The Huskies have already received oral commitments from Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, a 6-foot wing from Anaheim, Calif., and Brianna Banks, a 5-9 guard from Newnan, Ga. in the Class of 2011. They continue to recruit Elizabeth Williams, a 6-3 post player from Virginia Beach; Kiah Stokes, a 6-3 forward from Marion, Iowa; Betnijah Laney, a 6-0 wing from Clayton, Del.; and Ally Malott, a 6-3 forward from Middletown, Ohio.
UConn is no longer recruiting Bria Smith, a 5-10 guard from Massapequa, NY, in light of Banks’ decision. Williams, Stokes and Laney said this week that the recruiting process is still very much open at this point. A source said that it is unlikely that Malott will commit to UConn.
Williams, who is regarded as the top player in the class, spent some time with UConn during the NCAA tournament in Norfolk, Va. in March. She has already visited Virginia, Duke and North Carolina unofficially and said that she plans to take “a lot more’’ visits before making her decision. UConn is among the schools she will visit.
“I’m pretty open as far as the East Coast,’’ Williams said. “I don’t want to be too far from my family. I’m looking for a school that has a good medical school because I want to become a doctor. There’s lot of things that factor into it.’’
She said her list of schools is “pretty big’’ right now. And she reiterated her desire to stay close to home.
“It’s that I think my parents have sacrificed so much time for me and the least I could do … There’s so many good schools around me,’’ Williams said. “The least I could do is be close to home. So that’s just kind of how I’ve viewed it because they love to come out and watch me play.’’
Stokes said her list is at 10ish right now, with Tennessee, UConn, Georgia, Maryland, Rutgers and Notre Dame and “kind of’’ Iowa being the main schools. She might take more unofficial visits this summer, mentioning Tennessee and UConn.
“I just need to know a little bit more about some schools before I either say `yes’ or `no’ to them,’’ Stokes said. “I’m still kind of deciding and I think I’ll start working on it more after the trials are done and I know if I make it or not.
“I want a school that they’ve had a good program in the past and I’m looking for a good connection with the coach because I want to play for someone that I like. And I want to win a national championship. I think that’s a big one and I want to reach my full potential, whether that’s like WNBA or first team All-American or overseas. I just want to reach my full potential as a player and I want to find the coach that can push me to do my hardest in trying to achieve that.’’
Stokes made an unofficial visit to UConn in mid-February.
“It’s a great campus. I like it up here.’’
Laney listed UConn, Rutgers, Virginia, Oklahoma, Penn State, Cincinnati and Duke. She has visited UConn a few times, with her last trip coming in February.
“I’m still pretty open to everybody because there’s lot of schools that I like,’’ Laney said. “They all bring different stuff that I like. So I haven’t really narrowed it down yet. Somewhere that has my major because I want to major in business, entrepreneurship and something in early childhood education. And somewhere with kind of a fast-paced game and somewhere that can compete and I like the coaching staff and I feel comfortable with the players.’’
There has been some speculation that Rutgers leads when it comes to Laney. Her mother, Yolanda Laney, played for Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer at Cheyney. But she said this is not the case.
“That’s what a lot of people think, but it’s not true,’’ Laney said. “I don’t want to go to a school just because I have a relationship with somebody. There are a lot of coaches that I have relationships with. So she doesn’t have a lead on anyone.’’
Here are some players that UConn is targeting from the Class of 2012: Breanna Stewart, a 6-4 forward/center from North Syracuse, N.Y.; Alyson Beebe, a 6-3 forward/center from Santa Maria, CA; Malina Howard, a 6-4 forward/center from Twinsburg, Ohio; Jewell Loyd, a 5-9 guard from Lincolnwood, Ill.; Imani Stafford, a 6-7 forward/center from Los Angeles; and Morgan Tuck, a 6-2 forward from Bolingbrook, Ill.
And the Huskies are targeting Diamond DeShields, a 6-1 forward from Norcross, Ga. and the daughter of former big league infielder Delino DeShields in the Class of 2013.
Rich
Incredible that top women athletes don’t simply jump at the opportunity to play for the best coach in America- Geno Auriemma. Can’t understand why kids would still be considering so many schools with such mediocre coaching, rather than considering it an honor and great opportunity to play for UConn. UConn men? Not so much. But the women’s team is the pinnacle. Why dither?
And who in her right mind would ever want to play for an imploding Rutgers program that can’t teach offense, and chronically underperforms, season after season? Weird.
Comment by Sean — June 10th, 2010 @ 11:56 am
Congrats to Rebecca Lobo ! An awesome player and an even greater human being. Enjoy your moment of fame Saturday. It is so well deserved. Thank you for being a wonderful ambassador for the University of Connecticut !
A big fan of yours !
Comment by Full Disclosure — June 10th, 2010 @ 2:09 pm
Sean, I’m convinced half these kids have NO IDEA what they’re doing, and are very impressionable, if not downright gullible. Either that or they don’t read the sports news section of their newspaper and don’t watch television.
Comment by Osservatore Italiano — June 13th, 2010 @ 8:45 pm
As a former collegiate player, there are so many more decisions that go into choosing a college. Yes, big parts of it are how the program is currently doing, and has done it the past, and the success of the coach. But, there is so much more! The area of the country the schools in, the city the schools in, a recruits chemistry w/ the players on the team, what classes a recruit went to when she visited a school, what type of career the recruit wants to go into after basketball, style of play, how a player responds to the style of coaching, any type of family considerations. It is not as cut and dry as people believe. Any high school athlete being recruited to play college sports has ten times more things to think about than the average high student picking colleges
Comment by Katie — June 21st, 2010 @ 1:32 am