The Portal

For fan discussion of the Vanderbilt Commodore women's basketball program, games and recruiting.

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MikeADore
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The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

We all know that last year Vandy hit the jackpot in the portal with Ciaja Harbison and Marnelle Garraud. The latter was a grad out of Boston College who associate head coach Tom Garrick recruited out of high school. There are a couple of intriguing players in this year's portal who are from Boston U. Boston College also has a couple of bigs in the portal. Could the staff be looking toward Boston again?

The Athletic came up with a list of nine players they consider among the best in the portal so far, though there will surely be a lot more entering the portal as their teams are eliminated from post-season play. I'm including only freshmen and seniors here as that is what coach Ralph has said she has to work with in the portal (I still think there could be exceptions to that). The Athletic's synopsis:

Sydney Johnson, Boston U. 5'9 senior point guard
"For teams looking to fill a gap or add depth at point guard, Johnson could be a smart add. She started 97 games during her BU career and was twice an all-conference first-team selection. She averaged 12.8 points and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 42 percent on 3-pointers this season."

Maren Durant, Boston U. 6'3 senior forward
"A 52 percent shooter, Durant would be a solid pickup for any team looking to secure the middle of the floor. But she’ll also bring a lot of value defensively. She has 86 career starts and averaged 7.7 rebounds over the last four seasons, including eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this year. She was named to the Patriot League’s all-defensive team this past year."

Frannie Hottinger,, Lehigh 6'1 senior wing player
"Hottinger has her COVID-19 season to use, and the reigning Patriot League player of the year has opted to go elsewhere. She averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds this season and has 62 career starts under her belt, so she’d bring productivity and experience with her. She should be able to make the jump to the power conference level. With Dawn Plitzuweit named the Gophers’ new coach Saturday, could we see this Minnesota native return home?"

Kennedy Fauntleroy, Georgetown, 5'7 freshman point guard
"With three seasons ahead of her, it’s fair to assume the reigning unanimous Big East freshman of the year will receive a lot of interest. She’s a former top-100 recruit who adjusted well to college competition and filled out her entire stat line, averaging 10.9 points, 2.4 steals, 2.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season. There’s room in her game to grow, but with time to develop in another program, coaches will be excited about the Maryland native." (My note: She's in the portal presumably because her coach was dismissed after the season).

The most talented, or at least the most decorated (ESPN Hoopgurlz #74), of that small sample would appear to be Fauntleroy. She's a Maryland kid, though, and Brenda Frese has proven very adept playing the portal game. Might be hard for Vandy or anyone else to get her away from Maryland if they go after her.

It's also worth noting that all the seniors in the Ivy League will be available if they want to keep playing. The Ivy League does not allow players to take the extra year of eligibility sanctioned by the NCAA. There are quite a few players who I feel could help us.

We all know this staff loves its small guards, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up at least one more to go with the five we already have. I'd love to see them also bring in an experienced big to help Sacha Washington and take some pressure off the incoming freshman posts and give them a chance to develop at a more natural pace. We should know something in the next few weeks, I think.


MikeADore
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

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I won't go over all the details, but some of you will no doubt remember how excited I got over this young lady from Knoxville Farragut when Vandy was in contact with her last spring. Here is the thread for anyone interested:

https://www.14powers.com/forums/viewtop ... =6&t=20680

She had a good freshman year at Pitt, but the coach was fired a few weeks ago. Strickland is the eighth player from the program to enter the portal since then. She played in all 30 games and started 11 of those. I watched them play a few times and actually thought she could have been played more. She averaged 20 minutes a game, but that time increased as she improved during ACC play.

Not sure if Vandy will be interested. She says she will also still consider Pitt, so this could be a "just in case" move if things don't go well with the new coach.
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

If not Vandy, I'd love to see her at Belmont. Doesn't sound like Vandy is after her.

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MikeADore
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

Lots of players fleeing Auburn again this year. Can't figure what that's about. Johnnie Harris is doing a good job and seems like good people. In the portal:

* Jakayla Johnson, 5’9 junior guard
* Romi Levy, 6’3 junior forward
* Mya Pratcher, 6’1 freshman wing
* Kharyssa Richardson, 6’2 freshman forward
* Sania Wells, 5’7 senior guard
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

A few top players from the Ivy League who are or soon will be available. They've used up their Ivy eligibility and have a covid year remaining. The Ivy doesn't allow players to stay the extra year for covid.

Kayla Padilla from Penn is no doubt the most highly decorated of the Ivy seniors. Led the league in scoring and has been a repeat member of the all-conference team. She's from California. No way of knowing what she'll do, but she'll be highly sought after. The Columbia and Harvards players are still playing in the WNIT. In fact, they face each other for the fourth time this afternoon in the round of eight. I'll put a link below if you're interested. Game starts at 3 CST.

Kayla Padilla 5’9 (Penn) led Ivy League in scoring (17.6 ppg), 41.4% fg, 38.7 3 pt. fg
Kaitlyn Davis 6’0 (Columbia) 13.3 ppg, 52% fg, 70.8% FT, 8.3 REB
Hannah Pratt 6’1 (Columbia) 9.7 ppg, 45.2% fg, 5.4 REB
McKenzie Forbes 6’0 (Harvard) 13.4 ppg, 41.3% fg, 39 3% pt. fg, 3.9 REB
Grace Stone 5’11 (Princeton) 10.1 ppg, 37.8 fg%, 38.1% 3pt. fg, 3.7 REB

https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ ... 15ccd7ae72
MikeADore
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

MikeADore wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:32 pm Lots of players fleeing Auburn again this year. Can't figure what that's about. Johnnie Harris is doing a good job and seems like good people. In the portal:

* Jakayla Johnson, 5’9 junior guard
* Romi Levy, 6’3 junior forward
* Mya Pratcher, 6’1 freshman wing
* Kharyssa Richardson, 6’2 freshman forward
* Sania Wells, 5’7 senior guard
Now Auburn's best player, Aicha Coulibaly, has joined the mass exodus. Weird stuff.
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

This from an assistant coach at Oregon. It's disgusting what is happening to college basketball.

