Washington and White

[cowboysooner]

High school girls coach I know told me recently that Kelbie Washington and B. White, if they show up at OU, will be the best couple athletes OU has ever had on their girls roster. He says Washington may be the fastest girl with the ball under her hand that exists.

So, that may have been hyperbole, but it sounds like they will up our talent level. Hopefully, with these new kids, the kids coming back, and if we can find a center, we will be representative next year for the first time in years.

Also, heard really good things about Mike Neal. Apparently, he is highly regarded as a coach and person in Oklahoma coaching circles. My friend also told me we would want one of the other norman girls that graduate next year. He wasn't impressed by the kid going to K State as much. Can't remember where he said the other was going, but he said she was definitely power 5 good.

 

[Mac]

Great info, Perry is the one that’s going to Florida... she’s long and moves really well, has to be close to 6 foot and I was hopeful she would consider OU... what I really like about Washington and White is there defense.

 

[betterstill]

Chantae Embry is a Norman HS senior who is signed with Texas Tech.

 

[OUALUMinTX]

That is great news. I have heard a lot of people say how excited they were that Neal was going to OU and would be coming to the games now. That would be nice to see.

 

[cowboysooner]

Mac, my friend said Norman had a big girl he thought OU should have recruited. But went somewhere else. Is that Embry? And, do you agree OU should have recruited her? Just curious.

Also, he didn't agree with the proposition that OU didn't recruit any Oklahoma kids, but said they certainly didn't do it like the other power 5 schools in this part of the country. He said it was like Sherri would only recruit a kid if she thought the kid desperately wanted to come to OU. Like she thought oklahoma kids ought to want to come to Ou and should be begging OU to come. I don't know if this is correct, or just one person's opinion or observation and not correct.

He also said that although it wasn't always true, the best girls are playing AAU ball and that it seemed that OU considered AAU sleezy and mostly stayed away from kids that played in the AAU. Again, this might not be correct and just one guy's observation or opinion.

I have always appreciated the job Sherri did and have never supported anything but her being allowed to leave on her own terms. But, I do think new blood will be good for the program and serve to generate some exicitement. In the end, it mostly comes down to recruiting. So, we will need to wait and see how Jennie does.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Mac, my friend said Norman had a big girl he thought OU should have recruited. But went somewhere else. Is that Embry? And, do you agree OU should have recruited her? Just curious.

Also, he didn't agree with the proposition that OU didn't recruit any Oklahoma kids, but said they certainly didn't do it like the other power 5 schools in this part of the country. He said it was like Sherri would only recruit a kid if she thought the kid desperately wanted to come to OU. Like she thought oklahoma kids ought to want to come to Ou and should be begging OU to come. I don't know if this is correct, or just one person's opinion or observation and not correct.

He also said that although it wasn't always true, the best girls are playing AAU ball and that it seemed that OU considered AAU sleezy and mostly stayed away from kids that played in the AAU. Again, this might not be correct and just one guy's observation or opinion.

I have always appreciated the job Sherri did and have never supported anything but her being allowed to leave on her own terms. But, I do think new blood will be good for the program and serve to generate some exicitement. In the end, it mostly comes down to recruiting. So, we will need to wait and see how Jennie does.

I think there was a time when women's AAU basketball wasn't as sleazy as the men's but I've gotten the impression over the years that it is getting as bad as the men's. In the men's recruitment I have seen comments where high school players told college coaches to talk to their AAU coach instead of their parents. When Kelvin and Eddie Sutton were coaching I read comments that neither OU or OSU would recruit players who did that. But that has been several years ago, so who knows what the situation is like now.

 

[Mac]

Mac, my friend said Norman had a big girl he thought OU should have recruited. But went somewhere else. Is that Embry? And, do you agree OU should have recruited her? Just curious.

Also, he didn't agree with the proposition that OU didn't recruit any Oklahoma kids, but said they certainly didn't do it like the other power 5 schools in this part of the country. He said it was like Sherri would only recruit a kid if she thought the kid desperately wanted to come to OU. Like she thought oklahoma kids ought to want to come to Ou and should be begging OU to come. I don't know if this is correct, or just one person's opinion or observation and not correct.

He also said that although it wasn't always true, the best girls are playing AAU ball and that it seemed that OU considered AAU sleezy and mostly stayed away from kids that played in the AAU. Again, this might not be correct and just one guy's observation or opinion.

I have always appreciated the job Sherri did and have never supported anything but her being allowed to leave on her own terms. But, I do think new blood will be good for the program and serve to generate some exicitement. In the end, it mostly comes down to recruiting. So, we will need to wait and see how Jennie does.

A few thoughts...
Yes I think Embry should have been recruited, she’s undersized but she did avg 12 and 9 this season... and is definitely a P5 talent, seems like Sherri was after more size which is understandable, but Embry could have been some type of help to OU.

I’m not sure about the begging to come to OU part with the Oklahoma kids, but it does seem like the state overall isn’t as deep in talent as Texas, but anytime you have a top 100 talent in state you offer if they check all the boxes your looking for in your program... for whatever reason Leavings who started a handful of games for Arizona State didn’t get an offer from OU, it would appear the same with Parks and Perry at Norman.

Madi played AAU and I believe Scott did as well, so that’s false about Sherri not going after AAU kids. My understanding is that OU had a few bad years with a Texas AAU program, I believe it was DFW elite, but the relationship has been repaired for a while now.

 

[CoachTalk]

embry knee injuries derailed her more than most.

