Jamillya Hardley

From the latest in the "Meet the Newcomers" series at mgoblue.com:

• What made you want to come and play basketball at Michigan? The coaching staff really sealed the deal for me. They made me feel right at home when I came for my visits and Michigan showed the most interest in me out of all the other schools that were recruiting me.

• What impresses you about coach Borseth and his staff? They are high-energy. They come in each and every practice intense and ready to work us hard. I always get high energy from the coaching staff, which is great.

Jamillya Hardley

A nice profile of Jamillya Hardley on mlive:

"I was recruited by Ball State, Indiana State and the (Mid-American Conference) schools, like Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, but when I went to Michigan, they showed me a good time, and they are ready for my style of play," Hardley said. "Michigan fits my style of play. I'm a transition player. I get the ball and go with it."

Hardley, who is 5-foot-10, averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game last season.

"I think I have developed more of the mental part of the game," she said. "I had the physical game."

She plans to study sports medicine at Michigan and hopes to become an athletic trainer.

"They told me that if I go down there and work hard, I should get some playing time," Hardley said.

Hardley's game apparently developed significantly over the summer.

National Letter of Intent Signing Day

Today was the first day of the "early signing" period where recruits could make their commitments official. Carmen Reynolds, Jamillya Hardley and Courtney Boylan are officially Wolverines. More on mgoblue.com:

"Jamillya gives us depth at the perimeter position," said Borseth. "She's very strong, athletic and skilled in addition to having great knowledge of the game. We can use Jamillya at a couple different perimeter positions. She can handle the ball at the point or play at the No. 2 or No. 3 position. She's very multi-talented."

"Carmen is a kid who grew on me over the summer when I watched her," said Borseth. "If you had to pick a player that would best suit me as a coach, that player would be Carmen Reynolds. She can do it all. She can handle the ball, she can shoot it and she can post up. Carmen is a very skilled lefty who has a great understanding of the game."

"Courtney is a floor general, an elite guard who demands a lot of respect," said U-M head coach Kevin Borseth. "She's got a ton of skill and she makes the players around her better. Courtney is very driven, a real tough kid. We're extremely excited to have her."

Janell Smith is also a verbal commitment for Michigan, but will be a preferred walk-on, as she already has a scholarship. (Hat tip to mzonefan on umgoblue.com):

KALAMAZOO -- As a point guard, Janell Smith's job is to see the whole court, make sound decisions and attack the basket.

As a Loy Norrix High School senior with a bright future, Smith is taking it upon herself to see the big picture, make

informed choices and go after her goal -- to one day play major-conference

Division I basketball.

Smith is in line to do just that, after verbally committing to the University of Michigan, where she will be a preferred walk-on in the 2008-09 season.

Smith will not be on athletic scholarship, so she will not sign a national letter-of-intent. But she is a 100 percent qualifier for The Kalamazoo Promise, meaning her tuition will be covered at U-M.

Carmen Reynolds and Jamillya Hardley

Michigan's two verbal commitments for next year received mentions in the oldgoldfreepress update on Big 10 recruiting:

In a move certainly to make for interesting family conversation during the Ohio State/Michigan football matchups, longtime Ohio State fan, Carmen Reynolds, has committed to Michigan. Reynolds has an older brother who is a member of the Ohio State men's lacrosse team. The 6'0 forward from Hilliard Davidson, recruited to play small forward in college, averaged 14.1 points and 7.0 rebounds and was first-team all-conference selection as a junior. Reynolds chose Michigan over offers from Bowling Green, Toledo and Coastal Carolina.

Michigan's new head coach Kevin Borseth received his second commitment recently from 5'9 senior Jamillya Hardley of Grand Rapids Christian (MI). Hardley chose the Wolverines over offers from Central Michigan, Ball State, Indiana State and Oakland.

They also have a listing of all commits for the conference.

Two verbal commitments

Hat tip to mzonefan and TruBlue on umgoblue.com. It appears Michigan has picked up two verbal commitments for next year: Jamillya Hardley of Grand Rapids Christian and Carmen Reynolds of Hilliard Davidson (in Ohio).

Hardley: (article posted 8/21/07)

http://www.michladyballers.com/today_s_news

Reynolds:

http://www.thisweeknews.com/?story=sites/thisweeknews/080907/Hilliard/Sports/080907-Sports-399494.html