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The next wave

Several area high school players poised for collegiate excellence

By Sean McClelland

Dayton Daily News

Marion Local junior point guard Maria Moeller is thought to be without peer in Ohio, which explains the shoeboxes filled with letters from college coaches across the country.

"And she's very humble and very unselfish, and that makes her even better," said her coach, Treva Fortkamp.

Moeller represents the next wave of extraordinary girls basketball players from the Miami Valley who are preparing for the day when they can make an impact at the college level, following the likes of Alison Bales, Tamika Williams, Tiffany Webb, Brandie Hoskins and Megan Duffy.

The area's senior class — highlighted by Chaminade-Julienne's Aisha Jefferson (Michigan State) and Maria Getty (Villanova), Xenia Christian's Megan Frazee (Liberty) and Springfield North's Angel Morgan (Cincinnati) — is considered average by recent standards, but analysts think the junior class is exceptional, possibly the best to come along in years.

Among the juniors, recruiters not only have Moeller on the brain, but also Lynzee Johnson of Bellbrook, Michele Derr of Urbana, Michelle Meyer of Covington, Sara Vest of Carroll and Abbey Davenport of Franklin-Monroe, to name a few.

With so many from the Miami Valley earning Division I basketball scholarships in recent years, girls have seen what is possible. Bales, a 6-foot-6 center, plays for Duke. Hoskins is helping Ohio State soar in the polls. Duffy is the Notre Dame point guard. Webb became Wright State's sixth all-time leading scorer in just two seasons before transferring. Williams plays in the WNBA.

"You see those girls being successful and it inspires you to be successful, too," said Moeller, who had a rare quadruple-double — 25 points, 11 steals, 10 assists and 10 rebounds — in a game this season.

There definitely is no shortage of role models for aspiring girls basketball players. C-J girls sometimes receive e-mails from theirs. Hoskins, a junior at OSU, and Williams, an assistant coach for the Buckeyes when she isn't playing for the Minnesota Lynx, keep in touch with the program. Same with Duffy.

"It's a huge inspiration," said Getty. "They left such a legacy. You don't want to leave the program any worse than when we got here. You just want to make it better."

"A lot of people are wondering who's going to be the next Brandie or the next Tamika," Jefferson said. "There's pressure sometimes. I don't want to let our fans down or our program down."

But it's not just C-J and Beavercreek girls commanding the spotlight.

Moeller, averaging 18.6 points and 6.4 assists, is a point guard who can score and see the floor.

"I watched her in the sixth grade, and she was something special then," Fortkamp said. "She'll put the time and effort in to be the best."

Boston College, Duke, Wisconsin and Ohio State are interested, but coaches can't even call Moeller yet. She says she hasn't begun to sort through the shoeboxes, let alone narrow the field.

The recruiting frenzy is only beginning for the sophomores and juniors.

"I'd tell them to be patient and don't get wrapped up in it too early," Getty said. "Coaches are going to say things to you, but the important thing is to go to a school that really wants you."

So many schools wanted Jefferson that she could have used a secretary.

"It was overwhelming, every day dealing with telephone calls and e-mails and keeping in touch with coaches," Jefferson said. "But it was fun and now I kind of miss it."

Who's the best sophomore around? You might not be wrong if you said Sarah Schulze, a 6-footer from Anna who can shoot 3-pointers. She was averaging about 18 points before tearing an ACL in December. Then there's Lauren Sharpe, a 5-10 guard from Tipp City averaging 17 points and an area-leading 8.8 steals per game. And Meadowdale's Ebony Gainey, a 6-foot guard who dishes out 8 assists per game.

Three other sophomores already whetting appetites of college coaches are Fairmont's Stephanie Bamberger, Beavercreek's Kelsey Cooley and Miamisburg's Erica Allenspach.

The best freshman? How about Sakara House, a 5-9 point guard from Kenton Ridge High School who averages 17 points. Or Tiera Stephen, a defensive whiz who starts for C-J. Or Emily Teuscher, who averages 15.5 points for Miamisburg.

Player ratings are subjective, of course. But there is no arguing that the Miami Valley looks like it will continue to produce plenty of top college talent.

"Every college coach in the country knows the way to South Ludlow Street (C-J's Dayton address), then over to Beavercreek," said Jim Dabbelt, whose web site, www.thedabbeltreport.com, tracks Miami Valley girls basketball.

Of the seniors, the 6-foot-2 Frazee triplets continue to fascinate, but they are spoken for. Megan averages 36 points and 17 rebounds for once-beaten Xenia Christian. Sisters Molly and Moriah are vital to their team's success, but Megan is the one who quickened pulses on the AAU circuit. That is, until the family announced all three would attend Liberty after being home-schooled as juniors.

Bales, the Beavercreek megastar who had her pick of any program in the country, is the gold standard of big girls, but Frazee has the all-around game coaches spend careers trying to find. She can post up and beat you with her touch around the basket or step back and bottom out a 3-pointer.

Says Dabbelt, "Megan Frezee is the best big girl I've seen around here in a long time."

Contact Sean McClelland at 225-2408.