Michael Cooper started as the Head Coach the other day, months after he hired a staff. It’s a funny world. Funnier still is USC has 3 recruits already, and Michael will meet them soon. The firing of Mark Trakh and his staff was disappointing to many, but the truth is the Trojans have been very disappointing for several seasons. Three years ago 17-13, 10-8 in the Pac 10. Two years ago, the same and last year 17-15, and 9-9 in the Pac 10. Add to the barely winning records, three years without an NCAA trip. Combined with poor attendance in a beautiful new arena, and you have a new coaching staff.
USC lost their coaching staff and their top two scorers and their sixth best scorer. Graduated are Camille LeNoir, 13 points, 4 assists per game. She shot 40 % from Three, and had a 4:3 Turnover to Assist ratio. Also graduated is the # 2 scorer, Nadia Parker, 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Nadia only started 17 games last season due to injuries. The 3rd graduate is Brynn Cameron, who led the team with 52 Three’s, 35% and averaged 8 points per game.
The sad part is, of course, the USC injuries. Jacki Gemelos, a fantastic change the game performer out of High School, has missed 3 seasons with knee injuries and is not expected back until the start of Pac 10 play at the earliest. When and if healthy, maybe she will be a game changer again. Even if her mobility is hindered, she is an even better catch and shoot performer than Cameron has been. Gemelos is a 6-0 Guard who is on schedule to graduate in June. Least we forget, Jacki averaged 39 points per game as a High School Sr.
Stefanie Gilbreath is a 6-1 Wing, a redshirt Soph, who has missed her first two seasons at USC and will miss her 3rd, this year, with a knee injury. Like Gemelos, Stefanie was a McDonald’s All American.
The Trojans have 11 healthy players, including 4 Srs to keep them in the top five of the Pac 10, and they hope an NCAA berth. At Center will be Jr Kari LaPlante. Kari averaged 5.6 points and 3.8 rebounds a game last season, while starting half the games. She is the only true Center on the team and must really step up for USC to succeed. She was a top 100 player out of High School. Kari was also a Travel teammate of Kayla Pederson.
The back up Center, and also a Power Forward, is 6-3 Soph Michelle Jenkins, a High School teammate of JJ Hones. Jenkins averaged 10 minutes, 2 points and 1.4 rebounds as a frosh last season. Michelle is an excellent student, and needs that to carry onto the floor. USC needs a big jump in her numbers if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
USC is talented in the back court and pretty weak and thin in the front court. Eight of their 10 healthy scholarship players are wings and guards. Frosh Christina Marinacci is a 6-1 wing and was a McDonald’s All American. She is one of the two incoming players of the four in her class. The other two, top rated players at that, asked for and received their Letter of Intent Release. Both were front court players. Marinacci has an excellent chance of starting, and at worse will see many minutes. She’s an athletic player and an excellent three point shooter.
Briana Gilbreath is a 6-1 Soph wing who was the Pac 10 Frosh of the Year last season. She was also a McDonald’s All-American, one of five of the team. She averaged 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season. Briana was 3rd on the team in scoring and 2nd, almost 1st, in rebounding.
Aarika Hughes, a 6-2 Sr is also in the mix at a wing/forward position. Last year she averaged 4 points and 5 rebounds, but does bring some ruggedness to the mix. And yes, former teammate of JJ’s.
One of the most interesting happenings at USC will be replacing LeNoir at the Point. I suspect Hailey Durham with Ashley Corral her backcourt mate. Dunham is a 6-2 Sr who is a wonderfully gifted athlete who could really benefit from the new coaching. She is not a three point shooter, only 2 in her career, and averaged just 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season. Corral is an excellent shooter, led the team with 53 Three’s although only shot 31% from Three. The 5-9 Soph had a positive Assist to Turnover ratio as a frosh. Corral was a McDonald’s All American.
Heather Oliver is a 5-10 Sr who can shoot. Oliver, an Aussie, shot 42% from Three and averaged 9 points per game. Whether Oliver starts or comes off the bench, her shooting and good defense, Honorable Mention All Pac 10 defense, will merit her a lot of playing time.
Two guards round out the roster, 5-7 Sr Daniela Roark from Pinewood High School and 5-9 Frosh Vicky Tagalicod. Roark played her first two years at Fordham and made 104 Three’s at a clip of 37%. Tagalicod was HoopGrulz 21st rated Point Guard as a High School Sr, despite missing the year with a knee injury.
