What’s happened this offseason? Lots! Let’s start with the three biggest developments so far.
- Virginia Tech signs two junior college stars
With three starters to replace and little margin for error in the rugged ACC, Hokies head coach Kenny Brooks went mining in the junior college ranks and struck gold – twice.
Nugget No. 1 – Taylor Emery, a 5-10 guard who earned National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year honors after leading Gulf Coast State to the NJCAA Division I national title.
Alexis Jean
Nugget No. 2 – Alexis Jean, a 6-1 wing from Florida by way of Kennesaw State who was named a first-team NJCAA All-American after a sensational sophomore campaign at Palm Beach State.
Emery and Jean augmented a five-player recruiting class that already included high school All-American Aisha Sheppard. Transfer forwards Michelle Berry and Erin Garner, both of whom sat out last season, will also be available. And then there’s explosive guard Rachel Camp, who missed 2016-17 with injuries but scored at least 29 points three times during her first two seasons.
Last year, the grind of the ACC schedule exposed Tech’s severe lack of depth. But with these players added to a returning nucleus fronted by all-conference caliber performers Chanette Hicks and Regan Magarity, Brooks figures to have a lot more options in 2017-18.
- Natalie Butler becomes a Patriot
Imagine a young actress debuting with an award-winning performance, then spending the next three years training at Juilliard. The basketball parallel is set to unfold at George Mason with the arrival of 6-5 center and Northern Virginia homegirl Natalie Butler, a graduate transfer from mighty UConn. A Fairfax Station native, Butler began her college career as a freshman sensation at Georgetown (13.9 ppg, 13.3 rpg) before spending the next three seasons (one redshirt) carving out a valuable supporting role within the vaunted Huskies juggernaut. (Stay tuned for our chat with Natalie coming in the next week.)
Now, the Patriots will get a boost even if Butler is merely the same player she was at Georgetown – the 13.3 boards per game she posted as a freshman would have led the Atlantic 10 and ranked second in all of Division I last season. But given the UConn program’s renowned discipline/work ethic regimen, one can easily imagine the Patriots inheriting a fitter, savvier version of the Butler who lit up Big East competition in 2013-14. Get your popcorn ready, Mason fans.
- Rebuilding Old Dominion, Take Two
Karen Barefoot took over at Old Dominion seven years ago promising passion and enthusiasm – man, did she deliver! – and championships (well, ah….). Now, two out of three ain’t bad if you’re Meat Loaf. But the fact is, at a program with designs on cracking the Top 25, Barefoot approached the final year of her contract with a resume of ODU teams that consistently fell well outside the Top 100.
But just when it appeared the ODU program was poised to spend another season stuck on the 16-18 win treadmill, Barefoot allowed herself to be wooed away by UNC Wilmington. The job of returning the Lady Monarchs to national relevance now belongs to the highly decorated Nikki McCray-Penson. Listing all of the new coach’s accomplishments would take up too much bandwidth, so here’s the Cliff Notes version:
- Star at Tennessee under the legendary Pat Summitt
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist
- Three-time WNBA All-Star
- Ace assistant at Western Kentucky, Temple and 2017 national champion South Carolina.
Obviously, in terms of name value and pedigree, the hiring of McCray-Penson is nothing short of a grand slam. That said, it’s never been more difficult for a non-Power 5 conference program to be a big-time player in women’s college basketball. So make no mistake — restoring Old Dominion to anything close to past glory will be a massive undertaking, particularly for someone serving as a head coach for the first time.
Then again, when one considers the volume of success McCray-Penson has enjoyed at every stop to this point, Lady Monarchs Nation has to like her chances.
Other offseason developments of note:
Virginia inks French junior star
The Cavaliers added an intriguing piece for the 2017-18 season – not to mention some international flair – in 5-11 guard Amandine Toi (pronounced TWAH), a native of Paris and a current member of the French U19 junior national team. In fact, before she heads to Charlottesville, Toi has national team business to attend to in the FIBA U19 World Cup running Saturday through July 30 in Italy.
JMU gets MAAC star
A two-way standout is headed to JMU i
n former Siena guard Jackie Benitez, who is transferring to the Dukes after leading the Saints in scoring (16.6 ppg) while doubling as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In other words, the Kahwi Leonard of the MAAC. We arched an eyebrow upon noticing that Benitez shot just 34 percent from the field last season. Then again, she also shot 82 percent from the free throw line. Someone that can stroke it like that can surely become more efficient from the field in the right situation. Benitez will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2018-19 season.
Mass exodus from Old Dominion
The fallout from Barefoot’s departure was severe as four would-be returners transferred – although two made their decisions well before Barefoot left – and four newcomers secured releases. The latest to flee – twin posts Janae and Janeen Camp, who are now at Coastal Carolina. At present ODU has 10 players – eight returners (including one walkon) and incoming freshmen Ashley Morris and Dejah Carter.
In a lot of ways, the roster situation McCray-Penson faces mirrors the one Barefoot inherited when she took over in 2011. That team had to replace four starters and had just seven returners; the 2017-18 Lady Monarchs also has four openings for starters and seven (scholarship) returners.
The program’s academic profile was a mess in 2011, and Barefoot was effective in cleaning that up. But in terms of talent on hand, Barefoot is essentially leaving the program exactly the way she found it.
Dribbles and bits
JMU has at least two high-profile games on its schedule as the Dukes will visit Tennessee on Nov. 15 and host Florida State on Dec. 3….Liberty picked up a pair of interesting transfer guards in Ria Gulley (Indiana) and Emily Lytle (Arkansas-Little Rock)…VCU has acquired former ESPN Top 100 recruit Jordan Agustus, a 6-1 forward from the Bronx who transferred after two seasons at St. John’s…Former William and Mary assistant Millette Green is now the head coach at Division II Augusta University… Old Dominion will host Liberty in the opening round of the WNIT at 4 p.m. on Nov. 10. In another WNIT first-rounder, George Mason will visit 2017 postseason WNIT champion Michigan at 7 p.m. The game will pit new Patriots center Butler against Michigan’s 6-5 star Hallie Thome (16.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg), a first-team All-Big Ten performer…Despite its pared-down roster, Old Dominion is still scheduled to visit Costa Rica for three competitive games and clinics on Aug. 14-21. Also, VCU has a 10-day trip to Cape Town, South Africa on tap for Aug. 9-19…In our “If you can’t beat ’em, have ’em join you” department, Radford is welcoming JMU transfer Savannah Felgemacher, who delivered an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double against her new team when the Dukes spanked the Highlanders last March in a WNIT first round game…After announcing an intention to transfer shortly after the season, Norfolk State’s first-team All-MEAC forward Kayla Roberts has decided to remain a Spartan. Roberts, a rising senior, led NSU in scoring and rebounding last season (check out our exclusive video interview with Roberts(. More good news for NSU came when the NCAA granted guard Jordan Strode, the team’s second-leading scorer, a sixth year of eligibility. Instead of facing a significant rebuilding situation, the Spartans will now have their top three scorers back from the seventh-most improved team in Division I a year ago. Look for our exclusive interview with Roberts on this site soon.