Alyssa Latham details recruitment, planning Rutgers visit this spring
Alyssa Latham previews her spring visit to Rutgers women’s basketball, talks pizza.
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Alyssa Latham
- Thread starter HeavenUniv.
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When I went through the recruiting process many years ago. My coach made me visit a couple programs that he knew would not be a fit so I had something to compare. He told me that after the visits. Not saying this is the case but it is Important to see what you don’t want also.
could be and sometimes the athlete sees something that makes it a better fit than the coach thinks.Recruiting is helped when they come see the place, if they don't come a harder chance to convince that player program is a good fit.
What would worry more than what your coach did, is a coach recommending not to visit telling the player it's a terrible fit and player discounts the program as an option.
I think the position of the RUWBB program in terms of being undesirable is being overstated. Yes, this season was a total disappointment, but it was one season.
The coaching question may keep a recruit from jumping all in on RU, but the current roster along with the signees are reason to give serious consideration our way. I didn't even mention the University itself and what it has to offer......and the new facilities.
I look at the list of schools that have offered, and I would be leaning Rutgers' way myself. Depaul and Northwestrn are good, good coaches, but have been pretty much on par with us over recent years, excluding this one of course. Clemson is a southern campus that could appeal but their WBB program hasn't been as good as ours.....maybe ever. BC is not a bad option and is on the upswing. Hopefully, a recruit will choose NY Metro area over Boston(a little biased there). Tennessee is the attractive choice but if this young lady is considered a 3-star recruit, she has to be concerned with being recruited over at Tenn. They are getting their footing back from the dip after Pat. Likely to see more 4 and 5-star recruits come there in the next year or two.
Rutgers, in that sense, is a pretty attractive choice to keep in mind. It really comes down to whether Alyssa wants to stay close to home or wants to get away from home like many young people choose to do.
We do need to hear something regarding the coaching situation though, ASAP.
The coaching question may keep a recruit from jumping all in on RU, but the current roster along with the signees are reason to give serious consideration our way. I didn't even mention the University itself and what it has to offer......and the new facilities.
I look at the list of schools that have offered, and I would be leaning Rutgers' way myself. Depaul and Northwestrn are good, good coaches, but have been pretty much on par with us over recent years, excluding this one of course. Clemson is a southern campus that could appeal but their WBB program hasn't been as good as ours.....maybe ever. BC is not a bad option and is on the upswing. Hopefully, a recruit will choose NY Metro area over Boston(a little biased there). Tennessee is the attractive choice but if this young lady is considered a 3-star recruit, she has to be concerned with being recruited over at Tenn. They are getting their footing back from the dip after Pat. Likely to see more 4 and 5-star recruits come there in the next year or two.
Rutgers, in that sense, is a pretty attractive choice to keep in mind. It really comes down to whether Alyssa wants to stay close to home or wants to get away from home like many young people choose to do.
We do need to hear something regarding the coaching situation though, ASAP.
Whaaat?! None?? I'm talking the Metro whole area....not just New Brunswick area.. Even if you have to go to NYC or Brooklyn. I'd go get that pizza if it's going to bring in the recruit we want.
I gather we aren't getting anyone else for this year!! This is going to be a very very long year and I really feel bad for the girls to play this way if we have any injuries forget; Even though we finally got CVS out she is going to haunt us for the next few years because of what she did
Cannot deny the mess that must be bleached out.
But coach cannot get a complete pass. When she took over there were 1143 Div one players in the portal. Then half that many again fcs. There must have been a point and combo guard in that group one would think.
the center we got never hit the portal.
Yet you have a select few posters on here that continually beat the drum that the situation was overblown and we’re clueless. She left such a stench in this program and clearly painted her successor into a corner.
What I find funny is that the people complaining today that the staff didn’t fill out the roster with warm bodies from the portal are the same people that denied there was a problem with the prior staff.
This is a 2023 prospect that visited us during the prior staff's tenure. She was not expected to join us this season.
Also, we don't even know if the current coach continued recruiting her, as she did not continue to recruit Zoe Brooks.
This was just to let people who may not have been aware that a prospect we once recruited has given a verbal to Syracuse. RU and a lot of other schools will have to wish her well and move on.
