USC was 24-13 last season, going all the way to the Finals of the WNIT before losing. They were 10-8 in Pac 10 play, tying Arizona for 4th place.
Michael Cooper returns for his 3rd season as has had an overall record at USC of 43-25 with a 3rd place finish in the Pac 10 his first season. Expectations are high this year as most, including this writer, pick USC for 2nd behind Stanford.
Laura Beeman is in her 2nd year as an Assistant after being a local JC head Coach for 15 years.
Mary Wooley returns for her 3rd season as an Assistant and Michael Cooper Jr will be in his 2nd season as an Assistant.
Losses:
Post Kari LaPlante who scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds per game graduated. Guard Len’Nique Brown who scored 3 points per game, playing every game, did not return.
Returning Players:
USC returns an All Star line-up for the first Pac 12 season. Brianna Gilbreath is a 6-1 Sr Wing, who led the team in scoring, 14 per game, and rebounding 7 per game and steals, twice as many as the next player. She also takes care of the ball with a 1.25:1 assist to turnover ratio. Brianna was All Pac 10 for the second year in a row and named to the All Pac 10 defensive team for the 2nd year in a row, after being the Defensive Player of the Year as a Soph. She was also Honorable Mention All American, the first USC player named in 14 years. She was a McDonald’s All American in High School
Christina Marinacci is a 6-1 Jr Forward who averaged 8 points and 7 rebounds per game last season. Christina was also a McDonald’s All American in High School.
Stepanie Gilbreath is a 6-1 Wing and a Redshirt JR. Stepanie missed her first 3 seasons at USC with knee injuries, finally debuting as a true Sr. She could play another year after this season. She was only able to play 13 games last year, her first, but scored a point every other minute. A McDonald’s All American in High School, if healthy she will add a lot to the Trojans cause.
Cassie Harberts is a 6-2 Soph who is a natural power Forward but will probably play mostly in the Post. As a frosh Cassie averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds a game and was 2nd in total minutes. She was the # 11 recruit in the country out of High School.
Ashley Corral is a 5-9 Sr Point Guard. Ashley was the Trojans # 2 scorer last year at 13 points per game and sank 85 threes at a 37% rate. She also had a very good
1.3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. Ashley has made 223 threes in her career at USC, first in their record book. She was a McDonald’s All American in High School.
Jackie Gemelos is a 6-0 Guard and what a story. Jackie averaged 39 points per game as a High School Sr and was ranked the # 1 player in the country and a McDonald’s All American. Then she missed her first 3 years of college entirely to finally play Feb 4th of Sr year. She is now in her 6th year and pursuing her Masters in Gerontology. This is the study of the Social, Psychological and Biological aspects of aging. She has a 3.5 GPA in the Masters program. Last season her first full season and in the Masters program she averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds a game and hit 52 threes at 42%.
Desiree Bradley is a 6-1 Soph Forward who averaged 5 minutes per game. She was ranked # 35 out of High School.
Thaddesia Southall is a 6-4 Redshirt Frosh Post. She missed last season with a knee injury. Thaddesia was ranked # 99 out of High School.
Michelle Jenkins is a 6-3 Redshirt Jr post player who is expected to sit out this season with an injury. She missed most of last season and all of her Soph season with a knee injury. If she can come back later in the season it would really help the Trojans depth.
New Players:
Ariya Crook (formally Crook-Williams) is a 5-7 Frosh Point Guard who was a McDonald’s All American and ranked the # 2 Point Guard out of High School and # 16 overall.
Alexya Vaioletama is a 6-1 Frosh Forward. Still another McDonald’s All American, and ranked # 14 out of High School.
USC will have 3 new players sit out the season for various reasons. 6-4 Jr Kate Oliver is a transfer from Marist and must sit out this season then she will have 2 seasons to play. The Australian native started all but 9 games for Marist, ranked 21 last season, in her two years. Last season she averaged 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Deanna Calhoun is a 6-3 Frosh post player who will sit out the season recovering from a knee injury. She was the # 34 Forward out of High School.
Kiki Alofaituli is a 6-1 Frosh Wing who signed a Letter of Intent with ASU. She was released but must sit out this season. She was the # 26 player out of High School and a teammate of Vaioletema at famed Mater Dei High School.
The Schedule:
A very hard schedule. The Trojans host Fresno State, travel to Nebraska and Georgia, then to the Bahamas for a tournament facing Notre Dame and probably Duke. Then at Gonzaga and at Texas A&M. They could be a very good team and 5-5 when the league starts. They don’t travel to Oregon and Utah and Colorado doesn’t visit LA.
The Season:
USC has 7 McDonald’s All Americans and counting what we know already 5 players who have missed 10 seasons with knee injuries. If healthy and that’s a pretty big if, then could be very good with their best team in years.
October 27, 2011
October 18, 2011
The Bruins have new Leadership
Last year UCLA was 28-5 overall, with losses to Stanford 3 times, LSU by 2 and to Gonzaga in the NCAAs. They also beat Notre Dame in double Overtime at Notre Dame. UCLA was 2nd in Pac 10 play, at 16-2.
Nikki Caldwell moved on after 3 seasons at UCLA and is replaced by Cori Close. Close was a 4 year starter at UCSB after graduating from Milpitas High School. After UCSB she was an Assistant and UCLA for 2 years while getting her Masters. She then coached at UCSB for 9 years going to the NCAA the last 8, not sure why not Year 1 as they won their league. Then she moved on to Florida State as the Associate Head Coach for 7 years. She has been to the Elite 8 with Florida State and the Sweet 16 with UCSB.
Shannon Perry is a new Assistant after 5 years at Duke and 4 at USC. She is a Southern California native.
Tony Newman moves to UCLA from Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he coached for the past 8 seasons. He has coached at Oregon State and coached at UCSB for 7 seasons, mostly with Close.
Jenny Huth was a three time a Big 12 selection at Colorado. She has coached at Oakland College in Michigan and coached for several years with Close at Florida State, while getting her Masters degree.
Losses:
Jasmine Dixon is a 5-11 SR Forward but out for the year with an injury. She was the 2nd leading scorer by a tenth of a point, 12 per game and the leading rebounder, 7 per game. This is a huge loss.
Darxia Morris was the leading scorer at 12 per game and hit the most threes although only 29.
Dorenna Campbell averaged 9 points per game.
Nina Earl saw limited action, 10 minutes per game although she contributed more her first two years.
Christina Nzekwe was their only post player with experience, played 13 minutes per game and averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds.
There was also the loss of two excellent recruits when Caldwell left. Center Justine Hartman went to Cal. Hartman is a 6-3 Center who was ranked # 7, 8 and 38 by the three services.
Also signing with the Bruins then getting her release was Sheila Boykin a tough Forward who ended up with Caldwell at LSU. She was ranked # 27, 53 and 63 out of High School.
Returning Players:
Markel Walker is a 6-1 JR Guard/Forward who averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game. She was All Pac 10 Frosh and a McDonalds All American in High School.
Atonye Nyingifa is 5-11 JR Forward who averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds. She was All Pac 10 Frosh then missed a year with a knee injury.
Rebekah Gardner is a 6-1 Sr Guard who averaged 8 points per game and was 2nd on the team with 23 threes. 23 is a pretty low number but she converted at 35%.
Thea Lemberger is a 5-7 Soph Point Guard who played limited minutes as a Frosh last season. However she could well be the starting Point Guard this season for the Bruins.
Corinne Costa is a 6-4 Soph Center who averaged just 7 minutes per game.
Mariah Williams is a 5-4 or so JR Point Guard who has been a back up Point Guard her first 2 seasons.
Rhema Perry is a 6-1 Soph Forward and Rebekah’s sister.
New Players:
Moriah Faulk is a 5-10 Frosh Guard , ranked # 93 in High School. She should see playing time at both Guard spots.
Kacy Swain is a 6-3 Soph Wing who was ranked 12, 20 and 25. Swain is not a banger but at 6-3 will have to play some inside. She is an excellent shooter from 14-17 feet.
Alexis Perry is a 5-5 Frosh Guard, ranked # 97. Sadly she was recently injured and out for the season.
The Schedule:
UCLA is in the pre season WNIT and if they win their first two games they would play Baylor and if they win would probably play Notre Dame. They also play West Virginia, San Diego State, LSU with Caldwell and Tennessee. The Bruins do not travel to Oregon and Utah and Colorado do play travel to LA.
The Season:
Losing the top three scorers and then two of their top three recruits will really hurt.
Nikki Caldwell moved on after 3 seasons at UCLA and is replaced by Cori Close. Close was a 4 year starter at UCSB after graduating from Milpitas High School. After UCSB she was an Assistant and UCLA for 2 years while getting her Masters. She then coached at UCSB for 9 years going to the NCAA the last 8, not sure why not Year 1 as they won their league. Then she moved on to Florida State as the Associate Head Coach for 7 years. She has been to the Elite 8 with Florida State and the Sweet 16 with UCSB.
