I’m not sure as I write this when Colorado will join the Pac 10 for Basketball, but I thought it would be interesting to know a little about the Buffalos. Actually it appears not until 2012, will Colorado join, as Utah appears set for next year.
Colorado was 13-17 last season, 10-4 non conference and a woeful 3-13 in the very tough Big 12. They lost three of their top five and 5 of their top 8 scorers so will be relying on newcomers this season.
Their non conference schedule is pretty weak as it was last season, with Illinois and USC the only major opponents. Of course the Big 12 Conference will be very strong again this season. The Big 12 doesn’t play divisions, but an unbalanced schedule. This season Colorado will play Texas A & M, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State just once. The Buffalos play Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska and Iowa State twice each.
The Coach is Linda Lappe, now in her second season. Lappe was the youngest BCS Head Coach last year at 29. She coached Denver’s Metro State to a 50-36 in her three seasons as their Head Coach.
Colorado’s 12 person roster includes 4 Frosh, 4 Sophs, 2 Jrs and 2 Srs.
Top Returnees:
Brittany Spears, no not that Brittany, is 6-1 Sr Forward who averaged almost 18 points and 8 rebounds per game. She has been their go to player from the moment she arrived in Boulder.
Chucky Jeffrey, no not that Chucky, is a 5-10 Soph Guard. She averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds a game.
Meagan Malcolm-Peck is a 6-2 Soph Forward who was 6th in minutes played last season and averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds per game. Her twin sister Brenna is also on the team.
Four Players, including Brenna Malcolm-Peck averaged between .7 and 1.3 points per game. One is 6-7 Soph Melissa Macfarlane. All Star Girls Report had Melissa as the # 20 Center and # 70 overall player out of High School, so the potential to contribute is there.
Colorado adds four Frosh this season. Rachel Hargis is a 6-4 Center from Texas, named the # 43 Center out of High School by HoopGurlz. Shae Kelley is a 6-0 Forward from Denver, named by HoopGurlz as the # 58 Forward. The Wilson twins, Ashley and Brittany come to Boulder from Long Beach Poly. Brittany was the # 32 Guard and Ashley the # 58 Guard per HoopGurlz. Long Beach Poly was the team Sara James and Oakridge beat for the State Championship.
Summing up the Buffalos of Colorado, they don’t seem to have to players to compete with many of the Pac 10 teams. It’ll be interesting to follow their recruiting to see if that picks up.
September 14, 2010
September 8, 2010
Preview of the Arizona Wildcats
Last season the Wildcats were 14-17 and 6-12 in the conference. But their last 7 games resulted in 6 losses, to Cal, USC, UCLA, ASU and Stanford, twice. A tough way to end but they clearly showed they are a team on the rise. Now whether that rise can get them into the first division remains to be seen, but they seem to be the best team to challenge going from the bottom half of the top half of the conference.
LOSSES:
Only 8 players played more than 8 games however all except one of them return. And they have a decent recruiting class.
Ashley Frazier started every game and while she only scored 3.4 points per game she did play 29 minutes per game and was the only Wildcat was a plus of assists to turnovers.
Jennifer Kioa had transferred from Foothill after some of us watched her at Kezar the previous summer. However she only played 8 games last season before leaving.
ADDITIONS:
Shanita Arnold is a Jr 5-5 Point Guard who transferred from Arkansas last year and sat out the season. She was the # 24 player in the country per Mike White, now Blue Star, and started all 32 games as a Soph at Arkansas. She averaged just under 6points and just over 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game in her second and final season at Arkansas.
Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Frosh Forward who played travel ball with our Sara James. She was rated the # 36 Forward last year by HoopGurlz. Although she had to sit out her Sr High School season after transferring from Sacramento to Richmond. She’s a strong rebounder, and scored about 16 points per game as a High School Soph and Jr.
Taylor Dalrymple is a 6-1 Jr who played JC ball the past two years and was the # 34 Power Forward out of High School. Last year at JC she averaged 6+ points and 6+ rebounds per game.
Candice Warthen is a 5-3 Frosh who averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals at her High School, Warren County in Georgia. HoopGurlz named her the # 27 Point Guard in the country.
NON CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
The Wildcats play at Mississippi, at New Mexico and at home against New Mexico State and in a tournament against Texas A & M. The other seven games are pretty easy, or should be.
BY POSITION:
POSTS:
This category does fit Arizona as they don’t have a Center, only 6-3 Sr Amanda Pierson is listed as a Forward/Center. They have been playing a 3 guard lineup and given their personal I suspect that to continue. They have recruited a top 100 6-5 player for the next class however. Pierson played all but one game last year, but only 11 minutes per game. She averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds.
POWER FORWARDS:
Ify Ibekwe is probably one of the five best players in the conference. The 6-2 Sr averaged 14 points and over 11 rebounds per game this past season. She is an outstanding player and the offense will be geared to feature Ify.
Soana Lucet is a 6-1 Sr who started every game with Ify last season. They will be the post players, the 4 and 4.2 as it were. Lucet averaged 13 points and almost 7 rebounds a game.
Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Frosh who is a strong rebounder and a decent scorer. She will be eased into the rotation, and will benefit from two good players ahead of her.
Taylor Dalrymple is a 6-1 Jr, a JC transfer, and the # 34 Power Forward out of High School 3 years ago. She had originally committed to South Carolina out of High School.
WINGS:
Davellyn Whyte is a 5-11 Soph who was the Pac 10 Frosh of the Year last season. Whyte led the team in scoring, almost 16 points per game, and made 67 threes, 35%. Like Ibekwe and Lucet, Whyte played about 33 minutes per game.
Brooke Jackson is a 5-8 Jr who averaged 8 points per game. Jackson is the only three point shooter other than Whyte who made more than 10 threes and is returning. Jackson hit 44 threes, 33%
Reiko Thomas played more the 2 last year but the 5-8 Jr may play both the Point and the Off Guard this year. Thomas averaged 7 points per game and had a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio, the best of the returnees.
Tasha Dickey is a 5-10 Jr who play 8 minutes per game last season.
POINT GUARDS:
Shanita Arnold is a 5-5 Jr who was a starting Point Guard at Arkansas two years ago.
