Two verbally committed members of the women’s basketball class of 2005 will make their official visits to Duke this weekend.
Carrem Gay, a wing player for Christ the King Regional High School in Middle Village, N.Y., and Brittany Mitch, a guard from the Washington, D.C. area, will be in Durham this weekend to see the campus and take in the football game against Maryland.
“I am looking forward to getting to know the team and seeing their routines,” said Gay, who received her itinerary Wednesday. “I expect to have fun.”
Gay’s high school team has been a breeding ground for women’s basketball talent. Two WNBA stars, the Washington Mystics’ Chamique Holdsclaw and the Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird, sported jerseys at the high school located near New York City. Despite the prestige of her high school basketball program, Gay looked for more than a name when deciding where to play college basketball.
“I was just looking for a college that fit me personally and I found that in Duke,” said Gay, who also considered Virginia and Rutgers. Although she chose to attend the most distant school from her New York home, the power forward noted that her family already has plans to attend some of her college games.
Mitch, the other recruit visiting this weekend, has been eyeing the Blue Devils for a while. The 6-foot-2 guard, who committed in March, first visited Duke when she was about eight years old and said she “loved it.”
Mitch has developed a relationship with Blue Devil Monique Currie after playing her first few years of high school basketball at The Bullis School, where Currie also played. Although Mitch has since transferred high schools and the two never played together, they have seen each other during school breaks the last few years, and Currie influenced Mitch’s decision to come to Duke.
Ten years after her initial visit to campus, Mitch will get to know Gay this weekend and they will spend time with their future teammates. The two recruits played together this summer as part of the USA Basketball Junior Olympic developmental program. Gay and Mitch represented the East against fellow class of 2005 recruit Abby Waner, who hails from Colorado.
Although the two visiting recruits have talk often, they have not yet spoken about this weekend’s plans.
“I’m actually becoming good friends with her and am really excited about coming down with her,” Mitch said.
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