2022 Recruiting - WBB

[Sangre Naranjada]

Travis Mays on the men's side

 

[Moooooo]

Today, Monday at 4 PM Central, ESPNU is showing a taped McDonald's AA Girls scrimmage. I believe Ta'Niyah Latson will be included.

On Tuesday, the McDonald's Girls AA game will be aired at 5:30 PM Central on ESPN2.

 

[Moooooo]

That would be HUGE....#14 on ESPN. We definitely need an all-purpose guard in this class. But, have we ever pulled a Florida kid?

I'm kicking myself for not remembering that Latson is from Atlanta, GA, and not from Florida!

 

[Zig72]

Duh!

I'm kicking myself for not remembering that Latson is from Atlanta, GA, and not from Florida!

I retract my Duh!

 

[DFW_Horn]

Ndjakalenga will also be playing in the Jordan Brand game.

 

[flash34]

Anybody watch the McDonalds game on Tuesday? Any information on who looked good and how Horns recruit did would be appreciated.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Anybody watch the McDonalds game on Tuesday? Any information on who looked good and how Horns recruit did would be appreciated.

No WBB recruits in the game this year so I didn’t watch, never watch the MBB game.

 

[flash34]

Ouch. I now realize our 2022 recruits were all down the food chain in the rankings. I like all 3 and believe they will be real contributors. I recognize that sometimes rankings are fools gold influenced by craziness, errors, and politics. I see a huge part of recent years recruits transferring. HOWEVER, I can’t ignore that the top programs year in and year out get one or more players in top 10 if not top 5. We got Moore and Harmon last year. Nada this year. I offer the irrational theory that Cunningham in 2023 or similar is crucial to getting over the hump into Final Four. I believe you simply have to acquire at least one top 5 player each year to continue an upward climb to the rarified air of Final Four. This stupid theory ignores transfers. Matharu helped. Still to be determined is if we get any impact transfer this summer for this fall. I’m greedy. I don’t like the feeling on Stanford or South Carola defeats in Elite Eight. I sure hope the meeting with Cunningham this week was effective.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Ouch. I now realize our 2022 recruits were all down the food chain in the rankings. I like all 3 and believe they will be real contributors. I recognize that sometimes rankings are fools gold influenced by craziness, errors, and politics. I see a huge part of recent years recruits transferring. HOWEVER, I can’t ignore that the top programs year in and year out get one or more players in top 10 if not top 5. We got Moore and Harmon last year. Nada this year. I offer the irrational theory that Cunningham in 2023 or similar is crucial to getting over the hump into Final Four. I believe you simply have to acquire at least one top 5 player each year to continue an upward climb to the rarified air of Final Four. This stupid theory ignores transfers. Matharu helped. Still to be determined is if we get any impact transfer this summer for this fall. I’m greedy. I don’t like the feeling on Stanford or South Carola defeats in Elite Eight. I sure hope the meeting with Cunningham this week was effective.

I’m not going to sweat that game too much. Vic made 2 national championship games with a grand total of 1 McDAA (Vivians). FYI…The Jordan Brand game has a lot of player overlap with the McDAA game and Ndjakalenga was invited to that one.

 

[Bobcat]

I’m not going to sweat that game too much. Vic made 2 national championship games with a grand total of 1 McDAA (Vivians). FYI…The Jordan Brand game has a lot of player overlap with the McDAA game and Ndjakalenga was invited to that one.

Vivians was not a McDonalds AA according to this..... If you can confirm, I’ll retract...

 

[brnkj]

Vivians was not a McDonalds AA according to this..... If you can confirm, I’ll retract...

Vivians was not a McDonald's All-American. Rickea Jackson may have been Vic's first that he signed at MSU.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Vivians was not a McDonalds AA according to this..... If you can confirm, I’ll retract...

Vivians was not a McDonald's All-American. Rickea Jackson may have been Vic's first that he signed at MSU.

My mistake. I had it stuck in my head that she was the first McDAA to ever sign with MSU. Maybe the highest-ranked before Rickea?

 

[Moooooo]

Speaking of Ta'Niya Latson, here's what FSU's new head coach had to say about her status:

Recently speaking with five-star signee Ta’Niya Latson offered Wyckoff encouragement about her status. The top-ranked shooting guard signed with the Seminoles last November and would be a critical piece for their future.

Latson tallied 15 points in the McDonald’s All-American game Tuesday.

“All signs are pointing to that she’s committed and still wants to come,” Wyckoff said. “We’ve been excited about her. She’s going to help us in huge ways on both ends of the floor. She brings immediate energy. She cares about defense as well as offense. And she’s just a winner. She has won everywhere she goes.”

