Straight To The Hoop

Holmes makes her decision

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:14:40 -0600

Bogan senior forward Lynette Holmes decided Saturday to give a commitment to Xavier. Holmes picked Xavier over Michigan State and Missouri. She is considered one of the top players in the Public League.

Where will Bogan's Holmes go?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:27:50 -0600

It's never too early to really start thinking and talking about the basketball season.
In terms of college commitments, here's what's up:
Most of the major players have already made their college choices. Fenwick's Trish Liston is going to Duke, Hinsdale Central's Toni Kokenis is going to Stanford and Montini's Michala Johnson is going to Connecticut, just to name a few of the big names.
But in the Public League, Bogan senior Lynette Holmes is undecided. She should be making her choice in the next few weeks. Holmes, who made news when she came to Chicago after fleeing her native New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit, is deciding among the following schools: Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Marquette, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, North Carolina State, Pittsburg and Xavier.
Adding to Holmes' exposure is the forthcoming December issue of ESPN's Rise Magazine with Holmes on the cover.

Sibley commits

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:37:43 -0600

St. Charles North's 6-foot post player Dana Sibley gave a committment to St. Xavier University. Sibley is going to a program that has been to the NAIA Sweet 16 the last two years.

Janae Smith commits

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:55:31 -0600

Rich Central forward Janae Smith made an oral commitment to the College of Charleston. Smith chose the College of Charleston over Evansville, Loyola, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Pepperdine, Mississippi State and UIC.

More college commitments

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:24:22 -0600

Whitney Young senior guard Laquita Garner made an oral commitment to Texas Pan-American this week.
DePaul received a verbal from 6-1 forward Jasmine Penny of Logansport, Ind.

Capatosto chooses

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:05:00 -0600

Elk Grove forward Ashley Capatosto made an oral committment to St. Bonaventure in New York on Tuesday. The 6-footer is Elk Grove's all-time leading scorer, earning the honor in her junior season.

Hazemi takes her pick

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:27:55 -0600

Glenbard West forward Nicole Hazemi gave Southern Indiana a verbal committment over the weekend. Hazemi chose Southern Indiana over Southern Illinois, Detroit, Southeast Missouri State, Holy Cross, Manhattan and Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Hazemi will join former Moninti standout Cootie Leeberg at Southern Indiana.

Another Big East committment for Bolingbrook

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:13:26 -0600

Bolingbrook coach Tony Smith announced Friday that 6-foot guard Nicosia Henry gave Seton Hall a verbal committment this week. Henry is the second Bolingbrook player to commit to a Big East school this offseason. The first being Mercedes Griffin, who committed to Marquette.
Henry, a senior, is a four-year varsity player who went Downstate with Bolingbrook in her three previous seasons. Smith said Henry was a key contributor on Bolingbrook's 2009 Class 4A state championship team.

Another T.F. North player commits

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:11:02 -0600

A second T.F. North player made a college committment this week when guard Dawn Luster gave IUPUI a verbal on Wednesday. Luster, who started her prep career at Hope before transferring to the Calumet City school, chose IUPUI over Loyola, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan. Luster's teammate, 6-2 forward Janese Randolph, had committed to Cincinnati Tuesday night.

T.F. North's Randolph commits

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:31:29 -0600

T.F. North's leading scorer and rebounder, Jenese Randolph, gave Cincinnati a verbal committment Tuesday night. Randolph is a 6-2 post player and chose Cincinnati over Memphis, Northern Illinois, Providence and UIC.

Lindfors makes a choice

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:51:33 -0600

Elk Grove's 6-4 senior center Courtney Lindfors made a verbal committment to Wisconsin-Milwaukee over the weekend. Lindfors was a member of Driscoll's Class 2A state championship team last season, but transferred to Elk Grove after Driscoll closed after the school year last spring.
"Elk Grove has been really welcoming," she said. "It's a lot less stressful now [deciding on Wisconsin-Milwaukee]."

Liston makes her pick

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:49:29 -0600

Fenwick guard Tricia Liston verbally committed to Duke Friday night, Liston said Saturday. Liston chose the Blue Devils over DePaul and Wisconsin.
"I always had it in my head [to go to Duke] and it became a reality this summer," Liston said. "I didn't know if [the decision] was easy but I had a gut feeling about it."
Liston was glad she made the decision before the season started because it was causing her a great deal of stress and pressure. Liston said Duke offered her last week, but she wanted to wait a week to decide to make sure she made the right choice.
Liston has started for the Friars since her freshman year and averaged 23 points per game last season. She was named the East Suburban Catholic Conference MVP last season and was the Gatorade Player of the Year.

Notes and quotes

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:25:48 -0600

Montini coach Jason Nichols said his star center and UConn recruit Michala Johnson has been cleared to start working out after tearing her ACL last November. Nichols said Johnson has been practicing her half court game two weeks ago and was working out with teammates Alison Seberger and Mallory Sosnovich.
"She spends an hour on the floor working on her game. She spends an hour and a half with her trainer working on the rehab of the knee. She is in the gym three days a week and should be cleared in 4-6 weeks to start playing full court," Nichols said.
"Michala looks great. Since the surgery she has added nine pounds from lifting and we expect her to be at our first day of practice in November. It's exciting and she is a big part of what we do!"
In other news, Geneva junior point guard Kat Yelle gave Ohio University an oral committment on Tuesday.

Massengale gets a gold

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:48:46 -0600

Bolingbrook guard Ariel Massengale was part of USA Basketball's U16 team that won a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championships in Mexico City this week. The U.S. outscored its opponents 543-193.
Massengale's best game was in the semifinals against Brazil, when she scored 23 points and helped the U.S. to a 105-54 win.
For the five-game tournament, Massengale scored 60 points and led the tournament in assists with 24, an average of 4.80 per game.
Friday the U.S. beat Canada 103-52 in the gold medal game. Massengale scored 7 points.

McGee to Illinois

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:09:42 -0600

Illinois received a verbal committment Tuesday night from T.F. North guard Centrese McGee. The 5-8 McGee chose the Illini over Marquette, DePaul and Northwestern. She led T.F. North to the Class 4A sectional final last season, where the Meteors lost to Marian Catholic.