5-5 Jr Candice Warthen will be in the mix here. The JC transfer from Georgia scored 25 points a game at her JC but was a touted High School Point Guard.
FORECAST:
This is a team that will be tough at home. They should have a winning pre-season and a good chance of winning most of their northwest road games. It will be tough to finish top five in the Pac 10, but this is the best Wildcat team since Pokie.
LOSSES:
Only 8 players played more than 8 games however all except one of them return. And they have a decent recruiting class.
Ashley Frazier started every game and while she only scored 3.4 points per game she did play 29 minutes per game and was the only Wildcat was a plus of assists to turnovers.
Jennifer Kioa had transferred from Foothill after some of us watched her at Kezar the previous summer. However she only played 8 games last season before leaving.
ADDITIONS:
Shanita Arnold is a Jr 5-5 Point Guard who transferred from Arkansas last year and sat out the season. She was the # 24 player in the country per Mike White, now Blue Star, and started all 32 games as a Soph at Arkansas. She averaged just under 6points and just over 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game in her second and final season at Arkansas.
Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Frosh Forward who played travel ball with our Sara James. She was rated the # 36 Forward last year by HoopGurlz. Although she had to sit out her Sr High School season after transferring from Sacramento to Richmond. She’s a strong rebounder, and scored about 16 points per game as a High School Soph and Jr.
Taylor Dalrymple is a 6-1 Jr who played JC ball the past two years and was the # 34 Power Forward out of High School. Last year at JC she averaged 6+ points and 6+ rebounds per game.
Candice Warthen is a 5-3 Frosh who averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 steals at her High School, Warren County in Georgia. HoopGurlz named her the # 27 Point Guard in the country.
NON CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
The Wildcats play at Mississippi, at New Mexico and at home against New Mexico State and in a tournament against Texas A & M. The other seven games are pretty easy, or should be.
BY POSITION:
POSTS:
This category does fit Arizona as they don’t have a Center, only 6-3 Sr Amanda Pierson is listed as a Forward/Center. They have been playing a 3 guard lineup and given their personal I suspect that to continue. They have recruited a top 100 6-5 player for the next class however. Pierson played all but one game last year, but only 11 minutes per game. She averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds.
POWER FORWARDS:
Ify Ibekwe is probably one of the five best players in the conference. The 6-2 Sr averaged 14 points and over 11 rebounds per game this past season. She is an outstanding player and the offense will be geared to feature Ify.
Soana Lucet is a 6-1 Sr who started every game with Ify last season. They will be the post players, the 4 and 4.2 as it were. Lucet averaged 13 points and almost 7 rebounds a game.
Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Frosh who is a strong rebounder and a decent scorer. She will be eased into the rotation, and will benefit from two good players ahead of her.
Taylor Dalrymple is a 6-1 Jr, a JC transfer, and the # 34 Power Forward out of High School 3 years ago. She had originally committed to South Carolina out of High School.
WINGS:
Davellyn Whyte is a 5-11 Soph who was the Pac 10 Frosh of the Year last season. Whyte led the team in scoring, almost 16 points per game, and made 67 threes, 35%. Like Ibekwe and Lucet, Whyte played about 33 minutes per game.
Brooke Jackson is a 5-8 Jr who averaged 8 points per game. Jackson is the only three point shooter other than Whyte who made more than 10 threes and is returning. Jackson hit 44 threes, 33%
Reiko Thomas played more the 2 last year but the 5-8 Jr may play both the Point and the Off Guard this year. Thomas averaged 7 points per game and had a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio, the best of the returnees.
Tasha Dickey is a 5-10 Jr who play 8 minutes per game last season.
POINT GUARDS:
Shanita Arnold is a 5-5 Jr who was a starting Point Guard at Arkansas two years ago.
5-5 Jr Candice Warthen will be in the mix here. The JC transfer from Georgia scored 25 points a game at her JC but was a touted High School Point Guard.
FORECAST:
This is a team that will be tough at home. They should have a winning pre-season and a good chance of winning most of their northwest road games. It will be tough to finish top five in the Pac 10, but this is the best Wildcat team since Pokie.
September 5, 2010
New Format for the Pac 10 Tournament
It has already been announced that the location will change with the Semifinal and Final Games moving to the Staples Center and being held with the Men’s Semifinal and Final games. However a new twist has come up where the # 1 and # 2 seeds get byes for the first TWO days. In the past it was one Day. Thus if say Stanford and UCLA finish 1-2, they will each get two days of byes and play only one game, if they lose, or two days if they reach the Final. If they are indeed 1-2 they would not play at the Galen Center at all.
All so very interesting. I wonder what this means when Colorado and Utah join the now Pac 10. It will be hard to continue with this format.
This could help the # 3 and # 4 teams in league play, they get an extra game and that could be the difference between an NCAA berth or not. Here is the format:
The Pac-10 Tournament takes place March 9-12 in Los Angeles and will begin at the Galen Center on the campus of USC before the semifinals and finals are played at the Staples Center.
The tournament will have a different seeding beginning this season:
Wednesday, March 9 (First Round, Galen Center)
Game 1: Seed #3 vs. Seed #10, 12 p.m. PT
Game 2: Seed #4 vs. Seed #9, 2:15 p.m. PT
Game 3: Seed #5 vs. Seed #8, 5 p.m. PT
Game 4: Seed #6 vs. Seed #7, 7:15 p.m. PT
Thursday, March 10 (Quarterfinals, Galen Center)
Game 5: Winner 3/10 vs. Winner 6/7, 3 p.m. PT
Game 6: Winner 5/8 vs. Winner 4/9, 5:15 p.m. PT
Friday, March 11 (Semifinals, Staples Center)
Game 7: Seed #1 vs. Game 6 winner, 12 p.m. PT
Game 8: Seed #2 vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 12 (Championship, Staples Center)
Game 9: Championship Game, 11:30 a.m. PT
All so very interesting. I wonder what this means when Colorado and Utah join the now Pac 10. It will be hard to continue with this format.
