What incoming freshmen are you most excited to watch?

[DaBball]

I think Rickea Jackson has a shot to be really impactful after seeing her role on the team during their trip to Italy. She appeared to be their go-to scorer at almost all times, so definitely going to have a chance to put up big numbers as a freshman. A lot of their freshman played a lot at that tournament, so they could also find themselves being impactful.

I think Kierstan Bell has a similar opportunity at Ohio State -- to kind of go right in and be a top-dog. OSU will have a solid, but young squad this year IMO.

Aijha Blackwell is one that hasn't been mentioned much, but another one who has the opportunity to step in and have a big impact after Cunningham is gone. The 1-2 punch of she and Amber Smith could be tough for teams. Hayley Frank too at Missouri.

I think any of Kennedy Brown, Jelena Mitrovic, Taylor Jones, or Andrea Aquino could make an impact at Oregon State. Grymek is gone and Rueck likes at tall center, so honestly any of these four could push for that starting spot there.

 

[DeeHusky]

Hmmm, well to be precise I named 12 girls and 6 were in a positive light. 7 if you count my comments about Kennedy Brown.

Having watched Brea a lot I never thought her quick/fast enough to play with the D1 guards and not big enough to play with the D1 bigs. But I truly hope I’m proven wrong. But of that entire SC recruiting class she’s my vote to not finish strong. Odds are at least 1-2 of the high ranked girls in that recruiting class don’t last. Who would you pick?

I’d say Beal too, I don’t care for the push off three pointer. I’m just curious about rotation at the guard spots, South Carolina is like UConn as far seniority goes. You have to wait your turn before you can start or even get good minutes. That will be a problem for most of the top programs this year.

 

[militarydog]

Well for starters I actually think all the freshmen have at least one thing they need to work on to be successful at the next level. I also heard someone else say the same thing about Brea not being quick to play on the perimeter. It’s something to watch for but with her defending and going against Cooke, Henderson, and Harris in practice everyday I doubt that will be a problem. I’ve too watched Brea since her sophomore year and I watched her dominate these same D1 players that she’ll be playing against rather they were bigger or smaller. Her size and rebounding ability from the perimeter is something that will set her apart from everyone else IMO. Few players bigger or smaller and faster will be able to match up with her.

But if I have to be critical of SC’s freshman I will say Boston needs to work on her finishing a lot to be a high percentage shooter in College. Cooke needs to work on game management as far as when to shoot or when to pass and which shot is a good one. Beal needs to continue to work on her three point shot and become much more consistent from range, and Amihere at this point just needs to stay healthy. While I don’t feel like any are not going to pan out or be busts I do feel like they need to perfect these particular things to take the next step in their respective games.

Cooke will have the benefit of being able to be the player off the bench to “turn it up” when Coach Staley wants to pressure. It’s a great situation for her. I would have loved to have her at Mississippi State.

 

[DefenseBB]

I always look forward to seeing which under-the-radar recruits burst onto the scene with outstanding freshman campaigns -- the ones we don't see coming and everyone asks, "Where did she come from?"

From this past year Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Elissa Cunane come to mind.

One of the reasons”under the radar” players can shine is the program they join is usually devoid of talent, scoring and has low to medium expectations. I think of Chennedy Carter and how impactful she was on a “meh” Texas A&M team. Similar to Rhyne Howard who cane into a situation at Kentucky that many of us thought could be dreadful last year but due to her and her fellow newbies were very Good.
Most high profile recruits going to high profile programs with strong expectations means the team already has talent and playing time will be spread out. I am not thinking SC will really will afford a maximum minute opportunity if they truly contend with their returning players.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Cooke will have the benefit of being able to be the player off the bench to “turn it up” when Coach Staley wants to pressure. It’s a great situation for her. I would have loved to have her at Mississippi State.

Mildog, I am really glad MSST got Rickea and I think she will have a real impact at State. I believe Cooke will have an impact at SC. She is one that got away that I would have also loved at State. For me, right now I think the most impactful freshman for next season comes down to those two.

 

[DeeHusky]

Mildog, I am really glad MSST got Rickea and I think she will have a real impact at State. I believe Cooke will have an impact at SC. She is one that got away that I would have also loved at State. For me, right now I think the most impactful freshman for next season comes down to those two.

