STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
C. Vivian Stringer jumped into the 2008 recruiting class in a big way, as Nikki Speed decided to go to Rutgers all the way over from Southern California.
Speed, of Pasadena, Calif., is one of the nation's top point guards and ranked No. 27 overall in the HoopGurlz Hundred for 2008.
Nikki Speed
Her FBC club teammate, Jasmine Dixon, of Long Beach, Calif., will visit Baylor next week and make a commitment decision afterward. The No. 26 prospect in 2008, Dixon could join Speed at Rutgers, or tap UCLA. She also has made visits to Arionza and Arizona State.
The aptly named Speed chose Rutgers over Duke. One of the fastest high-school guards in the country with the basketball, Speed showed a vastly improved jump shot this past summer. She also is a top-notch defender and distributor off penetration.
Speed can grow considerably in Stringer's disciplined program as one of her few weaknesses was a tendency to try too much and commit turnovers.
Meanwhile, several of Speed's club teammates also recently have verballed. Kristen McCarthy, a 6-1 wing from West Corvina, Calif., chose Temple over Cal, LSU, Rutgers and Washington. Courtney Clement, a 6-1 wing from Long Beach, chose Arizona over Louisville, LSU and San Diego State. Sherrie Session, a 6-foot wing from Downey, Calif., committed to Rhode Island; she also considered Colorado, Liberty, Long Beach State and Oregon.
Previously, Rebekah Gardner, a guard from Fontana, Calif., committed to UCLA.
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Glenn Nelson is the founder and publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee and SportsShooter.com (Click for Porfolio [1]), Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, National Press Photographers Association and Online News Association. Glenn also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams and 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 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 [1]. Glenn can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com [2].
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