2021-2022 WBB Team

[Cocky 45]

It happens. The #2 wide receiver in the country chose Mizzou over Bama.

College football recruiting: Luther Burden, No. 2 WR in 2022 class, commits to Missouri over Alabama, Georgia

Burden, a former Oklahoma commit, picked the Tigers over the two current SEC powers

www.cbssports.com

the playing time pitch is a strong one, some see loaded rosters and look elsewhere that is the logical explanation

 

[vacock#]

I'm not mad over a WBB recruit lol it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I get she wanted playing time right away and she wouldn't get that here

Sorry I have to disagree here, all the players can be rotated in and out depending on their performance.

 

[winloseortie]

This commitment really tweaks Tennessee fans. They are less concerned with catching us than holding off Georgia and LSU.

So right! Harper has lived on leftover talent and not landed a big fish of her own. Pissott, may qualify as such, but their talent cupboard is running low.

Joni and UGA have laid a foundation of their own that only lacked that one special player.

LSU will be bereft of talent next year unless Mulkey hits a grand slam in the portal. Gusters, the transfer, and two freshmen in 40s or 50s from the top 100 are all she has coming back for 22-23. To my knowledge they are in on no big names for this class. This is not going to be an easy or instant turnaround for Mulkey.

 

[DarkCock]

Sorry I have to disagree here, all the players can be rotated in and out depending on their performance.

I think the poster means a lot of playing time. Not just playing time. Like the 31 minutes per game Rhyne Howard averaged at Kentucky as a freshman. I'm not sure we'll have any player next season average 30 minutes a game.

 

[winloseortie]

I think the poster means a lot of playing time. Not just playing time. Like the 31 minutes per game Rhyne Howard averaged at Kentucky as a freshman. I'm not sure we'll have any player next season average 30 minutes a game.

Or from our team last year
Henny 34
Cooke 32
Boston 30
I expect all of them to average 27-30 this season. We had a thin bench last year especially for go to minutes

 

[winloseortie]

PAC 12 getting it done

2022 women's recruiting class rankings: Trio of Pac-12 teams lead the way

Six Pac-12 teams find themselves in the top 10 of the recruiting rankings in the Class of 2022. But which one starts at No. 1?

www.espn.com

 

[DarkCock]

PAC 12 getting it done

2022 women's recruiting class rankings: Trio of Pac-12 teams lead the way

Six Pac-12 teams find themselves in the top 10 of the recruiting rankings in the Class of 2022. But which one starts at No. 1?

www.espn.com

They are showing Watkins down to South Carolina and UNCarolina. They are still showing all of Cooper's schools, so I don't think ESPN is just being lazy. I feel like we missed some news about Watkins.

 

[vacock#]

I think the poster means a lot of playing time. Not just playing time. Like the 31 minutes per game Rhyne Howard averaged at Kentucky as a freshman. I'm not sure we'll have any player next season average 30 minutes a game.

I know but my point (which probably is not the same as CDS) is if we run enough, we can use all of our players and they will be happy to come out to get a breather. I have proposed 3 different squads that come in as a unit. We can run all but the top 10 teams off the court. Squad composition can can during the game. Do players really want 31 minutes per game since they play 30 games or so?

 

[winloseortie]

I know but my point (which probably is not the same as CDS) is if we run enough, we can use all of our players and they will be happy to come out to get a breather. I have proposed 3 different squads that come in as a unit. We can run all but the top 10 teams off the court. Squad composition can can during the game. Do players really want 31 minutes per game since they play 30 games or so?

Yes, players want to play 30 minutes a game.
Conditioning becomes the big factor, can they play 30mpg.
Last year Henny played 35 minutes a game and with her conditioning she could play even more if needed.
Aliyah played 30 mpg but at times was just gassed, UCONN(OT) and Stanford. She has lost 23 pounds this off season👏👏👏 and should be able to play more minutes and be even more effective

As to your idea about running 3 squads in and out, that is novelty marketing thinking and would not work. As deep as we are, a lineup of
Wesolek, Thompson, Littleton, Russell and Feagin is not a team I would want to see except in a rout.
Depth is not used to make wholesale changes just for fresh legs. It is used to exploit mismatches, give rest without losing scoring or defense.

