If you've never seen AAU ball, you'll be confused by the Boo Williams Nike Invitational playing out for the upteenth year in a row in Hampton this weekend. Maybe you've done some research and you think you know. You know about this kid named Elizabeth Williams, Virginia's Gatorade State Player of the Year. Pat and Geno have her on speed dial. You know Boo's elite squad has four others from the top 100 junior prospects, including Tennessee-bound Cierra Burdick. You've read about future Huskey Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
Bria Smith, Rachel Hollivay, Temi Fagbenie. Jewels of the 2011 class.
They're all here is and so is everybody who is anybody in women's basketball. Yet still it's confusing. Starting with the parking lot.
You can't find a spot. Cars are wedged in every which way and it's not exactly a tiny lot. You take a chance and park in the fire lane but are talked out of it. Finally somebody leaves and you're set, gazing at all the big and tall girls headed the same direction as you, walking into Boo's Sportplex arena like a herd of cattle. Orlando Comets. Tennessee Flight. Team Taurasi. Alana Beard's Future. You like that name. You go inside and players are everywhere, and you wonder. Which faces should I memorize so I can say I saw her when?
You head one direction and realize the kids on the court must be 13. You've got years to check those young'ins out, so you wander away, eager to set your sights on the next Maya Moore. Boo's team has tipped off, and you think it will be obvious. Which one is going to Tennessee? Which two are going to Duke? Hey, that kid on the other court over there looks like Kayla Pederson. Is she going to be somebody?
As desperately as you'd like to be the one informing, you need to be informed. You're find yourself trying to overhear the folks in the bleachers who seem to know who's who. You want to fixate on one player, but who? Does anybody have a roster? There's no name on the back of these jerseys. There's no program, that you can afford anyway. That coveted coach's binder that everybody wearing a collegiate shirt is walking around with costs $200, a bargain considering every kid's phone number is alongside her name.
Speaking of coaches, they're all here. You see Pat Summitt walk by in an understated black polo that reads Tennessee. You wonder why it's not orange. You see that blond, blond hair and realize it's Brenda Frese. Andy Landers walks by alone. There's Beth Cunningham and Denise Dillon. No Geno, but assistant Chris Dailey is roaming around.
The shirts read Appalachian State. Monmouth. Delaware State. Hey, that's Sylvia Hatchell.
Summitt gets up after watching Boo's team struggle in the first half, and you wonder. Was she watching Cierra? The kid's already verballed, after all. Is Cierra watching Pat watching her? Wendy Larry sits down where Summitt sat. You know how much Wendy must want one of these thoroughbreds who's in her own back yard. What a coup it would be for her to get one of those Lake Taylor High School kids, who stunned Princess Anne in this year's state title game. Three of the Titans are on this Boo team. One of them is Linda Stepney but you hear she's getting letters from the SEC, ACC and Big East. No UConn and Tennessee, but everybody else.
C. Vivian Stringer sits down when Larry moves along. Is there something about that seat?
The answer is no. It's not a luxury box. It's a portable bleacher roped off that says "NCAA Coaches Only." Don't know if anybody would stop you from walking right up to Stringer or Summitt and plopping down. You'd think somebody would like an autograph, but that's not what this scene is about. Everybody is used to each other because on a smaller scale, this scene is played out all over the country most of the spring and summer.
Some teams are jogging around the track that encircles all these courts in this huge facility of Boo's. Other teams collect in the stands. "When do you play tomorrow?" a mom asks her. Her daughter rolls her eyes. Don't know, she says. "When do we play?" she yells to a teammate two rows in front. Somebody says 1 something and then 7:30.
All the while these games go on, like a TV droning in the background. This is no child's play. It's physical, more physical than any college game you've watched this season, yet you hear whistles, whistles, whistless. But where are they coming from? With so many courts bunched together, you don't know which way to turn. Is that whistle coming from this court or that court? No matter because the game keeps rolling as if there's a plane to catch.The coaches don't seem to be throwing a fit on the sidelines over the refs, either. You could get used to this.
You've only been there a few hours, but you're bleary eyed. No high school game feels like this. No college game, either. This is AAU -- one day, one slice, one game at a time.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Boo Williams survives Day One - barely
Boo Williams certainly has some nice players. But Friday, it took them a while to start playing like a nice team. And that led to some pretty nice drama in the elite 16-and-under division of the Nike Boo Williams Invitational at the BooPlex in Hampton.
