The Northern Illinois women’s basketball team added Wisconsin-transfer Jada Buggs to its 2012-13 roster, head coach Kathi Bennett announced Friday.
The 6’0” forward will be a sophomore for the Huskies next season and brings a multi-faceted set of skills to NIU’s frontcourt.
“Jada is a really versatile player that can do a lot of things very well,” said Bennett, who helped recruit Buggs to Wisconsin as a Badger assistant coach from 2008-10. “You can’t say this very often, and not that she will, but she can really play positions one through five. We are going to use her more as a forward.”
While at Wisconsin, Buggs played in 15 games during her freshman campaign, averaging nearly five minutes per game. She tallied a career-high five points Jan. 16, 2011, at Michigan.
A native of Elkhart, Ind., Buggs was an all-state selected as a senior at Memorial High School as she averaged 15.2 points per game while totaling 82 assists and 42 steals. The three-time All-Northern Lakes Conference selection ranked 74th nationally and 10th among small forwards by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report as a prep.
“She’s extremely strong and rebounds extremely well,” Bennett said. “She has another gear and we just have to get that gear out of her. We are very excited because when I recruited her at Wisconsin, I saw some special things. I really believe she can help us get to where we want to get. She’s got a lot of versatility, which is really nice.”
Buggs will join the team this weekend and be allowed to practice all year but will not be able to compete in any games due to the NCAA’s transfer rules.
For more information on NIU women’s basketball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.