 

[Soonerguy06]

I always wondered why Embry and Gillispie (Harding Prep, committed to Ole Miss, then Marquette) weren't pursued by OU. Both were ok preps ranked in the top 70 nationally, with Gillispie being 6'2." Does anyone know if we offered her/why not, if so?

 

[Mac]

I always wondered why Embry and Gillispie (Harding Prep, committed to Ole Miss, then Marquette) weren't pursued by OU. Both were ok preps ranked in the top 70 nationally, with Gillispie being 6'2." Does anyone know if we offered her/why not, if so?

I think Moore and Wolfenbarger we’re the top priority for Sherri... to me it often seemed like Sherri would target one elite player at a position.

 

[Soonerguy06]

And now Moore is going to UT and Wolfenberger is at UofA, along with Dauda. It's always good to have a plan b, etc., Especially when your program has had consecutive losing seasons. Otherwise you'll end up with no post players several years in a row!! Just imagine if this past season we'd had a good, productive post. We would have made the tournament for certain!

Arkansas is picking up the pieces and find themselves with some very good pieces coming in and returning. I would not be surprised if they were a surprise elite eight type of team next season.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I felt that Sherri wanted Simpson to be her post and avoided seriously recruiting over her.

 

[Mac]

I think Sherri was an underrated recruiter, more often then not she has been able to get a top 20-30ish player or one that went on to be a McDonald’s All American to at least visit OU, and some of them even had OU in their final five... closing the deal is where she has struggled, also like I said she seems to have no plan b... it’s like if she doesn’t land her top priority she would end up with a project.

 

[betterstill]

I think Sherri was an underrated recruiter, more often then not she has been able to get a top 20-30ish player or one that went on to be a McDonald’s All American to at least visit OU, and some of them even had OU in their final five... closing the deal is where she has struggled, also like I said she seems to have no plan b... it’s like if she doesn’t land her top priority she would end up with a project.

I agree with this except that I do not think Sherry was underrated as a recruiter. Closing the deal is a major aspect of recruiting and Sherri had problems closing. Part of that could have been failure of the sales pitch. Part of it could be limiting her recruiting to low odds recruits. Especially since her declining program hurt our chances with big time recruits.

 

[SoonerSpock]

I agree with this except that I do not think Sherry was underrated as a recruiter. Closing the deal is a major aspect of recruiting and Sherri had problems closing. Part of that could have been failure of the sales pitch. Part of it could be limiting her recruiting to low odds recruits. Especially since her declining program hurt our chances with big time recruits.

If you cannot effectively close you cannot effectively recruit. You are only wasting your time and effort without getting the desired results.

Aside stumbling onto the the Paris twins and Stacey Dales in Canada everyone else of note (Abi, Amanda, DRob and Whitney) came to play with the twins. Virtually no other top 25 recruits signed in 25 season after making 3 Final Fours starting in 2002 with no Sweet 16 appearance her last 8 seasons and no Elite 8 her last 11 seasons.

 

[Mac]

Besides the twins, AT, and Abi, Sherri brought in Aaryn, Mulkey, and Madi, all were McDonald’s all Americans coming out of high school. Manning, Kornet, Harden, Ortiz , Ana, all top 35 recruits... and yes closing the deal is important, but still to get visits from elite players and having a 1 in 5 chance to sign them shows that Sherri wasn’t that bad...

 

[SoonerinNC]

It seems that are level of talent is better than viewed by many on the board. I was not as concerned by the level of talent as by the constant defensive breakdowns, the stagnant half court offense, the careless ball handling and systemic careless fouling by some of the players.

She probably did a decent job of recruiting of high ceiling players but did not in depth and she had to lose something by closing the summer camps.

And maybe Sherri was too fond of the days when she reached the national finals with a 6-0 center. It seemed that Sherri let the game pass her by.

Add to that the lack of progress in the development of some players and loss by transfer by valuable players. Some who seemed to fall out of favor with Sherri.

I do agree that too many projects were recruited and worse still allowed to play minutes that should have gone to players who had potential to be productive. TiTi Edwards, Penzo, Kellogg and most notably Mandy Simpson.

 

[inoref]

SC later teams would be pretty good in Class 4A in Oklahoma...they would make a deep run

 

[SoonerSpock]

Besides the twins, AT, and Abi, Sherri brought in Aaryn, Mulkey, and Madi, all were McDonald’s all Americans coming out of high school. Manning, Kornet, Harden, Ortiz , Ana, all top 35 recruits... and yes closing the deal is important, but still to get visits from elite players and having a 1 in 5 chance to sign them shows that Sherri wasn’t that bad...

Mulkey was a McDonald All American but not because of her skill set and her play at the Power 5 level confirmed such. You are correct in that a omitted Aaryn.

I think Madi was a quality Power 5 D-I player but was well short of the expectations one has for a McDonalds American. Very very good but not a difference maker. (career FG% 39.8%, BTA 35.7% and RBs 4.4). In her best season she averaged 12.6 p/g and was the #3 scorer on her team both her junior and senior season.

Her junior year she shot very well and led the team in BTA% for players playing 10 m/g and 2nd in FG%. As a senior she was #4 in BTA% and #6 in FG%.

http://soonerstats.com/basketball/women/seasons/stats-player.cfm?seasonid=2017

http://soonerstats.com/basketball/women/seasons/stats-player.cfm?seasonid=2018

 

[mikeareese]

Kornet was never really wanting to be at OU. She always had her head on the west coast. Which hurt her play at OU.