Almost too much drama for the man himself, who scratched his head as he leaned back in a chair after his team's 63-61 first-round escape over the youthful Arizona Warriors.
"We've been practicing for five weeks," Williams said. "But it looked like we just met in the parking lot."
Much is expected of this Boo Williams team, and why not? As usual, Williams has assembled a star-laden roster, this one boasting five players in ESPN Hoopgurlz' Top 100. Granted, the most coveted one of them all, Princess Anne center Elizabeth Williams, was absent Friday (she's expected back for the tournament Saturday). But that still leaves Tennessee-bound Cierra Burdick, Duke commits Whitney Knight and Ka'lia Johnson, and a host of other players the assembled who's who of Division I college coaches are targeting.
As Boo's players discovered, Arizona's girls have talent, too. They're just young - five are still in ninth grade while another is but an eighth-grader. They didn't look terribly imposing; even their jerseys appeared to be simple white T-shirts with numbers attached. And there were only eight of them.
But all eight know how to play. More importantly, they know how to play together. All live in the same neighborhood and are teammates at Arizona state runner-up St. Mary's. Several have played together for years.
So in this particular case, eight was very nearly enough. It must be daunting traveling 2,000 miles to play against Boo Williams' team in Boo Williams' tournament in Boo Williams' gym. But these Warriors were fearless.
"Going in I was a little concerned because they're awfully good," Arizona coach Curtis Ekmark said. "But we have a special group. We wanted to play against the best."
When we arrived early in the first half, we weren't surprised to see the home team ahead by eight. That is, until we realized that Arizona was designated the home team and was handing it to the sleeker, more athletic Boo Williams side. A pet play by the Heat was to penetrate and kick out to a 3-point shooter, then make a second pass to another 3-point shooter before letting it fly. Boo's players were continually late rotating out on the extra pass, and they were continually burned.
"We probably took them for granted a little bit, but then they started making shots," Williams said of the Warriors, who splashed 10 3-pointers for the game. "They shot the eyes out of the ball."
Boo's team cut the deficit to just two at halftime, then watched Arizona skip out to a 14-point advantage with less than eight minutes to go. It was only then that the Williams' girls dug in defensively, cutting off the drives to the hoop and securing the 3-point line. They also pressed Arizona into submission, emboldened by the lack of a whistle on anything short of outright assault.
"Their physicality wore us down a little bit," Ekmark said.
Offensively, a trio of players from Group AAA state champion Lake Taylor led the way. Toia Giggetts and Crystal Leary combined for 17 points, and point guard Linda Stepney scored 15 all by herself, including the driving layup that snapped a 55-55 tie and gave her team the lead for good.
Still, it took a block on Arizona's potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Boo Williams team to survive an inauspicious start against the upstart Warriors.
Saturday's prospects (Boo Williams plays against the Utah Flight at 10:50 a.m.) appear more promising. Elizabeth Williams will be back. They certainly won't be taking anyone else for granted. And the players finally seem to understand the value of defending the 3-point line.
The lack of team chemistry Boo Williams bemoaned Friday may be a bit more elusive. But we're expecting that to be a lot better on Day Two as well.
After all, it's not as though these players just met in the parking lot.
Almost too much drama for the man himself, who scratched his head as he leaned back in a chair after his team's 63-61 first-round escape over the youthful Arizona Warriors.
"We've been practicing for five weeks," Williams said. "But it looked like we just met in the parking lot."
Much is expected of this Boo Williams team, and why not? As usual, Williams has assembled a star-laden roster, this one boasting five players in ESPN Hoopgurlz' Top 100. Granted, the most coveted one of them all, Princess Anne center Elizabeth Williams, was absent Friday (she's expected back for the tournament Saturday). But that still leaves Tennessee-bound Cierra Burdick, Duke commits Whitney Knight and Ka'lia Johnson, and a host of other players the assembled who's who of Division I college coaches are targeting.
As Boo's players discovered, Arizona's girls have talent, too. They're just young - five are still in ninth grade while another is but an eighth-grader. They didn't look terribly imposing; even their jerseys appeared to be simple white T-shirts with numbers attached. And there were only eight of them.
