2018 Recruiting - WBB

Seems like we're gaining another player who can shoot!

 

There are inefficiencies in all systems that can be exploited. The Allen-Taylor recruitment is beginning to sound like a classic - the coaching staff continuing to trust their eyes instead of the "experts."

 

Just to clarify the scholarship numbers:

- Prior to Tasia Foman's transfer, she would have been part of this upcoming season's senior class (Ariel, Audrey-Ann, Brooke, and Tasia); so that meant at least 4 'ships available for the 2018 recruiting class

- With Tasia's transfer behind us, that actually provides Texas the option to add a transfer as we only have 14 players (including Joyner) as part of the 2017-18 squad. Even if we don't add a transfer prior to the start of the Fall semester in August, we could still take a transfer in January 2018 (but, that is dependent on how many 2018 recruits we sign in the November early signing period). Or, Texas can stay pat with its current allotment of scholarship players and hold the open scholarship for the 2018 signing class. Personally, I think we will not use Tasia's scholarship on a transfer; but, instead, we will sign at least 4 high school players in November.

- Can we sign more than 4 players for the 2018 class? Maybe. It's hard to predict attrition. But, we also have two redshirt juniors (Jatarie and Khaleann); there's always a chance a player decides to move on and not use their fifth year of eligibility.

- How does Allen-Taylor's verbal commitment affect other players we are actively recruiting? Tough to know. We are at a point where we don't have pressing needs where we have to sign a player at a particular position for 2018. The biggest need was probably a post player, and that has been filled with Sedona's verbal commitment. If you consider Ariel and Brooke's impending departures, it would seem we need a guard/wing player with size/height similar to Ariel's as we don't have too many wing players in the 6'0 range. Maybe current verbal commitment, Shae Routt is that player. Maybe someone like Lolo Davenport, Madison Williams, Audrey Warren, or Christyn Williams is that player.

- Queen Egbo is supposed to release her Top 5 finalists this month (two weeks left in July at the moment). So, that should give us a better idea where we stand with her.

 

If we were the only Top 25 program who had offered, then of course, I'd have my doubts about our coaching staff's decision. But, if what we've seen reported (on twitter) is accurate, plenty of elite programs recruited (and offered) Joanne a scholarship. So, regardless of individual recruiting rankings, coaching staffs do their own evaluating. As recently as 1-2 weeks ago, plenty of coaching staffs were attending her tournament games.

 

Yep, almost every top coaching staff in the country that saw her play gave her an offer. Very excited that she's going to be a Horn. Welcome home, Joanne!

 

The more success our program has, the more options we have when it comes to recruiting. While it appears Coach A is now "recruiting" players with greater offensive skill sets, I think she was always recruiting these type of players, but perhaps the interest wasn't being reciprocated as she hadn't yet turned things around on the court, and we hadn't yet become a consistent Sweet 16 team like we have the past three seasons.

Our current roster has 6 true guards. The group of guards we are assembling will continue to be strong when Ariel and Brooke move on:

2018-19:

PG: Alecia Sutton (jr), Chasity Patterson (soph)
SG: Lashann Higgs (sr), Destiny Littleton (soph), Joanne Allen-Taylor (frosh)

So, perhaps we still have room for another guard for the 2018 class.

 

Coach Aston's done the hard part now she needs to run a system that gets the most out of the players, hopefully the offense will be much improved this season and in the future.

 

Glad to have Joanne Allen-Taylor. These recruits must be under a lot of pressure. If you don't commit soon, your slot on a lot of teams may be gone. Lolo Davenport could be out of luck if she was still thinking about Texas. I just took a look at Prospect Nation and Hoopgurlz. Looks like the majority of ranked players have already committed. I don't know much about recruiting. I suppose some teams might hold back a slot for a player they really covet? (e.g., from looking at their board, UConn wanting Christyn Williams?) If you're someone who has trouble making decisions, it would be really tough.

What's wrong with these recruiting services? There is a real disconnect between Joanne being offered by all these great teams, yet not being ranked at all by P.N. or HG. I would certainly put my trust in the judgment of these coaching staffs.

 

I love guards, but now I think we need Queen.

 

She's ranked #51 by PN, outside the top 60 on HG (only show their Top 60). I could almost understand it if she was at some small school in the middle of nowhere and didn't play AAU ball but that's hardly the case. She's the best player on a 6A HS squad in Houston that made the playoffs and plays on a high profile AAU squad (AD Elite). I would not be surprised if she made a huge jump in the next update of the rankings.

 

Though Joanne is not on their Super 60 list, I did find her profile on HG: 3 star and the #16 G. There was also this recent update to her scouting profile:

Battle-in-the-'boro-July 2017: Athletic combo-guard manufactures, delivers consistently off the dribble; mid-range game producer, body control to rim complemented by deep threat game; confident floor game, handles, distributes in transition; a stock-riser in the class of 2018. (Olson)

The #15 G is ranked 57 so that would probably put Joanne somewhere in the 60s. I know rankings are not the end-all-be-all but it is interesting to note the disconnect between scouting services and coaches' evaluations.

