Still has Bone and Gruner at the top. Big surprise to see Tinkle listed as a SF. I thought she was a post. Lots of big and tall players in this class. Enough to fill that need for a lot of schools. The Link
Baylor still has three strong verbals commits for 2009 and is still in the running for a few more. If they sign one more high profile recruit from that class they are going to be hard to handle. Griner - #2 Jordan Madden - #30 Shanay Washington - #57 Skylar Diggins is the top rated PG in that class and still has Baylor and Texas on her list. Would be nice for us to land Bone and Diggins...that would certainly make the Big 12 very strong. I have very high hopes for landing Bone. I think we will consistently hover around the top 10 next year so coach G will have proven herself worthy at Texas of a top recruit like Bone.
We already have a 2009 commitment form Point Guard, Lauren Flores, of Galena Park Northshore. So, I doubt we are going hard after Diggins. We have 4 'ships left to give, and it could be that Flores will play a key role in getting some of the big names out there, as she plays on DFW Elite alongside Cokie Reed, Tierra Rogers, and Nikki Greene. I've seeen several posters on other boards state that we lead for Reed and Rogers, and I remember a while back where TrueOrange Newsletter reported that Greene was down to Texas and Texas Tech. If I had to guess, here's how I think our class looks come signing day: 5'7 PG -- Lauren Flores, GP Northshore 5'11 W -- Tierra Rogers, California (moving to TX) 6'4 C -- Cokie Reed, Waco Midway 6'5 C/P -- Nikki Greene, Diboll *6'5 C/P -- Kelsey Bone, Sugarland Dulles * Player I feel least confident about landing, mainly because I've read conflicting reports on her favorites
Mooooo, if we did land those that you have listed, then that probaly would rank our class from 1-3 in 2009.
I certainly hope that we do not pull back on recruiting a 5-star and top rated point guard just because we have already signed another point guard that is not even ranked in the top 100. It is also uncommon for multiple top rated post players to sign with the same school in any class. The chances of us landing three of the top 9 post players in the nation is highly unlikely.
If we want to be good and compete with the elite programs. You must have 4 post/center to rotate in and out.If you look at programs like North Carolina,Tenn,UConn.Watch how they rotate those players in those positions in and out of the game.So I believe we have a shot at getting all of them.There will be more then enough playing time to make these players happy.Plus a lot of elite programs are over loaded in these positions.
If you look at the top rated post players from the HoopGurls rankings over the past two years you will see that none of the top rated post playrs from 2007 or 2008 signed with the same school. History shows that the top post players from each class tend not to sign with the same school. UCONN, Tennessee, NC, etc. are able to rotate like that because they have signed top players from different classes, not because they signed top post players from the same class. Having said that, let's hope that we buck the trend and sign them all.
Post players are our major area of need for 2009 since we're losing Lindsey and Cook this year, and will be left only with Ashley Gayle. The state of Texas has some very highly regarded post players for 2009, and I don't doubt that Coach G will try to get at least 2 of them, if not 3 of them. While I'm sure Diggins is fabulous, there's a reason why our staff offered Flores so early. Plus, it's an extra benefit that we got her away from Baylor and A&M, who were her leaders before we got involved. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, she plays summer ball with some great players on that DFW Elite team, and that can only help us in the long run. She is also a great 3-point shooter, and that will really help our offense if our point guard can be a scoring threat fromt beyond the arc.
Don't get me wrong...I hope that we heavily recruit and sign all three of those post players. I'm just saying that it would be a rare feat to sign three of the top 9 post players in a class and is not very likely. I've watched previous classes and post players tend to wait for other post players to commit and then tend to sign with another school that is on their final list. And if our coaching staff pulls back on recruiting the top rated point guard in the nation when she is still considering us I would have to doubt their decision making.
TXtoCO, Your point is taken, but every situation is different. For example: 1) All 3 post players are from Texas. They may all have an affinity for Texas, and our University 2) They may all have different skills/strengths that will allow them to co-exist, not to mention practice against each other on a daily basis. 3) Players, as we've come to realize, sometimes have to redshirt, unexpectedly; that also ends up "balancing" out the classes 4) Kelsey Bone and Ashley Gayle played together on the West Coast Elite team last summer 5) Nikki Greene and Cokie Reed play together currently on one of the DFW Elite teams (Tierra Rogers, Lauren Flores, Odyssey Sims, and Brittney Griner are starters on the other DFW Elite team) 6) Just because a recruit "lists" a school, doesn't mean they are at the top of the list; coaches typically know where they rank with a recruit, and will put forth the effort to recruit them til the end, if warranted. I have no idea where we rank with Diggins, but our staff does. 7) Also, coaches "look ahead" to future classes to see if there are more/better players with the skills they are looking for to help their team. I myself haven't looked at the post players in 2010, but there's a chance they don't compare, especially within our state borders 8) Maybe our staff likes their chances with 2010 in-state PG/SG Odyssey Sims (considering Baylor, Tennessee, Texas, and Missoui) Recruiting is fun!
OK Moooo...I don't want to ruin your dreams of landing all three of these post players. Let's hope that they all have the good sense to come to Texas and play for coach G...they certainly couldn't go wrong if they did. We'll check back in a few months and see how many of these we can sign...hopefully all of them.
I'm hoping we sign at least two of those post players. All are capable of playing either post position. And there certainly will be a lot of playing time available. And don't forget that Tinkle also expresses an interest in Texas and, not only can she play inside, she's projected as a wing player in college. Along with the need for at least one post player, a wing would be nice to have. It is fun trying to figure out where the Horns stand with the top recruits. I'm happy to know that they are in the conversation.
