There wasn’t any doubt in Micayla Buckner’s mind what she wanted to do.
Approached with a scholarship offer to play basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears, Buckner couldn’t accept fast enough.
“Baylor has always been one of my dream schools,” Buckner said. “When they gave me an offer, I just jumped on it.”
The 6-foot-3 power forward at Naaman Forest High School in Garland averaged a double-double her junior season with 13 points and 12 rebounds per contest, while also rounding out her game with nearly three assists, 2.5 blocks and a pair of steals. She will join the Lady Bears in the 2014-15 season.
Buckner, who also plays middle blocker for the Lady Rangers, helped Naaman Forest to the second round of the playoffs and was named the District 10-5A co-defensive player of the year.
She said Baylor first started looking at her as a potential recruit in the seventh and eighth grade, and she attended Baylor’s camp after her eighth-grade year. The Lady Bears’ interest “fell off,” Buckner said, during her early high school years.
But after Buckner finished competing in the Battle of the Boro tournament in Tennessee on Saturday, she was approached with the offer and snapped it up.
“I’ve only been on campus a few times,” Buckner said. “But I really like Coach (Kim) Mulkey, and they have a really nice facility.”
Despite her height, Buckner said she prefers to face up to the basket and play at the top of the key. But she said her best attribute is her ability to run the floor and get the ball out quickly in transition.
But even though she’s committed to play for one of the nation’s premier programs, she acknowledges there is room for improvement.
“I need to work on playing hard every second of the game, giving 100 percent,” Buckner said. “And defense isn’t a weakness, but I feel like I can get better at it.”
Congratulations Micayla!
This is just the beginning for the 2014 class. Stay tuned! There's more to come.