Stephanie Mavunga

[volfanIND]

Well...when your free from UNC, wouldn't you be blessed? :wink2:

 

[stubbs9]

From looking at the tweets, Meme is pushing hard to get Mavunga.

 

[Hangtyme24]

Graves is a senior and if Mavunga was to come here she would have to sit for a year.

I thought the ladies who left UNC were eligible to play this season because of the sanctions. I thought I read that somewhere but I could be wrong...

 

[Chris89128]

They have to sit a year

 

[VOL720]

From looking at the tweets, Meme is pushing hard to get Mavunga.

I would love for her to be in orange, but some still think more than likely she will be at OSU this fall. All we can do is wait and see. Maybe she will announce after her commitment to USA Basketball.

 

[Voluble2]

I thought the ladies who left UNC were eligible to play this season because of the sanctions. I thought I read that somewhere but I could be wrong...

There are no sanctions yet and a year could easily pass before there are any so it is the same difference. I think the kids just want to have their future settled instead of up in the air.

If I were them I would be afraid that the women's team would be offered up as a sacrificial lamb to save the higher profile sports which actually make money. And NC's hands are dirty enough for it to be justified if the reports are correct.

I don't know how NC is going to be able to recruit any decent players while this is hanging over their heads. In that sense they are already being punished.

 

[Volfan2012]

The facts are that Mavunga cannot find a better situation than she would have at Tennessee. She would almost certainly be a starter and would make the team talented enough to be in the top three for the National Championship. If she goes anywhere else it will be for other reasons other than playing time and competing for Championships.
She at least made a friend in Me Me Jackson as they now follow one another. She also evidently liked Coach Law as she is following her as well.
I think we'll hear soon she probably wants to enroll in the second session of summer school so she would be eligible next year in July.
The only advantage I can see Ohio State offering is maybe closer to home. 197 miles to 376 to Knoxville.

 

[Holly Warlick]

What happened to all of the claims, and the "insiders" stating that her & Gray were being blocked from contacting us?
& the ignorant Hatchell trashing too lolz


Hopefully she does the smart thing and comes here! She would get a year to practice with the team to get used to playing with them, all while improving, and she would fit right in next to MR in the paint next year

 

[LadyVol1908]

I think the writing is on the wall....she'll be a LadyVol, just waiting on the announcement.

 

[LadyVol1908]

What happened to all of the claims, and the "insiders" stating that her & Gray were being blocked from contacting us?
& the ignorant Hatchell trashing too lolz


Hopefully she does the smart thing and comes here! She would get a year to practice with the team to get used to playing with them, all while improving, and she would fit right in next to MR in the paint next year

Who said Mavunga was blocked?? We knew Gray was but no one confirmed Mavunga, troll elsewhere Holly

 

[LurkerExposed]

What happened to all of the claims, and the "insiders" stating that her & Gray were being blocked from contacting us?
& the ignorant Hatchell trashing too lolz


Hopefully she does the smart thing and comes here! She would get a year to practice with the team to get used to playing with them, all while improving, and she would fit right in next to MR in the paint next year

Well you should know this better than we would, coach. Why not let us in on the insider down low....


:hi:

 

[LurkerExposed]

Who said Mavunga was blocked?? We knew Gray was but no one confirmed Mavunga, troll elsewhere Holly

Are you really kidding here? I hope so:

Tennessee and Muvunga can have no contact unless its approve by UNC. If Hatchell is still salty about DeShields transferring to Tennessee, she may well block Muvunga from coming to Tennessee. All we can do is hope for the best!

That's just the first reference I saw at the start of this thread....post #6. There's a ton more.

And why would Gray be blocked but not Mavunga, if as the Vol fans state in this thread a Post (Mavunga) is a more important addition/need than a guard (Gray) would be? What differentiates between one former UNC class of 2013 5* from another former UNC class of 2013 5*, in this case???

 

[VOL720]

Are you really kidding here? I hope so:



That's just the first reference I saw at the start of this thread....post #6. There's a ton more.

And why would Gray be blocked but not Mavunga, if as the Vol fans state in this thread a Post (Mavunga) is a more important addition/need than a guard (Gray) would be? What differentiates between one former UNC class of 2013 5* from another former UNC class of 2013 5*, in this case???

Please reread the post. It clearly states "may" block. Who cares anyways, only the parties involved knows exactly what happened or is going on. We as fans can only speculate or take the word of the so call "sources" which may be wrong or right. Do I believe Gray was blocked? Yes. No one never confirmed Muvunga was blocked, but I still didn't think Hatchell would release Muvunga to Tennessee with the bad blood she has against DeShields and Tennessee. That also led me to believe the posters who said Gray was blocked. Apparently Muvunga wasn't or maybe she was, but had a heart to heart with Hatchell and that's why she visited Tennessee so late. Bottom lines we as fans don't know exactly what's going on.

