On Women's Basketball

Recruiting, March Madness and more tidbits

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Thursday, February 26, 2009 7:41 AM

Plenty of stuff filling the notebook these days:

--Prospective UI recruit Kelsey Bone of Sugar Land, Texas, is headed toward a Friday showdown against fellow Houston-area center Brittney Griner in the playoffs.

If you're unfamiliar, here's the back story. The 6-foot-4 Bone is ranked No.1 nationally by one service, Blue Star Basketball, while the 6-8 Griner is No. 1 according to ESPN HoopGurlz and All-Star Girls Report.

Griner, who averages 26.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and eight blocks, has signed with Baylor. Bone, who averages 19.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, is undecided but has Illinois among her final four schools.

Bone's Dulles team is ranked fifth nationally by USA Today. Griner's Nimitz team is ranked 23rd.

Griner is often mentioned these days as a player who could revolutionize women's basketball. One reason: She dunks with regularity. And we're not talking about those Candace Parker, sneak-the-ball-over-the-rim dunks. Griner doesn't need a run-up. Here are some good examples of Griner dunking, courtesy of YouTube.

When the teams met in the regular season, Dulles won 64-63. In that Nov. 22 game, Bone had 18 points and seven rebounds. Griner had 24 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks.

Here are video highlights, including an interview with Bone, of her team's win on Tuesday night.

I'll have more on the Bone-Griner situation in Friday's blog. Had conversations recently with a couple of recruiting experts about both players that you'll find interesting.

--More on Bone: She's one of five finalists for the Naismith High School Player of the Year Award, joining Griner, Sklar Diggins of South Bend, Ind., Monique Oliver of Long Beach, Calif., and Cokie Reed of Waco, Texas.

--Still more on Bone: An Illinois fan from Monticello recently drove to Texas to see Bone play.

The gentleman, a retired teacher, had read about Bone in The News-Gazette and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so he hopped in his car and drove to Sugar Land.

He was reading the N-G article in the stands at Bone's game when Kelsey's mom approached and introduced herself. When he told her that he had just driven 1,000 miles just to see her daughter play, she was blown away.

The fan raved about his trip, the nice folks in Sugar Land and Bone's family, many of which he met at two of Bone's games. He said Bone's mother raved about the UI campus.

--I covered the Urbana girls' game against Decatur MacArthur in the Lincoln Sectional on Tuesday night, and when I walked into the gym one of the first people I spotted was UI assistant coach Patrick Klein, sitting front and center on Row 1.

I don't know who Klein was watching -- coaches can't comment on unsigned players -- but it's reasonable to assume he was there to see (or be seen by) Zahna Medley, a freshman guard for Springfield, which played the second game against Bloomington.

Medley is 5-foot-6, athletic and, though she's the first sub off the bench, probably the best player for a 27-3 team that should reach the Class 3A state tournament. I only watched for a quarter before I had to leave, but I was impressed. In three years, Medley figures as one of the top seniors in the state.

--Seeing Klein on Tuesday night -- after I'd seen him at practice on Tuesday morning -- only reinforced a point that shouldn't be overlooked. The UI's switch to morning practices (6:30-9:30) in the second semester really frees up the coaching staff to go recruiting at night.

Klein was in the gym at 6 p.m. for the Urbana-MacArthur tipoff. Had the Illini been practicing in the afternoon, there's no way he could have been at Lincoln at 6 p.m. unless he skipped practice, which isn't terribly unusual at this time of year for assistant coaches. Sometimes, they miss practice. But this way, he didn't have to.

Jolette Law went to Chicago on Tuesday night to see Kersten Magrum's team lose a heartbreaker to T.F. North in the sectional. Which brings up another point: Can you imagine how long the days are for Law and Klein and Tamika Louis and Karen Middleton?

Imagine their days: Practice at 6:30 a.m. Spend the day in the office, working on the next day's practice, reviewing film, breaking down opponents and everything else involved with daily life as a college basketball coach. Then, drive to a game in, say, Chicago. Magrum's game started at approximately 8 p.m. in Chicago, so there's no way Law was back in Champaign before midnight. And then she had practice today at 6:30 a.m.

Sleep? Forget about it.

--If you want to see UI star recruit Destiny Williams play, you have two prime chances -- one on TV and one in person.

Williams will play at 4:30 p.m. April 1 on ESPNU in the McDonald's All-American Game in Miami. At 4:30 p.m. April 4 in St. Louis, Williams will play in the WBCA High School All-America Game. It's part of the Final Four festivities.

--More on recruits: Chicago Marshall's Adrienne GodBold will play Trinity, one of Chicago's best teams, in the Class 3A sectional final Thursday.

--Remember Yvonne Anderson? She was one of the country's top seniors last year, and she narrowed her choices to Texas and Illinois before selecting the Longhorns. The daughter of Missouri coach Mike Anderson, Yvonne's team went back to Columbia, Mo., on Tuesday to face the Tigers. A story in the Columbia paper mentions Jolette Law and her relationship with Anderson.

 

Comments

Be the first to share your opinion!