Honestly,......When CW was hired on around May 22, ...Tell me, you didn't expect her to fill out roster openings via the portal over the rest of the summer? There's a whole lot more than just warm bodies on the move these past two months.
Also,....Think about this time a year ago, we had a fully stocked roster of decent to good players. When you think about that now, you can understand what I was saying about the cupboard not being bare, as some people said after Diamond, Zippy, and the seniors left last year, and CVS promptly brought in quality transfers.
Where the train completely derailed was when the season started. I would venture to say no one saw Tim crashing and burning as badly as he did last season. If anyone on here did see his total failure coming, they sure didn't share those thoughts with the rest of us on this board. If he had done a halfway decent job, last season turns out to be a respectable one.
But again, it's time to deal with the new and stop blaming everything that happens from here forward on CVS. CW is faced with a challenge,... My focus is on how she deals with it.
The Legette-Jacks, K. Lawsons, C. Bangharts, Shauna Greens, etc, are not looking back at the previous regimes. They are too busy implementing their own thing. It's just unfortunate that CW doesn't have a previous team of her own that she could bring players with her, nor does she have the recent relevance with young prospects who were only about 6-10 years old when CW was a winning HC. They may not have even been born when she was a WNBA player.
Hence, it is going to take time to build it up. CVS has nothing to do with that.
Good, bad or indifferent during the course of this rebuild and CW's tenure there will be a reflection to CVS. That's just how the world world works. If we were 18 months or two years into her tenure I would tend to agree with you but were not. Were a couple months in and the vast majority of people around the program and the fanbase are livid with the demise of the program. People can be supportive and optimistic about CW and the future and at the same time they can be bitter about the last ten months or so. That's okay. It shouldn't be an either or situation.
Seems like time has now passed since the hiring to at least get to 10 decent players. We are are 8. There are not at least two more quality players out there? Optically, it seems like not a good start for the new coach though there may be more being dealt with behind the scenes that we are not aware of (e.g., word on the street RE program reputation scaring off recruits).
Frustration with the program over the last ten months is definitely warranted. Include me in that group of fans, ...although I fall way short of being 'livid'.
Reflection on the CVS era is also understandable. I do it all the time, but we have to remember the title of this thread. The young lady choosing Syracuse is in no way a negative reflection on CVS.
These replies to my yesterday's post here in this thread are good examples of 'hijacking' a thread.....whether intended or not, that is the result. Nobody is saying it has to be either/or , just saying, ...No need to go reflecting to CVS all willy-nilly. It just doesn't apply to every topic discussed on this board. There has to be an existing thread more fitting for these latest reflections to CVS.
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Yes, with young folks today, the program's recent problems will be in their mind when considering us(fairly or unfairly). This is where the new coach gets the opportunity to show what they are made of and sell the prospects on the NEW RUWBB program. If they don't sell their own new program, it's on them, not the previous staff.
As I said in earlier post. Other coaches who have recently taken over "rebuilds" hit the ground running with the recruiting. The Delaware coach that took over Arizona St., the USC coach, are two more examples to go along with the others I've mentioned in numerous prior posts. Although our recruiting appears to be very slow right now, CW and staff may be lining up good prospects that will have us in line with those programs signing recruits left and right. I just need to see some signs of it to believe and feel better about it.
If word on the street is scaring off recruits at this point, it would be pointing to a problem they have with the current staff. CW and staff are the ones recruits are communicating with and would be coming to play for. Facilities can't be scaring them off.
IDK...Maybe it's a NJ thing. You know how we get a bad rap with the comedians.
Crazee I remember having this conversation with you last year when you were upset that we were not chosen in the preseason top 25. I told you the roster was not as strong as it looked on paper. And net-net transfers out clearly outweighed players in. The coaching staff was weak and lacked leadership. And that RU was in for a long season. You did not think so.
I did not think CW would fill out the roster just to fill out the roster. Did I think we would have 8 players absolutely not. You have to understand. CVS staff and roster the last 3-4 years as much as you think was all kumbaya was a dysfunctional mess. CW has one chance to instill her values on this program and there is no need to take chances on 1 year players. CW knew that this was not a 1 year turnaround. This was always going to be a multi year turnaround.
