U17 and U18 recruiting target observations

[JordyG]

She's visiting SC next weekend.

Time for Dawn to give it her better than best shot.

 

[Dillon77]

cocohusky - Bret announced it on my "Ladies Night " Podcast . we obviously shared some thoguhts following

I definitely defer to Bret's high volume of exposure to both kids in person. I only had the Boo Williams EYBL event back in the Spring as an in person evaluation opportunity

going by what I studied of both players during games at that Event... my choice is Walker.
in fact.. as I said at the time, for me Walker would have been my choice for #1 player in last 2-3 classes.
studying with the eyes of a college coach...I came away VERY impressed with everything I saw / scrutinized with Walker. Including her role as a PG , Primary ballhandler, Playmaker a lot in those games.
Her efficiency ( Mental, Physical, Production ) ... being engaged consistently Defendively, was distinguishable. Especially compared to every other highly rated kid i saw at event.


but Again... Bret McCormick has seen these kids a ton over last year ..and invested a lot of thought into his decision/ choice.
for Bret, it came down to overall versatility ( balance of Playmaking, Scoring,etc ) that led to his decision to put Westbrook ahead of Walker.

for me... I saw all that from Walker in the scrutinized sample I had. but it was just 1 event.

Hi Bill:
Thanks for all your insights on various players, including Ms. Walker. As an ND alum and supporter, I have a more-than-casual interest in your analysis, particularly your positive comments on her defensive ability and ability to shift into the lead guard position.

Like Charlie, I'm also a New Jersey resident and I've got a question on a forward that I saw at Queen of Peace High School twice last year -- Raven Farley-Clark. She played a very effective game against Michelle Sidor and Saddle River Day in the NJ playoffs. Yet, she's something of an enigma. She's bounced around high schools and clubs. Have you had a chance to see her? Thoughts? She's pretty highly rated by a number of services and is 6'4" tall (they don't grow on trees) so I'm wondering why there's nada "out there." Just interested...

 

[stwainfan]

Will Westbrook wait until early signing period? To give her choice of where she will go.

 

[SCGamecock]

Time for Dawn to give it her better than best shot.

She's in for a great weekend. Aside from normal recruiting things, we play Georgia at home that weekend and it's a night game so the environment in Columbia will be rocking Thursday through Sunday..

 

[Carnac]

We lose Coates, but gain Jennings. Jennings isn't as dominant inside but her offense is much more polished. She can actually score outside the paint. With the lost of Coates we lose our rebounding advantage in just about every game. Our young bigs in Harrigan and Williams will be very important.. K. Davis (if she's still here) should be solid in her second year as a 3-4 player.

We won't be favorites but we should still be a threat. Most of this year's team will have a year's worth of experience playing with one another. That chemistry is important. It worked when we've had far less talented teams.

SCG, who replaces Mitchell as your "go to" when you really need a basket?

 

[JordyG]

She's in for a great weekend. Aside from normal recruiting things, we play Georgia at home that weekend and it's a night game so the environment in Columbia will be rocking Thursday through Sunday..

Man, the atmosphere in Columbia game time is ALWAYS rockin'. They'll be no exception for Georgia. Best crowd in WBB.

 

[Dillon77]

Will Westbrook wait until early signing period? To give her choice of where she will go.

After taking OV's to Maryland and South Carolina (on the east coast), I think she still has USC and Oregon State out west. Her mother has said they want to see all these schools. So there are some miles to go before finishing that task (unless I've missed the OV's to the left coast schools).

 

[Orangutan]

After taking OV's to Maryland and South Carolina (on the east coast), I think she still has USC and Oregon State out west. Her mother has said they want to see all these schools. So there are some miles to go before finishing that task (unless I've missed the OV's to the left coast schools).

She saw USC first. She will not take an OV to Oregon State. I would guess she'll take an unofficial there, but I haven't read anything on that.

 

[Dillon77]

She saw USC first. She will not take an OV to Oregon State. I would guess she'll take an unofficial there, but I haven't read anything on that.

Thanks. So her OV's are done after South Carolina. I would imagine she's been to OSU quite a few times given the proximity of her hometown to campus.

 

[SCGamecock]

Thanks. So her OV's are done after South Carolina. I would imagine she's been to OSU quite a few times given the proximity of her hometown to campus.

Westbrook is done after South Carolina. She's been to OSU plenty enough that they didn't need an official. Like it was previously mentioned, she visited Southern Cal first, then Tennessee, Notre Dame, Maryland and last South Carolina.

 

[SCGamecock]

SCG, who replaces Mitchell as your "go to" when you really need a basket?

The ball will go through A'ja's hand a lot this year, this will be her team. Dawn is going to move A'ja around a lot in order to put her in the best position to score based on the opposition and how intent they are on collapsing the paint. We will still be an inside-outside team, and A'ja will still spend a lot of time in the paint, just that now the outside is presumably better... Gray and Davis are perimeter playmakers. Cuevas doesn't have gaudy stats but she's capable of putting up A LOT of points if you "forget" about her (you can't ignore her like you could Sessions) and we all know Coates can fortify inside defensively but needs to be consistent offensively.

Long story short, in situations requiring clutch players the ball will likely be placed in the hands of Wilson, Gray or Davis... but our entire starting lineup can score unlike previous years where we've had only 2 or 3 scoring threats in our starting lineup.

 

[stwainfan]

After taking OV's to Maryland and South Carolina (on the east coast), I think she still has USC and Oregon State out west. Her mother has said they want to see all these schools. So there are some miles to go before finishing that task (unless I've missed the OV's to the left coast schools).

