Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Wbbfan29 said:

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Kyla and Madison are both post players.

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But both of them have to lose 25-35 pounds to potentially [not guaranteed] be effective players.

They have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG Late Spring/Summer/Early Fall ahead if they dream of being rotation players.

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Did Kyla put on weight during the season? She didn't appear to be overweight before.

BU71 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Wbbfan29 said:

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Kyla and Madison are both post players.

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But both of them have to lose 25-35 pounds to potentially [not guaranteed] be effective players.

They have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG Late Spring/Summer/Early Fall ahead if they dream of being rotation players.

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Did Kyla put on weight during the season? She didn't appear to be overweight before.

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I agree,
Kyla was not overweight and I doubt she is now. If anything, she needs to get stronger, which could add muscle bulk. She is built a bit like Queen… they have bodies similar to high jumpers.

and mind you Queen was a lot higher recruit and didn't start getting a good groove until her Junior year. Also won the 6th player of the year her sophomore year.

My hope is that Kyla will be good enough to be second off of the bench and continue to improve so she can step into starting position the following year.

It's been pretty quiet this week. Feels like it's a week of campus visits and evaluation, before the dam breaks. Updating the list again. Note this isn't a list of the best overall players, it's a list of the players I think Baylor may be interested in pursuing, heavily weighted towards their talent, our needs (size), and their years remaining (Soph and Jr more valuable than Sr). It's only the opinion of a moron with a PC who has no inside knowledge:

HOME RUN TIER (i.e. give us the Oregon State frontcourt) - THEY COULD MAKE US ELITE:
1) Kiki Iriafen - 6'3" Forward, Stanford, will be Sr next year (Do not contact?)
2) Raegan Beers - 6'4" Post, Oregon State, will be Jr next year. (Do not contact?)
3) Timea Gardiner - 6'3" Forward, Oregon State, will be Jr next year.

VERY, VERY GOOD TIER - THEY WOULD MAKE US MUCH BETTER:
4) Janiah Barker - 6'4" Forward, Texas A&M, will be Jr next year (Do not contact?)
5) Aaronette Vonleh - 6'3" Post, Colorado, will be Sr next year.
6) Saylor Poffenbarger - 6'2" G/F, UConn/Arkansas, will be Jr next year.
7) Grace VanSlooten - 6'3" Forward, Oregon, will be Jr next year. (committed to Michigan St)
8) Ajae Petty - 6'3" Post, Kentucky, will be Sr. (committed to Ohio St)
9) Alyssa Latham - 6'2" Forward, Syracuse, will be Soph.
10) Liza Karlen - 6'2" Forward, Marquette, will be Sr.
11) Cameron Williams - 6'2" Forward, Michigan, will be Sr.
12) Deyona Gaston - 6'2" Forward, Texas, will be Sr.

INTERESTING, AND MAYBE THEY'LL BE VERY GOOD, BUT THERE ARE QUESTION MARKS TIER:
13) Nat Marshall - 6'5" Post, Notre Dame, will be Sr. (why was she a reserve with ND, is she physical enough to battle on the post with Lee, Crooks, Prince, and other elite Posts)
14) Temira Poindexter - 6'1" Forward, Tulsa, will be Sr. (can she compete at higher level of competition, can she share the ball without needing to be volume scorer)
15) Jordan Obi - 6'1" Wing, Penn, will be Sr. (can she compete at higher level of competition)
16) Elle Evans - 6'3" Forward, North Dakota St, will be Jr (is she quick enough to compete on the Wing at higher level of competition, is she strong enough to rebound and defend against bigger bodies)
17) Khadiya Faye - 6'4" Post, Texas, will be Sr. (is she mobile and skilled enough to fit into Collen's desired style of play)