Shannon Perry is a new Assistant after 5 years at Duke and 4 at USC. She is a Southern California native.
Tony Newman moves to UCLA from Westmont College in Santa Barbara where he coached for the past 8 seasons. He has coached at Oregon State and coached at UCSB for 7 seasons, mostly with Close.
Jenny Huth was a three time a Big 12 selection at Colorado. She has coached at Oakland College in Michigan and coached for several years with Close at Florida State, while getting her Masters degree.
Losses:
Jasmine Dixon is a 5-11 SR Forward but out for the year with an injury. She was the 2nd leading scorer by a tenth of a point, 12 per game and the leading rebounder, 7 per game. This is a huge loss.
Darxia Morris was the leading scorer at 12 per game and hit the most threes although only 29.
Dorenna Campbell averaged 9 points per game.
Nina Earl saw limited action, 10 minutes per game although she contributed more her first two years.
Christina Nzekwe was their only post player with experience, played 13 minutes per game and averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds.
There was also the loss of two excellent recruits when Caldwell left. Center Justine Hartman went to Cal. Hartman is a 6-3 Center who was ranked # 7, 8 and 38 by the three services.
Also signing with the Bruins then getting her release was Sheila Boykin a tough Forward who ended up with Caldwell at LSU. She was ranked # 27, 53 and 63 out of High School.
Returning Players:
Markel Walker is a 6-1 JR Guard/Forward who averaged 8 points and 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game. She was All Pac 10 Frosh and a McDonalds All American in High School.
Atonye Nyingifa is 5-11 JR Forward who averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds. She was All Pac 10 Frosh then missed a year with a knee injury.
Rebekah Gardner is a 6-1 Sr Guard who averaged 8 points per game and was 2nd on the team with 23 threes. 23 is a pretty low number but she converted at 35%.
Thea Lemberger is a 5-7 Soph Point Guard who played limited minutes as a Frosh last season. However she could well be the starting Point Guard this season for the Bruins.
Corinne Costa is a 6-4 Soph Center who averaged just 7 minutes per game.
Mariah Williams is a 5-4 or so JR Point Guard who has been a back up Point Guard her first 2 seasons.
Rhema Perry is a 6-1 Soph Forward and Rebekah’s sister.
New Players:
Moriah Faulk is a 5-10 Frosh Guard , ranked # 93 in High School. She should see playing time at both Guard spots.
Kacy Swain is a 6-3 Soph Wing who was ranked 12, 20 and 25. Swain is not a banger but at 6-3 will have to play some inside. She is an excellent shooter from 14-17 feet.
Alexis Perry is a 5-5 Frosh Guard, ranked # 97. Sadly she was recently injured and out for the season.
The Schedule:
UCLA is in the pre season WNIT and if they win their first two games they would play Baylor and if they win would probably play Notre Dame. They also play West Virginia, San Diego State, LSU with Caldwell and Tennessee. The Bruins do not travel to Oregon and Utah and Colorado do play travel to LA.
The Season:
Losing the top three scorers and then two of their top three recruits will really hurt.
October 13, 2011
The Washington State Cougars
June Daugherty returns for her 5th season as the Head Coach. It’s been a struggle as last season’s 6-12 conference record, tying for 7th place, was the Coughers best finish in 10 years. Overall WSU was 8-23 this past season.
Mike Daugherty returns for his 5th year as the Associate Head Coach. Mo Hines returns for his 5th year and is also finishing his undergrad degree at WSU. Brian Holsinger returns for his 5th season. Great continuity for the Cougars.
Losses:
The losses are not major. Katie Madison was a solid rebounder, 5 a game, and also scored 5 points per game.
Lexie Peterson played only 55 minutes on the season.
New Players:
Shalie Dheensaw is a 6-3 Frosh Post from Canada. Shalie played on the Canadian 16U and 17U teams.
Jordan Kelley is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Wyoming. She was a top 40 Parade All American and the State Player of the Year. She was ranked # 266.
Tia Presley is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Spokane who was not ranked out of High School.
Returning Players:
Washington State returns its top 7 scorers from last year and 9 of the top 10. So they will have a very veteran team. Sage Romberg is a 6-1 Soph Forward who was the leading scorer last season at almost 10 points per game. Sage was also 3rd in rebounding at 5 per game in a rotation where 10 players played between 8 and 26 minutes per game. Sage was 2nd on the team with 41 threes at 40%. She was named to the Frosh all Pac 10 team. Sage ranked as high as # 72 out of High School.
Jazmine Perkins is a 5-10 Sr Guard who scored 9 points per game and led the team in rebounding with 5 per game. Perkins also led the team in steals and has averaged 2 a game over her 3 years. The Cougars need Perkins to get back to scoring as she did as Frosh averaging 14 per game.
Carly Noyes is a 6-5 Jr Center and started every game last season. Carly averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds and easily lead the team in blocks with 43.
Three players will fight it out for the final 2 Guard spots. Ireti Amojo is a 5-10 Soph Guard who started 21 games last season averaging 9 points per game. She hit a team high 48 threes at 33%.
April Cook is a 5-8 Sr Point Guard who averaged 6 points, but less than 2 assists per game. Cook was the # 84 player out of High School. In her first two seasons at Washington State Cook averaged 14 points per game and hit 89 threes.
Hana Potter is a 6-2 Soph Post who averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. Hana was rated the # 43 Post out of High School.
Rosetta Adzasu is a 5-5 Sr Point Guard who averaged 6 points per game and led the team in assist at 3.3 per game. She had 1: .85 assist to turnover ratio, tops on the team.
Brandi Thomas is a 6-1 Soph Wing who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds appearing in every game and started several. Brandi was a very good Triple Jumper is High School and was All State of Washington in Basketball.
Rosie Tarnowski is a 6-1 Sr Wing who didn’t play much last year, only 8 minutes per game. As a Frosh Rosie stared most games and averaged 7 points per game.
Katie Grad is a 5-8 JR Guard who also played just 8 minutes per game. Katie was All State of Washington in High School.
The Schedule:
Tough, very tough. At Penn State, at Bobbie Kelsey’s Wisconsin, at Ohio State, home to Gonzaga, San Diego State and Louisville. Then at a Tournament against Marquette and Michigan. Stanford and Cal don’t travel to Pullman and the Cougars don’t travel to Utah or Colorado.
The Season:
The Cougars have to hope for a return of April Cook and Jazmine Perkins to their form during their first 2 years in Pullman. Or it’ll be another long season for June and the Cougars. Having said that, Cook and Perkins can be outstanding in their Sr year.
Mike Daugherty returns for his 5th year as the Associate Head Coach. Mo Hines returns for his 5th year and is also finishing his undergrad degree at WSU. Brian Holsinger returns for his 5th season. Great continuity for the Cougars.
Losses:
The losses are not major. Katie Madison was a solid rebounder, 5 a game, and also scored 5 points per game.
Lexie Peterson played only 55 minutes on the season.
New Players:
Shalie Dheensaw is a 6-3 Frosh Post from Canada. Shalie played on the Canadian 16U and 17U teams.
Jordan Kelley is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Wyoming. She was a top 40 Parade All American and the State Player of the Year. She was ranked # 266.
Tia Presley is a 5-9 Frosh Guard from Spokane who was not ranked out of High School.
Returning Players:
Washington State returns its top 7 scorers from last year and 9 of the top 10. So they will have a very veteran team. Sage Romberg is a 6-1 Soph Forward who was the leading scorer last season at almost 10 points per game. Sage was also 3rd in rebounding at 5 per game in a rotation where 10 players played between 8 and 26 minutes per game. Sage was 2nd on the team with 41 threes at 40%. She was named to the Frosh all Pac 10 team. Sage ranked as high as # 72 out of High School.
Jazmine Perkins is a 5-10 Sr Guard who scored 9 points per game and led the team in rebounding with 5 per game. Perkins also led the team in steals and has averaged 2 a game over her 3 years. The Cougars need Perkins to get back to scoring as she did as Frosh averaging 14 per game.
Carly Noyes is a 6-5 Jr Center and started every game last season. Carly averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds and easily lead the team in blocks with 43.
Three players will fight it out for the final 2 Guard spots. Ireti Amojo is a 5-10 Soph Guard who started 21 games last season averaging 9 points per game. She hit a team high 48 threes at 33%.
April Cook is a 5-8 Sr Point Guard who averaged 6 points, but less than 2 assists per game. Cook was the # 84 player out of High School. In her first two seasons at Washington State Cook averaged 14 points per game and hit 89 threes.
Hana Potter is a 6-2 Soph Post who averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. Hana was rated the # 43 Post out of High School.
Rosetta Adzasu is a 5-5 Sr Point Guard who averaged 6 points per game and led the team in assist at 3.3 per game. She had 1: .85 assist to turnover ratio, tops on the team.
