U17 and U18 recruiting target observations

[oldude]

^^^^^^


Is tweeting hs players a recruiting violation?

If a booster contacts a player for the purpose of recruiting them, it is in fact a recruiting violation, although I wouldn't get too concerned about Ms Bell.

 

[CocoHusky]

Not really a difficult question. Wilson likely would have come off the bench as a freshman, the same as she did at SC. As a sophomore, Wilson would have started at C with Stewie & Tuck upfront and Lou, Gabby & Pheesa coming off the bench. This past year, Wilson would have started in lieu of Saniya and the Huskies would have won their 12th championship.

Ok glad I asked. Who doesn't get to be an AA then? UCONN had 3 when Wilson was a Sophomore and a Junior,

 

[oldude]

Ok glad I asked. Who doesn't get to be an AA then? UCONN had 3 when Wilson was a Sophomore and a Junior,

That one is hard. Stewie & Mo were consensus AA, so it may have come down to Tuck or Wilson for the 3rd AA. This past year, with Wilson taking up space in the paint, the biggest impact might have been to Pheesa?

 

[stwainfan]

 

[CocoHusky]

Don't like the way this is headed and been keeping this to myself for a while now. Ruthie Bolton is a major advisor/mentor/trainer for DeCosta. Ruthie and Dawn were teammates on the 96 Olympic team.
Here is the two of them acting a fool after A US victory.

 

[stwainfan]

Don't like the way this is headed and been keeping this to myself for a while now. Ruthie Bolton is a major advisor/mentor/trainer for DeCosta. Ruthie and Dawn were teammates on the 96 Olympic team.
Here is the two of them acting a fool after A US victory. View attachment 24832

Does it change anything they are visiting at the same time?

 

[CocoHusky]

Does it change anything they are visiting at the same time?

I think so.

 

[SCGamecock]

What could have happened to add South Carolina again after all this time? Perhaps the recent transfers of two guards? Depth chart doesn't really strike me as something Christyn is concerned with as she will beat out most returnees on just about any roster. Logically, one would think that USC is behind the other four finalists. But, Coach Staley obviously said/did something recently to get the Gamecocks back in the game at Notre Dame's expense.

Well like you've already said, Williams will beat out almost any guard on any roster, but especially South Carolina's. When she ideally arrives, we won't have a SG on roster that's her caliber. We'll have "meh" to talented players at that spot but Williams is an elite player.. she should be able to beat them all. I have no doubt in my mind that Dawn is selling Williams (and this entire 2018 class in general) on being the next "it" (similar to our 2014 one) class at South Carolina. Wilson will be leaving and Dawn is probably selling Nelson-Ododa, DeCosta and Williams on picking up the baton where she left off.

Shooting Guards we'll have:

• Victoria Patrick.. will be a junior when CW arrives.. meh, Williams can definitely beat her out.
• Bianca Jackson.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives.. a very talented and smart player, more of a true wing player, a 2/3 wing. Williams will push her to the 3 and take some of her time.
• Doniyah Cliney.. a senior at that point, not yet an offensive powerhouse, but definitely a defensive/rebounding stalwart. Cliney is more of a 3/2 wing so Williams will definitely take time away from her at the 2-guard (which is good because you need scoring there). Cliney being a senior though, isn't really a threat for CW long term.

Now, it's important to note what other guards we'll have because Dawn does like versatility at the 1 and 2.. and she's known to play multiple point guards with a pg at the 2 spot as well (she did it recently with Harris and Cuevas and in the past with Ieshia Walker and LaKiesha Sutton).

Point Guards we'll have:

• Tyasha Harris.. will be a junior when CW arrives.. SC's likely starting point guard for the next 3 years, a true PG but has shown she can play SG (she did it this past summer for USA Basketball). Not particularly a threat to Williams for playing time as she will spend most of her time at the 1.
• Te'a Cooper.. will be a junior when CW arrives.. a combo guard in all honesty but primarily a point. She could potentially overtake Harris at point as she's very good but it's far more likely that she spells in relief and will spend time on the floor with Harris in a 2 PG lineup. She will compete for time with Williams for at least her first two years.
• Destanni Henderson.. same class as CW.. SC's heir apparent at point guard after Harris. She's Harris' understudy and will spend her freshmen year learning the job, her sophomore year in relief of Harris and will no doubt be the starter at point guard by her junior year (2020-2021). She's elite as well but not a real threat to take playing time from Williams.

