RecruitingWomen's Basketball

Creighton Women’s Basketball Recruiting Big Board: 2014

Creighton women’s basketball, if you haven’t noticed, is getting really good, really fast.

Last season, the Jays earned their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, upsetting Syracuse and coming darn close to knocking off Tennessee. This came on the heels of an exhilarating late-season run wherein Carli Tritz and Sarah Nelson led Creighton to win their last seven regular season games and clinch the Missouri Valley’s regular season title.

It’s been said that the Jays — both the men’s and women’s teams, in fact — will need to incorporate a different sort of player into the roster to compete in the Big East. We need hyper-athletic guards, slashing wings, and bruising post players. Corn-fed, Midwestern shooters and suburban HORSE players just won’t cut it like they used to.

But this C.U. squad has played — and hung with — the Big East before. Just this season, the Jays went 2-0 against Big East competition. In 2011, a young Creighton team played three halves of great basketball against Notre Dame, a national championship team, and St. John’s, who were on the ropes until a last-second buzzer beater. Jim Flanery’s scheduling style hearkens back to the days of Eddie Sutton and the Travelin’ Jays, who’d go anywhere and take on anyone. That philosophy has earned “Flan” some grief from fellow Valley coaches, but the regular season titles, tournament championships, and March Madness appearances speak for themselves.

This is all a long way of saying that the Creighton women may not desperately need a “new look,” whatever that means, to compete in the faster, tougher, meaner Big East. We can expect, however, that the Jays will try to boost the level of athleticism for a squad that periodically has looked lethargic, especially matched up against speedy, scrappy guards of the sort that fill Big East rosters. The team that will return next year is experienced and tough as nails. But Flanery & Co. will have the daunting task of filling the 2014 class with replacements for what’s been arguably the best recruiting class Creighton’s ever seen.

Update 6/27/13: The Creighton coaching staff is pretty much killing it. Three huge commitments in the last month (Brown, Lamberty, Norby) all came from the northern tundras of Minnesota, a veritable pipeline for the Creighton women’s basketball team. At this moment, the Jays have one or two more spots to fill in the 2014 class. We are looking into the possibility that yet another commitment from the North Star State (fun fact: Wikipedia also lists “Butter Country” as a nickname for Minnesota) is in the works.

Guards/Wings

Myah Mellman photo

Myah Mellman in black. (photo courtesy: globegazette.com)

Sydney Lamberty (photo courtesy: ncsasports.org)

ProspectHeightLocationSchoolsNotesResult/Trend
Myah Mellman5' 7"Mason City (Ia.) High

Club: All Iowa Attack
CREIGHTON, ILLINOIS STATE, DRAKE, IOWAEarly commit is a sharpshooter, making over 50% of her 3pt attempts this season ... Comes from same club program as the Jensen sistersSIGNED - Committed to Creighton in Oct. 2012
Sydney Lamberty5' 10"Park Senior High (Cottage Grove, Minn.)

Club: Minnesota Stars
CreightonOne of the most dominant guards in the Minneapolis area, with a real nose for the basket ... Scored 1,000th career point in Jan. of soph. yr. ... named to Adidas Trefoil Top 20 2014s to Watch.SIGNED - Committed to Creighton
Hannah Cook5' 11"Ozark (Mo.) High

Club: MoKan Eclipse
CREIGHTON, MISSOURI STATE, DRAKE, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE, Kansas StateESPN: ***

Confident, athletic guard with good frame and great range on her shot. Could be an impact player in first year.
RISING - Cook attended Creighton's camp this week.
Roichelle Marble5' 7"East High (Des Moines, Ia.)

Club: Kingdom Hoops Elite
Creighton, DRAKE, BRADLEY, Northern Iowa, Iowa, Iowa StateESPN: ***

Very quick off the dribble with superior penetrating ability, takes a commanding role on the floor
RISING - Roichelle played well against former CU target (now Marquette recruit) Kenisha Bell at an AAU tourney over the summer. She's poised to have a breakout summer with upcoming July tourneys in Augusta (GA), Chicago, and Minnesota.
Brooke Kissinger5' 6"Minden (Neb.) High

Club: Nebraska Bison Shooting Stars
CREIGHTON, ILLINOIS, Colorado, Oklahoma StateESPN: ***

Pure shooter with great outside game, good ball handling ... Scored 19.5 ppg playing for Class C-1 Minden HS. Twin sister is Jamie.
OUT - Committed to Illinois
Jamie Kissinger5' 9"Minden (Neb.) High