Brandi Thomas is a 6-1 Soph Wing who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds appearing in every game and started several. Brandi was a very good Triple Jumper is High School and was All State of Washington in Basketball.
Rosie Tarnowski is a 6-1 Sr Wing who didn’t play much last year, only 8 minutes per game. As a Frosh Rosie stared most games and averaged 7 points per game.
Katie Grad is a 5-8 JR Guard who also played just 8 minutes per game. Katie was All State of Washington in High School.
The Schedule:
Tough, very tough. At Penn State, at Bobbie Kelsey’s Wisconsin, at Ohio State, home to Gonzaga, San Diego State and Louisville. Then at a Tournament against Marquette and Michigan. Stanford and Cal don’t travel to Pullman and the Cougars don’t travel to Utah or Colorado.
The Season:
The Cougars have to hope for a return of April Cook and Jazmine Perkins to their form during their first 2 years in Pullman. Or it’ll be another long season for June and the Cougars. Having said that, Cook and Perkins can be outstanding in their Sr year.
October 7, 2011
The Utah Utes join the Pac 12
Utah joins Colorado as the newest Pac 12 members; however Utah seems to be the much stronger team at this time, especially with their post players. The Utah Utes have made the NCAA tournament 5 times in the past 9 seasons. Without looking I believe in the former Pac 10 only Stanford can claim that many appearances over the same timeframe.
Anthony Levrets begins his 2nd season as the Head Coach after going 18-17 in his first season and then winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA tournament. He was an Assistant at Utah then became interim coach a year ago. He is now the permanent Head Coach. Velaida Harris returns for her 3rd year as an Assistant Coach. Matt Legerski returns for his 9th season as an Assistant. Willette White joins the staff having been an Assistant at Oregon the past 3 seasons. From 1993 to 2000 she was the Head Assistant at UCLA.
Losses:
Former Stanford player Michelle Harrison has moved on, I believe now with her Masters degree. Last season she averaged 5 points and 7 rebounds per game. Michelle is their only loss.
New Players:
Cheyenne Wilson is a 5-11 Frosh Guard from Seattle. Wilson was the State of Washington 3A Player of the Year, and averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in her Jr season in High School.
Rachel Morris is a 6-4 Center from Eastern Nevada, and ranked # 212 in the nation. She holds the Nevada State record for career blocks and averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks as a Jr.
Returning Players:
11 returning players for Utah, although one, 6-3 Post Taryn Wicijowski played only three games last season due to a knee injury. First of all keep in mind that after Taryn went down Utah scored only 58 points per game. So points per game will be on the low side. Having said that, Taryn averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds in the 3 games. In the previous season, as a Frosh, she averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds and was Frosh of the year in the Mountain West. She also played for the Canadian Jr National team, 19U and in a game against the USA team had 16 rebounds. The 6-3 Redshirt Soph is a great addition to the Pac 12.
Iwalani Rodrigues is a 5-9 JR with 3 years left after redshirting as a Frosh. She averaged 3 points a game as a redshirt Frosh then last year, wow. She averaged 15 points per game this past season hitting 110 threes at an amazing 45%. Now a big time player and may be the best three point shooter in the Pac 12.
Michelle Plouffe is a 6-4 Soph who took over for Taryn W in the post last season and averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds per game as a true Frosh. I’m not sure who plays where, but Taryn W and Plouffe give the Utes two great post players. Plouffe also played on a Canadian National team last year.
The returning Point Guard is 5-7 Sr Janita Badon who averaged 13 points, 7 rebounds and nearly 6 assists per game this past season. Badon is the only Sr on the team. Many returning players and only one Sr for Utah.
Diana Rolniak is a 6-4 Jr Post player who started 24 games last season at the 4. Diana averaged 3 points and 5 rebounds per game and lead the team in blocked shots.
Rachel Messer is a 5-9 Jr guard who averaged 5 points per game and had a solid 1.5 assist to turnover ratio as a back up. Rachel did start 8 games. She was a decent three point shooter, 35 made at 31%.
Brittany Knighton is a 6-0 Soph guard who started 6 games, averaging 3 points per game.
Chelsea Bridgewater is a 6-0 Jr forward who averaged 10 minutes per game.
Three other players return, all of whom saw limited action last season.
The Schedule:
Utah plays Michigan, Arkansas, BYU and New Mexico State. In league play they don’t travel to LA, and skip the Washington schools at home. A pretty good schedule. One thing to watch is attendance and the affect of joining the Pac 12. Utah drew only 1,000 per game last season.
The Season:
I think Utah will have quite an effect in the Pac 12. Good Post players, good Guards and experience. It’ll be interesting to see who they bump down to the 2nd division.
Anthony Levrets begins his 2nd season as the Head Coach after going 18-17 in his first season and then winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA tournament. He was an Assistant at Utah then became interim coach a year ago. He is now the permanent Head Coach. Velaida Harris returns for her 3rd year as an Assistant Coach. Matt Legerski returns for his 9th season as an Assistant. Willette White joins the staff having been an Assistant at Oregon the past 3 seasons. From 1993 to 2000 she was the Head Assistant at UCLA.
Losses:
Former Stanford player Michelle Harrison has moved on, I believe now with her Masters degree. Last season she averaged 5 points and 7 rebounds per game. Michelle is their only loss.
New Players:
Cheyenne Wilson is a 5-11 Frosh Guard from Seattle. Wilson was the State of Washington 3A Player of the Year, and averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in her Jr season in High School.
Rachel Morris is a 6-4 Center from Eastern Nevada, and ranked # 212 in the nation. She holds the Nevada State record for career blocks and averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks as a Jr.
Returning Players:
11 returning players for Utah, although one, 6-3 Post Taryn Wicijowski played only three games last season due to a knee injury. First of all keep in mind that after Taryn went down Utah scored only 58 points per game. So points per game will be on the low side. Having said that, Taryn averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds in the 3 games. In the previous season, as a Frosh, she averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds and was Frosh of the year in the Mountain West. She also played for the Canadian Jr National team, 19U and in a game against the USA team had 16 rebounds. The 6-3 Redshirt Soph is a great addition to the Pac 12.
Iwalani Rodrigues is a 5-9 JR with 3 years left after redshirting as a Frosh. She averaged 3 points a game as a redshirt Frosh then last year, wow. She averaged 15 points per game this past season hitting 110 threes at an amazing 45%. Now a big time player and may be the best three point shooter in the Pac 12.
Michelle Plouffe is a 6-4 Soph who took over for Taryn W in the post last season and averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds per game as a true Frosh. I’m not sure who plays where, but Taryn W and Plouffe give the Utes two great post players. Plouffe also played on a Canadian National team last year.
The returning Point Guard is 5-7 Sr Janita Badon who averaged 13 points, 7 rebounds and nearly 6 assists per game this past season. Badon is the only Sr on the team. Many returning players and only one Sr for Utah.
Diana Rolniak is a 6-4 Jr Post player who started 24 games last season at the 4. Diana averaged 3 points and 5 rebounds per game and lead the team in blocked shots.
Rachel Messer is a 5-9 Jr guard who averaged 5 points per game and had a solid 1.5 assist to turnover ratio as a back up. Rachel did start 8 games. She was a decent three point shooter, 35 made at 31%.
Brittany Knighton is a 6-0 Soph guard who started 6 games, averaging 3 points per game.
Chelsea Bridgewater is a 6-0 Jr forward who averaged 10 minutes per game.
Three other players return, all of whom saw limited action last season.
The Schedule:
Utah plays Michigan, Arkansas, BYU and New Mexico State. In league play they don’t travel to LA, and skip the Washington schools at home. A pretty good schedule. One thing to watch is attendance and the affect of joining the Pac 12. Utah drew only 1,000 per game last season.
The Season:
I think Utah will have quite an effect in the Pac 12. Good Post players, good Guards and experience. It’ll be interesting to see who they bump down to the 2nd division.
October 4, 2011
Let’s talk Paul Ball
Paul Westhead begins his 3rd season as Head Coach of the Oregon Ducks. His coaching style is pure run and gun and outscore the other team. With great three point shooting in Westhead’s first year the Ducks were 18-16, but last season the Ducks were 13-17 overall and 4-14 and 9th place in the Pac 10.
Dan Muscatell returns for his 3rd year an Assistant after being Head Coach at Sacramento State for 6 years. Keila Whittington also returns for her 3rd year as an Assistant Coach. Shandrika Lee is new to the staff, coming from coming Army to replace Kai Felton who is now at Cal.
Losses:
It’s a bit amazing that a team can lose 7 players like Oregon did from last year’s team thru graduation and yet not have big losses. However Oregon while losing 7 returns 5 of their top 6 scorers. Players with few minutes who graduated, Ellyce Ironmonger who only played one game, Candyce Flynn who averaged 3 minutes per game and Tatianna Thomas, once HoopGurlz # 31 PG who averaged 3 points in 11 minutes per game.