For Latson to win at FSU, Wyckoff will need to build upon the storied legacy of Sue Semrau. In her 24 seasons as head coach, Semrau helped lift the Seminoles from irrelevant to perennially successful.


Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff embracing new women's college basketball landscape (yahoo.com)

 

[Moooooo]

Well, ever since FSU promoted their asst. coach to head coach, a couple more players transferring out, including River Baldwin. We'll see if those defections will impact Ta'Niya Latson.

 

[LutherIsMyDog]

Well, ever since FSU promoted their asst. coach to head coach, a couple more players transferring out, including River Baldwin. We'll see if those defections will impact Ta'Niya Latson.

Although I can’t support my hunch with hard evidence, I have always thought that Texas was a close runner-up for Latson’s commitment to FSU. In fact, I was surprised she picked FSU. I thought things were trending to Texas prior to her announcement.

If Latson reconsiders her commitment to FSU, I think Texas is in the mix (assuming there is a scholarship still available.)

 

[JoeDallas]

Ouch. I now realize our 2022 recruits were all down the food chain in the rankings. I like all 3 and believe they will be real contributors. I recognize that sometimes rankings are fools gold influenced by craziness, errors, and politics. I see a huge part of recent years recruits transferring. HOWEVER, I can’t ignore that the top programs year in and year out get one or more players in top 10 if not top 5. We got Moore and Harmon last year. Nada this year. I offer the irrational theory that Cunningham in 2023 or similar is crucial to getting over the hump into Final Four. I believe you simply have to acquire at least one top 5 player each year to continue an upward climb to the rarified air of Final Four. This stupid theory ignores transfers. Matharu helped. Still to be determined is if we get any impact transfer this summer for this fall. I’m greedy. I don’t like the feeling on Stanford or South Carola defeats in Elite Eight. I sure hope the meeting with Cunningham this week was effective.

I know. I've been bothered, too, knowing we didn't get anybody in the top 15 or 20. Even knowing that the ones at the top flop fairly frequently, and some players way down the lists become stars. We got pretty used to having highly rated recruits with Karen.

 

[brnkj]

I know. I've been bothered, too, knowing we didn't get anybody in the top 15 or 20. Even knowing that the ones at the top flop fairly frequently, and some players way down the lists become stars. We got pretty used to having highly rated recruits with Karen.

Yeah, I can remember having 10 McDonald's All-Americans on our roster and STILL getting swept by Baylor and losing in the Sweet16. I don't worry too much anymore... Vic will get the most out of whatever he has.

 

[flash34]

Perhaps after all is said and done…..and we get a couple of impact transfers…..the recruiting ranking discussion will be silly. I kinda compare it to the five stars vs the 4 stars in football. Football recruiting can also be fool’s gold. However, the odds say getting a few fives…..and you will hit on some…..and they will be the difference makers. It’s just odds. Usually……usually…..the top ranked players are there for a playing reason. It would be nice to have a Bueckers…..or a Boston……or a Jones. They are difference makers.

 

[JoeDallas]

Yeah, I can remember having 10 McDonald's All-Americans on our roster and STILL getting swept by Baylor and losing in the Sweet16. I don't worry too much anymore... Vic will get the most out of whatever he has.

I remember that, too. I'm thinking of the year Erica Ariarran (sp I'm sure) was the number one rated recruit. That was a long time ago. You're probably thinking of one of KA's years, the one of Patterson and Booth maybe.

 

[flash34]

Erika A is the poster child for me on bad recruiting rankings. From the very first time I saw her play, I wondered how anybody could rank her number 1 in country. I always suspected politics in the AAU coaching ranks. She had a nice career at Texas. But was more like a 75-100 than a 1. But that was a long time ago. I can’t imagine that could happen now with so many ways to see kids play.

 

[Moooooo]

Ouch. I now realize our 2022 recruits were all down the food chain in the rankings. I like all 3 and believe they will be real contributors. HOWEVER, I can’t ignore that the top programs year in and year out get one or more players in top 10 if not top 5. We got Moore and Harmon last year. Nada this year. I offer the irrational theory that Cunningham in 2023 or similar is crucial to getting over the hump into Final Four. I believe you simply have to acquire at least one top 5 player each year to continue an upward climb to the rarified air of Final Four. This stupid theory ignores transfers. Matharu helped. Still to be determined is if we get any impact transfer this summer for this fall. I’m greedy. I don’t like the feeling on Stanford or South Carola defeats in Elite Eight. I sure hope the meeting with Cunningham this week was effective.

And, that's because of the consistent success those programs have had the last 5 years or longer; we're not one of those programs. We are in volleyball; not in women's hoops.

I forget if it was here where I stated that we were not really recruiting against the likes of UConn, South Carolina, Stanford, and Louisville, and some disagreed, which is fine. We might recruit some of the same high school players (Cunningham), but until we start winning those recruiting battles, we're not at their level in recruiting.

