Leftover UM women's hoops recruiting notes
ESPN HoopGurlz scout and analyst Chris Hansen joined Recruiting Report last week for an edition of Five questions on Maryland women’s basketball recruiting.
Here are some leftover notes from the interview with Hansen:
• Maryland’s 2008 frontcourt recruits, Lynetta Kizer and Dee Liles, can be expected to make major impacts for UM this season, Hansen said. The goal for 2009 is to pair UM commitment Tianna Hawkins with one additional, elite post.
“It’s good timing to need bigs,” Hansen said. “Fives and fours, in any other year, you’re going to be down on those [throughout the class]. With [Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne graduated], it’s the perfect class to need a big [because there are so many]. And I think they can definitely address that depth right away. Demauria Liles is coming in and she’s going to be probably as good of a player that you’re going to find out of [junior college] ball. She was that ahead of everyone else. You can tell by her being included in USA Basketball. And you’ve got Lynetta coming in. Those are the two [major additions], so it’s not the deepest class last year. Getting an elite player out of this class is going to help them.”
• Benton Harbor, Mich., forward Destiny Williams is one of many top-flight players Maryland is after, according to Hansen. He said Williams, and basically every prospect UM is targeting, has immediate-impact potential.
“If you get … Destiny Williams and one of the guards they’re recruiting, that’s a pretty good class,” Hansen said. “You’re not talking about players projected as good college players. These are players they’re waiting on that could be really good college players, immediate impact players. ... Those kids are stepping on campus from Day One and making [an impact].”
• Many of the big-time players in the 2009 class remained uncommitted. With official visits under way, Hansen thinks there could be a lot of movement soon.
“Most of the post players haven’t started making their decisions, but [Sugarland, Texas center Kelsey Bone]'s not going to same place as [Long Beach, Calif., post] Monique Oliver or [Waco, Texas center] Cokie Reed. Once the first one goes, I think this whole class will take off.”
• One of those aforementioned dominoes fell over the weekend. The Terps were in the running for Oliver, according to Hansen, but she committed to Southern Cal on her official visit Sunday.
Comments
Something is happening. The girls at Maryland are not together. Why has the starting player left the team. It just seem strange that usually happens when a person is not playing. Why have All-Americans on the squad and not allow them to develop. This is a unhappy bunch. The winner of the a championship a couple years ago seem like a fluke.
You take the returning team basically and use six or seven players the whole year, strange development process for your younger players.The tournament arrives and your team is dead in the water the last two years!!! Also just recently practice called off and big team meeting took place. What's going on ?
Posted by: Jay Woods | December 16, 2008 11:58 AM