Purdue, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State all gain commitment from the class of 2006. Here's the summary...Purdue
Purdue landed the heavily recruited Dee Dee Jernigan from East Chicago Central High. The 6'0 slashing guard completes the hat trick of the staff's 2006 Indiana wish list. Jernigan is ranked the nation's ninth-best prospect, and specializes in collapsing defenses. She averaged 18.2 points and 10.7 rebounds as a junior, and chose Purdue off her shortened list that included DePaul, Rutgers and Arizona.
Michigan
Similar to Purdue, Michigan's third prospect for the class of 2006 is from their home state. Lequisha Whitfield of Detroit King, a 6'1 forward, chose Michigan and will play with former teammate Ashley Jones. The 6'2 Jones as a senior at King was tagged as the state's most versatile player. Must be something in the water at King, as Whitfield averages double-doubles as a senior, and even had a 23 point, 15 rebound and 12 assist performance earlier this season. Oh, and she is accurate from the perimeter too. Through twelve games as a senior, Whitfield is averaging 15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. She averaged 12 points and six rebounds as a junior.
Minnesota
Minnesota landed nationally ranked Korrine Campbell of Notre Dame High in New Jersey. When Korinne Campbell showed up at Blue Star two years ago, the question was why she didn't stay on the east coast to attend one of the east coast camps. The response -- a chance to measure her game against the nation's top ranked 2006 player, Amber Harris. Campbell got her chance then, and will spend her future college years in constant competition against Harris as part of the Gophers squad. The 6'0 small forward who is strong enough to also contribute at power forward, averaged 16.4 points per game last season and was named to the Street & Smith all-american sixth team. Korrine's two older sisters Michelle and Kristina both play Division I ball at Rutgers and Hofstra respectively. Campbell was also being recruited by Virginia Tech, Boston College, Vanderbilt and North Carolina.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota hopes to use the last scholarship available for the class of 2006 on Jaleesa Rhoden, a 5'10 guard from Ontario, Canada.
Penn State
Penn State has added their second recuit from the class of 2006 with a commitment from wing Tyra Grant of Youngstown, OH. The Ursuline High product averaged 25.8 points and 12.5 rebounds as a junior. Grant played summer ball on a loaded All-Ohio Black squad that featured Ohio State recruits Leslee Mason-Cox and Cherise Daniel, plus the heavily sought Jantel Lavender. Grant helped Ursuline to a Division III title as a sophomore, and has been named a Street & Smith all-american honorable mention the past two years. She chose Penn State over Rutgers and Louisville.
Ohio State
West Allegheny High School center Andrea Walker has made a verbal commitment to THE Ohio State University after considering scholarship offers from Duquesne, Pitt, Penn State and Xavier. Walker, at 6'4, averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots per game as a junior. She cited staff and players, plus the closeness to home as reasons she chose tOSU.