 

[volcrazy89]

Gray was blocked from talking to UT. This is fact. Why would Gray be blocked and not Mavunga? Who the hell knows. Ask that weirdo Hatchell. You know ... the same person who still to this day publicly tells people she doesn't know why Diamond left? (She's FOS, BTW.)

Hatchell is also salty as hell over the Diamond situation. This is also fact. And a well-known one, at that.

Mavunga's visit to UT is quite possibly the oddest thing I've seen in WBB recruiting in a long time. The timing, the fact that Holly (head coach) and Dean (position coach) aren't even on campus, and neither are the two player connections she has (Diamond and Mercedes).

It really is anyone's freedom to disagree with people who present facts. I suppose everyone has the right to be wrong if they choose. In the end, I think people just get pissy because they aren't the ones to get the info first, but I digress.

 

[Sandvol]

What happened to all of the claims, and the "insiders" stating that her & Gray were being blocked from contacting us?
& the ignorant Hatchell trashing too lolz


Hopefully she does the smart thing and comes here! She would get a year to practice with the team to get used to playing with them, all while improving, and she would fit right in next to MR in the paint next year

Hey Holly now that you've joined the board we really need to talk.

 

[mtsuraider06]

Should find out tonight or tomorrow where she is going.

It's not likely to be Tennessee, and as VC said, just too many irregularities regarding her "visit" with Holly, Dean, Diamond, and Mercedes not being here at the same time.

It's likely OSU, but KY isn't out of the picture.

 

[Holly Warlick]

Are you really kidding here? I hope so:



That's just the first reference I saw at the start of this thread....post #6. There's a ton more.

And why would Gray be blocked but not Mavunga, if as the Vol fans state in this thread a Post (Mavunga) is a more important addition/need than a guard (Gray) would be? What differentiates between one former UNC class of 2013 5* from another former UNC class of 2013 5*, in this case???

there is no difference, but you can't tell them that tho & Mavunga will help waayyyy more than Gray but, :sleep:

 

[Holly Warlick]

Gray was blocked from talking to UT. This is fact. Why would Gray be blocked and not Mavunga? Who the hell knows. Ask that weirdo Hatchell. You know ... the same person who still to this day publicly tells people she doesn't know why Diamond left? (She's FOS, BTW.)

Hatchell is also salty as hell over the Diamond situation. This is also fact. And a well-known one, at that.

Mavunga's visit to UT is quite possibly the oddest thing I've seen in WBB recruiting in a long time. The timing, the fact that Holly (head coach) and Dean (position coach) aren't even on campus, and neither are the two player connections she has (Diamond and Mercedes).

It really is anyone's freedom to disagree with people who present facts. I suppose everyone has the right to be wrong if they choose. In the end, I think people just get pissy because they aren't the ones to get the info first, but I digress.

How is it a fact? I haven't seen any proof from either camps or a credible media source. Only fans claiming to be insiders & repeating what someone else supposedly told someone else-hearsay


Also, I'd never "get pissy" about not getting any info first. It's not that serious, I have a real actual life

 

[LadyVol1908]

How is it a fact? I haven't seen any proof from either camps or a credible media source. Only fans claiming to be insiders & repeating what someone else supposedly told someone else-hearsay


Also, I'd never "get pissy" about not getting any info first. It's not that serious, I have a real actual life

Holly go play on the Boneyard!!

 

[mlindsay]

Should find out tonight or tomorrow where she is going.

It's not likely to be Tennessee, and as VC said, just too many irregularities regarding her "visit" with Holly, Dean, Diamond, and Mercedes not being here at the same time.

It's likely OSU, but KY isn't out of the picture.

I know you can't say much but is/was her "visit" just a method to make Hatchell not look as bad since it has been rumored that she has blocked Gray from wanting to attend Tennessee? And as a play who wants to win (which I am also assuming that she wants to) would she really choose OSU or Kentucky over us?

In the next 2 seasons (she would play her junior and senior season with Russell and Diamond) she would honestly have a really high probability of winning a title as it think the pecking order for a title the next couple seasons would be;

2015-2016
1.) Uconn
2.) Tennessee (Judging based on Guard play)
3.) SC
4.) Baylor
5.) ND, Texas, Florida State, or Louisville

2016-2017
1.) Tennessee (with Steph's addition)
2.) SC
3.) Baylor
4.) Uconn (No Stewie, Jefferson, or Tuck)
5.) Louisville

 

[Orange Maniac]

Should find out tonight or tomorrow where she is going.

