Khadijah Ellison chooses Miss. St. hoops

Burke star signs
By Dan Ventura | Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Other High School

The halls of Burke High have housed some of the best female basketball talent in the state.

Burke now can add another name to the list.

Khadijah Ellison signed her letter of intent yesterday to attend Mississippi State on a basketball scholarship starting next fall.

The 5-foot-8 senior guard averaged more than 25 points in guiding the Bulldogs to a 17-4 record last season and the Division 3 South sectional quarterfinals. In a season-ending 55-54 loss to Ashland, Ellison poured in a game-high 36 points to go along with seven steals.

“We’ve been fortunate to have some real good players here - Elanie McCants, Starr Fuller, Rekiya Penton, Brianna Forde - and this girl is right there with them,” Burke coach John Rice said. “A school like Mississippi State isn’t recruiting her unless they are sure she can play at that level, and I think she can.”

Ellison took a pair of official recruiting trips, one to Temple in Philadelphia and the other to Mississippi State. She immediately fell in love with the Starkville campus and was ready to sign on the dotted line.

“I just loved everything about it,” Ellison said. “I liked the girls, talked to the players about how things worked.”

Ellison praised Rice for preparing her on what to expect during the recruiting journey.

“He told me how everything was going to be,” Ellison said. “He didn’t beat around the bush, he told me straight up.”

Last season, the Bulldogs won 21 games and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time. Rice, familiar with the Southeastern Conference landscape, teased Ellison as she was signing.

“You know, next year, you’re going to be playing Tennessee,” Rice said with a laugh. “This ain’t going to be New Mission anymore.”

Ellison simply smiled and went about the business of becoming the newest member of the Bulldogs.

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