Women's Hoops Adds To 2011 Signing Class
April 13, 2011 | Women's Basketball
April 13, 2011
Kyani White Online Bio (HokieSports.com)
Bryelle Smith Online Bio (ClemsonTigers.com)
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina added to its 2011 signing class Wednesday, as Dana Jones signed a national letter-of-intent while Bryelle Smith and Kyani White completed grant-in-aid agreements to attend the university and play basketball beginning with the 2011-12 season - according to an announcement by head coach Heather Macy.
The group features three guards who will, along with early signees Courtney Melvin (Center), Janesha Ebron (Guard) and Tatiana Chapple (Guard), provide depth at positions depleted by the graduation of Allison Spivey, Kelly Smith and Kim Gay.
Smith and White bring a combined four years of experience playing in one of the top conferences in women's basketball, the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the former spent three years at Clemson while the latter began her collegiate career at Virginia Tech.
Dana Jones, Guard, 5-10, Fr., Gulfport, Miss. (Gulfport)
Jones averaged 12.3 points per game as a senior at Gulfport High School, where she helped revive the Lady Admiral program. The versatile player was named Gulfport's most valuable player the last two seasons and earned a plethora of honors, including selection to the Division 8 6A All-Tournament Team, All-South Mississippi 6A accolades and All-Division 8 6A laurels. Jones was also tabbed to the All-Sun Herald Coast Team.
As a senior, Jones was listed as the 37th-best prospect out of Mississippi by FILA.
"Dana Jones is an outstanding player who helped turn the Lady Admiral program around," Gulfport head coach Donny Fuller said. "She is a versatile player who played all five positions for us. She will make an excellent addition to the East Carolina roster."
Jones on Choosing East Carolina: "I am really excited about the opportunity to play for Coach Macy. I am looking forward to getting on campus and working hard so I can live up to the high expectations she has for me. I am also very proud to be a part of the Pirate Nation."
Macy on Jones: "I am excited about adding Dana to our basketball family. She is a versatile player who can really post up as well as slash to the basket. She has great size for a guard and I am looking forward to watching her contribute the next four years."
Bryelle Smith, Guard, 5-9, Redshirt Sr., Raleigh, N.C. (Clemson)
Smith has played the last three seasons of her collegiate eligibility at Clemson University. Last year, she amassed a team-high 99 assists while averaging 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Smith was one of just two players on the roster who averaged at least double-digit minutes to sport a positive assist-turnover ratio and she has done so all three campaigns in a Tiger uniform. She started 26 of Clemson's 30 contests last season, scoring 10 points twice against league foes N.C. State and Wake Forest and finished ranked 12th in assists among all ACC players.
During the 2009-10 season, Smith went 2-for-5 from three-point range against Hofstra to go along with six points and three assists. She scored 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including four three-point field goals, in the Tigers' win at Ohio before netting 12 with a trio of threes in a win over N.C. State. Other standout performances from that campaign included a 10-point, six-rebound, five-assist effort against Charleston Southern and an eight-point, seven-assist, six-rebound showing in a contest with USC-Upstate.
In 2008-09, Smith played all 31 games after sitting out an entire season due to a knee injury sustained against Maine in the 2007-08 season opener. She started 11 games, averaging 14 minutes a contest. Smith was the squad's most accurate three-point shooter, nailing 22 of 58 attempts for a .379 percentage. She also posted the highest free throw mark, making 16 of 17 tries. Smith tallied 44 assists and 14 steals during the year and averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Her best effort of the regular season was against No. 2 North Carolina, helping Clemson nearly pull off the upset of the Tar Heels. In that contest, she totaled 17 points with a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the arc and made a pair of two-point field goals to go along with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Smith had another successful day against North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, leading Clemson with 13 points. She hit a trio of three-pointers in that contest, the only other time she made more than two in a game. Smith also scored in double figures with 10 in the overtime win against Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. That followed an eight-point performance against Washington in the championship game of the Husky Classic in Seattle. She also recorded six assists, her season high, as Clemson won the tournament. Smith was the team's second-leading scorer against top-10-ranked Duke with eight points; also had two steals in the game. She was named the Newcomer-of-the-Year and received the Best Free Throw Percentage Award at the team's annual post-season banquet.
A talented point guard out of the Raleigh area, Smith was a four-year letterwinner at Cary Academy, leading the team to conference titles in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. She also paced the Chargers to the championship game of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Tournament in 2006. Smith was a four-time all-conference selection and was named the league's player-of-the-year in 2007 to go along with NCISAA all-state honors in 2007. That same year, she was invited to play on the Charlotte All-Star Team and earned a McDonald's All-America nomination. She holds Cary Academy career records for assists with 445 and three-point field goals made with 169 while ranking first in school history with 151 assists in a single season, 61 three-point field goals made and 138 steals - all during the 2006-07 season. Additionally, she owns top marks for a single game with nine assists in 2005, 12 free throws made in 2005, seven three-point field goals made in 2005 and 14 steals in 2007.
Macy on Smith: "Bryelle provides us with great depth at the point guard spot and brings invaluable experience having played three years at Clemson and in the ACC. I have watched her play for many years as she is from right here in North Carolina. With the youth we will have on our squad next year, Bryelle is a definite welcome addition to the Pirate family."
Kyani White, Guard, 5-6, So., Manassas, Va. (Virginia Tech)
White joins the Pirates as a highly-touted ball-handler who spent her first collegiate season at Virginia Tech. She played 10 minutes in her debut against Presbyterian and scored her first points with five against Wofford. White earned her first start vs. No. 20 Iowa at the Caribbean Challenge before scoring five points against in-state rival Radford. She was slated to play in the Hilton Garden Hokie Classic against Alcorn State and Vanderbilt, but suffered a right knee strain before the tournament began. White would end up playing in 17 games before the end of the season.
White averaged 18.4 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 steals in her career for her coach and father, Nsonji White, at Stonewall Jackson High School, where she led the team to a 69-9 record and ended her time as the school's leading career scorer. She connected on a total of 142 three-point shots in 51 combined games her sophomore and junior seasons, while accumulating 1,556 career points, 239 three-point field goals, 903 assists, 742 steals and 628 rebounds. White was a first-team All-Region and All-State selection and was named the Washington Post All-Area and Northwest Region 2010 Player-of-the-Year. Additionally, she earned 2010 Second-Team All-Metro and All-State honors and was tabbed a 2008-09 First-Team All-Region and All-State selection.
White found success early in her playing career, earning the No. 1 ranking at the NIKE Skills Camp at UMBC from 2001-02. She also served as team captain and was named MVP from 2003-04 for her Virginians U11 AAU squad. White's other outstanding accomplishments at the AAU and camp levels included selection to the 2005 Boo Williams NIKE All-Tourney Team, 2005 Reebok Showcase All-Tourney Team, 2005 Stafford Invitational MVP and All-Tourney Team accolades, and junior WNBA All-Regional Team laurels in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
White showed off her prowess at the point guard position early in her career, earning the Top Guard and Rising Star Awards at the 2005 Bob Koch Point Guard Academy while earning additional status as a Top 150 Adidas Jr. Phenom invitee in 2004 and 2005. After her participation in the 2007 UNC Elite Camp, in which she was named MVP, White began to be heavily recruited by Tar Heel head coach Sylvia Hatchell.
White will sit out the 2011-12 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will have three years of eligibility remaining with East Carolina.
Macy on White: "Kyani is a proven scorer with great ball-handling ability. She has fantastic communication skills on and off the court. We have watched her play since she was nine years old and are excited about her potential in a Pirate uniform. With Kyani, we feel comfortable about our point guard rotation for seasons to come."
