2023 Recruiting - WBB

This Mississippi Scoreboard article Moooo posted above mentions Madison Booker being ranked #3 by Blue Star Basketball (BSB).

BSB ranks Gisella Maul #34 and Abigail (Abbie) Boutilier#42, which is the highest I've seen Abbie ranked. I hope BSB knows how to evaluate.
 
Flower Mound has Boutiler and Maddie Cox. I believe M. Cox is the last of the Cox sisters. I’m too lazy to look but Cox is ranked in the lower 50 of the 100 best players. Cox is being recruited by LSU and others. I would be surprised If Boutilier is actually in top 100 based on stats or skill level. She is a developmental big so am not expecting to see her play much as a freshman at Texas. However, I’m going to watch Flower Mound early in the season to check on Boutilier. I’ve only seen her in very small video clips. My fair and biased scouting report will follow on here.
 
flash34 said:
Flower Mound has Boutiler and Maddie Cox. I believe M. Cox is the last of the Cox sisters. I’m too lazy to look but Cox is ranked in the lower 50 of the 100 best players. Cox is being recruited by LSU and others. I would be surprised If Boutilier is actually in top 100 based on stats or skill level. She is a developmental big so am not expecting to see her play much as a freshman at Texas. However, I’m going to watch Flower Mound early in the season to check on Boutilier. I’ve only seen her in very small video clips. My fair and biased scouting report will follow on here.
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I was under the impression that Maddie Cox was focused more on volleyball and that’s what most schools were recruiting her for. As for Abbie, I’d be very interested if her footwork and agility has improved noticeably. I read somewhere that she’s been working on it.
 
DFW_Horn said:
I was under the impression that Maddie Cox was focused more on volleyball and that’s what most schools were recruiting her for. As for Abbie, I’d be very interested if her footwork and agility has improved noticeably. I read somewhere that she’s been working on it.
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Kaylee Cox is a sophomore volleyball player at Mizzou; she might be the one you were thinking about. I don't even think Maddie is playing volleyball this season.
 
I’ve lost tabs on the Cox sisters. But I think the second sister was the volleyball player and this is this third sister and back to basketball. Could be wrong.
 
Maddie Cox is #92 in ESPNW rankings. She’s a 6’-2” forward. First Cox was 6’-4” basketball, Second Cox was a 5’-10” volleyball player, Third Cox is 6’-2” basketball player.
 
A lot of us remember Ellen Bayer. I think that’s a pretty good comparison. Until we see more video or in-person scouting…..or she shows up as a freshman at Texas next fall. I’m hypothesizing that Boutilier does show up….even though her stats are minuscule compared to most recruits. As I remember Bayer, she was long and slender. From limited video, I think Boutilier has a stronger body when she shows up at Texas. You never know when a developmental big catches up with skills and impact. Reminder to self……be patient. Especially to someone who appears really wanting to be a Horn.
 
flash34 said:
A lot of us remember Ellen Bayer. I think that’s a pretty good comparison. Until we see more video or in-person scouting…..or she shows up as a freshman at Texas next fall. I’m hypothesizing that Boutilier does show up….even though her stats are minuscule compared to most recruits. As I remember Bayer, she was long and slender. From limited video, I think Boutilier has a stronger body when she shows up at Texas. You never know when a developmental big catches up with skills and impact. Reminder to self……be patient. Especially to someone who appears really wanting to be a Horn.
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Nothing wrong with having a "project' with that combination of size and desire. Looking forward to watching her progress over the next few years.
 
flash34 said:
As I remember Bayer, she was long and slender. From limited video, I think Boutilier has a stronger body when she shows up at Texas. You never know when a developmental big catches up with skills and impact. Reminder to self……be patient. Especially to someone who appears really wanting to be a Horn.
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Bayer was 6'8"(?) before 6'8" was even considered uncommon among female players. She was damned near unique at that time. Yes, she had to grow into her body, concentrate on her footwork and gain strength. But she became effective for us as she did so.

I think modern club ball plus more advanced nutrition and strength training should give Boutilier a higher floor when she arrives at UT than Bayer had, but the caveat is that pretty much all D-1 players take advantage of the same strength and nutrition advances, so they enter with similarly advanced bodies than those entering college in the mid-80s. I suspect we will see her skills blossom as she matures, but the question is just how much improvement she will make.

