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Philsfan
04-17-2014, 02:16 PM
http://www.heraldsun.com/breakingnews/x27234218/National-Freshman-of-Year-DeShields-transferring-from-UNC

"Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell said in a statement that she did not “know or understand” why DeShields is leaving. “As most everyone knows, I was out and missed the entire season with leukemia,” Hatchell said. “Thankfully, I’m in complete remission and will be back 100% for next season. It breaks my heart that I will not have the opportunity to coach Diamond and help develop her on and off the court. I love her and wish her well."

Karl Beem
04-17-2014, 02:37 PM
Was told she would have to attend real classes next year?

CameronBornAndBred
04-17-2014, 02:41 PM
This is actually pretty shocking--De Shields had a very good season and looked to be one of the key pieces for UNC next year. Perhaps there is some personal reason for the decision.
Maybe she had issues with Ivory Latta. As annoying as both of them were, I could only imagine them in the same room. :rolleyes:

MCFinARL
04-17-2014, 02:41 PM
This is actually pretty shocking--De Shields had a very good season and looked to be one of the key pieces for UNC next year. Perhaps there is some personal reason for the decision.

flyingdutchdevil
04-17-2014, 02:43 PM
This is actually pretty shocking--De Shields had a very good season and looked to be one of the key pieces for UNC next year. Perhaps there is some personal reason for the decision.

Or perhaps Sean May and Kennedy Meeks kept on eating her lunch. Without more info, anything is possible! (and I think my explanation is the most plausible)

Class of '94
04-17-2014, 02:43 PM
Wow.....This seems very strange. I've read comments about Diamond in the past about her having a very big ego; and I can still remember that T she got for her imo unsportsmanlike manner toward Haley and Duke in the ACCT. I wonder if this is decision maybe another example of that. Of course, she has a right to leave UNC and go to a place that she feels better suits her. And I will curious and interested to hear where she decides to go and why.

grossbus
04-17-2014, 02:48 PM
Stunning!

Kedsy
04-17-2014, 02:51 PM
Wow. An absolute shock. Although I am glad I don't have to watch her play for the bad guys for the next three years.

Now I just hope she doesn't end up at UConn.

CameronBornAndBred
04-17-2014, 03:02 PM
Wow. An absolute shock. Although I am glad I don't have to watch her play for the bad guys for the next three years.

Now I just hope she doesn't end up at UConn.
Eek. I wonder how Geno's and Diamond's egos would work out. Whatever her reasoning, it must be a huge conflict to voluntarily sit out a year. Like her not (I don't), she is undoubtedly one of the best players in the nation.
From wiki...
The WNBA "requires players to be at least 22, to have completed their college eligibility, to have graduated from a four-year college or to be four years removed from high school."
So I guess she can declare for the draft after her junior year since she will be four years out of high school, but it would surprise me, that is uncommon. (Maybe so uncommon it hasn't happened? I know there was talk of Griner leaving early, but she stayed at Baylor.)

Class of '94
04-17-2014, 03:04 PM
Wow. An absolute shock. Although I am glad I don't have to watch her play for the bad guys for the next three years.

Now I just hope she doesn't end up at UConn.

It's funny that you mentioned UConn. I'm wondering if she felt that UNC wasn't good enough for her and she wants to go to a program like UConn where she feels that she might have a better chance to win a NC and gain more national exposure.

CameronBornAndBred
04-17-2014, 03:06 PM
It's funny that you mentioned UConn. I'm wondering if she felt that UNC wasn't good enough for her and she wants to go to a program like UConn where she feels that she might have a better chance to win a NC and gain more national exposure.
She came in with the #1 team in the nation, and they were only a game away from the FF this year. Would be odd reasoning to go sit on someone's bench a year.

Here is a Turtle
04-17-2014, 03:08 PM
Hope she goes to any school other than UConn. This is shocking. Wonder what her thought process was.

jimsumner
04-17-2014, 03:27 PM
Wow. This is a stunner. She was national freshman of the year and Carolina projected a top-5, maybe higher, next season. Something or someone must have really set her off.

MCFinARL
04-17-2014, 03:31 PM
Maybe she had issues with Ivory Latta. As annoying as both of them were, I could only imagine them in the same room. :rolleyes:

Wow--in another miracle of DBR, you responded to my post before I made it! You actually make a very good point here--De Shields is a bit reminiscent of Latta in her general scariness, and the two might have been a pretty combustible combination.


Or perhaps Sean May and Kennedy Meeks kept on eating her lunch. Without more info, anything is possible! (and I think my explanation is the most plausible)

Your explanation is certainly the most entertaining--and you picked two people who are big enough, if possibly not tough enough, to steal De Shields' lunch. ;)

Re UConn, Geno offers some very tough love, and he demands compliance--from what we have seen from the outside, De Shields might not be a very good fit. But who knows?

killerleft
04-17-2014, 03:35 PM
As good and as unlikeable as she is, I'm just happy to see her go. I will always treasure Duke's win over the Heels in the ACC Tournament this year. At least that loss wiped the smirk off her face for a while.:o

jipops
04-17-2014, 04:00 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWA2pjMjpBs

budwom
04-17-2014, 04:12 PM
Her father was one of my favorite glorious Montreal Expos. She brought shame to her family by playing for UNC. Now I feel much better.