It's not likely to be Tennessee, and as VC said, just too many irregularities regarding her "visit" with Holly, Dean, Diamond, and Mercedes not being here at the same time.

It's likely OSU, but KY isn't out of the picture.

While it may be odd that she visited under these circumstances, maybe that was because she knew the ones that were gone well enough that she didn't need to see them. Maybe she wanted to check out the ones she didn't know to see how she felt about them. If that was the case, them that was pretty smart on her part to see the reaction to her without the boss being around.

 

[Volfan2012]

I don't know where she will go, but making anything about the time of the visit really don't make a lot of sense. She had to visit when she did as the second session of summer school begins July 6th. Holly, Diamond, and Mercedes could not be there because they are with the World University team. She may choose Ohio State because it is 197 miles from her hometown, but I don't think she visited Tennessee just to be mean I think she definitely has interest.
I've looked hard to see where she said she was favoring anybody and have seen nothing. She has to be in Toronto on the 16th of July I would expect she would be enrolled in a school before then.

 

[ihateorange4]

I know you can't say much but is/was her "visit" just a method to make Hatchell not look as bad since it has been rumored that she has blocked Gray from wanting to attend Tennessee? And as a play who wants to win (which I am also assuming that she wants to) would she really choose OSU or Kentucky over us?

In the next 2 seasons (she would play her junior and senior season with Russell and Diamond) she would honestly have a really high probability of winning a title as it think the pecking order for a title the next couple seasons would be;

2015-2016
1.) Uconn
2.) Tennessee (Judging based on Guard play)
3.) SC
4.) Baylor
5.) ND, Texas, Florida State, or Louisville

2016-2017
1.) Tennessee (with Steph's addition)
2.) SC
3.) Baylor
4.) Uconn (No Stewie, Jefferson, or Tuck)
5.) Louisville

I know we're both biased but I'm not sure how you can say UT is ahead of SC for 2015 and 2016.

 

[mlindsay]

I know we're both biased but I'm not sure how you can say UT is ahead of SC for 2015 and 2016.

The NCAA champion has always been about guard/wing play and our guards are far superior than USC this year and next year. If we get Stephanie we will have a front line that can contend with them. Russell at 6'6" (she looks more like 6'7"/6'8" if Harrison is a legit 6'3") she will be a force and will likely command a double team and we have seen that Stephanie also commands a double team. Also we have seen that Kayla Davis isn't much of a team player and there isn't many balls to go around. They get Davis and Gray at the same time and Davis will be eligible for the WNBA draft after this season because she would be 21 years old so she will certainly be trying to build on the chance of being the first player in the WNBA draft. I also think team chemistry plays a major role and when you have players who were all told it will be their team (Wilson, Davis, Gray????) it will be hard to keep them happy and we also don't want to relinquish our hold on being the leader of the conference so I think we will play extra hard in those games. Lets look at it player for play and you tell me who is better

2015
PG-Reynolds vs Session (Tenn)
SG-Carter vs Mitchell (Even)
SF-Diamond vs Dozier (Tenn)
PF-Graves vs Wilson (Even if we get the Freshman and season and when Izzy was hurt Graves)
C-Russell vs Coates (Tenn) (only if what they say is true about her improvements but even otherwise)

2016
PG-Cooper vs Cuevas (Tenn)
SG-Carter vs Davis (SC)
SF-Diamond vs Gray (Even)
PF-Steph vs Wilson (Even)
C-Russell vs White (Tenn)

The one thing we also have is a far better bench in 2015 and 2016 and more versatility, everyone on our team can play atleast 3 positions except Mercedes. We also have Jasmine, Reynolds, and Carter for both seasons and all 3 have made it to 2 elite 8's so far which is huge from a leadership stand point and yes USC has size with Coates, Wilson, White and the UVA transfer but the UVA transfer is there for this season only as this is her last year of eligibility and if we add Steph she can play the 4/5 so she could stay in when Mercedes has to go out of we can slide Jasmine in at the 4 and Nared at the 3. So yes I place us ahead and not to mention we have been able to add the recruits also (maybe not the post recruits but recruits) outside of getting Wilson and White what has USC done? They didn't get a great class coming in this year so they have gone to the route of getting transfers which hurts recruiting why would a player come there and play their freshman year and then get placed on the bench their sophmore year to make room for the star transfer coming in

 

[bballnut90]

