The ongoing evaluation of the Duke women's basketball program has not seemed to dissuade recruits from signing on to play in Durham.
Duke announced Saturday that it has signed Emily Schubert—a 6-foot-4 forward—to a national letter of intent as part of the late signing period, doubling the size of the Blue Devils' Class of 2016. Schubert will join top-10 recruit Leaonna Odom as head coach Joanne P. McCallie's incoming freshmen in the fall.
An Elizabethton, Tenn., native, Schubert averaged 11.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks as a senior, helping her high school team to district, regional and sectional titles in all four of her seasons. She also captured the state title as a junior.
You can watch tape from Schubert's junior season below:
From the tape, it seems Schubert—who is not listed in ESPN's HoopGurlz Top 100 for the Class of 2016—is mostly a back-to-the basket threat, able to use either hand by shooting over the top of smaller opponents.
Schubert competed in track and field in high school, competing in the 400 and 800 meters as well as the discus.
“Emily is a rare multi-sport student athlete,” McCallie said in a press release. “Her strong and very fundamental post game is enhanced greatly by her ability to compete in the 400/800 meters and discus in track. She is an exceptional student, while leading her high school class academically. We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Emily and her amazing family to our Duke family.”
The signing of Schubert gives Duke more depth in the frontcourt, which was dealt a significant blow April 1 when star sophomore Azurá Stevens—the Blue Devils' leading scorer and rebounder—announced she would not return to the program. McCallie also loses another versatile forward in Amber Henson, but expects to have Kendall Cooper back next season, after the Carson, Calif., native was not enrolled at the University during the spring semester. Rising senior Oderah Chidom is the only returning Blue Devil post to see significant playing time last season. Lyneé Belton suffered another knee injury late in the season, and classmate Erin Mathias played just 8.4 minutes per game off the bench.
Odom is expected to step into a productive role immediately on the wing alongside sharp-shooter Rebecca Greenwell, who will be joined in the backcourt by Maryland transfer Lexie Brown and rising sophomore Kyra Lambert.
According to ESPN's HoopGurlz rankings, McCallie currently has one Class of 2017 commit—point guard Mikayla Boykin from Clinton, N.C.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.