Lady Tops add all-state guard Noble

Kendall Noble/courier-journal.com

Jordan Wells

Kendall Noble, a Perry County Central High School senior, is pretty familiar with WKU’s Diddle Arena, after playing in the KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 State Tournament every year since she was in seventh grade.

Now she’ll be playing her collegiate home games in the same venue.

The Lady Toppers received a commitment Friday from the first team all-state guard, who chose WKU over Middle Tennessee State and Xavier, less than a week after receiving a commitment from second team all-state guard Lessia Wright.

“I liked all of the current players,” Noble said of her decision. “They were nice and seemed like a great group.”

Noble averaged 14.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.5 blocks as a senior.

She made her mark in the Kentucky High School girls’ career record books,  finishing top 10 in state history in rebounds (1,653), assists (916), blocks (397) and steals (1,014).

She also finished top 20 in the state’s history in points (2,987).

“I’m not all about scoring,” she said.  “I think I’m a pretty versatile player.”

Statistics agree with Noble’s self-assessment.  

In one regular season matchup against Leslie County, she accounted for 15 points, 10 rebounds, 11 steals and 11 assists, finishing with a quadruple double in just 22 minutes of playing time.

That game was one of four quadruple doubles she had as a senior.

“I just like to win,” she said.  “I’ll try to do whatever I can to help my team win.”

Noble will be the 11th guard on the WKU roster, including returning players and new additions in Wright, junior college player Bianca McGee and Green County senior Micah Jones.

The Lady Toppers have one more scholarship left to award for the 2012-2013 season.

Meanwhile, the WKU men’s program had several of its targets visit other campuses over the April 20-22 weekend.

According to Brad Winton in a story for Jucorecruiting.com, WKU target Rod Rucker paid a visit to Alabama-Birmingham over the weekend, and will make his final decision between UAB, WKU, and Louisiana-Lafayette.

“He can defend multiple positions and has an excellent understanding of the game,” Winton said.  “Any of these programs will be lucky to have him for two years.”

Connecticut transfer Michael Bradley, who told the Herald he was “very high” on WKU during his April 13-15 on-campus visit, received his official release from UConn on Monday.

Bradley, a Chattanooga, Tenn., native, red-shirted for the Huskies in the 2011-2012 season because of an injury.

The Toppers still have two scholarships left for the 2012-2013 season.