From a court-side seat at Thompson-Boling Arena, Taber Spani watched the Tennessee women's basketball team practice Saturday and wondered about fitting in with the group.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard from Lee's Summit, Mo., has decided to find out, committing to the Lady Vols on Monday.
"For me, it came down to knowing that Tennessee was the place for me,'' she said.
Spani joins a recruiting class that includes 6-3 forward Faith Dupree from Webb School and Kamiko Williams, a 5-10 wing player from Clarksville.
Spani's decision also means that UT no longer will be recruiting center Kelsey Bone from Stafford, Texas, who's ranked by HoopGurlz as the No. 2-ranked prospect in the 2009 class. The 6-foot-5 Bone tentatively was scheduled for a campus visit next month.
By adding three players, UT's ranks will be at 14 for next season. Plus, there will be no seniors.
The roster will be full the following season when Lausanne Collegiate School (Memphis) point guard Lauren Avant, who has committed to UT, signs a letter of intent.
Spani, who is ranked No. 13 in the class by Hoopgurlz, came to campus over the weekend pretty much sold on Tennessee. She wanted to get better acquainted with some of the younger players.
"She wants to go for it,'' said Spani's father, Gary, who was an All-American linebacker at Kansas State and a nine-year veteran with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. "I can't think of a better place."
Spani characterized her mentality as "competitive and intense." As for her playing style: "I would describe myself as a scoring playmaker,'' she said. "I think I'm offensive-minded. I also think I'm a playmaker. I want to make the best play."
Spani, who is home-schooled, averaged 29.6 points and 11 rebounds per game last season for Metro Academy. She and older sister, Shalin, led Metro to the National Christian Homeschool Basketball Championship three years ago. Last season, the Mavericks finished second, and Spani was named the top girls' player in metropolitan Kansas City.
Shalin is a sophomore guard at Kansas State. Spani's decision came down to UT or joining her sister with the Wildcats.
"My sister has been amazing through all of this,'' Spani said. "She wants the best for me. The place for her is K-State. The place for me is Tennessee. We'll be each other's biggest fans."
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
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Comments » 23
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
hmm, home-schooled in Lee's summit...
all I can say is this;
1) you won't be a big fish in a small pond, you will be a small fish in a HUGE ocean. All the things you can do in HS with ease, such as driving to the hole, will be a challenge.
2) you will be going from super-sheltered to a party school. knoxville is certainly NOT kansas/missouri. Still, no problem if you are tolerant of different people and different beliefs.
sooooo....good luck, you've picked a great program, and as long as you keep your wits, it should be the time of your life.
KCHS63 writes:
Interesting comments, mparker, but.....
Taber has been playing the national elite circuit with club teams for at least a couple of years now. She's already had her toe in the ocean. As for her poor ole hometown, I believe I read that it has 82K+ citizens. Wouldn't that place it in the top ten cities in Tennessee?
She's going from super-sheltered to under the microscope in a fish bowl. Partying will be no problem: Only one Lady Vol has been dismissed from the team for "overdoing it" in Pat Summitt's 36 year stewardship of the program. That player, incidentally, remained at UT for her senior year, Pat kept her on scholarship, and she graduated with her class. The Lady Vols are always on the front page of newspapers, but only on the front page of sports.
Ms. Taber Spani will be in great hands and I join you in wishing her the time of her life.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Glad to have Ms Spani aboard. She seems to be a great talent with a good upbringing and strong character--can't ever have too many of those. However, it seems that we are loading up on perimeter types for the next two classes. I know that it not wise to bet against CPS on personnel issues, or any others, but it seems that she is HEAVILY relying on several years of outstanding performance from Kellie Cain and Vicky Baugh, the only two sizable post players we have that I am aware of. Maybe I've overlooked someone, but, IIRC, none of this years' recruits are over 6'3". I'm not knocking Spani in any way, but, um, why would we take her over the 6'5", No.2-rated player in the same class when we are likely to be thin on the post? Don't forget Cain and Baugh are coming off fairly significant injuries as it is.
tennesseePhatz writes:
Who are you to question Pat Summit. I think she has won enough titles to make whatever decisions about player needs. Get a life.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Not exactly the informative answer I was looking for, tennesseehurk. I SAID it is not wise to question CPS; I was just wondering if I had overlooked someone else on the roster or if anyone had any insight into what CPS was thinking. If you can't do any better than this, then just keep it to yourself!
LadyVolFanForever writes:
Welcome to the Lady Vols Taber !
