Michigan Miss BasketballThe Michigan Miss Basketball award will be announced on November 27th. Lakeshia Mosley and Keshia Hines are two of the ten candidates on the ballot the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan will choose from for the award.
Mosley is averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 3.5 assists per game for Detroit Community so far this season, while shooting 60-percent from the field and 70-percent from the freethrow line. Hines' stat line is very similar. Hines is averaging 18 points, 13 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 3.0 assists, while shooting 56-percent from the field and the line.
While some might point to Michigan State-bound Cetera Washington being a frontrunner, look out for South Florida recruit Lonnie Terrell of Inkster. Statistically she is a runaway favorite with averages so far this season of 31 points, 6.5 rebounds, eight assists and four steals per game.
Purdue has never signed a player who has won the Michigan Miss Basketball title. Current Boilermaker Lakisha Freeman finished fourth in the balloting in 2003. Michigan State recruited three of the last five recipients including Liz Shimek (2001), Tiffanie Shives (2004) and Allyssa DeHaan (2005). The 2002 honoree, Danielle Kamm, went to Marquette, while 2003 honoree Krista Clement chose Michigan.
Below are the profiles for Mosley and Hines published by the Detroit Free Press recently for each of the Miss Basketball candidates. It is interesting to see who each sees as their top opponent.
LAKESHIA MOSLEY Detroit Community, 6-1, forward
College: Purdue.
Biggest area of improvement: Rebounding.
Best move: Catches the ball in the post and uses a drop step for a left-handed jump hook.
Favorite athlete: Cheryl Ford.
Favorite class: Math.
Favorite book: "Believe to Achieve" by Howard White.
Top opponent: Keshia Hines (Avondale).
When my basketball career is finished I will ... "be a pediatric nurse."
Overview: A power player deluxe. She owns the paint and is an excellent rebounder in traffic. She scores inside with a variety of post moves. Each year she has expanded her game and now has a solid mid-range shooting touch. She will be the key to Community's Class C state tournament run.
KESHIA HINES Auburn Hills Avondale, 6-2, center
College: Undecided.
Biggest area of improvement: Passing.
Best move: Catches the ball on the baseline, behind the basket, and makes a quick power move and attacks the basket.
Favorite athlete: Chauncey Billups.
Favorite class: Math.
Favorite book: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller.
Top opponent: Lakeshia Mosley (Detroit Community).
When my basketball career is finished I will ... "hopefully have a degree, have a job and live my life."
Overview: A year ago, she was happy to sit back and defer to senior teammate China Threatt, but with her gone, she has become more aggressive offensively. Always a tough inside player, she can now take people off the dribble and finish in transition. She is also a fine passer on double-team situations.
READ MORE: Detroit Free Press
Big Ten Recruiting
Northwestern has polished off a major recruiting class for 2007 by landing 6'5 Amy Jaeschke of New Trier (Ill.). An alternate to the 2006 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team this summer, Jaeschke averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 5.1 blocks while leading New Trier to a 25-9 record as a junior. Amy will join her cousin Ellen, who just transferred to Northwestern from the Air Force Academy. She is ranked as the nation's No. 29 prospect by HoopGurlz.
A couple of players recently committed to Big Ten programs but have yet to be written up here. The first is Brittany Thomas, the 5-foot-10-inch point guard who helped lead Bolingbrook to the Class AA state girls basketball title in March. Thomas chose Michigan State over Purdue and Michigan. She averaged 11.2 points for a very deep and balanced team, shooting 59-percent from the field. Thomas is ranked as the nation's No. 70 prospect by HoopGurlz.
Plus, Ohio State received a commitment from Cleveland Central Catholic's Jantel Lavender. The 6'4 big forward is rated as the top center by HoopsGurlz. Lavender averaged 20.7 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four blocks last season in helping lead Central Catholic to the North Coast League White Division title and a district championship appearance.
If Ta'Shia Phillips holds firm on her commitment to Purdue, the Big Ten will have gained commitments from four of the top seven low post players in the nation in the class of 2007. Add to that the fact that two of the nation's best 2008 center prospects are in Ohio and Illinois, and the Big Ten could be the draw for top notch post competition for the immediate future.
Not to be outdone by the recent recruiting activity of Minnesota and Northwestern, who have both received three commitments within the past two weeks, Indiana has gained three new commitments from the class of 2007. Jori Davis, a 5'10 guard from Rochester (NY), chose Indiana over offers from Virginia, Massachusetts, Stracuse and Marquette. Davis averaged 23.4 points and 8.3 rebounds last season for Athena-Greece High School, and was a third-team, all-state selection and a member of the National Honor Society. The Indiana staff then jumped out to the opposite coast and gained a verbal from 6'4 post Georgia Follmer of Santa Margarita Catholic HS (CA). Follmer chose Indiana over an offer from Hawaii. And last but certainly not least, is a wonderful addition from the state of Ohio, 6'2 power forward Denise Fairbanks. Fairbanks originally committed to Dayton, but ended up this fall at Illinois Central College. Fairbanks averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals as a senior at Mason (OH).
READ MORE: Big Ten Recruiting: Commitments