Basket ball recruits update

Discuss anything and everything relating to Bobcat Basketball here.

Moderators: rtb, kmax, SonomaCat

Post Reply
mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:51 am

With the high school basketball season just about to start, I have decided to start one thread to let those who care, know how these future Bobcat basketball players are doing. If anyone has anything to add please feel free. Here are our future Bobcat's

Men's Basketball
Jeff Budinich 6-10 KentLake High School, Washington

Women's Basketball
Ashley Albert 6-1 Hamilton High School
Chelsea Banis 6-3 Fairfield High School
Kelsey Roben 5-10 Regis High School, Denver CO.
Ally Schmitt, 5-8 Snohomish, High School, WA
Latisha Adams, 5-10 West Mesa High School, Albuquerque, NM,



mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:58 am

First up Ally Schmitt

Final ride for a trio of Snohomish Panthers

Three Snohomish seniors, Katie Benson, Ally Schmitt and Karley Lampman, all have full-ride scholarships to play hoops next year in college. But first the three have unfinished business, like winning a 4A state championship.

By Mike Cane
Herald Writer
Katie Benson is a basketball player capable of scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds every game. But what if the 6-foot-1 forward's shots are off target? Will she panic?

Not likely, because Benson knows she will get plenty of help from her friends.

"I don't want to have a bad game, but if I do, I know Ally and Karley will pick up the slack and we'll do fine," said Benson, referring to point guard Ally Schmitt and shooting guard Karley Lampman.

Together the three seniors spearhead an experienced Snohomish High School girls basketball team that expects to be in the hunt for the top prize in March at the Class 4A state tournament.

"That's my goal, to take us all the way," said Schmitt, a Montana State University recruit.

Along with Benson (Seattle Pacific University) and Lampman (Portland State University), Schmitt gives Snohomish something rare: Three full-ride college recruits on one prep squad. They all played varsity when they were freshmen. Now they're ready to kick off their final season together.

"They were good freshmen," Snohomish head girls basketball coach Ken Roberts said, "and they've all worked to get better. And I think that you're going to see that they've improved more between last year and this year than any other year before."

Last season Benson and Lampman helped propel Snohomish to a seventh-place finish in Class 4A state tournament and a 21-7 record. The Panthers did it without Schmitt, who essentially missed the entire season because of a knee injury. Now the confident, energetic point guard is healthy and hungry to get back on the court.

"I'm super excited to play this year because I had to sit out all last year," Schmitt said, "so I have a lot of energy going into the season. And I have a lot of high hopes."

Schmitt is "in the best shape of her life" and understands the game much better after watching from the bench, coach Roberts said. Another important result of Schmitt's return is it allows Lampman -- a natural shooting guard -- to return to her favorite position instead of playing point guard, a role she filled but didn't especially enjoy last season.

"Karley's going to be all smiles," Roberts said.

Anticipating heaps of open shots, Lampman said she's thrilled to unite with Schmitt again. "I've been playing with her since fifth grade and so it's so nice having her back because we just connect so well on the court," Lampman said.

Snohomish lost a potent inside force when junior forward Marjorie Heard left for Glacier Peak, the new high school in Snohomish. But the Panthers still have Emily Guthrie, a dangerous outside shooter. And in Benson they have one of the area's most versatile, stat-sheet-cramming performers.

Benson blossomed at the 2008 state tourney, posting scoring and rebounding averages of 18.8 and 8.5, respectively. She pounds away near the basket and is also comfortable launching shots from outside. Long arms and good timing make Benson valuable on defense too -- last season she averaged 2.5 blocks per game.

"She's just going to dominate in the post, and she can dominate on the perimeter. She can shoot the three. She's a threat all over the place," Lampman said.

In some cases, teams struggle when they have numerous star-caliber players. But Benson, Lampman and Schmitt said they don't anticipate any problems sharing the ball or the spotlight.

"We all just play well together as one unit," Benson said. "Even though we're good individually, we don't rely on that. We rely on our team."

