Top 5 NCAA Players by Position

from ESPN, provided by Mark Thomas

Popularity: 24%

2010 Women’s Basketball Signing Day

It’s here!  Fall Signing Day for the 2010 Women’s Basketball Recruiting Class!  Seems like the 2010 Class was done so long ago.  Most schools have had the 2010 class completed for over a year and have been working away on the 2011 and 2012 classes.  Once you get ahead… stay ahead!

Many think this is not as strong a class as some in the past.  True, there may not be a plethora of studs… but there are many, many good players that will help teams across the country.

The formula I used is not that scientific.

ABR Top Ten Formula: Assigned point values for each prospect signed, added by total number of signees, then divide out the number for an average so the smaller classes aren’t over-looked.  In the event of a tie – I let them be ties.

A great job of recruiting, evaluating and signing by this group of coaches, their staff’s and of course the players on each of the teams who hosted these prospects on their visits.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

Here it is, my final rankings for the 2010 Women’s Basketball Recruiting Class:

1. DUKE: (5)                                                                                        ABR:  44 / 8.8

2T. CONNECTICUT: (5)                                                                  ABR:  43 / 8.6

2T. MARYLAND: (5)                                                                       ABR:  43 / 8.6

4T. GEORGIA: (2)                                                                               ABR:  17 / 8.5

*Khaalidah Miller (verbal) is not yet listed as signed.  Her #10 ranking will move Georgia to the #2 overall class:  ABR: 26/8.67.

4T. STANFORD: (2)                                                                         ABR:  17 / 8.5

6T. LOUISVILLE: (5)                                                                     ABR:  40 / 8.0

6T. PENN STATE: (2)                                                                     ABR:  16 / 8.0

*Ariel Edwards (verbal) is not yet listed as signed.  Her #11 ranking will not change PSU’s overall ranking.  ABR:  24/8.0

8. FLORIDA STATE: (4)                                                               ABR:  30 / 7.5

9. BOSTON COLLEGE: (4)                                                          ABR:  26 / 6.5

10. OKLAHOMA: (5)                                                                     ABR:  26 / 5.2

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AllBasketballReview’s Women’s Basketball Preseason Top 25

1. Connecticut

2. Stanford

3. North Carolina

3. Ohio State

5. Notre Dame

6. Duke

7. Baylor

8. Tennessee

9. Xavier

10. Michigan State

11. Oklahoma

12. Virginia

14. Arizona State

15. Rutgers

16. Florida State

17. LSU

18. DePaul

19. Georgia Tech

20. Texas

21. Vanderbilt

22. Middle Tennessee

23. San Diego State

24. South Dakota State

25. Florida

*Details – Continue

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Popularity: 27%

College Stars run from Fans, Cameras

Every member of a coaching staff, no matter the sport,  will tell you one of the most unsettling feelings is being presented with the Monday morning Facebook photos.  Student-athletes are becoming more and more savvy, they “lock” their photo’s so we (coaches) can’t get to them.  That doesn’t mean that no one can get to them.  Unfortunately, it hasn’t changed the behavior just made obtaining the photos more difficult.  We all have to work harder to instill the trust and values to improve the decision making of the student-athlete first and  help keep our student-athletes safer.

Let’s realize this… college kids to to parties.  All of them.  Athletes are no different.  Even the most dedicated of athletes still go.  It’s fun, it’s social, it’s their friends, classmates and peers.  Drinking or no drinking, your student-athletes are going to be at parties and potentially in the wrong place at the wrong time at some point during their collegiate career.   Athletes at parties is nothing new.  What is new is the technology.  Technology has put every intoxicated or high athlete on the front page of newspapers and all over the internet.  We all saw Michael Phelps.

As coaches, we are going to need to be prepared to help our student-athletes through this.  Helping them through it is the key, especially with female athletes.  It can not simply be about discipline.  Though discipline, responsibility and accountability are necessary, discipline is after the fact.  Discipline is a reaction.  We need to be proactive, help educate before they are in these situations.  Empower our student-athletes to make better decisions.  Hopefully, avoid as many situations as possible.

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Popularity: 11%

Lindy’s honors Monica Wright of Virginia

Monica Wright – First Team All-American.  Nothing new there.  She’s been an All-American everyday I have known her.  Congratulations Moni!

The nation is taking notice of what Virginia and ACC women’s basketball fans have known for years. Monica Wright, a senior guard at Virginia, was named a preseason All-American by Lindy’s College Basketball.  Working three years with Monica, this is no surprise.  Monica is a tremendous talent, dedicated and you have to beg her to take time off.  Humble?, she carries herself as though she is the 12th person on the roster.  Respectful?, always.  She is never out of line.  Student?, Moni is a dedicated and hardworking student.  Monica is as much an All-American off the court as she is on.

In addition to Wright’s honor, the Cavaliers were ranked 11th in the magazine’s preseason poll.  With Wright, the returning core and the nation’s #5 ranked recruiting class, this season has the makings of one of the finest in the storied history of the program.

A candidate for the prestigious Wooden Award and the Wade Trophy, Wright was the top scorer last year in the ACC after averaging 20.5 points per contest.  

Last year, Wright set the Virginia single-season scoring record, dropping 696 points. For her production, Wright was an all-ACC selection and drew honorable mention Associated Press All-American honors.

One WNBA general managers I spoke with indicated that Wright is the best player in the 2010 draft and potentially could be even better in the WNBA’s wide open offensive schemes.  

Entering the upcoming season, Wright trails former great Dawn Staley by 329 points to become the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Wright was in pretty good company on the first team, which included Stanford center Jayne Appel, UConn center Tina Charles, UConn forward Maya Moore and Oklahoma guard Danielle Robinson.

Virginia, which went 24-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, will open its season Nov. 10 at UMBC.

Popularity: 10%