By Chuck McGill -- Daily Staff Writer

An unanswered phone call told Elon women's basketball coach Karen Barefoot all she needed to know about former Stonewall Jackson star Kallie Hovatter.

Barefoot, a first-year head coach, was putting the full-court press on Hovatter in an attempt to land the services of the transfer from Saint Joseph's — but Hovatter was unreachable, locked away in a gym with a basketball.

"I was relentless in trying to get in touch with her," Barefoot said. "She finally called me back, and said she was in a gym shooting for three hours. I was OK with that."

Elon College, located in Elon, N.C., announced on Thursday that Hovatter, a two-time AP Group A State Player of the Year, had chosen the Phoenix to continue her college hoops career. Hovatter received her release from Saint Joseph's after her freshman season.

"I just felt that after evaluating the situation, I just needed a different educational and basketball experience," Hovatter said of her decision to leave the Atlantic 10 for the Big South. "It's just a chapter in my book of many pages. It was a great opportunity, but I felt like it was time for a change."

Elon, which finished 12-20 last season, will transition to an up-tempo style under Barefoot, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Old Dominion. Barefoot's familiarity with Virginia helped connect the new head coach to Hovatter, who admitted there was strong mutual interest from the moment Saint Joe's granted her release.

"I'm just tickled," Barefoot said. "I think she was a tremendous player coming out of high school. For me, I really like her passion and her natural ability to lead on and off the court. She gets me really excited ... the kid wants it so bad."

Elon has an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and sits in the heart of ACC country. Barefoot and Hovatter both mentioned the possibility of tackling women's hoops Goliaths North Carolina and Duke in the coming years.

"We're going to play them all," Hovatter said. "Those are the big daddies. It makes sense to play them. I'll play any of them."

Barefoot said the 2008-09 schedule was still in the works, but Pittsburgh and North Carolina State were among the major conference schools on the slate.

Hovatter, however, must sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules, but will be eligible for the 2009-10 season. She will have three years of eligibility when she returns to the court next fall.

"I think it's going to be a great year for me," Hovatter said. "It gives me a chance to get caught up with classes. I'm going to learn a lot, I'm going to adjust, and the following year I'll be ready to go."

Hovatter, who played in just 19 games and averaged 1.6 points for the Hawks as a true freshman, cited Elon's atmosphere — which she likened to the Shenandoah Valley — and Barefoot's run-and-gun offense as her main reasons for picking the Phoenix.

"I feel like I'm ready to start a new tradition," Hovatter said. "She's so passionate and energetic. I'm really excited to be a part of this and what she's going to create for Elon."

Stonewall Jackson girls basketball coach Jeff Burner said he advised Hovatter on her second recruitment, and said a combination of factors such as Hovatter's transition to a big city like Philadelphia, playing time and style of play all factored in the decision to transfer.

"College is a tough enough experience, but you want to make sure you are at a place where you are comfortable and things are best for you," he said. "[Elon] is definitely much more of a feel to Mt. Jackson and New Market than Philly was, that's for sure. I think that a system that's more guard-oriented will be more conducive to her, too."

In between her three-hour long gym sessions and at the prodding of Barefoot, Hovatter visited Elon on Saturday, and she was sold before leaving campus.

"I'm a little small-town kid. I'm all about the south," she said. "When I came to Elon, it was such a community feeling. I went on my official visit there, took it all in and was like 'This is it, this is it.'"

*Contact Chuck McGill at cmcgill@nvdaily.com

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