Thanks of course there is a Oregon connection at Tennessee.

 

[Charliebball]

Raoul ‏@Raoul_000 1h1 hour ago
WBB: Oregon State picks up a 2017 commit from Taya Corosdale, 6-2 F, Bothell HS (WA); ranked #27 by espnW

 

[Charliebball]

Raoul‏@Raoul_000
Updated rundown of finalists for 2017 WBB prospects (espnW ranking noted): dropped a few who committed, added some ranked & unranked players

 

[Charliebball]

Really?

Raoul ‏@Raoul_000 7h7 hours ago
WBB: Sayawni Lassiter, 5-11 G, Newton North HS (MA-2017), has committed to Florida State, over Harvard.

 

[Charliebball]

Zarielle Green 6"0" guard #12 ESPN

Zaay ✨ Retweeted
aay ✨ ‏@queen_zaay 1h1 hour agoDesoto, TX
Top ten

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Zarielle Green 6"0" guard #12 ESPN

Seriously, Louisville's like the clown car of women's basketball.

 

[Charliebball]

Seriously, Louisville's like the clown car of women's basketball.

Whenever I look at the followers on a highly ranked recruit's twitter page, inevitably I see 2 or 3 Louisville assistant coaches in addition to Walz..........they really are all over social media like no other school I have seen...........................as opposed to UConn where it's often nobody, sometimes just CD or once in awhile SR and certainly not Geno!!!

 

[Charliebball]

Coach Bill's take on Izabella Nicoletti who has UConn interest or vice versa or both!!:

Elite 2018 Guard IZABELLA NICOLETTI ( Brazil native ) = mini Diana Taurasi ? - WiseEYEsports

 

[Dillon77]

Looks like no more "Home Pictures" for awhile. For Women's College Basketball, we're now into the "evaluation" period which prohibits face-to-face conversations off-campus between coaches and recruits/their families. Here's the description from the NCAA web page, which I've also lined to below.

What is an evaluation period?
During an evaluation period a college coach may watch college-bound student-athletes compete, visit their high schools, and write or telephone student-athletes or their parents. However, a college coach may not have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents off the college’s campus during an evaluation period.
Timing
September 30, 2016, through February 28, 2017 except for: (1) November 7-10, 2016, Dead Period; and, (2) December 24-26, 2016: Dead Period.

Recruiting Calendars
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/June2016_DIWomensBasketball_20160613.pdf

The official visits (OVs) can -- and are -- still taking place, but that mad rush to living rooms we saw the last couple of weeks were deadline beaters for the latest "Contact Period." The next one of those is not until March 1, 2017.

 

[Charliebball]

Raoul ‏@Raoul_000 29m29 minutes ago
WBB: Desiree Oliver, 5-7 G, Penn Hills HS (PA-2017), has committed to Temple, over George Washington, LSU; espnW #94

 

[MilfordHusky]

Raoul ‏@Raoul_000 29m29 minutes ago
WBB: Desiree Oliver, 5-7 G, Penn Hills HS (PA-2017), has committed to Temple, over George Washington, LSU; espnW #94

She chose Tonya over Jen.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I've been pretty confident all along about CW being a UConn lean but with all of the other players that have already committed that play similar positions I'm a bit less confident......time will tell...

Raoul ‏@Raoul_000 23m23 minutes ago
WBB: Christyn Williams (AR-2018) has announced a top 8 list of schools Arkansas Baylor UConn Notre Dame South Carolina Tennessee Texas UCLA

Williams has eliminated Texas from her list. Hmmmm.

Down to 7 now.

*

Central Arkansas Christian junior guard Christyn Williams, the most heralded girls basketball recruit the state has ever produced, is down to seven schools, including Arkansas.


Williams, 5-11, also lists UCLA, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina and Tennessee among her top schools.


"I've made relationships with the coaching staffs and they all have the same qualities, like family atmosphere and easy to talk to," said Williams, who has 27 scholarship offers. "The head coaches, they all treat me with respect. They all have good qualities and I'm going to have a really hard decision from the seven schools because it's going to come down to the little things."

...

Longtime Arkansas Democrat-Gazette high school basketball editor Tim Cooper said he believes Williams is the best player the state has produced.


"Williams plays basketball on a different level," said Cooper, who has covered high school basketball since 1993. "Her decision making is what impresses me the most. You can't relax on defense for even a second because she's that quick to take advantage of any mistake. If there's a weakness in her game, I don't see it."

...

Williams talked about some of "the little things" that could make a difference in her decision.


"Like the freshmen, do they stay in dorms or apartments and how far away is the school?" Williams said. "Is is too close to home. Stuff like that."



Top programs circling CAC's Williams

 

[BroadwayVa]

In UCONN's case, she's probably thinking about the bevy of guards the huskies would've just brought in the year prior. Just a thought.

Even still.. I was pretty surprised to see UCONN, Notre Dame, Maryland and Oregon State eliminated in one swoop. Most would've assumed one of those schools was the favorite just because of who they are.

Uconn gets some negative press (at least inside of some schools). Then too; Uconn is in the Northeast (cold, snow, fog), 2 plus hours (if traffic is right) to Ny for excitement, very tough coach, you may not play the first year (much), people already occupying your position--
far from home. Uconn isn't for everyone--but the most talented seem to want Uconn.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Hope Madison doesn't transfer to LSU next and hang out in a certain bayou.See Linda Rondstat for details.

You blue that one!!