2021 Recruiting

OZBaller wrote:Hey DD

I see another Aussie girl from Perth 2021 signed with pilots

Could be the new Saint Mary’s

Hmm, we're aware of a 2018 center/forward from Brisbane who's in the transfer portal, but that's the first we've heard of a 2021 recruit from Perth.  Do you have her name or a link?

Under current NCAA rules she cannot have signed yet, the earliest she could do that is next November, but is it possible she's verbally committed?

Emma Strelein, 5-10, guard from Perth, apparently committed to the Pilots on March 1.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=emma+strelein+basketball+perth&view=detail&mid=B9B4B9682BD6D104D452B9B4B9682BD6D104D452&FORM=VIRE

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=emma+strelein+basketball+perth&&view=detail&mid=29864C14DF15D4264EE329864C14DF15D4264EE3&rvsmid=B9B4B9682BD6D104D452B9B4B9682BD6D104D452&FORM=VDQVAP


Go Pilots.

wrv wrote:Emma Strelein, 5-10, guard from Perth apparently committed to the Pilots on March 1.

FieldLevel wrote:Perth, WA, March 12th, 2020. Emma Strelein, a recruit from Kalamunda Eastern Suns, commits to play college women's basketball at University of Portland.

Name: Emma Strelein
High School Graduation Year: 2021
Height: 5' 11"
Positions: PG, SG, SF

https://www.fieldlevel.com/app/commitments/emma.strelein/basketballwomen

wrv wrote:Emma Strelein, 5-10, guard from Perth, apparently committed to the Pilots on March 1.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=emma+strelein+basketball+perth&view=detail&mid=B9B4B9682BD6D104D452B9B4B9682BD6D104D452&FORM=VIRE

You gotta love she was the 2018-19 MVP of the U-19 men's league using the men's size ball and shooting from the FIBA 3-point line.

An article which tells us about Emma's recruiting, including contact with Haylee Andrews, comments on the coaching staff here and her future intentions.

She looks good on video. Playing with young men seems pretty easy for her.

https://pickandroll.com.au/emma-strelein-commits-to-university-of-portland/

More highlights from 2021 commit, Emma Strelein.  This from the 2019 U-18 Australia Junior Championships.

Emma appears to be formidable and I suspect will challenge for immediate playing time.

Though it hardly matters, this video was already posted on March 20--and it remains enjoyable.

Saw this about six weeks ago, but wanted to get confirmation from the staff before posting here.

Maddi Condron, a 6-7 post from Melbourne, has given her verbal commitment to play for the Pilots beginning in the fall of 2021.



https://pickandroll.com.au/portland-secures-a-fourth-aussie-in-centre-maddi-condron/

This from nine months ago...

Welcome Maddie. Look forward to seeing you here on the court.

Go Pilots.

Hey, at least one team got the "big" we've been asking for.

We'll see if Ms. Condron proves fleet afoot enough and athletic enough to make a contribution or to be the caliber of "big" we would "ask for."

wrv wrote:We'll see if Ms. Condron proves fleet afoot enough and athletic enough to make a contribution or to be the caliber of "big" we would "ask for."

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I thought the same when I saw her on tape, but by all accounts she is just now beginning to blossom as a player, and as the article stated, "Like many taller players, Condron’s game has developed later than most but she's currently on an exponential development curve."

Let's face it, she'll need time to develop, and she has another 18 months before she begins playing D1 basketball actively or as a redshirt...and when she does start playing she'll likely be a "disrupter" more than a scorer.

I think of BYU's Sara Hamson who is so fun to watch because at 6-7, she's like a windmill on the court always disrupting the other team's inside game while blocking shots and rebounding.  In three years at BYU Hamson is averaging less than six points per game, but averages 4 blocks and 8 rebounds.  It's too bad there is no stat for "disruption" because despite her stats, she was twice the WCC Defensive POY and this past season she was named to the WCC Second Team.  Oh, and she has 336 career blocks, with one year to go.

I don't know if Hamson took a two-year LDS mission, but in her first two years at BYU she started a total of 28 games, and last season she started 29.  So as good as she is, it has taken awhile for her to develop her body and stamina, just as it has taken UP's 6-5 Lauren Walker a few years.

As I often hear, "you can't teach height" when it comes to basketball players...

