2016 recruiting

I know a lot of posters on here want Natalie Chou, but if our coaches feel she is leaning toward another school, perhaps that is also a reason to turn the heat up on Amber.

 

February article on Amber and her decision to commit to OSU:

http://www.kens5.com/story/opinion/...ut-her-teeth-in-cyo-basketball-at-4/23928801/

Ramirez, who is 5-foot-8, will play shooting guard at OSU. She picked the Cowgirls over Texas, Baylor, Colorado, Ohio State, Washington and Texas Tech.

"The style of play, the coaching staff, the conference they play in, the Big 12, that's what put me at Oklahoma State," Ramirez said. "The style they play fits me. They like to push it, run, shoot. The coaching staff was amazing, so I just decided that was the place for me to go."

Have to say that her wanting to play shooting guard and liking the Big 12 could bode well for us if both parties are still in contact.

 

Question: How many scholarships are available? I'm assuming there will be 4 scholarships available for class of 2016 with Imani, Empress, Celina, and Brady graduating. With two scholarships going to Alecia and Jada, that only leaves two left with a dire need of Posts where Kelsey and Lilley will be seniors, Diani, and incoming Christina. I'd imagine the priority has got to be Joyner and Cox and not Amber nor Natalie.

 

Assuming Sara Hattis is going to remain on scholarship (and the recent announcement of her going full time to basketball makes it seem as if that is the case), and Brady returns for her fifth year in 2015-16, here's what we have toward the maximum 15 allowable scholarships:

2012: Brady, Empress, Celina, and Imani
2013: Sara, Nekia, Brianna, Lilley, and Kelsey
2014: Tasia, Ariel, Brooke, and Diani
2015: Lashann, Christina, and Jordan

That totals to 16 scholarship players for the upcoming season; that means at least one current player will be leaving the team. I don't see that player being a rising senior, or an incoming freshman not stepping on campus.

So, right now, it would appear 4 scholarships are available for the 2016 class. Although Sara Hattis has 2 years of eligibility remaining, there's always the possibility she graduates a year from now, and doesn't finish her eligibility; that would open up a fifth scholarship for the 2016 class.

 

Thanks Moo. Are we sure Sarah Hattis still isn't on a volleyball scholarship?

 

Not sure how accurate, but looks like we made the most recent cut of Lauren Cox's schools still under consideration:

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35173

 

Good to hear

 

Has anyone heard anything about Joyner-Holmes, there doesn't seem to be a ton of talk about her. I see a lot of things on Lauren Cox and Chou and some of the other top recruits but not a lot about Joyner-Holmes. Any idea of schools she is considering?

 

Doesn't seem as if Joyner discusses much of her recruiting with the public. All we've been able to gather is sporadic info:

- Visited Southern Cal in September with a couple of Cedar Hill football players; forget if juniors can now take official visits
- Attended our home game against the Lady Vols in November; maybe others?

I saw where she triple-jumped 40'7 this past weekend in a high school track meet. That's gotta be something to see a 6'3 triple jumper running down the path.

 

In my opinion, I think we are in a good position with Joyner. She has said that she wants to stay close to home, which obviously puts us in the running. One of her best friends is Jada Underwood, having her helps with Joyner and her recruitment. Also if some of you haven't notice, every top recruit that we have had in the state has played for cy-fair elite. Brooke had always played for cy-fair, but Ariel, Tasia, Lashann, Jordan, Didi and Joyner who's playing for cy-fair now, all played for that program, i don't think that's just a coincidence. But we also have to see what effect losing coach Mitchell has on her recruitment, because I'm pretty sure she was heavily involved in recruiting Joyner.

 

Guess we didn't make Cox's final six after all:

April 15th, 2015 @ 10:44 pm

by Carl Adamec, sny.com

"Much message board scuttlebutt and rumors surrounding Lauren Cox’s recruitment had her staying in her native Texas to attend college. The 6-foot-4 junior center from Flower Mound, Texas, and the No. 1-rated recruit in the Class of 2016 could still stay in Texas, but if that’s her choice her destination will be Waco.

Cox has narrowed her list from nine to six, her father, Dennis, confirmed Wednesday.

She has eliminated Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M.

Her final six (in alphabetical order) are Baylor, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Cox has made unofficial visits to Baylor, Louisville, and Notre Dame. UConn and Tennessee did home visits last month. Her father added that she will not take official visits until the fall.

As a junior, Cox was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Texas as she averaged 21.7 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 5.2 blocked shots. In six state tournament games, she averaged 27.7 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 6.5 blocked shots. She had six straight double-doubles including a pair of triple-doubles as Flower Mound reached the state semifinals for the first time. Cox, who will turn 17 on Monday, will attend USA Basketball’s U-19 national team trials in Colorado Springs next month. She already owns gold medals with the 2013 U-16 FIBA Americas team and the 2014 U-17 FIBA world championships team.