 

A lot of coaches believe in the philosophy that you can't win without guards. And, as "bigs" become harder to find, especially when many 6'1 - 6'3 players want to play on the perimeter, a lot of teams are forced to play an offense with 4 guards on the court. So, I'm okay with having a large number of guards on the roster, but I would prefer they have different skills and physical attributes.

Had Tasia remained on the team, we'd have 7 guards on our roster; and, for the most part they are all either PGs or SGs as only Ariel has enough height to play SF. Jada is actually listed as a G/F (as was Joyner last season), but I just don't see her getting time at SG based on how much depth we have this season, and the continued depth come 2018-19 with Allen-Taylor now on board.

So, come 2018-19, we will have 5 "true" guards on the roster. None will have the ideal height to play SF, although there will be some situations where maybe Lashann or Destiny play that spot in a 3-guard offense. That's why I still think we could end up signing a player who has the skills and physical attributes to play both SF and SG. Prior to Lolo's decommitment, it sure seemed like she fit that role. But, when she committed back in December, we didn't have Destiny on the roster, and obviously, we didn't have Joanne's verbal commitment.

Whether or not Lolo is still in contention for a spot here at Texas, her Mom has been nothing but gracious as a poster on this forum. We'll probably never know why she chose to open up her recruitment, but as the saying goes, "it takes two to tango"; if coaches and recruit aren't on the same page, either party can choose to move in a different direction and do what is best for them.

The other "big" guards (or wings) whose names we've heard recently as being recruited by Texas are Christyn Williams, Madison Williams, and Audrey Warren. We could very well still be recruiting Honesty Scott-Grayson, but nothing has been put out there since she announced we were part of a large group of schools under consideration many months ago.

The post players still considering Texas are Queen Egbo and Jessika Carter.

For whatever reason (gut instinct), I think we end up signing 6'0 Madison Williams. Honestly, all we know about her (recruiting-wise) is that she attended our camp in June, and possibly attended one our football games last Fall. Not sure we've seen any reports of schools she is considering, or other camps she may have attended. So, it's probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I really want someone on our roster next season who can possibly fill Ariel's shoes.

 

I came across this late June scouting update from girlzprepreport on Shae:
University of Texas commit Shae Routt has been on my radar forever, well since the 6th grade when I think I told her mom, a former Texas player herself, that she was definitely a D1 lock back then but Shae has exceeded my expectations by becoming a player that could face the basket and score, defend on the wing and perimeter.
Shae has been listed from 6'1" to 6'3" and has long arms. I haven't seen any game film of her since the injury but, even if her quickness isn't elite, her length could compensate for that at the SF/Wing.

I'm a bit of a traditionalist and would love to see another frontcourt addition to the 2018 class (Egbo or NaLyssa Smith - though that ship may have sailed) but it would be hard to argue against a long 2 with defensive versatility. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the class shakes out considering it's just a few months until the early signing period.

 

Not sure which player is Queen Egbo; one of them is wearing a white TEXAS shirt:

 

Kid in the red shirt is Queesn

 

Queen is the one with the Texas shirt on if you go to the cy fair account and scroll down you'll see Queen wearing a burnt orange shirt with the same shoes on.

 

Very hard for me to tell as you can't see their faces, and Queen sometimes has short hair and sometimes she has long hair (in past photos/videos).

And, of course, since there two players in that video, who could the other player be?

 

I believe the other girls is 6'4 2020 Fatou Samb if you follow to the tweet that Rattfatt noted. I sure hope that is Queen with the Texas shirt on. That's a good sign for sure. I watched Queen at our camp and she can sky and has a decent mid range shot.

 

From the videos I've seen of Queen, love that she is more than willing to bang around inside the blocks - a trait that seems harder to find these days.

 

Is that Jamie Carey in the gray jacket sitting in the front row?

 

Looks like it. George Washington is on the far left of the photo on the bottom right.

 

Thanks. I totally missed George in obvious sight!

 

Looks like Dawn Staley to the right of Jamie - talk about rolling out the big gun.

 

A bit late:

 

Apparently, we are still in it for Honesty Scott-Grayson:

 

I know we've all been saying we need a big, but I'm excited to see that we are still on Honesty's list. I saw some tape of her somewhere and she looked fantastic. It's an unusual list. It's refreshing to see her eliminate UConn right off the bat. But Baylor? How does Kim do it? I don't see the appeal.

 

Baylor is under consideration by a lot of out of state 2018 kids. When things aren't going well in-state recruiting-wise for Baylor, Mulkey has gone out of state with plenty of success.

While I haven't seen anything in black and white, I won't be surprised if Lolo Davenport ends up signing with Baylor.

 

Nice article on Sedona Prince!

 

Queen Egbo impressing:

 

I'm greedy. I wish we had two more open scholarships for 2018.