Kent State added its official announcement of its five fall commitments this morning, so we know quite a bit more than we did yesterday.
The new Flashes are:
Savannnah Neace is a 6-3 forward from St. Henry High School in Hebron, Ky.. which is across the river from Cincinnati. She was her team’s leading scorer (10.5 points per game) and rebounder (8.8 per game) and averaged 4.4 blocks per game. She had three triple-doubles. Kent State coach Danny O’Banion praised her versatility, saying she could score inside and outside.Her team had a 20-12 record last year.
Merissa Barber-Smith is a 6-3 center from La Follette High School in Madison, Wisc. She averaged 15 points and 15 rebounds per game last year was selected as one of the top 50 basketball players in Wisconsin. Her team reached the Wisconsin regional finals. O’Banion said her length and athleticism were reminiscent of current 6-4 senior Cici Shannon. Barber-Smith’s team team was 12-12 last season.
Taylor Parker is a 5-7 point guard from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Last season she averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 steals, 3.4 assists 3.5 steals and 2.1 rebounds per game. Her team was 14-3 and runner-up in the Detroit City Championship the last two years. She was a third-team all-city selection.
Alexa Goiden is a 5-9 guard from Chartiers Valley High School in Pittsburgh. She missed her junior year with a knee injury. As a sophomore, she averaged 8.9 points, 3.9 assets, 3.8 steals, 2.6 blocks and 7/9 rebounds and was considered one of the best sophomores in the area. O’Banion praised her “defensive tenacity” and “high basketball IQ” and called her a “prototypical ‘glue player.'”
Megan Carter is a 5-7 point guard from North Farmington High School outside Detroit. She averaged 16.7 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists per game as a junior. Her AAU coach called her “definitely one of the top two guards in the state in that class.”Her team was 10-10 and district runner-up last year. Like Golden, she has had knee problems; she tore an ACL twice. She was the Oakland Press 2013-14 Comeback Player of the Year.

Here’s the kentstatesports.com story.

Other MAC schools are announcing their recruiting classes. I’ve retweeted the ones I’ve seen (@wbbflashes) and will to do a wrap-up.

The team’s pre-season Media Day was today, and coach Danny O’Banion and her tri-captains were pretty optimistic. Highlights:

1. It’s O’Banion’s team and system now. She’s recruited everyone on the team except guard Mel Stubbs, who missed last season with an injury, and says she has the pieces in place to play the kind of up-tempo pressure defense she’s wanted to since the beginning.

2. She says the team has more depth and a more diverse skill set than it has had in her three years. Example: Nine of the 11 scholarship players played more than 15 minutes, seven more than 20 minutes. One of the other two, forward Janae Peterson, is still recovering from some off-season physical problems. The 11th is redshirt freshman forward McKenna Stephens, who transferred from Michigan State and will be eligible second semester.

3. Mikell Chinn, the starting point guard and one of three seniors, said the coach had “pushed us every day since we lost” in the MAC Tournanment last March, saying, “This is the year.” All of the players and O’Banion said the team was closer and, one player said, they “trust each other more — a big difference.” That was the most interesting thing I heard.

4. O’Banion said the team had spent “hours and hours” on footwork, which she said was key to shooting and scoring. (The team hasn’t averaged more than 60 points a game for three years – last in the MAC.) She said Chinn and freshman point guard Naddiyah Cross had spent hours watching film to improve ball handling. Kent had averaged more than 20 turnovers — sometimes over 30 — the last three years.

5. O’Banion said 6-4 center Cici Shannon had “simplified her game” and would be more of a scoring threat. (She’s always been a stronger rebounder and shot blocker.) One thing Shannon is doing, O’Banion said, is not dribbling when she gets the ball in the low post.

6. Lurken said she had spent a lot of time working on her three-point shot (she already was Kent’s leader last season), and she said she had developed a move to fake the three-pointer and drive for a pull-up jumper. Lurken had 22 points, including three three-pointers, in Friday’s 100-45 exhibition win against Ohio Christian. O’Banion said freshman guard Madison Ridout gives Kent a second three-point threat it didn’t have last season. Ridout scored 1,300 points in high school.

7. Stubbs said she was at 100 percent after missing all of last season with a knee injury. She started 10 games as a sophomore, O’Banion’s first year. O’Banion said the plan was to have her and guard Krista White get to the foul line more this year.

8. She said the upperclassmen had welcomed a strong freshman class, recognizing they were teammates ahead of competitors for playing time. She said the team needed major contributions from freshman Jordan Korinek, who led the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds Friday, and Cross, the back-up point guard.

9. Another freshman, Tyra James, injured her knee late in fall practice and will miss the season. So will Rachel Mendelsohn, the only freshman recruit from O’Banion’s first year. Mendelsohn played both guard positions as a sophomore reserve last year.

The Flashes beat Ohio Christian University, a Division 3 school that had an 18-14 record last year, 100-45, Friday. Last year they lost their exhibition to Division 3 Walsh by 10. So while we can’t draw any great conclusions, we can be a lot happier than last November. Highlights:

1. Jordan Korinek, the 6-2 freshman from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary had 23 points on 10 of 11 shooting and also had 10 rebounds. She started ahead of the team’s leading returning scorer, Montia Johnson. (Johnson still played 20 minutes and had 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting.)

2. Larissa Lurken, who probably was the team’s most consistent player as a freshman last year, looked as if she had taken her game up a level. She had 22 points, including three three-pointers.

3. The team had 29 assists on 39 baskets (19 on 24 baskets in the first half). They knew their offense.

4. They shot 58 percent. For three years. teams have struggled shooting so much you’d wonder if they could shoot 58 percent in practice.

5. 6-4 center Cici Shannon had 16 points and eight rebounds. Her footwork is supposed to be much improved. I’m not sophisticated enough to pick that ought, but she had zero turnovers in 24 minutes.

6. Freshman Madison Ridout had 13 points and three three-pointers.

7. Kent State guards had 21 assists and one turnover.

8. All nine players who went more than 15 minutes looked as if they could contribute legitimate minutes this season.

9. There were about 550 people there, including a large, loud pep band and more students than I’m used to seeing.

Box score

KSU website story