Nov. 14, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech women’s basketball program welcomed five top recruits to its 2007-08 roster, announced head coach MaChelle Joseph on Wednesday. Mo Bennett, a 5-10 guard from Statesboro, Ga., will be joined by Chelsea Regins of Broward, Fla., Bolton, Miss. native Sasha Goodlett and Liberty County (Ga.) high school teammates LaQuananisha Adams and Metra Walthour to form the sixth-ranked 2008 recruiting class by All-Star Girls Report.
“This recruiting class is very special. It is without question one of the most talented and deepest classes that we have signed at Georgia Tech,” Joseph said. “This group brings much needed size to our front court and tremendous speed and quickness to our backcourt. Not only are these some of the top players in the country they are also the type of student-athletes that will excel at Tech.
“Our recruiting coordinator Sytia Messer and our coaching staff did a great job of putting together one of the top-10 classes in the country and the second top-10 class in as many years. We are excited about the impact that this class will have.”
The Georgia Tech coaches have not only signed one of the nation’s top classes, but have brought in three talents from the state of Georgia.
Bennett ranks as the nations No. 8 guard and is the No. 29 high school senior overall according to hoopgurlz.com. Bennett was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain under coach Jeff Seier at Statesboro high school. The Fab Five Camp MVP was named All-State in 2007 and earned All-Region honors in 2006 and ’07. She recently participated in Georgia’s North-South All-Star game.
“Mo Bennett is a tremendous athlete, she can score and has the ability to rebound from the guard position,” Joseph said. “We look for her to make immediate contributions at the guard position. Physically she is ready for the college game.”
Adams, another 6-4 center, is ranked 62nd in the nation and the No. 17 center by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. An honor student, Adams was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain under coach Carolyn Kelly at Liberty County. She will be joined by 5-6 teammate Metra Walthour, a point guard, who ranks as the No. 71 player in the nation. Walthour was a four-time all-district honoree and a four-time MVP at Liberty County.
“It is exciting for Georgia Tech women’s basketball to have student-athletes of this caliber from the state of Georgia joining our program,” added Joseph. “We are committed to keeping the best players in the state at home and feel like we have done that with signing Nisha, Metra and Mo. The fact that these three have played together the past two summers for Peach State gives them an advantage coming to Tech and makes the adjustment easier. Nisha has great length and runs the floor like a guard. She is the type of post player that we love and fits our system on the offensive and defensive end. Metra is a great floor leader. She makes smart decisions with the basketball and understands how to lead a team.”
Regins, a 6-2 power forward from Dillard high school in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., ranks as high as No. 9 at her position by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report and the No. 41 player in the nation. The two-year captain was named to the All-State second team in 2007 and earned 2007 County Championship MVP and First-team honors. Regins was named the 2007 Player of the Year in 6A-4A divisions. She also earned County Fab Five honors in 2006 and ’07 by the Sun-Sentinel. Regins holds her high school’s record for most points scored in a game with 42.
“She is a tremendous student-athlete,” said Joseph of Regins. “We are excited about the impact that she will have on our program. She is versatile and can play multiple positions. She has the ability to play both inside and outside and guard perimeter and post players. The thing that makes Chelsea so special is her ability to rebound the basketball. She is a winner.”
Goodlett comes to Tech from Clinton high school in Clinton, Miss., where she was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain under coach Felicia Lofton. The 6-4 center ranks as the No. 64 high school player in the nation by All-Star Girls Report. Goodlett was named to the Dandy Dozen, a list of the 12 top players in Mississippi, by the Clarion Ledger. She was a 2007 participant in the Mississippi High School All-Star game.
“Sasha gives us the inside presence that we have been missing the past couple of years,” Joseph said. “She is big and strong and plays very physical on both ends of the floor. She has great hands and an uncanny ability to finish around the basket.”
“Coach Joseph and her staff are tireless recruiters and their efforts have yielded two interior players that provide both quickness and explosiveness as well as imposing size and skill,” mentions Dan Olson of the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. “Goodlett and Adams are a good mix of mobility and size that is coveted by coaches.”
“This class gives us the depth we need to challenge the leaders in the Atlantic Coast Conference and puts us that much closer to accomplishing our goal of becoming a top-25 program year in and year out,” Joseph added.
– RamblinWreck.com –
