Cierra Burdick, one of the nation's top ranked girls basketball players, committed to Tennessee Sunday morning.
Burdick, ranked among the nation's top 5 in the junior class, visited the school Saturday and attended Tenneesee's football game where the Vols beat Memphis 56-28. Burdick said she spent time with some of the school's players and felt really at home.
But when she walked into coach Pat Summitt's office for a post-visit meeting Sunday morning, she didn't plan to commit.
"I planned to go on and check out my other choice, South Carolina, and compare after that," Burdick said, "but they got me. They said all the right stuff -- and the numbers there don't lie."
In 35 years, Summitt is 1,005-193. Her teams have won 14 of 29 SEC championships and eight national titles.
Burdick, a 6-3 junior guard, thinks Summitt -- and her staff -- will fully develop her game. Burdick averaged 12.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, four blocks and 2.1 steals last year for Butler, which reached the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship, before losing to eventual state champ West Charlotte.
In the summer, she played for a 16-and-under USA Basketball national team that won a FIBA Americans U16 championship in Mexico City. In the Gold Medal game, when the U.S. beat Canada 103-52, Burdick had six points, a team-high seven rebounds, five assists and a team-high five steals.
As the 2009-10 season begins next week, she is North Carolina's top player, regardless of class. And she's excited to get her college decision out of the way.
"I just think coach Summitt can bring the best out of me," Burdick said. "I want to continue to get better and be the best on the next level and the level after that. I think they can bring out my full potential."
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