Kelley Cain did not intend it to happen this way, but, in one sense, she did. Her heart belonged to Tennessee. And when Duke coach Gail Goestenkors asked her where she stood on Wednesday, Cain told her.
Goestenkors was hoping to land her third five-star commitment in the 2007 class. Instead, Cain informed her that Vols coach Pat Summitt was gaining her second.
Cain just hadn't told Summitt yet. That was taken care of on Wednesday evening.
"I didn't plan for this to be the day," said Cain, who is from Atlanta, Ga., and is the No. 12 prospect in the HoopGurlz National Hot 100. "It just happened. I said, 'This is going to be my moment.' "
However it happened, it was going to be good for Cain. Her other two finalists, Duke and LSU, also were powerhouse programs.
"I just felt it deep in my heart," Cain said of opting for Tennessee. "I mean, they were all great schools. ... I was looking for a place where I felt comfortable, where I had good relationships with my coaches and somewhere that would prepare me for life after college, even if it's not basketball."
Tennessee, a team essentially built around Candace Parker, a player expected to be to the women's game that Michael Jordan was to the men, will have some exceptionally good pieces to put with her in a year. The Vols already had commitments from the nation's No. 2 player, Angie Bjorklund from Spokane, Wash., widely considered the best shooter in the country, and No. 37 Sydney Smallbone of South Bend, Ind., a four-star guard who also is considered one of the country's top long-distance shooters.
Those two should be strong complements to the latest commitment, Cain, who is ranked the second-best center in 2007 by HoopGurlz, behind only Jantel Lavender of Cleveland, Ohio.
"Cain has a great attitude and the best hands of any post player in the country," said Chris Hansen, National Director of Scouting for HoopGurlz.com. "She uses her size well and has good footwork. Defensively, she uses her body and is a very good shot blocker in part due to her height and length, but she also has great timing.
"Despite being an elite player, she still got better throughout the summer. She's very good now and hasn't reached her potential which should lead to exciting times in Knoxville. She's an impact player but not a selfish player in the slightest."
Cain cut her list of schools to three leaders in August, but says the trim only made the recruiting process more difficult, sometimes " really gut-wrenching." Which school she favored, she said, depended on what day it happened to be. Wednesday was just the right day to make her decision final.
As a girl who very well may major in math, Kelley Cain is counting on that.
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