2025 Recruiting - WBB

Unofficial visit from 5’ 9” PG Aaliyah Chavez (Monterey HS - Lubbock). She’s on ESPN’s 2025 Top 25 Watch list…



I couldn’t find a pre-existing 2025 thread - saw 2024 and 2026.

 

Wow that's early. Are coaches even allowed to talk to them? Allowed to even look their way?

 

Deja Kelly was taking unofficials to Texas in 7th grade and posting photos with coaches so I guess it’s kosher.

 

Don't remind me of Deja Kelly. Thanks Karen for running her off.

 

Can’t help but remember the last time Texas had a stellar PG from Lubbock Monterey

 

I assumed that situation was influenced by the Sedona saga.

 

Yes, what actually happened? Was it really a falling out with Coach Aston?

 

Chavez has made a lot of unofficial visits already (TCU and SMU). OU last weekend. I don't think that it's a huge deal, but wish she'd be visiting when there was a football game or volleyball match for her to attend and soak up the fan experience.




I like that she's a great shooter, and that she's part of a club program that has been good to us in the past:

 

Chavez already with official offers from Texas Tech, Arkansas, Ohio State, and a few others.

Perhaps we'll extend an offer this weekend.

 

Sounds like she has the kind of work ethic that Vic looks for:
Lubbock 14-year-old has two DI offers, including Lady Raiders

 

LA Sneed

 

Chavez seems to have very shot in the book:

 

Chavez would be a freshman in college after Rori (hopefully) completes her fourth and final season at Texas:

 

Unimpressed. Respect your opponent, don't rub their faces in their inadequacy by hotdogging. As DKR said, "act like you've been there before".

She is a high school freshman, so I won't hold it against her. I just hope her coaches address it with her, and she learns the lesson and grows as a person and competitor.

 

I’ve learned in coaching kids like this, when you try to tamp down their flare and competitive spirit or “hotdogging” as you call it, then you take a little bit of their juice away. Then when you get to the next level or play against a team that requires everything you’ve got, something is now missing.

There’s certainly a line that’s beyond the pale, but I didn’t see anything that got even close to that for me.

 

I'm kind of surprised, but I agree. Normally this wouldn't even register to me, but it did when I watched it. I don't really care, and usually, I'm all for a show, but it felt odd. Like you, I don't hold it against her either. But I do wonder what Vic would do. Given some of his comments in the Stanford presser and the fact that even when we were shooting FTs with only a few seconds left he was shouting up and down, it leads me to think that it would be a conversation for him.

This young lady is talented and I hope she gives a good look down to Austin.

 

Question, would you all be opposed to a player like Paige Bueckers xferring to Texas? I suspect you wouldn’t. But her game is the definition of “hotdogging”! In her last game she did a behind the back elbow pass, and it was a highlight. At the end of the day for some ELITE players, that’s just their game!

Also - we probably didn’t sit too well with folks after beating up on New Orleans by 95 and having kids go 7/8 from three against a clearly over matched opponent. But we would never ask our kids not to pick up full court or play with 100% effort at all times because that OUR game.

Respect everyone’s opinion because reasonable minds can disagree, just offering a different perspective.

 

This is what I taught my kids...
Always respect your opponent. You do this by
1) always playing your best against them. This tells them you respect them enough to not feel like you can toy with them and get away with it. It also helps them see what they need to improve, and how much improvement they may need to make.
2)never giving half-assed effort. This tells them you don't respect their ability or their work. Plus, they might just kick your butt if you aren't careful.
3)never hotdogging (since I used the term before). This falls under toying with them, and is the epitome of disrespectful behavior.

Now, I am not opposed to a flashy pass or play when it is called for. If you can hit a behind the back pass to your teammate against a competitive opponent because that is the open passing lane, I am all for it. It is no different than that behind-the-back dribble move Audrey used against New Orleans. It was done to get her open for the breakaway, and it was a thing of beauty.

Chavez, on the other hand, pulled an unnecessary under the leg maneuver against 1) a team they were already beating by a huge margin and 2) in a situation where she was already free for the easy lay-up. As I saw it, this was done for no reason other than to show off, which disrespects, embarrasses, and belittles the opponent. As you note there is always room for disagreement but I cannot see any need for that.

Having our freshman wing hit 7/8 from three point land fell under rule #1 for me. It was in the flow of the game, happened early (2nd q), and wasn't in any way a matter of hotdogging. Same with our full court pressure defense. Margin of victory is not the determining factor; an arrogant, show-off attitude is. Another factor that I personally account for is the age of the players in the game. The younger the players, the more they should be very mindful of respectful behavior towards the opponent, because the relative skill levels vary by a much greater margin among the younger set. By the time players get to college, the rule can relax a little.

I hope this clarifies my personal position on the matter.

 

Regarding Chavez's play, I'm not gonna tell someone how to react to it or how to feel about it. If it would have bothered you equally had a boy performed that same play, then at least you are not sexist.

But, where do you think Chavez first saw that type of play? I can't answer that for sure, but I'm pretty sure it's one of Michael Jordan's signature moments. I doubt he did that in a tight playoff game; so, he most likely did it late in a game that was already out of hand.

Seems like some still hold female hoopsters to different standards than their male counterparts. I remember back in the day when Tennessee's Michelle Snow dunked in a game against rival Vanderbilt. Obviously, it made plenty of highlights and news stories. Included in the stories were comments from Vanderbilt's Chantelle Anderson who was quoted as saying how "hurt" she was that her "friend" Michell Snow would dunk over her. I mean, really? Would we ever hear that by male hoopsters?

 

Yeah, the discussion is fair. For me personally, I was surprised by my own reaction before I saw someone else comment. I also wondered what Vic would do.

But, yes, all good points.

 

For starters she’s 14 years old. I honestly don’t have a bad opinion of that move. So, apparently, she’s not supposed to show her skills since others around her are not as talented….I personally think there’s some misogyny with that thinking. I tend to think she’s not being challenged at that level so she’s challenging herself at this point. Also we don’t know what type of encouragement she’s received from her coaches along these lines to make any judgements in my opinion. Perhaps she’s been encouraged to showcase her skills. I guess I’m not in the camp that young girls aren’t supposed to show their skills.

 

My position has absolutely nothing to do with the gender of the young athlete in question.

 

I guess it's all point of view.

If a 14-year old male hoopster puts down a dunk, but none of his teammates nor opponents have the height or hops to match that skill, is he supposed to refrain from dunking? We all know not every dunk is created equal. Most hoopsters going for the dunk are looking for something flashy in order to gain the oohs and aahs of all those watching. Regardless of age or level of play, the majority of dunks are meant as an in-your-face gesture to the opponent; fans applaud those dunks.

Conversely, female hoopsters rarely dunk. So, there's not much they can do on the court that will draw oohs and aahs from the audience. Aren't they worthy of drawing oohs and aahs like their male counterparts? To me, there's nothing wrong with making a play that is out of the ordinary, as long it's not considered a foul. If the coach has an issue with a certain play, they are the only ones in a position to object to it.

 

Good points. I will spend some time reflecting on them. Thanks for your perspective.