GT & ACC WBB 2021-2022

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#14 Pittsburgh
Head coach: Lance White (4th season)
2020-21 record: 5-14 (3-12 in ACC)
Conference finish: 12th per Blue Ribbon Panelists

Another team with a fair amount of continuity but not enough talent to put it to full use, Pitt returns most of its roster from last season … when the Panthers went 3-12 in the ACC, good for 12th place. Although things will get better…
They did add recruit Maliyah Johnson, who was a high-level prospect and is someone who could make an immediate impact on the winning culture at Pitt. She won two state championships in Ohio and was primed to win a third before COVID-19 shut down the season.

Two key star players:

 

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#15 Virginia
Head coach: Tina Thompson (4th season)
2020-21 record: 0-5 (0-2 in ACC)
Conference finish: 15th

Tina Thompson was a nice hire as a coach since ending her illustrious WNBA career, and maybe that is the nicest thing we can say about the Cavaliers for this upcoming season. She even managed to get James Posey, who you may remember as a player on the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics during the Wade and Shaq and Boston Big 3 championship runs, to join her coaching staff as an assistant coach.

If only Virginia’s coaching staff could suit up instead of its players; Meg Jefferson and Amandine Toi are the only returning players who scored more than 10 points a game in their shortened season last year.

“We were able to get back into the gym and just focus on detail, and develop and get better individually,” Thompson said, “which sometimes gets lost in the season, because you’re doing so much preparation [for upcoming games].”

Also, she said, the players who endured that adversity came out tougher. “We’re different. We experienced so much, and it was really, really hard, even though it was the right decision. Sometimes the right decision is the hardest decision you have to make, but we figured out who we were in a really, really tough moment, and we came out on the right side of it, so culturally we’re different. How we interact with one another and our closeness and our camaraderie and how we communicate is a lot different also. Of course, everything is not perfect, but we’re different in a good way.”

Representing the Cavaliers at the ACC’s annual preseason gathering were Thompson, 5-foot-10 guard Amandine Toi and 6-foot-2 forward London Clarkson.

Toi, who is from France, is a graduate student who’s in her fifth year at UVA. She was averaging a team-high 14 points per game when the season was canceled in January. She missed her first two seasons at Virginia with knee injuries, and the pandemic presented another challenge for her.

“I think it was a test, but at the end of the day I love to work hard and try to get better,” Toi said, “so just having conversations with Coach Tina and the coaching staff [about] what I could do during those moments when I was not on the court, really helped me shape what I wanted to do and what I’m doing right now.”

Clarkson, who is from Texas, transferred from Florida State to UVA after the 2019-20 season. She’s eager to make her debut as a Wahoo and believes the experience she went through in 2020-21 is paying dividends for her.

“Personally, I just felt like it’s been a lot of growth for me as an individual,” Clarkson said Wednesday, “[after] kind of just stepping back and looking at myself, and that just kind of helped me grow as a player and as a person.”

New to the program are freshman Annaliese Griffin and transfers Corina Carter (New Mexico), McKenna Dale (Brown), Eleah Parker (Penn), Camryn Taylor (Marquette) and Taylor Valladay (Marquette).

The Hoos have significantly more size––Parker is 6-foot-4, Taylor is 6-foot-2, and Dale is 6-foot––more talent and more depth than at this time last year.

“We have a full roster,” said Thompson, who’s heading into her fourth season at Virginia. “That’s a blessing in itself, but that just gives us versatility [and] allows our players to be able to play in their true positions. When we were limited in roster, [Toi] was playing about four, for sure a solid three positions.”

Now, though, Virginia has legitimate post players who “can play with their back to the basket and finish and also face up,” Thompson said. “It gives us a level of versatility that we didn’t have. I can actually look down the bench and see faces and have to make a decision on who I’m going to put in based on the moment in the game, and that’s just a luxury we didn’t have [last season].”

The transfer portal was an option of which Thompson and her staff took full advantage.

“We were very intentional about the players that we picked,” she said. “We needed maturity, for sure, and we needed specific things based on what we already had.”