So as you can see, not a lot of competition at SG for Williams... her primary competition her freshmen year will be Jackson, Patrick and Cooper. But freshmen don't play a lot any way.... so it's her sophomore year (2019-2020) where Williams could potentially be a starter at SC, her only competition on roster at that point will be Te'a Cooper (if she's not the starting point guard, which is unlikely), but either way Cooper will be spending a lot of time at the point because Henderson will still be pretty young (freeing up more space at SG). In 2019-2020, Jackson will mostly play at the 3 (again, freeing up more space at the SG). Either way, Williams will no doubt be a starter by her Junior year, but possibly earlier.

Compare that to her other schools (and I welcome responses here):

Texas will have:

• Sug Sutton.. will be a junior when Williams arrives. Sutton is an elite SG and will no doubt have that spot locked up for Williams' first two years.
• Leshann Higgs.. will be a senior when Williams arrives. I like Higgs as a player, she's also a very good SG but I think Sutton is more talented. Not really a factor for Williams
• Destiny Littleton.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives.. a bonafide scorer (California's high school career leader). I listed her here because I think Patterson will likely be the Texas PG of the future and Littleton will relieve her but also spend time at SG because she's such a good scorer. She will compete for minutes with Williams throughout their careers.
• Joanne Allen-Taylor.. same class as CW.. known for her ability to score. Not an elite player but still VERY good. Will compete for minutes with CW throughout their careers but CW should beat her.
• others to mention: 3 star wing players Lauren Davenport and Shae Routt (also CW's class) or point guards Chasity Patterson (a year ahead) and Aubrey Warren (same class as CW). None are a particular threat for CW's playing time.. but they are there.

For her first two years, CW will face major competition for playing time with Sutton, Littleton and Allen-Taylor. Then once Sutton leaves in 2020 (the player I believe is going to win that PT battle), that's when the floor opens up for CW realistically but Littleton and Allen Taylor will still be there to push her. It's also worth mentioning that Texas already has FIVE commitments for 2018. Yes. Five.

UCLA will have:

It seems like their entire roster is above 6 feet tall. When CW arrives, UCLA will have A LOT of big guards and all of them can't play at the 3-spot so some of them will play at the 2. I'm pretty sure CW can beat out almost all of them eventually by her sophomore year though.

• Chantel Horvat.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. She's a true wing. An elite player and could be a threat for playing time.
• Kayla Owens.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. Another true wing. Not particularly special but will have a year's advantage on CW. CW will win out for PT long term though.
• Lindsey Corsaro.. will be sophomore when CW arrives. Also another true wing/bigger guard like CW. A very good guard and will compete with CW for playing time throughout their careers.
• Kennedy Burke.. will be a senior. Not a threat for PT long term.
• Japreece Dunn.. will also be a senior. Not a threat for PT long term.
• Ahlana Smith.. same class as CW. She is a SG but CW will beat her for PT.. still, she's there and will compete.

UCLA is chock full of wings and most of them will be there for a while.. Horvat, Owens and Corsaro will be there mostly throughout Williams' career and they will compete with and push her for those wing spots. CW will likely win but still.. they are there. UCLA is also in the running for Zarielle Green, another elite SG/Wing that could add to the mix but I think she'll end up at A&M.

Tennessee will have:

On paper, you'd think this would be a favorable situation for Williams because supposedly the Tennessee roster is in shambles right? It's not entirely.. they are stacked as usual. Let's start with the biggie which is...

• Evina Westbrook.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives and plays the exact same position. Westbrook is an elite player and should Williams go there they WILL battle for PT throughout their careers. One will either have to move up or down.. but there are other talented players at the 1 and 3.
• Rennia Davis.. will also be a sophomore. Can score in bunches. She's also an elite player and will likely spend most of her career at the 3. She doesn't affect CW's playing time directly like Westbrook but will affect her indirectly.
• Meme Jackson.. will be a senior when CW arrives. Not a particular threat to CW long term.
• Jazmine Massengill.. same class as CW.. a bigger combo guard, can do it all really. Listed as a point guard but because of Anastasia Hayes, who will start at PG this year and will be the bonafide PG by next year, will have to play elsewhere. She is very good and will also compete with CW for PT throughout their careers.

Westbrook is the killer here. Does CW want to compete with her for PT for THREE years? Davis is a bigger guard and will likely spend most of her time at the 3. Massengill, a very talented CG, has the size and skill to play anywhere from 1-3.. she could mostly function as Hayes' backup or slide into 2/3 wing role. Tennessee is also in the running for elite SG/W Zarielle Green.

Last but not least... Connecticut:

UConn in general is always stacked.. but they have an overabundance at the 2/3 wing positions and that could hurt them with Williams. Let's start with the biggie here as well..

