Duke WBB Recruiting

[GopherBlue]

Congrats to the women on a hard fought win over BC last night!

I'm interested in a status update for WBB recruiting - it seems to be fairly quiet on the recruiting front since the arrival of Coach P.

We should only lose a couple to graduation this year (Emily W and Wanisha), but we are only a year removed from some fairly sizable holes to fill (Chante, Carrem, Abby, Brittany).

Has Coach P received any commitments since arriving on campus? Any names to keep an eye on? It seems that Coach P and her staff should be fairly active in recruiting at this point.

[bludev03]

Here's my take on the 08 Class:

You can pretty much give the NC for this year and the next 4-5 years to either UConn or Tenn. When #2 Glory Johnson signed w/ her hometown Lady Vols, that pretty much sealed the deal; nobody else in the country will have the horses to compete with them. UConn has signed 3 top 11 players, including #1 Elena Delle Donne, who is 6'5" 190 and can play all 5 positions (think a taller and thicker Candace Parker, w/ handles like a pg and can shoot the lights out from 3 point range). Next year, UConn will have the high school NPOY from '06,'07,and '08 (Tina Charles, Maya Moore, EDD).

Tenn has signed 5 top 20 players, including 3 in the top 8. They have signed back-to-back #1 classes.

Now to Duke. Duke has signed #13 pg Shay Shelby (who verballed to G) , #21 6'2" Kathleen Scheer, and #61 pg Chelsea Hopkins. However, Duke missed THE recruit that was a must-have (imho) and that was 6'2" Nneka Ogwumike of Texas who signed w/ Stanford.

How did Duke do compared with her peers? Well, UConn signed 3 top 11 players, Tenn signed 5 top 20 players, LSU signed the #12,#14, and #17 players, and Rutgers signed two top 10 players, plus the #26 and #27.

Personally, I think Duke struck out big time in this class....

[GopherBlue]

Duke has signed #13 pg Shay Shelby (who verballed to G) , #21 6'2" Kathleen Scheer, and #61 pg Chelsea Hopkins. However, Duke missed THE recruit that was a must-have (imho) and that was 6'2" Nneka Ogwumike of Texas who signed w/ Stanford.

Did these 3 commit to Coach P or Coach G?

[bludev03]

Shelby to G (i think she verballed as a soph); Scheer and Hopkins to P.

http://www.hoopgurlz.com/story/duke-scores-pair

[JG Nothing]

Coach G has the reputation for being a tireless and excellent recruiter. Coach P, according to some accounts, has not put as much effort into recruiting in the past. If we are going to remain a perennial top five team, I think P is going to have to recruit at an elite level. The next several recruiting classes will be very telling for the future of Duke women's basketball. I certainly became spoiled by all of G's success over the past eight years or so. It was a phenomenal run even without a national championship. To expect a repeat performance under P might be unrealistic, particularly in the immediate future. Hopefully, Duke will return to national prominence under P, but I am worried that we may settle into being a very good, but not elite program. The latter is always a concern when there are major transitions in leadership. It is certainly an issue we will have to face when K retires.


Here's my take on the 08 Class:

You can pretty much give the NC for this year and the next 4-5 years to either UConn or Tenn. When #2 Glory Johnson signed w/ her hometown Lady Vols, that pretty much sealed the deal; nobody else in the country will have the horses to compete with them. UConn has signed 3 top 11 players, including #1 Elena Delle Donne, who is 6'5" 190 and can play all 5 positions (think a taller and thicker Candace Parker, w/ handles like a pg and can shoot the lights out from 3 point range). Next year, UConn will have the high school NPOY from '06,'07,and '08 (Tina Charles, Maya Moore, EDD).

Tenn has signed 5 top 20 players, including 3 in the top 8. They have signed back-to-back #1 classes.

Now to Duke. Duke has signed #13 pg Shay Shelby (who verballed to G) , #21 6'2" Kathleen Scheer, and #61 pg Chelsea Hopkins. However, Duke missed THE recruit that was a must-have (imho) and that was 6'2" Nneka Ogwumike of Texas who signed w/ Stanford.