It is used both systemically, Aliyah generally comes out with 3 or four minutes left in the first quarter so she gets an extended rest through the quarter time out. It is also used fluidly, unexpected foul trouble, a player for the opposition getting hot.

You want to create cohesion so that whoever is out there plays as a unit. Siloing players into separate unit won’t do that.

That said, at some point this season DS is going to be totally exasperated with the five on the court and just yell, “Everybody Out!” It will be done for shock value not to the opposition but to wake up her own players

 

[Conway Gamecock]

They are showing Watkins down to South Carolina and UNCarolina. They are still showing all of Cooper's schools, so I don't think ESPN is just being lazy. I feel like we missed some news about Watkins.

View embedded media

As for the twitter post that shows Watkins and Fulwiley, I think the "SC" comment is that both are South Carolina state products that represented the state well at the Morgan Wootten camp, than having anything to do with the University of South Carolina....

 

[Gamekem]

As for the twitter post that shows Watkins and Fulwiley, I think the "SC" comment is that both are South Carolina state products that represented the state well at the Morgan Wootten camp, than having anything to do with the University of South Carolina....

Yes I think this was just an innocent post referencing South Carolina pride along with fellow SC native and NBA great Jermaine O'Neal.

 

[Conway Gamecock]

The question with Boston’s weight loss, is will it allow her to play the 4 on D? If she can, well she cements her #1 pick status and the flexibility it would give us is stunning.

As to Cardoso, you severely over rate her passing ability. She is not a black hole, but her assist to turnover ratio is less than 1:1.
She is already a dominant college force, think Teiera McCowan, but can she become Britney Griner?

Boston's weight loss may impact her ability to take on physical banging - in the past, she was able to withstand the contact, and hold her ground. Now she may find she is moved from her position more than before.

But Boston will still be a good sized girl even with the weight loss. She has a naturally wide and physical frame - she's not naturally a slender build with narrow shoulders. Hopefully she added to her loss of weight a rigorous weight training regimen that improved her strength as well as her stamina. Boston has always been a girl that called the contact in the interior "fun" - she welcomed it. She's especially a strong rebounder and shot-blocker who will still have the great length and wingspan, and knows how to time her blocks of others' attempts with the best of them, so in that respect she'll still be a formidable presence in the paint.

And don't forget that we return in Saxton and Amihere two long players who have been among the top rebounders and shot-blockers on the team for the past 2-3 seasons. Also return Grissett who was adept at both, but will be out for a bit with her injury. Beal is also a capable rebounder and shot-blocker when she's not focusing on being in the opponent's top offensive player's hip pocket, and Henderson for her teeny tiny form factor is a pretty decent rebounder (around 5.0 rpg) for a PG.

And then we add 6-7 Cardoso and 6-3 Feagin to that list, and we should have no issues with defending the paint. We'll be able to rotate players in all game long like we did with Coates and Wilson backing up Ibiam and Welch, and just wear down opponents' post players.

I'm hoping for improved overall scoring defense, perimeter defense in the way of steals, improved scoring offense that comes with improved field goal %. Making layups. We should have another great chance of leading WCBB in shot-blocks per game - last season we finished tied at #1 with Syracuse at 7.0 bpg - the big reason Syracuse was up there is now on our team. In 19-20 we easily led WCBB with 8.6 bpg. In 18-19 we were 2nd at 6.4 bpg behind Baylor's 7.2 average.

I think we should work to improve on our rebounds per game average of last season: last season we were 4th overall, with 47.0 rpg. In 19-20 we finished 2nd behind Troy with 46.6 rpg. We should make a strong bid for leading the nation this coming season....

 

[DarkCock]

As for the twitter post that shows Watkins and Fulwiley, I think the "SC" comment is that both are South Carolina state products that represented the state well at the Morgan Wootten camp, than having anything to do with the University of South Carolina....

Yes, I realize that. Nevertheless, I think it's significant considering her other finalists are out of state schools. You can't be respresentin' South Carolina and then play for UNCarolina. You just can't.

