September 29, 2019

Pac 12 Preview: USC

Last Season: 17-13 overall and just 9-11 in Pac 12 play.

The Coaches: Mark Trakh has returned to USC for his 3rd season after six seasons as the Head Coach at New Mexico State. Mark coached for 5 seasons at USC before New Mexico. New Mexico State lost just 2 league games in the past 3 seasons. Mark started as a Head Coach at Pepperdine in 1994.

Jason Glover is in his 23nd season as the Associate Head Coach. Glover joined Mark at New Mexico State two seasons after several years coaching in both the NBA and the WNBA.

Aarika Hughes returns for her 3nd season to USC where she played. Hughes coached for 5 years at New Mexico State. She was a HS teammate of JJ Hones and Colorado assistant Alex Earl.

Erin Grant starts her first year at USC. Grant was an All American at Texas Tech and has coached at Memphis, New Mexico and Texas Tech

Yes this is way strange but it’s the USC 2019-20 team. They have 9 players not returning or graduated and 9 new players.
Losses:
Aliyah Mazyck graduated after averaged 15 points.

Minyon Moore averaged 15 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds plus a 2.6:1 assist to turnover ratio. Moore graduated in three years and will play for Oregon.

Mariya Moore graduated after averaging 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Ja’Tavia Tapley averaged 6 points and 5 rebounds. Tapley grad transferring to Arizona after graduating in three years

Cheyanne Wallace was a grad transfer to USC. Last season she averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds.

Asiha Jones averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds. Jones transferred to Virginia Tech.

Jill Archer, Kyerstin Galloway and Danijela Milisic seldom played. Archer transferred to Georgetown. Galloway and Milisic are no longer on the roster.

That’s 59 points gone.


Additions:
Stephanie Watts is a 5-11 Guard Grad transfer from North Carolina. Watts is a former McD All American and last season averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assist. She also made 82 threes at 37%.

Aliyah Jeune is a 6-1 Wing and a Grad Transfer from Morehead State. Last year Jeune averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Jeune stared her career at Rutgers where she played 2 years and averaged 8 points per game as a Soph.

Endyia Rogers is a 5-7 Frosh Guard from Dallas. She was ranked # 39/36.

Angel Jackson is a 6-5 Frosh Post from NorCal ranked # 24/37.

Kyra White is a 5-10 Frosh Guard from Texas ranked # 94

Madison Campbell is a 5-11 Guard from Fresno area ranked # 124.

Alyson Miura is a 5-9 Guard from Oregon ranked # 85.

India Otto is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Winward HS.

Alissa Pili is a 6-0 Forward from Alaska ranked 75/41.



The Schedule:
Virginia, Texas A&M, Nebraska and Alabama all at home.
USC plays only at Stanford and Cal and hosts only Oregon and Oregon State. A big break here playing the top 3 teams only once each.



The Team:
Desiree Caldwell is a 5-8 soph Point Guard from Texas ranked # 14 out of HS but only averaged 19 minutes and 3 points.

Kayla Overbeck is a 6-1 Sr Froward originally from SoCal who transferred after 2 seasons at Vanderbilt. Last season at USC she averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds

Shalexxus Aaron is a 6-1 Redshirt Soph Guard from SoCal who played her first three years of HS in Washington. Aaron was ranked # 57. Her brother is on the USC Men’s Basketball team. Last season Aaron averaged 7 points and made 42 threes at 42%.
17 points return.



Predictions: A strange team with only three new players however nine new players and a number of them are very good. Can USC mold into a team is the question, however lots of talent.



2020 Recruiting Commits:
None
In the Hunt for:
Angel Reece, 6-3 Wing MD ranked # 2
Jordyn Jenkins, 6-2 Forward from Washington, ranked # 42
Elauna Eaton, 5-11 Guard from KS ranked # 47
Eylia Love, 6-1 Wing from KS, ranked # 64
Anaya Boyd, 5-11 Guard from GA ranked # 31

September 22, 2019

Pac 12 Preview: Utah

Last Season:
20-10 overall and 9-9 in Pac 12 play finishing with an improvement over the previous season in conference play. However Utah was 18-1 after beating Stanford and ranked higher than they been in years when injuries hit. Utah had to turn down the WNIT due to all the injuries.

The Coaches:
Lynne Roberts is in her 5th year after moving from the University of Pacific, UOP. Roberts was Head Coach at UOP for 9 seasons, being named Conference Coach of the Year twice in the last three years. Before UOP Roberts was Head Coach at Chico State for 4 seasons.