This could help the # 3 and # 4 teams in league play, they get an extra game and that could be the difference between an NCAA berth or not. Here is the format:
The Pac-10 Tournament takes place March 9-12 in Los Angeles and will begin at the Galen Center on the campus of USC before the semifinals and finals are played at the Staples Center.
The tournament will have a different seeding beginning this season:
Wednesday, March 9 (First Round, Galen Center)
Game 1: Seed #3 vs. Seed #10, 12 p.m. PT
Game 2: Seed #4 vs. Seed #9, 2:15 p.m. PT
Game 3: Seed #5 vs. Seed #8, 5 p.m. PT
Game 4: Seed #6 vs. Seed #7, 7:15 p.m. PT
Thursday, March 10 (Quarterfinals, Galen Center)
Game 5: Winner 3/10 vs. Winner 6/7, 3 p.m. PT
Game 6: Winner 5/8 vs. Winner 4/9, 5:15 p.m. PT
Friday, March 11 (Semifinals, Staples Center)
Game 7: Seed #1 vs. Game 6 winner, 12 p.m. PT
Game 8: Seed #2 vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 12 (Championship, Staples Center)
Game 9: Championship Game, 11:30 a.m. PT
August 31, 2010
Arizona State Preview
I think I’ll do previews of all 11 teams, including Stanford, this year, including Utah and Colorado to get us used to what may be the Pac 12 next season. ASU has both their schedule and roster out, so it’s a good place to start. I know it’s early but 11 previews and 1-2 other stories and suddenly we are playing our first exhibition game.
Last year was very disappointing for Charlie Turner Thorne’s Sun Devils, 18-14 and no NCAA after 9 straight trips. They were 9-9 in the conference and 9-5 non conference.
LOSSES:
Top scorer Danielle Orsillo graduated after scoring 14 points per game. She was their top three point shooter, although the team as a whole didn’t make many more than Jeanette Pohlen. Orsillo also led the team in steals.
Kayli Murphy also graduated. Murphy was the 4th leading scorer, 7 points per game and 2nd leading rebounder, 6 per game.
Sabrina McKinney had another year left I believe. McKinney started 8 games last season but averaged just 2 points per game.
ADDITIONS:
Dymond Simon returns for her final season after missing the entire 2009-2010 season with a knee injury. Two years ago Simon averaged 14 points and over 3 assists per game.
Olivia Major is a JC transfer from Central Arizona JC where she averaged 20 points and made 142 threes. That’s an incredible number of threes, shooting 39% from beyond the arc. She was a JC All American and led her team to the national (non CA JC’s) Championship.
Markisha Patterson was another who missed last season with a knee injury after transferring in also from Central Arizona JC. Patterson averaged 6 points per game in both her JC years.
Olivia Simmons is a frosh from Australia. She actually played for the Cal Sparks, an elite East Bay Travel team a year ago.
Adrianne Thomas is the lone American HS recruit. Thomas was ranked as the # 140 Guard by HoopGurlz.
NON CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
Tennessee at Knoxville on Nov 21st is the only top 20 team they will face. Other good teams include Florida State, a maybe in a tournament, depends on the first game, New Mexico, DePaul and Marist at home. The other six games are against weak teams.
BY POSITION:
POSTS:
Becca Tobin is a 6-5 Sr who averaged almost 10 points and 6 rebounds a game last season, while starting all but 4 games. With ASU and their hockey style rotation you really need to point out minutes per game, so Becca averaged 24 minutes per game. She is big and strong and a load on defense.
Kali Bennett is a 6-5 Jr who transferred from Washington and averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds in 14 minutes. Another big and strong post.
Joy Burke is also 6-5, a soph, who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes per game. Burke was bothered by an injury early in the season.
So three good solid, although not spectacular post players, but at 6-5 each, they will be imposing to all but a few teams.
POWER FORWARDS:
Kimberly Brandon is a 6-2 Jr who played very well late in the season. Her sister is at Cal. Brandon averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes. She is quick and moves extremely well for a 6-2 player.
Janae Fulcher is a 6-3 Soph in eligibility who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds in 14minutes.
WINGS:
To be consistent I’ll call by position One Post, One Power Forward, 2 Wings and a Point Guard. Seems to me most teams play that way now.
Tenaya Watson, 5-9 Sr. played mostly the Point last year but I presume that will be Dymond Simon this season. Watson averaged 8 points per game last season in 22 minutes per game.
Alex Earl, 5-10 Sr 4 points and 17 minutes per game and the 2nd best 3 point shooter to Orsillo. A High School teammate of JJ Hones.
Olivia Major, 5-7 Jr. The JC transfer was a tremendous three point shooter in JC ball, and this is something ASU needs badly.
Deja Mann, 5-7 Soph, averaged 2.4 points and 13 minutes per game.
POINT GUARD:
Dymond Simon, 5-5 Sr, 14 points per game 2 years ago and returning from a knee injury. Maybe Simon is a 2 with Watson the Point, we shall see. In any case Watson will probably back up Simon here. Simon was 6th in the Pac 10 in three point % 2 years ago.
FORECAST:
If Simon is 100% this will be a good team, maybe back to Top 25. With an average at best non conference schedule, they could start the Pac 10, 9-2, 10-1.
Last year was very disappointing for Charlie Turner Thorne’s Sun Devils, 18-14 and no NCAA after 9 straight trips. They were 9-9 in the conference and 9-5 non conference.
LOSSES:
Top scorer Danielle Orsillo graduated after scoring 14 points per game. She was their top three point shooter, although the team as a whole didn’t make many more than Jeanette Pohlen. Orsillo also led the team in steals.
Kayli Murphy also graduated. Murphy was the 4th leading scorer, 7 points per game and 2nd leading rebounder, 6 per game.
Sabrina McKinney had another year left I believe. McKinney started 8 games last season but averaged just 2 points per game.
ADDITIONS:
Dymond Simon returns for her final season after missing the entire 2009-2010 season with a knee injury. Two years ago Simon averaged 14 points and over 3 assists per game.
Olivia Major is a JC transfer from Central Arizona JC where she averaged 20 points and made 142 threes. That’s an incredible number of threes, shooting 39% from beyond the arc. She was a JC All American and led her team to the national (non CA JC’s) Championship.