Club: Nebraska Bison Shooting Stars
CREIGHTON, Denver, SAN DIEGO, PrincetonESPN: ***

Very confident outside shooter, averaged nearly 16 pts. and 8 reb. per game this season. Would fit well in CU system. Twin sister is Brooke.
OUT - Committed to San Diego
Jenna Deemer5' 6"Ursuline Academy (New Orleans, La.)
Club:
CREIGHTON, TULANE, Northwestern, Ucla, Usc, Virginia Tech, LSU, LouisianaCan light up the gym with her scoring ability … One of the best three-point shooters in the New Orleans area … Named all-District by the New Orleans Times-Picayune this year … averaged 17 ppg.

OUT - Committed to LSU
Jen Wellnitz5' 9"Black Hawk High (South Wayne, Wisc.)

Club: Wisconsin Academy
Creighton, DRAKE, Wisconsin, UW-Milwaukee, UW-GB, Marquette, Northern Illinois, Evansville, Youngstown State Athletic wing with good slashing ability, great hops, and a knack for performing best when it counts … Four-sport athlete (BB, VB, softball, and state champion in T&F)OUT - Committed to UW-Green Bay
Kenisha Bell5' 10"Kennedy High (Bloomington, Minn.)

Club: North Tartan
Creighton, MARQUETTE, MINNESOTA, MichiganESPN: ****
Hoopgurlz Super 60: #37

Initially verballed to U. Minn. but decommitted after a great showing at Nike Nationals last year. One of the top prospects in MN. A great wing with phenomenal talent, right in CU's recruiting pipeline.
OUT - Committed to Marquette

Forwards/Posts

Kylie Brown (photo courtesy: breakdownsportsusa.com)

Bailey Norby (photo courtesy: berecruited.com)

ProspectHeightLocationSchoolsNotesTrend
Bailey Norby6' 2"Forest Lake (Minn.) High

Club: Minnesota Stars
CreightonScored over 1,000 pts and 700 rebounds in HS career ... Dominant presence in paint against strong HS competition … Plays tennis and runs track.SIGNED - Committed to Creighton
Kylie Brown6' 3"Simley HS (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.)
Club: Minnesota Fury
CREIGHTON, IOWA STATE, ILLINOIS STATERanked #8 player in Minnesota by gprep.net ... monster in the post ... will be a great successor to Sarah NelsonSIGNED - Committed to Creighton
Michaela Rasmussen6' 1"Holy Family Catholic (Victoria, Minn.)

Club: Minnesota Metro Stars
CreightonRoughly 15 ppg and 7 reb. per game against tough competition ... First-team All-Conference ... Would likely play on the wing at CUINTEREST
Kayla Burroughs6' 1"St. Cloud (Minn.) Tech

Club: Minnesota Comets
Creighton, Iowa State, North Dakota, Central MichiganAthletic wing has a 30-inch vertical and averages 15 ppg, with good shooting range ... will need to develop strength and work on inside game.INTEREST
Chatrice White6' 3"Shelby-Rising City (Neb.) High

Club: Cornhusker Shooting Star
CREIGHTON, NEBRASKA, IOWA, IOWA STATE, OKLAHOMA STATE, MICHIGAN STATE, PURDUE, Notre Dame, StanfordESPN: ****
Hoopgurlz Super 60: #34

White is one of the best post players in the nation and an absolute beast in the paint. She is getting tons of national interest but the Jays will certainly be in on her recruitment. White would replace current center Sarah Nelson and be an instant star for the Jays in the Big East.
OUT - Committed to Illinois
Chayla Cheadle5' 11"Rock Bridge HS (Columbia, MO)

Club: Missouri Phenom
Creighton, Texas Tech, Missouri, Kansas, Purdue, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, MarylandVersatile forward who can play on the post or as a big wing... lockdown defender ... Twin sister is 6' 1" Kayla, who is also receiving basketball offers but will likely go to college to play volleyball.OUT - Committed to Kansas (and so did her sister Kayla)
Sylvia Smith-Gatson (JUCO)5' 11"Central High (Omaha, Neb.)
Trinity Valley CC (Athens, Tex.)
ESPN: ****

One of the best bigs in recent memory in Nebraska ... this ESPN evaluation said it better than I can: "Has a power about her game with fluid athleticism and the ability to put it on the floor. Think point forward. Passing and handling skills are there"
INTEREST
*going JUCO in Fall 2013 but the Jays will be involved when she wants to transfer
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