Gavin Peterson is in his 5th year after 2 seasons with Roberts at UOP. Peterson has been an assistant in the West since 2002 and an Associate Head Coach for 6 of those seasons.

Danyelle Snelgro is in her 5th year after a season at TCU and 2 seasons at Fresno State. She played at Utah State.

Joanna Reitz is in her 3rd season as a coach at Utah. Reitz has coached for 7 years mostly D2.



Losses:
Megan Huff was the Utes leading scorer at 19 points per game and rebounder with 19 per game. Megan graduated.

Dre’Una Edwards transferred to Kentucky after being named Pac 12 Frosh of the Year. Edwards averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds

Stanford killer Erica Bean graduated after averaging 7 points 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Sarah Potter averaged 4 points and 1 rebound in 14 minutes.



Additions:
Kemery Martin, 6-0 Guard from the State of Utah. Utah Player of the Year ranked # 35. Averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds as a Sr.

Brynna Maxwell, 6-0 Guard from Washington ranked # 78. The state of Washington Ms Basketball, averaged 27 points as a Sr

Zuzanna Puc, 6-2 Forward from Texas El Paso who must sit out this season. Averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds last season. The year before 12 points and 7 rebounds. Puc is from Poland.

Aubri Noti is a 6-1 Redshirst Soph Forward who transferred from a JC where she averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Three players who sat out last season are listed below, Pendande, Brosseau and Makurat.



The Schedule:
At Cincy, at Xavier, at BYU and a tournament in Hawaii. Utah only hosts the Arizona schools and only travels to the Washington schools.



The Team:
Daneesha Provo is a 6-0 6th year Sr Guard. Provo transferred from Clemson two years ago and is playing on the Canadian National Team. Last season she averaged 13 points.

Dru Gylten is a 5-11 Redshirt Soph Guard who averaged 9 points and 6 assists.

Kianna Moore is a 5-7 Sr Guard averaged 9 points and made 45 threes at 40%.

Niyah Becker is a 6-2 Soph Wing from Canada. She has played on Canadian Youth National teams. She was ranked # 10 International Recruit. Niyah averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes.

Lola Pendande is a 6-4 Redshirt Frosh Post from Spain. Lola sat out last season.

Andrea Torres is a 6-2 Soph Forward from Canada. Torres has played on Canada’s youth national teams. Andrea averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds.

Julie Brosseau is a 5-9 Redshirt Jr Guard who sat out last season after transferring from Maine. Julie averaged 11 points two years ago with 7 threes and 29 points vs Ohio State. She is Canadian.

Ola Makurat is a 6-3 Redshirt Jr Forward who transferred from Liberty and sat out last season. At Liberty two years ago she averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds.
Maurane Corbin is a 6-5 Redshirt Post from Quebec, who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes two years ago. She sat out last season with an injury.



Predictions:
Forty points per game returning with 7 new players. Hard to predict anything other than not top 6 in the conference. However it could became a very interesting season.


2020 Recruiting:
Kennedy McQueen 5-11 Guard Utah

In the hunt for:
Peyton McFarland, 6-4 Post from Idaho ranked # 80

September 16, 2019

Pac 12 Preview: Cal

Last Season: 20-13 overall and 9-9 in conference play.

The Coaches:
Charmin Smith with 2 degrees from Stanford returns for her 13th season at Cal and is now the Head Coach. Charmin left Cal for the WNBA this Spring and in June was named the Head Coach when Lindsay Gottlieb left Cal for the WNBA.

Kai Felton is back for her 8th year at Cal. Kai has been an Assistant at Oregon, 2 years, and at USC, 5 years.

Wendale Farrow is in his 4th season.
April Phillips is in her first year after one year at Arizona. April graduated from Xavier playing in the NCAA against Stanford in the famous 4.4 seconds game.


Losses:
Kristine Anigwe averaged 22 points and 16 rebounds.

Asha Thomas averaged 10 points and also 60threes at 36%.

Kianna Smith transferred to Louisville after averaging 10 and making 55 threes at 35%.

Mackenzie Forbes transferred to Harvard after averaging 5 point and making 34 threes at 36%.

Recee Caldwell averaged 10 points and mage 61 threes at 36%.

Mo Mosley averaged one point.

Losses accounted for all but 22 threes and 16 points per game.
Also Lauren Fields signed in November but got her release and is at Oklahoma State



Additions:
Leilani McIntosh, 5-5 Frosh Guard from Phoenix, not ranked

Cailyn Crocker 5-9 Frosh Guard from SoCal, ranked # 66 on PN and not ranked ESPN

Jazlen Green 5-11 Frosh Guard from SoCal, not ranked. However she missed her Jr year and travel with a knee injury came back to be Southern Section D2 Player of the Year .

