The first day of the spring signing period was a busy one for the UNM women’s basketball team.
Three players signed on Wednesday, and head coach Don Flanagan also announced that two current players will be leaving the program.
Two junior college and one high school player signed national letters of intent to play for the Lobos next season. Sophomore guard Jasmine Ewing and junior post Susan Bocock were relieved of their scholarships so they can pursue a transfer to another school.
Flanagan announced the signing of Daja Adams, Tiffany Scaglione and Stephanie Shaw at a press conference. With the three new recruits, the Lobos will have seven new players on next year’s roster. UNM already had signed four high school players during the fall signing period.
“It is our biggest recruiting class, and overall it is an exceptional class,” Flanagan said. “I don’t have a lot of concerns right now. We have added depth and talent at each position.”
Adams, from Temple College in San Antonio, Texas, is known as a very physical player who is a good defender and has great shot-blocking capabilities. The 6-foot-2-inch center averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks a game last year. Flanagan said she will play behind center Jordan Adams.
“She adds a lot of athleticism inside,” Flanagan said. “She is primarily a defensive player who will back up Jordan. She adds quickness and toughness and gives us a defensive stopper against opposing post players that we did not have last year.”
Scaglione is a 6-foot forward from San Jose City College in San Jose, Calif. She averaged 16 points and 10.4 rebounds a game and was named the most valuable player of the Coast Conference. She is a pure scorer who can play inside and score from behind the 3-point arc.
“We recruited her primarily to take the position Mir (Miranda Sanchez) played,” Flanagan said. “She does shoot the three and is a little bit more physical inside than Mir was. She is versatile.”
While the signings of Adams and Scaglione were expected because they had given verbal commitments to attend UNM weeks ago, Shaw’s decision was a surprise.
She was not mentioned much as a future Lobo. The 5-foot-8-inch guard comes in from Plainview High School in Plainview, Texas. She averaged eight points, five assists and three steals per game in helping her team win the 4A State Championship. She also was named to the USA Today High School All-America team.
“She is very quick and aggressive,” Flanagan said. “She can drive to the basket and has a nice pull-up jumper. We were very fortunate to get her because some good teams were recruiting her.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
He said Shaw most likely will play point guard, giving the team three freshman point guards next season. The other two freshmen competing for playing time at the spot are Brittany Wolfgang, who took a medical redshirt this past season, and incoming freshman Mandi Moore, from Canyon, Texas.
“They are all really good players, so the competition for the point guard spot will be really competitive next year,” Flanagan said. “At least we have three point guards now, which is better than just having one, which we had last year.”
Shaw played with Moore, future Lobo Lindsey Arndt from Albuquerque’s Sandia High School and Lobo freshman forward Melissa Forest on the same AAU team last summer.
“It is going to be exciting and kind of weird playing with those girls again,” Forest said. “We played together all summer. I think knowing each other will make it easier for them to adjust to a new environment.”
Forest did not know UNM was recruiting her former teammate until Shaw signed on Wednesday.
“She is an up-tempo player and is very intense,” Forest said of Shaw. “She is a very exciting player to watch and she is very smart with the ball.”
The other two high school players that the Lobos signed in the fall were 5-foot-7-inch guard Kirby Killingsworth from Longview, Texas, and Kirbi Wilson, a 5-foot-10-inch forward from Edmond, Okla.
The Lobos lost more experience when Ewing and Bocock asked for their transfer release. Flanagan said the major issue with both players was a lack of playing time.
Ewing’s transfer was expected because she had a falling out with Flanagan in the Mountain West Conference Tournament and played very sparingly in the Lobos’ WNIT championship run. She played in 33 of the Lobos 34 games, averaging 10 minutes and three points a game.
Bocock’s transfer was unexpected because she was going to be a senior. She played in all 34 games, averaging 10 minutes, three points and less than two rebounds a game.
Flanagan said he did not expect the transfer of Bocock, considering she was in line get a lot more playing time next year with the loss of two post players to graduation and with several newcomers coming in.
“Susan wanting to transfer was a bit of a surprise,” Flanagan said. “The main reason for her was the playing time of this year, but she didn’t project the playing time she would get next year. Jasmine was not expected to contribute a lot next year.”
With the departure of Bocock, guard Molly McKinnon will be the lone senior on next year’s squad.
UNM has one more scholarship open, but Flanagan said he wants to keep the scholarship open for next year’s fall signing period.
Men’s team signs local guard
The UNM men’s basketball team did not get the big man it needed, but did sign 6-foot, 2-inch guard Mark Walters from Albuquerque’s Highland High School Wednesday.
Walters averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets’ basketball team last year in addition to suiting up for the Highland football team.
“It was the type of deal where no one knew about him,” UNM head coach Fran Fraschilla said. “He didn’t go to any AAU tournaments, and he’s kind of an unknown commodity.”
Fraschilla said Walters would likely redshirt his freshman season, while studying under UNM’s stellar corps of guards.
“He gets to practice against Ruben and Marlon, which should be a great way for him to learn,” Fraschilla said.
