HURRICANE - Hurricane senior Brandi Barrett found a couple of positives to Dixie State's offer of a basketball grant-in-aid.
"Mostly it just felt right," Barrett said Monday as she prepared to sign her letter-of-intent to play for the Rebels in the 2007-2008 season. "The head coach really impressed me. She let me know how much they wanted me. My new teammates were all very welcoming."
Barrett, parents Chris and Sandy Barrett, coach Clair Woodbury, former coach Stewart Wilson, principal Roy Hoyt and some others gathered in a conference room next to the main office for the signing.
"This is really exciting for Brandi, her family and our school," Hoyt said. "What's great about Brandi is she's not only a great athlete, but a great student."
Barrett has a grade point average of 3.99 on a 4.0 scale.
"They were all pretty excited to see her academic record," Chris Barrett said of DSC's coaches and administrators.
Previous releases about Dixie State's transition from a junior college into the NCAA have indicated that Division II institutions emphasize the word "student" in the student-athlete concept.
"We're excited," Hoyt continued. "This is a great thing for Hurricane High School."
Last year, Barrett, a 6-foot-1 center, averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds a game as the Tigers finished with a 12-9 record and placed third in Region 9.
"She is very coachable," said Wilson, who guided the Tigers during Barrett's junior year. "She has many physical gifts. Placed in the right program she is going to get much better."
Under NCAA rules, DSC coach Angie Kristensen can't say anything about Barrett or any other recruits until she receives Barrett's letter-of-intent. She is the first signee for the Rebels during the early signing period.
Barrett and her family moved from northern Utah during her eighth grade year. She played summer basketball in the Border League that season.
"Project would be a good word to describe her then," Woodbury said. "She was tall and gangly."
While her academic plans aren't firm, Barrett said she is leaning toward majoring in education.
"We appreciate the opportunities you've afforded her," Chris Barrett told her coaches. "She has a long ways to go. This is a new beginning."
Barrett expressed relief with her decision.
"This gives me a secure look to the future," she said. "It takes a lot of pressure off me. I don't have to try to impress people (now)."