The other 4 losses must be replaced by a good Frosh class. Nicole Canepa averaged 5 points in 15 minutes and 3 rebounds. Ashley Buis averaged 6 points in 15 minutes. Victoria Kenyon averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. Kristi Fallin averaged 7 points and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Returning Players:
Nia Jackson is a 5-7 Sr and returns as the starting Point Guard. She was injured and missed the last 9 games but hopefully is 100% for the start of the season. Jackson averaged 17 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds per game. She was also All Pac 10.
Ariel Thomas is a 5-6 Soph who started when Jackson couldn’t, although I would guess they both are starters this year especially after Thomas ended the season so well. Over the whole season, despite being mostly off the bench, Thomas averaged 8 points per game, 3rd on the team. When starting the last 5 games Thomas averaged 14 points and 4 assists.
Amanda Johnson is a 6-2 Sr and was the leading scorer, 16 points per game, and rebounder, 8 per game, for the Ducks. She also had the most 3’s, 49, although at only 28%. Johnson graduated last year after less than 3 years. She is getting her Masters now.
Jasmin Holliday is a 6-0 Sr, who started most games last season while averaging 7 points, 5th on the team, and 5 rebounds per game. Her brothers are and have been excellent college players.
Deanna Weaver is a 5-11 Soph from Wilcox High School in Santa Clara. Weaver was 6th on the team in scoring, 7 points per game, and 4th in rebounding, 4 per game.
These 5 players should be the starters, barring a Frosh taking over. 2 other returnees are 6-2 Soph Danielle Love who averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds per game, starting 9 games. Also 6-2 Soph Chynna Miley who played sparingly last season returns.
New Players:
Meagan Carpenter is a 6-4 Frosh Center from Colorado. Last season in High School she averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. She was the # 243 player in the country.
Amanda Delgado is a 5-7 Frosh Guard from Nevada where she was the State Gatorade Player of the Year. She averaged 16 points and 4 assists last year in High School and Westhead recruited her for her 3 point shooting. She was the # 248 player.
Jordan Loera is a 5-9 Frosh combo Guard from Washington. A personal note, I first saw her play as a 7th grader, holding her on an excellent Travel team with Redmon, Kingma and WSU’s Noyes. And she fit right in. Loera was a 4 year starter in High School scoring almost 2,000 points. She averaged 18 per game last season. She was the # 102 player in the nation last year. She is also a track performer, and is super athletic with a great 3 point shoot.
Janitah Iamaleava is a 6-2 Frosh Center from Long Beach, CA. As a Sr she averaged 13points and 9 rebounds per game. Was the # 13 Post player and # 163 overall. A good three point shooter.
Lexie Peterson is a 5-11 Frosh Wing from Washington. 2nd place 2 years ago at the State Track Meet in the Triple Jump. Like Loera, Peterson is very fast. She had a great offer list and chose the Ducks. A Point Guard on her Travel team, and she is an excellent three point shooter, she was the # 143 player.
Schedule:
A pretty weak schedule with Illinois and Fresno State being the highlights. Oregon doesn’t travel to the Arizona schools or host the LA schools.
The Season:
4 of 5 starters return and they add at least two fine frosh in the backcourt. They did a Frosh post to step up. With the weak non conference schedule, and their Pac 12 schedule, this could well be a winning team, even a team with 20 wins.
Dan Muscatell returns for his 3rd year an Assistant after being Head Coach at Sacramento State for 6 years. Keila Whittington also returns for her 3rd year as an Assistant Coach. Shandrika Lee is new to the staff, coming from coming Army to replace Kai Felton who is now at Cal.
Losses:
It’s a bit amazing that a team can lose 7 players like Oregon did from last year’s team thru graduation and yet not have big losses. However Oregon while losing 7 returns 5 of their top 6 scorers. Players with few minutes who graduated, Ellyce Ironmonger who only played one game, Candyce Flynn who averaged 3 minutes per game and Tatianna Thomas, once HoopGurlz # 31 PG who averaged 3 points in 11 minutes per game.
The other 4 losses must be replaced by a good Frosh class. Nicole Canepa averaged 5 points in 15 minutes and 3 rebounds. Ashley Buis averaged 6 points in 15 minutes. Victoria Kenyon averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. Kristi Fallin averaged 7 points and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes.
Returning Players:
Nia Jackson is a 5-7 Sr and returns as the starting Point Guard. She was injured and missed the last 9 games but hopefully is 100% for the start of the season. Jackson averaged 17 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds per game. She was also All Pac 10.
Ariel Thomas is a 5-6 Soph who started when Jackson couldn’t, although I would guess they both are starters this year especially after Thomas ended the season so well. Over the whole season, despite being mostly off the bench, Thomas averaged 8 points per game, 3rd on the team. When starting the last 5 games Thomas averaged 14 points and 4 assists.
Amanda Johnson is a 6-2 Sr and was the leading scorer, 16 points per game, and rebounder, 8 per game, for the Ducks. She also had the most 3’s, 49, although at only 28%. Johnson graduated last year after less than 3 years. She is getting her Masters now.
Jasmin Holliday is a 6-0 Sr, who started most games last season while averaging 7 points, 5th on the team, and 5 rebounds per game. Her brothers are and have been excellent college players.
Deanna Weaver is a 5-11 Soph from Wilcox High School in Santa Clara. Weaver was 6th on the team in scoring, 7 points per game, and 4th in rebounding, 4 per game.
These 5 players should be the starters, barring a Frosh taking over. 2 other returnees are 6-2 Soph Danielle Love who averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds per game, starting 9 games. Also 6-2 Soph Chynna Miley who played sparingly last season returns.
New Players:
Meagan Carpenter is a 6-4 Frosh Center from Colorado. Last season in High School she averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. She was the # 243 player in the country.
Amanda Delgado is a 5-7 Frosh Guard from Nevada where she was the State Gatorade Player of the Year. She averaged 16 points and 4 assists last year in High School and Westhead recruited her for her 3 point shooting. She was the # 248 player.
Jordan Loera is a 5-9 Frosh combo Guard from Washington. A personal note, I first saw her play as a 7th grader, holding her on an excellent Travel team with Redmon, Kingma and WSU’s Noyes. And she fit right in. Loera was a 4 year starter in High School scoring almost 2,000 points. She averaged 18 per game last season. She was the # 102 player in the nation last year. She is also a track performer, and is super athletic with a great 3 point shoot.
Janitah Iamaleava is a 6-2 Frosh Center from Long Beach, CA. As a Sr she averaged 13points and 9 rebounds per game. Was the # 13 Post player and # 163 overall. A good three point shooter.
Lexie Peterson is a 5-11 Frosh Wing from Washington. 2nd place 2 years ago at the State Track Meet in the Triple Jump. Like Loera, Peterson is very fast. She had a great offer list and chose the Ducks. A Point Guard on her Travel team, and she is an excellent three point shooter, she was the # 143 player.
Schedule:
A pretty weak schedule with Illinois and Fresno State being the highlights. Oregon doesn’t travel to the Arizona schools or host the LA schools.
The Season:
4 of 5 starters return and they add at least two fine frosh in the backcourt. They did a Frosh post to step up. With the weak non conference schedule, and their Pac 12 schedule, this could well be a winning team, even a team with 20 wins.
September 19, 2011
The Sun Devils will miss Charli Turner Thorne
Before we discuss ASU, Washington released their schedule with non conference games against San Diego State, Santa Barbara and Davis being the tougher games. As Coach McGuff says, “it’s all by design” “a very difficult schedule”. Well it’s all relative I guess. Sadly Washington lost their best player Kristi Kingma to a season ending ACL. She plans to return next season.
Last season ASU was 20-11 overall and finished 3rd in the Pac 10 with an 11-7 mark. This earned them a trip to the NCAAs where they lost their first round game. However in May the bombshell was dropped, that long time Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne was taking a leave of absence. She seems to be set on returning for next season.
Long time Assistant Coach Joe Anders takes over as the Interim Head Coach. Anders is in his 11th season at ASU and was the Head Coach for 6 years at Sacramento State. The big mystery, will Anders employ the hockey style substitutions of Charli?
Meg Sanders returns for her 8th season as an Assistant and now Associate Head Coach. She was Head Coach at Northern Arizona University for 7 years, having succeeded Charli there.
Chris Mennig is a new Assistant, coming from Bluestar Basketball, where he was coordinator of events. Bluestar hosts a number of big time travel basketball tournaments, and views and ranks High School players. Chris was also a college Assistant for 15 years before Bluestar.
Amy Wright is also a new Assistant, having spent the last 3 years at Cleveland State.
After 15 years as an Assistant at ASU, Laura Hughes is now the Head Coach at Cochise JC.
Losses:
ASU graduated 3 of their top 4 scorers so they have some big holes to fill. They also lost their top recruit as she elected to play close to home, Los Angeles, and enroll at USC.
