So I have to open this post with some honesty. My guy Neil Adler does a great job covering recruiting but that is far from my expertise. I also am not really an expert at judging talent and often don't like evaluations because there are too many factors to be actually accurate with that stuff.
But what I do believe is that coaching staffs are made up of talented people who do this for a living and if they add someone, I tend to trust they know more than me. I also believe they know the team's needs more than I do and thus I trust their choices until proven otherwise.
And this means that I tend not to follow recruiting very often. There are certain times some catch my attention or I am watching for a specific thing casually. And this includes the Syracuse women's basketball team, which is losing a lot of contributions from this past season and looking to add from the transfer portal and recruiting as well. And on Monday, I saw a post on Twitter/X that caught my eye.
Syracuse women's basketball has added a talented veteran guard via the portal.
Laila Phelia is a transfer who played for Texas and Michigan and saw some NCAA Tournament runs. She was a highly touted recruit out of high school and has averaged double-digit scoring at the NCAA level with a high free-throw percentage.
Am I excited for this addition? Yes! But not just because I think adding her to the guard rotation and giving Sophie Burrows help is a great idea. I also look at other additions they've made and think this team is falling into place pretty well, even with former assistant coach Kristen Sharkey now in charge back in Buffalo.
Earlier this year, Syracuse added two forwards from Miami (Aurora Almon) and Auburn (Oyindamola Akinbolawa) who may help contribute at both forward and center at times, but definitely help on the boards as well as offensively. And head coach Felisha Legette-Jack also added a legacy 5'10" guard/point guard named Dominique Darius, the daughter of Syracuse football great Donovin Darius.
Oh and did I mention that they are also adding three very talented high school recruits, including four-star wing Jasmyn Cooper, to help complement this team? And like I said, I am not a good judge of this stuff but I do think these players have the possibility to add more excitement along with points, boards and likely the ability to play the tempo Coach Jack thinks can bring wins to the program.
So while I am not going to bet on anything, as a fan I have to say that seeing these players coming to Syracuse does at least leave me optimistic for the future of the women's basketball program and I would not be shocked to see this team earn an NCAA Tournament bid next season.