GoldandBlack.com - Post becomes first for '14

June 19, 2012

Kyle Charters

During Purdue's elite camp this week, Georgia post Bree Horrocks had shown the Boilermaker coaching staff enough.

By the end of camp, Coach Sharon Versyp decided to offer the 6-foot-4 junior-to-be; she took only minutes to contemplate what she wanted to do.

"I asked her several questions and she had answers," Horrocks said of her meeting with Versyp Tuesday morning. "My dad was with me, so we went into the conference room and I asked her if I could have a minute to speak with my dad. We spent about 10 to 15 minutes and after everything I knew Purdue was where I want to be."

In Horrocks, a native of Buford, Ga., Purdue gets its first commitment in the 2014, but second post in the week. Versyp also received a transfer verbal last week from Maryland's Whitney Bays, who will arrived at Purdue early next month.

Horrocks, an early commitment, had offers from Georgia and Southern Mississippi, and more were interested, like Memphis and Maryland (which she said would have offered her as a junior). But, after taking a few other unofficial visits, she saw no need to wait it out.

"That's the biggest thing I talked about with my dad," she said. "I was thinking about all the other schools I could go to, but when it came down to it, I think Purdue would have been the same choice for me."

Horrocks said she loved her time at Purdue's elite camp this week, even if temperatures reached near 100 in the non-air conditioned portion of Mackey Arena.

"Oh yeah," she said. "I think (Versyp) runs elite camp in a way that's similar to how she runs practice, in the way that she really tries to get you mentally tough. It was a long camp and really hard. We had a lot of games and a lot of working out in those hot gyms.

"Then, in the end, when you think you're done, there's something more to be done. It really worked on your mental toughness. I enjoyed it; it was a 13-hour day (Monday).

"(The heat) really tests you, really challenges you. The only air-conditioned gym is Cardinal and we weren't in there a lot."

Horrocks, a three-sport star (basketball, volleyball and track and field) at Buford High School, played only sparingly as a sophomore, due to a severely sprained ankle and a broken foot. An ESPN top-100 player, she describes herself as an inside-outside post.

"I like to post up and I like my back to the basket," said Horrocks, who plays for the Florida Essence in AAU. "And I'll fight with the other strong centers, but I can also operate outside. I can shoot threes, hit the 15-foot jump shot, and I can take people off the dribble.

Horrocks says she's happy to be a Boilermaker.

"I just knew Purdue was where I wanted to be," she said. "It's a great academic and that's really important to me; I wanted a degree that meant something. And Coach Versyp, her and the staff can pull the best out of me. She's really determined to win and I like her mindset with how she runs everything."

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