Great achievements are not easy and your Lady Vol stay will not be easy BUT it will be so worth it ! Best of luck to you, you will have great fan support here.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
johnlg, there is always some internet bully out there being a dick.
I wish fans would back off this cps/cbp are gods phooey. Bruce and Pat are just people. Pat went through a long dry spell with no NC's, and, yes, some people were thining the 'game had passed her by'. In reality, she didn't have a Candace Parker, and UConn had Taurasi.
The women's game can still be domianted by a single player. In years WITHOUT that player, it's a real tossup (Notre Dame, Baylor come to mind).
Don't forget, in the next year or so the 6'8" girl from Houston goes to Baylor....
So, I agree with what you are saying. Perhaps Pat sees the backcourt as a real weakness, with a need for depth.
One other thougth comes to mind: she MAY be anticipating a player or 2 leaving. Smallbone comes to mind. Typically a class will lose a player of so for different reasons.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Couple of points to you;
no, partying FOR HER won't be the problem. However, it is a really different, somewhat rowdy atmosphere that can be a challenge for someone from a sheltered background.
As for the 'sheltered', it's not so much about Lee's Summit as it is about home-schooled. Lee's Summit is pretty much an upscale, kc suburb.
Finally, concerning the 'elite circuit'; having had my daughter play against quite a few of these 'elite' teams and players, I'll tell you this: no way, shape, or form is the defense what you will see in college ball. Not even close. A ball she can take to the hole against a 6'0 GIRL in aau will be swatted out in college by a 6'3" WOMAN.... with a nice hip-check into the stands to boot.
The opp will be there for Ms. Spani; if she can come out and put some girls on the floor, be quick as a cat, and hit the open J, then she'll be fine.
Just a hunch, I ber she is as tough as nails. The key for her, assuming the quickness is there, will be adjusting to being a role player facing teams of girls who may be BETTER ATHLETES. This doesn't happen a lot for these kids in HS ball, and rarely in AAU ball.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Thanks, mparker. As usual, you are a voice of reason on this site. I sincerely hope Cain and Baugh are strong contributors for the next couple of years and that all these great perimeter players will give the Lady Vols the quickness and outside shooting to play a great up-tempo game. Still, it is usually necessary to have the strong inside presence when the tempo slows down. If someone winds up leaving, I hope the decision is made soon so we can still go after Kelsey Bone or some other good big gal.
jorido writes:
To respond to Johnigoo = perhaps, just perhaps the signals coming from Bone are that she is not highly considering Tennessee. Perhaps, just perhaps in telephone calls or visits the coaches from TN asked the question such that they realized the need to move on. Of course that is just perhaps because everyone wants tall and talented. And of course everyone wants fast and tall, and of course everyone wants good shooters who are also athletic, and of course nearly every great player would like to believe they are good enough to be offered a scholarship with TN.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
johnlog:
that is, of course, unless I'm ticked about something
:)
I really do respect Coach Pat, I just hate when people say 'oh, she's the best, she always does right'. hell, she can't ALWAYS do right, and it isn't fair to expect that she will.
All I care is that she knows enough about herself to keep learning and adjusting. Last year is perfect: the vols where flat, where heading for a tough end of the season, maybe even an early exit. Then, Candace was hurt. UT almost stumbled out....
but, Pat was smart enough to adjust/listen, and in the final, UT whomped Stanford with D. Now THAT was coaching.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Minus the sarcasm, at least as I read it, you may have some good points. Of course we can't get everyone we want. Maybe there is no more to it than that. I was just wondering, is all.
hawkvol07 writes:
I wonder if Pat saw something to make this decision that prompted her not to give Kelsey Bone the #2 player in the country a shot at that scholarship. That is the only thing I question. I love Pat the the Lady Vols, but she was still available.
NOLAvol writes:
That's okay, country410... at least you've got friends who will select the text and copy it to clipboard for you so then you can just paste it aaany-where your little heart desires on any site your mouse can blunder into.
Lots of people don't have friends with that much patience.
tennesseePhatz writes:
If you look at her incoming roster you will see she have the needed forwards and center. keep in mind this is a very young team !!!!!
rclarkvols#224537 writes:
You have to take the bird in hand. You can't hold a scholarship for someone who is interested but my never commit. Remember Mickey DeMoss is at Texas and she is a great recruiter. Pat knows what she is doing.
tenn32rebel writes:
Incoming six-pack: Alyssia Brewer is taller than the 6'3" she is listed. She was a rebounding power for her Gold-Medal winning U18 Team this past summer. International ball is much more physical than HS or AAU. She proved her toughness and determination in that arena. This type of competition really helped Alexis' game and allowed her to shine. It should also really help Ms. Brewer. Many people will be surprised by her rebounding skills.
