This will be an interesting incoming class to follow. We may have just put together the best class in OU history. There are some unknowns.
Basically, we know that everyone likes Ortiz. She can probably be one of the better points guards around as a freshman if the scouting is right. She brings ball-handling and passing skills with the shooting of Vegas.
I have no clue on LaNesia. She is supposedly the faster and better scorer of that title team with Edwards. But, I haven't seen one minute of her.
Penzo is a fascinating prospect. Only 16, she was a starter for the Puerto Rico national U-16 team at the age of 14. She's been to the tournament twice, most recently being named to the All-tournament team. But, that is only one of three tournaments from which we have positive reports. They also liked her in the Centrobasket U-15 tournament in Mexico as well as the Naples, FL tournament which had some good things to say about her. While the other 16-year-olds will be seniors in highschool this year, she is headed to Norman.
There is another aspect to the Penzo recruitment that is potentially fascinating. She is the FIRST D-1 scholarship from Monteverde Academy earned by the girls' team. If you haven't heard of Monteverde, they were by far the #1 boys team in the nation this year. They had something like 8 players on the team that got D-1 scholarships, from large D-1 type schools: Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Florida, etc. I watched them blow away Oak Ridge like they weren't even there, and Oak Ridge is a traditional power. Monteverde has kids from something like thirty-five states and thirty foreign countries, and they have built a basketball giant. They had three starters in the men's final four this year, two from Florida and one from Kentucky. We just got the first D-1 scholarship from the women's program from this basketball giant. What does the future hold for Monteverde girls?
Pierre-Louis is a recent player, not much basketball experience. But, she was beginning to draw a lot of raves and led her team to the state finals before tearing her ACL. She is said to have improved her post game, but she can also play facing the basket, hitting fifty percent from three during HS. She is big enough to command her position under the boards and athletic enough to contend. I think she can help this year, as soon as she is released which is supposedly October.
Treece is interesting. I watched a video of her as a junior. Not much to see. I don't think they passed the ball to her once. The point guard does most of the shooting. I saw a report that said that she was a bit passive on the boards. A couple of years later, a report said she was aggressive on the boards. She grew up? She seems to have a shot. Her scoring was the reason she won the MVP of the Naples tournament.
Her reports don't seem to rank her that highly. But, I saw another report that put her in the top sixty. She comes from a basketball factory, and they do seem to have a lot of players. They won the state title without her, I think.
There is reason to believe that all five of these players has something to offer. Somebody liked each of them a lot. Pierre-Louis seemed to be gaining a lot more respect this year. The rankings aren't that high, but sources other than the rankings liked what they saw. It wouldn't surprise me if this group produced three or four of our starters be the end of their second year. I'm a bit more inclined to go along with those who watched them or coached against them than by some scouting group for a magazine. The people they played against liked them.
