Major Schools Showing Lots of Interest in Grace Mbugua

Chris Zollner Photo

Danville Christian Academy junior Grace Mbugua had a spectacular season averaging 25.7 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. She led the state in rebounding for the third straight year, was fifth in the state in scoring average and ranked seventh in field goal percentage at 61.8 percent.

However, she really put the spotlight on herself when she had 34 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in a near upset of heavily favored Cooper in DCA’s first state tourney appearance — and she played the entire second half with four fouls.

The 6-5 Mbugua had been verbally committed to Liberty University but decided to reopen her recruitment after the state tourney and DCA coach Billy Inmon admits it has been a “little crazy” with the number of coaches reaching out about the DCA star.

“I thought she could really play anywhere she wanted to go,” Inmon said about Mbugua, who came to Danville from Kenya at age 12. “She is just a really special player. She didn’t want to post stuff about herself and thinks it is embarrassing to promote herself but some of the stuff she does on the court just blows me away.

“I thought I would have to reach out to some schools when she opened her recruitment back up but they have certainly been reaching out to me about her. It started the morning after the state tournament game and then when she announced she had decommitted the phone calls really started.”

However, it has not been just college coaches reaching out. Numerous travel ball coaches have also been in contact wanting Mbugua on their teams even though she had never played travel ball and does not plan to this offseason either.

Inmon said Mbugua and her family had been thinking about opening her recruitment again before her spectacular performance at the state tournament.

“I was not certain they would but there were some indications they would,” the coach said.

Mbugua has a chance to become Kentucky’s all-time leading rebounder. The state’s leader is Sherry Gish of Muhlenberg County who had 1,978 rebounds from 1978-84. The only other player over 1,900 is Lindsey Burd of Hart County who had 1,957 from 2006-12.

Mbugua has 1,547 rebounds going into her senior season. She would need 432 rebounds to break Gish’s record and 453 to become the first Kentucky girl to reach 2,000 rebounds. Inmon also believes she could become only the fifth Kentucky girl to have 500 rebounds in a single season.

“If I had scheduled more games the last three seasons, she might already be close to the record,” Inmon said. “But she doesn’t really even think about stuff like that. The first time I told her she was going to get an award for leading the state in rebounding she just said, ‘Praise God,’ and kept on dribbling. That’s just the way she is.”

Inmon said most of the teams reaching out to Inmon were ranked in the top 25 this year. While the player and coach didn’t want to reveal specific teams, Inmon did acknowledge that Kentucky’s director of basketball operations had offered a scholarship.

Inmon expects Mbugua to take some unofficial visits this summer but save her official visits until she has a better handle on schools recruiting her so that her parents can make the official visits with her.

“She has the speed few 6-5 players have that makes her a good perimeter player as well as a special inside player,” the DCA coach said. “I let her do whatever she wants most of the time. We have to use her inside with her size but she can make moves on the perimeter. In college she could play the 3 or 4. She could drive the block and either score or get the ball to somebody for an open shot.

“Her passing was much better this season. She asked me why I even put her passes in her highlight videos and I tell her that is a big deal to college coaches. She did pass too much on the run. We worked on her outlet passes and she can throw a dime from 3/4 court and hit a girl in stride. She’s just special.”