Women's Basketball Signs Three To National Letter of Intent
11/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - Wake Forest head coach Mike Petersen announced today that three prospective student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Wake Forest beginning in the fall of 2011.
Forward Dearica Hamby (Marietta, Ga.), post player Lauryn Webster (Marietta, Ga.) and guard Millesa Calicott (Winston-Salem, NC) have all signed official letters of intent to join the Demon Deacons next fall.
"Overall, we're really happy with this class," said Wake Forest head coach Mike Petersen. "Because it's players that fit with the way we want to play. They are all players that will be great people in our program. They will also be great students at Wake Forest academically. It's another good class that joins the other good classes that have come prior to them."
Hamby is a 6-3 guard/forward that played three seasons at Marietta High School in Marietta, Ga., and will play this season at Norcross High School. She was a first-team All-Metro selection by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club as a junior and received a scouts grade of 92 by ESPN HoopGurlz.
"Dearica is really a gifted athlete," said Petersen. "She's long and runs the floor very well. She has a unique skill set for her size in that she can really play well on the perimeter. For a 6-3 athlete, she is more of a perimeter player and we recruited her to play on the perimeter. We're really delighted to have her come join our program because she's an automatic mismatch. We don't have to set a screen to get a mismatch with her. If they guard her with an exterior player, she'll go inside and if they guard her with an interior player, she'll go outside. She has very good offensive versatility."
Webster is an AAU teammate of Hamby as both play for the Georgia Pistols. Webster is a strong post player that will add to Wake's depth on the post. She has earned three varsity letters so far at Marietta and was named the team's Best Defensive Forward last season.
"Lauryn is a kid with a huge upside," Petersen said. "She is strong and very athletic and will have more of an impact in the post for us. She is a good rebounder and finishes well around the rim. Her physical presence in the lane will fit nicely with what we currently have in Sandra (Garcia) and Lindsy (Wright)."
Calicott is a player whom Petersen and his staff are very familiar with. She plays at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, and earned second team All-State honors as junior. She was also named the District 7 and CPC Conference Player of the Year as well as the Defensive Player of the Year in the Triad.
"Millesa is a player that we've seen play forever," said Petersen. "We've seen her since the sixth grade playing AAU and coming to our camps. She is really a good athlete with a really high basketball IQ. She's a tremendous competitor and is almost ambidextrous. When she goes to the rim, it's hard to tell whether she is right or left handed. She really finishes well with both hands and she passes the ball extremely well with both hands."
Dearica Hamby
6-3
Forward
Marietta, Ga.
Norcross High School
Entering her senior season at Norcross High School ... Attended Marietta High School her first three years ... Was a first-team All-Metro selection by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club as a junior ... Played for three seasons with fellow Wake recruit Lauryn Webster at Marietta ... Currently plays under Angie Hembree ... Rated as the 28th-best forward in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz and received a scouts grade of 92 ... Rated as a four-star recruit ... Played AAU ball for the Georgia Pistols with Webster under coach Percy Gordon ... Also considered offers from Florida, South Carolina, South Florida and West Virginia ... Full name is Dearica Marie Hamby ... Daughter of Carla Hamby and Derrick Jones ... Has two sisters, Chelsie and Desaraye ... Is also a standout on the softball field.
Lauryn Webster
6-3
Forward
Marietta, Ga.
Marietta High School
Full name is Lauryn Diane Webster ... Born on Sept. 14, 1993, in Vallejo, Calif. ... Daughter of Sonja Webster ... Entering her senior season at Marietta High School ... Plays for head coach Kenneth Sprague ... Also played on the same club team, Georgia Pistols, as fellow Demon Deacon recruit Dearica Hamby ... Was a teammate of Hamby at Marietta for three seasons ... Has earned three varsity letters so far at Marietta ... Earned the team's Most Improved Player Award in 2007-08 and was named the team's Best Defensive Forward in 2009-10 ... Chose Wake Forest over Furman, Arkansas and James Madison ... Two former teammates - Telia McCall (Virginia) and Brittany White (Southern Polytechnic State) -- that are currently playing collegiate basketball.
Millesa Calicott
5-10
Guard
Winston-Salem, NC
Mount Tabor High School
Entering her senior season at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem ... Earned second team All-State honors as junior and was named the District 7 and CPC Conference Player of the Year ... Named the Forsyth County Defensive Player of the Year by Triad Sports as sophomore and was third team All-District ... Named to the CPC All-Tournament Team ... Is a member of the National Honor Society and is in the top-20 percent of her class ... Received the Tim Duncan Award at Mount Tabor ... Brother Brian played collegiate lacrosse at Trinity University ... Has four high school teammates - Jennifer Penly (Naval Academy), Shay Jones (Charlestown Southern), Gabby Oglesby (Guilford) and Mackenzie Wheaton (UNC Ashville) - that are playing collegiate basketball.