GUARDS AND SMALLER WINGS - GREAT PLAYERS, BUT NOT OUR BIGGEST NEED:
18) Donovyn Hunter - 6'0" Guard, Oregon State, will be Soph (this is a Unicorn, based on talent and youth).
19) RIley Nelson - 6'1" Guard, Maryland, will be Soph (also Unicorn, talent and youth; rehabbing ACL).
20) Laila Phelia - 6'0" Guard, Michigan, will be Sr. (could play SF).
21) Chance Grey - 5'9" Guard, Oregon, will be Jr. (committed to Ohio St)
22) Talia von Oelhoffen - 5'11" Guard, Oregon State, will be Sr.
23) Ruby Whitehorn - 5'11" Guard, Clemson, will be Jr.
24) Maddie Scherr - 5'10" Guard, Kentucky, will be Sr. (committed to TCU).
25) Kaitlyn Chen - 5'9" Guard, Princeton, will be Sr.
26) Liatu King - 6'0" Forward, Pitt, will be Sr. (physical, explosive but undersized interior game).
27) Deja Kelly - 5'8" Guard, North Carolina, will be Sr.
28) Lucy Olsen - 5'9" Guard, Villanova, will be Sr. (committed to Iowa)
29) Leilani Kapinus - 5'10" Guard, Penn State, will be Sr. (excellent defender and rebounder).
30) Kylie Marshall - 5'11" Guard, Texas A&M, will be Soph (from Mansfield, was ranked #35 player out of 2023 class and was heavily recruited, but was buried on bench at A&M; not sure what to make of her).

Great question. Why might we be interested in Deyona Gaston? Aka, sell Dcheetah on why we'd add her to the roster? I'll take the challenge:

a. Because she's 6'2" with long arms, so is capable of playing slightly above her height.
b. Because she's a very good and fluid athlete with strength and mobility for her size.
c. Because what our eyes saw this season was a Gaston who was rehabbing and playing through two different ankle injuries, one in October and one in January, which robbed her of explosiveness. She will presumably be healthy next year.
d. Because in her healthy Jr year she averaged 12 points and 6 boards in 25 minutes, and made All Big 12 First team.
e. Because in her injured Sr year when she was competing for minutes in a crowded frontcourt with Jones, Moore, and Muhammad, she still managed 8 points and 4 boards in 18 minutes and earned All Big 12 6th Player of Year.
f. Because she shot 51% in her career, largely with an accurate midrange game from 10 to 18 feet.
g. Because she's a willing and physical interior player who will rebound and defend. She has 112 blocks in 106 career games, and comes from a UT program that values defense.

College free agency! Three days away from the May 1st deadline for non-grad players to declare for the portal. About half of the premier talent has committed, and Kiki was a big domino to fall yesterday, but there's still quite a bit of talent available. Note this isn't a list of the best overall players, it's a list of the players I think Baylor may be interested in pursuing, heavily weighted towards their talent, our needs (size), and their years remaining (Soph and Jr more valuable than Sr). It's only the opinion of a moron with a PC who has no inside knowledge:

HOME RUN TIER (i.e. give us the Oregon State frontcourt) - THEY COULD MAKE US ELITE:
1) Kiki Iriafen - 6'3" Forward, Stanford, will be Sr next year (committed to USC)
2) Raegan Beers - 6'4" Post, Oregon State, will be Jr next year. (committed to Oklahoma)
3) Timea Gardiner - 6'3" Forward, Oregon State, will be Jr next year.

VERY, VERY GOOD TIER - THEY WOULD MAKE US MUCH BETTER:
4) Janiah Barker - 6'4" Forward, Texas A&M, will be Jr next year (Do not contact?)
5) Aaronette Vonleh - 6'3" Post, Colorado, will be Sr next year. (committed to Baylor Bears!)
6) Saylor Poffenbarger - 6'2" G/F, UConn/Arkansas, will be Jr next year. committed to Maryland)
7) Grace VanSlooten - 6'3" Forward, Oregon, will be Jr next year. (committed to Michigan St)
8) Ajae Petty - 6'3" Post, Kentucky, will be Sr. (committed to Ohio St)
9) Maryam Dauda - 6'4" Forward, Arkansas, will be Jr.
10) Amina Muhammad - 6'4" Forward, Texas, will be Jr. (committed to Oregon)
11) Alyssa Latham - 6'2" Forward, Syracuse, will be Soph. (committed to Tennessee)
12) Liza Karlen - 6'2" Forward, Marquette, will be Sr.
13) Cameron Williams - 6'2" Forward, Michigan, will be Sr.
14) Deyona Gaston - 6'2" Forward, Texas, will be Sr. (committed to Auburn)

