I love Nicki, but recruiting has been bad lately. No excuse. Transfers have been good. Coaching has been good. Tell it like it is.

All of CNC recruits were ESPN top 100.

Recruiting high school players has not been good. Were fortunate that we scored two great players a few years ago, but last cycle didn't yield any production amongst a class of elite freshman, many of whom contributed a llt for their programs.

While we can acknowledge that CNC has had a lot to overcome in her first few years in regard to recruiting, that excuse doesn't exist forever. She's going into year four. She should have the relationships established now as these girls were freshman when she took over the program. We've been in the top five or eight for many elite players. Time to seal the deal on some of these and get them in the green and gold.

chorne68 said:

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I love Nicki, but recruiting has been bad lately. No excuse. Transfers have been good. Coaching has been good. Tell it like it is.

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Actually the HS recruiting the two years before KM left weren't all that great either. Looking at the 2019-20 roster the only freshman was Jordan Oliver who never really contributed or was not allowed to contribute. Then for the 2020-21 season you see only Sarah and Gusters. I think we all could agree that Gusters didn't show much while here. Sarah was also somewhat muted as she was not given quality playing time during the season to be able to be prepared to come in for a fallen Didi. If she had, we might have won another NC in 2021. For the 2021-22 season we only had the girl from Arkansas and it was reported here by some that she was having second thoughts and wanting to get out of her NLI even before KM left.

We had been relying on transfers which somewhat held back the development of the freshman we did get and did not leave holes for others or perhaps discouraged others from signing on because they saw that those who did were not provided an opportunity because a transfer was constantly coming in to fill what holes there might have been for them.

Bottom line, our HS recruiting after the Smith class was no where near the level it had been in years before. Now, some of that could have been because people were transferring more or it was easier to do so. But you would have to ask KM why the apparent result when seen on the court or bench that there were transfers on the roster instead of several freshmen. Could we not get the HS recruits to sign with us, was it easier to get transfers (less recruiting effort), or were the players from HS we needed just not there?

Even despite our successes prior to 2019, we were missing out on players. Sorry, I don't remember her name, but we missed out on the Texas girl that did so well at ND. KM also could not get Van Lith to come here. All of this was before NIL and easy transfers. These are two examples. Other examples were common discussions on this board or BaylorFans. Was it that these recruits did not want to play for KM or just didn't want to come to Baylor, the school? Perhaps in the case of Van Lith it was just that she didn't want to come to Baylor since she eventually joined KM at LSU. But that could have been because of the money. She certainly had the opportunity to play for KM at Baylor, but said no and went to Louisville instead.

I don't think we have seen yet what CNC can do concerning HS recruiting. With how the roster was left after April 2021 we needed help quickly, and to some extent still do (an effective big). We couldn't wait 2 or more years for HS recruits to adjust to the college game. Also any pipeline that we did have with KM as coach got blown up with her departure, leaving NC to basically start all over building one. At this point NC has a record at Baylor she can sell to recruits. That did not exist the first couple of years she was here and it should be completely given that HS recruits are not going to flock to an unproven coach who follows a legend until they see how it works out. That is proven by history at several well-known programs in recent years where things took time, even years in some cases to get back to where they were. I am more optimistic than concerned at this point concerning Nicki's ability to recruit out of HS.

Getting to the Sweet 16 this year and almost beating a 1 seed should help some.

I thought a national program would recruit the best players regardless of their state of residence. Are all Gamecocks from South Carolina? Does Geno limit himself only to Connecticut players? To say Texas has lacked talent is a mute argument. We have to see the nation, no, all nations as our recruiting base. Bring the international players too!

fredbear said:

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I thought a national program would recruit the best players regardless of their state of residence. Are all Gamecocks from South Carolina? Does Geno limit himself only to Connecticut players? To say Texas has lacked talent is a mute argument. We have to see the nation, no, all nations as our recruiting base. Bring the international players too!

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Don't feed the troll. We hold people accountable on this side. The pay side is nothing but snow cones, and pat-on-the-backs

AP

Bu is not just a top 10 program. Name the number of schools with 3 wbb nattys, and Tennessee recruiting has removed them from the now shorter list. South Carolina does not have 3.

So yes, my expectations of NC are the same as for KM. NC now has the greater advantage of a brand new field house, locker room, etc. Recruit whomever from wherever to bring the rings to Waco. Do you think Scott Drew with one natty and a couple of elite eights sets his sights on Texas recruiting alone?

Let's just say we clearly have different expectations for BU wbb recruiting. I like mine better. No excuses. Bring in the best to win. Geno has been remarkable at bringing players to a place few would naturally gravitate, And, when he retires, expect the Tenn fall even faster. The sky is the limit and NC is the right person at the right time. Raise the bar. Support her recruiting rather than placing a ceiling or making excuses.

We need top 30 recruits.

I have noticed they are all following a girl that plays for the Spain National Team. I want to say her name Is Awa Fam. She is a post player and is ALOTTTT LIKE QUEEN.

Awa Fam Thiam is an athletic [good but not great athlete] who actually finishes around the basket. And with both hands [finishes with left hand on left side and right hand on right side…..a big deal].

A 1 In 4 Out post. Not going to Pick & Pop [she is a rim roller but can shoot short jumpers].
With Vasconcelos adds much needed rim protection.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Awa Fam Thiam is an athletic [good but not great athlete] who actually finishes around the basket. And with both hands [finishes with left hand on left side and right hand on right side…..a big deal].

A 1 In 4 Out post. Not going to Pick & Pop [she is a rim roller but can shoot short jumpers].
With Vasconcelos adds much needed rim protection.

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Sign her immediately! Great size. Moves off the ball really well and has great hands. and that touch is sweet. reminds me of Sophia young...

Bella was actually a top 10 until she decided to lay of summer ball then she dropped. But yes there are some lesser ranked players that turn out to be real good.