Syracuse, Texas, Oregon State lead Week in Review

Briana Day (35) and her twin sister have committed to Syracuse.

This was a busy week on the commitment front and with signing week, which begins November 14, getting closer and closer look for the commitment news coming from the class of 2013 to pick up exponentially. This weeks installment looks at Syracuse grabbing two class of 2013 post prospects, Texas picking up a post and a guard, and one of the country’s best perimeter shooters making a final college decision in addition to many other moves on the recruiting front.

By: Keil Moore

Follow @KeilMoore

Syracuse Grabs a Pair

This weekend Syracuse made a move to pick up where they left off with their No. 6 ranked recruiting class in 2012. The Orange secured verbal commitments from twin sisters Bria and Brianna Day of Durham N.C. The Day twins, who originally committed to North Carolina, made the decision to pick Syracuse while on their official visit to the future ACC school. As we stated in last week’s Visitation Nation, Syracuse making the move to the ACC from the Big East has helped them establish recruiting ties in the southeastern part of the United States. Two members of their 2012 class, Cornelia Fondren of Memphis, Tenn., and Pachiyaanna Roberts of Powder Springs Ga., completed their high school careers in what has typically been more of an ACC recruiting ground than a historical Big East talent center.

Going into North Carolina and selling playing in the ACC, with the ability to play a high volume of their games in their own backyard, was a selling point that you can be sure Syracuse pitched to the twins during the recruitment process. The additions of the Day twins to Syracuse’s 2013 recruiting class, which already includes wing Tasia Butler of Waldorf, Md., and point guard Alexis Peterson of Columbus, Ohio, gives them two athletic post players to pair well with a team that is already very talented on the perimeter. In addition to Butler and Peterson, Syracuse has a perimeter heavy 2012 class that includes top-25 caliber prospects such as Brittney Sykes and Brianna Butler.

The Texas Two Step

New Texas head coach Karen Aston has hit the recruiting trail with a fury since opening shop in Austin. Aston has done a very good job of planting roots in the state and pursuing some of the highest rated players in the Longhorn State and keeping them home.

Going into this week Texas had secured verbal commitments from No. 58 in the class of 2013, Nekia Jones of Beaumount, Texas, and forward Brianna Taylor of Houston, Texas, as well as one of the top 2015 prospects in the country LaShawn Higgs of Austin, Texas. This week Aston was able to add two more to the list as she secured verbal commitments from class of 2015 point guard Alyssa Dry of Ft. Worth, Texas, and center Kelsey Lang of The Woodlands, Texas. With Dry and Lang pledging this week, Aston and her staff have earned five verbal commitments since August 1, and are well on their way to locking down the elite talent in Texas and the Southwest region.

Oregon State Adds a Shooter

Oregon State picked up a verbal commitment from No. 80 Sydney Wiese of Phoenix, Ariz., in the early part of the week. Wiese was regarded as one of the better shooters in the class of 2013 and will bring her slight frame and lethal trigger to the Pacific Northwest.

When Oregon State coach Scott Rueck was hired as head coach in Corvallis, the women’s program was in the middle of a mass transition and Rueck had a lot of rebuilding to do at the PAC-12 school. Adding a top 100 player of Wiese’s caliber is a nice step in the right direction for Rueck who added a very good 2012 class led by 5-foot-9 guard Jamie Weisner of Clarkston, Wash., and 6-2 forward Samantha Siegner of Albany, Ore., and 6-foot-1 forward Deven Hunter of North Keizer, Ore. Adding Wiese to a roster with depth and youth in the front court already will give Rueck a lot of momentum on the recruiting front. The Beavers remain in the mix for No. 38 Courtney Range of Stockton, Calif.

Recruiting Recap

Richardson picks Mississippi State: Coming off of a very good summer in which she garnered interest from a number of BCS and high level mid major programs Breanna Richardson of Conyers, Ga., had a number of decisions to make in early August. Richardson narrowed her final list of schools to South Florida, Auburn, Georgia, and Mississippi State. This weekend Richardson took her official visit to Mississippi State and decided to shut down her recruitment and make a pledge to the SEC program.

Wright to Tulsa: A 5-11 post player, Kayla Wright of Lauderhill, Fla., made a verbal pledge to Tulsa. Wright has been apart of multiple state championship teams at Dillard High School, which has a girl’s basketball program that is consistently among the elite teams in the nation.

Johnson to UT-Chatt: At the end of July, Moses Johnson was able to elevate her status as a prospect to the point where she was a name on the top of a plethora of mid-major programs’ lists. The 6-0 forward is a good athlete who brings a lot of versatility to the floor. Johnson made a verbal pledge to Tennessee Chattanooga last week and should give the program a lot flexibility in how they plug her in the line up.

Keil Moore is the Director of Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com National Scouting Report – a division of Peach State Basketball, Inc. He also is a contributor and national recruiting analyst for ESPN HoopGurlz. Moore has been involved in the community since 2007 as a recruiting analyst and trainer. He can be reached at [email protected].