Dymond Simon graduated and she led the team in scoring at 13 points per game. Simon also had the most threes, but only 36 and only at 27%. Becca Tobin also graduated. The 6-5 Center was 2nd on the team with 6 rebounds and 3nd in points at 8.5 per game. Tenya Watson was the 3rd big loss, averaging 7.5 points and leading the team in both assists and steals. These three averaged 27 minutes per game, easily more total minutes than the next four players. Markisha Patterson who was 8th in average minutes and 8th in average points also graduated.
Top recruit Karina Alofaituli decided to stay close to her Southern California home for family reasons and is now at USC. Karina was ranked # 26 in the nation by HoopGurlz.
Returning Players:
Kimberly Brandon is a Sr, 6-2 Forward who lead the team in rebounding, 6.5, and was 2nd in scoring, 9.5 per game. She has really improved since arriving in Tempe.
Deja Mann is a 5-7 Sr Guard who started 14 games, averaging 4 points per game.
Alex Earl is 5-10 Sr Guard who was 3rd on the team in threes and averaged 3 points per game.
Kali Bennett is a 6-5 Sr Center who averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Janae Fulcher is a 6-3 Jr Forward who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds per game,
These five have the inside track to be starters based on the playing time last season.
Adrienne Thomas played in all games, 10 minutes per game, and averaged 2 points. She’s a 5-9 Soph Guard.
Joy Burke is a 6-5 Jr Center who didn’t play much behind Tobin and Bennett and averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game.
Olivia Major is a 5-7 Sr Guard. Haley Parson is a 5-5 Jr Guard who has only played in a couple of games and redshirted one of her three years at ASU. She has a 4.0 GPA at ASU.
New Players:
Promise Amukamara is a 5-8 Guard from Apollo High School near Tempe. Promise exploded onto the scene last year averaging 22 points per game in High School. Great genes, her brother was an NFL first round draft choice this past draft.
Jada Blackwell is a 6-1 Forward from Etiwanda High School in Southern California. She was ranked # 118 last year.
Micaela Pickens is a 5-8 JR and a JC transfer. Pickens was a JC all American averaging 23 points per game this past season. In her career at Cypress JC in Southern California she averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. At 5-8 she holds the school record for blocks.
Eliza Normen is a player I loved in Oregon in 2010. High energy, very athletic and so skilled. The 6-0 Guard/Wing was ranked # 43 in the nation. Sadly Normen tore her ACL late this past season and will almost certainly have to redshirt.
The Schedule:
Games against Illinois, Rutgers, DePaul and Boston College highlight a good schedule. We won’t see the Sun Devils at Stanford as they don’t travel to the Bay Area this season and the Oregon schools don’t travel to the desert.
The Season:
While the Sun Devils have 7 players who played quite a bit this past season, only one is a returning starter or started more than ½ of their games. Plus losing Charli for even a year hurts. They have a couple of good new players and they have two 6-5 post players. However I think this will be a middle of the Pac 12 team at best.
Last season ASU was 20-11 overall and finished 3rd in the Pac 10 with an 11-7 mark. This earned them a trip to the NCAAs where they lost their first round game. However in May the bombshell was dropped, that long time Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne was taking a leave of absence. She seems to be set on returning for next season.
Long time Assistant Coach Joe Anders takes over as the Interim Head Coach. Anders is in his 11th season at ASU and was the Head Coach for 6 years at Sacramento State. The big mystery, will Anders employ the hockey style substitutions of Charli?
Meg Sanders returns for her 8th season as an Assistant and now Associate Head Coach. She was Head Coach at Northern Arizona University for 7 years, having succeeded Charli there.
Chris Mennig is a new Assistant, coming from Bluestar Basketball, where he was coordinator of events. Bluestar hosts a number of big time travel basketball tournaments, and views and ranks High School players. Chris was also a college Assistant for 15 years before Bluestar.
Amy Wright is also a new Assistant, having spent the last 3 years at Cleveland State.
After 15 years as an Assistant at ASU, Laura Hughes is now the Head Coach at Cochise JC.
Losses:
ASU graduated 3 of their top 4 scorers so they have some big holes to fill. They also lost their top recruit as she elected to play close to home, Los Angeles, and enroll at USC.
Dymond Simon graduated and she led the team in scoring at 13 points per game. Simon also had the most threes, but only 36 and only at 27%. Becca Tobin also graduated. The 6-5 Center was 2nd on the team with 6 rebounds and 3nd in points at 8.5 per game. Tenya Watson was the 3rd big loss, averaging 7.5 points and leading the team in both assists and steals. These three averaged 27 minutes per game, easily more total minutes than the next four players. Markisha Patterson who was 8th in average minutes and 8th in average points also graduated.
Top recruit Karina Alofaituli decided to stay close to her Southern California home for family reasons and is now at USC. Karina was ranked # 26 in the nation by HoopGurlz.
Returning Players:
Kimberly Brandon is a Sr, 6-2 Forward who lead the team in rebounding, 6.5, and was 2nd in scoring, 9.5 per game. She has really improved since arriving in Tempe.
Deja Mann is a 5-7 Sr Guard who started 14 games, averaging 4 points per game.
Alex Earl is 5-10 Sr Guard who was 3rd on the team in threes and averaged 3 points per game.
Kali Bennett is a 6-5 Sr Center who averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Janae Fulcher is a 6-3 Jr Forward who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds per game,
These five have the inside track to be starters based on the playing time last season.
Adrienne Thomas played in all games, 10 minutes per game, and averaged 2 points. She’s a 5-9 Soph Guard.
Joy Burke is a 6-5 Jr Center who didn’t play much behind Tobin and Bennett and averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game.
Olivia Major is a 5-7 Sr Guard. Haley Parson is a 5-5 Jr Guard who has only played in a couple of games and redshirted one of her three years at ASU. She has a 4.0 GPA at ASU.
New Players:
Promise Amukamara is a 5-8 Guard from Apollo High School near Tempe. Promise exploded onto the scene last year averaging 22 points per game in High School. Great genes, her brother was an NFL first round draft choice this past draft.
Jada Blackwell is a 6-1 Forward from Etiwanda High School in Southern California. She was ranked # 118 last year.
Micaela Pickens is a 5-8 JR and a JC transfer. Pickens was a JC all American averaging 23 points per game this past season. In her career at Cypress JC in Southern California she averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. At 5-8 she holds the school record for blocks.
Eliza Normen is a player I loved in Oregon in 2010. High energy, very athletic and so skilled. The 6-0 Guard/Wing was ranked # 43 in the nation. Sadly Normen tore her ACL late this past season and will almost certainly have to redshirt.
The Schedule:
Games against Illinois, Rutgers, DePaul and Boston College highlight a good schedule. We won’t see the Sun Devils at Stanford as they don’t travel to the Bay Area this season and the Oregon schools don’t travel to the desert.
The Season:
While the Sun Devils have 7 players who played quite a bit this past season, only one is a returning starter or started more than ½ of their games. Plus losing Charli for even a year hurts. They have a couple of good new players and they have two 6-5 post players. However I think this will be a middle of the Pac 12 team at best.
September 5, 2011
Arizona tries to stay in the 1st division.
First a word about Oregon State’s schedule which wasn’t released until recently. Weak. Again, coaches have their eyes on 20 wins and job security, so they schedule accordingly. Rice and Pepperdine are the toughest non league games for Oregon State. Other than that very weak. Also the Beavers are helped by not playing the Arizona schools or LA schools twice this season.
Arizona finished 5th in the Pac 10 last season at 10-8 and 21-12 overall. They played and lost a close first game in the post season WNIT. Attendance was up, averaging 2,000 a game. Since Head Coach Niya Butts was hired, the Wildcats have improved from 12 wins in year one to 14 wins to 21 wins. In Pac 10 play the Wildcats have improved from 4 to 6 to 10 wins.
Sue Darling returns for her 4th year as an Assistant Coach, focusing on the Offense. Brandy Manning also returns for his 4th season, focusing on the Defense and post players.
EC Hill joins the staff replacing Chance Lindley who is now the Head Coach at Nebraska-Omaha. Hill coached the past 6 years at her alma mater, Northern Illinois. She will focus on perimeter players.
Losses:
Not only did Arizona lose 5 players, they lost 2 recruits. Huge loses as they include the Wildcats 3 of the top 5 scorers and 2 of the top 4 rebounders. Ify Ibekwe graduated and with her goes not only 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and she was one of the greatest players in Arizona history. Soana Lucent also graduated and she averaged 12 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Graduating and not returning despite having a potential 5th year is Brooke Jackson. Jackson averaged 7 points per game and was 2nd on the team with 46 threes and hit at 37%. Also graduating were Tasha Dickey and Amanda Pierson who were the 9th and 10th players in most stats and minutes played.
Two recruits are not on the roster for this season. Kama Griffitts is a 6-0 wing who scored 21.5 points per game for her National JC Championship team and she was MVP of the National Tournament. She had 72 threes two years ago as a JC frosh.
