2020 Lady Vol Recruiting Thread

Probably because she was not ranked in the top 100 in espn or prospect nation .

She plays single A basketball ! This is the smallest size school ( by student population) in Tennessee..... Most recruits are in the larger size schools like Triple AAA in Tennessee. Some states have 4 AAAA up to 5 or 6 AAAAA! Does this mean that she is not talented enough ? NO She just played against lesser caliber opponents...
Can she play SEC caliber Basketball? Yet to be determined! 🤷‍♂️
 
One thing Darby definitely has is a great shooting stroke and a quick step and shot off the dribble. I'm gonna go watch her play this season see how she looks as a defender and on offense. Another player that plays for McNairy Central in West Tennessee is Khyla Wade Warren she is a terrific player as well. Certain she will gets some major college offers. She graduates in 2020.




Already over 1000 points scored going into this season.
 
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She plays single A basketball ! This is the smallest size school ( by student population) in Tennessee..... Most recruits are in the larger size schools like Triple AAA in Tennessee. Some states have 4 AAAA up to 5 or 6 AAAAA! Does this mean that she is not talented enough ? NO She just played against lesser caliber opponents...
Can she play SEC caliber Basketball? Yet to be determined! 🤷‍♂️
I did add to my post later about players making a jump between junior and senior year. Would like to see a couple of under the radar girls added to the team.
 
One thing Darby definitely has is a great shooting stroke and a quick step and shot off the dribble. I'm gonna go watch her play this season see how she looks as a defender and on offense. Another player that plays for McNairy Central in West Tennessee is Khyla Wade Warren she is a terrific player as well. Certain she will gets some major college offers. She graduates in 2020.




Already over 1000 points scored going into this season.

I sent Khyla’s film to Lacey and Jennifer. I hope they give her a look while they’re in West TN. This girl is a beast and also has good handles
 
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Darby reminds me somewhat of Chassidy Fussell of West Tennessee who ended up at Texas. She never won against us IIRC, but she gave us fits every time we played them.
 
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Darby reminds me somewhat of Chassidy Fussell of West Tennessee who ended up at Texas. Se never won against us IIRC, but she gave us fits every time we played them.
Chassidy bled Tennessee Orange and would have ended up on the hill if Pat had not promised the last scholarship to a young lady by the name of Meighan Simmons and the rest is history. Probably worked out best for both of them.
 
He has always kept a pretty large roster. Among elite teams, he chases a lot of 3* and 4* that teams like Tennessee, UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, etc. don’t go after, so he lands a lot of them. He hasn’t run off any players to my knowledge yet, but overcrowding is definitely something that could happen, and often does happen with rosters of 15.

I know it may sound crazy to a lot of fans, but there are young players (and their parents) out there who would be thrilled to receive an athletic scholarship even knowing that they’re likely to be career end-of-bench players. There are a lot worse ways to get one’s expensive college education paid for than getting to join one of the most exclusive sisterhoods in the country, that’s for sure.
 
Madison Hayes officially to MSU that puts them at 14 players for next year without anyone up and randomly leaving 😏

Who will be #15 The center from HH or Treasure? They even have Sara Andrews still in play interesting to see who if any chooses MSU and to see if anybody else up and leaves soon ...

Congrats to her best of luck!

Five-star guard Madison Hayes commits to Mississippi State
As I read the commitment story linked above, it struck me that Hayes was definitely impressed by Vic Schaefer as a father figure. And that reminded me of the many, many other times I’ve thought over the years that strong male coaches had an advantage with many young women for the same reason. I don’t know what Madison Hayes’ parental situation is, but there are usually at least a handful of top prospects who are raised by moms in single-parent households, so sometimes young women are attracted to the prospect of having a father figure.

Now, obviously Jon Harper is a man and a father himself. And I imagine he’s a pretty great example of both.

But is he a good recruiter? I don’t recall hearing his name mentioned as being an important part of the recruiting package. He might be, but I haven’t read anything about it.