According to a recruiting source, UConn has no official visits set up for the spring. The Huskies already have two oral commitments from the Class of 2016 from Crystal Dangerfield (5-5 guard, Murfreesboro, Tennessee) and Kyla Irwin (6-2 forward, State College, Pennsylvania).

 

Wow, I'm very surprised we didn't make her top 6. I'd be more than ok with Joyner Holmes though.

 

Well, I never got the feeling we were gonna land Cox in the end, and stated so several times here. Taking unofficial trips to OOS schools like Duke, Notre Dame, and Louisville gave me the feeling that she was more than likely headed out of state. With Baylor the only in-state school under consideration, odds are that she is headed out of state, and far from home.

On the bright side, better for our coaches to know now (7 months prior to National Signing Day), and put effort on those recruits strongly interested in Texas.

 

I been stalking for a while. Here's my take. I think UT was in the running for Cox. But that beating from UCONN is resonating with recruits That game for Geno was about Cox, Holmes and further recruiting in the state of Texas. Same thing with the Baylor games. It showed that while UT has improved they have a long way to go before they are elite. I don't think UCONN is truly fifty points better than UT but there coaching ability is. So is Baylor. And kids want the best shot at a national championship and future opportunities. (USA basketball, WNBA and overseas money). Plus the teaching abilities of the coach matter. Will I get better as a player or will my growth be slow. Texas will get there but it will take sometime.

 

You guys may not realize this, but I can tell you as a coach.................we're a Lashann Higgs and injury free season away from being able to play with anyone in the country. She will make an impact immediately, and she can get to the rim/free throw line at will.

 

I sincerely doubt the results of a single game had any impact on Lauren's, or any other recruit's decision. Nor do I think it shows we are a long way from elite, or that growth will be slow. Was the beat down difficult to watch, and do I think we could (and should) have played better? Absolutely. But we were in the Sweet 16 playing the top team in the country, and are far from the only good squad UCONN has embarrassed this season. They also beat a very good South Carolina (#1 at the time) team by 25 points. Does anyone really believe Lauren is sitting there saying..."hmmm, SC lost by 25...keep on the list. 50 point loss for the Horns, scratch them."

I certainly don't consider making the Sweet 16, albeit a bad loss, a long way from elite, nor do most others in the country who follow, and cover women's BB. In fact, most believe the exact opposite to be true. And our growth has been anything but slow. 12 wins two seasons ago, 22 wins last year and our first NCAA tourney win since 2008, and 24 wins this season, along with making the conference tourney finals and a Sweet 16 appearance for the first time in over a decade. As we've seen throughout the year, people across the country are taking notice of the program precisely because of its' continued rise, and rapid improvement.

Now I do think there are folks from other programs who would like to take one loss and characterize it as something more than it is? Sure, but that's to be expected when a program has turned around as quickly as this one has, and signed as many top recruits as the Horns have in back-to-back classes. I am sorry we didn't make Lauren's final cut, but like others can't say I'm surprised. While many have said they'd like to have her (who wouldn't?), I don't recall a single post that ever indicated we were at the top of her list, or among her favorites. Not that she's ever made her top candidates known, but there have been a few who've implied she might be heading out of state, while others have said we were more likely to sign Holmes.

 

I don't agree with that at all. If she made her decision based on a couple of games then she really wasn't interested in UT to begin with. Ou beat baylor, so why weren't they on her list. And why didn't Alecia or Didi decommit right after those games. As utfannforlife said, we are an injury free season and a Lashann away from being a realistic final four team. Had we not been on uconns side of the bracket, we could have easily made the elite 8 or final four.

You don't think we could have beaten Tenn, or a team like Maryland? I do, which is why I continue to say, without a doubt in my mind that starting next year we will be the team to dethrone baylor in the conf. And be a year in and year out contender to get to the final four. The baylor fans know it, hell their coach knows it. We've all seen the way Mulkey has acted towards coach Aston, and we all know why. Because she views her as a threat, just like her fans and the Ou fans do.

 

Mulkey is one of the best coaches in the game. I find her antics hilarious. But she gets the most out of her players. And know I don't think she fears Aston. Baylor is not off the list because they are one of the best teams in the country.
I think one game did help Cox choose. She got a side by side comparison. Everyone was going on about UT post prior to the game. And they were a complete non factor. That will weigh on a recruit.
Texas has one glaring problem that would have kept them out of the elite 8/final 4, guard play offensively/defensively and low basketball IQ And no I don't think they would have beat Maryland or Tennessee in the tourney. I'll take a good team over a team that is just playing well. While I like Texas and what they are building, they are not there yet. Hopefully with the guards coming in, in addition to Ariel (who I think will lead this team) the offense can get going. And the team get smarter.

