2017 Recruiting

HornsLewis said:
His real beef (Longhorns) is with George. They were once all together with an organization called Texas Prep. George took the job with Texas and pulled Higgs and Hosey from the organization and put them with Cy fair. Same thing with Chou......she was playing on the same team with Higgs and Hosey. Adrian wasn't going to let her get to Texas with George.
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That's a disappointing tidbit as Boothe is one of my favorite recruits. Hopefully Karen can still get her to visit Texas and counter some of the messages she heard from Adrian.

If Aston & Co. can continue to put an exciting team on the court in the next few years, recruiting will take care of itself. It will get harder for folks like Adrian Washington to convince players not to attend Texas.
 
Like I said in an earlier post, Texas is fine and in a very good place. As a fan I'm not worried about Adrian Washington or anyone else trying to recruit against Texas.

What Coach Aston and her staff have done over the last 4 years speaks for itself. And you have to give credit to not just Travis but also coach Mitchell and Washington because the program wouldn't be where it is today.
 
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DFW_Horn said:
Thank you for the backstory. Seems a rather petty reason to direct players away from a good program and a great university but I've heard a few stories about some AAU coaches caring more about their own feelings/ego/"rep" than what's in the best interest of their players.
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I agree with you......but there are always stupid reasons.
 
rattfatt said:
Like I said in an earlier post, Texas is fine and in a very good place. As a fan I'm not worried about Adrian Washington or anyone else trying to recruit against Texas.

What Coach Aston and her staff have done over the last 4 years speaks for itself. And you have to give credit to not just Travis but also coach Mitchell and Washington because the program wouldn't be where it is today.
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I agree with you but let's not forget we have to continue with the great recruiting. If we miss out in the 2017 class, it puts a lot of pressure on us getting an excellent 2018 class because Brooke and Atkins would be gone. It's about maintaining our excellence now......that's how great programs continue to be great. Hate to use this as my example but this is what had kept that team in Waco good for so long. I want that to be us now
 
HornsLewis said:
I agree with you but let's not forget we have to continue with the great recruiting. If we miss out in the 2017 class, it puts a lot of pressure on us getting an excellent 2018 class because Brooke and Atkins would be gone. It's about maintaining our excellence now......that's how great programs continue to be great. Hate to use this as my example but this is what had kept that team in Waco good for so long. I want that to be us now
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For all the success that baylor has had they've struggled in recruiting up until this year. And if they don't get Alexis Jones from transfer we would have swept baylor this year. When you look at the potential roster for 2017 barring injury Texas will have talented experienced seniors in Brooke and Ariel. They will also have a talented experienced junior in Lashann and also talented experienced sophomores in Sug and Joyner. The twins are also talented and will be experience.

Player for player that's just as good as anything baylor will put out there in 2017. The only potential weakness will be at the center position. Texas needs a physical true back to the basket center to complement all the face up/ stretch 4's that will be on the roster in 2017.

If Texas got Rellah, coach Aston would probably have to use a small line up and play either Joyner or Rellah at the 5 because they both play the same position. A player like her would give Texas the ability to win a national championship, but if Texas doesn't get a player like Rellah they're still a final four program.

The 2018 class is/was going to be important anyway because with the talent and experience that the players on the 2017 roster will have, there aren't many freshman who would get a ton of playing time. You can only play 5 players at a time, and you have to find away to split 40 minutes of playing time.

Texas won't get every top player, but they'll get their share. That's why I really don't care how much talent baylor accumulates because there's only so many minutes and playing time. So a lot of that talent is going to transfer out in a couple of years anyway.
 
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rattfatt said:
For all the success that baylor has had they've struggled in recruiting up until this year. And if they don't get Alexis Jones from transfer we would have swept baylor this year. When you look at the potential roster for 2017 barring injury Texas will have talented experienced seniors in Brooke and Ariel. They will also have a talented experienced junior in Lashann and also talented experienced sophomores in Sug and Joyner. The twins are also talented and will be experience.

