Posted by SandDevil on April 17, 09 at 18:17:17:
In Reply to: Re: Pac 10 happenings posted by West Phoenix Devil on April 17, 09 at 14:48:18:
: : Kind of quiet here lately so I thought I would post some updates regarding the Pac 10.No word on who will be the new HC at USC.Michael Cooper of the WNBA L.A. Sparks is the leading candidate, looks like USC AD Mike Garrett is thinking of goind old school like Oregon did when they hired Paul Westhead as head coach.
: : Sparks co-owner Carla Christofferson was not to thrilled to find out from the media that her HC was looking at the head coach opening at USC, so we'll see what happens over there.
: : Wed, Apr 15 was the first day of the spring signing date.ASU was expected to sign 2 new recruits to the 2009 class which already includes Joy Burke, Deja Mann and Markisha Patterson.Patterson is expected to miss next season due to a knee injury, her teammate at CAC 5-9 shooting guard Tenaya Watson committed to ASU.CAC went 35-0 winning the NJCAA Div I championship.Watson was MYP of the tournament scoring 30 pts in the championship game.ASU was also expected to sign 5-5 PG Sabrina McKinney from Arlington Texas along with Tenaya Watson.McKinney played at Bowie HS but was on a highly rated Ft Worth AAU club so she looks to be a solid recruit.
: : What's happening down south with their women basketball program,their appears to be a mass freshman exodus similar to the one Tia Jackson experience at Washington last year, the recent departure of Courtney Clements left the Az program with 5 returning players and according to some, returning players Ify Ibekwe and Reiko Thomas are not too happy either!
: : AZ did not have alot of depth to begin with,so this isn't good news for the program.AZ did signed 2 new JC transfers Wed to go with Nov signees Davellyn White and JC transfer Brooke Jackson.
: : Pac 10 schools Washington, Az & UCLA recently decided to hire head coaches from back east primarily from the SEC but things haven't worked out like expected for UDub & Az, only UCLA with Nikki Caldwell seems to be doing good in the Pac 10.I would not be surprised to see UDub looking for a new coach next year if they struggled again like they did this past year, to tell you the truth that was one sorry team they put out last year, Az may be in the same boat this coming season!
: Possibly, Sand, but a lot of people in the Pac-10 thought Arizona was a vastly improved team the second half of the season. They took Stanford and Cal to the wire the last weekend of the regular season, beat a Washington State team that IS better than in the past in the Pac-10 Tournament, and with a full year of recruiting, Arizona could be a surprise next year.
: Washington's late season wins over Washington State and Oregon also may have turned things around a little for Tia Jackson.
: I'll say what I said before -- USC has banners, retired jerseys and a state of the art on campus arena. If they can't do better than Michael Cooper, they're not trying hard. As far as the Sparks are concerned, here's a little dose of reality: college jobs are more stable. You can't blame a WNBA head coach for looking at a college job. By the same token, a big-time college head coach will never leave for the WNBA. The college lifestyle is just too good.
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(SD)Regarding Az & UDub, you can't lose young talent and still be competitive.Washington beating WSU and Oregon late in the season does not impress me.Tia Jackson has not been recruiting that good to turn around her program next year.
Same goes for Niya Butts, granted they did play well towards the end of the season but losing Amani Butler, Malia Nahinu & Courtney Clements is going to hurt,it's one thing to lose a senior class but to lose most of your freshman class is not good!
I don't think Michael Cooper is a bad choice, he can coach,question is can he recruit.Mike Garrett is old school so it does not surprise me he's going after Cooper.Top college coaches do not go to the WNBA because the pay is alot better in college than the WNBA! BTW USC 2010 recruit 6-2 post Cassie Harberts from San Clemnte Ca has opened up her recruiting in light of Mark Trakh departure, she picked USC over ASU & UCLA.