Plum’s Montue excited about joining Oakland University women’s basketball program

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 11, 2020 | 12:24 PM

Kennedie Montue established a quick connection with Oakland University during her college recruiting journey.

The Plum junior basketball standout and 2019-20 Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year concluded that journey Monday morning with a verbal commitment to the suburban Detroit school. In a tweet, she thanked God, family, friends, coaches and others for helping make the decision possible.

“It felt like I was getting everything off my chest,” Montue said concerning her choice.

“I visited Oakland twice, and the campus is beautiful. I literally fell in love with it. Since then, I wanted to see what other offers I was going to get. Some of them started to come in, but none of them felt like Oakland. Oakland feels like home to me. This is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.”

100% Committed???????? @OaklandWBBall @CoachTungate pic.twitter.com/QyrVva4J4b

— Kennedie Montue (@MontueKennedie) May 11, 2020

Montue said communication with Oakland associate head coach Ke’Sha Blanton since her freshman year led to the relationship with the Division I Horizon League program. Blanton was hired last May after two years as an assistant at Miami (Ohio).

Montue was offered by Oakland a short time later.

“Their coaches came out to some practices and games (this past season), and you could tell they had a genuine appreciation for her ability,” Plum coach Steve Elsier said. “I’m not too surprised that ended up being her choice.”

Montue, who surpassed 1,000 career points in a January section victory at Franklin Regional, made the decision to join the Golden Grizzlies after also considering offers from fellow Division I schools Kennesaw State, Mount St. Mary’s and Marshall.

The 5-foot-11 forward earned all-conference and second-team all-state recognition after she helped lead Plum (14-7) to within one win of the Section 2-5A championship. Montue, who also earned VND first-team honors as a sophomore, averaged 22.1 points and 9.0 rebounds a game last season. The Mustangs lost a close WPIAL first-round playoff contest to Penn Hills.

“I’ve seen so much growth from Kennedie with her versatility on the court, getting her teammates involved on the offensive side and her being a better leader on the defensive side,” Elsier said. “It’s exciting to see that progression in her.”

Having surpassed the 1,000-point mark, Montue is turning her attention to Plum girls basketball’s career scoring record. Krista Pietropola, who played one year Youngstown State and three years at Slippery Rock, became the Mustangs’ points leader as a senior in 2014 and finished her career with 1,386 points.

Montue is within 239 points of that mark.

While finishing up her online course work to complete her junior year at Plum, Montue is staying in basketball shape through work on dribbling and shooting fundamentals with a hoop on her cul-de-sac outside her Plum home.

She said she has taken advantage of workout instructions from her personal trainer as well as a trainer connected with her Western Pennsylvania Bruins AAU team.

“I make it a point to do something every day,” Montue said.

Montue hopes on-court work with her Plum and Bruins teammates can begin soon with any necessary safety measures and social distancing guidelines in place.

The Mustangs are planning to host a summer league with at least 16 teams, and Montue said there could be a couple of tournaments with the Bruins in late July or early August.

“I am hoping we do get back at it,” she said, “because I really do miss it.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Plum