Player for player that's just as good as anything baylor will put out there in 2017. The only potential weakness will be at the center position. Texas needs a physical true back to the basket center to complement all the face up/ stretch 4's that will be on the roster in 2017.

If Texas got Rellah, coach Aston would probably have to use a small line up and play either Joyner or Rellah at the 5 because they both play the same position. A player like her would give Texas the ability to win a national championship, but if Texas doesn't get a player like Rellah they're still a final four program.

The 2018 class is/was going to be important anyway because with the talent and experience that the players on the 2017 roster will have, there aren't many freshman who would get a ton of playing time. You can only play 5 players at a time, and you have to find away to split 40 minutes of playing time.

Texas won't get every top player, but they'll get their share. That's why I really don't care how much talent baylor accumulates because there's only so many minutes and playing time. So a lot of that talent is going to transfer out in a couple of years anyway.
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I hear and understand you but we can't keep saying if when we are talking about beating Baylor. If they didn't get jones or if that of if this. I just want to beat them and do it soon.

Baylor will have 6 McDonald's all Americans on there team this year and will probably start at least 4 of them. We do have 6 of our own but I still think the jury is out on Jordan and let's not forget she is older than most freshman so this may be who she is as a player.

The 2017 year we will probably start Brooke, aerial, Higgs, Joyner, and one of the twins. I think that will be our best year because I think they will start 2 freshmen guards that year.....but they will have the strength in the post area.

I said earlier that us getting Boothe will probably take a whole lot from our staff now. She never came to visit us all these years but visit Travis at SMU within his first 2 months of being a head coach. She was in the state this weekend and didn't stop by. That can't be good for us, but I could be wrong and hope that I am wrong.

We may just need to find a pure shooter for that class and call it a day. Two shooters would be even better.
 
HornsLewis said:
I hear and understand you but we can't keep saying if when we are talking about beating Baylor. If they didn't get jones or if that of if this. I just want to beat them and do it soon.

Baylor will have 6 McDonald's all Americans on there team this year and will probably start at least 4 of them. We do have 6 of our own but I still think the jury is out on Jordan and let's not forget she is older than most freshman so this may be who she is as a player.

The 2017 year we will probably start Brooke, aerial, Higgs, Joyner, and one of the twins. I think that will be our best year because I think they will start 2 freshmen guards that year.....but they will have the strength in the post area.

I said earlier that us getting Boothe will probably take a whole lot from our staff now. She never came to visit us all these years but visit Travis at SMU within his first 2 months of being a head coach. She was in the state this weekend and didn't stop by. That can't be good for us, but I could be wrong and hope that I am wrong.

We may just need to find a pure shooter for that class and call it a day. Two shooters would be even better.
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I'm not using that as an excuse, but it's a fact. If Alexis Jones doesn't fall into their lap the losing streak would've ended this year. She was the difference on their team. But again, player for player Texas wil be just as good as baylor next year. Alecia Sutton is the key in my opinion. If she's healthy and stays healthy she's basically a more athletic Celina Rodrigo with a much better offensive skill set.

Also Texas will have something that they didn't have last year which is a true power foward. The twins and especially Joyner will be able to match up with Nina Davis at both ends of the floor.

The only potential weakness against baylor is at the center position. Kelsey Lang has obviously shown that she's not very physical and can't play with her back to the basketball like Imani could do at a decent level to get the team easier baskets. I do agree that if Texas doesn't get a Rellah Boothe getting a pure shooter and a true center would be key.
 
rattfatt said:
Also Texas will have something that they didn't have last year which is a true power foward.
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The KEY ingredient that will make us a much better team is having true power forwards... we're going from having none to having three VERY capable ones. While I like to always have a good, back-to-the-basket, blue-collar post presence, I'm not that worried about matching Baylor's size. Holmes and the twins bring good size, strength, range, and SKILLS. The twins are no stiffs and, if you haven't seen Holmes in person.... well, I'll just say I've been watching this game for 35 yrs and I have never seen a player of Holmes' size turbo-jet up and down the floor like her... think Yolanda Griffith in her prime only faster and a more diverse skill set.

