University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Sign Julia Blackshell-Fair
11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON â€" Third-year Head Coach Ronald Hughey and the Houston Women's Basketball program are excited to welcome Julia Blackshell-Fair to the Cougar family. Blackshell-Fair signed her letter of intent Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period to join the Cougars for the 2017-18 season.
"We are super excited about one of the best players in the country joining our family," Hughey said. "Julia is an athletic off-guard that can create her own shot and finish at the rim. She is a tremendous character kid who flourishes in an up-tempo style of play like ours. She is a great on-ball defender and rebounder who plays extremely hard when she is on the floor. We are overjoyed she has joined our family."
Blackshell-Fair, a 5-10 guard from Fairfield, Calif., enters her senior season rated as the No. 92 player in the nation and the 26th rated guard for the Class of 2017. The 4-star prospect according to ESPN Hoopgurlz is the second top-100 rated student-athlete and fifth in the top-150 to join the Cougars.
Blackshell-Fair will graduate from Vanden High School in the spring, where she plays under coach Allison Johnson. The California native is also a member of Pico Wilburn's Oakland Soldiers for AAU play. She was the 2015-16 Solano County Athletic Conference Player of the Year as well as a member of the Max Preps Division II Second Team.
The newest member the Cougars averaged 14.3 points and 4.6 assists per game with the Vikings, while helping her team earn berths in the California State Basketball Tournament every season since her freshman year. Blackshell-Fair chose the Cougars over Kentucky and UC Santa Barbara.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT JULIA
ESPN Hoopgurlz: "Athletic lead-guard brings size to the back court and a scorer's mentality; handles, pushes tempo under control; mid-range game creator; big-guard exploits mismatches, rebounds; among the elite guards in the 2017 class."
FERTITTA PLEDGES $20 MILLION TO ATHLETICS
Tilman J. Fertitta, globally recognized entrepreneur and Chairman of the University of Houston System Board of Regents, presented a historic $20 million gift to the University of Houston to transform the UH basketball arena into a state of the art collegiate sports facility and rename the arena Fertitta Center. Fertitta's gift is the largest individual donation to UH Athletics.
The Fertitta gift is a significant step forward in the $60 million University of Houston Basketball capital renewal project for the center's design and renovation. Design work is currently underway. Renovations and construction are scheduled to follow the 2016-17 season, with completion expected during the 2018-19 season. Plans for the Cougars' home facility during the 2017-18 season have not been finalized.
The facility will feature a premium club area and a courtside club. The reconfigured bowl will move mid-court seating locations closer to game action with floor-level seating opposite the team benches for UH students. Renovations include a new audio system, sports lighting and video boards as well as new concession stands and expanded restrooms. The facility's exterior also will be refreshed.
Prominent to the center's exterior, the renovation will preserve the legacy of the Hofheinz family and its contributions to both UH and the city of Houston. UH will transform an area adjacent to the new facility into Hofheinz Plaza, where fans will be greeted by a bronze statue of former Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. The University of Houston will request that city officials rename a portion of Holman Street in front of the arena after the Hofheinz family. In addition, Roy Hofheinz's records will be permanently archived and publicly accessible as a special collection in the UH library and the Alumni Center will house an area describing the lives and public service of Roy and Irene Hofheinz.
STAY CONNECTED
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