IU Coach Curt Miller has signed a national top-30 2013 recruiting class, according to the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
Miller is in his first year as coach of IU women's basketball and signed five players to national letters of intent this week during the early signing period.
"This recruiting class represents the new era of IU women's basketball and will be the backbone of our future," he said. "All five signees are recognized by national recruiting services, including four of them being considered in the Top 40 in their individual position. I am pleased to see that early reports have our class ranked in the Top 30 in the country but what the recruiting experts don't know about these five young women is that they are even better people off the court.
"They all have great character, they are all excellent students and they all believe in our approach that championships are won in the locker room with a team committed to chemistry and unity."
Joining the Hoosiers in 2013 will be Taylor Agler (Westerville, Ohio/Olegtangy Orange H.S.), Larryn Brooks (Richmond, Ky./Madison Central H.S.), Alexis Gassion (Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn H.S.), Lyndsay Leikem (Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells H.S.) and Karlee McBride (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria H.S.).
Blue Stark Basketball rates the class as third-best in the Big Ten.
"Our goals for this recruiting class on the court were to improve many areas including our ball handling, our basketball IQ, our guard depth and our overall competitiveness," Miller said. "I can't thank enough the tireless work by my assistant coaches since our arrival. It is remarkable that we have been able to attract this kind of talent in our first recruiting class given our short time here at IU. We will continue to passionately recruit great student-athletes while we build this program day-by-day."
Below is a short bio on each of the five signees.
Larryn Brooks
Guard, 5-5
Richmond, Ky./Madison Central
Key stats and notes
As a junior last season, Brooks average 18.7 points per game while leading her team to a third consecutive district championship. She has scored more than 1,000 points in her career and was named to the Kentucky Junior All Star team in the spring.
Thoughts from Curt Miller
"Larryn is a true point guard that brings explosive quickness to our program. She is excellent in transition and has a good feel for the game. She will be counted on to attack off ball screens creating opportunities for herself and her teammates with her penetration. She will also help improve our defensive pressure on opposing point guards. We are very fortunate to have her a part of our family after having a breakout spring and summer."
Alexis Gassion
G/F, 5-10
Fairborn, Ohio/Fairborn
Key stats and notes
A versatile combo guard/forward, Gassion boasts a good all-around game. As a junior last season, she averaged 17.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals per game. Her play helped propel Fairborn to a third consecutive sectional title and earned her conference Player of the Year and All-Ohio District 15 Player of the Year honors.
Curt Miller's Thoughts
"Alexis is an outstanding, versatile guard with great length. She creates off the bounce and will be excellent in pick and roll opportunities. Her versatility to play and defend multiple guard positions is a huge plus for our program. She is a smooth player and makes everything on the court seem easy. We have closely followed Alexis for years and immediately targeted her when we accepted the job at IU. With our starting wings graduating at the end of the year, we look for Alexis to make an immediate impact for us."
Lyndsay Leikem
F, 6-1
Tucson, Ariz./Flowing Wells
Key stats and notes
Like Gassion, Leikem will come to Bloomington with a significant amount of hardware. Leikem was named Southern Arizona Player of the Year last season after averaging a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from three-point range. Her play also earned her first team all-state, first team all-conference and first team all-city recognition.
Curt Miller's thoughts
"Lyndsay is an outstanding forward and the latest commitment in this class. She is a strong and physical player but plays with a versatile face-up game. She is a talented perimeter shooter, passer and ball handler but has proven consistently to be able to guard big post players at the defensive end of the court. Lyndsay is also a winner, helping her former high school team to an Arizona state championship. Our courtship with Lyndsay was the shortest in this recruiting class but there was an instant connection. She is genuinely excited about helping us build something special at IU."
Karlee McBride
G, 5-10
Erie, Pa./Villa Maria
In McBride, Miller has recruited a player with a winning pedigree. During her freshman and sophomore seasons, Villa Maria won back-to-back AA state titles. As a junior last season, McBride led her team to a final four appearance and No. 2 ranking in the state while averaging 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Her play earned first team all-conference, second team all-state and all-district honors.
Curt Miller's thoughts:
"Karlee is a strong, physical wing player with great basketball knowledge. She is a tough matchup for opponents because she can put it on floor, shoot the three and is an excellent post up guard. She is a warrior and ultimate competitor. Karlee also knows how to win, helping her high school team win two Pennsylvania state championships. She will understand the effort that it takes to build a championship culture on and off the court"