Anyway, it just struck me that there are probably always going to be some young women who aren’t going to play for Kellie just because she’s a woman. That was true for Pat and every other female coach, too. (Obviously there are likely players who want to play ONLY for a woman, too.) I wonder how Jon is being marketed within our recruiting strategy? Would he be considered too young to be seen as a father figure?
 
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Wow, You really analyze that to the inth degree!!! Here I was thinking she was merely going with a winning program.

Winning National Championships and going to final fours will have a tendency to attract recruits! Vic convinced two Tennessee girls to come to Miss. State. Jayla Hemingway, and now Madison Hayes ! I don’t know if they have had a hard life ? But they are going to a very good basketball program..... and I don’t blame them ! UCONN , Norte Dame , Louisville, Mississippi State , are the top programs most recently! If we want to compete with them .... we are going to have to beat the Alabama’s, Arkansas , Vanderbilts , and any other programs that we are ranked higher .... And stop losing games that we are supposed to win ! Then our local players will stop leaving for better programs . JMO
 
Wow, You really analyze that to the inth degree!!! Here I was thinking she was merely going with a winning program.

I realize now that my post may have sounded like I thought the “father figure” reason was THE reason Hayes chose Mississippi State, but that’s not accurate. Of course it isn’t. I brought it up because the story made it obvious that the “father figure” aspect made a huge impression on her at State, and it made me wonder about what impression recruits get from Jon.

Years ago there was a poll on another board asking everyone to place the SEC coaches in order from best to worst. Vic Schaefer topped my list, and I wasn’t even looking for a father figure. lol Anyway, my point is that, for some recruits, it WILL be an advantage to be a “father figure”-type coach — especially if he’s also someone with proven success like Schaefer.

P.S. And NO, I am not blaming Jon for Hayes’ decision to go to State. :rolleyes: Of course not! And I’m not suggesting the Tennessee staff did anything wrong, or even that they could have done more, to land her. The hard truth is that Tennessee has some work to do this upcoming season to convince prospects that Knoxville will be a place to come to win big games. Passing everyone’s “eye tests” this year is EVERYTHING. Just seeing a major shift in on-court body language will have a great amount of impact on overall impression of the program, and that is something Kellie can fix IMMEDIATELY. I’m excited to see the transformation.

Mainly, it’s the offseason and I am desperate for fresh conversation on the board. 😃
 
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Yep if we cant get them I had rather MState get them. AS long as we are not relevant for national championships Vic would be my pick. He is strict and knows when to hold them and when to fold them with the players. TAM will give him the bank when Blair retires in my mind.
 
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Vic and his staff has built relationships with the girls he recruits and put them in a comfort zone as far as being away from home. Kellie will get that going as well need more than one year and all the targets we had for this season had relationships with different coaches that are no longer at Tennessee. I look for 2021 to be a very good year. I expect were already identified our main targets and are getting up close with them already.
 
I know the staff is playing catch up, but I hope Tennessee at least sign two good players. I don't think it will be good to totally strike out on this class.
 
I know the staff is playing catch up, but I hope Tennessee at least sign two good players. I don't think it will be good to totally strike out on this class.

Agreed.

And now that we are in the era of The Transfer Portal, I think it's vitally important to always make sure that they are prepared for any potential defections by always making sure the roster never gets thin. Signing role players who have at least marginal potential to eventually develop into starters is now a very important part of recruiting, IMO. So, if Tennessee can sign a couple of coachable athletes with either the size and/or quickness to compete in the SEC, but maybe not the polish or star quality quite yet, I'd snag them ASAP.
 
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Well, after reading that, if Darby doesn’t sign with Tennessee then I don’t know who EVER will again! lol

But seriously, I am 100% on board with the Lady Vol orange-bleeding heart in Darby, and I hope she won’t wait long to commit. Seems like anyone who’d make a statement like the one above wouldn't need time to think it over.
 

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