THS star headed to University of Massachusetts

BRISTOL, Tenn. – On the final night of her official campus visit to the University of Massachusetts earlier this month, Tennessee High senior Danielle Montgomery was treated to an ice-cream cake by members of the women’s basketball team.

It had been decorated especially for her. Written in frosting next to her name was this thought: “We hope you choose us. Welcome to UMass.”

The sentiment didn’t clinch Montgomery’s college decision, but it did confirm what she had come to believe during her long weekend in Amherst, Mass. – that UMass is the place she wants to spend her college career.

On Tuesday afternoon in Viking Hall, Montgomery made that decision official, announcing that she has given a verbal commitment to the Minutewomen, who play in the Atlantic 10 Conference. She plans to sign her binding national letter of intent during the early NCAA signing that begins the second week of November.

“When you start out in a sport, you want to take it as far as you can,” said Montgomery, who has played basketball competitively since she was eight. “When you stick with a sport as long as I have, that’s your goal, to go play in college. I want to be able to say I played big-time Division I basketball.”

Montgomery, the Herald Courier’s Northeast Tennessee player of the year last season, said she considered several other Division I schools, including Virginia Tech and Memphis.
She said she settled on UMass because the school offers a top sports management program and has a strong basketball tradition and because she believes the women’s basketball program has a bright future under coach Marnie Dacko.

“I got a feel for the team when I was there, and that was important to me,” she said. “I like the coaches, and I enjoyed myself with the other players on the team.”

A four-starter at Tennessee High at point guard, Montgomery helped to lead the Lady Vikings to Big 9 Conference championships in each of her first three seasons. She led the team in scoring the past two seasons, and she was conference player of the year as a sophomore. As a first-team all-conference performer last season, she averaged 16 points, 2 assists and 3 steals a game.

She also is a standout in the classroom, where she carries a 3.8 grade-point average.

“Danielle is an outstanding player, and she is really the engine that drives our team,” THS coach Barry Wade said. “Everyone in our program is so excited for Danielle and the opportunity she is going to have to play at the Division I level.

“The good thing is, we get her for one more year.”

Montgomery said she is determined to make the most of her senior season, which is why she is glad to have settled on her college future.

“I didn’t want to rush anything, but I wanted to get a decision out of the way if I could,” she said. “I did not want to have that in the back of my mind during my senior season.”

Now that news is getting out, Montgomery said she plans to make certain her Tennessee High classmates know about her decision. She’ll be wearing UMass paraphernalia to school the rest of the week.

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