 were identified and developed primarily through provincial (state) association programs and Canada Basketball's development streams. The next few years will be interesting to see how it changes with programs like Royal Crown that do things differently.

There's a lot of great talent emerging in Canada and it's exciting to see. I'm just really happy to see a lot of great kids get their opportunities in D1 if they think it's right for them.
 
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ESPN reviews the top 4 players for each class in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30061935/the-top-women-college-basketball-prospects-classes-2022-23-24

First time I have seen a finalist list for Timea Gardiner! Stanford, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA are the finalists for her recruitment. All Pac-12 except for Notre Dame. Glad to see that OSU still has a fighting chance!

ND is listed as finalists for three of the four. Patterson is pretty much in the Irish backyard in Ft. Wayne and post coach Carol Owens traveled to Chile to take in Betts and Gardiner, teammates of '21 commits Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron. So, the inclusion of the one non Pac-12 team is not a surprise to Irish followers.

As noted, Barker keeps a tight lid on her interests. Given the local angle, I wouldn't be surprised if the Irish go after Patterson hard.

BTW, I like Gardiners' versatility and tenacity. Of current WCBB players, she reminds me a bit of Naz Hillmon of Michigan. For those of a certain age who watched the NBA, I think there's some OAK(ley) in her play, too.
 
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ESPN reviews the top 4 players for each class in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30061935/the-top-women-college-basketball-prospects-classes-2022-23-24

First time I have seen a finalist list for Timea Gardiner! Stanford, Notre Dame, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State and UCLA are the finalists for her recruitment. All Pac-12 except for Notre Dame. Glad to see that OSU still has a fighting chance!
UCLA sure has been popping up a lot lately on a few elite players list, I’m sure a few 2022 kids would probably follow Azzi there.
 
UCLA sure has been popping up a lot lately on a few elite players list, I’m sure a few 2022 kids would probably follow Azzi there.
Her AAU coach is also former UCLA basketball and volleyball star Natalie Williams. She will certainly try to push her there.
 
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