DoubleDipper wrote:

wrv wrote:We'll see if Ms. Condron proves fleet afoot enough and athletic enough to make a contribution or to be the caliber of "big" we would "ask for."

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I thought the same when I saw her on tape, but by all accounts she is just now beginning to blossom as a player, and as the article stated, "Like many taller players, Condron’s game has developed later than most but she's currently on an exponential development curve."

Let's face it, she'll need time to develop, and she has another 18 months before she begins playing D1 basketball actively or as a redshirt...and when she does start playing she'll likely be a "disrupter" more than a scorer.

As I often hear, "you can't teach height" when it comes to basketball players...

Let's hope that Ms. Condron's effectiveness is comparable to the BYU center. She has time to develop obviously.

I am not sure how Coach Meek views redshirting his recruits but this may be a player whose ongoing development suggests a redshirt year.

That said, any insight on whether we continue to recruit others at the post for next or the following year?

Condron is not a graduate transfer or transfer. Do we continue to search or are we done recruiting for this year?

wrv wrote:I am not sure how Coach Meek views redshirting his recruits but this may be a player whose ongoing development suggests a redshirt year.

I think he’s generally for it.

This past season Mike wanted to redshirt Megan Engesser (since transferred to D2 Black Hills St.) because she needed more development, but the team was so decimated by injury the staff needed her in uniform.

Some recent highlights of Maddi Condron not yet posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cDf47LCy_8

According to the opening frame she is 6'8", an inch taller than previously indicated.

wrv wrote:Some recent highlights of Maddi Condron not yet posted:

She's obviously got a long way to go in her development, but you gotta like that she appears to be equally adept with either hand when shooting near the basket.

Class of 2021, 6-3 wing from Melbourne...

Welcome Emily. More height and skill on the frontline, albeit not beginning until 2021-2022. No doubt the sheer number of the coming crowd from down under is a record for the Pilots, but I begin to wonder how it compares historically to other WCC teams. If we count our 1 Kiwi as from the same region, I believe in 2021 we will have 7 players from Australia and 1 from New Zealand for a total of 8.

Should we rename the Pilot's women's team?

DoubleDipper wrote:

wrv wrote:Some recent highlights of Maddi Condron not yet posted:

She's obviously got a long way to go in her development, but you gotta like that she appears to be equally adept with either hand when shooting near the basket.

What I liked is that in that video she didn’t once put the ball on the floor.

With her Height, she shouldn’t try to be a point guard.

No word from UP yet, but I'm hearing we can add a fourth recruit to the  Recruiting Class of 2021...MJ Bruno, 5-10 forward from 4A Central Valley HS in Spokane Valley, WA.

I'm told the coaches love her motor and energy while averaging 12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 3.2 steals in 2019-20. In the 4A title game this last spring she scored 15 points with 7 rebounds.

It seems right there is at least one American in the class...

In summary, we should be seeing the following group signing with UP during the early signing period:

Emma Strelein, 5-10 wing from Perth, Australia
Maddi Condron, 6-7 post from Melbourne, Australia
Emily Sewell, 6-3 forward from Melbourne, Australia
MJ Bruno, 5-10 forward from Spokane Valley, Washington

Barring injuries and transfers, UP WBB will be very deep in a couple of years...if not sooner.

This is an excerpt from a Seattle Times article dated March 15, 2020 indicating Bruno was committed and Portland bound--it is a list of the Seattle Times All State Girls Basketball team.

G M.J. Bruno, Central Valley, 5-11, jr.

11.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.7 steals

Pure energy on the court, Bruno was the Bears’ most consistent player as they won the Class 4A crown for the second time in three seasons. Portland singee is a steady rebounder and scorer in the paint.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/high-school/seattle-times-all-state-girls-basketball-cashmeres-hailey-van-lith-made-her-case-as-states-greatest/

Welcome. Someone up north heard you were coming.

I trust the pep band has been sent the score to at least a few bars of Advance Australia Fair.

I wondered about this anthem so I queried if people in Australia like "Waltzing Matilda"? This was a common response:

"We like it because it evokes Australia in a way that no other song can, particularly not our ghastly national anthem, Advance Australia Fair. You can tell by its frightful name that it's an outdated song full of embarrassing jingoism. So much so that it is actually embarrassing to sing it."

So Geezer how about a video featuring the unofficial anthem?