Wednesday, September 5, 2001

Frogs enter season with best recruiting class in team history
By Kelly Morris
Skiff Staff

After completing its best season in program history last year, the TCU women’s basketball team is now entering this season with its highest rated recruiting class ever.

The Frogs recruiting class currently ranks fourth in the nation according to Mike White’s All-Star Report. Last season, the recruiting class ranked 22nd, which was the first time a TCU women’s recruiting class broke the top 25.

FILE PHOTO Former women’s basketball player Janice Thomas drives to the hoop around San Jose’s Teoma Taylor as TCU head coach Jeff Mittie watches in the background. Thomas is one of five seniors this year’s recruiting class will have to replace.

But head women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie said the rankings alone cannot determine a team’s success.

“The rankings are always nice, but it’s more important what the players do on the basketball court,” Mittie said. “In our evaluation process, we look at not only what kind of players they are coming out of high school, but what kind of players they can become in college. I’d rather have a more productive class than a higher ranked class.”

The recruiting class includes freshmen forwards Sandora Irvin and Niki Newton, guards Maranda Hankerson and Ashley Browning and center Lindsey Prewitt. The class also includes forward Grace Gantt and guard Candace Baldwin, both junior college transfers.

Junior Amy Pack, a transfer from Texas El-Paso, is a walk-on player but will not play this season because of NCAA transfer regulations.

Associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Larry Tidwell said the high ranking is due to the involvement of many people.

“The entire coaching staff did a great job on this recruiting class,” Tidwell said. “It goes all the way from coaches, administrators and to the students. It’s been a complete team effort, and it’s awesome. We show a lot of promise this off-season.

“Not only are these players destined to have a lot of victories, they have the ability to leave a legacy here and take us very deep in the playoffs.”

Irvin, who is the niece of former Dallas Cowboy's’ wide receiver Michael Irvin, is ranked fifth in the nation according to the Blue Star Report. The 6-foot-4-inch Irvin averaged 19.5 points a game and 14 rebounds a game at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida. Irvin, along with high school teammate Hankerson, won the state championship during their senior seasons.

While Irvin is the highest ranked recruit, Tidwell said any player in the recruiting class can be a factor this season.

“Sandora comes in as the highest ranking, but as far as who is going to emerge and going to be a factor early, is up to them,” Tidwell said. “The ball is in the player’s court.”

The recruiting class also includes the tallest player TCU has ever recruited. Prewitt, who is 6 foot 8 inches tall, averaged 15 points a game and eight rebounds a game with Teurlings Catholic High School in Lafayette, La.

Prewitt, who was one of five players who committed to TCU in November, said she was thrilled to see the Frogs do as well as they did last season.

“I had the opportunity to see the Penn State game in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Louisiana,” Prewitt said. “My heart was pumping the whole time. It was very exciting to see, but I fell in love with this team before its season started.”

But even with the fourth-ranked recruiting class, the Frogs lost Karen Clayton, Sally Spencer, Amy Porter, Jill Sutton and Janice Thomas who all ended their eligibility last season. Sutton, who scored 1,300 career points, leaves as TCU’s second leading scorer, three points shy of the all-time scorer.

Despite losing the players, Tidwell said the coaching staff did a good job to fill those holes.

“We followed all these players really closely, and we know them inside and outside,” Tidwell said. “They have the same type of character, work ethic and skills. Everyone of these players were leaders on their teams, and at this level, we want players who aren’t going to stay in their shells.”

“We want over achievers, and that’s what kind of players I think we have,” Tidwell said.

And Mittie said he hopes the rankings hold true in the future.

“Two to three years down the road, we hope (those who ranked the class) were right. We think we have a good recruiting class, but we’ll just have to see.”

Kelly Morris
k.l.morris@student.tcu.edu