BYU 2022

[bbg95]

Nov 15, 2022 9:53:41 GMT -5 vvv said:

Yah... good question. I don't know the actual details about who is scholarship and who isn't. Marn seems to know more in that area. But, I do know for a fact that a company I work with is sponsoring at least one of these recruits with a full ride, so I think this 2023 class had to be a little more creative with funds due to COVID and 5th year senior scholarships.

BYU has some advantages in that tuition and cost of living for students in Provo is quite low, and they've had some good NIL deals for their women's sports.

[bbg95]

Claire Little did her best RJP against Texas impression on Saturday, as she racked up 25 kills on .468 hitting in a sweep over top seed La Costa Canyon in the California state playoffs. There was also a short highlight video on her MaxPreps page. She is a very talented offensive player from what I've seen. I'm most impressed with her shot selection and accuracy, as she clearly understands that it isn't always about hitting the ball as hard as you can but rather to put it in a place that will give the defense problems. Her back row attack also looks absolutely deadly, and she hits it at an impressively sharp angle.

[karma]

what I hope for next year

OH: Livingston
OH: Little
MB: Llarenas
MB: Kemavor
OPP: Prior
S: Bower
L: Miller

That front row would actually be insane…

[bbg95]

Nov 11, 2022 14:14:07 GMT -5 kk1971 said:

Since BYU actually announced their signings this year right after the early signing period, and since I will be gone for the next week, I wanted to give a quick summary of my thoughts, followed with the more in depth look at each athlete later.

I like this class a lot. It brings in depth and good prospects at lots of different positions, which depth BYU will need more than ever going into the Big12. The headliner, of course, and someone I have been posting about for a long time is Claire Little. I believe she is one of the best OH prospect BYU has ever brought in out of high school. Don't misunderstand--that doesn't necessarily mean that she will be better than Hamson or Gray or RJP, to name only a few of the more recent great outsides at BYU. Where she goes from here is obviously totally up to her, but Claire Little comes in having accomplished an awful lot, including being named earlier this week as a First Team AVCA All-American, having won the California state championship and being named MVP as a freshman, etc., etc., etc. She jumps well, is a very good athlete, has a very high point of contact, and hits remarkably few errors for a high volume hitter.

That said, I also am very excited about Brielle Kemavor. She has the perfect frame, long arms, great reach, and outstanding athleticism you want out of a MB. She is not anywhere near as polished as Little, and she may not even start right away, but she will be an impact middle for BYU sooner rather than later, IMO. She is a terrific get, far better than her ranking on national websites IMO.

I think Damuni gives us great athleticism at setter. As was pointed out previously, she actually leads her team in blocks according to Maxpreps. She is a winner. She will be good.

I don't have a feel for how good Brielle Miller is, truly. I have seen a little film but not enough to know how good she is or isn't. Would welcome input from those who have followed her more closely.

And similar to my comments last year about Moravec, I like adding adding Addison Benson and Mia Lee. Benson has good size and I believe her to be a solid outside that will provide important depth. And I discussed Mia Lee in a previous post. I love her athleticism and believe that if she works hard she could be a real sleeper from this class. As is true with all things related to recruiting, an athlete's will and drive can make some of the least heralded prospects the best ones in the end--think RJP. And that may well be true here as well with these two. Time will tell.

By way of aside, I wish this board talked recruiting the way some of the other programs do. Look at this site on the Texas recruiting thread as just one example. I know people who dismiss recruiting until they actually see what people can do on the court. I respectfully disagree and believe that attention to recruiting is a sign of a healthy fan base and can give the more than casual fan an inside track to knowing how the future is shaping up. I don't truly believe I am "hyping" Claire Little, for example. I just think its cool as a fan to know that she beat Aliso Niguel again last night, for example, with 18 kills hitting .500. Its hard to beat a good team twice in just over a week. Its easy for other teams to game plan against Little since they know she will take a large percentage of the swings. The fact that they know this and have trouble stopping her anyway tells me something about Little. It fires me up for our future. I don't think that's hype.

Good analysis. I think BYU fans do care about recruiting, it's just that there are at least 10 times as many Texas fans on this board. Regarding Brielle Kemavor specifically, I've said this before, but I think she will be the most physically imposing player BYU has had since Jennifer Hamson. 

[bbg95]

BYU added another commit to their 2024 class with Lulu Uluave from Hawaii. She's listed at 5'9", so while she plays on the pins in high school, she will almost certainly a libero or defensive specialist at the P5 level. I don't know much about her, but she's averaging 3.1 digs/set this season according to MaxPreps.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClFWt7gvWca

[marnvbc2]

I hope they get 3 DS/L's per year on the roster over the next 2 years so that the law of large numbers gives them a shot at finding passers who can play at an elite level.

