Pac 12 Oreview: Colorado

PAC 12 Preview: Colorado

Last Season: Colorado went 15-16 overall, and 5-13 in the conference.
The Coaches: Head Coach JR Payne will be in her 3nd year at Colorado after two seasons at Santa Clara. Two years Payne led Santa Clara to its first winning season in 8 seasons and finished 23-9. JR, no periods, and real name Ali-Marie, is a graduate of St Mary’s where she played for now Oregon coach Kelly Graves. Her first coaching job was at age 23 for Graves when he started at Gonzaga.
Shandrika Lee is in her 3nd season as an assistant at Colorado after coaching for Payne at Santa Clara. Lee is a graduate of Pepperdine and has coached at Oregon.

Toriano Towns is also in his 3nd and also coached with Payne at Santa Clara. Towns coached at Gonzaga with Payne and later at Arizona where he was the Post coach for the great, late Polk.

Alex Earl is in her 3nd year on the staff. Alex was an assistant with Payne three seasons ago at Santa Clara and played for years at ASU graduating in 2013. Alex was a HS teammate of JJ Hones on a team where all five starters player Division 1 basketball.



Losses:
Janea Bunn is not on the roster, she had another year. Last season she averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Becca Thomas graduated after scoring 5 points per game.
Zoe Correal graduated after she scored 6 points and had 4 rebounds per game.
Sara Castro played little and went back to Spain.
Jamie Curtis played little and is no longer on the team.



Additions:
Cameron Swartz is a 5-11 Frosh Guard from Georgia. Cameron was honored in 4 different sports and scored over 2,000 points in HS. She was ranked # 53.
Sirena Tuitele is 6-1 Frosh Froward from Chico, CA. She was ranked # 98. I saw her play this past season when she outplayed a top 30 recruit.
Kai Volcy is a 6-4 Frosh post from New Jersey. Kai was a 5th year grad of the Hun school averaged 13 points and 9 rebounds. Her father played basketball at Seton Hall and her grandfather played with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Emma Clarke is a 6-1 Frosh Guard from Australia. Clarke has stood out on their youth 16 and 17 teams, scoring 42 in one game for them.
Lesila Finau is 5-10 Frosh Guard from the Bay Area. Finau averaged 21 points for her very good HS team and had an offer from Washington.



The Schedule:
It’s highlighted by games against Miami of Florida, Colorado State, Northern Colorado and North Carolina. They play the Oregon schools on the road and Stanford and Cal at home.



The Team:
Kennedy Leonard is a 5-8 Sr Guard who averaged 15 points and over 6 assists per game last season.

Alexis Robinson is a 5-10 Sr Guard who averaged 12 points per game, and made 55 threes at 32%.

Annika Jank is a 6-3 Soph Post who averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Mya Hollingshed is a 6-4 Soph Forward who averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds in 17 minutes. Mya made 35 threes at 43%.

Quinessa Caylao-Do is a 5-8 Jr Guard who averaged 6 points.

Mathilde Diop is a 6-2 Jr Forward who is from France. Last season she averaged just 9 minutes per game.

Aubrey Knight is a 5-8 Soph Guard who averaged 4 points in 17 minutes.

Peyton Carter is a 5-8 Soph Guard who averaged 3 points in 8 minutes.



Predictions:
Robinson, Leonard and Jank are good to very good Pac 12 players. Clarke could shine as she did on their foreign tour this summer. Hard to get into the top 6 but Colorado looks to be improved.



2019 Recruiting:
Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-8 Point Guard All State Alabama
Maura Singer 6-4 Post from CO, ranked # 123