NATIONAL EARLY SIGNING PERIOD

State’s girls class ranks among best

Little Rock Hall’s Tyler Scaife has been ranked as the ninth best player in the country by ESPN and plans to announce her college choice Friday from among four schools.
Little Rock Hall’s Tyler Scaife has been ranked as the ninth best player in the country by ESPN and plans to announce her college choice Friday from among four schools.

— Tyler Scaife enjoyed the recruiting process, but there were times the Little Rock Hall senior guard would have enjoyed a little less communication.

“It could be overwhelming at times with all the phone calls and messages on Facebook,” Scaife said. “And there were a lot of messages.”

That all ends this week with the start of the early signing period for nonfootball athletes. Seniors may begin their signing today and as far as girls basketball is concerned, the Class of 2013 is a bountiful harvest.

“As far as high-quality players, I think it’s as good as it has been in a long time,” said Wayne Davenport, an authority on girls basketball recruiting. “We’ve got top 10-type of players in this class, and those don’t come around too often.”

At least four girls from Pulaski County are expected to sign Division I letters of intent within the next three days.

Scaife is considered to be the biggest prize of them all. ESPN ranks the 5-8 Scaife as the ninth best player in the country and the No. 1-ranked point guard. Last season, she averaged 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game.

Scaife has not officially declared her allegiance to any school, but said her final four has come down to Ohio State, LSU, Rutgers and Tennessee. She will make her choice known Friday.

Roshunda Johnson, a 5-9 guard from Little Rock Parkview, is scheduled to sign a scholarship offer from Oklahoma State this afternoon. ESPN ranks Johnson as the No. 49 overall player and the No. 12-ranked point guard.

Little Rock Central 5-9 guard Jamie Ruffins has said she will sign with Arkansas State. ESPN has her ranked as the No. 38 point guard.

Katelyn Weber, a 6-4 forward from Little Rock Hall, will sign with Missouri State on Friday. ESPN ranks her at No. 70 for her position.

Jessica Jackson, a 6-3 senior forward from Jacksonville, has committed to the University of Arkansas, but said last week she plans to wait until the spring to sign. Jackson is ranked No. 17 overall and No. 4 for her position.

Davenport, who coached for 35 years before going fulltime into recruiting 12 years ago, said there are always more guards available to the colleges.

“There are a lot of good guards, but it’s always like that,” Davenport said. “Good big girls are just hard to find. I have calls all the time. Coaches are telling me that they need a good big girls. I tell them to join the crowd.”

He said that is what has made Jackson such a top recruit.

“She’s big, but she’s got outside skills, too,” Davenport said of Jackson. “She gets her jump shot to fall and she can move.”

There are at least two boys basketball players from Little Rock who will sign Division I letters this week.

I.J. Ready, a 5-11 guard who has led Little Rock Parkview to two consecutive Class 6A state titles, is scheduled to sign with Mississippi State today.

Bobby Portis, a 6-9 forward from Little Rock Hall, is scheduled to sign with Arkansas on Friday.

Sports, Pages 21 on 11/14/2012

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