LITTLE ROCK — UALR women's Coach Joe Foley received an oral commitment from the highest-regarded recruit in program history Tuesday when Fort Smith Northside power forward Marian Kursh gave her pledge to the Trojans.
The news of the commitment and the Trojans recently being picked in the coaches preseason poll to win the Western Division of the Sun Belt Conference bring high hopes for the future.
Kursh, 6-0, made officials visits to Louisiana Tech, Alabama-Birmingham, Middle Tennessee and UALR. She chose UALR over Louisiana Tech.
Bret McCormick of All-Star Girls Report rates Kursh the No. 313 player in the nation.
"That's a big-time recruit for them," McCormick said. "Theygot a big-time athletic forward, good skills and a great upside. She should give them immediate help. She's a blue-chipper for Arkansas-Little Rock."
Northside Coach Rickey Smith said UALR is getting a highly recruited player with the ability to lead UALR to a bright future.
"Marian is a 6-foot, very big, strong kid that has played for us for three years," Smith said. "A three-year starter for our program. She has a very, very soft touch and is very agile. For her junior year, she averaged a legit 70-percent field goal percentage. Marian was recruited by tons of people.
"I really think this is the one signing that could make the difference for Arkansas-Little Rock, with the arena they have and the coaching staff they're putting together, they're right on the cuff to being an NCAA Tournament team."
Smith has led Northside to five state championships, one runner-up finish and three semifinals in the past nine years. In conference play, Northside has won eight consecutive 7 A-West championships. The Lady Bears' conference record stands at 111- 3 over the past nine years.
Smith said the recruitment of Kursh was intense between UALR and Louisiana Tech.
"It basically came down to Arkansas-Little Rock and Louisiana Tech," Smith said. "It was a hard recruiting battle. You have to give UALR and Louisiana Tech a lot of credit. Both went the extra mile. It was a tough decision, but she chose University of Arkansas at Little Rock because of Coach Foley and the reputation he has. This kid was probably recruited as hard as any kid I've ever had here, and I've had some pretty good ones."
Kursh averaged 11.6 points and 7 rebounds per game last year while leading Northside toa 14-0 record in conference and 28-2 overall record and the 7A state championship.
She said the close proximity to home was one of several reasons she chose UALR.
"The main reason I chose UALR is it's two hours away from my house," said Kursh, who reported having 15 to 20 offers. "So my parents can come see me play, and that's really important to me. The facilities and the arena are really nice. I enjoy Coach Foley as well as the other coaches. I really like the housing situation."
Kursh's cousin, Tamika, is in her first year as director of basketball operations at UALR. Before that, Tamika Kursh played at Fort Smith Northside, earning a spot on the McDonald's All-America team her senior year before going on to an outstanding four-year career at Louisiana Tech.
Marian Kursh said having her cousin at UALR helped but wasn't the deciding factor.
"I'm not going because she's there," Kursh said. "It will be good to have a relative there, but she can't guarantee that she'll be there all four years I'm there. I can't go into the situation depending on that."
Kursh said it was tough to say no to the Lady Techsters.
"They have been recruiting me for close to two years," she said. "That was my first offer. They offered me in September of my junior year. So it was hard to call them and tell them no. It was really hard."
Sports, Pages 24 on 10/31/2007