Hines, Anderson sign with Mich. State

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Jasmine Hines
Dwaun Anderson

November 11, 2010

Seniors celebrate during school ceremonies

By DENNIS CHASE dchase@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Thu Nov 11, 2010, 07:23 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — Jasmine Hines and Dwaun Anderson made it official Wednesday.

Hines, a 6-3 center from Central Lake, and Anderson, a 6-3 guard from Suttons Bay, signed national letters-of-intent with Michigan State — and then celebrated in style with family and friends at student assemblies.

Hines, who is on the verge of becoming the state's all-time leader in points and rebounds, joins a women's recruiting class that includes 6-4 forward Becca Mills of Midland Dow and 5-11 forward Akyah Taylor of Indiana.

"State has a great basketball program," Hines said. "They have a bunch of top-notch recruits in the freshman class this year — they got all the top recruits out of Michigan, basically — and you put that group together with the girls in my class, that's good stuff."

Hines, who led the Trojans to the Class D state finals last season, took her official visit to Michigan State last weekend.

"Jasmine has the physical strength and skill-set to come in as a freshman and make an immediate impact in the Big Ten at the post position," Spartan coach Suzy Merchant, a former Traverse City standout, said in a statement. "She has tremendous hands and is a superior athlete for her size. She is a power post player that has also shown the ability to face up and attack the basket from the perimeter as well."

Hines, who is ranked the 44th best player in the country by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, averaged 34,6 points, 17.7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game last season.

Even though it was an exciting day for Hines on Wednesday, she admitted feeling sad about leaving her friends at the end of the school year.

"I'm very excited about going to State," she said, "but it really hit home today."

Hines, a 4.0 student, said a lot of tears flowed during the outpouring of support at the school ceremony.

"I don't think there was a dry eye in the gym," she said.

Before it was over, everyone in the school came up to Hines and gave her a hug.

"That was cool," she said.

At Suttons Bay, 600 to 700 people packed the auditorium to show their support for Anderson, who came dressed in a pinstripe suit and Michigan State tie.

"It was nice to have the community and the students come out to support me," he said. "I'm really excited that it's now official, that I'm going to be a Spartan next year."

Anderson took his official visit in September, the weekend of the Notre Dame football game.

"This was Dwaun's dream coming true," Suttons Bay basketball coach Todd Hursey said. "It's special for a small town player to get a Big Ten scholarship, but Michigan State is one of the premier programs in the country. They're ranked No. 2. They're in the Final Four all the time."

Anderson, who worked on his strength and jump shot during the off-season, led Suttons Bay to a Class C state final appearance last season. He is part of a nationally-ranked class that includes 6-6 forward Brandon Dawson of Indiana, 6-6 forward Brandon Kearney of Detroit and 6-foot guard Travis Trice of Ohio.

"If you look at the four guys we got, they're all winners," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said at a news conference. "They've all either been state champs or been to state semifinals. And they've all been pretty well coached. That was a big thing to me. And the real big thing, they all wanted to be here."

Anderson, who likes to attack the basket, averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists last season.

"A phenomenal athlete," Izzo said. "Not under the radar, because he was recruited by a lot of schools. But under the radar because he's from Suttons Bay, where you're just a stone's throw from Iron Mountain (Izzo's former high school).

"I'll be pulling for him most of his career here, but it won't be this weekend," Izzo added. "They play Iron Mountain in the (football) regionals this week. I've got a game or else I'd buzz up there. But I'll be pulling for the Mountaineers."

Hursey talked to Izzo late Wednesday morning and told him about the ceremony at school.

"I told his coach, that's what makes small town people impressive," Izzo said. "They had everyone turn out to be a part of it."

Although the day represented the future, Hursey said he did not want to lose focus on the present.

"It was like we were sending him off," Hursey said. "I had to remind myself, he's still a Norsemen for one more season."

While Anderson started basketball practice Monday, Hines will have to wait. The Central Lake volleyball team plays in the regional finals tonight against Marion.