How did Duke do compared with her peers? Well, UConn signed 3 top 11 players, Tenn signed 5 top 20 players, LSU signed the #12,#14, and #17 players, and Rutgers signed two top 10 players, plus the #26 and #27.

Personally, I think Duke struck out big time in this class....

[Mike Corey]

Coach McCallie has not hesitated to state that recruiting is not her cup of tea. She prefers her assistants to head up recruiting efforts.

In May '07, McCallie said the following:


“Recruiting-wise, [the assistant coaches are] completely in charge of the organizational structure. I advise them, of course. But they’re the head coaches of recruiting, and they’re really working at it daily and wanting me to play my role. So in recruiting we switch hats a little bit.”


“I obviously have a family and a life, and like to have a balanced life as much as I can. But when the student-athletes are on campus, or sitting in their homes, I absolutely love recruiting. When I’m on the phone, I make the best of that. But the ridiculous text message, out-of-control-e-mails or out-of-control-phone calls, to me that part of it, it’s okay. But I like the inter-personal part; I like the natural part of getting to know people in person.”

[bludev03]

Here are a few more reasons why she pulled a stinker w/ this class:

1. She failed to recruit the post player(s) that she wants for her system. She obviously wants to pound the ball in the paint and score from the inside-out. None of the current post are that type of post. Instead, she signed a class with three guards.

2. We hope not, but you have to consider that some on the current roster may transfer. It could be guards, it could be wings, it could be posts. If any of the current players leave, it could put Duke in a sticky situation next year.

3. Wanisha is probably the most undervalued player on the team. She's a big strong guard, who can create her own shot, run the 1,2,and 3, and can pass. With her leaving next year, Duke will not have that type of player. She needed to recruit an Alana Beard, Monique Currie type of player who can get you 20-25 points on any given night, and who has the complete scoring arsenal (can create her own shot, score in transition, pass, hit the midrange, can post up, shoot the three, score 1on1, 1on2, 1on3). Abby is a good offensive player, but that's not her game.

4. All of the pg/ballhandlers will be small (JT 5'9", Shelby 5'9", Hopkins 5'6"). You need the big ballhandlers that's in the 5'11"-6'1" range, who can pass over the defense, can elevate over defenders for their shot, and can post up.

Next year and the years beyond, here's how I see the country stacking up:

The Elite: UConn and Tenn (head and shoulders above everybody else)

Next Group: Rutgers, UNC, LSU (on a special night where everything is going right for these teams, and everything is going wrong for UConn/Tenn, plus home court, scheduling, and officiating factors, these teams could pull an upset of UConn and Tenn. But in a 10 game series, UConn/Tenn would probably win at least 8)

Next Group: Stanford, Baylor, Maryland

Then everybody else (including Duke). Again this is based on current team and class signings. Bottom line, Duke has a LOT of ground to make up in '09 and '10....

[JG Nothing]

Thanks for posting the quotes. Given that recruiting is the life-blood of any elite college basketball program, I hope McCallie learns to develop more of a taste for it.


Coach McCallie has not hesitated to state that recruiting is not her cup of tea. She prefers her assistants to head up recruiting efforts.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Thanks for posting the quotes. Given that recruiting is the life-blood of any elite college basketball program, I hope McCallie learns to develop more of a taste for it.

She will have to or her time at Duke will be relatively short.

[yancem]

She will have to or her time at Duke will be relatively short.

If she is not gun ho about recruiting I hope that her assistants a) are and b) are excellent talent evaluators. All in all not very encouraging :(

[bludev03]

G worked her rear end off recruiting. She managed to land HS NPOY Brittney Hunter and HS NPOY Abby Waner. She also came close to landing Candace Parker (Tenn and Duke were her finalists), Nicole Powell (Stanford and Duke), Tasha Humphries (Georgia and Duke), and HS NPOY Nicole Wolffe (UConn and Duke...well, G picked Caitlin Howe over Nicole). She also managed to bring Seimone Augustus on campus for an official.

G pretty much went exclusively after the top 15 players....