WBB Recruiting continued...

[mred]

Didn't feel like seeking out the old thread, so starting a new one.

Two interesting tweets regarding recruiting:

http://twitter.com/jtlinder

jtlinder
Coaches slated to attend LM-CRK girls: Stringer, Jolette Law (Illinois) and a Stanford assistant.

BenGouldsmith
Bill Fennelly, Lisa Bluder at Ames High-D.M. East girls game tonight. Likely recruiting/scouting East's Markisha Wright and Shronda Butts.

I was at the Linn-Mar @ Kennedy game, and Kiah Stokes and Jade Rogers were by far the best players on the court. Rogers is going to Iowa, so Rutgers, Illinois, and Stanford were all undoubtedly there for Stokes.

I haven't seen the East duo myself but I've heard good things about them. Hoopgurlz (ESPN) has them as the #18 post and #22 point guard in the 2011 class.

Markisha Wright - College Basketball Recruiting 2011 - ESPN

Sharonda Butts - College Basketball Recruiting 2011 - ESPN

 

[akaclone]

Great to hear that the talent in this state is bringing coaches from all over the country. ISU will get the ones we need.Gotta believe!!

 

[twistedredbird]

BF and Steyer did some recruiting in Colorado. Think the Colorado Rockies connection might be a good one(Anna). Steyer said she was in Ft. Collins, possibly looking at Kara Spotten. Not listed on hoopgurlz. BF and JS are at recruiting non-stop these days, do they ever sleep? Sounds like Steyer was on the west coast or down south again. Gotta think an Elite Eight appearance last year allows for recruiting from a broader pool of players this year.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan

 

[4cyt]

Case in point - From Coach Steyer's Twitter page posted at 3:30 am today

"18.5 hrs, 960 miles, some freezing rain- home sweet home! Game day- Beat KU!!"

 

[Cysister]

Per Bill, evidently in Arkansas

 

[mred]

Steyer in AR? Bill was reportedly there earlier in the season doing some recruiting (see here: ) so it must be serious.

 

[mred]

Steyer in AR? Bill was reportedly there earlier in the season doing some recruiting (see here: ) so it must be serious.

And I think that means time to revive the Arkansas guesses. :smile:

What do we know? 960 miles / 2 = 480 miles each way, roughly. The player she was recruiting played a game yesterday (1/19). She also played on 11/16 -- when BF was down there. I was guessing Fayetteville/Rogers based on BF's tweets in November. (EDIT: I had said 11/15, but I now realize it was 11/16)

Driving miles from Ames:

Rogers: 443
Fayetteville: 463

It has to be someone in or near that metro area. Quoting myself from that thread:

North Arkansas CC were the Region 2 NJCAA WBB champs in 08-09. They are in Harrison, AR.

JoBeth Williams was first-team all-american there last season as a freshman. She's a 5'9" Forward (at that height hopefully more of a wing than a post). She has 24 ppg in 6 games this season so far, including 16-30 behind the arc. Is she the target?

Harrison is 468 miles away. However, they did NOT play yesterday, so it isn't her. I'm confident she's the only juco possibility, so that narrows it down to highschoolers.

 

[Tornado man]

I haven't seen the East duo myself but I've heard good things about them. Hoopgurlz (ESPN) has them as the #18 post and #22 point guard in the 2011 class.

Markisha Wright - College Basketball Recruiting 2011 - ESPN

Sharonda Butts - College Basketball Recruiting 2011 - ESPN

As I posted earlier in another thread, I was at the game last night. Markisha Wright is quick inside and is extremely competitive, while Butts, although short, is physical and creates tons of chances for teammates. I hope both are offered. As I also mentioned, I'm sure BF and Bluder were also there to see Shaya Kellogg, who will ultimately be better than her older sister Kionna.
We need Greenfield and Wright, as they are in our backyard.

 

[mred]

I'm crazy...

I got a list of all the high school gbb teams in Arkansas. I whittled the list down to the 34 schools within 480 driving miles of Ames. Only one of those schools played on 11/16 but they didn't play on 1/19, so I made the assumption that BF's visit on 11/16 didn't actually coincide with a game. Steyer tweeted that she was going to a game, so I knew the target definitely played on 1/19. I was able to narrow down the list of teams to 25 that played a game 1/19 at one of those 34 schools.

I looked at the list of 08-09 AR all-state players. Of those, only 6 currently play for one of those 25 schools (2 juniors, 4 seniors). I decided to look into the juniors, and lo and behold...

Berna Nets More Scholarship Offers

Fayetteville guard Calli Berna isn’t ready to make a decision about where she’ll go to college in 2011.


But she now has two more options.


Iowa State and Oral Roberts have each extended scholarship offers to Berna over the past couple of days, becoming the latest Division-I schools to join the race to sign the explosive 5-foot-9 junior.

I win.

 

[mred]

I'll post more info on her as I find it, but here's a couple important facts:

1. Central Arkansas and Arkansas have offered her as well as Oral Roberts and ISU

2. Her first name is sometimes spelled "Calli" and sometimes "Callie" in articles, so google both.

 

[mred]

More links related to her:

WholeHogSports.com - Razorbacks offer scholarship to Fayetteville's Berna

Fayetteville junior point guard Calli Berna, right, drives past junior ...

Coaches Aid - Coaches Aid Arkansas Spotlights the Best Ballers of 2008-2009

 

[mred]

Berna photo gallery

Calli Berna Girls Basketball Pro Photos - Fayetteville High School 09-10 - MaxPreps

 

[mred]

Feature artile on Berna and a teammate on page 55 of this: VYPE - magazine

If you search for "Berna" in that magazine, you can find a few other mentions of her as well.

 

[gizzsdad]

I'm crazy...

Yes you are - but we are all the richer for your mental illness!:wink:

Thanks!

 

[Cytaki]

She looks like a Cyclone, go get her Bill!!

 

[twistedredbird]

MRED, you rule.

Do you have a spreadsheet going for possible recruits? Seems like the list is getting bigger and bigger.

BF did say it was going to be a big class.

 

[Frak]

Damn, does Bill have an eye for "talent". Year in, year out one of the hottest teams in WBB. This girl from AR would fit right in.

 

[johnsonjj]

MRED, you rule.

Do you have a spreadsheet going for possible recruits? Seems like the list is getting bigger and bigger.

BF did say it was going to be a big class.

+1

 

[Kitkat]

Gee, MRed, does the FBI or CIA know about your man-hunting or, in this case, woman-hunting skills? I am glad I am not a felon with you on my trail. Thanks for all the detective work!

 

[mred]

Virginia Johnson verbals Iowa: Virginia Johnson commits to Iowa | IowaPrepSports.com

She's one of the better players in the state, although being from Iowa City I don't know if ISU was ever considered. She says she chose Iowa over Rutgers.