Hoops recruiting: Daugherty does it again

JUNE DAUGHERTY has does it again, says national women’s basketball analyst Chris Hansen. “WSU has put together a great class to complement last year's seven-player class,” says the recruiting guru from ESPN’s Hoopgurlz.com. That’s his assessment without even knowing who exactly the fourth member of the class – a mystery talent from Australia – will is.

Daugherty predicted a month ago that her new crop of four would be a top 25 group. For two reasons, Hansen says, he’s not ready to install the class among the elite, but says it warrants top 50 status.

Today marks the opening of the early signing period for national basketball letters of intent. The Cougars already have received signed faxes from 5-8 guard Ki-Shawna Moore of San Francisco and 6-5 center Carly Noyes of Moses Lake. Ireti Amojo, a 5-10 wing from Germany and the as-yet-identified Australian are expected to sign sometime this week.

Hansen can’t be more definitive about how the class stacks up because he’s evaluated only three of the four. “The fourth player is an Aussie so and we've not been able to evaluate her,” he explains. Moreover, he says, “there are several top national recruits that have yet to sign and that will impact rankings.”

Right now, Hansen rates the Cougars’ haul the fifth-best in the Pac-10 behind Cal, USC, UCLA and Stanford.

“With these four players, June will have a majority of new blood in her program next season with 12 players she's recruited. The Cougs get a defensive minded point guard with the strength to play shooting guard in Ki-Ki Moore. They get unteachable size with Carly Noyes and versatility with Ireti Amojo.

Moore is rated the No. 84 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 12 point guard. She is physical and strong with the ball. She can create off the dribble and is a fantastic defender who should help WSU extend the pressure the length of the floor.”

Hansen terms Noyes “one of the best players in the state of Washington…. she’s got a solid build and possesses a fundamental skill set offensively which starts with her footwork …. In a conference that is growing, keeping a player of her size and ability in state is a must.” She is rated one of the top 25 prep post prospects in the nation.

Amojo, ,from Germany, played as an exchange student with Katie Grad on Auburn-Riverside’s 2007 state 3A championship team, Hansen says she’s going to surprise people. “She’s a versatile player with a lot of upside due to her athleticism.”

NOTABLE NOTES:
• Moore hails from Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, the same school that sent Jason Hill to a record-setting football career at WSU. One of her classmates is Kevin Greene, a football standout who made an official visit to WSU last weekend. He told CF.C this week that Moore and her mother have been talking up WSU and that when he met Daugherty over the week she said “she knew all about me.

• Noyes is a two-time MVP of the Columbia Basin League who last season led her team to a runner-up finish in the 4A state tourney. She averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. She chose WSU over Gonzaga and others. At 6-5, Noyes will team with 6-8 WSU freshman Jesscia Oestricher to form one of the tallest posts in the nation.