Butler Women’s Basketball: Bulldogs land nationally ranked Ward

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One Butler basketball program is headed in the right direction in a hurry when they picked up one of the nation’s best recruits in the 2015 class this past week. Coach Kurt Godlevske and the Butler women’s basketball program got a commitment from ESPN’s 22nd ranked player in local product Brittany Ward from Pike High School. Brittany is a 6’1 wing, and the third ranked player from the state per the ESPN site. For Indiana, the 2015 class is loaded, with 7 girls rated among the top 60 players in the country. Along with fellow Indiana Junior All-Stars Alexa Bailey and Tori Schickel, along with South Bend St. Joseph’s guard Michelle Weaver, the 2015 class is shaping up quite nicely for the women. Currently, no other Big East programs have a commitment in the top 60 for this class, and Butler’s class is the highest rated thus far by ESPN. “I decided to commit to Butler because it’s where I wanted to be,” Ward stated “I had an in-explainable feeling when I went there and I knew it was right.”

One key connection that cannot be overlooked with Coach G’s recent recruiting success is that of Assistant Coach Damon Bailey. Bailey for the last several years has helped guide the Bedford North Lawrence program, which has become a state powerhouse in Girl’s Basketball. Because of that, as well as his AAU coaching, he’s got a lot of connections with players around the state, including Ward. Bailey was Ward’s AAU coach while she played for Indiana Elite, and has coached Weaver, Schickel and of course Alexa Bailey during their AAU careers. “Coach Bailey had a lot to do with my recruitment. He is more than just a coach, he is a long-time friend and I knew what he could do for me.” Ward explained. “I know he is a winner.” Assistant Coach FahKara Malone was also involved in Ward’s recruitment “She watched a lot of my games this summer too, and we connected a lot after July.”

When she does arrive on Butler’s campus in about 10 months, Ward stated that she wants to study sports medicine and become an athletic trainer, but in the meantime, she’s focused on finishing up her high school career on a high note after falling in the Regionals last year to Lawrence North. “My expectation for me and my teammates is to go all the way and win a state championship. I know we can do it; we will just have to work hard. We were so close last year and it left a bad taste in our mouth so we really want to win this year.”

Ward has several players that she really enjoys, such as Allen Iverson, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings, Maya Moore, Lebron James and Derrick Rose and tries to model her game after all of them “especially Candace” she stated. So what do Butler Women’s Basketball fans have to look forward to once Ward does take the court for them next season? “My strengths as a player are definitely rebounding, passing and my court awareness.” She also stated that she’s been working on her jump shot a lot and “It’s coming along really well.”

While the 2015 class is still a year away from starting their college careers, a commitment from a player like Ward along with the other in-state commitments in her class are sure to garner interest in the program from recruits within the state as well as the region. The Butler women open up this year’s schedule with an exhibition against Northern Michigan on November 2nd, before their regular season opener November 14th at Valparaiso.

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