Player Profile: Mercedes Russell

     Standing at 6'5 Mercedes Russell is no ordinary girl, she is in fact the No. 1 recruit in the nation and she will be taking her talents to Tennessee next year. Some say she could be the next Brittney Griner, others say she won't, but in reality she will be Mercedes Russell the next Lady Volunteer. She has played three varsity seasons at Springfield High School in Springfield, Oregon. Her junior year she averaged 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks per game helping her team to a second consecutive 5A state title. Her sophomore season she averaged 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game to lead her team to their first Oregon 5A state championship. She has also been the Oregon Coaches Class 5A player of the Year for the pass two years (2011, 2012).

     The unusual thing about her is that no one knew about her until she started playing in high school. Most basketball prodigies, like Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne, and Brittney Griner, have been heard about at an early age throughout the grapevine, which wasn't the story for Mercedes. Her freshmen year Mercedes would take contact and pass the ball like any normal player, but her sophomore year is where she really evolved into the star she is becoming. Bill Wagner, former head coach at North Eugene High School, took over as head coach for Springfield her sophomore year and helped develop her into the post player she is today. As she grew, so did her game. Once Wagner instilled that confidence in her that she could score, then the sky became the limit for her. She led Springfield to its first ever state championship her sophomore year. She was the star of the team as a sophomore, this would boost anyones confidence. Before anyone knew it she was competing with the best in the country. She was named to the 2011 USA Basketball Women's U16 Team, which had a 5-0 record, winning the gold medal and qualifying berth into this years FIBA U17 World Championship. Mercedes set the USA U16 single-game record of 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. This past summer she was also named to the 2012 USA Women's U17 World Championship Team, and also won gold medal again making this her second gold medal with USA basketball.

    Overall, she is becoming a dominant force in the game of basketball. One of her inspirations, and part of the reason why she chose to go Tennessee, is Candace Parker. When you talk about playing against Candace Parker you are talking about playing against the best point guard, the best rebounder, the best post player, and the best scorer on the floor. Team had to plan their game around Candace to try and stop her. Teams hated playing against Candace Parker because if you slacked off on defense for a second she would dunk on you. This is what inspired Mercedes, and is also why Tennessee became Mercedes dream school. Hopefully we will see her in the near future as the next Candace Parker. However, until then we will just have to wait and watch to see what she does this year. Along with Mercedes going to Tennessee, Jordan Reynolds (ranked 10th at the guard position)  and Jannah Tucker (ranked fifth at the guard position also) will be playing for Tennessee next season making this the top recruiting class for Tennessee in the post-Summit era.

(Highlight Reel of Mercedes Russell)

(submitted by: Eddie Praley)