The Bobcat Nation

Word has it that MSU women's basketball coach Tricia Binford recently has bought herself a new Ipad and has been Blogging like a fool the past couple weeks! If you are into the women's program (and who is not) you should check it out. The past few days Binford has been in Indianapolis participating in a mock seeding exercise run by the NCAA and it is rather interesting to see what goes into the process. Binford was also doing almost daily blog as she and her coaches scouted the big girls AAU scene looking for future Bobcats the past few weeks.

Side note: July is the BIG evaluation period for both the men's and women's D-1 basketball programs. There is a 10 day evaluation period at the beginning of July and a second 10 period at the end of July. This the critical period of time when the coaches decided who they will target for the November signing period and hopefully get some folks to trip to MSU this fall.

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You also might consider following the women's program on Twitter or Facebook here.

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One of the most common comments I have heard over the past 20 years from Bobcat Fans/Boosters is that they would like to know the inner working at the various sports programs on campus. As well connected as the Women's program is to the various social medias you are well connected as you could be short of having a seat in Binford's office.

Any idea on what type of impact Destini French will have on the ladies program. Can she get up and down the floor pretty fast?

If we are only losing Bussey to graduation is Coach Binford focusing on finding that ONE star recruit.

Destini played for a state championship calibure team in California (placed second last year) that features 3 players who were 6-2 or better. One of her teammates is heading off to UCLA next year. The team was a running team, and Destini played quite a bit at the forward spot. I have not personally seen Destini (person or video) I think, though it is clear that she is not a Nubia Garcia,- lean athletic grey hound type- that Binford likes in her big Girls. I have to believe Binford would not have recruited her if she could not get up and down the floor. In her recruiting Binford always seems to value speed and quickness over height (to a certain degree) and her dribble drive system can really take advantage of slower (and sometimes taller) teams. Binford has always seemed to avoided recruiting slow of foot players like the plague, so again I have to believe Destini can fit into what the Bobcats like to do, or they would not have recruited her.

My bigger concern about Destini is her conditioning after coming off of a major knee injury less than a year ago. This is a problem I have seen with just about every Big person (male or female) after coming back from a Knee injury that has kept them off the court for longer 6 months. There conditioning just goes to pot, and they can put on a little extra weight all of which slows down their recovery and increase the risk of re-injury. As a result it can be a long and tough road to get back to their pre-injury conditioning. Now I do not know anything about Destini's injury or recovery, or what the coaches are thinking, but ir would not surprise me at all if they were considering redshirting her just give her more time. If she does play this year (and with Banis and Albert coming off knee injuries they may not have a choice) I would bet she will only play for short bursts on minutes at a time.

I am really looking forward to seeing French on the court, we have not had a playing like her since I can remember. She is a terrific rebounder and shot blocker but I would not rush her back unless she was 100% ready.