Here's one old Longhorn hoping it will be a tremendous improvement.
 
Sangre Naranjada said:
Here's one old Longhorn hoping it will be a tremendous improvement.
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Agreed. Well, obviously, Vic sees something of value, whether Abbie is a walk-on or has a ship. On the surface, she does not appear to fit the athletic mold he covets.

Coach must value the situational presence she no doubt can bring in the paint during her developmental journey. Also, that presence should be an excellent aid in practice for her teammates.
 
Again... can't teach that type of size so you can't go wrong with taking a chance at trying to develop her, especially if she is coachable and has a desire to learn. Does anyone remember what Kara Wolters looked like her first couple of seasons at UConn? Although she arrived at UConn better than Abby seems to be at this point, she improved significantly over her four years with college coaching and strenghth/conditioning regimens. Some kids are a little delayed in developing to their full potential. If Vic didn't think he could develop her into a team asset of SOME SORT he wouldn't have offered her.
 
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Who remembers 6'9 Nancy Mulkey? Played one season at OU back in 2017 before transferring to Rice & then following Tina Langley last season to Washington.

Langley developed her quite well; Mulkey went from 3 PPG at OU to 16 her final season with Rice & 10 last season at Washington. Also was the CUSA defensive player of the year 3 times.

Mulkey was ranked higher and has better high school statistics than Abbie but moves and plays very similarly. If Abbie can be developed like Mulkey was she will be a big contribution, and if anyone can do it it'd be Vic!
 
xdxmmxchxxl said:
Who remembers 6'9 Nancy Mulkey? Played one season at OU back in 2017 before transferring to Rice & then following Tina Langley last season to Washington.

Langley developed her quite well; Mulkey went from 3 PPG at OU to 16 her final season with Rice & 10 last season at Washington. Also was the CUSA defensive player of the year 3 times.

Mulkey was ranked higher and has better high school statistics than Abbie but moves and plays very similarly. If Abbie can be developed like Mulkey was she will be a big contribution, and if anyone can do it it'd be Vic!
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We all hope for the best for Abbie. But I also hope a comparison to Nancy Mulkey turns out to be a poor one, because I believe Vic's plan for Abbie is to achieve so much more.

I give Mulkey credit for making the best of her limited athletic ability. I also remember how she would start every game for OU her freshman year so that she could win the opening tip and then get pulled as soon as a stop in play permitted. She just didn't belong on a B12 court for any meaningful minutes.

The reason the comparison is flawed is the mediocre level of play in CUSA versus B12. Again, Nancy deserves credit for leading Rice to the NIT championship in 2021, if you take pride in proving you are the 65th best team in women's basketball. In fairness, she did not have a strong team surrounding her at Washington, but at 29 minutes/game, her 6 rebounds and 10.6 points for a 5th-year, 6'9" senior was just OK.

Every athlete should strive to accomplish the best with what they have, and Mulkey did that. I just think Abbie should aim higher, maybe as high as Charlie Collier. Charlie's improvement from a difficult year 1 to a productive year 2 was incredible and would be a fitting role model for Abbie.
 
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It appears we are not finished with our 2023 recruiting. Letycia Vasconcelos was on an official visit to Texas last weekend. She is a 6'7" post and is ranked 36th on ESPN Hoopgurlz. She plays high school basketball at Monteverde Academy Florida, the same high school that Jordana Codio attended.

From looking at her IG, she has had official visits to Ohio State, Baylor, and Mississippi State.

 
Interesting. You can never get enough 6’-7” posts. Wonder if there is any underlying concerns about Boutilier being a little longer project than originally projected. This young lady is #36 and Boutilier is still not ranked in top 100.
 
I did a little digging but there's not much info on Letycia. Maybe someone with better sleuthing skills than me can find additional stats on her.

Here's a short clip on her from the John Lucas camp in September 2022. She moves well with the ball, especially for a player of her height.






 
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This January 2022 article from World Exposure Report, is trying to predict the 2022 McDonald's AA Roster. Their prediction is that Letycia will make the McDonald's AA roster.