• Megan Walker.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. The number 1 player in her class. She's elite that's all to it. It'll be interesting how Geno and staff intend on selling playing time to Williams.. they have to be telling her that Walker is going to the 3 which allows CW to play at the 2. That is the ONLY way you're going to get these two number 1 guards on the same roster. Otherwise, they're going to compete to start for 3 years and somebody will lose (transfer).
• Molly Bent.. a junior when CW arrives, will likely serve as Dangerfield's backup, who will likely be the starting PG once Kia Nurse graduates in the spring. She's a role player and IMO not at all a threat for PT over CW.
• Mikayla Coombs.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. Another elite combo guard. Will compete with Williams for playing time throughout their career. Geno will alleviate this be occasionally playing Coombs at point.
• Andra Espinoza-Hunter.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. Another elite shooting guard. Doesn't strike me as somebody that can play the 1 or the 3 for long periods of time. She will compete with Williams at SG throughout their careers.
• Lexi Gordon.. will be a sophomore when CW arrives. A bigger elite guard.. can possibly play at the SF position which is likely should CW commit to UConn. If so, she'll play behind Walker who will also be moved up to SF.
• Katie Lou Samuelson.. will be a senior when CW arrives. She's a former #1 player and elite as they come. Can play at the 2 or 3. She will no doubt start her senior year so her being there should have little bearing on CW.

So with UConn, it's the guard heavy 2017 class that could make or break them with Williams. They are loaded. I guess in 2019-2020 you can play Dangerfield at 1, Williams at 2, Walker at 3, Camara at 4 and C. Collier at 5. A VERY good starting 5 with a for sure bench of Coombs, Espinoza-Hunter, Gordon, Irwin, Bent and whoever else comes along. That's a bench full of players that would start at most other D1 schools. I would be stunned if CW commits to UConn and there isn't a departure from that loaded 2017 class within a year.

This is my longest post to date but I feel it's a pretty accurate depiction of the situation that CW is going to be walking into at each of her finalists. Responses are welcome.. I'm interested to see what ya'll think.

 

[Charliebball]

regarding those two recruits and their predicted future at Tennessee...............let me "loosely" paraphrase that great WBB fan Sir Winston Churchill, "never has so little been done with so much"

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Excellent post. Lolo Davenport is no longer committed to Texas reducing the number of commitments to Texas for 2018 to four. But that hardly makes a dent in the competition for playing time.

 

[donalddoowop]

With the talent at guard that Uconn has, I think it would be unwise for Williams to commit to Uconn. If she does, I believe that will cause some unwanted problems. There is no guarantee she can adjust to Uconn's system before the other guards. If the freshmen guards learn the system by their sophomore year, it will be hard to beat one out regardless of how good Williams may be. Just saying. Uconn will be fine without her. They do not have Canada, Ionescu, K. Mitchell, Westbrook, Durr, or Slocum and they are still the top ranked team. They already have very good guard play. I know, they might be better with her, but if she commits elsewhere, it should not hurt Uconn.

 

[SCGamecock]

Excellent post. Lolo Davenport is no longer committed to Texas reducing the number of commitments to Texas for 2018 to four. But that hardly makes a dent in the competition for playing time.

Thank you for the correction!

 

[EricLA]

With the talent at guard that Uconn has, I think it would be unwise for Williams to commit to Uconn. If she does, I believe that will cause some unwanted problems. There is no guarantee she can adjust to Uconn's system before the other guards. If the freshmen guards learn the system by their sophomore year, it will be hard to beat one out regardless of how good Williams may be. Just saying. Uconn will be fine without her. They do not have Canada, Ionescu, K. Mitchell, Westbrook, Durr, or Slocum and they are still the top ranked team. They already have very good guard play. I know, they might be better with her, but if she commits elsewhere, it should not hurt Uconn.

You are joking right? There's never a guarantee that any player will be able to "adjust" to UCONN's system. And why does she "need" to adjust before other guards? Danger would be a junior, Coombs a sophomore, and Williams a freshman.

I have no idea how good Espinosa or Gordon will be, but they are nowhere near as highly rated as Williams. I hardly think Crystal took the fact that Chong, Nurse, Edwards and Ekmark were technically "ahead" of her (age-wise) into consideration before she committed. Danger was an elite recruit and had the confidence to know she'd be earning lots of PT because she's THAT good.

Same for Christyn. Plus Williams would be a freshman that season and should have no expectations to start.

Frankly, her sophomore year, IMHO she'd be fighting it out with Coombs for the other starting guard spot, and even if she wasn't a starter till her junior year (it simply depends on how good she is), she's get plenty of PT playing for and with the best in the nation.

