Print |
E-mail to a friend
SPORTS
Huntington High star signs with Maryland
Huntington High girls basketball player Whitney Bays signs a National Letter of Intent with the University of Maryland as her mother Susan Bays watches on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, at Huntington High.
Purchase this photo
HUNTINGTON -- After a long few months that have featured many tears and pain, Huntington High standout Whitney Bays finally had a big smile on her face on Thursday afternoon.
Despite tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), an injury that will force her to miss her senior year with the Highlanders, Bays signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Maryland to continue her basketball career at the college level.
"It's like a dream come true and it makes all the hard work and everything worth it," Bays said while surrounded by friends, family and media members.
After making a quick statement, Bays even asked if she could sign her letter as the excitement became too much for her to take.
And with good reason. Signing the letter is a definitive action in a year full of what-ifs and maybes for the 6-2 combo player.
Early in the summer, Bays went up for a shot during an AAU game and tore her ACL as college scouts watched on. Nearly 50 scouts were in attendance on the afternoon and many left after watching Bays go down.
At first, Bays was worried that her dreams of a college career might have gone down as well, but she had surgery and immediately started rehabbing the injury.
Neither Maryland nor Georgia wavered on their interest in Bays and she took visits to both locations to figure out her future basketball home.
"The visit really played a key part in my decision," Bays said. "Everything just seemed right at Maryland. It was a good fit for me."
Bays' smile was one of sheer satisfaction on Thursday, but it was also somewhat of a bittersweet moment as she sat at the podium in front of those who had been there for her stardom as a Highlander.
While she was saying hello to her life as a college basketball player, she was also saying goodbye to the gymnasium and those who helped her get there.
She is going to miss her senior year with the Highlanders while rehabilitating the knee.
Her mother Susan could not hold back the tears as she talked with Huntington High assistant coach Shawn Persinger following the ceremony.
"People take things for granted," Susan Bays said. "I never dreamt that the last game of state last year would be the last game she would ever play for Huntington High.
"I just look for great things out of her at Maryland because she is just so competitive. She's already said she wants to start and if she doesn't, it will make her work that much harder."
Bays' injury might end her quest for a Class AAA state championship, but she will gladly trade that for the chance at a national championship with the Terrapins.
Maryland is a constant in the NCAA tournament and won a national championship in 2006. The Terrapins have also been to the NCAA's Elite Eight each of the last two years.
Bays is part of the nation's best recruiting class as well. Head coach Brenda Frese signed five top 100 players, meaning that Bays will have her work cut out for her to be a starter early on.
Huntington High coach Lonnie Lucas thinks it will bring out the best in his former star.
"Maryland's coach went after five top-notch recruits and got all five of them. Whitney's not afraid of competition. She'll compete with the best of them," Lucas said. "She's a great player with lots of talent. We got three great years out of her and she made All-State all three years."
Bays was the two-time winner of the West Virginia Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year. She averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Highlanders during her junior season.