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There it is. So, the answer to my question is YES!, you expected her to use the portal to add the players needed. It's okay.... you could say it.
You're making an argument off of a lot of statements that don't reflect anything I've expressed.
Never have I said "fill out a roster just to fill out a roster".
If you have no point guard, you need to search for a point guard. With the pool of players still in the portal at that time, I felt like they could find a fit. It is my belief that a PG is necessary for the players on the roster to have a productive season that doesn't put them more at risk of injuries having only 8 players.
You never heard me say that it's about turning the team into a contender this coming year. I, myself, have stated and also agreed with other posters that it will take time(years) to build it up. Have I not?
My insistence on getting a point guard(at least) is, as I stated in earlier posts, for the sake of the players who stayed.....So that they don't have to go through another dysfunctional year like last year. Also for the young ladies who chose us to play out their final years of eligibility. It's not about them going to the final four, or even making the tournament.
Lastly,....the talk of it being such a risk to bring in a one year player, sounds more like an excuse to not search for one. There is risk that exists with any player, 1-year or 4-year. That's why you do your HW on all players that you bring in. It's ridiculous to put a stigma on 1-year players as if they are likely problematic. Especially in this day of grad transfers.
We can finish this and the CVS era conversation on another more appropriate thread.
Where in my statement did I say that CW would not use the portal? I merely said I am not surprised she didn’t fill out the roster and that we only have 8 players.
Reread my post and see who is making an argument about something I did not say. I was replying directly to questions and statements you make in your post.
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Also,....Think about this time a year ago, we had a fully stocked roster of decent to good players. When you think about that now, you can understand what I was saying about the cupboard not being bare, as some people said after Diamond, Zippy, and the seniors left last year, and CVS promptly brought in quality transfers.
Where the train completely derailed was when the season started. I would venture to say no one saw Tim crashing and burning as badly as he did last season. If anyone on here did see his total failure coming, they sure didn't share those thoughts with the rest of us on this board. If he had done a halfway decent job, last season turns out to be a respectable one.”
Once again you use alot of words to defend the previous staff and the fact they left the program in shambles. We have debated many times on this site and as I have said prior I appreciate your passion but the way you see the program and the greater nj basketball community is not always reality. And the fact that CW didn’t bing in more players showed that more than likely she did search for good candidates and did the homework.
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You criticized those who expected CW to fill out the roster via the portal. 'Warm bodies"
By making this statement, you're implying that you expected us to add players to this years roster. Correct? That's what I'm pointing out. You criticized people for expecting the same thing you expected. That's the point I was making.
I'll take this point by point:
1)If you think that is criticism you have a very thin skin. Do you know what "fill out a roster with warm bodies" means? It means to bring people in that don't meet the requirements to be there, a placeholder. It does not mean bringing in capable people. If CW does not think the candidates are capable or up to her standards then it his her call not to fill up the roster for the sake of filling up the roster. As I said earlier CW has one chance to instill her values in this program.
2)Again you missed the point. Am I surprised we only have 8 people on the roster? Yes. At no point did I say CW would not look at players in the portal. The statement does not imply anything. I am saying I did not expect there to be only 8 players. Would I prefer a full roster? Absolutely! who wouldn't. But they have to be capable ( in CW and staffs eyes). Again I would rather have 8 people that CW trusts and can develop than 1 more that she does not. I am assuming she is creating an us vs the world mantra within the program. I also wouldn't be surprised if she finds available candidates all the way to registration. It is fluid and the staff is doing their homework.
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Please recognize the entirety of my posts on this site. I have been unapologetically supportive of the program and coach while also being critical when I felt it was warranted (which has been often). I also appreciate your passion, but just to be clear, I've only been sharing my opinions. I don't claim to be the final word on any topic here.
All of us on the outside looking in can't just make that assumption. In support of CW and staff, we can only hope that is the case. And also hope that they continue to search, being that the situation continues to change with the portal.
Respectfully, I think we've exhausted this discussion. I heard your points. You heard mine. Let's leave it there.
Have a good night! And again I appreciate your passion. This year will be tough but I have a good feeling about CW and the future of the program!!