Western Conference North Division girls basketball coaches overwhelmingly picked Snohomish as the team to beat in their league.

"It's going to be a tremendous challenge. I think they've kind of distanced themselves from the rest of our league and should definitely be the favorites," Lake Stevens head coach Randall Edens said.

Across the state, other 4A teams expected to be near the top are three-time defending champ Lewis & Clark, Auburn Riverside and Moses Lake.

After winning the past two 3A championships, Auburn Riverside moved up to 4A this school year. Anyone interested in seeing a clash of potential state-title contenders should be at the Snohomish High gym on Dec. 3, when Snohomish plays host to Auburn Riverside.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/200811 ... 004/SPORTS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Both Ally Schmitt and Kelsey Roben are from High School programs that are sending multiple players on to D-1 programs next year. There Stats might not be as impressive as some of the other recruits but they are winners.



Will_Holden
Honorable Mention All-BobcatNation
Posts: 897
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:40 pm
Location: Bozeman
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by Will_Holden » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:32 am

Here's a little bit about all three of the out-of-state women's basketball recruits signed back in mid November: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/bobcat-blog/?p=600" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


http://twitter.com/will_c_holden" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:47 pm

Bad news for one of Binfords recruits. Kelsey Roben from Colorado's Regis high school has ruptured her an ACL the other night. Tough injury for the young women, and i wish her the best. here is an article from ESPN:

Poly moves up after rash of upsets


By Glenn Nelson and Mindi Rice
ESPN HoopGurlz


Updated: December 17, 2008, 3:59 PM ET







Regis Jesuit's Mariah Williams is committed to UCLA.

There can't possibly be a curse tied to Beaverton, Ore., can there? After all, that's world headquarters for Nike, and there's very little snakebitten about the ol' Swoosh.

Yeah, but consider that Beaverton is the site of the Nike Northwest Invitational, which as most know by now has seen national No. 1s go down in its championship games for two years running.

And contemplate the fact that, shortly after this year's edition, Regis Jesuit, which suffered its first loss in Beaverton as the ESPN RISE FAB 50's No. 5 team, hosted Horizon the following Tuesday and lost by 12. Shortly after halftime, at which the teams were tied at 31, Regis lost Kelsey Roben, a Montana State signee, to a ruptured ACL. As it usually happens when a team loses its focus, Regis lost the game.

That's not all it lost. After the game, Shae Kelley, a 6-foot-1 junior standout, turned in her uniform and quit the team.

Regis, which entered the season looking like a national-title contender, now enters the Nike Tournament of Champions with two losses and without two of its best players. With Utah signee Diana Rolniak and UCLA-bound Mariah Williams, the cupboard certainly is not bare, but c'mon.

Curse?

Did we mention that St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), which went down as No. 1 to Kentwood (Covington, Wash.), in Beaverton, lost to Clovis West the next week?



User avatar
Helcat72
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 4282
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 9:47 pm
Location: Helena

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by Helcat72 » Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:03 pm

Ihope some of these recruits are a little more physical. I've watched several games and most teams are a lot more physical than we are especially inside. I think Garcia does a fantastic job plying down low, but if she was a little more physical I think we would rebound better especially offensively and have more of an inside game. When we don't hit outside shots, we usually don't have a chance. This is one of the best coached women's teams I have seen, but they are woefully under sized...not only in height!


2024 Resume dominance

mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:11 pm

I thought I might update folks on how a few basketball recruits are doing this year.

Mens:
Jeff Budinich 6-10 from Kentlake Washington: Jeff is averaging 16.6 points and 10 rebounds a game for a team that is 3-7 so far this year. Kentwood plays in the toughest league in Washington, and has been playing against multiple D-1 players every night. Jeff started out the season rather slowly but over the past 4 games has averaged over 23 points a game. Last night he had his best game of the season with 26 points and 16 rebounds.