Markisha Patterson was another who missed last season with a knee injury after transferring in also from Central Arizona JC. Patterson averaged 6 points per game in both her JC years.
Olivia Simmons is a frosh from Australia. She actually played for the Cal Sparks, an elite East Bay Travel team a year ago.
Adrianne Thomas is the lone American HS recruit. Thomas was ranked as the # 140 Guard by HoopGurlz.
NON CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
Tennessee at Knoxville on Nov 21st is the only top 20 team they will face. Other good teams include Florida State, a maybe in a tournament, depends on the first game, New Mexico, DePaul and Marist at home. The other six games are against weak teams.
BY POSITION:
POSTS:
Becca Tobin is a 6-5 Sr who averaged almost 10 points and 6 rebounds a game last season, while starting all but 4 games. With ASU and their hockey style rotation you really need to point out minutes per game, so Becca averaged 24 minutes per game. She is big and strong and a load on defense.
Kali Bennett is a 6-5 Jr who transferred from Washington and averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds in 14 minutes. Another big and strong post.
Joy Burke is also 6-5, a soph, who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes per game. Burke was bothered by an injury early in the season.
So three good solid, although not spectacular post players, but at 6-5 each, they will be imposing to all but a few teams.
POWER FORWARDS:
Kimberly Brandon is a 6-2 Jr who played very well late in the season. Her sister is at Cal. Brandon averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds in 20 minutes. She is quick and moves extremely well for a 6-2 player.
Janae Fulcher is a 6-3 Soph in eligibility who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds in 14minutes.
WINGS:
To be consistent I’ll call by position One Post, One Power Forward, 2 Wings and a Point Guard. Seems to me most teams play that way now.
Tenaya Watson, 5-9 Sr. played mostly the Point last year but I presume that will be Dymond Simon this season. Watson averaged 8 points per game last season in 22 minutes per game.
Alex Earl, 5-10 Sr 4 points and 17 minutes per game and the 2nd best 3 point shooter to Orsillo. A High School teammate of JJ Hones.
Olivia Major, 5-7 Jr. The JC transfer was a tremendous three point shooter in JC ball, and this is something ASU needs badly.
Deja Mann, 5-7 Soph, averaged 2.4 points and 13 minutes per game.
POINT GUARD:
Dymond Simon, 5-5 Sr, 14 points per game 2 years ago and returning from a knee injury. Maybe Simon is a 2 with Watson the Point, we shall see. In any case Watson will probably back up Simon here. Simon was 6th in the Pac 10 in three point % 2 years ago.
FORECAST:
If Simon is 100% this will be a good team, maybe back to Top 25. With an average at best non conference schedule, they could start the Pac 10, 9-2, 10-1.
June 30, 2010
Oregon State hires a Head Coach
Oregon State announced the hiring of Scott Rueck as their new Head Coach today. Rueck comes from George Fox University, a Division 3 school in the Portland , Oregon area.
Rueck graduated and also has a Masters from Oregon State. He started as an assistant at George Fox under Sherri Murrell the former Washington State and current Portland State Coach. He has been the Head Coach at George Fox for the past 14 seasons, with a .766 winning percentage over that time. In those 14 seasons George Fox has won 7 league championships, gone to six D13Sweet Sixteen’s and three Elite Eights. He was the D 3 National Coach of the Year two seasons ago and has been the western D 3 Coach of the Year three straight seasons. Last season George Fox was 28-3 overall and 16-0 in league play.
Rueck is 40 and his wife played at George Fox, his sister also played at George Fox and his father was a High School coach.
What happens next? Well he has one assistant and I’d guess she may not be staying, so he can easily hire his own staff. Interestingly his wife Kerry was an Assistant with Rueck at George Fox, retiring several years ago. I would imagine he has been thinking about possible assistants for some time, and might be close to hiring 1-2 of the three possible soon. In my mind he needs someone with California coaching experience for recruiting purposes. Another assistant should have strong knowledge of the northwest high school and travel scene. The Coach at Southridge High School in Beaverton, JJ Hones’ high school, would be a possible choice.
Of course he really needs players, he starts with 6, so he needs to find 4-6 more who can contribute right away. Last season Oregon State went 2-16 in Pac 10 play and 9-4 playing a very weak non conference schedule. Since the schedule is probably pretty much set (hmm or ignored by the previous staff), I suspect the non conference part will be very weak. This will give time for all the players to get used to college play and get some experience.
Keep in mind that Oregon restarted their baseball team 2 years ago after being dormant for almost 20 years. In their second season, the Ducks had a very good baseball team. Of course they had 2 years to plan for their first season, but the blueprint is there for re-starting a program.
Two of last year’s 13 players return. Three graduated and eight transferred or will not play basketball at Oregon State. Now some could change their minds, and if they haven’t signed with other schools or started at another school, they might decide to participate in this fresh start. Seems a bit doubtful, as three of those eight announced their intentions just in the past week of not playing at Oregon State, but playing elsewhere.
Returning are 6-2 post El Sara Greer who started every game and averaged 4.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She was 5th in scoring and 2nd in rebounds on the team. Also 5-7 guard Brittany Kennedy who averaged 2.7 points in 22 minutes per games is returning. Kennedy was 2nd on the team is assists and had the only positive assist to turnover ratio on the team.
Incoming recruits include guard Classye James from Mitty High School who was rated the # 20 player in Northern California, and not rated by HoopGurlz. Alyssa Martin is a 6-0 guard is who rated as the # 72 guard in the US by HoopGurlz. Both were signed during the Fall signing period. Wagner also signed 5-9 guard Alexis Bostick from Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School in April. Bostick is not rated.
This week it was announced that JC player 5-11 Anna Marchbanks had signed with the Beavers. She was All State as a high school Sr in Oregon, but didn’t qualify academically for college. After two years at two different JCs she may be a contributor. She was at a good JC, a team mate signed with Washington State. Marchbanks averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds this past JC season.
A long way to go for the new Beavers. And this incoming frosh class is poor by Pac 10 standards. Still they are finally on the right path.