With the new coaching staff this will be an interesting team to follow. If they were healthy, this would be an excellent team to follow.
USC plays a solid schedule with Gonzaga, Rutgers, Texas and Duke headlining it. No cupcakes for USC, let’s see how they develop. If they do, and Jackie Gemelos can contribute, this team could surprise in 2010, instead of disappointment as in the past.
October 22, 2009
October 11, 2009
Cougars are on the Rise
This is June Daugherty’s third year as Head Coach at Washington State. In the year before June arrived, the Cougars won 5 games and lost 24, winning only one conference game. In June’s first season the Cougars improved by one, winning 5 total and 2 conference games. However last season, June’s second in the Palouse, the Cougars won 11, lost 19 and went 4-14 in league play. This season they could challenge for the first division.
The former Stanford Assistant has won 330 games in her 20 year Head Coaching career, at a 56% win rate. She also has a built in Associate Head Coach of some acclaim, her husband Mike. All three Assistants and the support staff begin their 3rd season with June in Pullman.
First, what did the Cougars lose from last year? Well eight players is the simple answer. However this is very much a team on the rise. Four graduated and four did not return. However there are six newcomers to take the place of those who left.
The two Centers from last season, Ebonee Coates and Heather Molzen, both graduated. Top 3 Point shooter Katie Appleton also graduated. Coates and Molzen played some together, and they combined to average 44 minutes, 9 points and 11 rebounds per game. Appleton scored 8.5 points per game averaging 31 minutes per game and hit 35% of her Three’s, a total of 45.
Two who didn’t play at all are gone, Brynn Bemis who graduated, and Alexa Price.
Also gone from last year’s team are Jasmine Williams, who played 2 games, Salena Dickson, who played 38 minutes for the season, and Kezia Kelly who played as a reserve but did not start. Kelly’s case is quite interesting, she is from New Zealand and was
Pre med. She needed to finish her undergrad degree in New Zealand to get into Med School there.
Bottom line, some loses to graduation, and not earthshaking.
Having now been in Pullman for three years, and I’m sure has read the “How the Stanford Fast Break Club got Started” book by Harriett Benson, June has started the Cougar Pawz Club, a booster group.
On to this season. The Center position is big and young and talented. 6-5 Frosh Carly Noyes is the probable starter. Noyes could be a double, double type of player. Carly was a three time League MVP and played for a solid Travel team, the Spokane Stars. She’s aggressive, good footwork and can score.
Jessica Oestreicher, a 6-8 Soph will also play quite a bit at Center. She was held to only 18 games and only 8 minutes per game last year by a knee injury and the two Seniors ahead of her. She was ranked as high as # 25 and # 71 in the nation by two publications. She also missed her Jr year in High School with an ACL. As a Sr she was the Homecoming Queen. If her knees are fine, Jessica will be a big factor for the Cougs.
A third Center might enroll in January, Aussie Razz Muir, 6-4. She was not cleared to play by the NCAA to start the school year.
6-1 Soph Rosie Tarnowski will play the 4. Last year she debuted starting 20 games and averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds. Rosie had a high of 10 rebounds, and that should be her forte. Also at the 3 or 4 will be 6-0 Jr Katie Calderwood. She played little last season but as a Frosh the year before Katie started 20 games averaging 4.6 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Katie Madison is a 6-0 Jr who transferred from Idaho and sat out last season. Katie may well start, as a Soph at Idaho she averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds a game and as a frosh 19 points and 9 rebounds. Her high game was 35 points. Idaho is in the WAC, so she has a solid background.
Lexie Pettersen is a 6-1 Soph who played in every game last season. Amy Waltenburg is a 6-0 Sr who has walked on. She played two years in JC.
All this and you might wonder how is this a team on the rise? It’s the Guards. This is a team whose best players are quick, high scoring Guards. And they are young.
April Cook is a 5-8 Soph who led the team at 14 points per games. April shot 33% from Three while making 43 on the season. She was 5th in the Pac 10 in scoring, 7th in scoring among the Nation’s Frosh.
Danielle LeNoir, is a 5-6 Frosh, whose sister played the past four years for USC. Danielle played 17 minutes a game behind the graduated Appleton, and scored 4 points per game. We remember her when she made 3 Three’s against Stanford.
Jazmine Perkins is a 5-10 Soph who started every game last season scoring 14 points per game, and added 2 steals per game. Like Cook she needs to take care of the ball, Perkins had 4 turnovers per game, Cook 2.5. Perkins did lead the Cougs with 2.6 assists per game.