We'll be able to use the combo of the three players mentioned to create match-up nightmares (a la UConn). If I were Baylor I'd be worried about how my bigs are going to run the floor with our bigs and get out and defend on the perimeter when they're drawn away from the basket.

I expect to see a lot of motion in our offense that will exploit the inability of opponents to defend whichever stretch 4 and 5 combo we have on the floor. Don't forget Lang can stretch too. That's a player that I expect to bounce back with a solid senior campaign. Our main concern will be keeping the team as healthy as possible.

#lookin4ward2this! \m/
 
Great discussion. Thanks, HornsLewis for explaining who Adrian is. I'm with you. I want a steady stream of great recruits, partly to keep up with Baylor. I am concerned about our post game, with Baylor having all those All-Americans down low. They outrebounded us this year, if I'm not mistaken, and we were a great rebounding team. Seems to me, we stand to fall off there, though hopefully will make it up with some new strengths. Maybe Jatarie White would make a big difference if she decides to come here.
 
I'm curious if the investigation of Baylor athletics of the sexual assaults of female students will have a negative effect on their WBB recruiting. It seems to me that the national media's attention to the allegations is ramping up.
 
I believe Rellah Boothe visited Texas unofficially during the weekend of our game against Stanford. So, she paid her way out here once. While losing Travis may have an impact on her recruitment, better to know that now versus after she may have signed with Texas (such as her signing with Texas in Nov. 2016, Travis getting a job elsewhere next April, and then her re-evaluating her decision). Things happen for a reason, and if she doesn't believe Texas is the place for her, that's her choice.

More on Rellah. In a recent video interview, she stated that she could not take any official visits yet because she had not taken any college entrance exams. That has to be concerning. Someone is not giving her very good advice as a recruit (in any sport) who is on the verge of completing their junior season of high school, but has not made the time to take their first college entrance exam. Good luck to her in that area.

There are always "advisors" trying to influence recruits in one direction ore another; hopefully, they are helping instead of hindering a recruit's career. While not everyone agrees with me, I'm okay that Beavers, Dry, and Chou did not end up at Texas; just wasn't convinced they were good fits. While I'm surprised they all ended up at Baylor, I don't think any of them will finish their college careers in Waco; time will tell.

I do believe we need to continue to recruit the best talent we can to fill needs and increase our talent level and roster depth, including 2017; injuries and attrition are such a huge part of the game now, so you have to have quality depth at every position. We are coming off an Elite 8 appearance, and we need to capitalize on that with another Top 10 recruiting class. Luckily, the coaching staff seems to not be putting all their eggs in one basket; they are recruiting a lot of kids nationwide. And, while we don't have any verbal commits as of yet, the 2017 class seems to be pretty slow as a whole in making verbal commitments. I have every confidence that Coach Aston and staff will sign 3 or 4 kids from the 2017 class who will end up making an impact on our program.
 
Moooooo said:
I believe Rellah Boothe visited Texas unofficially during the weekend of our game against Stanford. So, she paid her way out here once. While losing Travis may have an impact on her recruitment, better to know that now versus after she may have signed with Texas (such as her signing with Texas in Nov. 2016, Travis getting a job elsewhere next April, and then her re-evaluating her decision). Things happen for a reason, and if she doesn't believe Texas is the place for her, that's her choice.

More on Rellah. In a recent video interview, she stated that she could not take any official visits yet because she had not taken any college entrance exams. That has to be concerning. Someone is not giving her very good advice as a recruit (in any sport) who is on the verge of completing their junior season of high school, but has not made the time to take their first college entrance exam. Good luck to her in that area.

