Looking Ahead: In 2022, Should We Say Grace....VanSlooten?

Raoul recently redid his wbbblog prospects page on Grace VanSlooten, a 6'3" forward (who could probably play wing) from Notre Dame Academy in Toledo. (Does anyone on the Bench know her or the school?)

Dan Olson of Hoopgurlz ranks her 14th overall in the Class of 2014 and fourth at her position. He wrote this synopsis of her during her tryout at the U.S. National Team (made it to the top 42):

"USA Trials-May 2019: Stretch-4 prospect with superior length in the front court; drains the jumper with range to the arc; quick, versatile defender, competes on the glass, rebounds and handles in transition; a hybrid-4 game, mismatch producer; continues rapid development as an impact prospect at the next level. (Olson)"

In the fall of 2022, Sam Brunelle will be a senior (oh my!) and Maddy Westbeld a junior. Niele Ivey has already struck early, offering 2022's Ayanna Patterson from Ft. Wayne, who is the #1 wing prospect and #3 overall rated prospect in that class.

Never hurts to have options. VanSlooten says the factors she's considering are "team, coaches and (a place for her) parents nearby." Hmm...ND-Toledo? Seems pretty good to me.

Perhaps she's worth a look see as another option to Ms. Patterson. Good height is hard to find.

bTW, I know of no connection to ND at this point. But given the lack of college visits and AAU events, I do have time to scout the internet and get ideas!

Let us know what you think!

Click here for link at https://wbbblog.com/grace-vanslooten/

Connection: Name of her school

Does that count?

Might save her some money at the bookstore buying new gear

Looking at the timeline of her offers from Miami and from

Marquette, Megan Duffy made both offers. Grace certainly should be on ND's list for 2022. She and Ayanna Patterson live within easy driving distance of South Bend. ND should have room for one of them in the 2022 entering class. They have different strengths, but both fit in that hybrid forward position currently occupied by Sam and Maddy.

Depending on Next Allowed Recruiting Steps....

...there might be a chance to get Kiki Iriafen (Class of 2021) and/or Ayanna Patterson or a Grace VanSlooten of the Class of 2022 to ND for an on-campus evaluation (if ND wants to go in that direction).

A press release on recommendations came out a bit ago, but numerous folks on various boards said a decision had been put off.
If it did come through, it could be like this:

"Establishing opportunities for coaches to evaluate prospective student-athletes from Aug. 15 through Sept. 29."

Ayanna and Grace could take advantage of the closeness of Ft. Wayne and Toledo, respectively, while Kiki could get to campus to take a look see on top of a workout. She's Class of 2021, so there is some urgency.

Regarding Megan Duffy's interest in VanSlooten. There is a redshirt senior forward named Lauren Van Kleaunen on the Warriors who is a hybrid forward. She's easily the Warrior's best forward right now and I'll bet Megan saw a lot of her in VanSlooten. Plus, Megan had a couple of 6'2" hybrids at Miami of Ohio, so she knows how to use the position.

Seems likely the recruiting dead period will be extended

tomorrow through the end of August for all sports, so that would kill campus visits for at least another month.

If on-campus evaluations are permitted in September (a big if), it would apply only to high school seniors, so class of 2021.

This will create a challenge for the 2022 recruiting cycle.

We think we know who is on NDWBB's early list for 2022, but it will be harder to identify those who will be showing rapid improvement. Especially if high schools seasons are jeopardized by a possible "second wave" of the virus.

Technology will help ease the pain a bit.

As states start to open back up, some of these summer tournaments that had been cancelled are looking to give it another go, with the plan to livestream the games, which coaches can watch. Similarly, teams and clubs are livestreaming their practices for coaches to watch as well. Not the same as being there in-person, but maybe a little better than watching edited film.

If we don't get our collective butts in gear in response to this pandemic, causing entire seasons to be lost again, then who knows what happens, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Do you know if the livestreaming of summer events will be

available to us or limited to college coaches on a pay per view basis? I know that coaches have had to buy costly programs to AAU events in the past.

I suspect they will be costly because that's the norm.

But livestreams are supposed to be available to the general public to be permissible for coaches to watch (whether paid or free). So if you're willing to pony up the money, you should be able to watch.

Maybe we can create a fund to have a panel from McGraw's

Bench watch the streams, after we figure out how to identify the players and when they are playing.

Thanks Much for Keep Us Informed. (And Me Honest)

So, if only 2021 folks are allowed to come, let's get Kiki Iriafen on campus.