The Wolverine

June-July 2013 - Wolverine

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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2013 basketball recruiting issue Going National Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico's First Recruiting Class Stretches From North Carolina To California W By Andy Reid hen Kim Barnes Arico was officially announced as Michigan's new women's basketball coach April 20, 2012, she was already behind schedule. The first few weeks of April, the spring evaluation period, are incredibly important in college basketball recruiting. Coaches can leave campus, meet with kids, watch practices and AAU games, and begin building relationships. Barnes Arico spent the 2012 spring evaluation period as St. John's head coach. Her Michigan staff wasn't finalized until late May, and the 2013 class — which would be her first in Ann Arbor — was in jeopardy. "A lot of recruits today start getting recruited in the ninth or 10th grade," Barnes Arico said. "Coming in, we were trying to make an immediate impact on the '13 class." By Nov. 14, 2012 — the early signing period — Barnes Arico and her staff had put together one of the most impressive classes in program history. And they did it by going national. "It was important for us to get to know the Midwest, especially Michigan, but also use the connections we had all over the country to get a jumpstart," Barnes Arico said. "That's the great thing about the Michigan brand — it's universal. You can go into a home in California and say, 'Michigan' and it really means something. People value the education Michigan can give them. "We know we have to recruit the Big Ten landscape, which is Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. We're trying to make our mark with the young kids in the 2015 and 2016 class. For this class and the next one, we're recruiting more nationally, because that is where we have our foundation. They all listen when Michigan comes calling." The 2013 class consists of four players. Carlyle (Ill.) High School guard Paige Rakers is a two-time winner of The Belleville News-Democrat Illinois Class 1A-2A Player Of The Year award. As a senior, she averaged 22.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Gardena (Calif.) Serra guard Siera Thompson is a four-star prospect that

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