Duke lost 2 announced two players are transferring from their WBB program:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22760&SPID=1846&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210855391&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Salvadores, the freshman PG from Spain, will be turning pro. Not a huge surprise.

The bigger surprise (and the bigger star) is 6'6" sophomore forward (actually listed as F/G on the Duke roster): Azur Stevens. This season she averaged 18.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg, on 53.5% FG shooting, 75% FT shooting, and for a 6'6", a decent 19 for 53 (35.8%) from three-point land.

Anyway, so I'm scrolling through the chatter on the thread about these transfers on UConn's board The Boneyard, and a poster or two actually SPECULATED Cal as a possible destination. Again SPECULATED, not based on the rumor mill or inside info, but apparently Azur Stevens is good friends with Kristine Anigwe from playing together for the USA U19 team during the Summer of 2015.

I was so surprised to see Cal even mentioned in the speculation, I had to do a double-take and make sure I MYSELF wasn't the poster who chimed in with that suggestion, haha!

Anyway, it certainly is FUN to speculate but PLEASE nobody hold your breath. At this point, LG doesn't even follow Azur on Twitter. Azur was actually from North Carolina, INCREDIBLY overlooked and underrated coming out of HS.

Link to page on The Boneyard where Cal is LIGHTLY mentioned a couple times:

http://the-boneyard.com/threads/duke-transfers-azura-stevens-angela-salvadores.90784/page-3

*PLEASE EXCUSE ME IF YOU THINK THIS IS PURELY OFF-SEASON BOREDOM AND BLUES!

keep it coming kat!

kat0189;842673218 said:

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Link to page on The Boneyard where Cal is LIGHTLY mentioned a couple times:

http://the-boneyard.com/threads/duke-transfers-azura-stevens-angela-salvadores.90784/page-3

*PLEASE EXCUSE ME IF YOU THINK THIS IS PURELY OFF-SEASON BOREDOM AND BLUES!

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HoopDreams;842673254 said:

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keep it coming kat!

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What does this all really mean? I don't know if I can stand a long drawn out process of highs and then lows in luring a player. Why is a player that good transferring?

GOLDEN;842673259 said:

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What does this all really mean? I don't know if I can stand a long drawn out process of highs and then lows in luring a player. Why is a player that good transferring?

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Duke has a women s program that is a is falling apart. Their coach is the worst and seems to be very evil. That is why most of her players are going or will be transferring very soon. I know for a fact that Kristine and Azure are super close. Like super close. Azure is the wing or power foward we have been looking for. She plays like a guard at 6.6. I say we have a shot with her. Our closes competetion would be South Carolina.

Duke poster on the Duke forums claim that there will probably be 2 more transfers, and it will leave them VERY thin in the post. Could it be Cooper and Chidom? Cooper to UCLA/USC and Chidom to Cal? :p

Joanne P McCallie has been despised at Duke for years. Team has underachieved for several seasons, but finally completely imploded this season. Surprised that she hasn't been fired yet, but would be shocked if she survives if more than the previously noted players leave this season. Sticking point seems to be P's buyout.

GOLDEN;842673259 said:

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What does this all really mean? I don't know if I can stand a long drawn out process of highs and then lows in luring a player. Why is a player that good transferring?

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Then this (recruiting and building a team) is the wrong business for you.

If Duke implodes, maybe we could get that Chaminade player, Odom.
California Dreamin', baby!

Chidom would be a nice blowback, and Odom's nomadic history gives hope to every P5 school everywhere ...

Of course, Duke may finally pull the trigger on McCallie and that would change everything.

As for the two who have announced, supposedly Salvadores is turning pro and Stevens will stay on the East Coast, where she's from ...

concordtom;842673307 said:

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Then this (recruiting and building a team) is the wrong business for you.

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Uhhh, wake up. We get an exaggeration of 5,000 posts a day with leads that Sabrina is a lock coming here for the last several months. Then we get the angst, frustration and daily hand wringing and weekly high school updates award links mixed in all of it for this player.

Ups and downs...ups and downs..... and now we are walking away from it? If you have something on Sabrina definitely not coming here or anyone else then why are you holding back on the bad information too. Give the bad news with the good is also in the business of recruiting too.

I'm guess there is some snot nosed freshman band kid at Miramonte that probably has a much better idea of where she will land up than what the experts have at this point.