Here is a link to an article ranking the top 25 basketball players in the state of Washington. Jeff is ranked 15th.

http://www.seatownsports.net/2008/12/to ... ayers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BTW: I have heard both Montana State and Montana are recruiting #9 Colton Christian and #23 Taylor Hoffer and Montana signie Eric Hutchison is #21.

Colt Idol 6-3 Whitefish (or if you prefer Seakittens). He is averaging 22.5 points this despite limited play in some games becuase of foul trouble. He is willing to defend, but need to get better at it, still in one game sitting out the 2nd and 3rd quarter he still score 23 points.

Michel Swita 7-0 center from North Idaho: Last I checked he still has not played since November.

Women's

Kelsey Roben 5-10 Regis high school in Denver. Kelsey blew out her ACL in the first game of the season and will not play this season. Maybe next?
Ally Schmitt 5-8 Snohomish HS in Washington. Snohnomish has been ranked in the USA top 25 all season long. Ally is on a team with 4 D-1 seniors. I don't have he point totals but they have varied most of the season. I have seen it as high as 14 points. here is an article from a few day's ago that pretty much captures Ally in a nut shell.

http://www.heraldnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... e=printart" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Latisha Adams 5-10 W. Mesa HS in New Mexico. Latisha has been burning up the nets by averaging 19 points, 3.6 assist, 9 rebounds, and 4.5 steals a game against very tough competition. Much like Budinich she started out slow but has caught fire as of late averaging over 25 points the last 4 games.

I have run out of time I will sorry Ashley Adams and Chelsea Banis, I will update later.



mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:24 am

Here is a great article on Future Bobcat Ashley Albert

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009 ... orts01.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Image

High hopes in Hamilton: Ashley Albert, Broncs eye landmark trip to State A tourney
By MICHAEL HEINBACH of the Missoulian


Hamilton High School senior Ashley Albert practices on Wednesday at the school. Albert, who has signed to play for Montana State next season, is hoping to lead Hamilton to its first state tournament since 2003.
Photo by TOM BAUER/Missoulian

There's a poster of the Butte Civic Center hanging in the Hamilton girls' locker room. For those involved with the basketball program, it might as well be a photograph of the Promised Land.

For senior guard Ashley Albert, it's a reminder of just about the only thing she has left to check off on her to-do list before finishing her high school career.

Each of the last two years, the Broncs have come one game shy of advancing to the State A tournament, taking third place at the Southwestern A divisional, arguably the toughest girls' basketball conference in the state. When Albert and her teammates see that poster of the site of this year's state tourney in March, they remember there's unfinished business to attend to.


“Every day going into practice, you see that poster and it gets you excited,” said Albert, a four-year starter for the Broncs. “Obviously there's a lot of season left to play, but it really gets you pumped up for tournament time. It's what our ultimate goal is - to make state.”

With Albert leading the way, the Broncs have a solid shot of taking a ticket from traditional league power Dillon or defending state champion Anaconda.

Hamilton hasn't reached the state tournament since 2003, but is 6-1 thus far this season. And the Broncs' 6-foot-1 shooting guard is key, averaging 19.6 points per game.

Despite her current prowess, things weren't always smooth for Albert on the high school hardwood.

As a freshman, she was tall and lanky but had some of the best ball-handling skills on the team. So Hamilton coach Owen Burch played her at the point.

“She really has always been kind of tall ... she was 6-foot as a freshman,” said Mark Albert, Ashley's father, who took over as head coach of the Broncs in Ashley's sophomore season. “She was probably the best ball handler they had so she played point guard. I guess looking back she physically wasn't ready to deal with that yet.”

Being handed the reins of a high school offense as a freshman wasn't entirely out of Albert's capabilities, but that first season of prep ball wasn't an easy one.

Though Albert earned all-conference honors, she averaged just six points per game and the Broncs stumbled to a 5-16 record.

“I guess our program was in a rebuilding stage and they didn't have a point guard,” she said. “I did play point some in middle school, but going from playing point guard in middle school to playing high school varsity was a big difference.”

