Transfer athletes strengthen basketball teams
Tim Bella
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Sports
It may be impossible to argue with the women's basketball team's decade of success or men's basketball's early-season prosperity, but it is evident the programs have been recruiting outside traditional avenues to strengthen their teams.
The two programs have a combined 10 players - five on the women's team and five on the men's team - on scholarships this season that have either transferred from another Division I program or have come from a junior college.
The combined number places TCU at second in the conference for the most scholarship players that did not come straight to TCU from high school. Wyoming leads the Mountain West Conference this season with 11 such players, seven from its men's program and four players from its women's program.
The number also puts the TCU programs in elite company in the state of Texas, ranking third in a list of eight in-state universities in the category. Texas Tech, with 14, and Houston, with 13, top the Horned Frogs.
Breaking the Norms
Women's head basketball coach Jeff Mittie said nontraditional recruiting seizes an opportunity to restock a program that will bid farewell to five seniors at the conclusion of this season.
The solid play he got from a transfer last season - former player and LSU transfer Hanna Biernacka - was a sign that bringing in transfers could work. The team has added three transfers this season: Chantelle John, TK LaFleur and Eboni Mangum. The three will sit out the mandatory year before they're eligible to play next season.
"We have five seniors this year," he said, "so when we looked at recruiting and had an opportunity to get some good players in the spring, we wanted to alleviate some pressure off of this recruiting class on signing all freshmen. It was a situation where we had never really done that before to this extent."
While there are 13 scholarships available to a men's basketball program, women's programs have 15 scholarships - an issue, Mittie said, that women's basketball should consider revising.
The two programs have a combined 10 players - five on the women's team and five on the men's team - on scholarships this season that have either transferred from another Division I program or have come from a junior college.
The combined number places TCU at second in the conference for the most scholarship players that did not come straight to TCU from high school. Wyoming leads the Mountain West Conference this season with 11 such players, seven from its men's program and four players from its women's program.
The number also puts the TCU programs in elite company in the state of Texas, ranking third in a list of eight in-state universities in the category. Texas Tech, with 14, and Houston, with 13, top the Horned Frogs.
Breaking the Norms
Women's head basketball coach Jeff Mittie said nontraditional recruiting seizes an opportunity to restock a program that will bid farewell to five seniors at the conclusion of this season.
The solid play he got from a transfer last season - former player and LSU transfer Hanna Biernacka - was a sign that bringing in transfers could work. The team has added three transfers this season: Chantelle John, TK LaFleur and Eboni Mangum. The three will sit out the mandatory year before they're eligible to play next season.
"We have five seniors this year," he said, "so when we looked at recruiting and had an opportunity to get some good players in the spring, we wanted to alleviate some pressure off of this recruiting class on signing all freshmen. It was a situation where we had never really done that before to this extent."
While there are 13 scholarships available to a men's basketball program, women's programs have 15 scholarships - an issue, Mittie said, that women's basketball should consider revising.
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Barnical Bill
posted 11/30/07 @ 7:07 PM EST
Team looks better this year than last two. With no injuries should see some improved stats.
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The Horned Frogs ranked last in the conference last season in FT%,FG% and 3PT%:
--last yr-/--vs Tech--/1st four games '07
FT. (Continued…)
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