Jenkins to USC

By Glenn Nelson
HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Mon, 08/20/2007 - 21:33 The Trojans gain a verbal from the top inside prospect in the Pacific Northwest, Is it the first of several top-notch commitments?

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STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
USC is hoping to get a sprinkle of championship stardust from Michelle Jenkins, who has been a foundation player on three straight Oregon state title teams at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore.

Jenkins, a 6-foot-3 post, made a verbal commitment to Trojans coach Mark Trahk on Monday. She joins another former Southridge player, guard Aarika Hughes, with whom she started on a nationally ranked Skyhawk team in 2005-06.

The top inside prospect in the Pacific Northwest, Jenkins will be ranked in the soon-to-be HoopGurlz Hundred for 2008. Southridge teammate Alex Earl, another then-sophomore starter on the 2005-06 Skyhawk team, earlier committed to Arizona State.

Two other recent verbals have Ashlee Burns, a 5-9 point guard out of Livermore, Calif., going to Cal Poly; Jordan Coleman, a 5-11 guard out of Lake Mary, Fla., heading to Vanderbilt, and Renee Womack, a 5-11 guard from Norristown, Pa., pledging to Penn State. Burns also considered Boston University, Colorado, San Francisco and Utah State, while Coleman had been considering DePaul, Princeton and UCLA.

In Jenkins the Trojans are getting a player who uses her body well to gain position inside and can score and pass from the high post. She averaged 14.5 points and nine rebounds in leading Southridge to its three-peat Class 6A championship. A member of the National Honor Society, Jenkins was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon for 2006.

Jenkins is the start of what could be a bountiful 2008 signing class for USC, which had the No. 1 class in 2006, according to HoopGurlz.com. The Trojans are expected to gain a commitment from Briana Gilbreath, a 6-1 wing out of Katy, Texas, whose sister, Stefanie, is at USC but is coming off an ACL surgery. USC also is considered a leader for Shawna-Lei Kuehu, a top 25 prospect, who is scheduled for an official visit with Gilbreath and point guard Chelsea Hopkins of North Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 31.

USC also is one of the leaders for Ashley Corral, of Vancouver, Wash., who is one of the nation's top point guards. She and Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, one of the country's top post prospects, are scheduled for an official visit next month.

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Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. Glenn previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. He can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.