Yes, Moore and Harmon were great recruiting wins for Vic. But, let's face it; those wins have a lot do with (regional) proximity. We are not a "national" name until we start recruiting coast to coast with success, and winning (which we are starting to with 2 Elite 8's). For 2022, the in-state class of high school players were not ranked that highly. Ashlon Jackson was the only one who was a McDonald's All-American. And, that explains why 2 of 3 signees for Vic are from out of state.

Even Karen did great when there were Top 10 recruits in the state of Texas (Higgs, Holmes). Getting out-of-staters like Sutton, Boothe, Littleton, and Taylor really started having us on the fringe of being a true national recruiter. But, other than Taylor, none really lived up to their billing.

 

[kurupt]

Erika A is the poster child for me on bad recruiting rankings. From the very first time I saw her play, I wondered how anybody could rank her number 1 in country. I always suspected politics in the AAU coaching ranks. She had a nice career at Texas. But was more like a 75-100 than a 1. But that was a long time ago. I can’t imagine that could happen now with so many ways to see kids play.

The politics still go on. And kids that probably shouldn't be McDonald's All-Americans tend to still end up being. I've always felt that many recruits in the various sports that commit to Texas tend to get overrated. Erika was one of many of those players.

And although there's no questions that Coach Aston underachieved and failed to get the most out of those 10 McDonald's All-Americans, there were a few that you certainly could question them being, such as Jordan Hosey.

Which is why I actually like the fact that although the 3 recruits aren't McDonald's All-Americans, they're still rated relatively high and have less pressure and probably more of a chip on their shoulders. The reason that Vic does such a good job of getting the most out of his players is because of great evaluating/recognizing if they fit his style of play.

The 3 coming in fit perfectly and because that, I think they'll be successful if things like the torn acl on the same knee for the second time with Jordana doesn't prevent that. With that being said, Vic also knows that you still win with high-end talent.

He's great at getting the most out of his talent, but after a while being known for that means that you're not consistently getting quality talent. Bill Fennelly and a couple other coaches in the conference come to mind.

 

[kurupt]

And, that's because of the consistent success those programs have had the last 5 years or longer; we're not one of those programs. We are in volleyball; not in women's hoops.

I forget if it was here where I stated that we were not really recruiting against the likes of UConn, South Carolina, Stanford, and Louisville, and some disagreed, which is fine. We might recruit some of the same high school players (Cunningham), but until we start winning those recruiting battles, we're not at their level in recruiting.

Yes, Moore and Harmon were great recruiting wins for Vic. But, let's face it; those wins have a lot do with (regional) proximity. We are not a "national" name until we start recruiting coast to coast with success, and winning (which we are starting to with 2 Elite 8's). For 2022, the in-state class of high school players were not ranked that highly. Ashlon Jackson was the only one who was a McDonald's All-American. And, that explains why 2 of 3 signees for Vic are from out of state.

Even Karen did great when there were Top 10 recruits in the state of Texas (Higgs, Holmes). Getting out-of-staters like Sutton, Boothe, Littleton, and Taylor really started having us on the fringe of being a true national recruiter. But, other Taylor, none really lived up to their billing.

Yep. And the reason Coach Aston was able to recruit so well out of state was because of a great initial staff.

Which is why I think that Vic needs to go out and get an assistant guard coach with a track record for recruiting the best in the country nationally. That also helps with the likelihood that the coach will more than likely be recruiting them again from the portal.

 

[flash34]

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with recruiting good kids to your program that may not be in top 20 or so. Good kids, good coaching, good program…..like Fennelly has…..is a tremendous career and I applaud that. Lots of benefits. Unfortunately….but really fortunately……I fell in love with UT in the early 60s. Couldn’t get to Austin fast enough. I consequently have always felt our programs should and do compete at the top levels. Intellectually I recognize Texas is not on par with UCONN, South Carolina, etc…..right now in WBB. Emotionally I can’t accept that. I just hope Auremma, Van DeVeer don’t retire before Schaefer gets the team he wants and beats em. I think it’s coming soon.

 

[Moooooo]

The politics still go on. And kids that probably shouldn't be McDonald's All-Americans tend to still end up being. I've always felt that many recruits in the various sports that commit to Texas tend to get overrated. Erika was one of many of those players.

And although there's no questions that Coach Aston underachieved and failed to get the most out of those 10 McDonald's All-Americans, there were a few that you certainly could question them being, such as Jordan Hosey.

Which is why I actually like the fact that although the 3 recruits aren't McDonald's All-Americans, they're still rated relatively high and have less pressure and probably more of a chip on their shoulders. The reason that Vic does such a good job of getting the most out of his players is because of great evaluating/recognizing if they fit his style of play.