Parker, a two-time All-Ivy League first-team selection, provides size, shot-blocking ability and prowess in the low post.

Dale, who averaged 17 points per game for Brown in 2019-20, is a “lights-out shooter,” Thompson said, “and we needed that to be able to create space for forwards like London and Camryn, and also [to help Toi] get to the basket, although she’s improved her game and added to her versatility and her shot has become a lot more efficient.”

Carter and Vallady are “experienced point guards, and they’re different,” Thompson said. “They bring something different to our game, so we’re able to play different ways, but still be able to play with pace, which we like.”

Clarkson and Taylor, who averaged 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for Marquette last season, add size and energy, Thompson said, “and they play really hard. So there were elements that we needed to add but also as a coach that I just wanted, because it allows us to be able to compete at the level necessary to be competitive in the ACC.”
 

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College Sports Madness had this write up on the Jackets, although I know that GT will be a much improved shooting team from early practice results. CNF has emphasized all five starters being proficient in their 3-point shooting…..



Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Overall Rank: #21
Conference Rank: #4 ACC
Georgia Tech Logo

Georgia Tech Team Page
Georgia Tech had a very consistent 2020-2021 season. The team finished a very respectable 12-6 in ACC play and that was good enough for a more than respectable third place finish in conference play. That earned them a five seed in the NCAA Tournament where the Yellow Jackets beat Stephen F. Austin and West Virginia and reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2012 and just their second time ever. With nearly the entire lineup returning, Coach Nell Fortner’s squad will be looking to do it again.

2020-21 Record:
17-9, 12-6
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Nell Fortner
Coach Record: 37-20 at Georgia Tech, 199-137 overall

Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Anaya Boyd, Guard, 2.2 ppg

Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, Senior, Guard, 15.0 ppg
Kierra Fletcher, Senior, Guard, 13.0 ppg
Lorela Cubaj, Senior, Forward, 12.5 ppg
Loyal McQueen, Sophomore, Guard, 8.8 ppg
Nerea Hermosa, Junior, Center, 8.1 ppg

Sarah Bates, Senior, Guard, 6.9 ppg
Eylia Love, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 4.5 ppg
Aixa Wone Aranaz, Junior, Forward, 2.5 ppg
Avyonce Carter, Sophomore, Guard, 1.9 ppg
Anisa Clark, Sophomore, Guard, 1.0 ppg

Key New Players
Elizabete Bulane, Freshman, Guard
Carmyn Harrison, Freshman, Forward
Digna Strautmane, Senior, Forward, Transfer from Syracuse

Projection:
On paper this is not a great shooting team, but the backcourt returns three starters and their top sub who are all capable of making outside shots. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen led the team in three-pointers made and points with 15.0. The 5-9 senior added 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals. Lahtinen is a great leader on the floor and more than capable of dropping 30 points on any given night, like she did in a loss to North Carolina State last season. Kierra Fletcher had another good season, averaging 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Loyal McQueen had a very promising freshman campaign, averaging 8.8 points per game. She scored in double digits in her first five collegiate games, but was far less consistent after that. With a year under her belt, expect bigger things from McQueen. Senior Sarah Bates will step back into a starting role after playing in just 11 games last season due to an injury. Lorela Cubaj and Nerea Hermosa should return to their starting roles in the frontcourt. Cubaj averaged 12.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while Hermosa added 8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. The frontcourt will get a big boost from four-year Syracuse starter Digna Strautmane. She averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Along with wing Eylia Love, junior Aixa Wone Aranaz and incoming freshman Carmyn Harrison, Georgia Tech has the depth they need to make another serious run towards an ACC title.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 65.6 (144th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.6 (95, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.3 (87, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (196, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.7 (197, 11)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.8 (140, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.8 (223, 10)
Rebound Margin: 2.9 (88, 6)
Assists Per Game: 14.0 (103, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.5 (21, 2)

Madness 2022 WNBA Draft Rankings:
22 Lorela Cubaj

Madness 2021 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:

#122 Carmyn Harrison
 

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2022 Commits:
-Paris Miller PG 5-9 Johns Creek(HS), Ga.
-Raeven Boswell G 5-11 Lake Travis High School | Austin, Tx.
-Tonie Morgan PG 5-10 Florida H.S./ Tallahassee, Fla.
- Inés Noguero Outeiral 2G 6-0 Siglo/ Pedreguer-Gijon, Spain
- Kara Dunn 2G-SF 6-1 Mt. Paran School/ Kennesaw, Ga.


