Sue Guevara has signed her first recruits as head coach of the Central Michigan University women’s basketball program.

Four Michigan natives, including a pair of sisters, have joined the Chippewas in their quest for Mid-American Conference championships. Brandie Baker, Cheritee Green and Skylar Miller signed a national letter of intent with CMU on Wednesday, and junior college transfer Laura Baker signed a grant-in aid.

The first of the quartet to commit was Miller, a 5-10 forward from Southfield High School. She prepped under Ernie Taber and played for Team Michigan on the AAU circuit under Kevin McAdoo. Miller averaged 13 points as a freshman, helping her team to a district championship. She was named team captain as a sophomore, but missed much of her junior season with a knee injury. Miller is averaging 17 points per game this season.

She chose CMU over the University of Detroit, Chicago State and Loyola-Chicago.

“Skylar is one of those athletic jumping jacks that can really run the floor well,” Guevara said. “She’s a good rebounder who does a great job on the offensive glass. She can penetrate from the high post and uses her long arms to her advantage. She will remind Chippewa fans a lot of Sharonda Hurd, who did a great job for this program during her career.
“The more I watched her play the more I liked her because I really like her energy. She was the first one to say ‘yes’ to our staff, the first one to believe in our vision, and so she’ll always have a special place in my heart.”

Green, a 6-2 forward, prepped at Wyoming Park High School under Kirk Kambestad. She also spent time with Troy Speidel of the AAU West Michigan Warriors.
After averaging 16 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, she was named Class B second team all state by the Detroit News, first team all-area, first team all-conference and first-team Class B all-state by the Associated Press.

Green is listed as the No. 6 recruit in the state by michiganladyballers.com and chose CMU over Albany and Hawaii-Pacific.

“The best part about Cheritee is her work ethic. She’s going to remind people of Sherryia Armstrong except she’s a lefty,” Guevara said. “She is a powerful rebounder who loves the game and knows how to win. She works hard every day and can own the left side of the floor. With Cheritee and Sherryia we now have two big bodies and we’re going to look to pound the ball inside, much like Ole Miss used to do.”

The eldest Baker, a 6-1 forward, will transfer from Lansing Community College after playing for Ervin Brunson and the Stars. As a freshman at LCC, she averaged 11.7 points and 7.9 rebounds while hitting 41.2 percent of her field goals. She also averaged 2.0 treys per contest, and hit 40.0 percent of her triple tries. In 24 games, she was credited with 26 assists and 49 steals, earning third-team MCCAA All-Western Conference honors.

During her prep career, Laura was named first team all-state twice by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM). She was also named first team all-state by the Detroit News as a senior and second team all-area by the Flint Journal her junior and senior seasons. Laura also earned All-Genesee County honors as a junior (second team) and senior (first team).

She chose CMU over MAC foe Eastern Michigan.

“Laura has a great frame and is a versatile player who feels comfortable both inside and outside the paint,” Guevara said. “She’s deceptively quick and can post you up like there’s no tomorrow. She reminds me a lot of Ashley Berggren, who earned All-America and Big Ten Player of the Year honors at Illinois. She has great footwork and has a mean streak that comes out on the court.”

The younger Baker, a 6-0 wing, also prepped at Flint Hamady under Smith and played her AAU ball with Miller on Team Michigan. After averaging 15 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a junior, she received countless honors including adidas All-American recognition to go with first team all-state honors from the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, the Associated Press and the BCAM.

Brandie also earned all-state honors from the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News as a freshman and sophomore. She was one of just three sophomores on the Detroit News’ “top 50 players to watch” in 2005 and the 13th best player in the state entering her junior year by the Detroit Free Press.

She was ranked the No. 2 prospect in the state of Michigan by michiganladyballers.com, and ranked as the 42nd best recruit in the nation by Dan Olson of girlsbasketballreport.com. Olson also rated her the ninth-best small forward in the nation. She chose CMU over Texas A&M, Arkansas, Michigan State and Iowa.

“Brandie is a program changer,” Guevara said. “She is one of the best athletes in the country and a freight train to the basket. She can rebound as a big guard, can shoot the three and can really get to the basket. She has the ability to go end to end and finish plays.”

Brandie Baker, Miller and Green are expected to be named McDonald’s All-American candidates.

Guevara considers her first CMU recruiting class a major success.

“My staff did a great job with this first class,” she said. “They will make a major impact on this program. We want to go fast, be physical and be aggressive, and all four of these players are like that. In addition, they are all solid in the classroom.

“We’re on our way. Hopefully this will get some recognition from future recruits and they will follow this class to Mount Pleasant.”