Jazmyn Dorsett, Tony’s daughter, who due to transfer from Oklahoma State and is not on the roster.
Returning Players:
Only 5 return and along with 6 recruits makes for a small roster of 11. Guard Davellyn Whyte leads the group of returning players and she’s very good.
All Pac 10, Whyte averaged 16 points and 5 rebounds per game. She led the team with 66 threes, although she needs to improve on her 31% from three. Whyte is a 5-11 Jr.
Point Guard Shanita Arnold is a 5-5 Sr who averaged 5 assists and 7 points per game. Her assist to turnover ration was a fine 1.5: 1.
Three players all averaged about 17 minutes per game and were the 6 to 8 players, or the first 3 off the bench. Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Soph Forward who averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. Reiko Thomas is a 5-8 Sr Guard who averaged 4 points per game. Candice Wathen is a 5-5 So Point Guard who averaged 4 points per game and had a plus assist to turnover ratio.
New Players:
There is a great need for a post player and a big wing to step in and start. Aley Rohde is a 6-5 Frosh Center, ranked # 123 last season in High School, by one group, # 77 by another and the # 9 Center by a third. She had games of 37 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots.
Lindsey Fearing is a 5-8 Jr, a JC transfer. Fearing made 199 threes in her 2 JC years, including 113 last season. Having only one returning post player, hitting threes will be important for the Wildcats.
Erin Butler is a 5-11 frosh guard, ranked # 210 last season.
Cheshi Poston is a 6-2 Jr and a JC transfer. She was a JC All American averaging 13 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season.
Layana White is a 5-8 frosh guard who averaged 14 points per game last season in High School.
Cheylene Harper is a 6-2 Jr and a JC transfer who averaged 4 points and 5 rebounds per game last season at the JC.
The Schedule:
New Mexico, New Mexico State, Syracuse and BYU highlight their non conference schedule. The Wildcats play Stanford and Cal once.
The Season:
The Wildcats lost some quality players and with 3 of their newcomers JC transfers they are not really rebuilding. Davellyn Whyte is a wonderful player but she and maybe Erica Barnes are the only players who might be expected to regularly score in double figures. The JC transfers must contribute right away. It’s going to be very hard to remain in the upper half of the Pac 12.
Arizona finished 5th in the Pac 10 last season at 10-8 and 21-12 overall. They played and lost a close first game in the post season WNIT. Attendance was up, averaging 2,000 a game. Since Head Coach Niya Butts was hired, the Wildcats have improved from 12 wins in year one to 14 wins to 21 wins. In Pac 10 play the Wildcats have improved from 4 to 6 to 10 wins.
Sue Darling returns for her 4th year as an Assistant Coach, focusing on the Offense. Brandy Manning also returns for his 4th season, focusing on the Defense and post players.
EC Hill joins the staff replacing Chance Lindley who is now the Head Coach at Nebraska-Omaha. Hill coached the past 6 years at her alma mater, Northern Illinois. She will focus on perimeter players.
Losses:
Not only did Arizona lose 5 players, they lost 2 recruits. Huge loses as they include the Wildcats 3 of the top 5 scorers and 2 of the top 4 rebounders. Ify Ibekwe graduated and with her goes not only 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and she was one of the greatest players in Arizona history. Soana Lucent also graduated and she averaged 12 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Graduating and not returning despite having a potential 5th year is Brooke Jackson. Jackson averaged 7 points per game and was 2nd on the team with 46 threes and hit at 37%. Also graduating were Tasha Dickey and Amanda Pierson who were the 9th and 10th players in most stats and minutes played.
Two recruits are not on the roster for this season. Kama Griffitts is a 6-0 wing who scored 21.5 points per game for her National JC Championship team and she was MVP of the National Tournament. She had 72 threes two years ago as a JC frosh.
Jazmyn Dorsett, Tony’s daughter, who due to transfer from Oklahoma State and is not on the roster.
Returning Players:
Only 5 return and along with 6 recruits makes for a small roster of 11. Guard Davellyn Whyte leads the group of returning players and she’s very good.
All Pac 10, Whyte averaged 16 points and 5 rebounds per game. She led the team with 66 threes, although she needs to improve on her 31% from three. Whyte is a 5-11 Jr.
Point Guard Shanita Arnold is a 5-5 Sr who averaged 5 assists and 7 points per game. Her assist to turnover ration was a fine 1.5: 1.
Three players all averaged about 17 minutes per game and were the 6 to 8 players, or the first 3 off the bench. Erica Barnes is a 6-2 Soph Forward who averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. Reiko Thomas is a 5-8 Sr Guard who averaged 4 points per game. Candice Wathen is a 5-5 So Point Guard who averaged 4 points per game and had a plus assist to turnover ratio.
New Players:
There is a great need for a post player and a big wing to step in and start. Aley Rohde is a 6-5 Frosh Center, ranked # 123 last season in High School, by one group, # 77 by another and the # 9 Center by a third. She had games of 37 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots.
Lindsey Fearing is a 5-8 Jr, a JC transfer. Fearing made 199 threes in her 2 JC years, including 113 last season. Having only one returning post player, hitting threes will be important for the Wildcats.
Erin Butler is a 5-11 frosh guard, ranked # 210 last season.
Cheshi Poston is a 6-2 Jr and a JC transfer. She was a JC All American averaging 13 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season.
Layana White is a 5-8 frosh guard who averaged 14 points per game last season in High School.
Cheylene Harper is a 6-2 Jr and a JC transfer who averaged 4 points and 5 rebounds per game last season at the JC.
The Schedule:
New Mexico, New Mexico State, Syracuse and BYU highlight their non conference schedule. The Wildcats play Stanford and Cal once.
The Season:
The Wildcats lost some quality players and with 3 of their newcomers JC transfers they are not really rebuilding. Davellyn Whyte is a wonderful player but she and maybe Erica Barnes are the only players who might be expected to regularly score in double figures. The JC transfers must contribute right away. It’s going to be very hard to remain in the upper half of the Pac 12.
August 28, 2011
Colorado comes to the Pac 12
Linda Lappe returns for her 2nd season as Head Coach after going 18-16 in her first season. The Buffaloes advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT and finished 6-10 in the final Big 12 season. She was a two year Captain of the Buffaloes in her playing days. This is her 5th year of Head Coaching, the first three at Denver’s Metro State. At 31 she is one of the younger Head Coaches in the nation.
Jennie Baranczyk is in her 2nd year as an Assistant. She is 29, and coaches the post players and is the recruiting coordinator.
Jonas Chatterton is in his 2nd year. He spent the previous 8 seasons as an Assistant at BYU.
Latonya Watson is new to the staff, coming from American University. However she was an Assistant under former Colorado coach Ceal Barry from 1996-2006.
Losses:
Brittany Spears is a huge loss, as those of us who saw her play in the Kezar ProAm can attest. Spears averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds per game and was the 19th overall selection in the WNBA draft.
Britany Blythe scored 4 points per game but also played 27 minutes per game.
Chelsea Dale averaged 4 points per game and 20 minutes.
Colorado made 219 threes, that’s a lot, at 33%. Spears, Blythe and Dale made 129 of those.
Returning Players:
Chucky Jeffery is a 5-10 Jr who averaged 13.5 points, 8 rebounds 4.3 assists and 2 steals per game.
Brittany Wilson is one of two sets of sister on the team. The 5-8 Sr Guard averaged 8 points per game.
Meagan Malcolm-Peck is a 6-2 Jr, whose sister also plays. Meagan averaged 7 points and almost 5 rebounds and also made 38 threes at 36%. Meagan was the # 95 playerin the country out of High School.
Julie Seabrook is a 6-3 Sr Center who played in the just completed University Games for Canada. Seabrook averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds per game last season.
The four above were 2-3-4-5 in minutes per game for the Buffaloes.
Rachel Hargis is a 6-4 Soph Center who played in all the games averaging 16 minutes with 3 points and 3 rebounds per game. She was 2nd on the team in blocked shots.
Ashley Wilson is a 5-8 Soph Guard who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game, playing an average of 12 minutes.
Newcomers:
Brenna Malcolm-Peck is a 6-2 So Forward who redshirted last year with an injury. She didn’t play much 2 years ago as a Frosh, but was Ranked # 97 in the country coming out of High School.
Lexy Kresl is a 5-11 Frosh Guard from Arizona. She was the # 74 Guard in the country last year in High School.
Jen Reese is a 6-2 Frosh Center from the State of Oregon. Reese was the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year last season. I don’t why she is unranked by HoopGurlz, but I loved watching Reese play at the End of Trail last year. She’s very strong, very aggressive with some good post moves.
Arielle Roberson is a 6-1 Frosh Forward from Texas. She was the # 63 Forward last year in High School.
Jasmine Sborov is a 6-1 Frosh Guard from Texas.
The Schedule:
Weak, very weak. 9 of their non conference games are at home.
