This week high school seniors were able to sign their Letter of Intent and commit to play basketball at the next level. The University of Louisville Women’s Basketball program signed another highly ranked class. To introduce the ladies of the class of 2016 to the rest of Card Nation, the coaching staff put together a pretty creative video. Great to see the personalities of the coaches on display.
You may never listen to Adele the same way.
I was forwarded this link to Inside The Ville where they offer their thoughts on the incoming freshmen class joining the Louisville Women’s Basketball program. We are excited to see how Syd and the rest of the 2014 class will impact CardNation. (Of course they spelled Brackemyre incorrectly, but we’ll just go with it.)
Louisville coach Jeff Walz has assembled one of the top women’s basketball programs in the country. The Cardinals are coming off an NCAA runner-up finish and are currently ranked in the Top 5 nationally. Walz has parlayed UofL’s on-court success into one of the nation’s best recruiting classes.
Louisville expects to sign five prospects — F Myisha Hines-Allen, F Mariya Moore, PF Sydney Brackemeyer, W Ariana Freeman and G Arica Carter – during the early signing period, which began Wednesday, who are rated in the Top 70 nationally by All Star Girls Report.
“I think they signed a great group,” said ASGR publisher Brett McCormick. “All of them are good. I think he has a good mix of players. They’ve got a solid class with five player in the (national) Top 66.”
Hines-Allen is Louisville’s high-ranked recruit at No. 16 nationally by All Star Girls Report; Moore is rated No. 22; Brackemeyer No. 39; Freeman No. 41 and Carter No. 66. McCormick calls Louisville’s recruiting class highly versatile with players who can play multiple positions on the basketball court.
“What gives Walz an advantage is Hines-Allen can play the 2, 3 or 4, Freeman can play 2 or 3 and Moore can play several positions,” said McCormick.
McCormick, a former college coach, helped break down the Cards recruiting class, which ranks No. 6 nationally by All Star Girls Report.
Star Recruit
“(Myisha) Hines-Allen is their headliner because she’s strong and athletic. She really improved from last year to this year. She has the inside game and the outside game. She’s a beast. She can post people up and step out and shoot the three.”
Highest IQ
“Sydney Brackemeyer is such a smart player. She can play inside and outside. She can shoot, she can pass it well. That’s what’s good about her. She does everything well. She can impact the game by not scoring.”
Most Athletic
“(Ariana) Freeman is a great athlete, she’s probably the most athletic in terms of speed and athleticism. She can pass and do other things.”
Most Versatile
“Mariya Moore can play multiple positions. She shoots it, she can post up, she goes coast to coast with it. She can think the game too.”
Best Shooter
“Arica Carter can flat shoot it and score. That was kind of a gift (recruit). That was a really nice pick up for Louisville.”
Biggest Sleeper
“That would have to be between Brackemeyer and Carter. I think Brackemeyer is really the sleeper of the class because a lot of people look at her as not being athletic as the others but she’s so smart and can do everything. She is kind of like Sara Hammond. She’ll do whatever it takes to help the team win. She will be a good teammate.”
Most Likely to Play in WNBA
“I’d say Hines-Allen, but probably Mariya Moore too; but definitely Hines-Allen. She’s a beast. She’s so athletic and strong, she can defend a guard or guard the post. Her game has really gotten a lot better from the perimeter. She used to play but the four but this summer she played the three well, shooting the three and putting it on the floor. And when she gets it inside she’s tough to handle.”
The Louisville Women’s Basketball program picked up their fourth commit for the class of 2014 yesterday. Keil Moore of ProspectsNation.com had a nice article on the latest commit along with the previous three (including Syd).
Getting excited about Louisville Women’s Basketball.
After a great run that saw the Louisville women’s basketball program make it all the way to the national championship game, coach Jeff Walz and his staff have managed to capitalize with a good deal of recruiting success. Myisha Hines-Allen’s decision to pick Louisville over Georgia Tech and West Virginia is the next example of the success carrying over to recruiting momentum.
“The school in general was an amazing place,” Hines-Allen, the No. 13 prospect in the ELITE 100, said. “I felt like home while I was there.”
Hines-Allen picked Louisville after making an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech in early June in addition to official visits to Louisville and West Virginia in August.
The 6-foot-2 forward has a combination of size and athleticism that is rarely seen on the recruiting circuit. She is a much improved perimeter shooter and is also capable of putting the ball on the deck and making a play. She should fit in well at the future ACC school as she shares similarities with current rising senior Sarah Hammond.
“The style of play was also a huge factor,” she added.
With the addition of Hines-Allen, Louisville now has four talented wings and forwards on the way to campus next year. Mariya Moore of Oakland, Calif., Arianna Freeman of Manassas, Va., and Sydney Brackemyre of Cincinnati, Ohio. With the forward positions locked up for the next couple of years, look for Louisville to focus heavily on adding true post play and a point guard with their remaining scholarships. Jatarie White of Charlotte, N.C., Dekeiya Cohen of Charleston, S.C., and Gabby Green of Oakland, Calif., are players Louisville may still be looking to add to their 2014 class.
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Indiana is losing several players to graduation (including Watford and Hulls) and entrance to the NBA draft (Zeller and Oladipo). Just today I saw on Inside the Hall that Maurice Creek will be graduating and not returning to play ball at Indiana. He will look for another school where he can complete his eligibility. Since he is going to grad school, he can start playing next season.
While this is quite an exit of talent from IU, it will also mean a very young roster. According to the article, only two of the scholarship players are upperclassmen. I know Indiana has some good talent staying and coming in. It will be interesting to see how their lack of experience will affect them.
Syd and I traveled north to Lansing on Saturday to check out Michigan State University. They had several students looking at the school, plus it was homecoming weekend, so there were people everywhere on campus. Syd said she had never seen so many things that were green and white!
We had the opportunity to watch the girls’ team practice, were given a driving tour of the campus, walked through the Breslin Center, checked out the locker room, training room, weight room, academic hall and concluded with great seats for the football game.
One of the highlights of the game was coming in contact with some MSU personalities. We had the opportunity to meet Tom Izzo as we passed him right outside the men’s basketball office. He even commented that he liked Syd’s Jordan earrings. Mateen Cleaves came over to the group watching the girls practice and welcomed us to the school. During our tour of the Breslin Center and the locker room, we passed and got to meet Dane Fife. He played at I.U. 1998-2002 and is now an assistant coach on Izzo’s staff.
Before the football game, we were able to walk on the field during warm ups. ESPN College Game Day was there so it was big deal. MSU doesn’t have lights in their stadium for night games, so ESPN and ABC rented lights for the 8 pm game. Walking on the field and being literally just a few feet from the players was pretty cool.
It was a great first visit and gave us a lot to think through as we look at where Syd might be able to play in the future.
This is Syd at the Magic Johnson statue outside the Breslin Center.
Thoughts from a Hoosier Fan in the Buckeye Land 