Coach G just got her third verbal from the class of 2005, Carrem Gay
of New York. Gay is a 6-2 wing who plays at the legendary Christ the King
program, former home of Chamique Holdclaw & Sue Bird among many others.
She nicely addresses Duke's need for a big, quick wing in this recruiting
class; in fact, she has dunked in practice before. Duke is likely not done
with recruiting in this class just yet, however.
She will be playing on the East team in the USA Youth Development games
later this month, alongside future teammate Brittany Mitch. Gay has a ton
of accolades, including making All-America teams with Student Sports
(junior), USA Today (soph), Street & Smith HM (frosh, soph), and assorted
all-city teams. She averaged 16 ppg and 11 rpg as a junior. Here's info
on her high
school program, her AAU team, the NY Liberty Belles. The Liberty Belles have
featured players such as Maryland's Shay Doron, Clare Droesch of Boston
College, Sue Bird, Chamique Holdsclaw and Duke's own Hilary Howard. Gay
marks the first big recruit from the NYC area to attend Duke since Hibby;
both UConn and Rutgers (two programs who have a stranglehold over much of
the area's talent) were recruiting her.
Here are some more links related to game action: NY Catholic State Champs, lost in state semifinals, a
NIKE camp evaluation (scroll down to #51), a photo from same, USA Today preseason ranking, and the USA Today postseason ranking.
Some list Gay as a center, but she plays the four on her high school
team and will likely be a three in college. She's known to be extremely
quick, a good student and a good defender--three qualities that make her a
nice match for Duke. She's generally regarded to be a top 15 pick, but
most rankings for this class are a bit out of date.
Here's a quick breakdown of the current roster. In the Duke class of
2009, we will have Abby Waner, Brittany Mitch and Carrem Gay. In the
class of 2008, we will have Wanisha Smith, Chante' Black, Laura Kurz and
transfer Emily Waner. In the class of 2007, we have Brittany Hunter and
Alison Bales. In the class of 2006, there's Caitlin Howe, Mistie Bass,
Jessica Foley and Lindsey Harding. Lastly, in the class of 2005, we will
see Wynter Whitley and Monique Currie. Both Currie and Howe will have an
extra year of eligibility, should they choose to use it, due to redshirt
seasons taken. Thus, the 2006 team right now has somewhere between 12-14
players on it (depending on Howe & Currie), meaning that between 1-3
scholarships will still be available.
For now, I'm going to hold off on my annual recruiting guide, since
three players are already in the truck. There are still a number of
players who have Duke on their list at the moment, but I imagine that will
change very shortly with Gay's announcement. Still, don't be surprised if
another wing and/or possibly another post join the program.