Rice University Athletics
Hudson, Carmon, Wittmayer Sign With Rice Women's Basketball
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
Houston -
Rice University head women's basketball coach Greg Williams Friday announced the signing of three top Texas high schoolers for the 2007-08 season. Inking National Letters of Intent with the Owls were Brittney Hudson of Fort Bend Austin, Memri Carmon of Hamshire-Fannett, and Melissa Wittmayer of Longview.
"We are pleased to add three quality student-athletes to our program in the early signing period," Williams said. "We addressed our needs with two athletic perimeter players and a post with size to offset the loss of three key seniors after this season in Lauren Neaves, Krystal Frazier and Samantha Stovall."
Hudson, a 5-7 guard, was ranked as the fifth-best player in the state by TexasHoops.com after averaging 18.6 points a game as a junior. As a sophomore, Hudson averaged 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and four steals a game on the way to earning all-district honors.
"Brittney is one of the highest rated players in Texas," Williams said. "We are happy to be able to keep her home as we want to continue to recruit the Houston area first every year. We recruited Brittney to play the shooting guard position, but she can also play the point with her outstanding ballhandling and passing skills. She played AAU ball with the Houston Elite so we have seen her compete against some of the best players in the country. She has excellent quickness and leaping ability, and can shoot the three and also has the mid-range jump shot and can get to the rim. We also liked her defensive ability. Brittney is explosive and has a scorer's mentality. She wants to enter the medical field after graduating from Rice."
Carmon, a 5-10 guard, averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds as a junior, and also plays volleyball and runs track. She has earned all-district recognition in basketball in each of the past three years. Camron has twice been named to the Port Arthur News Dream Team. Her cousin, Lacee, is a standout for the Rice women's track and field team.
"Memri is a three-sport standout," Williams said. "We think she has great potential ahead of her once she concentrates on basketball in college. She has good size for a perimeter player and can play both inside and outside to create match-up problems. Memri can shoot the three, get to the rim and sees the floor very well. She is long and quick and can become an outstanding defender with the ability to guard all three perimeter positions. Memri has excellent speed which will fit our up-tempo style. She played AAU for the Lubbock Hawks, one of the top clubs in Texas. Memri is a special signing for me as her mother, Barbara, played for me at the University of Houston, making her my first second-generation player. Her mother was an outstanding all-around player and competitor and we see those same qualities in Memri."
Wittmayer, a 6-3 post, has twice been named her district's defensive player of the year and averaged 10.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.2 blocks as a junior. She was ranked 73rd on TexasHoops.com's Texas Top 100.
"Melissa gives us excellent size in the post and comes from one of the most storied high school programs in Texas under legendary coach Tommy Aldridge," Williams said. "Melissa has a burning desire to be great and she has shown amazing improvement over the past two years. We feel she has a huge upside as she gains strength and confidence. Melissa is an excellent shot-blocker, which was important as we lose our all-time blocks leader, Lauren Neaves. Melissa runs the floor well, which is something we look for in our post players. She played AAU for the Longview Heat and was named a BCI All-American this summer. Melissa is a good free throw shooter and already has three-point range, which we like our posts to have. She is a good rebounder with a quick outlet pass to help our running game."
