Women's Basketball Announces 2006-07 Recruiting Class
7/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
July 18, 2006
HOUSTON - University of Houston head women's basketball coach Joe Curl announced Tuesday a six-member recruiting class for the 2006-07 season.
Ryan Bradley (Houston, Texas/Madison HS), Whitney James (Edmond, Okla./Edmond Memorial HS/Northern Oklahoma College-Enid), Ashlee Joseph (Houston, Texas/Booker T. Washington HS), Twiggy McIntyre (Sapula, Okla./Sapula HS/Kansas State), Maya Onikute (Queens, N.Y./Park West HS/Barton County CC) and Sunshine Uli (Honolulu, Hawai'i/Farrington HS/Barton County CC) are all scheduled to join the Cougars in time for the Fall 2006 semester.
James, Onikute and Uli enter UH as juniors and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. McIntyre will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer regulations and have one season of eligibility remaining.
"We recruited these student-athletes to play right away and give us an immediate impact," Curl said. "We were able to improve our depth and talent at the same time. We will be better at every position this season, and it also allows us to take the pressure off of some of the kids we had last year that played out of position."
Curl went on to describe the impact of McIntyre, despite her having to sit out the 2006-07 season.
"Anytime you can add a player with the skill and personality like Twiggy's, you consider it a shot in the arm for your ballclub. Despite not being on the floor this year, she can help us a great deal by pushing people in practice and by being a leader off the court"
In Joseph and Bradley, both post players, UH gains two of the best young inside players from the Houston area. Bradley was ranked as one of the top natural centers in the state by texashoops.com and should be one of the young players to watch in C-USA. Both could earn heavy minutes in the rotation this season because of their athleticism, toughness and physical presence.
"It's important for us to continue to recruit heavily in the Houston area," Curl said. "We view ourselves as Houston's team, and that link to the community is important for the University as a whole."
James is a 5-11 combo guard with versatility who will be a valuable role player for Houston. McIntyre, a 5-5 guard, averaged 9.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a junior for Kansas State. She made 11 starts and shot a team-best 40.4 percent from three-point range this past season. The Wildcats finished 24-10 and won the WNIT Championship.
Onikute and Uli were teammates the past two years at Barton County Community College, going 50-18 during that time and leading the Cougars to two straight NJCAA Region VI finals. Onikuta averaged 3.74 assists per game with a 1.60 assist/turnover ratio, ranking in the top 10 of Region VI players. Uli, a first-team All-Jayhawk West selection, was one of Region VI's top offensive rebounders, pulling down nearly four (3.88) offensive rebounds per game, ranking her fourth among all players. She also averaged over 50 percent (53.6) from the field, ranking eighth in field goal percentage.
"We still have some things to work on," Curl said. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to get going because the proof is always in the pudding. Danny Hughes, our recruiting coordinator, has done a fantastic job in putting this class together. Now we have to get after it and get ready for Texas Tech.
The Cougars, coming off a 12-17 (8-8 Conference USA) season are scheduled to open up the 2006-07 campaign with a Nov. 14 home matchup with Texas Tech. The two squads last faced off on March 8, 1996, a 77-75 loss to the Red Raiders at Hofheinz Pavilion.