Things began to change for the better.

Not only did Coach Albert return four major cogs from the 2005-06 season, but his daughter began to mature physically. After ironing out an issue with iron deficiency, she gained more energy and stamina.

Albert had always been a gym rat, shooting and honing her skills on her own for hours at a time, but she finally had the physical makeup to compete at a higher level. In Albert's sophomore season, the Broncs finished 12-11 and took the first of two straight consolation crowns at the divisional tournament.

Last year, Hamilton improved to 14-7 with Albert averaging 12 points and eight rebounds a game. When the season ended with another third-place finish at divisionals, Albert went on to play with the Big Sky Hoops AAU team. At the Arizona Elite camp in Phoenix, Albert received her first recognition from area college coaches, most notably Montana State head coach Tricia Binford and Montana's Robin Selvig.

“It was her goal all along to play college basketball at some level,” Mark Albert said. “But we never even thought about her playing in the Big Sky. She didn't show that kind of promise until last spring and if she hadn't been in Arizona at the camp it might never have happened.”

With a summer of about 50 games worth of AAU experience behind her, Albert set her sights on two camps. First, she participated at the Montana State camp and was surprised when Binford offered her a scholarship to play for the Bobcats at the end of the week. She was set to play at Selvig's UM camp a week later.

“I was really excited about that first offer,” she said. “But then my dad told me that the same thing could happen next week. I couldn't believe it could happen again, but it did. I kind of thought to myself, ‘Wow, I must be better than I thought.' ”

After weighing the offers, Albert went with her gut and chose MSU because she clicked with her future teammates at camp and liked the way she saw herself fitting in with Binford's system.

“The funny thing is that our whole family is from the Missoula area,” Coach Albert said. “My parents live in Missoula, her mother's parents live in Missoula, we both graduated high school in Missoula and we both went to UM. She chose on her own and I'm proud of her independence and ability make the choice that's best for her.

“Both the Montana State and Montana staffs were great to her. We feel very confident that the MSU staff will help develop her as a player, just as they would have at UM.”

Binford, who plans to move her recruit to forward, isn't shy in voicing how she can't wait for Albert to join the Bobcats.

“We heard a bit about her last year with the numbers she was putting up during the season,” Binford said. “Then we saw her in Phoenix and we just got really excited about her potential. I think she's one of the purest shooters in the state and she'll fit in very well in our system.”

As for now, Albert's focus is entirely on helping the Broncs make the state tournament. With talented Misha Trotter at point and the slated return of Cierra Smith and Averyl LaSalle from soccer injuries, chances are Hamilton has yet to play its best ball this season.

When asked what's been the most treasured memory of her high school playing days to this point, Albert points to last season's divisional semifinal. Though Dillon posted a 50-40 overtime win over Hamilton on the Broncs' home court, Albert uses that game as motivation.

“Sure we fell just short of state again,” she said. “But it was such an intense game. It was the biggest crowd I've played in front of for a high school game and the atmosphere was awesome. Yeah it was disappointing losing the game itself, but it was really fun to be a part of and it left me hungry for revenge. Really hungry.”

There's little doubt that when Albert eyes that Butte Civic Center poster she sees herself and her teammates playing in this year's state tournament.

“I want to get there more than anything,” she said. “Our goal isn't just to get to state, we want to go there, perform well and maybe even place. We've set our sights pretty high.”



mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Thu Jan 15, 2009 12:28 pm

Here is a nice artcle that mention's Bobcat recruit Jeff Budinich from a game he played a couple nights ago. The second very short blurb is from a game he played last night.

Auburn Riverside boys survive scare from Kentlake


Jeff Budinich continued to post huge numbers Tuesday night for the Kentlake boys basketball team.

Problem was, Budinich ran into a pair of players from Auburn Riverside who proved to be just as hot as he’s been.

