Diamond Deshields is considered the consensus No. 1 recruit in the nation for the class of 2013. Listed at 6-2 this girl can do it all; she can post up, shoot the three, and is one of the most explosive players that we have seen since last year with Breanna Stewart. Some of the awards she has accumulated over her high school career so far are; Gatorade State Player of the Year, Ms. Georgia Basketball, USA Today All-USA second team, Georgia Sports Writers Association CLass 5A Player of the Year, and etc... just to name a few. As a junior she led Norcross High School to a 26-6 record and the state semi-finals. As a sophmore she helped guided her team to a 29-3 record, the regional title, and a second consecutive Georgia Class 5A state championship while averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds. As a freshmen she averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals per game. She helped Norcross her freshmen year to a 29-4 record and the Georgia Class 5A state title.
Not only is she the top player of her class, but she has also assembled possibly the best recruiting class Chapel Hill has ever had. Along with Deshields heading to Chapel Hill; Allisha Gray (No. 7), Jessica Washington (No. 14), and Stephanie Mavunga (No. 23) will also be going with her making North Carolina very poised to be one of the best teams in the nation next year with this loaded class. Along with starting up her own legacy at UNC she is also one of those players who will spend long hours in the gym constantly trying to make her weaknesses into her strengths, which is something not a lot of players do nowadays. This past summer she was on the 2012 USA Women's U17 World Team who went 8-0 and beat Spain for the gold and was named tournament MVP, showing that all of her hard work does pay off.
Do not sleep on this girl, at the rate she is progressing we could see her playing for the Olympic team one day. Her mother, Tisha, was an All-American track & field athlete at the University of Tennessee; her father Delino, played 13 years of Major League Baseball for five teams; and her brother, Delino Jr., was selected by the Houston Astros with the 8th overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft. We can see where she gets her elite athleticism. At the age of 15 she could already dunk in practice. Even though she has not dunked yet, this maybe something we will get to look forward to in the future! Overall, Diamond is still a senior in high school and has accomplished a lot already, and she is still not done working hard for greater things. At UNC she is looking to become the next Michael Jordan of women's basketball. This is going to require hours and hours of being in the gym constantly pushing herself to the next level, which will not be easy, but nothing good ever came easy in life. If she wants to be one of the great players in women's basketball she will have to continue what she is doing and keep working hard everyday. Hopefully in the future we will see her lead UNC to a National Championship, but until then we will just have to watch and see what she does next.
(Diamond dunking at the age of 15 years old)
(Diamond's highlight reel)
(submitted by: Eddie Praley)
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