5-8 Frosh KiKi Moore comes from the fabled Scared Heart Cathedral High School and might move right in as the Point Guard. Moore was All State, Top 100 in the Nation, and as a Sr in High School averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 6 assists per game. KiKi could bring the stability, even as a frosh, this team needs.
Two other Guards are 5-8 Soph Katie Grad and 5-9 Frosh Ireti Amojo. Grad suffered a foot injury and didn’t play last season. As a High School Sr she was named by one newspaper as the State of Washington Player of the Year while scoring 21 points grabbing 11 rebounds and adding 5 steals per game. Amojo is from Germany but spent a year as an exchange student playing with Katie Grad at a Washington High School. Amojo has already played for the German National 16U, 18U and 20U teams.
Washington State is guard oriented with some very big post players. They play Kansas State and Nebraska early, so we should see how they mesh. The remainder of the pre- season schedule is pretty easy, so it’s very possible, really probable, that the Cougars will open the Pac 10 season with a winning record.
The former Stanford Assistant has won 330 games in her 20 year Head Coaching career, at a 56% win rate. She also has a built in Associate Head Coach of some acclaim, her husband Mike. All three Assistants and the support staff begin their 3rd season with June in Pullman.
First, what did the Cougars lose from last year? Well eight players is the simple answer. However this is very much a team on the rise. Four graduated and four did not return. However there are six newcomers to take the place of those who left.
The two Centers from last season, Ebonee Coates and Heather Molzen, both graduated. Top 3 Point shooter Katie Appleton also graduated. Coates and Molzen played some together, and they combined to average 44 minutes, 9 points and 11 rebounds per game. Appleton scored 8.5 points per game averaging 31 minutes per game and hit 35% of her Three’s, a total of 45.
Two who didn’t play at all are gone, Brynn Bemis who graduated, and Alexa Price.
Also gone from last year’s team are Jasmine Williams, who played 2 games, Salena Dickson, who played 38 minutes for the season, and Kezia Kelly who played as a reserve but did not start. Kelly’s case is quite interesting, she is from New Zealand and was
Pre med. She needed to finish her undergrad degree in New Zealand to get into Med School there.
Bottom line, some loses to graduation, and not earthshaking.
Having now been in Pullman for three years, and I’m sure has read the “How the Stanford Fast Break Club got Started” book by Harriett Benson, June has started the Cougar Pawz Club, a booster group.
On to this season. The Center position is big and young and talented. 6-5 Frosh Carly Noyes is the probable starter. Noyes could be a double, double type of player. Carly was a three time League MVP and played for a solid Travel team, the Spokane Stars. She’s aggressive, good footwork and can score.
Jessica Oestreicher, a 6-8 Soph will also play quite a bit at Center. She was held to only 18 games and only 8 minutes per game last year by a knee injury and the two Seniors ahead of her. She was ranked as high as # 25 and # 71 in the nation by two publications. She also missed her Jr year in High School with an ACL. As a Sr she was the Homecoming Queen. If her knees are fine, Jessica will be a big factor for the Cougs.
A third Center might enroll in January, Aussie Razz Muir, 6-4. She was not cleared to play by the NCAA to start the school year.
6-1 Soph Rosie Tarnowski will play the 4. Last year she debuted starting 20 games and averaging 7 points and 5 rebounds. Rosie had a high of 10 rebounds, and that should be her forte. Also at the 3 or 4 will be 6-0 Jr Katie Calderwood. She played little last season but as a Frosh the year before Katie started 20 games averaging 4.6 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Katie Madison is a 6-0 Jr who transferred from Idaho and sat out last season. Katie may well start, as a Soph at Idaho she averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds a game and as a frosh 19 points and 9 rebounds. Her high game was 35 points. Idaho is in the WAC, so she has a solid background.
Lexie Pettersen is a 6-1 Soph who played in every game last season. Amy Waltenburg is a 6-0 Sr who has walked on. She played two years in JC.
All this and you might wonder how is this a team on the rise? It’s the Guards. This is a team whose best players are quick, high scoring Guards. And they are young.
April Cook is a 5-8 Soph who led the team at 14 points per games. April shot 33% from Three while making 43 on the season. She was 5th in the Pac 10 in scoring, 7th in scoring among the Nation’s Frosh.