Evelien Lutje Schipholt, 6-2 Frosh Forward from the Netherlands. She averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds in the European 18U tournament.



The Schedule:
Cal hosts Arkansas, Penn State and Kentucky and will play at UConn. In league play they play only at the Arizona schools and USC and UCLA play only at Cal.


The Team:
Alaysia Styles is a 6-3 Jr Forward who averaged 9 points and 3 rebounds as a Frosh but just 2 points and 2 rebounds last season.

Mi’Cole Clayton is a 5-9 Redshirt Jr Guard who averaged 6 points per game as a frosh and was injured and missed all but 4 games the past 2 seasons.
CJ West is a 6-4 Sr Post who averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds.

Jaeyln Brown is a 6-1 Sr Wing, who averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Sara Anastasieska is a 5-10 Redshirt Sr Guard from Australia. Sara missed last season with an injury.

Chen Yue is a 6-7 Sr Center from China who played just 56 minutes this past season.



Predictions:
Cal returns just 14 points and 10 rebounds per game. Also only Brown had more than one start last year. Brown started all but one game. It’s going to be a long season after all the turnover.



2020 Recruiting:
No Commits yet


In the hunt for:
Dalayah Daniels 6-4 F from Washington ranked # 15. Daniels has visited UCLA and Cal.
Jordyn Jenkins 6-2 F from Washington, ranked # 42
Fatou Samb, 6-4 Post from Tx ranked # 68


September 8, 2019

Pac 12 Preview: Arizona

Preview: Arizona

Just in 6-5 Post ranked # 30 Lauren Ware commits to the Wildcats.

Last Season: Arizona was 24-13 overall and 7-11 in Pac 12 play, under Head Coach Adia Barnes. Arizona won the WNIT and their total number of wins was the exact number of their total losses the previous year. Barnes signed a new long term big raise contract recently.

The Coaches: Adia Barnes is the all time leading scorer at Arizona and is in her 4th year the Head Coach. Barnes had been at Washington as an assistant the for four years as the Huskies came from the 2nd division of the Pac 12 to the NCAA Final Four. Barnes played professionally for 12 years including for 4 WNBA Teams.

Salvo Coppa, or Mr Barnes is a 4th year assistant. Coppa is from Italy and has extensive overseas coaching experience.

Tamisha Augustin is a new Assistant. She was at Cincinnati and Minnesota before this season.

Jackie Nared comes as an Assistant after a year at Washington State. She was in support roles at Washington and Oregon before Washington State. A grad of St Mary’s where as a Sr she averaged 21 points per game.


Losses:
Assistant Morgan Valley left to be the Head Coach at Hartford.

April Phillips left to be an Assistant at Cal, just before Gottlieb left Cal.

Destiny Graham is a 6-3 Sr Post from Eastside Prep in East Palo Alto. Graham averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds per game last season.



Additions:
Tara Manumeleuga is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Australia however plays for New Zealand internationally. She enrolled in January but didn’t play. She has played internationally since age 12.

Amari Carter is a grad transfer from Penn State. Carter averaged 10 points per game in three years at Penn State and was ranked as high as # 16 out of HS. She missed a year with injuries at Penn State.

Shaina Pellington is a Jr transfer from Oklahoma who will sit out this season. At Oklahoma Pellington averaged 13 points in two seasons and was the Big 12 Frosh of the Year.

Mara Mote is a 6-0 Frosh Guard from Latvia. Mote played in the 19U World Cup averaging 11 points per game.

Sevval Gul, 6-4 Frosh Post from Turkey. Gul has 4 years of international experience and played for the Turkish Club Team Ferenhbace with teammate Kelsey Plum.

Helena Pueyo is a 6-0 Frosh Guard from Spain. Pueyo is another player with international experience. This past summer she played for both Spain’s 19U World Cup team and their 18U team in the European Championships. She averaged 9 points per game for the two teams combined.

Birna Benonysdottir is a 6-2 Frosh Forward from Iceland. Birna averaged 10 points in the European 20U championships and 17 points in the 17 points in 2018 at the 18U European Championships.

That’s six new players ready to play now and another redshirting after her transfer. All the Frosh are international but loaded with experience.



The Schedule:
The wildcats play at Texas and the other non conference games seem very winnable. In League play they only host Stanford and Cal and only travel to Utah and Colorado.