Rueck graduated and also has a Masters from Oregon State. He started as an assistant at George Fox under Sherri Murrell the former Washington State and current Portland State Coach. He has been the Head Coach at George Fox for the past 14 seasons, with a .766 winning percentage over that time. In those 14 seasons George Fox has won 7 league championships, gone to six D13Sweet Sixteen’s and three Elite Eights. He was the D 3 National Coach of the Year two seasons ago and has been the western D 3 Coach of the Year three straight seasons. Last season George Fox was 28-3 overall and 16-0 in league play.
Rueck is 40 and his wife played at George Fox, his sister also played at George Fox and his father was a High School coach.
What happens next? Well he has one assistant and I’d guess she may not be staying, so he can easily hire his own staff. Interestingly his wife Kerry was an Assistant with Rueck at George Fox, retiring several years ago. I would imagine he has been thinking about possible assistants for some time, and might be close to hiring 1-2 of the three possible soon. In my mind he needs someone with California coaching experience for recruiting purposes. Another assistant should have strong knowledge of the northwest high school and travel scene. The Coach at Southridge High School in Beaverton, JJ Hones’ high school, would be a possible choice.
Of course he really needs players, he starts with 6, so he needs to find 4-6 more who can contribute right away. Last season Oregon State went 2-16 in Pac 10 play and 9-4 playing a very weak non conference schedule. Since the schedule is probably pretty much set (hmm or ignored by the previous staff), I suspect the non conference part will be very weak. This will give time for all the players to get used to college play and get some experience.
Keep in mind that Oregon restarted their baseball team 2 years ago after being dormant for almost 20 years. In their second season, the Ducks had a very good baseball team. Of course they had 2 years to plan for their first season, but the blueprint is there for re-starting a program.
Two of last year’s 13 players return. Three graduated and eight transferred or will not play basketball at Oregon State. Now some could change their minds, and if they haven’t signed with other schools or started at another school, they might decide to participate in this fresh start. Seems a bit doubtful, as three of those eight announced their intentions just in the past week of not playing at Oregon State, but playing elsewhere.
Returning are 6-2 post El Sara Greer who started every game and averaged 4.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She was 5th in scoring and 2nd in rebounds on the team. Also 5-7 guard Brittany Kennedy who averaged 2.7 points in 22 minutes per games is returning. Kennedy was 2nd on the team is assists and had the only positive assist to turnover ratio on the team.
Incoming recruits include guard Classye James from Mitty High School who was rated the # 20 player in Northern California, and not rated by HoopGurlz. Alyssa Martin is a 6-0 guard is who rated as the # 72 guard in the US by HoopGurlz. Both were signed during the Fall signing period. Wagner also signed 5-9 guard Alexis Bostick from Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School in April. Bostick is not rated.
This week it was announced that JC player 5-11 Anna Marchbanks had signed with the Beavers. She was All State as a high school Sr in Oregon, but didn’t qualify academically for college. After two years at two different JCs she may be a contributor. She was at a good JC, a team mate signed with Washington State. Marchbanks averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds this past JC season.
A long way to go for the new Beavers. And this incoming frosh class is poor by Pac 10 standards. Still they are finally on the right path.
June 24, 2010
Pac 10 Updates
The search for a Head Coach at Oregon State continues very slowly. Last week in an interview the Oregon State Athletic Director claimed 10-12 candidates and that the interviews would be soon. Well this past weekend Kristen Tilleman, one of the two best Beaver players this past season announced that she would be transferring to UCSB after spending another year at Oregon State, not playing but graduating. Here’s the story, Tilleman asked for her release 2 months or so ago, but said she would stay at Oregon State one more year and not play basketball. She is about to start her Jr year and will graduate at the end of the year. At the time it was thought that maybe with a new coach she might play. But her new announcement indicates she is not playing this year. That’s quite a slap in the face of the Athletic Department who slept thru the whole Wagner mess.
Just announced today by Oregon State, Angela Misa a forward who just finished her frosh year, has asked for and been given her release. Now there are only 3 returning players from this past season for the Beavers.
Meanwhile there is no news I can find on who might be interviewing. One possible candidate, former USC coach Mark Trakh, was hired as the Associate Head Coach by Beth Burns at San Diego State.
Shoni Schimmel committed to Louisville. Oregon seemed to fill all their scholarships in April, so it’s unclear where they stood in the recruiting battle after that.
USC has hired two new assistant coaches, both old friends of Coach Michael Cooper. One is actually his son, the other he coached with in the past. Laura Beeman has coached for the past 15 seasons as the Head Coach at Mt Sac JC, where she was very successful. She also coached for Cooper with the LA Sparks in 2008. Michael Cooper II does not have coaching experience, but has scouted.
It’s interesting that Cooper let go two of the three coaches who “held down the fort” as he coached the Sparks, and they recruited. And they recruited a fine class for this upcoming season. Cassie Harberts is a 6-2 Power Forward who really goes all out, tremendous desire and ranked # 11 in the country and the # 2 Power forward by HoopGurlz. Desiree Bradley is a 6-1 forward, ranked # 35 overall by HoopGurlz. The 3rd Top 100 recruit is at #99, 6-4 Thaddesia Southall. Three top prospects coming in to see action right away in November.
Also entering USC are Len’Nique Brown a 5-5 guard, the # 54 Point Guard and 6-4 Lauren White, ranked as the # 61 Center.
USC graduated Hailey Dunham, Heather Oliver and Aarika Hughes, three players who saw a lot of playing time last season.
UCLA lost Erica Tukiainen and Moniquee Alexander, but will gain three frosh for this coming season. The new players are Rhema Gardner a 6-1 forward/wing, Thea Lemberger a 5-6 point guard and Corinne Costa a 6-4 center. Interestingly none are top 100 players but they are close. Gardner is the # 22 small forward, Lemberger is the # 35point guard and Costa is the # 32 center. The biggest addition will be the return of Atonye Nyingifa a 5-11 wing who had a great frosh year before missing this past season with an injury. Atonye was the # 19 player out of High School.
Washington has two new assistant coaches. Kyle Locke comes from Coppin State where he was an assistant for 9 years. Also new is Greg Nared who coached High School in the Portland area and before that worked for the William Morris Agency.