Yes, there are better players out there but there are the intangibles that give her the nickname "Franchise" because she makes those on the team even better. Those franchise players don't come along every recruiting cycle. Maybe once every 3 to 4 years......

Sorry about the frustrations today....not directed to anyone individually or to you Tom.

GOLDEN;842673319 said:

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Uhhh, wake up. We get an exaggeration of 5,000 posts a day with leads that Sabrina is a lock coming here for the last several months. Then we get the angst, frustration and daily hand wringing and weekly high school updates award links mixed in all of it for this player.

Ups and downs...ups and downs..... and now we are walking away from it? If you have something on Sabrina definitely not coming here or anyone else then why are you holding back on the bad information too. Give the bad news with the good is also in the business of recruiting too.

I'm guess there is some snot nosed freshman band kid at Miramonte that probably has a much better idea of where she will land up than what the experts have at this point.

Yes, there are better players out there but there are the intangibles that give her the nickname "Franchise" because she makes those on the team even better. Those franchise players don't come along every recruiting cycle. Maybe once every 3 to 4 years......

Sorry about the frustrations today....not directed to anyone individually or to you Tom.

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That's okay.
I read your post with a bit of a chuckle.
Yes, it can be maddening. We've all been thru it.
Acceptance is coping.

ClayK;842673315 said:

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Chidom would be a nice blowback, and Odom's nomadic history gives hope to every P5 school everywhere ...

Of course, Duke may finally pull the trigger on McCallie and that would change everything.

As for the two who have announced, supposedly Salvadores is turning pro and Stevens will stay on the East Coast, where she's from ...

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DARN! Folks, I was going to mention along w/ my original post that almost ALL recruiting rankings slept of Azura in HS (Blue Star #55, Prospects Nation #57), EXCEPT Full Court who had her at #7 (still might be too low!). Full Court no longer seems active, but I BELIEVE that was ClayK's, so I will NOT question his info when it comes to Azura Stevens (or in general tbh).

Thanks, kat0189 ... Full Court Press, which I sold several years ago, is in litigation and may well return to its former glory.

As for Stevens, I'm just going off the RebKell gossip, and the fact that seldom do East Coast players come west without a strong draw. And Stevens' sister played for St. John's, so she has NYC ties too.

concordtom;842673325 said:

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That's okay.
I read your post with a bit of a chuckle.
Yes, it can be maddening. We've all been thru it.
Acceptance is coping.

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Sorry for my rant and release......but the SI situation just sends it over the top as maddening because I am not sure any other team will appreciate in what they are getting to the extent that many of us do. We are better informed than most.

GOLDEN;842673319 said:

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Uhhh, wake up. We get an exaggeration of 5,000 posts a day with leads that Sabrina is a lock coming here for the last several months. Then we get the angst, frustration and daily hand wringing and weekly high school updates award links mixed in all of it for this player.

Ups and downs...ups and downs..... and now we are walking away from it? If you have something on Sabrina definitely not coming here or anyone else then why are you holding back on the bad information too. Give the bad news with the good is also in the business of recruiting too.

I'm guess there is some snot nosed freshman band kid at Miramonte that probably has a much better idea of where she will land up than what the experts have at this point.

Yes, there are better players out there but there are the intangibles that give her the nickname "Franchise" because she makes those on the team even better. Those franchise players don't come along every recruiting cycle. Maybe once every 3 to 4 years......

Sorry about the frustrations today....not directed to anyone individually or to you Tom.

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I doubt a freshman knows what's up with a Senior..lol....but I like the passion...

calvarado;842673280 said:

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Duke has a women s program that is a is falling apart. Their coach is the worst and seems to be very evil. That is why most of her players are going or will be transferring very soon. I know for a fact that Kristine and Azure are super close. Like super close. Azure is the wing or power foward we have been looking for. She plays like a guard at 6.6. I say we have a shot with her. Our closes competetion would be South Carolina.

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Emily Waner left the Duke program during her senior season in 2007. P allegedly told Emily she'd never amount to anything. Dr Emily Waner graduated from Duke Med School in 2013. Both of current Cal swimmer Maija Roses' parents are Duke Med School faculty. Maija partially chose Cal over Duke because Duke Med favors non-Duke undergrads. Duke has put up with way too much crap from P for way too long.

BearDevil;842673296 said:

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Joanne P McCallie has been despised at Duke for years. Team has underachieved for several seasons, but finally completely imploded this season. Surprised that she hasn't been fired yet, but would be shocked if she survives if more than the previously noted players leave this season. Sticking point seems to be P's buyout.