Danielle LeNoir, is a 5-6 Frosh, whose sister played the past four years for USC. Danielle played 17 minutes a game behind the graduated Appleton, and scored 4 points per game. We remember her when she made 3 Three’s against Stanford.
Jazmine Perkins is a 5-10 Soph who started every game last season scoring 14 points per game, and added 2 steals per game. Like Cook she needs to take care of the ball, Perkins had 4 turnovers per game, Cook 2.5. Perkins did lead the Cougs with 2.6 assists per game.
5-8 Frosh KiKi Moore comes from the fabled Scared Heart Cathedral High School and might move right in as the Point Guard. Moore was All State, Top 100 in the Nation, and as a Sr in High School averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals and 6 assists per game. KiKi could bring the stability, even as a frosh, this team needs.
Two other Guards are 5-8 Soph Katie Grad and 5-9 Frosh Ireti Amojo. Grad suffered a foot injury and didn’t play last season. As a High School Sr she was named by one newspaper as the State of Washington Player of the Year while scoring 21 points grabbing 11 rebounds and adding 5 steals per game. Amojo is from Germany but spent a year as an exchange student playing with Katie Grad at a Washington High School. Amojo has already played for the German National 16U, 18U and 20U teams.
Washington State is guard oriented with some very big post players. They play Kansas State and Nebraska early, so we should see how they mesh. The remainder of the pre- season schedule is pretty easy, so it’s very possible, really probable, that the Cougars will open the Pac 10 season with a winning record.
October 4, 2009
Washington looks forward to continuity
Head Coach Tia Jackson started her Washington Husky career with a 13-18 record, 8-10 in the Pac 10. After a number of young players left in the off season, Washington fell to 8-22, 3-15 in the Pac 10. However the losses from last season are minimal so Tia can hope for improvement in her 3rd season.
Graduation took Heidi McNeill, who scored 4 points a game from the Center position and wing Michelle Augustavo who also scored 4 points per game. Also Aussie Nicole Romero, who didn’t get much playing time, decided not to return.
Bottom line, 12 players return, and however one might feel about their 8-22 record, its good having that experience. Tia needs the continuity.
The schedule has some interesting games. At home against BYU and Memphis and on the road at Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Regina Rogers returns to her native Seattle after a frosh year at UCLA. She sat out last season. At UCLA she averaged about 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, starting half the games. Her high was 12 points and 16 rebounds against Pepperdine. She’s 6-3 and has three years remaining, and may cause Washington to revamp their offense a bit to get the Centers more involved. This will help 6-2 Sr Laura McLellan who was the Huskies second leading scorer with almost 9 points per game, leading the team by making 47% of her shots.
Liz Lay, a 6-1 Soph returns at the 4 position. Liz had knee surgery in February of her Sr year of High School and missed 10 games last season coming back from this injury. She averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds a game, but did start 9 of the last 20 games. She was a top 20 player out of High School, and with a year to recover from the surgery she will really help the Huskies. Fans have yet to see the real Liz Lay. I saw her play several games in High School and she is a skilled, extremely high energy player. Having Rogers and a healthy Lay in the post with McLellan with make the Huskies a much different team from last year.
Sami Whitcomb will start at a wing position. The 5-10 Sr was the leading scorer last season, 12.8 points per game, and hit 33% of her Three point shots, the team high for those who took more than one Three per game. She has twice been Honorable Mention All Pac 10 and also twice Honorable Mention Defensive All Pac 10. Her high game was 29 points against ASU last season.
The other wing should be Kristi Kingma a 5-10 Soph. Kingma averaged 8.2 points per game and was the # 3 scorer for the Huskies. She only shot 27% from Three, but with stronger offensive post play, she should improve quite a bit. Her high game was 25 against UCLA, and she was the Husky Defensive Player of the Year. A side note, her Dad was a small school All American basketballer and Mom qualified four times for the Olympic Marathon trials.
Christina Rozier returns as the Point Guard, she is a 5-8 Sr who transferred from a JC. She averaged 5 points per game, but her assist to turnover ration was 1:1.2, a ratio that must improve quite a bit for the Huskies to have any success. The back up appears to be 5-8 Jr Sarah Morton, who scored 2 points per game while averaging 17 minutes. However she was the only player with a 1:1 assist to turnover ration on the team.
