Strother Gets First CU Assist

By Glenn Nelson
HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Wed, 11/07/2007 - 18:14 One former Highlands Ranch star helps Colorado a current one.

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Colorado hired Ann Strother as its director of operations a couple weeks ago, and the move already is paying dividends.

The Buffs received a commitment from the state's top prospect, Alyssa Fressle, who goes to the same high school, Highlands Ranch, where Strother became the most acclaimed prep girl's basketball star in state history.

Fressle, a 5-foot-10 guard who is ranked 76th in the HoopGurlz Hundred for 2008, also played in the same club program, the Colorado Hoopsters, as Strother did, and has known the two-time national champion with Connecticut and current WNBA player since the 7th grade.

"When Ann went to CU, that pretty much put my decision over the top," Fressle said.

Fressle originally figured she would follow Strother's footsteps and play her college ball out of state. She said there is an attitude in Colorado that "if you are any good, you're going away." However, she took an official visit on Sept. 15 to Boulder, which is an hour away, and said she fell in love with the campus, team and coaching staff. She also has a grandmother who lives in Boulder.

The big-time shooter, who made 14 of 15 shots in a game last season, also made official visits to Kansas (Oct. 12) and Iowa (Oct. 27). She previously made an unofficial visit to Pepperdine as well.

"The players there treated me like I was already a teammate," Fressle said. "No other school can offer the chance to play in front of my family and friends. I also believe I'm going to be part of something special there."

Fressle knows a little something about special. She has helped Highlands Ranch to two straight state championships and wants to get a third straight "gold ball." A successful three-peat would match the streak put together at Highlands Ranch by none other than Ann Strother.

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Glenn Nelson is the founder and publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee and SportsShooter.com (Click for Porfolio), Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, National Press Photographers Association, Online News Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Glenn also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams and previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. Glenn can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.

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