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Wonder if Duke decides to change if Joanne Boyle would still be on their list or did she burn the bridge when she rejected them the last time there was an opening? Don't know her status a UVA but I not sure if she gotten them to the NCAA 'ship in 6 years. I know they have gone to the WNIT but not sure of the NCAA's ship.

OBear073akaSMFan;842673401 said:

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Wonder if Duke decides to change if Joanne Boyle would still be on their list or did she burn the bridge when she rejected them the last time there was an opening? Don't know her status a UVA but I not sure if she gotten them to the NCAA 'ship in 6 years. I know they have gone to the WNIT but not sure of the NCAA's ship.

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Boyle's been crappy at UVa. She finally did adopt a baby and her mom moved from Raleigh to Cville to help. Boyle's still well liked at Duke, but the results haven't been there in the ACC. Hear a more support for LG replacing P than Boyle.

If I were Duke's AD, I would try to move mountains to afford canning Joanne P. McCallie and hiring Scott Rueck as her replacement (even if Rueck required a Geno Auriemma-like salary).

BearDevil;842673418 said:

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Boyle's been crappy at UVa. She finally did adopt a baby and her mom moved from Raleigh to Cville to help. Boyle's still well liked at Duke, but the results haven't been there in the ACC. Hear a more support for LG replacing P than Boyle.

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And Boyle has been on a roller coaster recently. Her leading scorer at 15 ppg, starting PG Mikayla Venson who just finished her soph season, announced she was transferring from UVA right before WNIT action.

A couple weeks later, she signed the 6'9" girl (forget her name) who was originally from Africa but came to the US to play basketball, finishing her senior year at the Blair Academy in NJ, IIRC. The 6'9" girl (Felicia something) was ranked as high as #13 by Prospects Nation before falling to #87. Boyle's biggest struggle has been getting tall posts at UVA so it's almost comical that she finally gets one who is not just tall but 6'9". She also signed two good guard/wing players ranked in the top 30-50 range in the fall. I believe one of these two even had a UConn offer.

If not for losing their star PG, they might have finally got back to the NCAA tournament next season.

kat0189;842673475 said:

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If I were Duke's AD, I would try to move mountains to afford canning Joanne P. McCallie and hiring Scott Rueck as her replacement (even if Rueck required a Geno Auriemma-like salary).

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Good call considering Rueck is about the ninth lowest paid coach in the Pac-12 and Oregon state won't ever pay him for what he is worth.

If LG or Kelly Graves did counter-recruiting, that would be the lever on Sabrina or anyone thinking about Oregon State. Rueck is an Oregon State alum and has family there and has said he will never leave, but if someone like Duke came along and offered to triple his salary and give some family members jobs, I think he would owe it to his own family to take the job.

As I've said, one of the first few questions any recruit should ask a coach is "How long is your contract?" because if the coach who recruited you isn't there any more, you're more likely to be considered part of the problem rather than part of the solution (and generally new coaches are hired because of problems). Of course, if Rueck left, it wouldn't be because Oregon State had done poorly, so it's a little different, but at that point, a recruit has to wonder if the successor will a) view her in the same way; b) keep the program on the same track; and c) keep winning.

The NCAA fantasy that players choose schools rather than coaches is particularly sad and cynical in this regard, and the fact that many recruits and families don't even ask about contract status leads to many unfortunate decisions.

kat0189;842673477 said:

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And Boyle has been on a roller coaster recently. Her leading scorer at 15 ppg, starting PG Mikayla Venson who just finished her soph season, announced she was transferring from UVA right before WNIT action.

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Wow remembered Cal recruiting Mikayla Venson too. Another player Cal could go after too.

OBear073akaSMFan;842673501 said:

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Wow remembered Cal recruiting Mikayla Venson too. Another player Cal could after too.

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Well, according to a post on Rebkell: "Sydney Umeri is getting her undergrad and leaving Virginia with a year of eligibility left. A 6'1" post looking for a masters in journalism program." [URL="http://journalism.berkeley.edu/"][U]U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism[/U][/URL] is one of the finest....I assume she could play immediately since she's earned her degree?

I think it possible, even likely, that out of respect for Coach B we would not recruit transfers from Virginia.

stu;842673578 said:

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I think it possible, even likely, that out of respect for Coach B we would not recruit transfers from Virginia.

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True, but if a kid has graduated and is looking for a masters program it is a slightly different scenario...