The Team:
Aari McDonald 5-7 Jr Guard lead the Pac 12 in scoring at 24 points per game. Aari shot 45% from the floor and averaged 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The downside or watch out she shot just 28 % from three and that was a 1/3 of her total attempts.

Cate Reese 6-2 Soph Post averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds

Sam Thomas is a 6-0 Jr Forward who averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Dominique McBryde is a 6-2 Sr Forward who averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds

Lucia Alonso is a 5-7 Sr Guard who averaged 5 points. and 3 assists.

Tee Tee Starks is a 5-9 Sr Guard who averaged 5 points per game.

Starks and Alonso each stared about ½ of the games while McDonald, Thomas, Reese and McBryde started almost every game. So everyone pretty much returns.
Bryce Nixon is a 5-10 Soph Guard who played in amost every game but averaged 2 points in 8 minues
Semaj Smith is a 6-6 Soph Post who played in just 3 games.


Predictions:
The Wildcats return an nearly unheard of 64 points and add a number of potential starters. Plus their top three returnees are just Jrs. This is now a first division team.


2020 Recruiting:
Derin Erdogan, 5-9 PG Turkey
Lauren Ware 6-5 Post ND, ranked # 30

Still in the hunt for:
Leilani Kapinus, 5-10 Guard WI, ranked # 10
Anaya Boyd, 6-0 Guard Georgia, Ranked # 29

September 2, 2019

Pac 12 Preview: Washington

Last Year: 11-21 overall and 2-15 in league play.

Coaches:
Jody Wynn is now in her 3nd year Head Coach after moving from Long Beach State where she was Head Coach for 8 seasons and last year took Long Beach State to their first NCAA tournament in 25 years. Jody was a starting Guard at USC and also for 5 years an assistant at USC.

Derek Wynn is the Associate Head Coach, and her husband. Like Jody he was at Long Beach State and USC.

Michelle Augustavo is in her 3nd year having returned to Washington where she was a player for two years transferring from San Diego where she set the single game scoring record of 42. Michelle coached with the Wynn’s this past season and before that 4 years at UC Irvine.

Paul Reed completed the move of the Long Beach State staff to Washington. He coached for three years at Long Beach State. Paul was a Small College All American Defensive back.


Losses:
Hannah Johnson was a Grad student Forward who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds.

Jenna Moser was a Grad Student Guard who averaged 5 points last season.



Additions:
Gigi Garcia is a 6-2 Forward ranked # 89 out of HS. Gigi has missed the past two seasons with injuries so is a redshirt Soph.

JaQuaya Miller is a 6-3 Frosh Post from Washington ranked # 41.

Nia Lowery is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Sacramento. Both parents played College basketball. Mom at Oregon State.

Rita Pleskevich is a 5-9 Jr Guard from Russia and currently on their 20U team. Rita is a JC transfer from Florida where she averaged 20 points per game.

Ali Bamburger is a 6-3 Post from CA. Her Dad was an outstanding player at St Mary’s. Averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds last season in HS.


Schedule:
Non Conference the Huskies play Iowa in San Juan and Vandy at home. The others should be wins. The Huskies play only at the Oregon schools and Host but don’t travel to Utah and Colorado.


The Team:
Mai-Loni Henson is a 6-1 Sr Forward who averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds. Henson was ranked # 69 in HS.

Amber Melgoza is a 5-10 Sr Shooting Guard who averaged 18 points and 4 rebounds.

Missy Peterson is a 5-11 Jr Guard from Washington. Last season Missy averaged 9 points and led the team with 52 threes at 36%.

Khayla Rooks is a 6-1 Jr Forward from SoCal. Last season Rooks averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds.

Alexis Griggsby is a 5-9 JR Guard from SoCal who averaged 3 points last season.

Haley Van Dyke is a 6-1 Jr Forward ranked # 82 out of HS. Last season Haley averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds.

Tyiona Watkins is a 6-0 Jr Guard who averaged 5 points.

Darcy Rees is a 6-4 Soph Post from Australia. She has played and started for their youth National teams the past 4 years. Last season Rees averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds and had a very good Pac 12 tournament.

Montana Hagstrom is a 5-7 Guard who averaged one point.


Predictions:
Melgoza is outstanding and Rees with Peterson are very good players. Lots of openings for the new players. Washington played hard and well in the Pac 12 tournament so hopefully that carries forward.


2020 Recruiting:
Jayda Noble, 5-10 Guard WA

Still in the mix for Jordyn Jenkins, 6-2 Forward from Washington, ranked
# 42.