Kentucky women?s basketball coach Mickie DeMoss is known for being a great recruiter and she has lived up to that billing, signing four of the nation?s top recruits to a national letter-of-intent, including three who rank in the top 40 nationally. Sade Buley, a 6-0 swing player from Knoxville, Tenn., Sarah Elliott, a 6-6 center from Berea, Ky., Samantha Mahoney, a 5-10 guard from Detroit, Mich., and Chante Bowman, a 6-0 two-guard from Detroit, Mich., have signed to play for the Wildcats next season.
?Collectively, I think this is one the strongest classes in the country,? DeMoss said. ?Basically, we have put an entire team together, filling all five spots. As a unit it is a very strong class.
?I couldn?t be happier with this class considering we didn?t get started recruiting until April. To have this caliber of a signing class says a lot for our staff, the players and our support staff that helped us do this.?
According to the Blue Star Index, Kentucky?s recruiting class ranks eighth in the nation. The top 10 recruiting classes are Tennessee, Maryland, LSU, Duke, Georgia, Rutgers, Stanford, Kentucky, Connecticut and Purdue.
Sade Buley (pronounced SHAH-day BU-lee), a 6-0, forward, is ranked as high as No. 17 in some recruiting services. She is a three-year letterwinner at South Doyle High School in Knoxville, Tenn., where she averaged 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds last season as a junior. She was named to first-team All-Metro two straight seasons and as a sophomore was named a USA Today All-American. She also is a two-time Street & Smith All-America honorable mention. Buley, who received her first recruiting letter in the seventh grade, is no stranger to helping rebuild a program. She led her South Doyle squad to back-to-back winning seasons after going 1-43 prior to her arrival. She made noise this summer when she was selected to attend the Nike All-American Camp and DeMoss is impressed with her all-around game.
?Sade is a very exciting perimeter player,? DeMoss said. ?She is so explosive. She also can shoot off the dribble and the pass. She is very potent offensively and she definitely will put up big numbers for us. She also has really good speed and quickness and I think she is one of the top 10 guards in the country.?
Buley chose UK over Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.
Sarah Elliott, a center from Jackson County High School, will be one of only three 6-6 players ever to play for Kentucky. She ranks No. 29 by the All-Star Girls Report and has been playing varsity level since the eighth grade. Elliott averaged 20.5 points and 12.5 rebounds a game as a junior and was named to the Courier-Journal All-State first team the past two seasons. She helped lead the Lady Generals to their fourth consecutive 13th Region title last season and led the state in field goal percentage, shooting 71 percent from the floor. She was invited to play on the USA Youth Developmental Festival South team this summer and became one of the most sought-after players in the country.
?Sarah will be a tremendous force on the inside for us,? DeMoss said. ?She has great size and her mobility has improved dramatically over the past year. As a Kentucky native she will bring added interest and fan support and that?s something that is exciting for us and for the University of Kentucky.
Street & Smith?s basketball magazine named Elliott an honorable-mention All-American three straight years and she is a strong candidate for Kentucky?s Miss Basketball title this season.
Elliott chose UK over Purdue and Notre Dame.
Samantha Mahoney, ranked No. 36 in the nation by the Blue Star Index, is a 5-10 guard from West Bloomfield High School in Detroit, Mich. She is Michigan?s No.1-ranked high school player and a strong contender for Michigan?s Miss Basketball after averaging 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a junior. She helped the Lakers win the Oakland Activities Association Division 1-2 title and earn Class A district and regional titles.
She was named a 2002 Street & Smith All-America honorable mention, 2002 Detroit News All-Metro first team and an All-State Dream Team selection. She was a Nike All-America camp attendee in 2002 and 2003 and was elected to the 2003 USA Youth Development Festival North Team. As a sophomore, she was named All-Area and All-State honorable mention.
?Sam is ranked as Michigan?s top player and she is a solid guard,? DeMoss said. ?She can play at the one or the two position. She is very versatile and knows the game extremely well. She was coached by her mother, Pam Mahoney, and her fundamentals are solid. She is just an excellent all-around player.?
Mahoney chose UK over Georgia Tech and Michigan. Chante Bowman (pronounced SHAN-tay BO-man), also of Detroit, Mich., is a 6-0 guard from Cass Tech High School. She averaged 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game as a junior and was named Detroit News Class A All-State honorable mention.
?Chante is underrated in all the polls and in the state of Michigan. She is a sleeper with untapped potential,? DeMoss said. ?She is a high-energy player with strong work ethic and I look for her to play the small forward for us. She is an extremely good rebounder and she can run the floor. She will add a lot of energy both offensively and defensively.?
Bowman chose Kentucky over her home state of Michigan.
Dayton transfer and former Henry Clay standout Nastassia Alcius also will be eligible next season.
The early signing period ends Wednesday, Nov. 19.
