Merchant nabs five-star PG Damiya “DeDe” Hagemann over Florida State, others

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Suzy Merchant/(Photo: MSU Athletic Communications)

Nathan Stearns, Sports Editorial Assistant
September 4, 2020

EAST LANSING- Michigan State basketball just got a lot scarier.

Suzy Merchant, who has already procured commitments from former Duke commits Lauren Rewers and Lauren Walker, in addition to Canadian center Isaline Alexander, managed to nab 2021 five-star point guard Damiya “Dede” Hagemann Friday evening. Hagemann is currently a student at Detroit Edison Public School Academy (Detroit, Mich.) and was an integral part in helping Edison win state championships in 2018 and 2019.

The 5-foot-7 floor general is rated as the No. 19 overall prospect and the No.5 PG recruit in the 2021 class, according to the ESPN/HoopGurlz 2021 recruiting rankings compilation. She has a good basketball bloodline as her uncle and former U-D Mercy star, Jermaine Jackson, spent the 1999-00 season with the Detroit Pistons. Jackson also played for the Toronto Raptors in 2002, the Atlanta Hawks in 2003 and the New York Knicks in 2005. 

Hagemann is categorized as an elite talent who has “elusive floor-leader handles,” according to ESPN. ESPN also mentions that she “distributes the ball with flair and precision” and displays a “scorers mentality” at all times when on the court. Hagemann is also a sneaky defender and a lethal long-range shooter, according to the site.

Hagemann was named to the AP 1st-team Division II All-State in 2019 and 2020. She also was named to the 1st-team Class C All-State squad in 2018.

Six other schools were in the running for Hagemann before today; they included Clemson, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. In a previous interview, she described Michigan State as a “second home to her” and “loving Suzy (Merchant) to death.”