Other Forward type players will be: Mackenzie Argens, a 6-3 So who scored 4 points per game while averaging 11 minutes; Charmaine Barlow a 5-10 Soph who played just 8 games; 6-2 Soph Mollie Williams who scored 2.6 points per game while averaging 10 minutes; 5-11 Sr Lydia Young who scored 2.5 points per game averaging 13 minutes; and 6-0 frosh Jeneva Anderson.
Argens missed her Frosh year with an ACL then missed 8 games mid season last year with an MCL knee injury. If healthy she will contribute. 15 rebounds a game as a High School Sr.
Sara Mosiman is a 5-9 Sr Guard who scored 3.5 points per game last year. She averaged 4.5 points per game as a Soph. However she has yet to make a Three.
Amanda Johnson is the Huskies top recruit, a 5-5 Guard.
So much depends on Rogers and Lay being in great shape and being able to play 28-30 minutes per game. They are the keys to this season. Kingma and Whitcomb can score from the outside, but the keys are the two post players. Washington appears to be in the 8-10th place level in the Pac 10.
Graduation took Heidi McNeill, who scored 4 points a game from the Center position and wing Michelle Augustavo who also scored 4 points per game. Also Aussie Nicole Romero, who didn’t get much playing time, decided not to return.
Bottom line, 12 players return, and however one might feel about their 8-22 record, its good having that experience. Tia needs the continuity.
The schedule has some interesting games. At home against BYU and Memphis and on the road at Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Regina Rogers returns to her native Seattle after a frosh year at UCLA. She sat out last season. At UCLA she averaged about 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, starting half the games. Her high was 12 points and 16 rebounds against Pepperdine. She’s 6-3 and has three years remaining, and may cause Washington to revamp their offense a bit to get the Centers more involved. This will help 6-2 Sr Laura McLellan who was the Huskies second leading scorer with almost 9 points per game, leading the team by making 47% of her shots.
Liz Lay, a 6-1 Soph returns at the 4 position. Liz had knee surgery in February of her Sr year of High School and missed 10 games last season coming back from this injury. She averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds a game, but did start 9 of the last 20 games. She was a top 20 player out of High School, and with a year to recover from the surgery she will really help the Huskies. Fans have yet to see the real Liz Lay. I saw her play several games in High School and she is a skilled, extremely high energy player. Having Rogers and a healthy Lay in the post with McLellan with make the Huskies a much different team from last year.
Sami Whitcomb will start at a wing position. The 5-10 Sr was the leading scorer last season, 12.8 points per game, and hit 33% of her Three point shots, the team high for those who took more than one Three per game. She has twice been Honorable Mention All Pac 10 and also twice Honorable Mention Defensive All Pac 10. Her high game was 29 points against ASU last season.
The other wing should be Kristi Kingma a 5-10 Soph. Kingma averaged 8.2 points per game and was the # 3 scorer for the Huskies. She only shot 27% from Three, but with stronger offensive post play, she should improve quite a bit. Her high game was 25 against UCLA, and she was the Husky Defensive Player of the Year. A side note, her Dad was a small school All American basketballer and Mom qualified four times for the Olympic Marathon trials.
Christina Rozier returns as the Point Guard, she is a 5-8 Sr who transferred from a JC. She averaged 5 points per game, but her assist to turnover ration was 1:1.2, a ratio that must improve quite a bit for the Huskies to have any success. The back up appears to be 5-8 Jr Sarah Morton, who scored 2 points per game while averaging 17 minutes. However she was the only player with a 1:1 assist to turnover ration on the team.
Other Forward type players will be: Mackenzie Argens, a 6-3 So who scored 4 points per game while averaging 11 minutes; Charmaine Barlow a 5-10 Soph who played just 8 games; 6-2 Soph Mollie Williams who scored 2.6 points per game while averaging 10 minutes; 5-11 Sr Lydia Young who scored 2.5 points per game averaging 13 minutes; and 6-0 frosh Jeneva Anderson.
Argens missed her Frosh year with an ACL then missed 8 games mid season last year with an MCL knee injury. If healthy she will contribute. 15 rebounds a game as a High School Sr.
Sara Mosiman is a 5-9 Sr Guard who scored 3.5 points per game last year. She averaged 4.5 points per game as a Soph. However she has yet to make a Three.
Amanda Johnson is the Huskies top recruit, a 5-5 Guard.
So much depends on Rogers and Lay being in great shape and being able to play 28-30 minutes per game. They are the keys to this season. Kingma and Whitcomb can score from the outside, but the keys are the two post players. Washington appears to be in the 8-10th place level in the Pac 10.
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