Philsfan
04-17-2014, 04:36 PM
Her father was one of my favorite glorious Montreal Expos. She brought shame to her family by playing for UNC. Now I feel much better.

Delino attended a riival high school. Got to see him play against us in basketball his Senior year. He lit us up.

burnspbesq
04-17-2014, 04:37 PM
I just hope she doesn't end up at UConn.

Whatever else one may not like about UConn, Geno has always run a team-first program. Hard to imagine him as enabler for an outsize ego.

Baylor, on the other hand ...

brevity
04-17-2014, 04:49 PM
Whatever else one may not like about UConn, Geno has always run a team-first program. Hard to imagine him as enabler for an outsize ego.

Diana Taurasi?

Gotta give Diamond DeShields credit here. She just became the most interesting transfer in men's or women's college basketball. I'm just speculating here, but going to South Carolina -- which just got top recruit A'ja Wilson -- would be a slap in the face to Tarheels and would signal a real shift in power.

uh_no
04-17-2014, 04:53 PM
Whatever else one may not like about UConn, Geno has always run a team-first program. Hard to imagine him as enabler for an outsize ego.

Baylor, on the other hand ...

has geno ever taken a transfer? that said, they apparently recruited her pretty hard....

they also have 3 guards coming in as freshmen this year, so would certainly be loaded there.

he doesn't put up with egos....if she had an attitude she'd be swimming a lot of laps.

uh_no
04-17-2014, 04:58 PM
FYI:

apparently she is good friends with https://www.prospectsnation.com/story/no-3-cooper-control Te'a cooper, who is coming out next year, and had committed to UNC in 8th grade....and has now decommitted, the theory being that they want to play together somewhere.

CameronBornAndBred
04-17-2014, 05:29 PM
FYI:

apparently she is good friends with https://www.prospectsnation.com/story/no-3-cooper-control Te'a cooper, who is coming out next year, and had committed to UNC in 8th grade....and has now decommitted, the theory being that they want to play together somewhere.

To date Cooper, a 5-foot-8 powerfully built lead guard, has been on six college campuses – Duke, Georgia, Louisville, North Carolina, Pitt and Tennessee.
She can still come to Duke. Diamond can cheer her on from whatever school she winds up at. ;)

I was curious to see what happened to Trisha Stafford-Odom, she was the recruiting force that brought in Deshields and her class, and the number one class before that one (and then of course the number classes at Duke.) She took a head coaching job at some small California school. I wonder if her absence played a part in either Deshields going or Cooper's decommittal.

Cooper doesn’t believe she was too young to commit, but with so much time passing since her verbal commitment, things on the ground changed.
You would not expect a player to leave because an assistant wasn't there, but there is no denying that Stafford is a serious force on the recruiting trail. No idea what she sells those girls, but it is some potent stuff.

dukelifer
04-17-2014, 09:59 PM
This is actually pretty shocking--De Shields had a very good season and looked to be one of the key pieces for UNC next year. Perhaps there is some personal reason for the decision.

Personal or - I hate to say this- academic.

Duvall
04-17-2014, 10:08 PM
Personal or - I hate to say this- academic.

Possible, but I think if it were academic UNC wouldn't look so surprised at her departure. They wouldn't that it was academics, but they wouldn't say that her reasons were unknown either.

-bdbd
04-18-2014, 12:36 AM
Did it ever come out about what she had done to cause Coach P to decline the opportunity to shake her hand after the game in Chapel Hill?
P got a lot of flack for that, but I never heard about the reason why I assumed it was some sort of dirty play thing. :confused:


Honestly, very glad to see her go - would have been a pain to deal with for 3 more years over there...

bluedevilsince72
04-18-2014, 09:37 AM
With her ego and legit talent, maybe she becomes 1st women to go pro and make $ playing in Europe?

"Hey, hey, look at me, look at me!"

This certainly helps Duke a lot. UNC was on the rise after 5-6 of mediocrity. Big name recruits are certainly going to have 2nd thoughts about going to UNC.

I think she couldn't stand Coach Calder just like every fan in the ACC has disliked him for the last 20 years. I don't think she wants to spend 1 more second around the guy.

awhom111
04-18-2014, 09:47 AM
With her ego and legit talent, maybe she becomes 1st women to go pro and make $ playing in Europe?

"Hey, hey, look at me, look at me!"

This certainly helps Duke a lot. UNC was on the rise after 5-6 of mediocrity. Big name recruits are certainly going to have 2nd thoughts about going to UNC.

I think she couldn't stand Coach Calder just like every fan in the ACC has disliked him for the last 20 years. I don't think she wants to spend 1 more second around the guy.

While it is rare, players have left college early for Europe before. The most notable example is Epiphanny Prince from Rutgers and she seemed to do pretty well for herself. Either way, if I am her next school, I would not expect more than two years out of her.

bluedevilallie
04-18-2014, 01:03 PM
I think there is a real possibility that she may end up at South Carolina. They have the #1 recruit coming in--perhaps if she is as egotistical as I have heard--she wants to be part of a dynamic duo.