Just announced today by Oregon State, Angela Misa a forward who just finished her frosh year, has asked for and been given her release. Now there are only 3 returning players from this past season for the Beavers.
Meanwhile there is no news I can find on who might be interviewing. One possible candidate, former USC coach Mark Trakh, was hired as the Associate Head Coach by Beth Burns at San Diego State.
Shoni Schimmel committed to Louisville. Oregon seemed to fill all their scholarships in April, so it’s unclear where they stood in the recruiting battle after that.
USC has hired two new assistant coaches, both old friends of Coach Michael Cooper. One is actually his son, the other he coached with in the past. Laura Beeman has coached for the past 15 seasons as the Head Coach at Mt Sac JC, where she was very successful. She also coached for Cooper with the LA Sparks in 2008. Michael Cooper II does not have coaching experience, but has scouted.
It’s interesting that Cooper let go two of the three coaches who “held down the fort” as he coached the Sparks, and they recruited. And they recruited a fine class for this upcoming season. Cassie Harberts is a 6-2 Power Forward who really goes all out, tremendous desire and ranked # 11 in the country and the # 2 Power forward by HoopGurlz. Desiree Bradley is a 6-1 forward, ranked # 35 overall by HoopGurlz. The 3rd Top 100 recruit is at #99, 6-4 Thaddesia Southall. Three top prospects coming in to see action right away in November.
Also entering USC are Len’Nique Brown a 5-5 guard, the # 54 Point Guard and 6-4 Lauren White, ranked as the # 61 Center.
USC graduated Hailey Dunham, Heather Oliver and Aarika Hughes, three players who saw a lot of playing time last season.
UCLA lost Erica Tukiainen and Moniquee Alexander, but will gain three frosh for this coming season. The new players are Rhema Gardner a 6-1 forward/wing, Thea Lemberger a 5-6 point guard and Corinne Costa a 6-4 center. Interestingly none are top 100 players but they are close. Gardner is the # 22 small forward, Lemberger is the # 35point guard and Costa is the # 32 center. The biggest addition will be the return of Atonye Nyingifa a 5-11 wing who had a great frosh year before missing this past season with an injury. Atonye was the # 19 player out of High School.
Washington has two new assistant coaches. Kyle Locke comes from Coppin State where he was an assistant for 9 years. Also new is Greg Nared who coached High School in the Portland area and before that worked for the William Morris Agency.
June 17, 2010
Pac 10/11/12 Updates
Well we are now the Pac 12 as Colorado was added last week and today Utah was added. A whole new world begins August 2011 when Women’s Volleyball and Football will see new schedules, soon followed by Women’s Basketball. Right now all reports indicate the following 2 divisions:
North:
Stanford
Cal
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
South:
USC
UCLA
Arizona State
Arizona
Colorado
Utah
It seems that Colorado was told if they move west they would be in the same division as the LA schools. Hard for me to believe that the Bay Area schools would kowtow to this, but this is what the media is reporting.
On the other hand, this could mean in Football, Stanford plays the 5 schools in their division every year, USC and UCLA every year, and 2 more conference game every other year.
I mention Football first because it would, well could, have the same affect on the Women’s (and Men’s) basketball schedule. First let’s talk why this is being done: Money. This is from ESPN on Conference TV contracts:
Conference Amount of contract
Big Ten $242 million
SEC $205 million
Big 12 $78 million
ACC $67 million
Pacific-10 $58 million
Big East $33 million
If the new Pac 12 can form its own TV network, something in the works, and if the Pac 12 can up its price for one or more TV networks, Fox, ESPN or Comcast, then the real possibility of closer to $100M could be realized. This means each Pac 12 school would get closer to $8M up from about $ 6M. Now some like to think the money would go to Football, but we who are Stanford fans know, from the 35 sports Stanford supports, that the money would go mostly to the other 34 sports, including Women’s Basketball. The fact that in sports Title IX is supported by Football may be the irony of all ironies but it’s factual.
A Pac 12 TV network would also mean more Women’s basketball games on TV (I would be on the horn with the Pac 12 to bring back Jake Kelman as a prime time announcer) So the end result should be and I believe will be for the good of all sports, especially at Stanford.
Now back to the divisional alignment. Let’s say Stanford plays the other 5 teams home and away, that’s 10 games. Then we keep our rival USC and UCLA home and away, and as important, they keep us. That’s 14 conference games. Then we do like the Football schedule I suggested, home and away with 2 of the other 4 Pac 12 teams, ASU, Arizona, Colorado and Utah every other year. Back to the present 18 conference games.
Some may think we should have more games against top non conference teams but those games are hard to get. It means someone has to travel west and that might require a partner, like playing both Stanford and Cal. Very hard to do this. Plus we still have 11 non conference games under the Plan presented above.
As to the Conference Tournament, it would remain pretty much as is. And for sure its here to stay.
Utah just signed their contract with the Pac 10, it’s now officially a 12 team conference.
North:
Stanford
Cal
Oregon
Oregon State
Washington
Washington State
South:
USC
UCLA
Arizona State
Arizona
Colorado
Utah
It seems that Colorado was told if they move west they would be in the same division as the LA schools. Hard for me to believe that the Bay Area schools would kowtow to this, but this is what the media is reporting.
On the other hand, this could mean in Football, Stanford plays the 5 schools in their division every year, USC and UCLA every year, and 2 more conference game every other year.
I mention Football first because it would, well could, have the same affect on the Women’s (and Men’s) basketball schedule. First let’s talk why this is being done: Money. This is from ESPN on Conference TV contracts:
Conference Amount of contract
Big Ten $242 million
SEC $205 million
Big 12 $78 million
ACC $67 million
Pacific-10 $58 million
Big East $33 million
If the new Pac 12 can form its own TV network, something in the works, and if the Pac 12 can up its price for one or more TV networks, Fox, ESPN or Comcast, then the real possibility of closer to $100M could be realized. This means each Pac 12 school would get closer to $8M up from about $ 6M. Now some like to think the money would go to Football, but we who are Stanford fans know, from the 35 sports Stanford supports, that the money would go mostly to the other 34 sports, including Women’s Basketball. The fact that in sports Title IX is supported by Football may be the irony of all ironies but it’s factual.