The Season:
It’ll be a tough go for the Buffalos in their first Pac 12 season. They appear to be in the 10th -12 place area. However their non conference schedule and the wins they should get, will give them hope.
Jennie Baranczyk is in her 2nd year as an Assistant. She is 29, and coaches the post players and is the recruiting coordinator.
Jonas Chatterton is in his 2nd year. He spent the previous 8 seasons as an Assistant at BYU.
Latonya Watson is new to the staff, coming from American University. However she was an Assistant under former Colorado coach Ceal Barry from 1996-2006.
Losses:
Brittany Spears is a huge loss, as those of us who saw her play in the Kezar ProAm can attest. Spears averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds per game and was the 19th overall selection in the WNBA draft.
Britany Blythe scored 4 points per game but also played 27 minutes per game.
Chelsea Dale averaged 4 points per game and 20 minutes.
Colorado made 219 threes, that’s a lot, at 33%. Spears, Blythe and Dale made 129 of those.
Returning Players:
Chucky Jeffery is a 5-10 Jr who averaged 13.5 points, 8 rebounds 4.3 assists and 2 steals per game.
Brittany Wilson is one of two sets of sister on the team. The 5-8 Sr Guard averaged 8 points per game.
Meagan Malcolm-Peck is a 6-2 Jr, whose sister also plays. Meagan averaged 7 points and almost 5 rebounds and also made 38 threes at 36%. Meagan was the # 95 playerin the country out of High School.
Julie Seabrook is a 6-3 Sr Center who played in the just completed University Games for Canada. Seabrook averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds per game last season.
The four above were 2-3-4-5 in minutes per game for the Buffaloes.
Rachel Hargis is a 6-4 Soph Center who played in all the games averaging 16 minutes with 3 points and 3 rebounds per game. She was 2nd on the team in blocked shots.
Ashley Wilson is a 5-8 Soph Guard who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds per game, playing an average of 12 minutes.
Newcomers:
Brenna Malcolm-Peck is a 6-2 So Forward who redshirted last year with an injury. She didn’t play much 2 years ago as a Frosh, but was Ranked # 97 in the country coming out of High School.
Lexy Kresl is a 5-11 Frosh Guard from Arizona. She was the # 74 Guard in the country last year in High School.
Jen Reese is a 6-2 Frosh Center from the State of Oregon. Reese was the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year last season. I don’t why she is unranked by HoopGurlz, but I loved watching Reese play at the End of Trail last year. She’s very strong, very aggressive with some good post moves.
Arielle Roberson is a 6-1 Frosh Forward from Texas. She was the # 63 Forward last year in High School.
Jasmine Sborov is a 6-1 Frosh Guard from Texas.
The Schedule:
Weak, very weak. 9 of their non conference games are at home.
The Season:
It’ll be a tough go for the Buffalos in their first Pac 12 season. They appear to be in the 10th -12 place area. However their non conference schedule and the wins they should get, will give them hope.
August 18, 2011
The Washington Huskies have a new look
The Huskies have a whole new face to their team, a new Coaching Staff. New Head Coach Kevin McGuff came from Xavier where he was the Head Coach for the past 9 seasons. Before that he was an Assistant at Notre Dame when they won the NCAA Title. McGuff had a record of 213-73 including last season’s 28-3 at Xavier. He is a huge upgrade and probably the biggest name among the 4 new Head Coaches into the now old Pac 10.
The new Top Assistant is Mike Neighbors who coached with McGuff at Xavier for the past 4 seasons. He will probably have a lot to do with the defensive scheme and coach the post players as he did at Xavier.
Kevin Morrison was the 2nd Coach hired, not long after Cal and Kevin parted ways. Kevin was at Cal for 4 years and will be the Recruiting Co-ordinator at Washington. He was the President and Head Coach of the West Coast Elite, a well known Southern California Travel team, producing 74 Division 1 players and 17 McDonalds All Americans. He also worked as a social worker. He is known as an excellent recruiter.
Adia Barnes is also a new Assistant. Adia is the all time leading scorer at Arizona, and played Pro Basketball for 12 seasons, including 7 in the WNBA. This is her first year as a college coach, but has been prominent as a coach and mentor in the Seattle area.
Last season Washington was 11-17 overall and 6-12 in Pac 10 play.
Losses:
The Huskies lost only one player, starting Guard Sarah Morton. Morton averaged 9 points and a team leading 5 assists per game. She was also the only Husky with a positive assist to turnover ratio.
Returning Players:
Kristi Kingma is an outstanding 5-10 Sr Guard. She was the leading scorer at 15.6 point per game and close to their leading rebounder with 5 per game. She made 79 threes at 41%, while no other returning player made more than 7.
Regina Rogers is a 6-3 Sr who was 2nd on the team in scoring and rebounding at 10 and 5 per game. She made 52% of her shots. The problem she must overcome is playing only 18 minutes per game.
Mackenzie Argens is a 6-3 Sr who plays both Center and Forward. She averaged 6 rebounds per game to lead the team and scored 7 points per game. Argens started every game last season.
Charmine Barlow started all but one game and averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game. She is a 5-10 Sr Forward.
Marjorie Heard is a 6-1 Soph Forward who was the 4th leading scorer, 7 per game and the 4th leading rebounder, 5 per game.
Mollie Williams is a 6-2 Sr Forward who averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Mercedes Wetmore is a 5-7 Soph Guard who looks to be the starting Point Guard. She averaged 3.5 points per game but shot just 29%.
Four players played briefly last year. Kassia Fortier a 5-8 Soph Guard, Amanda Johnson a 5-5 Soph Guard, Jeneva Anderson a 6-0 Jr Forward and Ashley Moore a 5-10 Soph Wing. Of these four look for Moore to step up.
Newcomers:
This is a pretty good class, especially considering it was no secret that former Head Coach Tia Jackson was on the very hot seat.
Jazmine Davis, from San Jose’s Valley Christian High School should step in as the back up Point Guard. She a 5-7 Frosh. Davis was the # 25 Point Guard in the country and shot 55% from three in High School. She was the # 10 player in Northern California and played travel ball with Stanford’s Erica Payne.
Talia Walton is a 6-2 Forward, the # 32 Forward in the country out of High School. She’s a top rebounder and should be a solid player in the paint.
Aminah Williams is a 6-0 Forward, the # 27 Forward in the country out of High School.
Kellie McCann-Smith is McGuff’s first recruit, a transfer from Nebraska. Kellie is from Eastern Washington and was All State as a Sr averaging 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game. At Nebraska she was bothered by a bad back but did hit 4 threes in one game. She averaged 3 points per game but had a high of 13 and a high of 5 steals. She will sit out this season after the transfer.
The Schedule:
To Be Announced
The Season:
Going to be a tough one until they have a couple of recruiting years under the new Staff. Kingma will be outstanding and a fan favorite wherever she plays.
The new Top Assistant is Mike Neighbors who coached with McGuff at Xavier for the past 4 seasons. He will probably have a lot to do with the defensive scheme and coach the post players as he did at Xavier.
Kevin Morrison was the 2nd Coach hired, not long after Cal and Kevin parted ways. Kevin was at Cal for 4 years and will be the Recruiting Co-ordinator at Washington. He was the President and Head Coach of the West Coast Elite, a well known Southern California Travel team, producing 74 Division 1 players and 17 McDonalds All Americans. He also worked as a social worker. He is known as an excellent recruiter.
Adia Barnes is also a new Assistant. Adia is the all time leading scorer at Arizona, and played Pro Basketball for 12 seasons, including 7 in the WNBA. This is her first year as a college coach, but has been prominent as a coach and mentor in the Seattle area.
Last season Washington was 11-17 overall and 6-12 in Pac 10 play.
Losses:
The Huskies lost only one player, starting Guard Sarah Morton. Morton averaged 9 points and a team leading 5 assists per game. She was also the only Husky with a positive assist to turnover ratio.
Returning Players:
Kristi Kingma is an outstanding 5-10 Sr Guard. She was the leading scorer at 15.6 point per game and close to their leading rebounder with 5 per game. She made 79 threes at 41%, while no other returning player made more than 7.
Regina Rogers is a 6-3 Sr who was 2nd on the team in scoring and rebounding at 10 and 5 per game. She made 52% of her shots. The problem she must overcome is playing only 18 minutes per game.
Mackenzie Argens is a 6-3 Sr who plays both Center and Forward. She averaged 6 rebounds per game to lead the team and scored 7 points per game. Argens started every game last season.
Charmine Barlow started all but one game and averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game. She is a 5-10 Sr Forward.
Marjorie Heard is a 6-1 Soph Forward who was the 4th leading scorer, 7 per game and the 4th leading rebounder, 5 per game.
Mollie Williams is a 6-2 Sr Forward who averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Mercedes Wetmore is a 5-7 Soph Guard who looks to be the starting Point Guard. She averaged 3.5 points per game but shot just 29%.
