Which makes no sense when one recruiting service has her at No.1 in the state of Florida. ESPN moved Hannah Hildalgo up to No. 5.
But I never put too much stock in ESPN's rankings. I remember when they dropped Olivia from No. 2 to No. 8 after she committed to ND.
Whatever the reasons for her rankings, I am truly impressed with her. Watching her Sophomore highlights last year, it was really obvious that she is a really good shooter. I was even more excited after seeing her Junior highlights. Totally unselfish and sees the floor very well. She finishes strongly going to the cup with either hand and will also be a player that will not be afraid of mixing it up in the paint. She also has very active hands on the defensive end.
A real all around player and she is already coming to ND equipped with the Mike hair bun. I am honestly giddy about seeing her in action and playing with Liv, Soni, Maddy, and KK. This should be fun to watch.
I'm not going to get into this girl or that girl does or doesn't deserve their ranking. All I'll say is that everyone with influence has figured out how to monetize that influence. There's big business behind it all.
Emma still hasn't been to one of Premier Basketball's events and we haven't seen them at much, if any, of the events we do. I believe we are doing an event in June that may be one of theirs. She also hasn't been to any of Brandon Clay's stuff in years (since 5th grade). We are going to do a weekend individual camp of his in a few weeks. Florida PGH has seen a ton of Emma and BlueStar is very familiar with her as well. That's not to say they are any different, just more familiar. It seems like the people who have seen a lot of her, hold her in high regards.
Since I've followed football recruiting for about 30 years, I like to use football examples. How many times has a 3-star football player turned into an absolute stud in college? It happens quite a bit. Just because a kid didn't go to Rival's camps doesn't mean they aren't good. When I want to get a feel for a kid's abilities, I watch for myself and I look at the offer lists moreso than the ranking. If a 3-star has offers from Alabama, Ohio St. Notre Dame, Georgia, etc, there is a high likelihood he can play.
We (sort of) understand the business behind it (though not as well as you), and different girls and parents have different ways of dealing with it. As you say, a lot of influencers have figured out how to monetize that influence. It sounds like Emma will have a busy summer. Rest and relaxation is welcome also.
By the way, thanks for the junior year highlights. They were spectacular and, more than anything, showed how much Emma has grown/improved! We really are looking forward to rooting for Emma. (We could really use her this year! :)
...as much attention to Hoopgurlz as I used to. Infrequent updates, not details, mystifying up's and down's.
Like Baba, I look for some kind of composite on any given player.
For instance, no Emma Risch in Hoopgurlz? Try #13 in Blue Star or #44 in ASGR.
Cori Allen gone in Hoopgurlz? Oh, there she is at #26 in ASGR.
And Donovan up to #3 in Hoopgurlz? Well, she's one ahead of Emma in ASGR at #12.
Besides the composite for younger grades, I just go over to see if Prospects Nation has them in in the Top 150. They rank 2023 up to 25 and then have everyone equal-scheekquel (or something like that).
If the players are in these top 150 or the composites, they can probably play, right? At that point, see if Niele and Mike think she's a good fit for ND.
Personally, I'm really looking forward to Emma Risch letting it rip in South Bend!
gimme the dime!
Emma's dad say that the most contact he saw by any of the recruiting agencies was by Blue Star?
And, yes, from now on any recruit mentioned in the top 150 or so, who is above 40, gets a 50 on my recruiting spread sheet.