Catfan
06-21-2006, 07:14 AM
Carlee commits to Oklahoma
By DAVE HANNEMAN
staff Writer
Something finally went right for the guy shivering in the Fremont Ross gymnasium with no coat and his job on the line.
In one of the ironic twists of high school recruiting, this one had to rank among the best.
"The way they told me the story, Coach Coale (University of Oklahoma women's basketball coach Sherri Coale) was recruiting someone from Ohio, but that person signed with another school a couple of days before she got here," said Carlee Roethlisberger, a two-sport standout at Findlay High School.
"She wasn't sure if she should go or not. But she had a speaking engagement up here, and when it was over five or six people came up to her and said there was this girl from Findlay she might want to take a look at.
"Coach Connie (FHS coach Connie Lyon) was there. She told coach Coale she had sent her a film of me.
"I guess coach Coale called back to Oklahoma and the guy she talked to said, 'You're probably going to fire me, but we misplaced the film.'
"They sent him up to see one of our games. It was at Fremont Ross. It was one of the coldest days of the year and he didn't even bring a coat.
"I guess that's what got it all started."
Oklahoma's efforts back then paid off Tuesday when Roethlisberger, a two-time all-Ohio selection, made a verbal commitment to play college basketball for the Sooners.
A 6-foot-1 wing, Roethlisberger averaged 19.1 points a game during the 2005-06 regular season, then kicked that up to 27 points a game in leading Findlay to the Division I regional semifinals. Included in her tournament spree was a school single-game record 40-point barrage in an 80-18 sectional win over Springfield.
Roethlisberger will be joining an outstanding NCAA Division I program at Oklahoma. Coale has guided the Sooners to seven straight NCAA appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 2002. This past season, the Sooners fell 88-76 to Stanford in the regional semifinals.
In Big 12 play, Coale has led Oklahoma to three regular-season and two tournament championships in her 10 seasons as head coach.
"Right now their program is definitely going up," Roethlisberger said. "When I visited there a couple of weeks ago, I just loved it.
"It had everything I was looking for as far as my career goals (sports management), coaching and players."
Two of those players in particular, freshman twins Courtney and Ashley Paris, made an immediate impact on Roethlisberger.
"They're like 6-4, 240," Roethlsiberger said. "But they are the nicest people you ever want to meet. They took me around the campus and they were just great."
Courtney Paris averaged 21.9 points a game last season and was the only freshman named first-team all-American. Ashley Paris added around 6 points a game.
Roethlisberger actually had a major choice to make when she went looking for colleges.
"I was looking at Minnesota and Nebraska as far as volleyball," Roethlisberger said. "But it wasn't so much the sport as the school. That's what decided it. Oklahoma just felt like home."
A first-team all-Ohio selection as a junior and second-team pick as a sophomore, Roethlisberger also averaged 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.5 assists a game. She shot 56.5 percent from the field, made 41.1 percent of her 3-point attempts, and converted 69.6 percent of her free throws.
Roethlisberger topped the 1,000-point milestone late in her junior season, and will enter her senior year at FHS needing 518 points to break the school's all-time scoring record held by Amy Jauert (1,607).
Contact staff writer Dave Hanneman at: (419) 422-8408 davehanneman@thecourier.com
By DAVE HANNEMAN
staff Writer
Something finally went right for the guy shivering in the Fremont Ross gymnasium with no coat and his job on the line.
In one of the ironic twists of high school recruiting, this one had to rank among the best.
"The way they told me the story, Coach Coale (University of Oklahoma women's basketball coach Sherri Coale) was recruiting someone from Ohio, but that person signed with another school a couple of days before she got here," said Carlee Roethlisberger, a two-sport standout at Findlay High School.
"She wasn't sure if she should go or not. But she had a speaking engagement up here, and when it was over five or six people came up to her and said there was this girl from Findlay she might want to take a look at.
"Coach Connie (FHS coach Connie Lyon) was there. She told coach Coale she had sent her a film of me.
"I guess coach Coale called back to Oklahoma and the guy she talked to said, 'You're probably going to fire me, but we misplaced the film.'
"They sent him up to see one of our games. It was at Fremont Ross. It was one of the coldest days of the year and he didn't even bring a coat.
"I guess that's what got it all started."
Oklahoma's efforts back then paid off Tuesday when Roethlisberger, a two-time all-Ohio selection, made a verbal commitment to play college basketball for the Sooners.
A 6-foot-1 wing, Roethlisberger averaged 19.1 points a game during the 2005-06 regular season, then kicked that up to 27 points a game in leading Findlay to the Division I regional semifinals. Included in her tournament spree was a school single-game record 40-point barrage in an 80-18 sectional win over Springfield.
Roethlisberger will be joining an outstanding NCAA Division I program at Oklahoma. Coale has guided the Sooners to seven straight NCAA appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 2002. This past season, the Sooners fell 88-76 to Stanford in the regional semifinals.
In Big 12 play, Coale has led Oklahoma to three regular-season and two tournament championships in her 10 seasons as head coach.
"Right now their program is definitely going up," Roethlisberger said. "When I visited there a couple of weeks ago, I just loved it.
"It had everything I was looking for as far as my career goals (sports management), coaching and players."
Two of those players in particular, freshman twins Courtney and Ashley Paris, made an immediate impact on Roethlisberger.
"They're like 6-4, 240," Roethlsiberger said. "But they are the nicest people you ever want to meet. They took me around the campus and they were just great."
Courtney Paris averaged 21.9 points a game last season and was the only freshman named first-team all-American. Ashley Paris added around 6 points a game.
Roethlisberger actually had a major choice to make when she went looking for colleges.
"I was looking at Minnesota and Nebraska as far as volleyball," Roethlisberger said. "But it wasn't so much the sport as the school. That's what decided it. Oklahoma just felt like home."
A first-team all-Ohio selection as a junior and second-team pick as a sophomore, Roethlisberger also averaged 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.5 assists a game. She shot 56.5 percent from the field, made 41.1 percent of her 3-point attempts, and converted 69.6 percent of her free throws.
Roethlisberger topped the 1,000-point milestone late in her junior season, and will enter her senior year at FHS needing 518 points to break the school's all-time scoring record held by Amy Jauert (1,607).
Contact staff writer Dave Hanneman at: (419) 422-8408 davehanneman@thecourier.com