 

[DarkCock]

I know but my point (which probably is not the same as CDS) is if we run enough, we can use all of our players and they will be happy to come out to get a breather. I have proposed 3 different squads that come in as a unit. We can run all but the top 10 teams off the court. Squad composition can can during the game. Do players really want 31 minutes per game since they play 30 games or so?

I feel like to answer your question I would have to make a case against coming to USC, which is hard for me to do. Let me just say if a player feels she can start for a school that she really likes right away, I could see how that would be attractive.

 

[Gamekem]

Looks like Cooper is making her commitment today

 

[winloseortie]

Looks like Cooper is making her commitment today

Fingers crossed. Got a time?

 

[Forever Fowl]

Running the court is always difficult for bigs. Hopefully those 23 lbs Boston dropped will make it easier for her.

 

[Gamekem]

Fingers crossed. Got a time?

I can't really tell because I can't find a live countdown and I'm not really an Instagram user to figure it out. But here's the link.

Watch this story by Talaysia Cooper🤩 on Instagram before it disappears.

6,174 Followers, 1,738 Following, 15 Posts

instagram.com

Actually after doing some math it appears to be a midnight countdown. So maybe she's doing what Barker did and has the countdown for the day and she actually commiting some time tomorrow.

 

[dhancock]

Running the court is always difficult for bigs. Hopefully those 23 lbs Boston dropped will make it easier for her.

Since no birdie in the nest post by Dawn on her twiitter, if Cooper is announcing today, may not be us.

 

[Gamekem]

Since no birdie in the nest post by Dawn on her twiitter, if Cooper is announcing today, may not be us.

We still have an unclaimed birdie from a while back.

 

[winloseortie]

Boston's weight loss may impact her ability to take on physical banging - in the past, she was able to withstand the contact, and hold her ground. Now she may find she is moved from her position more than before.

But Boston will still be a good sized girl even with the weight loss. She has a naturally wide and physical frame - she's not naturally a slender build with narrow shoulders. Hopefully she added to her loss of weight a rigorous weight training regimen that improved her strength as well as her stamina. Boston has always been a girl that called the contact in the interior "fun" - she welcomed it. She's especially a strong rebounder and shot-blocker who will still have the great length and wingspan, and knows how to time her blocks of others' attempts with the best of them, so in that respect she'll still be a formidable presence in the paint.

And don't forget that we return in Saxton and Amihere two long players who have been among the top rebounders and shot-blockers on the team for the past 2-3 seasons. Also return Grissett who was adept at both, but will be out for a bit with her injury. Beal is also a capable rebounder and shot-blocker when she's not focusing on being in the opponent's top offensive player's hip pocket, and Henderson for her teeny tiny form factor is a pretty decent rebounder (around 5.0 rpg) for a PG.

And then we add 6-7 Cardoso and 6-3 Feagin to that list, and we should have no issues with defending the paint. We'll be able to rotate players in all game long like we did with Coates and Wilson backing up Ibiam and Welch, and just wear down opponents' post players.

I'm hoping for improved overall scoring defense, perimeter defense in the way of steals, improved scoring offense that comes with improved field goal %. Making layups. We should have another great chance of leading WCBB in shot-blocks per game - last season we finished tied at #1 with Syracuse at 7.0 bpg - the big reason Syracuse was up there is now on our team. In 19-20 we easily led WCBB with 8.6 bpg. In 18-19 we were 2nd at 6.4 bpg behind Baylor's 7.2 average.

I think we should work to improve on our rebounds per game average of last season: last season we were 4th overall, with 47.0 rpg. In 19-20 we finished 2nd behind Troy with 46.6 rpg. We should make a strong bid for leading the nation this coming season....

Lot to gnaw on in your post, thanks.
Couple of scattershot responses

I really don’t foresee Lele returning until conference play maybe even tournament play.