2023 Commits:
-Nicole Melious G 5-9 Susan Wagner H.S./ Staten Island, NY
 

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2022 Commits:
-Paris Miller PG 5-9 Johns Creek(HS), Ga. High 4* Elite 150
-Raeven Boswell G 5-11 Lake Travis High School | Austin, Tx. 4* Elite 150
-Tonie Morgan PG 5-10 Florida H.S./ Tallahassee, Fla. High 4*
- Inés Noguero Outeiral 2G 6-0 Siglo/ Pedreguer-Gijon, Spain
- Kara Dunn 2G-SF 6-1 Mt. Paran School/ Kennesaw, Ga. 4*


2023 Commits:
-Nicole Melious G 5-9 Susan Wagner H.S./ Staten Island, NY One of the top 2023 players in the nation; deadly 3-pt shooter

Fortner is loading up. Melious is all over Twitter and IG recruiting for GT. The future is VERY bright for GTWBB.
 

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Nicole had an AAU game a few days ago where she scored 47 points with 10 threes. The next morning she’s working out with Marina Mabrey. When athletes talk about getting better every day, it’s her picture they should see.
 

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Nicole had an AAU game a few days ago where she scored 47 points with 10 threes. The next morning she’s working out with Marina Mabrey. When athletes talk about getting better every day, it’s her picture they should see.
She has a regular coach who spends a lot of time with her ball handling and situational reactions. She also has a shooting coach. She has great hands and puts up 3s from the NBA line on dribble and stop and catch & shoot. To watch her workouts is to see a truly dedicated young athlete. This summer she was running in the sand at the beach to get stronger. That she is also working out with Mabrey tells me she and her family are all in on her basketball future.

Her weakness appears to be her raw speed, but you cannot leave her unguarded anywhere in the front court.

 

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She has a regular coach who spends a lot of time with her ball handling and situational reactions. She also has a shooting coach. She has great hands and puts up 3s from the NBA line on dribble and stop and catch & shoot. To watch her workouts is to see a truly dedicated young athlete. This summer she was running in the sand at the beach to get stronger. That she is also working out with Mabrey tells me she and her family are all in on her basketball future.

Her weakness appears to be her raw speed, but you cannot leave her unguarded anywhere in the front court.


She has more coaches than the Yankees have at the MLB level. The conditioning Coach is another key one for a teenager.

Boswell is my sleeper for 2022, although Dunn is a can’t miss. No jinx intended.
Many bigs in the next two classes, but for 2023 it’s hard to imagine another Melious exists? If you were to start a program or a recruiting class not based on need, she’s the first one taken.

Edited-Forgot to mention, a contact at Mt. Paran School tells me that Dunn wants to bee a Volley-bee too.
 

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Kyla Abraham from Ft. Walton Beach, Fl. and a 6’5” Post has committed to Baylor.
GT, Miami(who recently received a commitment from Oldacre), Oklahoma, Missy St., were the other finalists.
 

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ESPN #1 player for 2024…Camden, SC, HS c/o 2024 * 4.95GPA * 3-Sport Athlete * Blue30 * CHS WBB 1000PtClub, 3A State coPOY * 2021 GUAA 17U National Champions .….Vandy and GT were her first major offers in 2020, followed by UNC, Clemson, and now the dam has burst…every major P5 has offered…
 

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6’3”, 4/5….started out as an ACC recruit + SC-East….Ashlyn Watkins’ top four is South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Mississippi State. Thought you gents. might want to see an uncommon dunk vs. competition….
 
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