The NCAA champion has always been about guard/wing play and our guards are far superior than USC this year and next year. If we get Stephanie we will have a front line that can contend with them. Russell at 6'6" (she looks more like 6'7"/6'8" if Harrison is a legit 6'3") she will be a force and will likely command a double team and we have seen that Stephanie also commands a double team. Also we have seen that Kayla Davis isn't much of a team player and there isn't many balls to go around. They get Davis and Gray at the same time and Davis will be eligible for the WNBA draft after this season because she would be 21 years old so she will certainly be trying to build on the chance of being the first player in the WNBA draft. I also think team chemistry plays a major role and when you have players who were all told it will be their team (Wilson, Davis, Gray????) it will be hard to keep them happy and we also don't want to relinquish our hold on being the leader of the conference so I think we will play extra hard in those games. Lets look at it player for play and you tell me who is better

2015
PG-Reynolds vs Session (Tenn)
SG-Carter vs Mitchell (Even)
SF-Diamond vs Dozier (Tenn)
PF-Graves vs Wilson (Even if we get the Freshman and season and when Izzy was hurt Graves)
C-Russell vs Coates (Tenn) (only if what they say is true about her improvements but even otherwise)

2016
PG-Cooper vs Cuevas (Tenn)
SG-Carter vs Davis (SC)
SF-Diamond vs Gray (Even)
PF-Steph vs Wilson (Even)
C-Russell vs White (Tenn)

No.....I'm a UT fan, but this is just off.

2015:
PG-Reynolds vs Session....draw at best for UT. Reynolds has potential to be a really good guard, but she wasn't strong offensively. Solid player though. Sessions also wasn't strong offensively but was outstanding as a defender. I'd say slight edge USC.

SG-Carter vs Mitchell....BIG edge to USC. Tiffany Mitchell is a 2x SEC POY and legit 1st Team All-American. She is an efficient scorer and can beat you off the dribble or score from the outside. She also distributes the ball and plays solid D. Carter is outstanding defensively but has struggled offensively as a role player for UT. Huge edge USC.

SF-Diamond vs Dozier...big edge to Tennessee. Diamond is one of the most dynamic players in the nation and should contend for SEC POY from day 1. Dozier is a streaky shooter who can be a big weapon, but isn't in the same playing field as Diamond.
PF-Graves vs Wilson...edge USC. Graves has shown moments of being a great player at Tennessee, but A'ja's upside and skill set right now surpasses Graves.
C-Russell vs Coates...edge USC, but this could change. Coates has been rock solid her first 2 years at South Carolina. Big physical post who finishes well inside, draws fouls, and is an exceptional rebounder. I would look for Russell to surpass Coates provided she is healthy and lives up to her billing as the top recruit from the loaded 2013 class, but, from what we've seen so far, you can't rank her ahead of Coates.

Benches:
Cooper, Middleton, Jones, Nared, Moore vs. White, Imovbioh, Cuevas, Roy, Colley.....edge USC.

Imovbioh could very well start alongside Coates and push Wilson to the 3, giving USC a devastatingly big lineup. Imovbioh was outstanding at Virginia and should slide in nicely to the post rotation. Cuevas is streaky, we'll see how she's improved. Roy is a great 'glue' player. Smart player, good but not great shooter, you don't lose anything with her on the court. Colley is an incoming freshman who is on the Canadian National Team. Kia Nurse and Natalie Achonwa were both National Team members in college and went on to find success collegiately. I don't know how good Colley is, but I wouldn't count her out as being an outstanding player.

Tennessee's bench is solid and better than last year's. Nared and Jones will be big weapons, how well Cooper adjusts to the college game should be a key point, and Middleton needs to have a better sophomore campaign. The only way I see Tennessee being a better team than USC this year is if Diamond has a POY caliber season (which could happen), and if Russell lives up to her billing, stays healthy, and can consistently put up 15/10. South Carolina has so much depth in the post and one of the best guards on the perimeter, along with a slew of heady guards which will make them very difficult to contend with.


Looking at 2017, this is where it should be more interesting--especially if Mavunga picks UT:
2016
PG-Reynolds/Cooper vs Cuevas/Colley....Lots of unknowns, but my guess is slight edge Tennessee if Cooper is as good as advertised and we see improvement from Reynolds. Cuevas is streaky but I don't see her as someone who will do well adjusting to a more organized offense which is why I think Colley will beat her out.

SG-Carter vs Davis...edge USC. Davis could be lethal with good players around her
SF-Diamond vs Gray...edge Tennessee, although Gray is very very good.
PF-Steph vs Wilson...even, or slight edge USC. Both are fantastic players, but I think Wilson will improve more by 2016-17 than Mavunga will. Right now I'd say edge Mavunga. Landing Mavunga elevates Tennesee from legit Final Four threat to title threat.
C-Russell vs Coates....I'd say slight edge UT by 2016-17 IF Russell stays healthy and develops as a center.

Bench: I wont break it down too much, but probably slight edge Tennessee unless USC lands some top 2016 recruits. Come 2016-17, both teams will be STACKED.