Auburn Riverside’s Mitch Hagerty scored a game-high 31 points while teammate Ryan Rogers wasn’t far behind, pouring in 27, leading the Ravens past the Falcons 90-81 in a pivotal South Puget Sound League North Division game.

Now half way through the SPSL North schedule, the win helped the Ravens (4-4, 6-5) further solidify its fifth-place standing in the league. The top five teams advance to the postseason. As of Wednesday night, the Ravens were two games behind rival Auburn (6-2, 8-2) for fourth, but a game up on Jeffersn (3-5, 4-6) for fifth.

With nine league games left, Kentlake (1-6, 3-7) remains on the outside looking in.

But it isn’t due to any lack of production from Budinich, who has been downright torrid of late. The 6-foot-9 Montana State University-bound senior ripped off 26 points and 16 rebounds against the Ravens. He has averaged just more than 20 points per game in his last five contests and 16.6 for the season.

And Tuesday night, for a short while, it looked like Budinich’s hot hand might just be enough for the Falcons to get past the Ravens.

Down 39-32 at the half, the Falcons rode Budinich’s hot hand in the second half, capturing a 71-70 lead with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Budinich was deadly from the outside, hitting six 3-pointers in the game, including four straight at one point in the third quarter.

The Ravens, however, proceeded to go on a 20-10 run to end the game.

Budinich wasn’t alone on the offensive end for the Falcons. Mike Salazar added 15 points while Daniel Landram chipped in 12. Carson Crooks and Tyler Wright scored 11 apiece.

Along with his 31 points, Hagerty added 10 rebounds and three assists.
Kentwood’s 6-foot-9 junior Joshua Smith, the nation’s top-rated center in his class, scored a season-high 36 points as the No. 7 Conquerors blew past Kentlake, 62-47. The Falcons’ Jeff Budinich, who will play at Montana State, had 24.



User avatar
BelgradeBobcat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 8131
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 9:52 pm
Location: Belgrade, Montana

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by BelgradeBobcat » Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:08 pm

mslacat wrote:Here is a nice artcle that mention's Bobcat recruit Jeff Budinich from a game he played a couple nights ago. The second very short blurb is from a game he played last night.
Hmmmm. Perhaps defense is an issue?



User avatar
SonomaCat
Moderator
Posts: 23960
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 7:56 pm
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by SonomaCat » Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:32 pm

This caught my attention:
Budinich was deadly from the outside, hitting six 3-pointers in the game, including four straight at one point in the third quarter.
Having a 6-10 guy who can shoot like that will definitely be a plus. Does he have a decent inside game as well?



mslacat
Golden Bobcat
Posts: 6069
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 11:12 am
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by mslacat » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:21 pm

Jeff Budinich update He is averaging 17.5 points a game and 12 rebounds, I am told has Domako range. The following pictures are from a game last night. He scored 24 points and I believe pulled down 14 rebounds, against one of the better young center/forwards in Washington. His team won 71 to 47 and his play was limited.

Image


More pictures here (Budinich is #44):
http://mickwhite.org/kvs/2009-photos/01 ... kl-tah-al/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



tetoncat
Member # Retired
Posts: 2917
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:14 pm
Location: Montana

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by tetoncat » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:28 pm

Wow, huge crowd, were they playing at Sac State.


Sports is not bigger than life

User avatar
SonomaCat
Moderator
Posts: 23960
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2004 7:56 pm
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Contact:

Re: Basket ball recruits update

Post by SonomaCat » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:37 pm

tetoncat wrote:Wow, huge crowd, were they playing at Sac State.
Yep, that's the world of urban high school basketball. There are a lot of Bay Area games where the highlights show a game featuring multiple D-1 signees ... and they are played in tiny gyms with nobody there.

Class C regular season games in MT seems to draw more than most games around here ... and I assume the same is true up in WA around Seattle.

The community doesn't follow high school basketball in areas like this ... it doesn't define a community like it does in MT (especially the small towns in MT).



Post Reply