Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Cage picked MT so she can win
6/9/2020 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball, BRAA
MURFREESBORO - Deja Cage was looking for three things in her next team when she made the decision to become a graduate transfer after her junior season at Ole Miss.
Cage, a 5-foot-8 guard from Chicago, wanted to be part of a winning program with a chance to capture a conference championship.
She wanted to be in a program where she could continue to develop and hone her skills to have an opportunity to play in the WNBA.
Chemistry amongst teammates was also important for Cage.
More than anything, Cage wanted to win.
The competitive Cage believed she found everything she was looking for at Middle Tennessee.
"When Middle Tennessee started recruiting me I looked into everything and was impressed," Cage said. "It is a very competitive program with a very good coach. They have had players who go overseas and have success and they have also had players go into the WNBA and do well. I liked everything about it.
"The big thing is I want to start winning again. I want to win a conference championship and see how far we can go in the NCAA Tournament after that. I'm a very competitive person. I want to win."
Landing successful players is nothing new for Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell or his staff; however, the recruitment of Cage was not typical due to circumstances created by Covid-19. It was somewhat unusual for Cage and the Lady Raider staff.
Players generally have an opportunity to visit campuses, meet players, professors, administrators and so forth, but not this spring.
Lady Raider assistant Kim Brewton was chiefly responsible for Cage's recruitment, which began when the stellar guard entered the NCAA transfer portal following an outstanding junior season at Ole Miss.
"We didn't know much about Deja personally, but I knew she was very talented," Brewton said. "I was watching a game when Ole Miss played Tennessee and she really played well. She stood out in that game but I didn't think anymore about it. When I noticed she had become available I reached out and we started talking and building a relationship."
Because Cage couldn't visit campus alternative means of recruitment became standard.
"This experience was different because it was more talking on the phone and Zoom meetings," Cage said. "I did like that we had more face-to-face meetings through Zoom. I got to see the coaches more and how they are outside of basketball as well as with their own kids and families. I could see that family was important to all of them and that's also important to me."
Brewton sent Cage numerous clips of the team playing as well as videos on the players being produced by the Middle Tennessee Athletic Communications office. Brewton also sent a great deal of information about the university and used Facetime to reveal its beauty.
"Deja had never been here before so it was important to inform her about our university," Brewton said. "We really started to build a bond. Team chemistry is very important to her and so is winning. She wants to win and she wants to play at the next level. We believe she can do all of that at Middle Tennessee, and so does she."
Cage led Ole Miss in scoring with 12.9 points per game and 3-point field goals with 2.3 per outing. She played in 29 games and earned 21 starts. She led the squad in scoring 14 times, rebounding four times and assists five teams. Cage scored double figures in 19 games, including a career high 30 against Louisiana Tech. Eleven of her 19 double figure scoring games came against SEC competition including 19 or more against Missouri (19), Mississippi State (19), LSU (20), Tennessee (22) and Florida (23).
Cage is excited about joining a Lady Raider backcourt that includes the C-USA Newcomer of the Year (Anastasia Hayes) and C-USA Freshman of the Year (Aislynn Hayes), who was also a freshman all-American.
"I'm very confident in my play and who I am as a person," Cage said. "I know what I'm capable of doing. I just have to find people with the same mindset and find a program that wants the same thing. I think we can do big things at Middle Tennessee. We have enough power to get far down the line."
Cage, a 5-foot-8 guard from Chicago, wanted to be part of a winning program with a chance to capture a conference championship.
She wanted to be in a program where she could continue to develop and hone her skills to have an opportunity to play in the WNBA.
Chemistry amongst teammates was also important for Cage.
More than anything, Cage wanted to win.
The competitive Cage believed she found everything she was looking for at Middle Tennessee.
"When Middle Tennessee started recruiting me I looked into everything and was impressed," Cage said. "It is a very competitive program with a very good coach. They have had players who go overseas and have success and they have also had players go into the WNBA and do well. I liked everything about it.
"The big thing is I want to start winning again. I want to win a conference championship and see how far we can go in the NCAA Tournament after that. I'm a very competitive person. I want to win."
Landing successful players is nothing new for Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell or his staff; however, the recruitment of Cage was not typical due to circumstances created by Covid-19. It was somewhat unusual for Cage and the Lady Raider staff.
Players generally have an opportunity to visit campuses, meet players, professors, administrators and so forth, but not this spring.
Lady Raider assistant Kim Brewton was chiefly responsible for Cage's recruitment, which began when the stellar guard entered the NCAA transfer portal following an outstanding junior season at Ole Miss.
"We didn't know much about Deja personally, but I knew she was very talented," Brewton said. "I was watching a game when Ole Miss played Tennessee and she really played well. She stood out in that game but I didn't think anymore about it. When I noticed she had become available I reached out and we started talking and building a relationship."
Because Cage couldn't visit campus alternative means of recruitment became standard.
"This experience was different because it was more talking on the phone and Zoom meetings," Cage said. "I did like that we had more face-to-face meetings through Zoom. I got to see the coaches more and how they are outside of basketball as well as with their own kids and families. I could see that family was important to all of them and that's also important to me."
Brewton sent Cage numerous clips of the team playing as well as videos on the players being produced by the Middle Tennessee Athletic Communications office. Brewton also sent a great deal of information about the university and used Facetime to reveal its beauty.
"Deja had never been here before so it was important to inform her about our university," Brewton said. "We really started to build a bond. Team chemistry is very important to her and so is winning. She wants to win and she wants to play at the next level. We believe she can do all of that at Middle Tennessee, and so does she."
Cage led Ole Miss in scoring with 12.9 points per game and 3-point field goals with 2.3 per outing. She played in 29 games and earned 21 starts. She led the squad in scoring 14 times, rebounding four times and assists five teams. Cage scored double figures in 19 games, including a career high 30 against Louisiana Tech. Eleven of her 19 double figure scoring games came against SEC competition including 19 or more against Missouri (19), Mississippi State (19), LSU (20), Tennessee (22) and Florida (23).
Cage is excited about joining a Lady Raider backcourt that includes the C-USA Newcomer of the Year (Anastasia Hayes) and C-USA Freshman of the Year (Aislynn Hayes), who was also a freshman all-American.
"I'm very confident in my play and who I am as a person," Cage said. "I know what I'm capable of doing. I just have to find people with the same mindset and find a program that wants the same thing. I think we can do big things at Middle Tennessee. We have enough power to get far down the line."
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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