There are always "advisors" trying to influence recruits in one direction ore another; hopefully, they are helping instead of hindering a recruit's career. While not everyone agrees with me, I'm okay that Beavers, Dry, and Chou did not end up at Texas; just wasn't convinced they were good fits. While I'm surprised they all ended up at Baylor, I don't think any of them will finish their college careers in Waco; time will tell.

I do believe we need to continue to recruit the best talent we can to fill needs and increase our talent level and roster depth, including 2017; injuries and attrition are such a huge part of the game now, so you have to have quality depth at every position. We are coming off an Elite 8 appearance, and we need to capitalize on that with another Top 10 recruiting class. Luckily, the coaching staff seems to not be putting all their eggs in one basket; they are recruiting a lot of kids nationwide. And, while we don't have any verbal commits as of yet, the 2017 class seems to be pretty slow as a whole in making verbal commitments. I have every confidence that Coach Aston and staff will sign 3 or 4 kids from the 2017 class who will end up making an impact on our program.
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I agree with everything you said except for the Chou part. She is a piece that we really needed. A 6'2" guard who can shoot the 3 with the best of them. We need any kind of shooting we can get
 
HornsLewis said:
I agree with everything you said except for the Chou part. She is a piece that we really needed. A 6'2" guard who can shoot the 3 with the best of them. We need any kind of shooting we can get
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We could definitely use some more shooters, but in order for them to become a starter and not just a situational player, they also have to be able to play defense; just my opinion, but that's why I don't think she will see a lot of playing time at Baylor.

I did finally see Chou's shooting ability in the most recent all-star game; but, in the McDonald's all-star game prior to that, she was pretty much a no-show as far as having a good shooting game. And, last summer (or the summer before that) with USA basketball, her shooting stats were absolutely dreadful. I could be wrong, but I think she may be similar to Peyton Little in college; a good shooter from beyond the arc when the opponent leaves her wide open and gives her time to set her feet. But, I have reservations about her being able to create her own shot in college.

Now, Amber Ramirez was the shooter from the 2016 class who I was really hoping would have chosen Texas. No doubt in mind that Ramirez is going to have much more of an impact in college than Chou, especially early on. Of course, a lot of that has to do with court time and the need to be a scorer for their respective teams.
 
Moooooo said:
We could definitely use some more shooters, but in order for them to become a starter and not just a situational player, they also have to be able to play defense; just my opinion, but that's why I don't think she will see a lot of playing time at Baylor.

I did finally see Chou's shooting ability in the most recent all-star game; but, in the McDonald's all-star game prior to that, she was pretty much a no-show as far as having a good shooting game. And, last summer (or the summer before that) with USA basketball, her shooting stats were absolutely dreadful. I could be wrong, but I think she may be similar to Peyton Little in college; a good shooter from beyond the arc when the opponent leaves her wide open and gives her time to set her feet. But, I have reservations about her being able to create her own shot in college.

Now, Amber Ramirez was the shooter from the 2016 class who I was really hoping would have chosen Texas. No doubt in mind that Ramirez is going to have much more of an impact in college than Chou, especially early on. Of course, a lot of that has to do with court time and the need to be a scorer for their respective teams.
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The biggest thing for us is that either one of them would have helped us big time. Outside of Brooke we don't have any shooters
 
Moooooo said:
I believe Rellah Boothe visited Texas unofficially during the weekend of our game against Stanford. So, she paid her way out here once. While losing Travis may have an impact on her recruitment, better to know that now versus after she may have signed with Texas (such as her signing with Texas in Nov. 2016, Travis getting a job elsewhere next April, and then her re-evaluating her decision). Things happen for a reason, and if she doesn't believe Texas is the place for her, that's her choice.

More on Rellah. In a recent video interview, she stated that she could not take any official visits yet because she had not taken any college entrance exams. That has to be concerning. Someone is not giving her very good advice as a recruit (in any sport) who is on the verge of completing their junior season of high school, but has not made the time to take their first college entrance exam. Good luck to her in that area.