But all eight know how to play. More importantly, they know how to play together. All live in the same neighborhood and are teammates at Arizona state runner-up St. Mary's. Several have played together for years.
So in this particular case, eight was very nearly enough. It must be daunting traveling 2,000 miles to play against Boo Williams' team in Boo Williams' tournament in Boo Williams' gym. But these Warriors were fearless.
"Going in I was a little concerned because they're awfully good," Arizona coach Curtis Ekmark said. "But we have a special group. We wanted to play against the best."
When we arrived early in the first half, we weren't surprised to see the home team ahead by eight. That is, until we realized that Arizona was designated the home team and was handing it to the sleeker, more athletic Boo Williams side. A pet play by the Heat was to penetrate and kick out to a 3-point shooter, then make a second pass to another 3-point shooter before letting it fly. Boo's players were continually late rotating out on the extra pass, and they were continually burned.
"We probably took them for granted a little bit, but then they started making shots," Williams said of the Warriors, who splashed 10 3-pointers for the game. "They shot the eyes out of the ball."
Boo's team cut the deficit to just two at halftime, then watched Arizona skip out to a 14-point advantage with less than eight minutes to go. It was only then that the Williams' girls dug in defensively, cutting off the drives to the hoop and securing the 3-point line. They also pressed Arizona into submission, emboldened by the lack of a whistle on anything short of outright assault.
"Their physicality wore us down a little bit," Ekmark said.
Offensively, a trio of players from Group AAA state champion Lake Taylor led the way. Toia Giggetts and Crystal Leary combined for 17 points, and point guard Linda Stepney scored 15 all by herself, including the driving layup that snapped a 55-55 tie and gave her team the lead for good.
Still, it took a block on Arizona's potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Boo Williams team to survive an inauspicious start against the upstart Warriors.
Saturday's prospects (Boo Williams plays against the Utah Flight at 10:50 a.m.) appear more promising. Elizabeth Williams will be back. They certainly won't be taking anyone else for granted. And the players finally seem to understand the value of defending the 3-point line.
The lack of team chemistry Boo Williams bemoaned Friday may be a bit more elusive. But we're expecting that to be a lot better on Day Two as well.
After all, it's not as though these players just met in the parking lot.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Hanging out at Boo Williams
We're wading into the AAU pool this afternoon for the Boo Williams Nike Invitational. It's a bit of a maiden journey, as we've never really focused on the summer hoops circuit before. Looking forward to trying to wrap our arms around it.
The (Newport News) Daily Press has a good primer on the weekend tournament. We'll try to take it from there.
The (Newport News) Daily Press has a good primer on the weekend tournament. We'll try to take it from there.
NSU sticks with Clark; Ga.State tabs Baldwin-Tener
Congratulations to coach Debra Clark, who shed her interim tag at Norfolk State and was given a four-year contract through the 2013-14 season. Clark may be the first coach in history to earn a new deal and job security after a 4-23 season. But as anyone who watched the Spartans play can attest, that record spoke directly to the talent deficiency Clark inherited. Maybe Geno Auriemma would have won five or six games with that group. But he also may have only won three. No disrespect to the 2009-10 Spartans, but they just didn't have enough Division I-caliber players, particularly in the frontcourt, to get the better of just about anyone over 40 minutes. Clark has started to address this with a promising first recruiting class, but will likely need at least two more recruiting cycles for the Spartans to truly get back on their feet. Credit NSU's administration for recognizing this and making sure she'll have the time. By the way, love how the release refers to Clark as the "permanent" head coach. Talk about your oxymorons....
In other coaching news, Georgia State will introduce East Carolina's Sharon Baldwin-Tener as its head coach at a press conference Friday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect fit - Baldwin-Tener was born in Georgia, played high school and college ball in Georgia and spent some time as one of Andy Landers' ace recruiters at the University of Georgia. Oh, and she can coach a little bit, too. Baldwin-Tener took East Carolina from six wins to 12 in her first season (2002-03), to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 25 years (2007) and to 41 victories over the past two seasons. Her last victory may have been her most improbable - in a first-round WNIT game last month, the Lady Pirates rallied from 18 points down with 6:32 remaining to force overtime against Drexel, then stunned the Dragons 78-76 on a tip-in with two seconds left.