She scheduled her visit to UCONN last for a reason - see the rest, then visit the best.

 

[oldude]

With the talent at guard that Uconn has, I think it would be unwise for Williams to commit to Uconn. If she does, I believe that will cause some unwanted problems. There is no guarantee she can adjust to Uconn's system before the other guards. If the freshmen guards learn the system by their sophomore year, it will be hard to beat one out regardless of how good Williams may be. Just saying. Uconn will be fine without her. They do not have Canada, Ionescu, K. Mitchell, Westbrook, Durr, or Slocum and they are still the top ranked team. They already have very good guard play. I know, they might be better with her, but if she commits elsewhere, it should not hurt Uconn.

While I would love to have Williams at UConn, I generally agree with your post that the Huskies are stacked at guard. If it came down to one more recruit, I'd much rather have ONO.

 

[donalddoowop]

While I would love to have Williams at UConn, I generally agree with your post that the Huskies are stacked at guard. If it came down to one more recruit, I'd much rather have ONO.

So would I.

 

[donalddoowop]

EricLA, I understand your thinking. However, as an ELITE guard, she may want to go to a school where she has a very good chance of starting her freshman year, as did Ionescu and not deal with the pressures of Uconn practices, strong bench, and sitting for two years.

 

[CocoHusky]

EricLA, I understand your thinking. However, as an ELITE guard, she may want to go to a school where she has a very good chance of starting her freshman year, as did Ionescu and not deal with the pressures of Uconn practices, strong bench, and sitting for two years.

Upon Megan Walker's commitment to UCONN Christyn Williams was quoted as saying she will not make her decision based on what other players were going to be on the roster. Megan Walker, Lexi Gordon & Mikayla Coombs ALL committed to UCONN AFTER Christyn Williams visited UCONN on her own dime. The 2017 UCONN class is not afraid of Christyn Williams coming to UCONN and CW is not afraid of coming to UCONN because of the 2017 UCONN class. These are all ultra competitive Alphas. With all due respect to @SCGamecock very thorough analysis UCONN is the only place where CW can get a decent run everyday in practice. It is this simple: Does CW want run with the big dogs?

 

[southie]

Well, Christyn's constants have been UConn, Tennessee, and UCLA. If she chooses any other school, it would be a huge upset, IMO.

 

[Charliebball]

rinse and repeat........you want to be a part of the greatest college WBB program in history - then go to UConn, you want to have the best training for a career in pro basketball- then go to UConn, you want to have the best opportunity to win multiple national Championships - then go to UConn, you want to be challenged to work harder then you ever thought was humanly possible - then go to UConn............any questions?

 

[donalddoowop]

rinse and repeat...you want to be a part of the greatest college WBB program in history - then go to UConn, you want to have the best training for a career in pro basketball- then go to UConn, you want to have the best opportunity to win multiple national Championships - then go to UConn, you want to be challenged to work harder then you ever thought was humanly possible - then go to UConn..any questions?

Those things may not matter to her.

 

[Charliebball]

Those things may not matter to her.

I've been following CW for a long time now and she appears to be just the kind of recruit who does care about those things.............the real question is whether the opportunity of a somewhat easier college life, possibly closer to home is simply more of a priority

 

[UConnCat]

I understand the Tennessee coaches (Holly and 2 assistants) showed up to surprise Christyn Williams at her school today. Were they wearing T-shirts with her baby pictures while carrying a mini blimp? Honestly.

 

[donalddoowop]

She must be REALLY good. How does she compare to Dangerfield as a senior in high school?

 

[Charliebball]

She must be REALLY good. How does she compare to Dangerfield as a senior in high school?

totally different kind of player............5'10-11"shooting guard, attacks the rim at any time, great mid range game, will shoot the three, will share the ball, good rebounder and defender

 

[MilfordHusky]

I still look at CWill as a combo of Durr, Ogunbowale, and Taurasi.

CWill is an elite player. I don't think she's worried about PT. I think the approach is not to look at what guards are on the relevant teams, but rather to look at the complementary pieces. Are the complementary players good enough to win a championship?

The combined visits with DaCosta are interesting. I'm not sure what to make out of that, but CWill has at least 4 very good friends at UConn.

Dawn is now the "hot" coach, having been named the USA coach and having won the NCAA championship. However, I don't think she compares to Geno at all. Last year was a down year for UConn, and we were knocked out on a bit of a fluke. We beat SC rather clearly. If recruits think that going to SC gives them the same level of development and the same chances of winning a NCAA championship, they are sorely mistaken.

This is not to say that SC is not an elite team. They are, and they have great attendance. They should be a top-3 team this year and a top 5-10 team for the next few years.