Women's basketball inks Top 25 class
May 3, 2011
Indiana head women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack has added three more student-athletes to the 2011 recruiting class as the spring signing period begins. The new Hoosiers include Quaneisha McCurty, Jasmine McGhee and Candyce Ussery who join fall signees, Linda Rubene and Necole Sterling on the court in fall 2011. These future IU student-athletes rank as the No. 23 women's basketball recruiting class in the country for 2011 according to the All Star Girls Report at MichaelTWhite.com.
Quaneisha McCurty
Dalton, Ga./Dalton High School, 6-6, C -- McCurty hails from Dalton, Ga. and just wrapped up her senior season at Dalton High School. The 6-6 center finished her senior year averaging 14 points, 12 rebounds and nearly five blocks per contest. She led the Catamounts to the Georgia AAA state championship game this last season and posted a triple-double of 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in the quarterfinal game of that state tournament. McCurty was named the Best of Preps North Georgia Player of the Year, was an all-state selection by the Georgia Athletics Coaches Association and is ranked the No. 42 prospect for the 2011 class according to the All Star Girls Report.
Photo by Mike Dickbernd
Felisha Legette-Jack
"Quaneisha just has the ability to run the floor," Legette-Jack said. "She's got great hands and can get above the rim a little bit. It will be neat to see her and Sasha (Chaplin) on the floor out there together. Quaneisha has a high basketball IQ and one thing she does well is that if she can't get a rebound, she can tap it to her teammates. She has great ability to know where her teammates are. I'm pretty excited about the possibilities with having her out on the floor."
Jasmine McGhee
Anderson, Ind./Vincennes University, 5-11, G -- McGhee will join the Hoosiers as a junior college transfer from Vincennes University. The 5-11 guard was named the WBCA Junior College/Community College Player of the Year and earned junior college All-America honors for the 2010-11 season. McGhee helped lead the Lady Blazers to a 28-4 record last season while averaging a near double-double with 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The Anderson, Ind., native also snatched 2.0 steals per contest while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from long distance. McGhee is ranked the No. 2 junior college prospect in the in the country by the All Star Girls Report.
"The character of this kid is second to none," Legette-Jack said. "I love her desire to want to get better. She is a humble young lady, she is a hungry lady and I think she is going to mesh well with the other four. She can jump, and she prides herself in that. She can play that forward position for us as she has a tremendous vertical leap. I think that once we develop her 3-point shot, she is going to be a real interesting kid on the perimeter."
Candyce Ussery
St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central High School, 5-8, PG -- Ussery will arrive in Bloomington after wrapping up her career at Hazelwood Central High School just outside of St. Louis, Mo. During the 2010-11 season, the 5-8 point guard accomplished 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and over three steals per contest. Ussery also led her team with 145 assists on the year (5.0 apg). She was named to the 2011 First Team St. Louis American Girls "Fab Five" and is ranked the No. 59 point guard in the nation according to ESPNHoopGurlz.com.
"Since I've been here, I haven't had a point guard wanting to learn as much as she does and just talk about the game," Legette-Jack said. "Wanting to talk about the angles, wanting to talk about the kind of offense we're going to run when she gets here. She is just a student of the game and was coached by her dad. She really enjoys getting the ball to her big kids, but if defenses double down, I think that she can hit that open shot for you. She's a great angle defender and has great IQ for the game. It is going to be neat to have that kind of mindset and that kind of relationship with a point guard."
These three spring signees join Rubene and Sterling, who each signed with Indiana in the fall, as members of Indiana's 2011 women's basketball recruiting class.
Linda Rubene
Gulbene, Latvia/Iowa Western Community College, 6-3, F -- Rubene, a native of Gulbene, Latvia, wrapped up her second season at Iowa Western Community College averaging 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The 6-3 forward shot over 34 percent from beyond the arc and tied for the team lead in 3-point field goals made last season (35) and scored a season-high 23 points against Southeastern Community College. The All Star Girls Report ranks Rubene as the No. 14 junior college prospect in the nation.
Necole Sterling
Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson High School, 5-11, G -- Sterling concluded her high school career at Stonewall Jackson High School in Mannassas, Va. this year. The 5-11 guard scored 13.3 points per game and added six rebounds, six assists and 2.3 steals per contest. Sterling had one game during the 2010-11 season where she dished for 22 assists. She received All-State Honorable Mention recognition by the Virginia High School Coaches Association and is ranked as the No. 43 wing player in the country by ESPNHoopGurlz.com.
"We have got some good pieces to our puzzle," Legette-Jack said of the 2011 class. "These five that are coming in are so willing to do anything and everything and I really think that we are on our way. These kids are going to be competitive, fun and have that spirit of Indiana every single day."