Obviously, Baldwin-Tener's departure will come as sad news at East Carolina. But something tells me the students down there will manage to find something to celebrate about.
In other coaching news, Georgia State will introduce East Carolina's Sharon Baldwin-Tener as its head coach at a press conference Friday afternoon. Sounds like a perfect fit - Baldwin-Tener was born in Georgia, played high school and college ball in Georgia and spent some time as one of Andy Landers' ace recruiters at the University of Georgia. Oh, and she can coach a little bit, too. Baldwin-Tener took East Carolina from six wins to 12 in her first season (2002-03), to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 25 years (2007) and to 41 victories over the past two seasons. Her last victory may have been her most improbable - in a first-round WNIT game last month, the Lady Pirates rallied from 18 points down with 6:32 remaining to force overtime against Drexel, then stunned the Dragons 78-76 on a tip-in with two seconds left.
Obviously, Baldwin-Tener's departure will come as sad news at East Carolina. But something tells me the students down there will manage to find something to celebrate about.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tall tales from Rose Marie Battaglia
This story is a week old, but if you haven't seen it yet, this Full Court Press story about longtime girls/women's basketball coach and Final Four fixture Rose Marie Battaglia is a fun read. Battaglia is perhaps best known as Anne Donovan's high school coach at Paramus Catholic High, and even then, the coach remembers the 6-foot-8 Donovan as someone she always looked up to.
“Everyone knew when I was going to yell at her because I’d start to pull out the row of bleachers,” Battaglia said. “I’m 5-foot-2, so I had to get up there to see the top of her head.”
“Everyone knew when I was going to yell at her because I’d start to pull out the row of bleachers,” Battaglia said. “I’m 5-foot-2, so I had to get up there to see the top of her head.”
Unsigned seniors unite at Boo Williams
We're sure the players will be ballin' like crazy over the next three days during the prestigious Nike Boo Williams Girls Invitational in Hampton. But the fiercest, most determined action of the weekend figures to come Sunday during an unsigned high school senior/junior college players only girls basketball showcase, sort of a last-chance audition for players convinced that a scholarship is just a few more dribbles away. One such player is Sade Jackson, a 5-8 guard from Aquinas High in the Bronx who told the New York Post she's not leaving the showcase without a Division I offer.
“D-II is not an option,” Jackson said. “I just want to play D-I. I feel like I’m capable of playing Division I. Anything else would be settling.”
Jackson is so set on playing at the highest level that even if there are still no takers after Sunday she may still walk on "at a program like Old Dominion."
A program like Old Dominion?
“D-II is not an option,” Jackson said. “I just want to play D-I. I feel like I’m capable of playing Division I. Anything else would be settling.”
Jackson is so set on playing at the highest level that even if there are still no takers after Sunday she may still walk on "at a program like Old Dominion."
A program like Old Dominion?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Spartans sign another; JMU continues to stockpile
The influx of talent continues at Norfolk State, which on Wednesday got a signed letter-of-intent from Tia Moore, a 5-7 guard out of E.E. Smith High in Fayetteville, N.C. Smith averaged a team-high 10.6 points per game for a Golden Bulls team that went 23-2 last season. Wednesday is the first day of the regular (spring) signing period; the Spartans added four recruits during the early signing period last November. One of them, New Jersey's Rae Corbo, sounds like quite the player. Here's how Northjersey.com described her 2009-10 season in naming her to their All-Suburban team:
The 2007 co-Freshman of the Year repeats on the first team after propelling the Paladins (23-6) to a spot in the North Non-Public A state finals, as well as a runner-up finish in the NBIL Division 1. On a team that scored 57.6 points a game, the senior averaged 19.3 and was the leading scorer in Bergen County with 561 total points, adding 6 assists and 5 steals per outing. The 5-foot-7 guard closed her four-year varsity career with 1,272 points, the most by a Lady Paladin since 1948, and she has a full scholarship to play at Division I Norfolk State.
Meanwhile, James Madison apparently has also added a new piece. On Sunday, WHSV's Damon Dillman reported that Boston College sophomore guard/forward Jasmine Gill will transfer to JMU. The 6-1 Gill appeared in all 32 of BC's games last season and averaged 6.5 points per contest.
