Donaghe Chooses Stanford

The Cardinal continues its hot recruiting streak, landing its fourth commitment of the summer, this one from one of the West's best guards.

One of the most creative scorers on the West Coast made her verbal commitment on Tuesday morning when Hannah Donaghe from Atascadero High School told Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer she would accept the scholarship offer just minutes after being informed she had been admitted to the school.

Hannah Donaghe

Donaghe was part of one of the most entertaining teams out West this summer, the CenCal Elite which played well at the End of the Trail, went 3-2 in Chicago and won their tournament in San Diego this weekend when they avenged an early summer loss to the Orinda Magic.

Donaghe was set on the Cardinal for some time while being recruited by several other Pac-10 and WCC schools and her sister is enrolled at UC-Davis. “Being able to learn from the players and coaches there,” Donaghe said was the key reason, besides the school’s academic reputation, for her commitment to Stanford. “They’re the best.”

Donaghe saw first hand on her unofficial visit when she got to take in a Cardinal game, and not just any game, but their big showdown with the Tennessee Volunteers.

On the basketball court Donaghe is a gifted scorer who jumps out of the gym, shoots well off the dribble and attacks the basket with a ferocity. She is a capable three-point shooter who will be asked to be an even better shooter at Stanford as the three-point shot is very much a desired attribute of their major contributors. Defensively she is capable as well but admits she often takes advantage of her athleticism for slip ups in footwork. She’s focusing on staying low heading into her senior year and with her athleticism and length she could develop into a lockdown defender.

Donaghe is the fourth player this summer to commit to Stanford along with five-star forward Kayla Pedersen, four-star wing Jeanette Pohlen and 6-5 shooter Ashley Cimino. The Cardinal have one scholarship unspoken for, and many believe they are hoping to land one of the country’s top posts in Amy Jaeschke to add to freshman Jayne Appel for life after Brooke Smith. All in all, the Cardinal is shaping up to have another top five recruiting class in 2007.

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Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women's Basketball at HoopGurlz.com and Scout.com. Chris leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz, Scout.com and Full Court Press (www.FullCourt.com). Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at [e-mail].