[kk1971]

Nov 13, 2022 3:04:33 GMT -5 marnvbc2 said:

Nov 11, 2022 14:29:56 GMT -5 mintonetteman said:

Makes back to back to back years we have had a first team AVCA All-American -- Elyse Stowell, Eden Bower, and now Clare Little. Regardless of how they turn out, that is a good sign.

Watching any recruit against top competition is the only way to see what they are made of.  Recruiting rankings are notoriously unreliable.  Unless it is a rare HS team, it is hard to determine just how good a player is.  Many great HS players appear to be sure fire D-1 top prospects.  I prefer watching the open division of club to see what an athlete can actually do.  That avenue showed me that Eden Bower will not be a 6 rotation player on a top 25 team, nor will she be a great hitter/blocker.  But, her build is proto-type D-1.  Looks were deceiving.  Stowell might end up a serviceable OH but that is a "might" and not all that certain.  Little has a much higher upside than those mentioned but it will be up to her work ethic and ability to settle on proper passing technique to excel and carry the title of the next great BYU OH.  Her potential is high.

marnvbc2  I still disagree on your assessment of Eden Bower.  Remember she missed a year due to injury and played catchup really from then on out.  My opionion is that she has improved continuosly defensively which is all you can ask.  I still think she will be an impact player for BYU before she graduates.   

I totally agree with you on Little and her potential.  It will be interesting to see how hard working and coachable she is.  If she is, she will be awfully good before she leaves. And I mostly agree on your comments about Open division club play vs. high school.   I agree that you have to see how they perform against the top competition, and if they can't do it there they may well not be able to do it at the D1 level.  That said, where I find value in HS is that the top club teams are really only all star teams with few weaknesses.  A HS team can have a really good player that is forced to constantly adapt and play out of system.  That, to me, is also very useful.  So if they can't make it at the club level I agree with you that that tells me something.  But if the club star can't make it on HS, that might tell me they are dependant on everything going right to be good.  The ideal recruit will be a star at both levels, because they tell you different things.   My .02. 

[karma]

what’s your confidence level that we can pull out a win in Provo tonight?

[vvv]

Kinda feeling confident!! They can do it.

[bbg95]

Nov 22, 2022 13:30:29 GMT -5 kk1971 said:

Nov 13, 2022 3:04:33 GMT -5 marnvbc2 said:

Watching any recruit against top competition is the only way to see what they are made of.  Recruiting rankings are notoriously unreliable.  Unless it is a rare HS team, it is hard to determine just how good a player is.  Many great HS players appear to be sure fire D-1 top prospects.  I prefer watching the open division of club to see what an athlete can actually do.  That avenue showed me that Eden Bower will not be a 6 rotation player on a top 25 team, nor will she be a great hitter/blocker.  But, her build is proto-type D-1.  Looks were deceiving.  Stowell might end up a serviceable OH but that is a "might" and not all that certain.  Little has a much higher upside than those mentioned but it will be up to her work ethic and ability to settle on proper passing technique to excel and carry the title of the next great BYU OH.  Her potential is high.

marnvbc2   I still disagree on your assessment of Eden Bower.  Remember she missed a year due to injury and played catchup really from then on out.  My opionion is that she has improved continuosly defensively which is all you can ask.  I still think she will be an impact player for BYU before she graduates.   

I totally agree with you on Little and her potential.  It will be interesting to see how hard working and coachable she is.  If she is, she will be awfully good before she leaves. And I mostly agree on your comments about Open division club play vs. high school.   I agree that you have to see how they perform against the top competition, and if they can't do it there they may well not be able to do it at the D1 level.  That said, where I find value in HS is that the top club teams are really only all star teams with few weaknesses.  A HS team can have a really good player that is forced to constantly adapt and play out of system.  That, to me, is also very useful.  So if they can't make it at the club level I agree with you that that tells me something.  But if the club star can't make it on HS, that might tell me they are dependant on everything going right to be good.  The ideal recruit will be a star at both levels, because they tell you different things.   My .02. 

I don't think we have to worry too much about Claire Little's work ethic. Here's what her club coach said about her:

“We’ve had a lot of incredible players come through the program, but it is the rare talented kid that throws off attention and just grinds,” Ozhan said. “Claire’s grit is unreal.”

This also adds up with what I've seen on tape. I don't see too many high school players with the kind of shot selection she has who aren't hard workers. A lot of talented high school players can just rely on their power at that level, but Little seems to have a pretty advanced understanding of opposing defenses.

Your other point about high school players who are forced to play out of position or do things differently to carry their team is also interesting, and I agree. I'm reminded of a story I read recently about Brielle Kemavor's high school team that lost in the state championship match after winning the title last season. In passing, the article noted that the opposing team had set up a triple block on her, which succeeded in holding her to "only" 15 kills. No matter how good you are, it will be tough if you're being triple teamed. In another sport, even Michael Jordan had problems earlier in his career with Detroit Pistons triple teams.

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