A Pac 12 TV network would also mean more Women’s basketball games on TV (I would be on the horn with the Pac 12 to bring back Jake Kelman as a prime time announcer) So the end result should be and I believe will be for the good of all sports, especially at Stanford.
Now back to the divisional alignment. Let’s say Stanford plays the other 5 teams home and away, that’s 10 games. Then we keep our rival USC and UCLA home and away, and as important, they keep us. That’s 14 conference games. Then we do like the Football schedule I suggested, home and away with 2 of the other 4 Pac 12 teams, ASU, Arizona, Colorado and Utah every other year. Back to the present 18 conference games.
Some may think we should have more games against top non conference teams but those games are hard to get. It means someone has to travel west and that might require a partner, like playing both Stanford and Cal. Very hard to do this. Plus we still have 11 non conference games under the Plan presented above.
As to the Conference Tournament, it would remain pretty much as is. And for sure its here to stay.
Utah just signed their contract with the Pac 10, it’s now officially a 12 team conference.
June 1, 2010
The Big Change at Oregon State
LaVonda Wagner is no longer the Coach at Oregon State. It will be very interesting what happens next.
Here's is the story:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/06/oregon_state_fires_lavonda_wag.html
Here's is the story:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/06/oregon_state_fires_lavonda_wag.html
May 31, 2010
More going on in the Pac 10
The Oregon State story gets weirder and weirder. Here’s a link to the latest:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/05/osu_coach_lavonda_wagner_built.html
By my count they are down to 4 players from last year’s team and there is talk in the comments section that another will leave. They are also down to one Assistant and yes the one in the story. However they have signed 3 for the next year. Two signed in November but another committed at the end of April. She is Alexis Bostick, an unrated player from Oakland’s very strong Bishop O’Dowd team. She is a 5-9 Point Guard. I don’t know if she actually signed or not, as Oregon State stopped doing Press Releases on Women’s Basketball.
Another interesting case is Kirsten Tilleman who will not play and not transfer. She is ending her Soph year but on schedule to graduate after 3 years. She now plans to go to Grad school elsewhere and play there.
So will the 3 recruits show up and play for Wagner? If not they have 4 players and one has to wonder what happens then. Or if Wagner “moves on” will those who night be waiting for something to happen, and maybe Tilleman is in that group, come back to play. Stay tuned.
Shoni Schimmel has not signed and no rumors of a commitment.
Cal signed an Israeli player who played on their 18U team, G 6-0 Guard Avigiel Cohen. Cohen was born in LA by the way. She is now the 10th player on Cal’s 2010-2011 roster. Cohen is recovering from an injury so it’s not known if she will be enrolling at Cal this summer and playing at Kezar. However those of us who are Kezar junkies will be watching for her.
KiKi Moore, late of Washington State, will transfer to Fresno State. She had activity with most of the WCC Conference, including hometown USF before deciding on Fresno.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/05/osu_coach_lavonda_wagner_built.html
By my count they are down to 4 players from last year’s team and there is talk in the comments section that another will leave. They are also down to one Assistant and yes the one in the story. However they have signed 3 for the next year. Two signed in November but another committed at the end of April. She is Alexis Bostick, an unrated player from Oakland’s very strong Bishop O’Dowd team. She is a 5-9 Point Guard. I don’t know if she actually signed or not, as Oregon State stopped doing Press Releases on Women’s Basketball.
Another interesting case is Kirsten Tilleman who will not play and not transfer. She is ending her Soph year but on schedule to graduate after 3 years. She now plans to go to Grad school elsewhere and play there.
So will the 3 recruits show up and play for Wagner? If not they have 4 players and one has to wonder what happens then. Or if Wagner “moves on” will those who night be waiting for something to happen, and maybe Tilleman is in that group, come back to play. Stay tuned.
Shoni Schimmel has not signed and no rumors of a commitment.
Cal signed an Israeli player who played on their 18U team, G 6-0 Guard Avigiel Cohen. Cohen was born in LA by the way. She is now the 10th player on Cal’s 2010-2011 roster. Cohen is recovering from an injury so it’s not known if she will be enrolling at Cal this summer and playing at Kezar. However those of us who are Kezar junkies will be watching for her.
KiKi Moore, late of Washington State, will transfer to Fresno State. She had activity with most of the WCC Conference, including hometown USF before deciding on Fresno.
May 12, 2010
Coming and Going in the Pac 10, Part 2
Well I thought I could go on and on about other teams, but very sad to learn that we have lost one of our finest. My very best to JJ and her family and to the coaches who had to make what could have been one of the hardest and saddest decisions of their lives.
Arizona lost only one player off this year’s team, Guard Ashley Frazier. Point Guard Shanita Arnold sat out last season after transferring from Arkansas and will have 2 years at Arizona. Plus the Wildcats signed 4 new players, making 13 on their roster, their highest number in years.
Newcomers include 6-2 forward Erica Barnes from Sacramento. She is HoopGurlz # 34 forward and the # 11 player in Northern California. Candice Warthen is 5-5 guard from Georgia who averaged 25 points per game as a Jr and also won the state High Jump title that year. Kianta Ageous is a 5-9 guard from Texas who averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds as a High School Jr and is a top 100 guard per HoopGurlz. Signing this spring was Taylor Dalrymple, a 6-0 forward who is a JC transfer. Taylor is the # 3 JC power forward and the # 17 overall JC players. Plus she was a High School teammate of Maya Moore.
Overall Arizona welcomes 5 new players to offset their loss of a single player. Depth comes to Tucson.
Arizona State loses 3 players, guards Danielle Orsillo and Gabby Fage and post Kayli Murphy. Murphy and Orsillo and big losses, on the other hand ASU plays with 10“starters” and return a total of 11 players. This includes Dymond Simon an impact player who sat out last season with an ACL she tore in February of 2009. Also sitting out was JC transfer, 5-9 guard Markisha Patterson who will have a role in 2010/2011.
