If you edit your message, you can then put the link in (as I did below)
And I edited my original post as well!
But sometimes a link from a while back has changed content (updated rankings as in your post), I don't see the harm in using the workaround - as long as it doesn't get abused
You can put the html code in your post:
You will have to edit this post to see the code in the following example. If you're logged in, log out and edit. Don't worry, you can't save an edit without providing my user name and password, but you can see the source.
Here's the example:
Hoopgurlz 2018 Recruiting Rankings
I put the underline tags (u and /u in brackets) before and after the HTML code for linking to make the link stand out more. The target="_blank" part of the code makes the link open in a new window or tab.
I don't advocate using this approach to bypass the restraint on duplicating links. There is a good reason it's designed that way. However, there are times I want to put multiple links in a post; and using the HTML code is a way to do it. Also, sometimes I want a link embedded in a sentence instead of being placed at the bottom of the post. HTML code works for that, too.
...did the message tell you? If so, I can attempt to delete it so we can use the more current post?
...but it looks like some ways have been found around it!
This is under the "Teach a man to fish" school. This will always allow you to post a link in the body of your post. Here is the example/explanation. The tag is a little tricky, but only because one must follow directions to the minute detail.
Don't put any extra spaces in the tag (especially after the equals sign), and don't forget to include an opening and closing quotation mark around the address.
If you go on the link at the top left of the board that says "Other Boards/links" and choose "Posting 101" you'll have instructions for how to do all kinds of HTML stuff in posts.
Now, if you know very little about college, basketball, and life, ESPN HoopGurlz has done a masterful job with its ranking. Baylor has arguably the greatest haul of talented recruits in the history of women’s basketball. Five, count them, five Five-Star recruits per HoopGurlz. At one time Aquira DeCosta was ranked number one, now, number three. Four of Baylor’s recruits are MacDonald’s All-Americans. The average ratings for Aquira DeCosta, NaLyssa Smith, Honesty Scott-Grayson, Queen Egbo, and Caitlin Bickle are 3.8, 7.0,18.3, 19.3, and 43.5, respectively. That’s insane. Plus they also have Chloe Jackson coming from LSU, where she led the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game.
However, if you know something about college, basketball, and life, you would never, never, rank Baylor as the number one recruiting class. The last time Baylor welcomed five recruits was the heralded class of 2015. Of those five, only Kalani Brown remains. The other four all left as sophomores. So, commiserations to Baylor. We wish them luck, but know they are headed down a rocky road, and that, in a year or two, it will no longer be the number one ranked recruiting class by any measure other than statistically of what once was—before any real basketball was played.
Except they don't turn pro, they just transfer.
You would think that some of these recruits might realize what's happening and consider that - I guess they just don't think it will happen to them.
Any recruiting class greater than 3 is encouraging the Transfer Syndrome that has hit women's college basketball, as you point out. UConn's class of 2 in the top 5 is ideal. Note that the transfers lost in the examples I gave below were just in that particular class. One would also want to check for transfers from previous classes to get the full impact.
However, as Domerduck pointed out, sometimes you need that big class to jumpstart a program, even though you realize there will be adverse side effects down the road.
Care to bet at least two will leave ND as All Americans?
-- Prospects Nation has us ranked #6 overall so both of these services have us in the relative same space
-- However, PN has Katlyn Gilber at #15 and Jordan Nixon at #16.
-- Hoopgurlz has lowered both Katlyn and Anaya Peoples since they committed and/or signed with ND. Hmmm...keep track of others?
-- After the top five of Baylor, UConn, Texas, Tennessee and Maryland, there's an ACC streak of Florida State,ND, Syracuse and Georgia Tech. And Louisville makes it a fifth ACC team at #15, so a third of the top 15 are from that conference.
and
-- Yes, I agree with many of the comments here. Now, that the recruiting part of the proposition is done, let's see what the coaches do with the incoming talent. This is where MM and her staff roll up the sleeves.
although she is the star.
Here's a brief sample I just looked up of 5 or more person recruiting classes:
UConn 2014 - not really 5, but became 5 when Natalie Butler joined; lost 2 plus Natalie Butler
Mississippi State 2014 - 5 including the coach's daughter; lost 2
Louisville 2015 - 5; lost 3
Louisville 2016 - 6; lost 2
Oregon 2016 - 7 (we talked about this one); lost 2
Baylor 2013 - (in addition to 2018 and 2015) 5; lost 3
Maryland 2016 - 6; lost 2 at least
OK, we're starting to get the picture. If I had to rank the schools in 2018, I'd give UConn the number one ranking. The school that already had the best rated 7, gets another incredible class. No wonder they are claiming gloom and doom in recruiting. They lost one number one recruit.
1. Many of these are highly rated players who figure they are going to start
2. Players who would start, but want to play at a higher level or a possible champion
3. Players who would start but leave for personal reasons (coach, school etc.)
4. Players who leave for explainable reasons outside of the school, team .etc. (homesickness, caring for ill parent, or other reasons like that).
I would put Boley and Patberg in different categories as a guess since we don't know the stories.
Many highly ranked men transfer to the NBA after one or two years.