Most impactful might be Horston because she’s in a situation where she has to make an impact and there’s really no one in front of her. State and SC both have situations where you gotta earn your spot.

 

[SimpleDawg]

I agree, Horston will be in the top 5 in the SEC in scoring. She's walking into a great situation. And I think Rickea Jackson will too, as it's pretty obvious what Vic's plans for her are. Her team is loaded, but Bibby is the only one who I think can keep up with the pace of Rickea in scoring per game.

5 out of the top 8 leading scorers in the SEC last year are gone, so it'll be Carter, Dungee, Rhyne Howard next year obviously.

I agree the South Carolina new recruits might split scoring next year among each other, so they might come on a little more slowly. And I'm not positive about this, but I think Harrigan and Harris are still SC's best bets at this point.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Most impactful might be Horston because she’s in a situation where she has to make an impact and there’s really no one in front of her. State and SC both have situations where you gotta earn your spot.

Same could be said about St as well, who on the current roster at Miss St is going to out take Rickea? Bibby may be the only one who will be able to produce at a higher rate offensively. `Besides, based on practices, scrimmages and the games, she clearly one of the most polished kids already who is a pure scorer. Vic is going to ride her hard her freshmen season IMO. This won't be the norm as the team is extremely young in contrast to all of Vic's teams in the past, he won't really have a choice but to play these younger kids.
I think Horston, R. Jackson, and even Blackwell (Missouri) could have some of the biggest scoring impacts for SEC teams early.

SC has a big time freshmen class coming in. I don't think any put up major scoring numbers early due to what returns this year but I believe Boston and Amihere will be a significant impact on the boards for them. They will get their points as well.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

1. Amihere
2. Haley Jones
3. Davenport
4. Horston
5. Aubrey Griffin

As far as the Terps #3 recruiting class, it would be Ashley Owens. i want to know if she is good enough to start at PG from day one. Zoe Young should be interesting. She won Iowa state player of the year over a very good 2020 player in Caitlin Clark. I'm curious to see just how good she is.

 

[MSUFan2003]

Blackwell is a player that is a little under the radar but will probably be asked to do a lot at Missouri. They are another team in the position of trying to replace a star player, and I'm interested to see how they do it.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston. I'm a little curious to see if Haley Jones is an immediate impact player. She seemed to ebb and flow in international competition in my estimation.

I'm interested in all the South Carolina recruits, but probably most interested in seeing Amihere.

I didn't think Beal looked like she lacked quickness or speed in the all star events, but not having seen any full games of her it's hard to say for sure.

 

[Dillon77]

Late to this thread due to a self-imposed break (mostly adhered to ) while on a beach vacation.

- Of course, interested in the two ND frosh. Since MM is building a starting line-up from scratch, she can tweak and utilize particular talents.
-- Sam Brunelle. While she has outstanding range on offense, she's going to be needed to battle inside on rebounding and defense. Will she lean towards the previous efforts of two 6'2" predecessors at ND: Kat Westbeld (who embraced the challenge) or Erin Boley (hmmm? ?
-- Anaya Peoples. MM has been on a mission to get one-on-one defenders and Peoples is supposed to be one of the best, in her opinion. I'm very interested to see how she's utilized.

Outside of South Bend, in no particular order
- Rickea Jackson. Killed it at AAU tournaments, but never did make the national teams. What will happen at MSU?
- Jordon Horston. Gosh knows there's virtually a wide-open opportunity at UT, with transfers and a new coach.
- Kierstan Bell at Ohio State. She was MVP of Ohio high school hoops. How does this translate onto a team that had a fairly unexpected rebound season and a good recruiting class?
- Amihere and Boston at South Carolina, who were both targeted prospects of the Irish. Amihere has limited visibility compared to Boston. How will Dawn use them? And Beal could be a sleeper....
- Sammie Puisis. She committed to Florida State so long ago, that she kind of slid off the viewing ledge. However, she reminded us of her long-range stroke at all-star games. Will it work at this level?
- All of Maryland's class. This group comes in after a successful group in 2019-20. Will they get time? How will they acclimate?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Several frosh, including most of those already named.

But there is one unnamed player who is a year older and has already played with pros for 2 years.