Four players played briefly last year. Kassia Fortier a 5-8 Soph Guard, Amanda Johnson a 5-5 Soph Guard, Jeneva Anderson a 6-0 Jr Forward and Ashley Moore a 5-10 Soph Wing. Of these four look for Moore to step up.
Newcomers:
This is a pretty good class, especially considering it was no secret that former Head Coach Tia Jackson was on the very hot seat.
Jazmine Davis, from San Jose’s Valley Christian High School should step in as the back up Point Guard. She a 5-7 Frosh. Davis was the # 25 Point Guard in the country and shot 55% from three in High School. She was the # 10 player in Northern California and played travel ball with Stanford’s Erica Payne.
Talia Walton is a 6-2 Forward, the # 32 Forward in the country out of High School. She’s a top rebounder and should be a solid player in the paint.
Aminah Williams is a 6-0 Forward, the # 27 Forward in the country out of High School.
Kellie McCann-Smith is McGuff’s first recruit, a transfer from Nebraska. Kellie is from Eastern Washington and was All State as a Sr averaging 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game. At Nebraska she was bothered by a bad back but did hit 4 threes in one game. She averaged 3 points per game but had a high of 13 and a high of 5 steals. She will sit out this season after the transfer.
The Schedule:
To Be Announced
The Season:
Going to be a tough one until they have a couple of recruiting years under the new Staff. Kingma will be outstanding and a fan favorite wherever she plays.
August 6, 2011
The Pac 12 season begins before you know it
OK not really, the inaugural season begins in 3 months but it’s time to get started if I review a team a week and throw in some other newsworthy, to me at least, editorials.
Oregon State went through the worst of all possible scenarios last year before Scott Rueck arrived to bring at least some happiness and respectability back to the Beavers. Thanks to a very easy but very appropriate weak preseason schedule the Beavers went 7-5 in their non conference schedule and 9-21 overall. Of course with their depleted team they paid the price in Pac 10 conference play going 2-16. However that was also their record the previous year before losing so many players who transferred away. A very good stat, home attendance increased 30% to 1500 per game.
Losses:
El Sara Greer graduated and was probably their best player last season averaging 9 points and 8 rebounds in 34 minutes per game. She shot 56%.
Angela Misa was a Soph this past season, averaging 4 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes per game. Ironically she was the first player rumored to be leaving under former Coach Wagner, and did leave the team but returned for this past season. However she is not on the roster for this coming season.
Classye James was a frosh from Mitty High School who averaged 2 points in 13 minutes of play and she is not on the roster.
Returning Players:
Alyssa Martin is a 6-0 Soph Guard who was the leading scorer last season as a Frosh with 12 points per game and a Pac 10 best 38 minutes per game. Martin shot 34% from three, making 60.
Sage Indendi is a great story. The 5-9 Jr played for Coach Rueck at George Fox and had a great season but transferred to Oregon State and did not play basketball 2 years ago. Then she returns to the game and hits 75 threes at 41% scoring nearly 11 points per game while playing 34 minutes per game. She’s a very good Pac 12 level Point Guard.
Earlysia Marchbanks is a 5-11 Sr Guard who was a starter last season while averaging 9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Alexis Bostick is a 5-8 Soph Guard who like the other 3 returnees above, started every game for the Beavers. Bostick averaged 5 points per game and was the only Beaver with a plus assist to turnover ratio.
Jenna Dixon is a 5-8 Soph Guard who walked on to average 3 points in 10 minutes per game.
Katie Schrock is the 3rd former walk on to return. She is a 5-11 Soph who saw limited action this past season.
Newcomers:
Last season the Beavers were short an Assistant Coach, understandable given the late hiring of their Head Coach. Megan Dickerson joined the program as an Assistant at the end of March. She coached the previous 5 years at George Fox, the first 4 with Coach Rueck.
Ali Gibson is the only High School recruit in the class of 6. The other 5 are JC transfers. Gibson played for State Champ St Mary’s of Stockton, CA. Gibson is a very active 5-11 Guard who should see playing time right away. Her High School team last year started 5 Division I prospects.
Patricia Bright is a 6-4 Forward/Center JC transfer from the state of Florida but went there from an Arizona High School. She’s pretty much of an unknown, didn’t score much either last year at JC or as a High School Sr.
Thais Pinto is a 6-7 JC transfer from the state of Nebraska by way of Brazil. She averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds last season at the JC.
Quortni Fambro is a 5-8 Guard from a Florida JC who played High School in Georgia and as a Frosh at Alabama State. She averaged 4 points a game at Alabama State and last year 10 points per game.
Mollee Schwegler is a 5-6 Guard who played High School in Oregon and JC in the state of Washington. She is the all time leading scorer at lower Columbia College with 910points in 2 years. She averaged 17 points, 6 assists and 5 ½ rebounds per game as a Point Guard.
ShaKiana Edwards-Teasley is a 6-2 Forward from Idaho. She averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds per game last year at JC.
The Schedule:
The non conference schedule isn’t out yet. In the Pac 12 schedule where each team plays 7 teams home and away, and 4 either home or away, Oregon State doesn’t play at Arizona and USC and UCLA don’t come to Corvallis.
The Season:
It will be very hard to escape the Cellar once again. The Beavers have added height and depth but this is only Year 2 of Starting Over. On the plus side they return 4 starters and only one of them is a Sr.
Oregon State went through the worst of all possible scenarios last year before Scott Rueck arrived to bring at least some happiness and respectability back to the Beavers. Thanks to a very easy but very appropriate weak preseason schedule the Beavers went 7-5 in their non conference schedule and 9-21 overall. Of course with their depleted team they paid the price in Pac 10 conference play going 2-16. However that was also their record the previous year before losing so many players who transferred away. A very good stat, home attendance increased 30% to 1500 per game.
Losses:
El Sara Greer graduated and was probably their best player last season averaging 9 points and 8 rebounds in 34 minutes per game. She shot 56%.
Angela Misa was a Soph this past season, averaging 4 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes per game. Ironically she was the first player rumored to be leaving under former Coach Wagner, and did leave the team but returned for this past season. However she is not on the roster for this coming season.
Classye James was a frosh from Mitty High School who averaged 2 points in 13 minutes of play and she is not on the roster.
Returning Players:
Alyssa Martin is a 6-0 Soph Guard who was the leading scorer last season as a Frosh with 12 points per game and a Pac 10 best 38 minutes per game. Martin shot 34% from three, making 60.
Sage Indendi is a great story. The 5-9 Jr played for Coach Rueck at George Fox and had a great season but transferred to Oregon State and did not play basketball 2 years ago. Then she returns to the game and hits 75 threes at 41% scoring nearly 11 points per game while playing 34 minutes per game. She’s a very good Pac 12 level Point Guard.
Earlysia Marchbanks is a 5-11 Sr Guard who was a starter last season while averaging 9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Alexis Bostick is a 5-8 Soph Guard who like the other 3 returnees above, started every game for the Beavers. Bostick averaged 5 points per game and was the only Beaver with a plus assist to turnover ratio.
Jenna Dixon is a 5-8 Soph Guard who walked on to average 3 points in 10 minutes per game.
Katie Schrock is the 3rd former walk on to return. She is a 5-11 Soph who saw limited action this past season.
Newcomers:
Last season the Beavers were short an Assistant Coach, understandable given the late hiring of their Head Coach. Megan Dickerson joined the program as an Assistant at the end of March. She coached the previous 5 years at George Fox, the first 4 with Coach Rueck.
Ali Gibson is the only High School recruit in the class of 6. The other 5 are JC transfers. Gibson played for State Champ St Mary’s of Stockton, CA. Gibson is a very active 5-11 Guard who should see playing time right away. Her High School team last year started 5 Division I prospects.
Patricia Bright is a 6-4 Forward/Center JC transfer from the state of Florida but went there from an Arizona High School. She’s pretty much of an unknown, didn’t score much either last year at JC or as a High School Sr.
Thais Pinto is a 6-7 JC transfer from the state of Nebraska by way of Brazil. She averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds last season at the JC.
Quortni Fambro is a 5-8 Guard from a Florida JC who played High School in Georgia and as a Frosh at Alabama State. She averaged 4 points a game at Alabama State and last year 10 points per game.
Mollee Schwegler is a 5-6 Guard who played High School in Oregon and JC in the state of Washington. She is the all time leading scorer at lower Columbia College with 910points in 2 years. She averaged 17 points, 6 assists and 5 ½ rebounds per game as a Point Guard.
ShaKiana Edwards-Teasley is a 6-2 Forward from Idaho. She averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds per game last year at JC.
The Schedule:
The non conference schedule isn’t out yet. In the Pac 12 schedule where each team plays 7 teams home and away, and 4 either home or away, Oregon State doesn’t play at Arizona and USC and UCLA don’t come to Corvallis.
The Season:
It will be very hard to escape the Cellar once again. The Beavers have added height and depth but this is only Year 2 of Starting Over. On the plus side they return 4 starters and only one of them is a Sr.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)