JumpOffPlus.com College Tour: What We Learned @UMDWBB – Dec. 10, 2013

Brenda Frese has helping homework already delivered one title to the Comcast Center. The 2013-14 Terps are looking for a second one.
*Photo by Brandon Clay

COLLEGE PARK – Brenda Frese is in the process of guiding the 2013-14 version of her Maryland Terrapins back to the Final Four. Her coaching staff – David Adkins, Marlin Chinn and Tina Langley – brings a nice blend of both top notch recruiters and skill development specialists. Our time on campus taught us that Frese, the youngest coach in the women’s game to have a trophy to her name, has a roster capable of getting to Nashville, Tenn., to compete on the last weekend of this season as well. Here’s a look at what else we learned about one of the nation’s elite programs:

By: @BrandonClayPSB

You can read our in-game thoughts from Maryland vs Ohio State here: Maryland Game Blog

1) Alyssa Thomas is a top-3 WNBA Draft Pick.

As we made the transition in 2010 to covering the sport nationally, Alyssa Thomas of Harrisburg, Pa., was a rising senior at Central Dauphin High. essay writing servce With limited viewings, we knew the nation’s No. 18 ranked player was a top 20 prospect and a two-game All-American as well. What we didn’t know was that Frese and her staff would help Thomas become one of the college game’s top producers. She is on her way to possibly being named ACC Player of the Year for the third time. In the process, she has elevated her draft stock into a surefire top five pick and possibly the top overall selection next spring.

2) Crunch time is Lexie Brown time.

Like Thomas, Lexie Brown of Suwanee, Ga., was a two-game All-American selection as a high school prospect. Just a freshman, Brown has quickly proven her worth to this roster full of high school standouts. On what was an atypical night for the combo guard as she picked up three fouls in the first half, Brown still found a way to make her presence felt. The sharp-shooter delivered the final dagger to Ohio State with a crucial 3-pointer from the right corner to stretch the Terps lead to six with a minute remaining. extended essay ib business and management Brown was one of the nation’s top long range shooters in the class of 2013 and it appears that some things never change.

3) Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough could emerge as all-league selections.

Less than a year after a major injury, freshman post Brionna Jones of Havre de Grace, Md., has not only returned to the floor in an impactful fashion she has changed her frame in the process. She is a force down low with great hands and feet for a player of her size. On the perimeter, fellow freshman Shatori Walker-Kimbrough of Aliquippa, Pa., is logging major minutes for the Terrapins early in her career as well. ProspectsNation.com Director of Scouting, Keil Moore, loved Walker as a high school prospect saying that she could be similar to Auburn wing Hasina Muhammad. Early results from Walker-Kimbrough are right on pace with Muhammad’s consistent production on the wing in Auburn. Between the two of them, their play could very well warrant all-ACC Freshman team inclusion in Maryland’s final year of play in the league.

4) explanatory essay Comcast Center is truly all-inclusive.

A lot of talk is made about facilities these days and rightfully so. From the ground floor where the locker rooms are to the top floor with the 2006 national title on full display, Maryland’s facilities are first class. The Comcast Center holds the basketball offices, locker room and the playing arena. The administration even approved a state-of-the-art Sport Performance Center next to the locker room. That area is a basketball specific room where the players train mainly with machines designed to work on functional basketball movements. Even the academic center is housed inside the walls of the Comcast Center. It is unique in that regard and there is very little wall space that doesn’t remind you that you are walking through the home of Maryland Basketball.

5) Recruiting future Terrapins starts early.

The aforementioned Brown is a prime example of a prospect that the staff got a jump on beating other top shelf programs to the punch. The Terps have already reached back into the Peach State in the class of 2016 free online accounting homework help for two more prospects in Sarah Myers and Jenna Staiti both of Cumming, Ga. They recently hosted the nation’s No. 4 Class of 2015 prospect Napheesa Collier of O’Fallon, Mo., on an unofficial visit. Earlier this week, the nation’s No. 1 class of 2015 prospect Asia Durr of Douglasville, Ga., also lists Brenda Frese’s program as one of her possible destinations. As they transition from the ACC to the Big Ten next year, continuing to snag elite level recruits like Brown and Thomas will only help make the transition from the top of one league to the top of the other a smooth one.

Watch the initial episode of this season’s Under The Shell TV series:

Brandon Clay is the owner of the JumpOffPlus.com International Report, Peach State Basketball, Inc., and ProspectsNation.com. The JumpOffPlus.com is picked up by more than 200 colleges and universities nationwide. He serves as the Executive Camp Director for the Elite Basketball Academy Camps. Clay has been involved in the community since 2001. You can reach him at [email protected]