“We are super excited about one of the best players in the country joining our family,” Hughey said. “Julia is an athletic off-guard that can create her own shot and finish at the rim. She is a tremendous character kid who flourishes in an up-tempo style of play like ours. She is a great on-ball defender and rebounder who plays extremely hard when she is on the floor. We are overjoyed she has joined our family.”
Vanden’s Blackshell-Fair signs with University of Houston
“When I was at Houston, one of the girls was saying how she knew the school wasn’t the best but she wanted to be a part of something and help it grow,” Blackshell-Fair said. “I remember her saying that and it kind of hit me. Kentucky is on the map and the transition there would be easier. But going to Houston, you have an opportunity to help put them on the map.”
Blackshell-Fair delivered a three-point play with 11.2 seconds left after a steal to put Vanden on top for good. The 5-foot-10 senior finished with 20 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists.
“We really couldn’t stop her at any point,” Mater Dei Coach Kevin Kiernan said.
I was watching a little of the girls All America game the other day and saw that Texas had signed two of the top five players in the country. Of course UConn got the top one and a couple to go with her…lol…but I am convinced that until Hughey can recruit some big kids to go with these guards we will remain mediocre…hope I am wrong. We did show improvement this year, so at least that was encouraging…
We do have the JUCO recruit coming in that’s pretty tall (6’3") that was one of the top 25 players in the nation coming out of high school. She originally was at Georgia, but had a bad injury that caused her to miss her freshman year and she transferred to JUCO to get playing time as she recovered. Believe she has 3 years left due to medical redshirt.
Nasheems “Fruit” Oliver. She’s supposed to be really good.
Vanden was led by Julia Blackshell-Fair, one of the best guards in the country, who scored 20 points and had 21 rebounds. She is headed to the University of Houston on scholarship. She definitely took over the game in the fourth quarter but what struck my wife and I the most as we watched the game on television was her leadership and unselfish play and assists to her incredible teammates.
This was truly a team effort with Julia’s teammates scoring 44 points and pulling down a bunch of rebounds and playing tough defense. This championship was won by every person on the team, including the ladies that never got in the big game.
