Three Sign With Rutgers Women's Basketball Program
Nov 10 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Sammeika Thrash (Birmingham, AL), Kia Vaughn (New York, NY) and Heather Zurich (Hillsdale, NJ) have signed national letters of intent to join the nationally-ranked Rutgers women's basketball team and play for the Scarlet Knights beginning with the 2005-2006 season, 10th-year head coach C. Vivian Stringer has announced.
'The addition of these outstanding recruits to our current freshman class will give us outstanding depth and a talented core of players for years to come,' said Stringer. 'Versatility is the key word with this group. This is probably the most versatile class we have brought in the last several years, and that will be an important component of our future success. All of them are great students who possess bubbly and spirited personalities. They have been leaders at their schools, and have the kinds of personalities that attract others to them. I am happy to say that they are all great competitors, in the classroom, on the court and in all that they do. We are thrilled to be adding them to our basketball family here at Rutgers.'
Thrash, a 6-1 forward, averaged 13 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game as a junior at Ramsay High School. Rated the No. 9 forward and a top-40 player overall by the All Star Girls Report, Thrash was named an honorable-mention All-American by Street & Smith's last season, earning a spot on the 5A All-State Second Team and the All-Metro First Team. A North Alabama All-Star as well as an All-Game Sports All-America Camp All-Star in 2004, she played for Robert Mosley at Ramsay, and played club ball with the Alabama Lasers.
'I think that Sammeika's outlook is that when you want to be the best, you must play with the best, and that's why she has decided to come to Rutgers,' said Stringer. 'Sam is a great competitor who challenges herself at the highest levels. She is a very versatile forward who can play the four and the three, and she is a team player and a leader. She has legitimate post moves, she runs the floor, shoots and rebounds extremely well, but she also can step out and play on the perimeter. Her versatility will add significantly to our success in the years to come.'
Vaughn, a 6-4 center, averaged 17 points, 20 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots per game as a junior at Saint Michael's Academy. Rated the second-best post and sixth-best player overall by the All Star Girls Report and the No. 4 prospect by the Blue Star Report, Vaughn was invited to the 2004 USA Basketball Junior National Team Trials, where she participated with current Scarlet Knights Matee Ajavon (Newark, NJ) and Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ). Named to the Street & Smith's All-America First (2004) and Fifth (2003) Teams, she also was a Student Sports Junior All-American, a member of the USA Today Super 25 and Sophomore and Junior All-America Teams, a member of the Daily News 2003 All-Borough Team, and a selection to Newsday's All-Manhattan First Team (2004) and All-City Second Team (2003). Vaughn attended the Nike All-America Camp and was named an all-star at the All-Game Sports All-America Camp, and was named to the all-tournament team at the Clyde Frazier Jr. (Slam Jam) Tournament. She has played for coach Apache Paschell as a member of Saint Michael's, a top-10 team nationally according to Street & Smith's, and as a member of the AAU team New York Exodus.
'The significance of signing a center, much less one we consider to be one of the best centers in the country, cannot be downplayed,' Stringer stated. 'Kia runs the floor like a guard and shoots the ball from three-point range, yet she is also one of the most physical centers to come out of high school in some time, as she has a strong and solid body. She comes from an outstanding program at Saint Michael's, and she knows what it takes to win and how to perform under pressure because of her success with one of the country's best programs. Kia is a great student, she's well-grounded and she is a people person. She just has a magnetic personality and always has a smile on her face. We are very fortunate to have someone with her basketball skill and personality joining our program.'
Zurich, a 6-1 guard, averaged 18 points per game as a junior at Pascack Valley High School. A participant at the 2004 adidas All-America Camp, she was named to the Associated Press All-State Third Team, The Record All-Region First (2004) and Second (2003) Teams, the All-State Underclass First Team (2003), and the Star Ledger All-County First Team (2003-2004). Her 1,198 points at Pascack Valley currently rank third all time at the school as she begins her senior season, where she plays for Jeff Jasper, who coached current Scarlet Knight Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) in the 2001 WBCA All-America Game. Zurich also plays club ball with the Central Jersey Hawks.
'Heather is a pro-size guard, who at 6-1 shoots the three-point shot with great accuracy,' stated Stringer. 'She runs the floor extremely well, and she plays in a program that uses precision passing and cutting. Again, Heather is an excellent student, and we're fortunate to add someone with Heather's abilities. She runs the floor, she will be very effective on our press, she handles the ball well and she is extremely consistent from three-point range.'
Last season, Rutgers (21-12, 10-6 BIG EAST) advanced to its sixth NCAA Championship in the last seven years and finished as the runner-up at the 2004 BIG EAST Championship. C. Vivian Stringer, who will begin her 10th year at the helm of the Rutgers program this fall just five wins shy of her 700th victory, helped lead Team USA to a gold medal as an assistant coach for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in Athens. The 2004-2005 Scarlet Knights were recognized at the conclusion of last season as a team to watch nationally, singled out by Sports Illustrated as one of 10 teams to challenge for the 2005 national title. RU has been included in several preseason polls, including a ranking of 17th in the Associated Press and WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 Polls.
