Just when the end of the summer events was in sight, several of the midwest's top players donated time to help referee and coach a group of younger campers this past weekend near Chicago. The Family's Dee Dee Jernigan, Ta'Shia Phillips, Amber Harris and Ashley Barlow joined Chicago Hoops Express players Alison Jackson, Teah Gant, D'Frantz Smart and Samantha Woods (now with the Illinois Hawks) at the Blue Star invitational camp for soon-to-be high schoolers. The camp invited players from seven states.

Beth Jones joins Purdue staff

Former Purdue guard Beth Jones has returned to the program to fill the role of video graduate assistant for women's basketball. Jones will begin her MBA at Purdue in the fall. Jones holds the Purdue single-season record for made three-pointers (71).

More on Indiana's Finest 14U national title

The following article appeared in the Roanoke Times on the 14-under AAU championship game. Indiana's Finest defeated the Dayton Lady Hoopstars 63-56 to take the AAU national championship trophy.

READ MORE: Roanoke Times

Ta-myra Davis to Youngstown State

At the end of 2004, Purdue was among a group of teams on the list of 6'1 post Ta-myra Davis of Firestone High (OH). Xavier, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Kansas, Cincinnati, Illinois, UTEP and most of the Mid-American and Horizon conference teams were also on that list. In the end it was a Horizon League team winning over UTEP for her services. As a junior, Davis averaged 18.4 points and 17.7 rebounds, and already has 1,010 rebounds with a season to go in her high school career.

Big Ten Commitments

Michigan State announced today that Mia Johnson, the leading scorer for Saint Louis University last year, will transfer to East Lansing and be eligible in the 2006-07 season. Johnson 17.1 points and four rebounds per game for Saint Louis, and set a school single-season record with 110 made free throws. Originally from Minneapolis, Johnson was rated out of high school as the 49th-best prospect in her class by Blue Star. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Johnson will have to sit out the 2005-06 season.

In a move now ripe with Big Ten irony, Johnson announced her wish to leave the St. Louis team two weeks after the Billikens hired Yeshimbra "Shimmy" Gray as their head coach. Gray played her collegiate ball for the University of Michigan. Now Gray's best scorer has tranferred to Gray's biggest rival during her playing days.

READ MORE: Big Ten Recruiting: Commitments