INDIANAPOLIS - Saona Chapman belongs.
The 5-foot-8 senior guard from Voluntown and Norwich Free Academy has more than held her own against some of the best competition in the country at the Nike All-America Camp. In two days here, her stock has risen.
"I was so excited coming here," Chapman said. "I'm coming off a national tournament with my AAU team. But ever since I got my invitation, I've been thinking of being here. Every time I worked out, I thought about being here and playing against the top 80 girls."
Her list is at six schools - North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Richmond, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. She is tops on Richmond's and Wake Forest's wanted list. Notre Dame and North Carolina State have also offered scholarships.
UConn has followed her progress throughout her NFA career, but backed off after receiving an oral commitment from Ashley Valley in the spring.
"It's actually good the way things have worked out," Chapman said. "I've always wanted to get out of New England and see another part of the country. I wouldn't mind staying in the Big East and coming home to play in front of the people I know at Boston College, Providence, and UConn."
Chapman has led NFA to a 53-1 record the last two years, including the 1999 Class LL tournament championship.
She is the first player from Connecticut to be invited to the four-year-old Nike Camp.
"When I came in and saw the list of names on the wall of all the great players that have been here, and I'm the first one from Connecticut, that means a lot," Chapman said.
Chapman has been effective by playing to her strengths - ballhandling, running the floor, and playing with intensity. She knows she must work on her outside shot and her strength.
She hopes to be a coach when her playing days are done. She's looking for a college that can help her learn more about basketball and win a national championship.
Her strong showing here should get her what she's looking for.
"There's a lot of pressure and I did get nervous," Chapman said. "I wanted to come out and be a true point guard and let them know I can play because I feel I belong here."
Comeback trail
Ann Strother opened many coaches' eyes at Nike Camp a year ago. But what they see now on the 6-foot-1 junior guard from Castle Rock, Colo., is a brace on her left knee. Last fall, she underwent surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament that forced her to miss her entire sophomore high school season.
"I was playing in Philadelphia and I jumped up and the knee gave out on me," Strother said. "I was out six months and I couldn't wait to get back in there. It's tough watching. I don't like it."
At first, Strother thought she had escaped serious injury. A doctor in the emergency room told her she had pulled a calf muscle.
"I figured I would be out of the tournament a day because it was just my calf," Strother said. "But I went to another doctor for a second opinion and he discovered the ACL injury. I was shocked."
She put her all into rehabilitation and says she'll be rid of the brace in another three months.
"I feel 100 percent," Strother said.
If she is, she figures to be among the top players in next year's recruiting class. She has transferred from Heritage High in Littleton (the alma mater of UConn's Keirsten Walters) to Highlands Ranch High.
"Heritage is a good school but I didn't feel like it fit me well," Strother said.
At Highlands Ranch, she'll be a teammate of fellow camper Katie Flecky. The nation's top coaches will be watching Strother's progress.
Decisions, decisions
Teresa Borton, a 6-2 senior forward from Yakima, Wash., is struggling. Her long list of colleges - which includes UConn - is at 14.
"It's so difficult for me to narrow it down," Borton said. "One school has pluses for location. Another has pluses for coaches. Another has pluses for academics. It's hard."
Borton is a three-time Seattle Times Class 3A Player of the Year. The Huskies have liked what they've seen, but the concerns Borton has must concern them.
"They told me they need post players," Borton said. "I've talked to them, but I don't know about that level of basketball. You have to go with your heart. They told me I would fit in with their program so that's why they're looking at me."
Borton hopes to commit during the early signing period in November.
Scheduling matters
Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis spent two seasons as an assistant to Geno Auriemma at UConn (1995-97) before getting the job with the Demon Deacons.
This December, Curtis will return to Storrs with her team to take on the defending national champions. It will be the first meeting between the schools.
UConn is scheduled to open the season at home against Georgia in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.
"A lot of people - and you can put me in the group - thought Connecticut and Georgia were the two best teams in the country last year," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "And with most of the players from both teams back, it's a game that needs to be played. We were disappointed we didn't get to play them last year (Georgia lost to Rutgers in the NCAA West Regional final) but we're excited about opening with them."
The Huskies' first road trip will take them to the West Coast for games with Pepperdine and Washington during Thanksgiving week.
"We've renovated our building and we're looking forward to the Huskies coming out and playing in front of a big crowd," Washington coach June Daugherty said.
According to a source, UConn has a nationally televised date at Notre Dame on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Argentina bound
UConn recruits Diana Taurasi and Ashley Battle have been selected to the United States junior national team which will be in a qualifying tournament later this month in Argentina. Auriemma is the team's coach. The junior national team is currently working out in Colorado Springs.
State of the camp
California has the most representation of any state with 14 players in camp.
Illinois is next with seven followed by Colorado and Pennsylvania with five apiece. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia are represented here.
