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Lawson Inks Three During Early Signing Period
11/16/2022 12:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM – Duke women's basketball head coach Kara Lawson announced the three members of the Blue Devils' 2023 freshman class with the signing of Jadyn Donovan, Oluchi Okananwa and Delaney Thomas during the NCAA's early signing period.
The 2023 class marks Duke's first recruiting haul since the 2015 class with a player ranked in the top-five nationally by ESPN, as well as the first group since the 2014 class with at least three prospects ranked in the ESPN top 30.
Jadyn Donovan | 6-0 | Guard/Forward | Washington, D.C. | Sidwell Friends School
Donovan, a five-star wing ranked No. 3 in the 2023 Class by ESPN, is Duke's highest-rated signee since the 2015 class. She is the No. 1 overall ranked Maryland prospect in the class of 2023, according to PrepGirlsHoops.
Notables:
"Jadyn Donovan is one of the top overall players in the 2023 class. She brings a lot of what we covet as a program. She's a high academic student. She is an athletic, two-way player and she is a great teammate. The other thing about Jadyn that I love is she's put herself in positions where she's playing high level competition. She's playing in a lot of big games already as a young player. Whether that's been her club team, her high school team or Team USA. So, we've been able to evaluate her in important pressure situations. She's somebody that can play with anybody because she finds a way to highlight the strengths of her teammates. We couldn't be more pleased to have Jadyn join our program, and obviously we couldn't be more pleased that Jadyn and her family are joining our program. I think Blue Devil fans are going to be really excited at the type of electricity Jadyn is going to bring to Cameron."
Oluchi Okananwa | 5-10 | Guard | Boston, Mass. | Worcester Academy
Okananwa is a physical, four-star combo guard ranked in the Top 30 of the 2023 class. The top-ranked player in New England according to the PrepGirlsHoops 2023 rankings, Okananwa is coming off sensational spring and summer sessions that saw her skyrocket from unranked to the 27th-ranked player overall.
Lawson on Oluchi Okananwa:
"What stood out to me about Oluchi during the process was her hunger, her desire to compete and this kind of attack the game in a way that is not normal. And I mean that in a good way. She has this insatiable desire to improve and to get better - she knows she's not a finished product, and no player is when they're coming out of high school. But Oluchi wants to maximize her potential as a player, and I really respect that drive and competitiveness that she brings. She's committed to the defensive end, and I love that. That fits us and who we are. Oluchi is somebody that has a high work rate on the court. That is something that we saw throughout our time watching her. As far as her fit at Duke, it is not just on the court, it's in the community. Academically, she's a perfect fit for the type of student-athlete and person that we want in our program. We could not be more excited to have her join."
Delaney Thomas | 6-3 | Forward | Washington, D.C. | St. John's College HS
A versatile, agile post that brings great court size, defensive prowess and shot blocking ability, Thomas is a four-star forward who checks in at No. 29 in the 2023 ESPN rankings and checks in as the second-highest ranked Maryland prospect according to PrepGirlsHoops.
Notables:
"I love Delaney Thomas. I smile every time I think about her. I think she is exactly, exactly the type of player that we want in every way. She is high character. She is very goal oriented. She cares about her teammates and she's a great leader. She cares about how people feel and how people are playing and is the model of what you would want - the type of player you'd want to coach. She's very skilled. She has a great ability to make her teammates better. Delaney has played with and against top players. I like when players get tested against elite competition and you really get to see how they react to it. I think she thrives in those situations. I think she wants to play at a high level individually and for a team that wins. I couldn't be more excited. I smile when I think about being able to be her coach for the next four years and she is somebody that I think we're all going to enjoy watching her grow."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
The 2023 class marks Duke's first recruiting haul since the 2015 class with a player ranked in the top-five nationally by ESPN, as well as the first group since the 2014 class with at least three prospects ranked in the ESPN top 30.