The 2007 co-Freshman of the Year repeats on the first team after propelling the Paladins (23-6) to a spot in the North Non-Public A state finals, as well as a runner-up finish in the NBIL Division 1. On a team that scored 57.6 points a game, the senior averaged 19.3 and was the leading scorer in Bergen County with 561 total points, adding 6 assists and 5 steals per outing. The 5-foot-7 guard closed her four-year varsity career with 1,272 points, the most by a Lady Paladin since 1948, and she has a full scholarship to play at Division I Norfolk State.
Meanwhile, James Madison apparently has also added a new piece. On Sunday, WHSV's Damon Dillman reported that Boston College sophomore guard/forward Jasmine Gill will transfer to JMU. The 6-1 Gill appeared in all 32 of BC's games last season and averaged 6.5 points per contest.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
JMU's Smith Carson returns to Furman
Congratulations to (former) JMU assistant and Ladyswish Twitter follower Jackie Smith Carson, who on Tuesday was introduced as the new head coach at her alma mater, Furman. Smith Carson will no doubt be a popular choice on the Greenville, S.C. campus - the former two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year finished her career as one of the most decorated athletes in the school's history. And she definitely takes a nice picture. It's just too bad she's out of eligibility - the Paladins finished 7-24 last season and have lost at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons. Here's hoping coach Smith Carson can recruit a couple of budding Smith Carsons - although there aren't many of those running around. Friday, April 2, 2010
Appel over Wright? Get serious
Stanford's Jayne Appel is a wonderful player. She has not been one of the five best players in America this season. So with all due respect, she does not belong on this year's five-player John Wooden All-American team.
If healthy, Appel would have very likely fit nicely in this group. She may have even made a run at national player of the year. But Appel hasn't been healthy. She wasn't 100 percent for Stanford's season opener, and she's not 100 percent now. Because of these injuries, Appel's scoring and rebounding averages are the lowest since her freshman year.
Virginia's Monica Wright, on the other hand, was a statistical marvel who also carried an otherwise not-quite-ready-for-primetime Cavaliers bunch all season. Obviously Appel is a key player on a Stanford team that's still playing, while Wright's team couldn't make it out of the first round. But if you compare the individual seasons of an injured Appel and a healthy Wright, it's not even close.
It's as though the Wooden folks put Appel's name at the top of the list in the preseason - a no-brainer at the time - and then stopped paying attention.
Of course, it's not as though Wright is starved for postseason acclaim. Her list of honors so far:
- ACC Player of the Year
- ACC Defensive Player of the Year
- First team All-ACC
- WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year
- AP First-team All-American
- USBWA First-team All-American
No disrespect to Appel, but Wright should have had to make room on her mantle for Wooden honors, too.
If healthy, Appel would have very likely fit nicely in this group. She may have even made a run at national player of the year. But Appel hasn't been healthy. She wasn't 100 percent for Stanford's season opener, and she's not 100 percent now. Because of these injuries, Appel's scoring and rebounding averages are the lowest since her freshman year.
Virginia's Monica Wright, on the other hand, was a statistical marvel who also carried an otherwise not-quite-ready-for-primetime Cavaliers bunch all season. Obviously Appel is a key player on a Stanford team that's still playing, while Wright's team couldn't make it out of the first round. But if you compare the individual seasons of an injured Appel and a healthy Wright, it's not even close.
It's as though the Wooden folks put Appel's name at the top of the list in the preseason - a no-brainer at the time - and then stopped paying attention.
Of course, it's not as though Wright is starved for postseason acclaim. Her list of honors so far:
- ACC Player of the Year
- ACC Defensive Player of the Year
- First team All-ACC
- WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year
- AP First-team All-American
- USBWA First-team All-American
No disrespect to Appel, but Wright should have had to make room on her mantle for Wooden honors, too.
Has UVa. struck gold for 2011?
She averaged 32 points and 20 rebounds. Scored 53 of her team's 64 points in a state playoff game. Her coach says her best attribute is her work ethic. And her upside seems virtually limitless - the kid has only been playing basketball four years. Yes, 6-foot-2 Nigeria native and St. Anne's-Belfield junior Sarah Imovbioh, who verbally committed to Virginia earlier this week, sounds almost too good to be true. She also sounds like just the kind of impact recruit the Cavaliers needed to land in this post-Monica Wright era.
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