 |
Jessica Smart Rounds Out Butler's Recruiting Class
April 21, 2004 Coach Beth Couture completed her recruiting class with the signing of Jessica Smart, a junior college player who has spent the past two seasons at Cincinnati State. The 5-8 guard will have two years of eligibility at Butler after signing her national letter of intent earlier this week. Smart helped lead the Lady Surge to its fifth straight conference title and an overall record of 25-6 last season. She came to Cincinnati State after completing her prep career at John Marshall High School in Chicago. "Jessica comes from a winning program and is known for her work ethic," said Couture. "We're excited about the new dimension she brings to our backcourt and expect her to contribute in a variety of roles over the next two seasons."
After being more involved in the team's offense as a freshman, coach Gary McDaniel asked Smart to become the team's defensive stopper, matching up with the opponent's best perimeter player.
"Jessica accepted this role unselfishly even though she knew it would mean a decrease in her offensive stats," said McDaniel. "We basically asked her to make the other team's key player's life as miserable as possible for 40 minutes. Much of what she meant to us won't show up statistically, but we all knew her importance to this team. "She has been a wonderful ambassador for our program on the court, in the classroom and in our community. Jessica will definitely be missed here at Cincinnati State." Smart joins Couture's four signees from the November signing period. The class includes Indiana All-Star Cassie Freeman (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian), guard Ashley Connor (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central), forward Candace Bain (Clarksville, Ind./Clarksville) and junior college player Gina Grussing (Armstrong, Ill./Armstrong Township/Parkland JC). Both Smart and Grussing will have two years of eligibility remaining once they arrive at Butler. The five signees will help to offset the loss of Butler's six seniors from the 2003-04 campaign, when the team more than doubled its win total from the previous season. The Bulldogs will look to improve upon their first winning league record (9-7) and Horizon League Tournament semifinals appearance in five seasons. |