Trying to Predict the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Roster

Here is a snippet from the article;
  • "Third Round Picks
To this point, 13 players make our roster. Of those 13, 12 of them are five-star recruits. As of today, there are 4 more players considered five-star prospects in the class of 2023, and given that on average almost 84 percent of them are MCDAAG , we still have have to pick the five-star players to make the team.

Of the remaining five-star players, and as the roster is constructed right now, the most probable thing is that big-women would be picked in this third round.

Aalyah Del Rosario is the 2nd best Center in the 2023 class.

Letycia Vasconcelos is the 3rd-best C and plays for an AAU program that has a McDonald's voter.

I’m going to pass on Amanda Muse (4th best C) in favor of Essence Cody, who is the 5th-best C and we simply picked her because of her AAU Coach is a McDonald's All American voter.

The two remaining 5- star recruits that will make the 2023 MCDAAG will be Chloe Kitts (SF) and Sammie Wagner (SF/PF). "
 
Here is a 2019 article from Bluestar that was written after the Jr. NBA Global Championship. Letycia played on the Latin American team.

USA Central Does jrNBA Global Championship Again - Bluestar Media

"The Latin America contingent featured the event’s tallest player in 6-7 Letycia Miranda Vasconcelos who, at this age, runs the floor and shows pro-level upside. Vasconcelos, who credits her father with starting her in the game, collected 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of play and will be an international impact player in the future. Her fellow Brazilian wing / guard Ana Carolina Ferreira Lopes led the team with 14 points."
 
flash34 said:
Interesting. You can never get enough 6’-7” posts. Wonder if there is any underlying concerns about Boutilier being a little longer project than originally projected. This young lady is #36 and Boutilier is still not ranked in top 100.
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I always expected them to target/take another center that was a little further along in their development. Which is what they were doing from the beginning when they were going after Cunningham.
 
LutherIsMyDog said:
I did a little digging but there's not much info on Letycia. Maybe someone with better sleuthing skills than me can find additional stats on her.

Here's a short clip on her from the John Lucas camp in September 2022. She moves well with the ball, especially for a player of her height.






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Yes. She moves very well for a player that size.
 
She reminds me a lot of Imani Boyette in terms of skills and ability to move up and down the floor. Would be a huge get if Texas can get it done and you can tell Vic is all in because he added her post to his instagram story. Vic hasn’t done that for a recruits photos since he’s been at Texas.
 
Jacob Johnson said:
Would be a huge get if Texas can get it done and you can tell Vic is all in because he added her post to his instagram story. Vic hasn’t done that for a recruits photos since he’s been at Texas.
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Good catch. Not sure if actually done by Vic himself (or Blair), but he also started following Letycia and her Dad, as well as 2024 Justice Carlton and her Mom (Kaci Moffitt), and 2024 Joyce Edwards, and 2024 Jaloni Cambridge. And, recent follows of 2023 verbal commitments Gisella Maul and Madi Booker.
 
flash34 said:
Flower Mound has Boutiler and Maddie Cox. I believe M. Cox is the last of the Cox sisters. I’m too lazy to look but Cox is ranked in the lower 50 of the 100 best players. Cox is being recruited by LSU and others. I would be surprised If Boutilier is actually in top 100 based on stats or skill level. She is a developmental big so am not expecting to see her play much as a freshman at Texas. However, I’m going to watch Flower Mound early in the season to check on Boutilier. I’ve only seen her in very small video clips. My fair and biased scouting report will follow on here.
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Maddie Cox commits to NC State today. Think she was on Baylor's radar. Baylor also lost out on Tessa Johnson from Minnesota who chose South Carolina today. If Letycia Vasconcelos chooses Texas over Baylor, I think that will just push the BU fans over the edge! :p

 
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Moooooo said:
Maddie Cox commits to NC State today. Think she was on Baylor's radard. Baylor also lost out on Tessa Johnson from Minnesota who chose South Carolina today. If Letycia Vasconcelos chooses Texas over Baylor, I think that will just push the BU fans over the edge! :p

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Let us pray... :pray-hands:
 
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