Prospect Watch - Jan. 5

Kristi Kingma of Mill Creek, Wash., is among the latest batch of 2008 prospects who've made early college commitments.

PHOTO OF MORGAN MCMINN BY HENDERSONVILLE NEWS

The offer had been on the table since last spring, and Kristi Kingma's dream has been to play for her hometown school, the University of Washington. So why wait any longer, the 2008 prospect asked herself. The answer clear, the 5 feet 10 guard from Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Wash., called Washington coach June Daugherty after the Huskies' victory in Arizona on Thursday night.

And Kingma isn't the only one in the 2008 class following her instincts to an early commitment.

Kristi Kingma

Morgan McMinn, who is averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for North Henderson High in Hendersonville, N.C., rang in the new year by committing to Clemson. The 5-11 junior will be used on the wing by the Tigers. Clemson a few weeks ago received a verbal from Lindsay Welker, a 6-2 forward from Tift County High School in Georgia.

Remaining in the Peach State, guard Metra Walthour and 6-4 post Nisha Adams, who are teammates at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga., both committed to Georgia Tech. Earlier, Mo Bennett, a 5-10 wing at Statesboro High School, also in Georgia, committed to South Carolina.

Up north, Maine received verbals from a pair of New Hampshire kids - Kelsey Hogan, a 5-6 point guard from Nashua North and Sam Wheeler, a 6-1 guard from Timberlane.

Washington, which had the nation's No. 12 signing class, according to HoopGurlz.com (click here for full list), starts its 2008 class with a bang. Kingma is one of the very best in a very guard-rich class in the state of Washington. She is an explosive athlete, who also excels in soccer and track, and has one of the prettiest pullup jump shots in the country.

Offered by most of the Pac-10, Kingma had a breakout performance in the Washington State 4A tournament last spring, leading all scorers with 23 points per game, with a high of 30. She is averaging 19.5 points this season, including a high of 31 during Jackson's upset of Auburn Riverside during the holidays.

Kingma was a club teammate of two of the state's other top 2008 guards - Ashley Corral of Prairie and Eryn Jones of Meadowdale. There is rampant talk that Corral may join Kingma at Washington, though she is being recruited heavily by most of the Pac-10, as is Jones.

Rim Shots

One of the three remaining members of the HoopGurlz.com Hot 100 for 2007 has committed. Megan Jackson, a 6-1 forward out of Trinity High School in Manchester, N.H., has verbaled to Providence. Ranked No. 91 overall by HoopGurlz, Jackson underwent surgery on her ankle and missed the first two months of her senior season, but is expected to resume play shortly. ... Jocelyn Riordan of Shorecrest High School, another of Washington state's top-flight 2008 guards, suffered a minor knee injury and will miss 1-2 weeks. ... Catching up on some signings from the 2007 class: East Carolina inked a trio from North Carolina, including Tiahana Brown, a 6-1 forward from Southeast High School in Raleigh, Shaquanda Ashford, a 6-3 post from E.E. Smith High in Fayatteville, and Allison Spivey, a 5-10 guard from High Point. Brown and Spivey played for Team North Carolina, which won the AAU Junior Olympics in Hampton, Va., last summer.

---

Discuss This on Our Message Board:

Click Here

---