INTERESTING, AND MAYBE THEY'LL BE VERY GOOD, BUT THERE ARE QUESTION MARKS TIER:
15) Nat Marshall - 6'5" Post, Notre Dame, will be Sr. (committed to UMiami)
16) Christeen Iwuala - 6'2" Post, UCLA, will be Jr (committed to Ole Miss)
17) Temira Poindexter - 6'1" Forward, Tulsa, will be Sr. (committed to Kansas State)
18) Jordan Obi - 6'1" Wing, Penn, will be Sr. (can she compete at higher level of competition)
19) Mary Ashley Stevenson - 6'2" Forward, Purdue, will be Soph (Big 10 Frosh of Year). (very sound, high iq game, reminds of Bickle, but does she have length for interior, or shot/quickness for perimeter at elite level?)
20) Amari DeBerry - 6'6" Post, UConn, will be Sr. (committed to Maryland).
21) Karoline Striplin - 6'3" Post, Tennessee, will be Sr. (committed to Indiana).
22) Kyla Oldacre - 6'6" Post, Miami, will be Jr. (commited to Texas).
23) Elle Evans - 6'3" Forward, North Dakota St, will be Jr (committed to Kansas).
24) Khadiya Faye - 6'4" Post, Texas, will be Sr. (is she mobile and skilled enough to fit into Collen's desired style of play)
25) Tionna Herron - 6'4" Post, Texas, will be Soph (from DeSoto, had heart surgery in Jan 2023; is she fully healthy and in shape? Couldn't find minutes in crowded UT frontcourt this year).

GUARDS AND SMALLER WINGS - GREAT PLAYERS, BUT NOT OUR BIGGEST NEED:
26) Donovyn Hunter - 6'0" Guard, Oregon State, will be Soph (this is a Unicorn, based on talent and youth).
27) RIley Nelson - 6'1" Guard, Maryland, will be Soph (also Unicorn, talent and youth) (committed to Duke).
28) Laila Phelia - 6'0" Guard, Michigan, will be Sr. (could play SF). (committed to Texas).
29) Chance Grey - 5'9" Guard, Oregon, will be Jr. (committed to Ohio St)
30) Talia von Oelhoffen - 5'11" Guard, Oregon State, will be Sr. (committed to USC)
31) Aaliyah Nye - 6'0" Wing, Alabama, will be Sr (withdrew her name from portal).
32) Dominika Paurova - 6'1" Wing, Oregon State, will be Soph.
33) Ruby Whitehorn - 5'11" Guard, Clemson, will be Jr.
34) Gisella Maul - 5'11" Guard, Texas, will be Soph.
35) Maddie Scherr - 5'10" Guard, Kentucky, will be Sr. (committed to TCU).
36) Kaitlyn Chen - 5'9" Guard, Princeton, will be Sr. (committed to UConn).
37) Liatu King - 6'0" Forward, Pitt, will be Sr. (physical, explosive but undersized interior game).
38) Deja Kelly - 5'8" Guard, North Carolina, will be Sr.
39) Lucy Olsen - 5'9" Guard, Villanova, will be Sr. (committed to Iowa)
40) Leilani Kapinus - 5'10" Guard, Penn State, will be Sr. (excellent defender and rebounder).
41) Kylie Marshall - 5'11" Guard, Texas A&M, will be Soph (from Mansfield, was ranked #35 player out of 2023 class and was heavily recruited, but was buried on bench at A&M).