It's about the five on the court, though. Would those five be better than Tenn '98, UConn '02/'16 or Baylor '12?Amb, seriously. If Dawn adds both Reese and Owusu, and there are no significant defections ....
.... And if they manage to maintain good chemistry, could that end up having potential to be the most dominant team ever? Yikes.
I feel my support for SC f a d i n g
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut.....Angel Reese cannot shoot and she does unorthodox lay ups which seem to be very effective for MD. Her playing as a guard would only fit on a team like SC or Baylor where their Guards and Forwards are NOT shooters.From the Maryland Rivals site team BB board reference Reese:
" The source also said much of Angel Reese's decision had to do with head coach Brenda Frese’s mindset of playing her in the frontcourt rather than featuring her as more of a perimeter player."
That wasn't totally the case with Austin the person (assistant coach who helped get her to Maryland) was let go and ironically landed at Ole Miss and is now out of a gig there as well. Remember Brenda landed both Owens (who ended up at Kentucky) and Austin in the same class. Austin was to play the 4 and Owens was to play the 5. Austin issue wasn't playing inside it was more so letting her play the game the way she plays it (like she was told she would) and then get there and it's a totally different scenario. Look at Brenda's track record as of late and the amount of players she's had (that were in the Top 100) that left.So...same as Shakira. Who ended up playing inside at Ole Miss anyway lol
Def remember Austin saying she wanted to play Guard and Freese would not let her so id say the OP was correct. She stated that before she even announced ole miss as her destination. Not saying she would not have went there bc we all know the Asst coach played a part but overall she literally went to Ole miss to play the EXACT same position she played at MD and that's the OP's point correct me if im wrong.That wasn't totally the case with Austin the person (assistant coach who helped get her to Maryland) was let go and ironically landed at Ole Miss and is now out of a gig there as well. Remember Brenda landed both Owens (who ended up at Kentucky) and Austin in the same class. Austin was to play the 4 and Owens was to play the 5. Austin issue wasn't playing inside it was more so letting her play the game the way she plays it (like she was told she would) and then get there and it's a totally different scenario. Look at Brenda's track record as of late and the amount of players she's had (that were in the Top 100) that left.
Kiara Leslie-NC State
Stati-Georgia
Destiny Slocum-Oregon State/Arkansas
Owens-Kentucky
Mikesell-Oregon/Ohio State
Austin-Ole Miss
And now you have Reese, Owusu, & Mimi.
Something isn't right there and I will just leave it at that.
I think they will use Cooper as a wing backup for Cooke and Beal. She can play those positions quite well. I am sure she is not expecting a lot of playing time, but probably more than what the freshmen got this season.
I didn't say Amb was wrong, what I am saying was Brenda has a history of saying one thing to gain a player and when she gets them, go back on what she said.Def remember Austin saying she wanted to play Guard and Freese would not let her so id say the OP was correct. She stated that before she even announced ole miss as her destination. Not saying she would not have went there bc we all know the Asst coach played a part but overall she literally went to Ole miss to play the EXACT same position she played at MD and that's the OP's point correct me if im wrong.
I didn't say Amb was wrong, what I am saying was Brenda has a history of saying one thing to gain a player and when she gets them, go back on what she said.
Although Austin played Post at Ole Miss, she was never told (at least I've never seen it anywhere) that she was only going to play in the post. Coach Yo gave her the freedom to do her. So yes she played the 5 and sometimes the 4 but if she wanted she could play on the perimeter and coach Yo allowed her to. That's the difference and one of the reason Reese also isn't happy. Reese also made it clear she wanted no parts of playing in the paint and when Diamond Miller returned Reese ended up at the 4 with Bibby playing the 5 and Mimi coming off the bench. There were times in their defensive schemes Angel had to play the 5 on Defense while Bibby guarded the 4 because Angel was taller. Wasn't what she signed up for imo.
I never said I knew the inner working of what went on at Ole Miss, I said Austin had the liberty to play her game,/do what she wanted within their offense at Ole Miss. There were times she brought the ball up, there were times she got it at the 3 point line and was able to make a play driving to the basket, she wasn't allowed to do that under Brenda. That's what I said.I don’t recall Austin playing on the perimeter at all. Not trying to wade into this debate, but I have a hard time believing you know the inner workings of what went on at Ole Miss.