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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

This list was compiled by a poster named Rooster C on another website. I did none of the work.

Just for fun: A list of current portal entrants in order of HG (ESPN Hoopgurlz) ranking
#7 Ashley Owusu (2019)
#8 Sedona Prince (2018)
#11 Te-Hina Paopao (2020)
#14 Lexi Donarski (2020)
#16 Jakia Brown-Turner (2019)
#20 Destiny Adams (2021)
#21 Paris Clark (2022)
#24 Kyndall Hunter (2021)
#26 Lauren Ware (2020)
#31 Jordyn Merritt (2020)
#33 Shay Bollin (2022)
#38 Zyanna Walker (2022)
#41 Shayeann Day-Wilson (2021)
#51 KK Deans (2019)
#52 Kionna Gaines (2021)*
#52 Gia Cooke (2022)*
#58 Kendall Gillispie (2021)
#60 Mila Reynolds (2022)**
#68 Ari Wiggins (2021)
#71 Lauren Hansen (2019)*
#71 Madison Conner (2021)*
#75 Kennedy Fauntleroy (2022)
#77 Taylen Collins (2020)
#78 Jaylyn Brown (2022)
#85 Lemyah Hilton (2022)
#87 Jada Walker (2021)
#88 Ally Carman (2022)
#93 Amauri Williams (2022)
#96 Demi Washington (2019)
#97 Jamya Mingo-Young (2019)
#98 Teisha Hyman (2019)
#99 Camille Hobby (2019)*
#99 Nyah Wilson (2021)*

*Coach's note to self : DO NOT recruit players ranked #52,#71,#99

** A two-fer as her sister was also committed to Maryland and has since re-opened her recruitment. Amiyah is ranked #43 (2023) and likely they want to attend the same school.
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

It keeps getting crazier out there. Betts is the number-one recruit from last year's class and would appear to be headed for stardom. And, it's Stanford. Star players don't bail on Stanford. Or, they didn't before. She has a younger sister (a sophomore, I think) who is also a top recruit.

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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

Another shocker.

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moxiedore92
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Re: The Portal

Post by moxiedore92 »

The only way I stay optimistic at this point is to believe that VU staff and admin can stay flexible in their thinking about how to gain an advantage in this new environment. Have a plan. Work the plan. Be creative! Honestly, it’s either that or …
got moxie?
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

Coach Yo again. Florida's best player.

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Re: The Portal

Post by moxiedore92 »

Can’t tell if Yo is just crazy good or making a bunch of enemies.
got moxie?
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Re: Hailey van Lith

Post by Versus75 »

Apparently she has indicated “no contact” to say she already knew which school she is going to attend prior to announcing going into the TP.

Me thinks something fishy going on.
https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... nts-to-go/


Article goes on to say that Hailey (who has played 3 years) has two years of eligibility because of the Covid year … but I thought that only applied to those who were in school spring 2020.
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Re: Hailey van Lith

Post by MikeADore »

Versus75 wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2023 9:12 am Apparently she has indicated “no contact” to say she already knew which school she is going to attend prior to announcing going into the TP.

Me thinks something fishy going on.
https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... nts-to-go/


Article goes on to say that Hailey (who has played 3 years) has two years of eligibility because of the Covid year … but I thought that only applied to those who were in school spring 2020.
She has finished her junior year, the same as our Bella LaChance. Theirs ('20-21) is the last class to get the covid year. And, not that it matters since this is her first transfer, but Van Lith is actually a grad transfer. She got her degree in three years at Louisville. I just hope she doesn't wind up at LSU with Mulkey. I dislike pretty much everything going on with that program.
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Re: The Portal

Post by VandyDan78 »

MikeADore wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2023 8:53 am Another shocker.

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I bet she ends up at LSU. Back in 2019 her final two choices were Baylor and Louisville. She was heavily recruited by Mulkey. Completely fits with LSU style of play.
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

One of Columbia's three top seniors has committed to Miami.

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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

Looks like another of the Columbia players, Hannah Pratt, has committed to Tulane where her brother plays football. The only Columbia senior left is the best one, Kaitlyn Davis, a 6'0 guard/forward.
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Re: The Portal

Post by MikeADore »

MikeADore wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:17 pm The Athletic came up with a list of nine players they consider among the best in the portal so far, though there will surely be a lot more entering the portal as their teams are eliminated from post-season play. I'm including only freshmen and seniors here as that is what coach Ralph has said she has to work with in the portal (I still think there could be exceptions to that). The Athletic's synopsis:

Maren Durant, Boston U. 6'3 senior forward
"A 52 percent shooter, Durant would be a solid pickup for any team looking to secure the middle of the floor. But she’ll also bring a lot of value defensively. She has 86 career starts and averaged 7.7 rebounds over the last four seasons, including eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this year. She was named to the Patriot League’s all-defensive team this past year."

Frannie Hottinger,, Lehigh 6'1 senior wing player
"Hottinger has her COVID-19 season to use, and the reigning Patriot League player of the year has opted to go elsewhere. She averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds this season and has 62 career starts under her belt, so she’d bring productivity and experience with her. She should be able to make the jump to the power conference level. With Dawn Plitzuweit named the Gophers’ new coach Saturday, could we see this Minnesota native return home?"
Durant commits to George Washington, Hottinger will play at Marquette.
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Re: The Portal

Post by Ndorefin »

Looks like LSU is going to buy another Championship!
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