The Hawkins line was a little blogosphere humor. Just trying to make a point that I wouldn't tolerate the "un-team like" attitude that I get from BJ.

Of all the games I've watched (and I catch alot of different teams on the internet too) - not many other teams play their freshman (or transfers) for substantial minutes. Example - the other day with FIU. FIU played 1 freshman for 7 minutes. Did she have a bad recruiting year? No, it's just tradition (and safe) to stick with your older (more physically developed) players. Are there exceptions to the rule? By all means. Brittany Griner would not be starting at Baylor if Danielle Wilson hadn't left the program. Dunking is cool but rookie mistakes aren't. Cokie Reed (Texas) - ranked very high in the national rankings and was a highly coveted recruit - gets about 15 minutes a game... why? There is an older, more developed player that they can depend on. Kelsey Bone is in a more favorable position at South Carolina, they don't have a dominant post - so she is getting substantial minutes.


Godbolt plays the minutes she gets - out of necessity. If Timms or Burwell had the athleticism or heart (respectively), Godbolt would get 10-15 minutes a game - tops. If Calvin (who didn't qualify) were in the mix - even less minutes for Godbolt. I'm not saying she's not "nice", I'm saying there is a need to give her alot of minutes. There just isn't ANYONE else that can hang (bang) under the basket. She works hard, plays almost 30 minutes a game and her hard work is showing up on the stat sheet. The more she's played, the less mistakes she makes and her confidence is building. For the other freshman... I like SS decision to go with Brown (even though Hughes was a "safe" back-up). She's not super fast, she's not razzle dazzle - but with some more minutes under her belt - could become consistent (as Godbolt has). I don't feel like she is a "true" PG, but I have seen her find open teammates - and I've seen her take her share of charges, so - she's tough (I like that). Cuffie was recruited as a 2 guard (according to DRC & MGS). I have seen her play the 2, 3, 4 and 5 (the 5 against ULM). She sits behind Kellum, Hughes, James, and Torru. Since there are 8 guards on the team and realistically 2 guard positions (not counting PG) on the floor - for the minutes she gets (IMO) is productive. I know you said she is a "tweener" but she has a nose for the basket (can take a bump) and is a matchup problem for smaller guards. Hawkins, I think we both agree still needs to develop. She probably would have got a lot of run at a Mid - High D2 - she is very smart on the court, just not the fastest player out there.

As far as the JUCO transfers... Kellum is all that. As a 20 yr old, she is not all the way mature as a player, but has enough arsenal to cover up her mistakes and the physical build of a true Junior. She is by far the best 2/3 we have. Burwell has a nice touch, but doesn't like to get her hands dirty. So, you can't expect her to put a body on someone. You can't teach heart or toughness. An old (REALLY OLD) coach told me - "You can teach a lion to be a lady, but you can't make a lady into a lion".

So, yes - I hope to say "told you so"... we may have to wait for BJ to leave to see what this team can really do. It seems that you think SS should have raked in the likes of Griner, Bone, & Reed - but this is mid-major basketball, honestly after the first 10 players (per year) of national recognition, the pool becomes pretty level. Finding the right combination is key to a program's success.

I, like everyone else - want instant satisfaction and gratification. I've said time & time again - let them take their lumps. Do I think SS "sub-par" recruited, not in the least. I think with everyone being new to each other (including the coaches, not knowing what a player is going to do in certain circumstances), everyone is fumbling around in the dark looking for the switch.

To support what I'm saying look at the difference in muscle definition from Freshman to Soph/Jrs: Pics from FIU game In the pics are Cuffie, Brown - and Torru & Hughes. Look at the definition difference in their arms. Time... just a little bit of time

No, I did not think SS would be battling Tennessee, UT or Baylor for recruits. I did think that SS should be a better recruiter than Slinker and I really didn't expect her to be four players short no matter what their talent level. On an overall basis, I just don't think that SS recruited any better than an average Slinker class and if you consider that she had two players that apparently didn't qualify and another that left very early; it was a very suspect class. Furthermore by just looking at the box scores, I am not all that excited about her two early signees this year.

Give me an example of the type of recruit you are talking about that SS should be getting.