New Verbal for the Women

[Rabbit74]

The Argus Briefs are reporting a new verbal for the women's basketball team this morning. I don't think I had heard about this recruit before.

"Leah Dietel, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Jordan, Minn., has made a verbal commitment to play women’s basketball at South Dakota State."

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...PORTS/50411008

The article goes on to say she was also recruited by Colorado State and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

[NorCalJack]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Here is the scouting report on the new recruit from gPrep.

Leah Dietel is an outstanding player who brings an intense physical presence to the court. An incredible athlete who can score in the paint while absorbing contact. Dietel averaged 20 points a game and was the Minnesota River Conference MVP as a sophomore. Dietel runs the floor very well and can finish in transition. A dominant player in the paint and a bruising force down on the blocks, Dietel is a physical player. Because of her strength, she is able to absorb contact while finishing plays, often times punishing opponents with a plethora of offensive moves. Dietel is a complete player. She can also hurt you with finesse moves. Her perimeter game is topnotch. She can knock down the outside shot and can dribble, shoot and pass from beyond the arc. Dietel comes to play with energy, passion and hustle every minute she’s on the court. No doubt, Dietel will be a big-time player at the next level.

There is also a picture of her if you click on the link above. This scouting service has her listed as the No. 7 recruit in Minnesota for Junior's.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Picture of the Jordan Team. Leah is number 21. They rattled off 14 straight wins this year:
http://www.jordan.k12.mn.us/jhs/hsgb/hsgb.htm

[90Jackrabbit]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Some nice comments from Terry's blog.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...rgusleader.com

[2002jack]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. This seems like our best recruit out of all the sports to date. This is a big deal. Maybe I'm overstating it?

[NorCalJack]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong. This seems like our best recruit out of all the sports to date. This is a big deal. Maybe I'm overstating it?

I tend to agree that she is a big recruit. As I stated before she is the 7th ranked Junior in Minnesota. She also has a teammate that is ranked as the 5th ranked Junior in Minnesota. Despite this, Dietel was listed as the Conference MVP her Sophmore year. I don't know how deep of a Junior class this is, but typically the top 8 in Minnesota are top notch players in college, or at least get big time offers. This years group of Senior top 8, 3 are going to U of Minn., 2 are going to U of Iowa, 1 each to Michigan, Kansas St., and George Washington. There are others just outside the top 8 that will attend Drake, Marquette and Minnesota.

If she is the 7th best in her class, then she probably would not make the final list for Miss Basketball as they take the top 5 in thier class. I know Macie Michaelson made the final Miss Basketball list, meaning she was considered top 5 in her class. Macie also had an offer from U of Minn. and chose SDSU.

All in all I think her verbal commitment is a good thing and she should be able to contribute right away.

Another interesting thing I read in one of the many articles I read about Leah is the 5th ranked player in Minnesota is on her team and plays Point Guard. Leah was the back-up point guard if this player ever fouled out of a game. So at 6'-1" and able to play the point can be a real match up problem for teams.

Go State!!!
Go Jacks!!!

[NorCalJack]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Here is an article on Leah Dietel from the Jordan Independant.

Dietel makes her decision


May 14, 2008 - 1:23pm — tsabeln

Jordan junior Leah Dietel has made a decision about her future.
Dietel committed to play basketball for the South Dakota State
University Jackrabbits in Brookings, S. D.

“I really liked the coaches a lot, and they have a great group
of girls,” she said.

She is the first Jordan girls basketball player to commit to a Division I school since Mandy Holzer committed to the University of Akron
in 2002-2003. Fellow junior Brittany Chambers is also being heavily recruited by many Division I basketball programs.

SDSU moved up to Division I athletics six years ago and has been
quite successful.

Because they moved up to Division I, the Jackrabbits haven’t been eligible for NCAA postseason play. (They will be eligible in 2008-2009).
That hasn’t stopped the program from improving. Each of the last
two years, SDSU has qualified for the Women’s NIT – making it to the Elite Eight two years ago.

The Jackrabbits have beaten teams from the major conferences
like Oregon, Missouri, Virginia, Colorado, Alabama, Indiana, and Minnesota.

“The program is doing well right now, and the fan support is
unbelievable,” Dietel said.

Dietel and her family traveled to Brookings in March to watch
the Jackrabbits play their first-round WNIT game against Creighton.
SDSU lost, but Dietel was sold.

“After that, I just kind of knew that was the school,” she said.
“I really liked it and was ready to make a decision.”

She picked SDSU over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay,
Colorado State, and Drake....

You can read the entire article here.

I know that I was disappointed when we lost the WNIT game and was trying find a silver lining in losing that game to Creighton. Apparently the one game we did have made a big enough impression on Leah to make her commit to our women's program.

This is a good example of what can happen to a program that is supported by the fans. If SDSU does not sell out the WNIT games and is given the opprotunity to out bid Creighton, Leah may never have committed to SDSU.

Go State!!!
Go Jacks!!!

[JamesJacks]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Jackrabbit fans are going to love how hard Dietel plays. I've seen her a couple of times this past year. Plays both inside and outside.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Jacks Recruit Leah Dietel was named 3rd Team All Metro (Twin Cities) in Volleyball. Her talented teamate (Britttany Chambers) of Jordan was named to the first team. Chambers is going to Kansas State on a Basketball scholarship.

[JamesJacks]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

Saw Leah play today (wife dragged me to the tournament - she's a volleyball fanatic). Leah is an strong, athletic kid. VERY competitive too. I've seen her play hoops a few times, but this is the first time I've seen her on the volleyball court. Wow! Her team is in the state finals on Saturday.

[da_coach]

Re: New Verbal for the Women

another great signing. Way to go AJ.