Women's Basketball: Four Sign With Carey
November 12, 2008 05:15 PM | General
November 12, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women’s basketball Coach Mike Carey today announced the addition of four future Mountaineers who signed their national letters of intent to attend WVU next year.
Giving the coach signatures were Asya Bussie (Randallstown, Md./Seton Keough), Kyra Crosby (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern), Akeema Richards (Baltimore, Md./Western) and Antishia Wright (Boynton Beach, Fla./Lake Worth Christian).
“Since I’ve been at West Virginia, this is the strongest group of recruits we’ve ever signed at one time,” Carey says. “I’m extremely pleased with this class. The future is very bright, and I expect them all to contribute to this program immediately. Every player is ranked in the nation’s Top 100, and this is clearly a Top 20 class. We will rebuild our program with this class.”
Bussie, a 6-4 center at Seton Keough High in Baltimore, is a McDonald’s All-American nominee this season and is the 14th-best post player and 47th-best overall player in the nation by ESPN.com. She is rated the 28th-best player in the nation by Blue Star and 55th-best player by All Star Girl’s Report.
Bussie has tallied over 1,200 points, 850 rebounds and 220 blocks during her prep career while shooting 56% from the field as a Gator. She guided Seton Keough to a 29-5 record last season, including a perfect 16-0 mark in conference play and the IAAM A finals.
As a junior, Bussie averaged 14.6 points per game, grabbed 317 rebounds and recorded 126 blocks. She has garnered All-Conference, All-City, All-Metro and team most valuable player honors as a junior and sophomore. She is also a two-time Baltimore Sun Player of the Week and a WBAL Player of the Week.
She garnered team Rookie of the Year honors as a freshman along with All-Conference and All-City accolades.
“Asya has been a pleasure to coach and a joy to watch develop and mature over the last four years,” Seton Keough Coach and Athletic Director Jackie Boswell says. “She is like a daughter to me and more importantly than missing her on the court as a player next year, I will miss her as a leader and as a person.”
“Asya gives us immediate size in the post,” Carey says. “She has great quickness and moves her feet very well. She’ll be a force on both ends of the floor.”
Crosby, a 6-2 forward at McEachern High in Powder Springs, Ga., is a three-time Adidas All-American and ranks as the nation’s 29th-best forward by ESPN.com and the 74th-best player in the country by All Star Girl’s Report. Crosby averaged 18.5 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks a season last year, with 21 double-doubles, for the 23-5, 12-1 Indians for Coach Phyllis Arthur.
She was the Marietta Journal Player of the Year, an All-Cobb County First Team selection, on the Jackie Bradford Metro Atlanta Girls Team of the Year, Naismith Atlanta Tip-Off Team and was the McEachern varsity girls MVP of the Year. She led the county in scoring, rebounds and blocks.
As a sophomore, she averaged 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks a contest en route to 19-10 campaign. She was MVP of the Peach State tournament, was the Cobb County Player of the Month (Nov.-Dec.), Best Offensive Player of the Year at South Cobb High and garnered First Team All-Cobb County accolades.
As a freshman, she averaged 9.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and four blocks on her way to All-County Honorable Mention Honors while helping the team to a 20-10 overall record.
“Kyra is a very active, aggressive post that can score and play several positions for us,” says Carey. “She’s a very talented athlete that will help us out immediately.”
Richards, a 5-9 point guard at Western High in Baltimore, has scored 1,030 points in her career (just the second player in school history) for the three-time defending 3A North Region and Baltimore City Champion Lady Doves and Coach Tiffany Silver. She is ranked the 79th-best player in the country by All Star Girl’s Report. In her career, she has averaged 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game along with a 50.3 field goal shooting percentage.
Richards is a two-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro first team and garnered second team accolades as a freshman. As a sophomore, she was the Baltimore City Player of the Year and is a two-time Baltimore Sun All-City first team. She garnered second team accolades as a freshman. She also garnered Digital Sports City Player of the Year honors in 2007.
“Akeema is truly the poster child of what a student-athlete is all about,” Silver says. “She’s an honor roll student and one of the top players in all of Maryland. She has a great amount of humility and has meant so much to our program. I expect the same things out of her while she’s at West Virginia. She’ll do extremely well academically and will be a role model on-and-off the court.”
“Akeema is a very aggressive athlete on the perimeter and she can play several positions,” Carey says. “She’s capable of scoring and setting up others on the perimeter.”
Wright, a 5-11 guard at Lake Worth Christian High in Boynton Beach, Fla., averaged 13.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, five assists, 1.3 blocks and 3.8 steals per game last year for Defenders Coach Carlos Palacio. She is ranked the 71st-best player in the country by All Star Girl’s Report.
Last year, the team made the regional semifinals, and Wright was the Class 1A Player of the Year runner-up. For her varsity career, she has 2,099 points, 847 rebounds, 467 assists, 141 blocks, 332 steals and a 42 percent shooting percentage.
During her career, she has garnered All-State First Team and Palm Beach Post Player of the Year accolades. She is a three-time Sun Sentinel Fab Five selection. She is also a Florida Dairy Farmer’s Player of the Year Nominee, McDonald’s All-American Nominee, Nike Regional Skills Invitee and adidas Top Ten Camp Invitee.
The Defenders have a 55-27 record during Wright’s playing career and have three straight district titles. As a freshman, Wright averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and 6.5 assists per contest en route to guiding the team to regional finals. That year, she was also named the Palm Beach Post’s 2006 Small School’s Player of the Year.
As a sophomore, she averaged 15 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists in guiding the team to the state semifinals.
“For the past four years, I’ve been blessed to have Antishia play in my program and I always knew that she had the desire, talent and work ethic to play at the collegiate level and West Virginia has made that a reality,” Palacio says. “West Virginia has not only signed a gifted basketball player but a great person.”
“Antishia is a very athletic perimeter player and can play several positions for us,” says Carey. “She can shoot the deep three from the perimeter and she’s very active on both ends of the floor.”
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Hometown | School |
| Asya Bussie | C | 6-4 | Randallstown, Md. | Seton Keough |
| Kyra Crosby | F | 6-2 | Powder Springs, Ga. | McEachern |
| Akeema Richards | G | 5-9 | Baltimore, Md. | Western |
| Antishia Wright | G | 5-11 | Boynton Beach, Fla. | Lake Worth Christian |