2010-- Faith Dupree from Webb School is also taller than the 6'3" she is listed. Remember, she is only a junior in HS this fall and is coached by a former Lady Vol. She also was Glory Johnson's teammate. Faith took a lot of the banging of the opposing center while Glory scooped up most of the rebounds (plus the fact that Glory has some serious "ups"). This year, Faith will be the star. Last year, she was a supporting cast member for Glory. That role will make her valuable to the Lady Vols. She already knows how to share the spotlight.
As a former player who battled much bigger centers than myself and a former basketball coach, I truly love a good center/post. However, a dominant post is neutralized easier than a forward or guard. Why? Somebody has to get the post the ball. Look at all the fine centers that the LV stopped by applying tough full-court pressure.
With this current group of LVs, Pat wants to outrun, outjump, and destroy with full-court defensive pressure all of her opponents. This team's speed, quickness, and size (giving up 1-2" won't stop us from outrebounding other teams) will allow her to destroy the opposing teams' game plan.
This four-year plan (team) is different than Pat's past teams. It is a big gamble but Pat believes she can mold these young ladies into a special group by using this type of plan.
It will be a really interesting year for everyone, Pat included!!! Let's play ball, Lady Vols!
We Believe! #9 in '09 will be Fine!!!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Thanks, tenn32rebel! THAT is the kind of information and insight I was looking for. In the past, some of Pat's better teams were built around strong post play, interior defense, and rebounding--remember the famous "corn-fed chicks". It is interesting that you seem to think that she has actually had a change in philosophy to deliberately emphasize speed and quickness over size and strength, rather than merely trying to compensate for any LACK of size and strength. If this is so, it should actually help her recruiting, since I would think most players these days prefer the up-tempo game. I surely agree that this team will be exciting to watch. Most of our opponents who hope to catch the LV's in a "down" phase will be sorely disappointed! GO LADY VOLS!!!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Here is the risk: in the past, the LV's WHERE a ball-hawking defensive team.
IMHO, you have to have a 'chanbe of pace', throw the other team off rhythm. If you press the whole game every game, they get used to it and adjust.
You are dead-on about posts having a weak spot: it's also known as 'guards'. You konw, the players who pass the post the ball a step late, or at the ankles, or most likely, NOT AT ALL.
Still, nice, umm, post!
I have said this a few times: I think Pat will be looking forward to teaching the game to her new family. If she isn't, she needs to reevaluate her future. I know if it were me, I'd be rueing the loss of Candace. Thinking that Pat is a much better person than me, I am hoping she has mentally 'moved on' from that!!
One thing keeps popping up in my head: most of Pat's latest successes have been with POY types like Chamique and Candace. Now, she has to go back to an 'everygirl' type of team....
Should be fun. I still say 5-10 losses, but with a fire going into NCAA's.
98reax writes:
Very interesting. I needed this input. Johnlg00 and mparker, I always enjoy your comments. I agree this will be an interesting season, the only expectation being a young, somewhat inexperienced group of hungry ball players buying into the Pat Summitt system, becoming sick enough after each lackluster performance to break the doors down to get better with the next day's practice.
sorry about that non-stop run on sentence.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Completely off-topic, but does anyone know why some posters on this site have 6-digit numbers after their screen names and not others? On this thread, only rclarkvols and I have them. I surely didn't add them myself so I doubt rclarkvols did either. Some of the posters on this thread are very familiar to me while others are not, so it doesn't seem to have anything to do with longevity on the list or frequency of posts. As a non-techie, I can't imagine what they are about.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
johnlg;
well, the nazi's where very good at using others to do their dirty worlk. My guess is you are oen the govt hit list.
Shortly, a local policeman in your area will arrest you. After a littel roughing up, they will pass you on to the FBI, who will persuade you to confess to some atrocity to the state.
That is pretty much how the gestapo operated. A small force, who would use local police to gather up the victims.
Have a nice day!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Good one, buddy, I guess? Are you saying that is the number by which the gestapo will identify me? Silly me, I thought it was some harmless techie thing. Guess I'll just have to sleep with one eye open and keep my getaway bag packed(;-P)!
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