There are always "advisors" trying to influence recruits in one direction ore another; hopefully, they are helping instead of hindering a recruit's career. While not everyone agrees with me, I'm okay that Beavers, Dry, and Chou did not end up at Texas; just wasn't convinced they were good fits. While I'm surprised they all ended up at Baylor, I don't think any of them will finish their college careers in Waco; time will tell.

I do believe we need to continue to recruit the best talent we can to fill needs and increase our talent level and roster depth, including 2017; injuries and attrition are such a huge part of the game now, so you have to have quality depth at every position. We are coming off an Elite 8 appearance, and we need to capitalize on that with another Top 10 recruiting class. Luckily, the coaching staff seems to not be putting all their eggs in one basket; they are recruiting a lot of kids nationwide. And, while we don't have any verbal commits as of yet, the 2017 class seems to be pretty slow as a whole in making verbal commitments. I have every confidence that Coach Aston and staff will sign 3 or 4 kids from the 2017 class who will end up making an impact on our program.
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Moooo...well written and thoughtful post.
 
I don't get the people saying we need to bring in 3 to 4 players in 2017. Look at the potential roster, there's plenty of depth and talent. They could use another perimeter shooter for 2016 but the twins will make up for some the lack of 3 point shooting from the guards.

Alecia is also a player that's just as effective playing off the ball as she is running the point. And i also think that we're forgetting about Jada. I see Coach Aston recruiting two players for 2017 a guard and a center.
 
rattfatt said:
I don't get the people saying we need to bring in 3 to 4 players in 2017. Look at the potential roster, there's plenty of depth and talent. They could use another perimeter shooter for 2016 but the twins will make up for some the lack of 3 point shooting from the guards.

Alecia is also a player that's just as effective playing off the ball as she is running the point. And i also think that we're forgetting about Jada. I see Coach Aston recruiting two players for 2017 a guard and a center.
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It's pretty simple. The coaching staff is not going to stop recruiting hard for each class. The goal should be to upgrade the talent level with each class, and fill needs. If a younger player outworks a veteran player for playing time, then that's a win for the program as a whole.

One injury to a key starter at a position with limited depth can have a huge effect on a season or post-season.

When you look at our classes for 2014 and 2015, you have Brooke and Ariel who have raised the bar and made huge contributions for the better part of two seasons; but, when you look at what happened with Ariel out with injuries, one could easily tell we had no one else to fill her shoes by themselves. When either got into foul trouble (especially early in a game), we didn't have players on the bench who could pick up the slack consistently. The other 5 players from those recruiting classes probably haven't combined to score the points in one season that either Brooke or Ariel have scored. While Lashann showed some moments of brilliance this past season, she still has to prove that she can consistently get on the court and contribute at Brooke's and Ariel's level.
 
Moooooo said:
It's pretty simple. The coaching staff is not going to stop recruiting hard for each class. The goal should be to upgrade the talent level with each class, and fill needs. If a younger player outworks a veteran player for playing time, then that's a win for the program as a whole.

One injury to a key starter at a position with limited depth can have a huge effect on a season or post-season.

When you look at our classes for 2014 and 2015, you have Brooke and Ariel who have raised the bar and made huge contributions for the better part of two seasons; but, when you look at what happened with Ariel out with injuries, one could easily tell we had no one else to fill her shoes by themselves. When either got into foul trouble (especially early in a game), we didn't have players on the bench who could pick up the slack consistently. The other 5 players from those recruiting classes probably haven't combined to score the points in one season that either Brooke or Ariel have scored. While Lashann showed some moments of brilliance this past season, she still has to prove that she can consistently get on the court and contribute at Brooke's and Ariel's level.
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The coaching staff is going to continue to recruit hard, but that doesn't mean that they're going to get every player that they want. I've always felt that 2017 was going to be challenging for the coaches because it's going to be difficult to convince 3 to 4 top players to come in and sit on the bench for a year just like Lashann.