In rebounding the key stats are not number of rebounds, style and pace of play can skew that stat. Look at rebound margin #2 and offensive rebounds #4
We have been outrebounded precisely once in the last 2 year.A&M did so in 19-20, 46-45 we won the game. Last year UT tied us in rebounds when they defeated us. So in the last 64 games 62-1-1 in the rebounding battle

In Scoring defense, I believe that most important stat is opponent shooting % We were #28 with 36.4% cut that to 34.4% and we are in the top 10

The glaring and unacceptable stat is turnovers. We had more turnovers than assists 436-400 for an A-T ratio of .92 which was #108 in the country
We were #69 in turnovers per game and #186 in turnovers forced.
This was a team effort

Amihere 71 TOs 29 assists
Cooke 78 and 62
Saxton 39 and 14
Russell 15 and 7

203 TOs 112 assists
And add in
Cardoso 42 and 16

 

[Gamekem]

 

[DarkCock]

I can't really tell because I can't find a live countdown and I'm not really an Instagram user to figure it out. But here's the link.

Watch this story by Talaysia Cooper🤩 on Instagram before it disappears.

6,174 Followers, 1,738 Following, 15 Posts

instagram.com

Actually after doing some math it appears to be a midnight countdown. So maybe she's doing what Barker did and has the countdown for the day and she actually commiting some time tomorrow.

She retweeted Barker's commitment, so it could be another midnight train to Georgia. I haven't looked at the Georgia's coaches social media to see if she's hinting at anything.

 

[Gamekem]

She retweeted Barker's commitment, so it could be another midnight train to Georgia. I haven't looked at the Georgia's coaches social media to see if she's hinting at anything.

I'm not sure if that means much, many times they are just showing support of their friends achievements. Joni Taylor hadn't said anything on her page, but if she pulls Cooper off as well she is really going to elevate their program and I'm sure Tennessee will literally lose it.

 

[GarnetGhost]

I can't really tell because I can't find a live countdown and I'm not really an Instagram user to figure it out. But here's the link.

Watch this story by Talaysia Cooper🤩 on Instagram before it disappears.

6,174 Followers, 1,738 Following, 15 Posts

instagram.com

Actually after doing some math it appears to be a midnight countdown. So maybe she's doing what Barker did and has the countdown for the day and she actually commiting some time tomorrow.

Volnation seems to think the announcement will be noon Saturday.

 

[DarkCock]

I'm not sure if that means much, many times they are just showing support of their friends achievements. Joni Taylor hadn't said anything on her page, but if she pulls Cooper off as well she is really going to elevate their program and I'm sure Tennessee will literally lose it.

Yeah, I can't find any confirmation she has visited UGA yet. That would be odd if she committed without a visit. I know she went to UT and I saw some pics with Carolina players and Coach Staley.

Edit: Nevermind. Looks like she visited UGA on the weekend of the 9th-10th.

 

[Gamekem]

 

[winloseortie]

Hmmmmm

 

[TN-Gamecock]

Since there are 2 birdies in the nest...would it be safe to say it's Watkins and Cooper?

IMO Watkins is the must get!!!!

 

[Cocky 45]

Since there are 2 birdies in the nest...would it be safe to say it's Watkins and Cooper?

IMO Watkins is the must get!!!!

would be great to keep those two talents home in SC

 

[Gamekem]

So Cooper is set to announce at 3pm and apparently it will at least be live streamed on the WMBF news Facebook page, possibly other places such as Instagram as well.

 

[winloseortie]

Gamecocks!!!!

 

[DarkCock]

Gamecocks!!!!

🙌

 

[Gamekem]

Gamecocks!!!!

I'm not going to lie she had me scared for a second prior to the curtain opening

 

[winloseortie]

I'm not going to lie she had me scared for a second prior to the curtain opening

Me too! Dad looked pissed until the curtain came uo

 

[Gamekem]

Me too!

Yeah the dad looked mad and she appeared to be scared to disappoint an obvious pro Gamecock crowd but in hindsight she could just be a little shy. But thankfully she's a Gamecock.

 

[DarkCock]

Since there are 2 birdies in the nest...would it be safe to say it's Watkins and Cooper?

IMO Watkins is the must get!!!!

The two players we are losing next year (not counting Lele) are a point guard and a power forward. It just so happens that Cooper and Watkins are a point guard and power forward. Both from SC as well. Just a really nice fit.

 

[DarkCock]

 

[Gamekem]

Glad everyone seems happy in the end. I thought we was going to have a situation like this.

 

[DarkCock]

I suspect Watkins has been waiting until the end of her volleyball season to make her announcement. Cardinal Newman season ends next week (#1 team in the state, btw).