Senior guard Shannon Ray was scheduled to sign her letter of intent today at Ursuline. Earlier this spring, Ray, a three-year starter, gave her commitment to Assumption, a Division II college in Worcester, Mass.
Ray also talked to Southern Connecticut and New York Institute of Technology as well as a few Division III schools, but she gravitated toward Assumption after a visit there.
“I really liked the campus and I really liked the girls on the team. They made me feel like I was part of the team,” Ray said.
Ray’s goal was to play Division I initially, but she said schools were discouraged by her size last summer. That opened up the Division IIs, with her goal being to play at as high a level as possible.
“That was my goal all along,” she said.
When Ray visited the campus, she watched Assumption play Pace on Feb. 6. It was one of the losses during Assumption’s 16-13 season, but two things stuck out: 1. The team was young, meaning many of the same girls would be her teammates the next three years. 2. The level of play was higher than Division II ball is often given credit for.
Ray will join a team that fielded five freshmen and two sophomores last year.
“If you actually go to a game, it’s very competitive,” she said. “It’s uptempo. And it’s not far off from a low Division I program.
“After that game, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
14 Comments
Congrats Shannon, you deserve it – GOOD LUCK !!!
Congrats Shannon! seems like a great fit, bets of luck you deserve it!
Josh, any word on where Postell is headed? will she attend school ?
Briana Jones from Ketcham signed with Saint Anselm college.
Good luck to her
Excellent school and top D2 program. They must have a good recruiting team because Shannon can play and works hard… congrats!
Josh, Do you know where if anywhere Postell will be playing next year, what about Gableman, Bucci and others?
JOSH,
hOW ABOUT an article on how HS teams workout in the Summer.
I hear Irvington has a Summer league, so does Greenburgh Rec.
Team camps?
would be interesting.
I too would love to hear where the girls are heading.Last year there was a link posted,
Let’s give some appreciation to Coach Sue Adams who brought Shannon Ray to the attention of the Assumption coaches in the first place.
How come there are not more D1 players coming out of Westchester. I would like to see a list of where the players are headed.
I dont mean to sound rude, but I believe that it is because of the strong emphasis that westchester as a whole has on academics. Not to say that other places in new york and the country dont value academics, but we do, and heavily. I believe that even if our talent level were the same as a different place, that they would have more division 1 players then us. I am not commenting that we are the most talented and we opt out of d1 by choice all of the time. But because the girls value academics so much, often times they do chose not to play division 1 even when they have the option, or they go ivy league. d1 basketball even for females where the spotlight is not as bright as men’s, is a full time job, takes away from academics and the college experience as a whole. I believe that because so many of these girls have always had academics first, they chose another route often times.
Again it doesn’t matter what division it is, what matters is the best fit for the STUDENT-athlete. These girls have worked hard in the classrooms and on the courts and if they choose to continue to play in D1, D2, or D3 great! It’s be neat to see a list of where all of the Class of 2010 players are going.
Balling: You keep telling yourself that if you want too the talent in westchester is not D1, bottom line. What you have three or four girl go D1, and only two to major D1 programs give me a break. Academics ok!
D1 snobs: get a grip!
I agree that it is nice from a fan perspective to see D1 talent at the high school level and if getting in to a D1 College program is the kid’s goal, and they make it, great.
But from the kid’s perspective the academics, school feel and basketball program all have to click. Even if they had a shot at a D1 program, no kid should have to apologize that they chose to play for a D2 or D3 school. Many good HS basketball players never go on to play college ball at all. And some D1 “can’t miss” prospects don’t play more than a year of college ball.
In the end, it is a blessing that a kid can continue to play basketball at any level for another 4 years in college.
The idea that 2-3 hours a day “takes away” from academics, not sound. D1 programs are filled with high achieving young women and provide amazing support for the academic pursuits of their players. Most women’s basketball programs have higher graduation rates than the university as a whole and what all this “takes away from” is a lot of down time to drink, do drugs, and other activities that do not exactly further a young person’s future.