The program is at a different level than it was when Brooke and Ariel committed to Texas because there wasn't a lot of experienced talent on the roster. In my opinion Lashann is the most talented guard on the team, and the only reason that she didn't get more playing time was because of her lack of experience. Lashann will star next year and make a big impact.
 
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LutherIsMyDog said:
It would be fantastic to get Didi. Really like her game. IMO, she'll give us fits at Baylor.
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I agree with you right here. This is the one kid I almost was for sure we would get back because of the Joyner situation. I can see what rattfatt was saying as far as coming in and sitting down behind someone but I felt Richards was going to be able to push for some minutes.
 
While anything is possible, I don't see Didi changing her mind again. The main reason is that after she committed to Baylor, I believe she stated that she made a decision that she felt was best for her, while her prior commitment was based on where here friends were planning to attend college.

So, I'm looking forward, and hoping we land players for 2017 who are difference-makers and can come in with the attitude and confidence to contribute right away. I keep trying to figure out who would best fit in with pieces we've already assembled. Obviously, getting Megan Walker and/or Rellah Boothe would be huge gets, but them being out-of--staters probably makes it harder to land their signatures compared to in-staters.

The bottom line is that the 2017 class in-state is extremely deep and talented, especially at point guard. So, while I don't think it's imperative that we sign one, you can't turn one away if they are considered a national Top 20 recruit, especially if they are a good shooter who can slide over to shooting guard. Hoping one of Chasity Patterson or Chennedy Carter decides Texas is the place for them. Not sure if we are recruiting either of the PGs from the San Antonio area (Kiana Williams or Gabby Connally; haven't read anything suggesting that we are, but that doesn't mean much.

The recent offer to 6'4 Emer Nichols of Houston Westbury Christian is interesting; definitely a late offer compared to the majority of offers which I'm sure were extended in 2015 or earlier. She appears to be a true Center; not sure we had offered any other true centers. Of course, if Jatarie White ends up transferring from South Carolina (with two years of eligibility beginning in 2017-18), that could change are needs in the post.

Vivian Gray is still high on my list. She seems to do everything well, and her size, shooting ability, and ball handling provides great versatility. Plus, it doesn't hurt that she is on the same club team as 2018 Sedona Prince and Tatum Veitenheimer.

Our summer camp is in June, I think; will be very interesting to see which rising seniors attend.
 
I guess Alabama is now in the picture for Haley Troup; had read that they recently offered (although I never understood why they hadn't earlier).

 
rattfatt said:
Alecia is also a player that's just as effective playing off the ball as she is running the point. And i also think that we're forgetting about Jada.
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From what I have seen of Jada on tape, she has a chance to be a big contributor at a high level. She might surprise people. At 5'11" she has the strength and mobility to play the 3 or the the 4 if we go really small. She looks like a scorer. She can play the perimeter or mix it up inside. I don't know if she will contribute big time immediately, but I have high hopes for her. Texas will have a long line of forwards waiting to get some minutes next season. I don't know how Aston is going to play them all.
 
Dr. D said:
From what I have seen of Jada on tape, she has a chance to be a big contributor at a high level. She might surprise people. At 5'11" she has the strength and mobility to play the 3 or the the 4 if we go really small. She looks like a scorer. She can play the perimeter or mix it up inside. I don't know if she will contribute big time immediately, but I have high hopes for her. Texas will have a long line of forwards waiting to get some minutes next season. I don't know how Aston is going to play them all.
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Agree with your take on Jada but I'd classify her as a true SF and Jordan Hosey is the only other one that comes to mind on the roster - even though Brianna logs a lot of minutes at the nominal 3. I think the biggest threat to both SFs playing time will be how often Coach Aston uses a 3 guard lineup with a PF and C.
 
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