 

Sorry for the errors. I'm typing on my phone

 

I think we know who the baylor troll is. Yes, Kim Mulkey is a good coach, but why has she been so obsessed with coach Aston to the point where she's taking petty pot shots at her in post game conferences when she's not even playing coach Aston's team. We all know why, because just like you, who's a baylor fan on a UT board she feels threatened. Which is also why you came on here with that ridiculous nonsense about Lauren Cox choosing a school based upon a couple of games. Also we couldn't beat tenn or Maryland, the same tenn we beat earlier in the year with that low IQ. The same Maryland we almost beat on the road in the second round of the tournament last year,who wasn't as good this year as they were last year, okay.

Again, if she was choosing were she wanted to go based upon a couple of games, then why didn't she put Ou on the list. They beat baylor, and Sherri Coale is considered by many to be a good coach. You baylor fans are worried, you've seen the great improvement in the program every year. You've seen the recruits that coach Aston and her staff have brought in and will continue to bring in. And when we do become the team to beat in the conference every year, you baylor fans along with your petty immature coach. Will be crying and whining and throwing temper tantrums, like she does all the time when things don't go her way. Now, you can go back over to baylor fans and stay there and tell them what I said.

 

Not a troll just objective in my view. I'm a basketball fan. Now to why is OU off the list? First it probably has nothing to do with Baylor and more with personal preference. Texas lasted because I think Cox generally liked the program but she went with the established winning programs versus the ones that are rebuilding, with the exception of Louisville who is well in their way to being a true contender. And that could be scary Cox and Durr.

By the way disagreeing is not a reason to name call. I stated my case; you stated your case. I understand your general dislike for Mulkey's behavior but Aston, who I like,will have to step up her game and take the BIG XII from Baylor. I do agree that the preseason predictions bother Mulkey. And she used that as motivation and was snotty about it. Texas needs to literally beat Baylor, not on a down year, but beat a good Baylor team and win the BIG XII outright.

I expect Texas to cause problems next year. And if the guard play improves, to bust the zone defense, they will be fine. I'm well aware of what the players on this team can do. So it should be interesting.

 

Dude, go back to baylor fans and stay there. I said what I said, and l meant every word of it. By the way, maybe her not choosing Texas was a personal preference

 

True that could have very well been the reasons she didn't choose UT. It's good to be a passionate fan but find a little objectivity. Peace.

 

Thank you, after all of that you finally made my point for me.

 

Its call computer debating. And the wonderful ability to entertain two opposing thoughts. And not speak in an offense way to the other person that you don't know.

 

LOL it would be ridiculous for her to choose based off of one or two games. And that doesn't say a lot about a recruits self confidence. I could care less what happens prior to me getting there because I believe that much in myself to make a difference. And if not, I don't know how much I want that type of mindset in our program anyway!! But I will admit that you're right about guard play, I cant wait to see how much Lashann and a healthy Ariel fix that!

Why wouldn't you think we could beat the same Tenn team that we trounced earlier in the year once? And we were playing better than they were at the end

 

Welcome to the banter. I never said that one game made the complete choice but to act like a 50 point loss does play a role is a little shorts sided. Especially when both schools are in the running. There was something that made her go that direction. She is a phenomenal talent and you can't turn that away. Hey, maybe it was personal preference. But I feel it's more of a win now or later type of situation. And which program assures that.

Because I think that Tennessee team we played earlier were still figuring out how to function without there main post. And they had a lot more guard experience to fall back on. Texas with the experience and stability that Nneka brought was a different animal than the team that had just started to work out their links near the end of a injury rattled season. I just feel at that point in the season Texas would not have one. Unless the guards got out of their funk.

 

@utfannforlife i agree the guard combo of Ariel and LaShann could be deadly from 3pt to the rim. But UT still needs a sharp shooter to open up the lane for cuts and movement.

 

@rattfatt I did say those thing and more. But it's a forum. And Karen Aston did a pretty good job salvaging the season But say that offense was lacking movement was true. You don't like it and that's fine. I'm stating something obvious that you don't like.

 

This is my last time replying to you, because I have better things to do. But show me where I said anything offensive towards you. Also you're the same person that goes on shaggybevo and trashes coach Aston and says ridiculous things like, Duncanvilles offense is more complex than coach Aston's. But you want to say that i'm offensive, whatever man. I'm done replying to you for the day.