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West's Johnston commits to Denver WATERLOO - A combination of success in academics and athletics had Waterloo West junior Jordan Johnston considering schools from Dartmouth on the East Coast to the University of California-Irvine on the West Coast. In the end, the Rocky Mountains won out. Johnston, a 5-foot-10 point guard and 4.0 student, announced this week that she has verbally committed to continue her basketball career at the University of Denver. "I really liked the school," Johnston said. "They're really high in academics. ... The basketball program is up-and-coming and they have a good chance of being really good pretty soon." Denver University is an NCAA Division I school and member of the Sun Belt Conference, which includes a perennial Top 20 team in Middle Tennessee State. The Pioneers are coming off back-to-back winning seasons in Erik Johnson's first two years as head coach. Denver finished its 2010 campaign at 18-13. Johnson's coaching success also factored into Johnston's decision. "It wasn't that great of a program but he just built it up," Johnston said. "He pushes the girls hard, but also makes sure that they have a close bond, and that's one of the things that really got me interested. The girls are just like a family." Johnston is a three-year starter for the Wahawks. She made the move to point guard and averaged 10.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists last season. The West standout also played club basketball for Team Iowa coached by James Moses. Her club teammates included first-team all-staters Kiah Stoakes and Virginia Johnson. "I'm very happy for Jordan and her family," West coach Tony Pappas noted. "She really likes the University of Denver and I think she'll have a great career there."
UW women's basketball: Lindsay Smith to join Iowa prep rival in Class of 2011 Lindsay Smith couldn't beat Morgan Paige, so she decided to join her. Smith, a 5-foot-10 guard from Central DeWitt High School in Iowa, has made a verbal commitment to play basketball for the University of Wisconsin beginning in 2011. Smith will get a chance to play alongside Paige, her high school rival from nearby Marion, Iowa, who will be a freshman with the Badgers this season. They were both first team Class 3A All-State selections this past season. Smith, who earlier eliminated Iowa, Vanderbilt and Stanford from consideration, had narrowed her options to Wisconsin and Michigan State. A phone call to her former rival helped her make her decision. "I talked to Morgan (Monday) and she gave me her opinion of why she chose Wisconsin and she talked about the girls on the team," Smith said. "It just seemed like that's where I belonged. "Morgan and I played in the same conference, so we played each other every year and it got pretty competitive. Her team always seemed to beat mine, but it will be fun to actually be on the same team together." Smith averaged about 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game last season in leading Central DeWitt to a 20-4 record. She has played point guard in high school but sees herself as a combo guard in college. In addition to her basketball exploits, Smith also competed in cross country in the fall, track and field in the spring and softball in the summer. She plans to maintain the four-sport approach her senior year before turning her attention strictly to basketball. "I think once I focus on basketball I can reach my full potential," she said. "But I think in high school it's better to play a bunch of sports so you don't get burned out." Smith's diverse athletic pursuits may have limited her basketball exposure. But she attracted some attention with her performance at the high-profile Boo Williams tournament in Virginia in April. That led to an article about her on ESPN HoopGurlz — a website that covers girls basketball — and calls from schools like Michigan State. "I got a lot more calls after that," she said. But her connections with the Wisconsin program run deep. She attended coach Lisa Stone's basketball camp at UW as an eighth grader. And long before that, her parents Mike and Sharon were students at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, when Stone was the coach of the women's basketball team there. "I always knew Wisconsin would be one of my top choices," said Smith, who has a 3.9 grade-point average and plans to major in business. Ultimately, she would like to become a college basketball coach. Smith is the second player to commit to Wisconsin for the 2011 class, joining 5-8 point guard Lacia Gorman of Fort Wayne, Ind. Gorman committed in August 2009 after making an unofficial visit to UW, and is highly regarded among recruiting analysts such as Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. "Even though she’s a point guard, that kid can score," Olson told Madison.com sports in February 2010 as part of an evaluation of the Badgers' top recruiting targets for the 2011 class. "Wisconsin beat out a lot of its counterparts that wanted to get that kid."
