In each of the past three recruiting classes, Duke women’s basketball head coach Joanne P. McCallie has picked up top-10 recruits. McCallie extended that streak to four Thursday.
Rebecca Greenwell, the No. 6 recruit in the class of 2013 according to ESPN, committed to the Blue Devils after making her official visit to campus last weekend. The 6-foot-1 guard was deciding between Duke and Notre Dame and joins 5-foot- 9 point guard Kianna Holland, the No. 32 ranked recruit, in the 2013 recruiting class.
“[McCallie] started recruiting me in eighth grade, and I have a good relationship with her,” Greenwell said. “It was a really long process, but now that I’ve decided it’s been a huge relief. It’s a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”
On her official visit, Greenwell met with McCallie and also had the opportunity to play with some players on the team. Greenwell also met Duke football head coach David Cutcliffe while on campus, who introduced her to John Mellencamp and Meg Ryan. Mellencamp’s son, Hud, is a walk-on freshman on the football team.
Greenwell, a senior at Owensboro Catholic high school in Kentucky, missed her entire junior season after tearing her ACL, but recovered from the injury in time to compete with the United States U-17 basketball team in the World Championships in Amsterdam. She led the Americans with 25 minutes per game in the Championships, starting all eight contests. In the previous summer she competed with the U-16 U.S. squad.
“She does a great job of attacking the basket, but she also has 3-point range,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Ray Zuberer said. “We’re really excited to have her back playing for us [after her injury.]”
As a sophomore, she led the state in scoring at 32 points per game and led her team in every other major category, Zuberer said. He also noted her positional flexibility. Greenwell often brings the ball up the court for her high school squad, but can also play in the post to defend against larger opponents.
“At Duke, I think she’d have the opportunity to compete as a freshman,” he said.
As excited as Greenwell is to come to Duke, however, she still has lofty goals for the final year of her high school career.
“I just want to take my high school team to the state championship,” she said.
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