06-15-2010, 10:40 AM
The top senior-to-be high school girls' basketball player in the state - Rockcastle County's Sara Hammond - has a new school involved in her recruiting process: Connecticut.
The two-time defending national champions have called to inquire about Hammond's and will evaluate her this summer at several AAU events. UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph called and chatted with Hammond's AAU coaches last week, according to her father.
Interest in the 6-foot-2 Hammond has picked up after a sensational spring playing for the Kentucky Premier AAU team. She had a solid Deep South Tournament in April where HoopGurlz said she "caught the attention of everyone."
Hammond saw her national ranking soar to No. 27 and her college list grow.
Louisville has long been one of her top schools, along with Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and West Virginia. But she's added Notre Dame, North Carolina, UCLA, Texas and Georgia to her list among several others.
And now UConn is calling.
"I thought I had narrowed it to five schools," Hammond said recently. "But with (other schools) now in the mix, it just make my decision tougher.
"I want to get through July and the AAU tournaments and then sometime before my first game (as a senior) make my decision."
Hammond said "location does matter," and noted she wants her family to be able to come and watch her play in college. She was a first-team All-State selection as a junior and is the leading candidate for Miss Basketball next season.
She also spoke highly of the Louisville program and coach Jeff Walz.
"Coach Walz and all of them (at Louisville) have been great," she said. "I have been there three or four times and am always in constant contact with them. That plays a big part now that I am a senior."
http://jodydemling.courier-journal.com/2...-star.html
The two-time defending national champions have called to inquire about Hammond's and will evaluate her this summer at several AAU events. UConn assistant coach Shea Ralph called and chatted with Hammond's AAU coaches last week, according to her father.
Interest in the 6-foot-2 Hammond has picked up after a sensational spring playing for the Kentucky Premier AAU team. She had a solid Deep South Tournament in April where HoopGurlz said she "caught the attention of everyone."
Hammond saw her national ranking soar to No. 27 and her college list grow.
Louisville has long been one of her top schools, along with Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and West Virginia. But she's added Notre Dame, North Carolina, UCLA, Texas and Georgia to her list among several others.
And now UConn is calling.
"I thought I had narrowed it to five schools," Hammond said recently. "But with (other schools) now in the mix, it just make my decision tougher.
"I want to get through July and the AAU tournaments and then sometime before my first game (as a senior) make my decision."
Hammond said "location does matter," and noted she wants her family to be able to come and watch her play in college. She was a first-team All-State selection as a junior and is the leading candidate for Miss Basketball next season.
She also spoke highly of the Louisville program and coach Jeff Walz.
"Coach Walz and all of them (at Louisville) have been great," she said. "I have been there three or four times and am always in constant contact with them. That plays a big part now that I am a senior."
http://jodydemling.courier-journal.com/2...-star.html