|
Coaches:
high expectations for signees The Lady Frogs are predicting another Top-20 recruiting class for TCU, associate head coach Larry Tidwell said Monday. The 2002 TCU Lady Frog recruiting class consists of two junior college transfers and one incoming freshman. Kimmie Ortega, a guard, and Tracy Wynn, a forward are both coming from Seward County Community College who just finished winning the national junior college championship this past season. Ortega was named Women’s Basketball Coaches Association player of the year. “Ortega will be a good addition for our team,” said head coach Jeff Mittie. “We will have depth at the guard position.” Ortega’s teammate Wynn also inked with TCU during the early signing period. Forward Ashley Davis is the incoming freshman who played for San Antonio Taft High School, which lost to Mansfield High School in the championship game. Both Tidwell and Mittie said they have high expectations. “Ashley Davis could be another Sheryl Swoopes,” said Tidwell. Mittie said Davis is an exceptional player. “We have high expectations for Davis,” said Mittie. “She has a lot of the same qualities as Swoopes had.” Despite the fact that all three of the players signed with TCU in the early signing period, Tidwell said recruiting is ongoing. “Recruiting nowadays is 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” said Tidwell. “We are out watching juniors and sophomores (in high school).” Tidwell
said that TCU is easy to sell the program to prospective recruits. Tidwell and Mittie both said that TCU can recruit competitively with other schools like Texas, Oklahoma and schools in the Southeastern Conference. “With commitment from the administration, we are put on a level playing field,” said Tidwell. “That’s all we need is a level playing field. Our administration gives us that.” Tidwell said TCU goes head-to-head with a lot of major schools. “(Texas and Oklahoma) have more tradition,” said Mittie. “More kids are seeing (TCU) as a good choice.” Tidwell said he expects the new recruits to contribute immediately. “We aren’t recruiting for you to sit on the bench and look pretty,” said Tidwell. “With the system we have, everyone plays almost equal playing time.” Mittie said that generally they like to bring in high school players but that does not always work out. “We only look at recruits one way, can they help us,” said Mittie. “Either we need them to fill a hole or we just need (to make an addition to the team).” Along with the new recruits TCU will welcome Amy Pack who transferred to TCU last season from Texas-El Paso and sat out 2001-2002 season due to NCAA regulations. Pack was named to first team all-Western Athletic Conference for two years and was named WAC Player of the Year for the 2000-2001 season. In that season, she led the WAC in scoring and was second in rebounds. The Lady Frogs will also welcome back the return of guard Tricia Payne who has decided to return for her final year of eligibility. “(Payne) is just as good in the locker room as she is on the court. She will bring leadership to the team,” said Tidwell. “She is the best shooting guard in the country that we could have signed.” Tidwell, who is the primary recruiter for team, said he gives a lot of the credit for recruiting to the coaching staff as a whole. “(Mittie) is one of the few head coaches that likes to recruit. The other assistants also do a great job and make mine a whole lot easier,” said Tidwell. “This is by far the best coaching staff I have ever worked with.” Tidwell said he expects excitement and competitiveness among the teammates next season. “If you want to see excitement come to the workouts, there is going to be some competitiveness in work outs for positions,” said Tidwell. Nathan
Loewen |
|
|
TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
||