Smith and Keitel DeWITT, Iowa -- Lindsay Smith and Jennifer Keitel don't have a lot of free time to hang out with friends. And that's exactly what they prefer. Glenn Nelson/ESPN.comLindsay Smith has Stanford and Vanderbilt, among others, on her school list. Smith and Keitel, two standouts for Team Iowa, are too busy playing four sports to do much besides run, hit and shoot hoops. That's right, four sports. In Iowa, softball is a summer sport, which means Smith and Keitel can run cross country in the fall, play basketball in the winter and compete in track and field in the spring. When they find time to sleep and keep up their grades -- Smith boasts a 3.9 GPA and Keitel a 3.6 -- is anyone's guess. "I don't know, I tried every sport when I was little and I get bored when I'm not doing something," Smith said. Added Keitel: "If I weren't playing sports I'd just be … sitting at home. Like I am now." It wasn't hard to hear that in just a few minutes of no activity, Keitel was itching to play something. Despite packed schedules, Smith and Keitel have easily risen to the top of the basketball talent in Iowa, helping Central Clinton High School to a 21-3 record in 2009-10, as the Sabers were ranked as high as No. 3 in the second-biggest classification in the state. Keitel, a 6-foot-3 post, has already given a verbal commitment to Northern Iowa and Smith, a 5-foot-9 point guard rated No. 28 at her position by ESPN HoopGurlz, is considering Iowa, Vanderbilt, Marquette, Stanford and Wisconsin, among others. The teammates go back to their preschool days, when they ran around as 4-year-olds trying to burn energy. Usually it resulted in trouble. Keitel's favorite memory of the two is when they stole a golf cart when they were 5, and went on a bit of a joyride. "I was doing the gas pedal and Lindsay was doing the steering," Keitel laughed. "And we hit a tree and my little brother, Chris, went flying out of the cart and had to get stitches. It's one of my favorite memories of us." Even though both are swamped with practices every day -- and sometimes twice a day -- Smith and Keitel say there are advantages to playing four sports: they don't get burnt out, and one sport keeps them in shape for the next. "I talked to a girl who plays on a basketball team year-round, and she said there are days she doesn't even want to play some days," Smith said. "Playing four sports helps with [not feeling] that." Smith's dedication also comes with a rare honor: When she graduates in the spring of 2011 she will have earned 17 varsity letters, a Central record. "She's such a good athlete," Keitel said. "It's crazy." As an eigth grader, Smith played varsity softball at Central in between summer basketball practices. It is, to say the least, organized chaos. "Softball gets over the first week of July so until then, we go to softball tournaments on Fridays and Saturdays, and usually we go to tournaments on Sundays for basketball," Smith explained. Of course, there are rules when sports overlap. They are strictest in track, where Smith runs the hurdle sprints and the 400 relays and Keitel throws the shot put and discus. "When I'm in still in track I'm not allowed to slide in softball," Keitel said, explaining that sliding could risk an ankle injury, which would put a damper on Keitel's hopes at competing in the state track meet. For now, though, Smith and Keitel are focused on keeping busy. Smith says the three weeks between the summer basketball circuit and the start of cross country are some of the most boring of her year, and that she wishes she had something to do in that time. Her teammate has a different thought. "When I get a chance to relax … I like to go play tennis with a group of friends," Keitel said. "If we had a tennis team, I'd play in a heartbeat."