CalWBBFan;842673530 said:

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Well, according to a post on Rebkell: "Sydney Umeri is getting her undergrad and leaving Virginia with a year of eligibility left. A 6'1" post looking for a masters in journalism program." [URL="http://journalism.berkeley.edu/"][U]U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism[/U][/URL] is one of the finest....I assume she could play immediately since she's earned her degree?

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Girl, you are going to laugh at me, but I saw a tweet about Umeri that included a contact # of perhaps an old coach or someone helping her.

No joke, I immediately sent a quick text w/ 2-3 pretty objective suggestions, including an obligatory Cal plug. He thanked me, then I kindly left the poor guy alone, haha!

HOWEVER, I don't think she would make an impact for Cal. Averaged 2.6 ppg and 3.1 rpg for her three years at UVA, despite getting a solid 20 mpg during that time and seemingly being injury free. Strangely, the 6'1" forward from Georgia was actually her first high-touted signee and perhaps still the best resume of all Joanne's UVA recruits coming out of HS—ranked #29 by HoopGurlz but the big highlight of her credentials pre-UVA was making the USA U16 team in 2011, a team that some big names were left off of, off the top of my head a pair from the class 1 year younger (Kelsey Mitchell now at Ohio State, and Brianna Turner now at Notre Dame).

Well as a graduate of the J-school I admit to being a tad biased. Having depth doesn't hurt right? ;-)

She doesn't have impressive stats. Averaged 3.2 points per game.

ClayK;842673483 said:

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If LG or Kelly Graves did counter-recruiting, that would be the lever on Sabrina or anyone thinking about Oregon State. Rueck is an Oregon State alum and has family there and has said he will never leave, but if someone like Duke came along and offered to triple his salary and give some family members jobs, I think he would owe it to his own family to take the job.

As I've said, one of the first few questions any recruit should ask a coach is "How long is your contract?" because if the coach who recruited you isn't there any more, you're more likely to be considered part of the problem rather than part of the solution (and generally new coaches are hired because of problems). Of course, if Rueck left, it wouldn't be because Oregon State had done poorly, so it's a little different, but at that point, a recruit has to wonder if the successor will a) view her in the same way; b) keep the program on the same track; and c) keep winning.

The NCAA fantasy that players choose schools rather than coaches is particularly sad and cynical in this regard, and the fact that many recruits and families don't even ask about contract status leads to many unfortunate decisions.

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Excellant post Clay. Very, very good points that players choose coaches. Oregon State is not on the strong card here for a particular recruit (3 month old info) because while Rueck is a good coach the chemisrty was just not there. You cannot wish chemistry between a coach and a recruit if you are the coach. I heard this is where both LG and Graves both have the edge but this was casual info I heard months ago so who knows today.

Stupidest thing on Ruecks part was to tell the press he would never leave Oregon State. Why take away money that should be on the table now. How serious is the Oregon State AD about having a secure coach in their womens program? Sometimes they seem to be one of those pac-12 schools that operate on the cheap when they have a chance to step forward.

kat0189;842673475 said:

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If I were Duke's AD, I would try to move mountains to afford canning Joanne P. McCallie and hiring Scott Rueck as her replacement (even if Rueck required a Geno Auriemma-like salary).

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First part of the equation is now in the works: Duke's announced that HR has formally launched an investigation into player abuse. Reading between the lines, they're searching for a way to fire McCallie for cause and not pay her buy out. Why announce an investigation if they have no idea what they'll find? McCallie should have quietly resigned. Can sue Duke for wrongful termination, but she's likely done as head coach at a major conference school. Left Michigan State under a cloud.

...lets really start something: it would be nice to know if Odom is having second thoughts just because of the investigation... Kat, there's your assignment, get on it look into that! Lol :gobears:

85 Fly;842677235 said:

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...lets really start something: it would be nice to know if Odom is having second thoughts just because of the investigation...

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Has she talked with Tyson Jolly?

85 Fly;842677235 said:

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...lets really start something: it would be nice to know if Odom is having second thoughts just because of the investigation... Kat, there's your assignment, get on it look into that! Lol :gobears:

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lol, well when I heard Stevens was leaving, I actually figured Odom would view the development as an opportunity for more immediate PT. But of course this investigation is a whole different thing. That said, her AAU coach is one of the few that consistently support Coach P, and even if Odom switched, I'd be surprised if she switched to a Pac-12.