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Date Posted: 21:56:49 11/22/05 Tue
Author: None
Subject: Re: bankhead
In reply to: HAASAN HANNAH 's message, "Re: bankhead" on 20:48:34 11/05/05 Sat

Sycamore women adding new point guard

By Todd Golden/Tribune-Star

The Indiana State women's basketball program got its Christmas present early on Monday.

Andrea Bankhead, a 5-foot-6 point guard from Chicago-area Proviso West High School in Hillside, Ill., has made a verbal commitment to play for the Sycamores.

Unusually, she will begin playing for the Sycamores starting with second-semester games in mid-December, assuming that she is accepted for second-semester classes, which is expected.

Bankhead will make an already solid ISU backcourt even more stout. She averaged 20 points and eight assists per game during her senior season at Proviso West and was highly sought during her original recruiting process. She was rated the 38th-best guard in the nation by All-Star Girls Report during her high school career and was a Street & Smith preseason All-America honorable mention in 2004.

“I'm really excited about ISU. I also went on two other visits [Toledo, Kent State], but ISU's coaching staff and the academic staff and the team are all amazing. It's a perfect fit for me,” said Bankhead in a telephone interview with the Tribune-Star on Monday night.


It was a long journey to Terre Haute for Bankhead.

Bankhead was graduated from Proviso West last June and had made a verbal commitment to Wisconsin - a school which has recruited many of Bankhead's teammates from her Chicago Hoops Express AAU team - during her junior season (when she averaged 15 ppg and 7 apg), a recruiting process that ISU was originally a part of.

“I liked them when I was talking to them back then, before I committed to Wisconsin,” Bankhead said. “I remember my mom and I received a letter that said they had received a verbal from a guard in the 2005 class [Leah Phillips verbally committed to ISU during her junior year at Castle]. It said, ‘Good luck finding a school.' I never heard from them again.”

Last summer, it was discovered that Bankhead was in danger of not academically qualifying to attend Wisconsin after a core course she needed to gain admission hadn't been taken at Proviso West. She had to take a summer high school course to be cleared for admission. Her grade was not sufficient to be enrolled at the Big Ten school, though she is academically eligible by NCAA and ISU guidelines.

Bankhead's release from her commitment at Wisconsin was not confirmed until November, after an appeal process to gain spring admission to the Madison, Wis., school was denied. That's why her recruiting process just recently reopened.



“It was really heartbreaking. When I committed to Wisconsin my junior year, it was beautiful to me. Then to be told, ‘You didn't get in. Sorry.'

“I teared up a bit, but I knew I couldn't cry for too long,” Bankhead said. “I definitely learned from some of the mistakes that were made throughout high school that came back to get me later.”

After Bankhead received her release, she considered ISU, Toledo, Kent State and Illinois State. Her first visit was to ISU last Thursday.

“Rachel [Maenpaa] was my host, but the whole team was very welcoming. We were hanging out after the practice, joking around a lot,” Bankhead said. “When I left ISU, I had it set in my mind that this is where I want to be.”

Bankhead cut off her visits early and committed to ISU on Monday.




The freshman-to-be - this season will count as her full freshman season - expects to augment Melanie Boeglin on the perimeter.

“My strengths are definitely defense and passing. I score when it's necessary or needed,” Bankhead said. “[ISU] plays a very up-tempo game. Nobody runs in college like they're supposed to, but you watch ISU and, boom, they're gone. It's very exciting and I love that.”

Does Bankhead consider herself the cherry on the sundae as ISU seeks a NCAA Tournament bid?

“Definitely. Mel has done a great job, I saw a highlight tape of her and she's really good. Talking to the coaches, they think one more guard could really do it for them and I agree. We really want to be in the NCAA tournament,” Bankhead said.

ISU's coaching staff declined to comment on Bankhead, citing NCAA rules that prohibit them from speaking about verbal commitments.

The first semester is over on Friday, Dec. 16. NCAA rules dictate that players can play in a break between semesters if they're enrolled in one semester or the other on either side of the break.

ISU's first second semester game is at Youngstown State on Dec. 17. The next one is at Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 20. Bankhead could theoretically debut in either game.

Story created Nov 22, 2005 - 08:11:24 CST.

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Replies:

[> [> Re: bankhead -- none, 22:00:35 11/22/05 Tue

pdub --

Bankhead did not get into Wisconsin but she will be playing at Indiana State.


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