Brenda definitely has a history of doing whatever it takes to land a player, including out and out lying. With it being so much easier to transfer these days she’s going to find it hard to recruit very soon. Players are done being gaslighted and bossed around. Especially if they have a pro career ahead of them. Just not the same respect from players to coaches that there used to be. Has to be more of a collaboration and some give and take.
Our staff seem to be balancing that really well. We also don’t seem keen on taking players that make those kind of demands anyway.
I do think Kellie and Horston had to meet somewhere in the middle. Jordy was dead set on being a PG but she’s just not at this level. And definitely won’t be at the next. She’s a 3/4 player with great court vision. Kellie let’s her handle in late clock situations but puts her in a position to be much more successful otherwise.
Do you know if Messer went with UCF’s Coach to Georgia?On Sidenote about LSU. They lost Sytia Messer to UCF. She has been Kim’s main recruiter for years. She is one of the best in the business. Of course, Kim closes the deal and is great herself in bringing in those top classes, but Messer was a huge part in that.
It is highly doubtful that power 5, McD AAs are leaving their current programs to be subs. If we sign any more of them we had better be prepared to give them a lot of playing time. Also coaches have to be concerned with team chemistry. Right now the team chemistry seems to be very good and we have the makings of a pretty good team with what we have. I would like to see another post but I believe Striplin and Key can get it done in the post position. What we really need is for our present players to get in the gym, during the off season and hone their skills. That will make an immense difference in our ability to be a top team.
UT will get one from the portal, someone who is ok playing behind Key. CKH won’t mess up her good team chemistry. Jackson was a huge pickup as was Powell, filled needs and with another good 5 UT is set for a big year. Striplin looked good at 5 in the tourney, am sure she could play 4 well also. Powell could be huge.Yep, except for needing one more post, I am completely content, grateful, and excited about the roster as it stands right now. But we started out with four posts last year, then one was lost to injury and another had the heart but not enough quickness, so we ended the season leaning on two and worrying constantly about fouls. We don't want to start the season in that pridicament. Gotta have a productive third post!
Kellie allows players to play their games within reason. Horston is a great example. People couldn’t criticize Kellie enough for Horston’s turnovers. Kellie said coaches have to let some players just play their games. But Kellie helped Horston get control of her game.That wasn't totally the case with Austin the person (assistant coach who helped get her to Maryland) was let go and ironically landed at Ole Miss and is now out of a gig there as well. Remember Brenda landed both Owens (who ended up at Kentucky) and Austin in the same class. Austin was to play the 4 and Owens was to play the 5. Austin issue wasn't playing inside it was more so letting her play the game the way she plays it (like she was told she would) and then get there and it's a totally different scenario. Look at Brenda's track record as of late and the amount of players she's had (that were in the Top 100) that left.
Kiara Leslie-NC State
Stati-Georgia
Destiny Slocum-Oregon State/Arkansas
Owens-Kentucky
Mikesell-Oregon/Ohio State
Austin-Ole Miss
And now you have Reese, Owusu, & Mimi.
Something isn't right there and I will just leave it at that.
Too much of a good thing can sometimes be detrimental to your health...Be careful Dawn...powder kegAs a SC fan, I do not want either. I believe it would start a portal exodus amongst some of the younger players. Plus there is prob a reason those two bailed on a good program and I don't want to find out why after they get on the SC team and chemistry is blown up. I'd take a pass on both for the SC team, I am sure they will do well wherever they go, just hope it is not at SC.
If it were true, that would lead me to believe there are SC players already headed for the portal that we do not know about (I consider Littleton and Russell headed to the portal already). Reese considers herself a SG and Owusu is a PG. Unless SC is ready to sit Cook and or Raven, not to mention Cooper or Rivers then this makes no sense for SC. even if Reese wanted to play upfront, like it was mentioned above, Feagin and Amihere and Cardosa would take a back seat, and that would blow up chemistry, again imo.
I’m gonna bet Battles heads to UGA with coach Abe. They seem to have a strong bond. She’ll be great there.