We have four players coming in. One is a project at best. From what I've been able to figure out we, at best, can expect (or hope) 1 or 2 of them to contribute. Should upgrade the athleticism of the team quite a bit, but scoring will still be a major concern.
First, have you seen this "project" play?
project....people said Pop was a project too and a recruiting miss by BF. project? you mean someone who backed out of an offer from another top 25 team?
Right now, to compete in the Big 12 we need better athletes. BF and company are some of the best coaches to teach skills. We of course need shooters, but if we don't want to quickly fall to the cellar of the Big 12 going forward, we need athletes. The days of recruiting finesse players needs to be behind us if we want to move forward.
I for one think the best recruiting class we have ever gotten is setting foot on campus this year. I applaud BF for stepping up his game and hitting Texas hard.
Part of the reason we lost yesterday is that we are in a team of transition. Marist yesterday looked like we used to several years ago, but that Marist team was exhausted by the end of the game, and we were clearly in better physical condition. Marist is great team for what they are, but that team would be fodder in the Big East, SEC, or Big 12 playing an unrelenting schedule. Just as we have seen our finesse players pushed around over the last few years. We have just lucked out we had some tough players, like Niz, Aus, and Ezell, and enough luck to hit threes in big games.
We need physical players. That is where the big league teams are headed. If we want a final four, we need athletes first. A lot less of the physical play is being called fouls in the Women's game. That's a discussion for another thread. BF sees this, and has shared this. Pop, Hallie, Jess, and to some extent Anna are steps in the right direction. This incoming class is adding to that.
Along with athletes, we need at least one player that can take someone off the dribble and shoot the three. Right now, Mansfield can do that to some extent. Jess is quicker, but needs to just keep taking shots. I have high hopes for Moody and Williamson to bring that penetration we need from our guards. That athleticism will also add a great deal to our defense as well because our dribble penetration defense is the worst in the Big 12.
We have certainly had our misses with our recruiting lately, but the issue with those misses have been mostly because they were not physical or tough enough for this league, not the reverse.
Would Williams have helped us this year. Possibly. But she is better suited for a high-level mid major team like Marist or TCU.
Our next incoming class is off to a great start with the Kidd as well.