Im glad shes leaving personally....:) don't want to listen to my UNC friends go on about how awesome she is for the light blue.......

CameronBornAndBred
04-18-2014, 01:12 PM
I think there is a real possibility that she may end up at South Carolina. They have the #1 recruit coming in--perhaps if she is as egotistical as I have heard--she wants to be part of a dynamic duo.

Im glad shes leaving personally....:) don't want to listen to my UNC friends go on about how awesome she is for the light blue.......
In her class, Diamond was #3, Allisha Gray was #7, Jessica Washington was #14, and Stephanie Mavunga was #23.

South Carolina has #1 A'ja Wilson and #7 Jaterie White, both of whom will play next year while Diamond sits on her butt. I don't see the logic of wanting to leave her stellar class for one that is less impressive, regardless of having the #1.
By the way, you can see the effect of Stafford-Odom no longer being on UNC's staff; they have squat for recruits coming in next year. Their highest rated is #52 Jamie Cherry.

Edit...don't mean to imply she won't be at SC, just that the logic of that explanation would not make much sense. (Dang, A'ja is tall!)

Gargoyle
04-19-2014, 10:38 PM
DeShields reportedly to transfer to TN.

http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/tennessee-done-deal-deshields/

FerryFor50
04-19-2014, 11:22 PM
On a side note, weird week for the Deshields family...

http://www.kens5.com/news/Ouch-Astros-prospect-tweets-photo-of-swollen-face-after-getting-hit-by-pitch-255881601.html

Here is a Turtle
04-19-2014, 11:42 PM
DeShields reportedly to transfer to TN.

http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/tennessee-done-deal-deshields/

That's an interesting choice. At least their egos will match.

sagegrouse
04-20-2014, 07:30 AM
That's an interesting choice. At least their egos will match.

Here's a paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Dad Delino, which shows his early hoops prowess:


Early life

DeShields was born in Seaford, Delaware and played for Seaford High School. DeShields was to attend Villanova University where he would have played point guard on the basketball team; however, after being selected as the 12th overall pick in the 1987 MLB draft, he chose a career in baseball.


Delino has been a manager in the Reds organization for the past four seasons -- now the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in AA. FWIW, Delino made $23 million in his major league career.

As shown in the above post Diamond's brother, Delino Jr., is in AA.

Looks to me that Diamond wanted a different situation than she found at UNC and, whether or not she consulted Pop DeShields, she was in a position to get advice from professional athletes in the family.


Sage Grouse
'Gee! Naming your daughter after your profession is an interesting idea. Do you think mine would have objected to Economista or Econometrica?'

BD80
04-20-2014, 07:39 AM
... Sage Grouse
'Gee! Naming your daughter after your profession is an interesting idea. Do you think mine would have objected to Economista or Econometrica?'

Well, as "Diamond" is emblematic of baseball, might I suggest "Bull Grouse?"

uh_no
04-20-2014, 10:55 AM
DeShields reportedly to transfer to TN.

http://chapelboro.com/sports/unc-sports/tennessee-done-deal-deshields/

so the tea cooper rumors seem to have held some water.

MCFinARL
04-21-2014, 11:58 AM
Here's a paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Dad Delino, which shows his early hoops prowess:



Delino has been a manager in the Reds organization for the past four seasons -- now the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in AA. FWIW, Delino made $23 million in his major league career.

As shown in the above post Diamond's brother, Delino Jr., is in AA.

Looks to me that Diamond wanted a different situation than she found at UNC and, whether or not she consulted Pop DeShields, she was in a position to get advice from professional athletes in the family.


Sage Grouse
'Gee! Naming your daughter after your profession is an interesting idea. Do you think mine would have objected to Economista or Econometrica?'

She might have liked those better than "Dismal Science." ;)

CameronBornAndBred
04-25-2014, 03:49 PM
DeShields has released a statement on her transfer. It doesn't say why she is leaving, but it seems it won't be an ugly exit. To her credit, she says she is not talking to other schools yet until she finishes out her exams and the school year.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/deshields-to-leave-unc-on-good-terms-/13592173/

CameronBornAndBred
06-13-2014, 08:57 AM
Her transfer to the Vols is now official. That works for me, I don't like them any less than I don't like the Tarheels, so I still get to smile every time she loses.

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/deshields-mother-ex-unc-star-to-join-lady-vols/13724430/

uh_no
06-13-2014, 11:06 AM
DeShields' choice of Tennessee comes one week after guard Te'a Cooper, a 2015 prospect from Powder Springs, Georgia, verbally committed to the LadY Vols. Cooper, who is friends with DeShields, had been committed to North Carolina before re-opening her recruitment last fall. Cooper is expected to sign with the Lady Vols in November.

twist: cooper decommitted from UNC becuase she didn't want to play with diamond, and diamond just won't leave her alone. verballing to the vols was a ploy to get diamond to go there, and cooper will actually commit to duke.