Things have been a little quiet on the recruiting front, but technically we have a full roster already secured for next seaon. The COVID season makes the numbers a little hard to figure out. I may be off a bit, but reading the rules for extra years of eligibility and looking at seasons played this is what I came up with... Eligibility Remaining: 1 YR 2 YRS 3 YRS 4 YRS 21-22.............................22-23 1. Kiki Smith...............1. Kristina Moore 2. Kristina Moore.......2. Zippy Broughton 3. Zippy Broughton....3. Manu de Oliveira 4. Manu de Oliveira....4. Nina Rickards 5. Nina Rickards.........5. Faith Dut 6. Faith Dut.................6. Lavender Briggs 7. Lavender Briggs.....7. Brynn Farrell 8. Brynn Farrell...........8. Floor Toonders 9. Floor Toonders.......9. Jordyn Merritt 10. Jordyn Merritt......10. Jeriah Warren 11. Jeriah Warren......11. Taliyah Wyche 12. Taliyah Wyche......12. Tatyana Wyche 13. Tatyana Wyche....13. Alberte Rimdal 14. Alberte Rimdal.....14. Myka Perry 15. Open Slot.............15. Frieda Buhner 16. Open Slot** Known Offers and/or Visits for Class of '22: Kara Dunn 5'11 G #51 ESPN Flau'Jae Johnson 5'10 G. #55 ESPN Janiah Barker 6'2 F #2 ESPN Tonie Morgan 5'10 PG #23 ESPN Ruby Whitehorn 6'0 G #19 ESPN Darianna Littlepage-Buggs 6'1 W #24 ESPN Considering the number of offers on the table it's unlikely everyone (if any) uses the extra year of eligibility. Technically we could add 0-3 more players depending on how that breaks down, not counting any possible transfers out of the program. **Also worth noting the situation at Syracuse should it worsen and/or a change be made. We finished just behind Syracuse for the two Canadian girls who are both highly regarded '21 recruits. Might be something to keep an eye on...
Hey East, if you don't mind, what are your thoughts about the lady Gators potential for the upcoming season? Thank you in Advance.
I really like the roster. We should have very good guard play. We have depth in the post. The biggest question for me is how Faith, Floor, and Jordyn progress as well as how ready the twins are. I will be disappointed if we don't get to 20+ wins and and make the dance. That is my expectation for the talent level, at least. If the Post play makes a jump we could be surprisingly good.
Just a few bits I have come across... We had an official visit from Littlepage-Buggs this past weekend so we should be considered Top 5 for her I would imagine. Morgan, Barker, Dunn, and Johnson we are out of the running. Whitehorn I haven't seen any official lists other than knowing she has an offer... She is ELITE so I'd imagine the competition is stiff. Myka Perry seems to be solid in her commitment. No clue if Buhner is or not. I sadly don't expect much to fall our way given the coaching change/interim title. The good news is that we really have no room, so any we do get means someone is leaving and we likely upgrade a bit. I am sure there are other names we are looking at, but these were the biggest ones of which I knew.
yeah I know we stopped recruiting the Johnson girl after her unofficial visit because she seemed more interested in the new studio being built instead of basketball. She is a good player, but not one lose sleep over. Perry came on campus with Buggs and as long as the staff stays the same we will take Perry and we made a solid move for Buggs. She would be likely replacement for Lav. I was told Lav may leave to go pro after the year also even if staff stays. I didnt realize you could do that in the womens game. But honestly I dont keep up much with it after college
How many do you think we will take? Kiki is definitely gone. Zippy, Kristina, and Manu could be as well. If Lavender leaves too then we need several, but I don't see that happening this year. Love what Kelly is doing, but my biggest concern has been recruiting with an interim tag. Kind of wish they would have just given her the job or went ahead and made a wholesale change. Whatever happens we can lose out one year, but we cannot lose out two classes in a row. Hopefully Kelly has a big year (though it won't help all that much for the 22 class) and we can become an attractive transfer destination if several of the girls do decide to not take advantage of the extra year of eligibility... and if Lavender leaves then we definitely need to bring in some help to replace her.
Heard we are looking for at least 3, I have not heard that the German young lady is still committed. But I am sure they will give her a chance if she wants.
Janiah Barker went to UGA. Losing elite in state talent to Georgia is not a good thing. I don't mind losing them to the UConns, Baylors, and Carolinas of the world... but we should be able to land elite players in our state over UGA. This one will hurt us the next few years. GREAT ball player.
Very aggravating, should not happen on the regular, sure you can't get them all but you got to win a nice amount of these in-state elite battles for elite players.
we dont even know who our coach is going to be next year, we wont lose any bigs either. It was difficult from the start and UGA played it perfectly against us in this case.