DeWitt’s Keitel commits to play at UNI (April 2010) 13 April 2010 - Iowa Prep Sports
City's Johnson commits to Iowa basketball (January 2010) Susan Harman A little home cooking, access to laundry facilities and the belief that she was joining a program that played the game the way she wanted to play it convinced City High forward Virginia Johnson to give her commitment to the Iowa women's basketball team on Sunday. Johnson will join former Little Hawk teammate Kelly Krei as a Hawkeye. Krei is starting for Iowa as a sophomore. Although she was recruited by many Division I schools, the 6-foot-1 junior picked Iowa over Rutgers, which is coached by former Iowa coach Vivian Stringer. "I love it here," Johnson said. "My mom is a big Hawkeye fan. It must be in the genes, I don't know. It's just the way they play. I really like their style. Coach (Lisa) Bluder, I think she's an excellent coach. "I was kind of on the edge," she said. "I just needed something to push me one way or the other. Watching them play, I don't know, I just enjoyed watching them." Johnson is a two-time all-state selection despite her youth and currently is averaging 23.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. She leads the Mississippi Valley Conference with a 24.4-point average in league games, is third in field-goal percentage at 56.3 percent and is fourth in rebounding (10.6). Johnson scored the winning basket in City High's state championship game as a freshman, hauling in a three-quarter court pass from Kim Rickels and driving in for a layup as time expired. She also is an accomplished softball player and high jumper for the City High track team. "Family is the main component," Johnson said. "I couldn't move to New Jersey. I just like it in Iowa because you're close to home and you can come do your laundry and get home-cooked meals. I like it here." Johnson likely will play the small forward spot in college. She has played inside and out for City High. She sometimes has to bring the ball up court against pressure. She has developed a reliable mid-range jump shot this season and she can run the court all night long. A natural athlete, Johnson even played some football in junior high. Recently Johnson's mother sent a letter to Iowa indicating that her daughter would not make a decision on recruiting for at least two months. That seemed to relieve the pressure that Johnson was feeling to make a decision. "I think at the moment that I realized it really was my decision, that I really could do whatever I wanted, then I realized Iowa would be the best decision," Johnson said. "Once the pressure was gone it just clicked that, 'Hey this is where I want to go.'"
Duke commits to SFCC Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Mariah Duke has committed to play basketball at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, MO.
Rogers signs with Iowa (November 2009) IOWA CITY - University of Iowa Head Women's Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder has announced that Jade Rogers has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Iowa next fall.
Klopfenstein signs with Truman State (November 2009) Nov. 16, 2009 – Truman women’s basketball head coach Michael Smith has announced the signing of four student-athletes who will be joining the Bulldog squad for the 2010-2011 season. Smith inked two guards and two forwards during the early signing period. “We are excited about this early signing class, as these individuals fill some needs that we were looking for to continue to move this program forward,” Smith said. “The thing that stands out to me the most is that they all come from winning programs. They’ve tasted success and will bring that to campus next fall.” Kayla Klopfenstein, a 5-foot-9 guard from Marion, Iowa, connected at a 38% clip from three-point range on the way to averaging eight points, three rebounds and three assists per game as a junior. She was a second-team all conference and was an all-metro selection at Linn Mar High School, starting on back-to-back state tournament semifinal teams in 2008 and 2009. “As a coach, you always try to find a player that does all the little things, and that is Kayla,” Smith said. “Her work ethic and desire to win is what stood out most to me during the recruiting process. Her best basketball is ahead of her and we’re excited that it will be as part of the Truman program.”
Hogg and Orton sign letters Megan Hogg and Kiersten Orton both signed letters to play women’s basketball. Hogg will go to Northwest Missouri State and Maryville, while Orton will go to the University of Central Missouri. Hogg was the Warriors’ top scorer last season with 269 points, while Orton scored 267. They shot 47.1 and 45.0 percent from the floor, respectively. Orton led the Warriors with 126 total rebounds, while Hogg was second with 108. Hogg had 28 assists, 11 blocks and 29 steals for Waukee last year. Orton had 38 assists, 4 blocks and 36 steals for the Warriors in 2008-09.
Paige commits to Wisconsin (May 2009) MARION — Morgan Paige didn’t expect to make a decision so quickly. But, she figured after a visit to the University of Wisconsin last week, why wait?
A 5-foot-9 guard, Paige averaged 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game last season. She is one of three current female Metro girls that have committed to the Big Ten. Jaime Printy (senior, Linn-Mar) has signed to play at Iowa; Jade Rogers (junior, Cedar Rapids Kennedy) has committed to the Hawkeyes. Other Iowa girls that have figured prominently in the UW women’s program include Robin Threatt (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), Barb Franke (Cedar Falls) and Stephanie Rich (Washington, Iowa).
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