Tiffany Murphy
Staff Writer
Five new recruits sign on to play for the 2006-2007 Pepperdine Women’s basketball team. The class includes 6-foot-3 inch La’Teena Wickett of Oakland, Calif., 6-foot-4 inch Jennifer Kioa of San Mateo, Calif., 5-foot -11 inch Na’Chelle Catron of Riverside, Calif., 5 foot 9 LaCale Pringle of Seattle, Wash., and International student, 6 foot 3 Miranda Ayim of London, Ontario Canada. With their John Hancock on the line, these young women have signed their National Letter of Intent and in doing so have dedicated themselves to Pepperdine to play against some of the top teams in the country. Pepperdine has a recruiting class in the top 15 percent of the entire country, according to second-year Head Coach Julie Rousseau. With this high rank, there will be higher expectations and an ever promising future.
While it may seem easy to sign your name on the line, Coach Rousseau tells of the work it takes to recruit prospects.
“It’s a complex process,” she said. “Throughout the year I travel to several AAU tournaments seeing them play.”
Rousseau describes recruiting as a courtship between coaches and prospective players. She spends time writing letters, making weekly phone calls and home visits. And finally, prospects come to Pepperdine on an official visit.
“We have a good core of players,” Rousseau said. “The players coming in will make us stronger and add to what we are establishing.” The mixture of veteran players and the new recruits equal a winning combination that is sure to see advancement and improvement.
But what does it take to be a student athlete at Pepperdine University? Sophomore transfer, Naykea Isabell is a point guard for the Waves. While being named NJCAA third team All-American at the College of Southern Idaho, she helped her team to the National NJCAA Championship game. Isabell spoke about the transition from the Junior to Pepperdine.
“It’s good, it’s different,” she said. “It was hard to adjust and make the transition.” Isabell has met the new recruits but has not seen them play. “We have a really talented team, a good coaching staff and I do look forward to the future. But the year is not over and I think there are good things to come.”
Why where these five young ladies drawn to Pepperdine? Coach Rousseau spoke of the beautiful location. Malibu is known for its sunny skies, sandy beaches and countless movie star sightings. Not only is Pepperdine rated “The Most Beautiful College Campus”, according to Princeton Review, Pepperdine students experience a small institution, demanding academics and Christian way of life.
Senior International Student Miranda Ayim from London and Ontario, Canada has been playing basketball since she could walk and is looking forward to the Pepperdine experience. Ayim chose Pepperdine because “It was basically the college that had everything I wanted. It’s a Christian University and I think that’s going to be a very important role in my transition in College.”
Pepperdine students are offered opportunities that a larger university could not give them, such as one-on-one attention from professors, three summer sessions, and having the values of Christian service, leadership and purpose. Senior LaCale Pringle from Seattle, Washington was lured to Pepperdine by the small class sizes, professors, coaches and players. “I like how the professors treat you and I really like how well I get along with the coaches and players.” Said Pringle, who led her team to the state championship as a junior and was named the team’s most valuable player. She never really thought about playing college ball, but now her goals have grown, and she looks forward to her basketball career at Pepperdine.
Coaches and players are anxious about the remainder of the season. “I am still excited about this season,” Rousseau said. “We are young and I hope we will peak at the right time. These new recruits will make us even stronger.”
“I defiantly will improve a lot and am looking forward to becoming the best player I can be,” said Ayim, who was been named the Most Valuable Player the last two years on her high school team. With an attitude like that, coupled with the skills these five young ladies bring with them, Pepperdine Women’s Basketball has nowhere to go but up.
There is still time to support the ladies in their final conference play. Come to the game, wear your orange and blue, get a free beanie, cheer on the Pepperdine Women’s Basketball team and watch for the new players.
06-06-2006