Nov. 14, 2012
NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion University women's basketball team and head coach Karen Barefoot announced the addition of Odegua Oigbokie and Destinee Young on Wednesday who signed letters of intent to play for the Lady Monarchs next fall.
Oigbokie is a highly touted forward from Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tenn., while Young is a power forward out of Hoffman Estates High School in Hoffmann Estates, Ill.
"I am ecstatic to welcome the additions of Odegua, and Destinee to our Lady Monarch Family," said Barefoot. "They both fit our defensive system and up-tempo style of play, and will enhance our program on and off the floor."
Oigbokie, who is 6-foot-1, averaged 18 points and eight rebounds as a junior and has been named all-district and all-region for Ridgeway the past two seasons.
"Odegua is a humble, high character, family oriented student-athlete who takes pride in her work ethic on the floor, and in the classroom," Barefoot commented. "She will help us tremendously as a strong, and physical low post presence. Odegua is a rebounding machine with an aggressive nature and toughness about her. I am extremely enthused about her potential."
ESPN Hoopgurlz grades her as a three-star recruit and gives her an 88 on a 100-point scale, naming her the 38th best forward prospect in the country.
"She can run the floor well," Ridgeway head coach Rhonda Kendall said. "She's a great rebounder. Last year we had her stepping away from the basket some. We'll continue to work on that. I used her to break the press; she has skills as a ball-handler."
Young, who is also 6-foot-1, averaged 15.4 points and 11 rebounds as a junior at Hoffman Estates High School, where she already is the record holder for career rebounds and single-season blocks. She drew a lot of extra attention last year but that hardly stopped her from scoring a team-high 439 points and grabbing 307 rebounds) with 2 assists and 1 steal per game as a junior.
"Destinee is also a very high character student-athlete who is following in the footsteps of her father, a former Division I basketball player," Barefoot said. "She is coming to us with a very high GPA and aspirations to be a dentist. She will bring us tremendous versatility in the post. She has a nice mid-range game and a soft touch to compliment her low post game. Her athleticism allows her to be very active in the press and guard multiple positions. She too is a phenomenal rebounder. I believe her demeanor and strong family foundation will enable her to be a great leader in the community."
Young won back-to-back state championships with her AAU team, Illinois Elite. She was named to the all-tournament team by opposing coaches at the Nike U.S. Junior National Summer Final. Most recently, Young was part of the Midwest Elite AAU team.
"I loved the coaches, and the surroundings," said Young about Old Dominion. "I also felt like I connected with the team. Plus the fan support is amazing and everything felt right."
Shooting 49 percent from the floor, Young was the top rebounder in the Mid-Suburban West with 109. "Anybody who played us knew what she is capable of doing and she was constantly double and triple-teamed," Hoffmann Estates head coach Mike Nocella said after last season. "Destinee is very athletic and dominant on the boards with good strength and mobility."
Out of the five recruits that second-year head coach Karen Barefoot has landed at ODU, four have been rated as three stars or better by ESPN. The other three were local freshmen guards Galaisha Goodhope out of Norfolk and LaQuanda Younger of Newport News and forward Chelisa Painter from Chesapeake who is sitting out this season after transferring from George Washington.
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