Jadyn Donovan | 6-0 | Guard/Forward | Washington, D.C. | Sidwell Friends School
Donovan, a five-star wing ranked No. 3 in the 2023 Class by ESPN, is Duke's highest-rated signee since the 2015 class. She is the No. 1 overall ranked Maryland prospect in the class of 2023, according to PrepGirlsHoops.
Notables:
- 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball U17 World Cup Gold Medalist
- 2021 FIBA Americas Women's Basketball U16 Gold Medalist
- 2021-22 Washington Post All-Metro First Team selection
- Averaged 15.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game during the 2021-22 season while helping lead Sidwell Friends to an unblemished 30-0 record, the DCSAA Championship and the No. 1 overall team ranking -- according to MaxPreps and ESPN.
"Jadyn Donovan is one of the top overall players in the 2023 class. She brings a lot of what we covet as a program. She's a high academic student. She is an athletic, two-way player and she is a great teammate. The other thing about Jadyn that I love is she's put herself in positions where she's playing high level competition. She's playing in a lot of big games already as a young player. Whether that's been her club team, her high school team or Team USA. So, we've been able to evaluate her in important pressure situations. She's somebody that can play with anybody because she finds a way to highlight the strengths of her teammates. We couldn't be more pleased to have Jadyn join our program, and obviously we couldn't be more pleased that Jadyn and her family are joining our program. I think Blue Devil fans are going to be really excited at the type of electricity Jadyn is going to bring to Cameron."
Oluchi Okananwa | 5-10 | Guard | Boston, Mass. | Worcester Academy
Okananwa is a physical, four-star combo guard ranked in the Top 30 of the 2023 class. The top-ranked player in New England according to the PrepGirlsHoops 2023 rankings, Okananwa is coming off sensational spring and summer sessions that saw her skyrocket from unranked to the 27th-ranked player overall.
Lawson on Oluchi Okananwa:
"What stood out to me about Oluchi during the process was her hunger, her desire to compete and this kind of attack the game in a way that is not normal. And I mean that in a good way. She has this insatiable desire to improve and to get better - she knows she's not a finished product, and no player is when they're coming out of high school. But Oluchi wants to maximize her potential as a player, and I really respect that drive and competitiveness that she brings. She's committed to the defensive end, and I love that. That fits us and who we are. Oluchi is somebody that has a high work rate on the court. That is something that we saw throughout our time watching her. As far as her fit at Duke, it is not just on the court, it's in the community. Academically, she's a perfect fit for the type of student-athlete and person that we want in our program. We could not be more excited to have her join."
Delaney Thomas | 6-3 | Forward | Washington, D.C. | St. John's College HS
A versatile, agile post that brings great court size, defensive prowess and shot blocking ability, Thomas is a four-star forward who checks in at No. 29 in the 2023 ESPN rankings and checks in as the second-highest ranked Maryland prospect according to PrepGirlsHoops.
Notables:
- Helped lead the USA Basketball U16 Women's National Team to a 6-0 record and the gold medal at the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Women's Championship, while averaging 10.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
- 2021-22 Washington Post All-Metro First Team selection
- Averaged 18 points and eight boards while helping lead St. John's to a 19-5 overall record, the 2022 WCAC title and a final national ranking of No. 23.
"I love Delaney Thomas. I smile every time I think about her. I think she is exactly, exactly the type of player that we want in every way. She is high character. She is very goal oriented. She cares about her teammates and she's a great leader. She cares about how people feel and how people are playing and is the model of what you would want - the type of player you'd want to coach. She's very skilled. She has a great ability to make her teammates better. Delaney has played with and against top players. I like when players get tested against elite competition and you really get to see how they react to it. I think she thrives in those situations. I think she wants to play at a high level individually and for a team that wins. I couldn't be more excited. I smile when I think about being able to be her coach for the next four years and she is somebody that I think we're all going to enjoy watching her grow."
To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."
#GoDuke
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