 

[DeeHusky]

Zia Cooke is one of those players that I feel like can make an impact as well. She obviously is more offensively talented than most guards at SC. It just depends on how things play out. She reminds a little of Mo Jeff in this vid. OvertimeWBB on Instagram: “ZIA COOKE lookin COLLEGE READY @z.loading_”

 

[DeeHusky]

Ashley Owusu, I feel, is really slept on. Frese is always excited about Freshman pgs and won’t hesitate to give them the starting job. This kid will flourish and I feel she will definitely take Channise Lewis’s starting spot.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Ashley Owusu, I feel, is really slept on. Frese is always excited about Freshman pgs and won’t hesitate to give them the starting job. This kid will flourish and I feel she will definitely take Channise Lewis’s starting spot.

Actually Taylor Mikesell was the starting PG for Maryland last season and made 1st team Big 10. The hope is Owusu is healthy (she was in a car accident last year and played with bumps and bruises last season. She also sat out the McDonalds game with an injured foot). Then Mikesell can move off the ball and use her deadly outside shot more.

 

[DeeHusky]

Actually Taylor Mikesell was the starting PG for Maryland last season and made 1st team Big 10. The hope is Owusu is healthy (she was in a car accident last year and played with bumps and bruises last season. She also sat out the McDonalds game with an injured foot). Then Mikesell can move off the ball and use her deadly outside shot more.

There were games when Mikesell started at point though right?

 

[SECbbfan24]

There were games when Mikesell started at point though right?

I watched Maryland plenty last season, they seemed to play around with the PG spot. Mikesell ran the point a lot along with Lewis. Although I think Mikesell will benefit significantly with a true PG.

 

[Floridaduck]

This is a bit out of the spotlight, but Holly Winterburn, incoming freshman at Oregon from England. Now, England doesn’t produce a lot of women’s basketball talent. But, playing in Great Britain’s professional league as a 17 and 18 year old the last two years she has been incredible, including making the equivalent of All Pro as a 18 year old. She made 13 threes in a game during their season. She may be a bust but it will be fun to watch her journey.

Holly should be arriving on campus this month. It will be interesting to see how she responds to the size and speed of the game at this level of competition. May take a year or two to adjust.

 

[Floridaduck]

Nyara Sabally (Oregon). (I assume she counts even though she's actually a redshirt freshman due to missing all of last year.) The word from "experts" in Europe is that she has a higher upside than her sister. Maybe so, maybe not, but it's a nice compliment, and she's apparently now an inch taller (6'5") and much more physical than Satou.

Of this year's incoming Frosh at Oregon, Nyara is the one with the biggest potential impact.
Talented Aussie Jaz Shelley will likely be in a learning year at PG behind sr. Minyon Moore and soph. Taylor Chavez. We'll have to wait and see about Sedona Prince's eligibility for this season. Could be another major impact.

 

[DeeHusky]

I watched Maryland plenty last season, they seemed to play around with the PG spot. Mikesell ran the point a lot along with Lewis. Although I think Mikesell will benefit significantly with a true PG.

I figured. The question I asked was supposed to be referring to Lewis and not Mikesell(lol), but I knew I wasn’t tripping.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

I figured. The question I asked was supposed to be referring to Lewis and not Mikesell(lol), but I knew I wasn’t tripping.

If Owusu is successful in getting the starting PG nod for Maryland, it will be the 6th consecutive year Maryland have began the season with a new PG.
2014 - Lexie Brown
2015 - Chloe Pavlech/Brene Moseley
2016 - Destiny Slocum
2017 - Sarah Myers/Channise Lewis
2018 - Taylor Mikesell

Maryland went one seven year stretch with only two starting PGs.
2005-08 - Kristi Toliver
2009-11 - Anjale Barrett

 

[MilfordHusky]

Ashley Owusu, I feel, is really slept on. Frese is always excited about Freshman pgs and won’t hesitate to give them the starting job. This kid will flourish and I feel she will definitely take Channise Lewis’s starting spot.

I've seen Ashley play in person a couple of times. She did a decent job on Azzi when Azzi was a freshman. Ashley has a big body for a PG, but she has strength, quick feet. and skills. I sonnet see her as a top-5 player in her class, but she's good.