Visitation Nation -- Feb. 22

Visitation Nation -- Feb. 22
Visitation Nation -- Feb. 22Katheryn Westbeld
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It’s an interesting predicament. You’re recruiting arguably the top international prospect in the 2013 class and she is from a small island off the coast of Spain. Getting her on campus is much more difficult than it normally would be. The typical afternoon on campus followed by a home game or maybe even a cookout before a big college football game isn’t as easy as it usually is. The logistics that come into play when recruiting an international prospect are complicated and this past week three schools, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State all were forced to wade through the difficult waters of hosting one of the best international prospects, Leticia Romero of Las Palmas, Spain.

Romero was a standout at last summer’s U17 World Championship in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists a game while shooting over 52 percent from the field and scoring as many as 27 points in a match up with Japan for a chance to play in the gold medal game. After a strong showing at the U17’s, Romero took competed in the U18 3-on-3 championships. In 2012 Romero helped her Spanish national team win two silver medals total, losing to the United States in both settings.

This week Romero turned her focus to where she would play her college basketball and with visits in the books at Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State she will now focus on making a decision. Look for one of these schools to land a strong playmaking point guard that can both score the basketball and create offense for others. Adding Romero who would be the equivalent of a ELITE 25 caliber recruit if she attended American high school, would be a major addition to their roster.

UConn Host’s two of 2014’s Best

While “Big Monday” has been a key night in women’s basketball for the past couple of seasons, this year might be the year of “Big Monday” for our sport. With the Big East taking a different landscape in years to come the emergence of Monday night as the key night for women’s basketball matchups couldn’t come at a better time. There was a time when Big Monday was a key night for marquee men’s Big East basketball games. This season the highlights of most Monday nights is the women’s game and this past Monday may have been the pinnacle of this phenomena. With the No. 1 (Baylor) and No. 3 teams (UConn) playing the nation was watching and we were all treated to one of the better games of the year. While we all watched from our living rooms, two of the better prospects in the 2014 class had prime seats for the action.

UConn hosted Sierra Calhoun of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Kathryn Westbeld of Kettering, Ohio for unofficial visits during the game. Calhoun, a 6-foot wing who has the ability to be the premier wing in the 2014 class, has made multiple visits to the Big East school and her brother, Omar, is a member of the men’s team. Westbeld, a 6-foot-2 combo forward in the mold of Sara Hammond of Louisville, has been high on UConn’s target list for sometime now.

Bell Tours Iowa State

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???????????Nakiah Bell of Florissant, Mo., is one of the better point guard prospects in the class of 2014. At 5-foot-4 Bell is an explosive athlete with the ability to put pressure on a defense with her speed and fearlessness. Bell has also made strides to improve as perimeter shooter as of late. This weekend Bell took a trip to Iowa State for their home game with West Virginia. Earlier in the calendar year Bell took a trip to Louisville to catch a game with her former summer teammate Emmonie Henderson who is now signed with the Big East school.

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