ASU adds 3 newcomers for the next season. Adrianne Thomas is a 5-9 guard from Southern California who signed in November. Thomas could be a sleeper as she had an outstanding travel ball season after her soph year then missed most of her Jr year with an injury. This season she bounced back to be the Inland Empire Valley Player of the Year.
This signing period the Sun Devils will add Olivia Major, a local JC transfer, a 5-7 guard who averaged 20 points a game as a JC soph. Major was All Arizona in High School, scoring 2300 points in her career, and turned down Arizona and Oregon. Another Olivia, this one Olivia Simmons is a 6-0 wing from Australia. Simmons has played with the Cal Stars Elite, an East Bay Club Team, home to a number of college prospects. These two additions have yet to be announced by ASU, so maybe there will be another.
Cal signed 3 in November of offset the loss of 3 guards, Gray-Lawson, Vital and Greif. Also post Brianna Heater left school towards the end of the season. That leaves the Bears at 10 players, only 3 more as Oregon State. Cal will have back 6-5post Rama N’diaye who sat out the past season recovering from an ACL.
Cal signed the second best class, only behind Stanford, this year, in the Pac 10.
6-0 guard Afure Jemerigbe is a High School All American, the # 15 player in the country per HoopGurlz and the # 2 player in Northern California. 6-1 wing Lindsay Sherbert is also an All American and the # 21 player per HoopGurlz in the country. 5-8 guard Mikayla Lyles is the # 6 player in Northern California and named the 2nd best shooter in the country by Hoop Gurlz off her summer play.
Oregon lost their outstanding guards, Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks along with Lindsey Safford to graduation. The Ducks have added 5 for next season, bringing their roster to 15. I believe the 15 are on scholarship, although I guess we’ll find out for sure if Shoni Schimmel chooses Oregon.
Signing in November were 5-7 Ariel Thomas of Sacramento, the # 29 guard on HoopGurlz and the # 8 player in NorCal. Deanna Weaver from Santa Clara’s Wilcox High School is a 5-11 wing who played travel with Sara James, who signed with Stanford. Weaver is the # 7 player in NorCal. Also signing was Danielle Love from the state of Washington. Love is a 6-2 forward, the # 54 forward on HoopGurlz.
The Ducks signed two more players this past month. Ashley Buis, is a 5-1l guard and a JC transfer from Indiana. She scored 14 points per game and hit 69 threes this past season. Chynna Miley is a 6-2 post from a Georgia High School.
Arizona lost only one player off this year’s team, Guard Ashley Frazier. Point Guard Shanita Arnold sat out last season after transferring from Arkansas and will have 2 years at Arizona. Plus the Wildcats signed 4 new players, making 13 on their roster, their highest number in years.
Newcomers include 6-2 forward Erica Barnes from Sacramento. She is HoopGurlz # 34 forward and the # 11 player in Northern California. Candice Warthen is 5-5 guard from Georgia who averaged 25 points per game as a Jr and also won the state High Jump title that year. Kianta Ageous is a 5-9 guard from Texas who averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds as a High School Jr and is a top 100 guard per HoopGurlz. Signing this spring was Taylor Dalrymple, a 6-0 forward who is a JC transfer. Taylor is the # 3 JC power forward and the # 17 overall JC players. Plus she was a High School teammate of Maya Moore.
Overall Arizona welcomes 5 new players to offset their loss of a single player. Depth comes to Tucson.
Arizona State loses 3 players, guards Danielle Orsillo and Gabby Fage and post Kayli Murphy. Murphy and Orsillo and big losses, on the other hand ASU plays with 10“starters” and return a total of 11 players. This includes Dymond Simon an impact player who sat out last season with an ACL she tore in February of 2009. Also sitting out was JC transfer, 5-9 guard Markisha Patterson who will have a role in 2010/2011.
ASU adds 3 newcomers for the next season. Adrianne Thomas is a 5-9 guard from Southern California who signed in November. Thomas could be a sleeper as she had an outstanding travel ball season after her soph year then missed most of her Jr year with an injury. This season she bounced back to be the Inland Empire Valley Player of the Year.
This signing period the Sun Devils will add Olivia Major, a local JC transfer, a 5-7 guard who averaged 20 points a game as a JC soph. Major was All Arizona in High School, scoring 2300 points in her career, and turned down Arizona and Oregon. Another Olivia, this one Olivia Simmons is a 6-0 wing from Australia. Simmons has played with the Cal Stars Elite, an East Bay Club Team, home to a number of college prospects. These two additions have yet to be announced by ASU, so maybe there will be another.
Cal signed 3 in November of offset the loss of 3 guards, Gray-Lawson, Vital and Greif. Also post Brianna Heater left school towards the end of the season. That leaves the Bears at 10 players, only 3 more as Oregon State. Cal will have back 6-5post Rama N’diaye who sat out the past season recovering from an ACL.
Cal signed the second best class, only behind Stanford, this year, in the Pac 10.
6-0 guard Afure Jemerigbe is a High School All American, the # 15 player in the country per HoopGurlz and the # 2 player in Northern California. 6-1 wing Lindsay Sherbert is also an All American and the # 21 player per HoopGurlz in the country. 5-8 guard Mikayla Lyles is the # 6 player in Northern California and named the 2nd best shooter in the country by Hoop Gurlz off her summer play.
Oregon lost their outstanding guards, Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks along with Lindsey Safford to graduation. The Ducks have added 5 for next season, bringing their roster to 15. I believe the 15 are on scholarship, although I guess we’ll find out for sure if Shoni Schimmel chooses Oregon.
Signing in November were 5-7 Ariel Thomas of Sacramento, the # 29 guard on HoopGurlz and the # 8 player in NorCal. Deanna Weaver from Santa Clara’s Wilcox High School is a 5-11 wing who played travel with Sara James, who signed with Stanford. Weaver is the # 7 player in NorCal. Also signing was Danielle Love from the state of Washington. Love is a 6-2 forward, the # 54 forward on HoopGurlz.
The Ducks signed two more players this past month. Ashley Buis, is a 5-1l guard and a JC transfer from Indiana. She scored 14 points per game and hit 69 threes this past season. Chynna Miley is a 6-2 post from a Georgia High School.
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