The 3 coming in fit perfectly and because that, I think they'll be successful if things like the torn acl on the same knee for the second time with Jordana doesn't prevent that. With that being said, Vic also knows that you still win with high-end talent.

He's great at getting the most out of his talent, but after a while being known for that means that you're not consistently getting quality talent. Bill Fennelly and a couple other coaches in the conference come to mind.

Erika Arriaran committed to Texas immediately after her official visit to Texas in the Fall of her senior season, IIRC. So, that was way after several of the recruiting sites had listed her as their #1 player.

 

[Moooooo]

Yep. And the reason Coach Aston was able to recruit so well out of state was because of a great initial staff.

Which is why I think that Vic needs to go out and get an assistant guard coach with a track record for recruiting the best in the country nationally. That also helps with the likelihood that the coach will more than likely be recruiting them again from the portal.

Not sure I agree with that. Which assistant coaches are you speaking of? Travis Mays, Jalie Mitchell, and George Washington were on her initial staff. All mainly had contacts within the state. Not sure we landed any elite OOS recruits early on in Aston's tenure.

Hiring George Washington is why she got in-state Lashann Higgs and Jordany Hosey to commit super early; might have also been the reason why she got those other 2 recruits to commit (before they decommitted and eventually signed with Baylor). Perhaps also why Brooke McCarty came on board.

Seems like it wasn't until she hired Tina Thompson that Texas' recruiting reach started extending outside the state borders for elite recruits.

 

[kurupt]

Erika Arriaran committed to Texas immediately after her official visit to Texas in the Fall of her senior season, IIRC. So, that was way after several of the recruiting sites had listed her as their #1 player.

Thanks for the correction. But the point still stands.

 

[kurupt]

Not sure I agree with that. Which assistant coaches are you speaking of? Travis Mays, Jalie Mitchell, and George Washington were on her initial staff. All mainly had contacts within the state. Not sure we landed any elite OOS recruits early on in Aston's tenure.

Hiring George Washington is why she got in-state Lashann Higgs and Jordany Hosey to commit super early; might have also been the reason why she got those other 2 recruits to commit (before they decommitted and eventually signed with Baylor). Perhaps also why Brooke McCarty came on board.

Seems like it wasn't until she hired Tina Thompson that Texas' recruiting reach started extending outside the state borders for elite recruits.

Travis Mays was the reason we were able to get Rellah. Both being from Ocala, Florida and he knew the family well. He was also the reason that we were able to get Brooke. If I'm not mistaken, he also played an important role with Sug's recruitment and the same goes for Coach George with Celeste.

The contacts/ connections that both he and Coach George had not only from within in the state, but also nationally was the reason that those recruits were pretty much all ready spoken for when Tina showed up. Although Tina was the reason for Destiny coming and for the Megan Walker interest.

 

[Moooooo]

Thanks for the correction. But the point still stands.

Player recruiting rankings come out so early; and they have for like the last 15 years or so. I remember DeYona Gaston being ranked #1 for her class as a freshman. She didn't make her commitment until after her official visit to MSU in the fall of her senior season.

In women's hoops, I can't think of a single recruit who verbally committed to Texas and then shot up the recruiting rankings afterwards. You'll have to help jog my memory on that.

Right after Aston was hired, she received verbal commitments from Higgs and Hosey, and then a couple of players I had never heard of (Alyssa Dry and Justin Sczepanski-Beaver). Yet, the Statesman or some other outlet is writing that Dry is like the best PG in the country for her class. As it turned, that one recruiting site who provided those rankings was based in Texas, and had some kind of club connection to those 2 players; no other national recruiting site had them ranked that highly. And, that didn't change just because they verbally committed to Texas.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Player recruiting rankings come out so early; and they have for like the last 15 years or so. I remember DeYona Gaston being ranked #1 for her class as a freshman. She didn't make her commitment until after her official visit to MSU in the fall of her senior season.

In women's hoops, I can't think of a single recruit who verbally committed to Texas and then shot up the recruiting rankings afterwards. You'll have to help jog my memory on that.

Right after Aston was hired, she received verbal commitments from Higgs and Hosey, and then a couple of players I had never heard of (Alyssa Dry and Justin Sczepanski-Beaver). Yet, the Statesman or some other outlet is writing that Dry is like the best PG in the country for her class. As it turned, that one recruiting site who provided those rankings was based in Texas, and had some kind of club connection to those 2 players; no other national recruiting site had them ranked that highly. And, that didn't change just because they verbally committed to Texas.

The only one that comes to mind who shot up the rankings was Ariel but that was because of a hand or arm injury. She went from unranked to #4 overall.