on the floor

Major college athletic programs such as the women’s basketball team at Arizona State University can recruit players from anywhere in the world. Yet four local athletes have earned productive roles with the 15th-ranked Sun Devils. Aubree Johnson from Post Falls High School, Emily Westerberg and Reagan Pariseau from Central Valley High School, and Briann January from Lewis and Clark High School are all fireballs who contribute in every game to the Sun Devil basketball team.

Westerberg, Pariseau and Johnson have started every game. Westerberg averages 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a game and leads the team in assists. Johnson is averages 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and Pariseau averages 4.9 points per game. January comes off the bench for 4.6 points per game and leads the team with 29 steals.

All four girls played and excelled on their respective high school basketball teams. But the common thread is playing AAU basketball for the Spokane Stars. Founded in 1982 by Ron Adams, the Stars program boasts 391 girls who have continued their career with NCAA Division I or Division II colleges. Adams coached the four girls from the time they were in junior high. Their basketball prowess earned all of them the rank of captain somewhere along the line.

“Those four kids have it,” said Adams about their basketball skills. “They are going to be successful off the court too.”

Johnson and Westerberg, both juniors this year, were the first to sign with the Sun Devils. The pair went as a package deal, the school and program being the right fit for both. Pariseau, a sophomore, was followed by January, a true freshman, this year.

ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne started recruiting Johnson and Westerberg early in their high school careers, scouting them at AAU tournaments throughout the West and following their high school progress.

“The Northwest has tremendous people,” said Turner Thorne. The support of family, friends and organizations such as the Stars program plays an important role in the direction and decision of each athlete.

Young athletes work hard on and off the court to attract the attention of a major college such as Arizona State, a Division I school in the Pacific-10 Conference. Once the student athlete has the attention of a school, the tables turn and it is the college’s time to impress.

“I guess word spreads,” said Turner Thorne about her program and the decision of Pariseau and January to play for the Sun Devils.

Westerberg not only played for Adams, but also for her dad, Nick, who was an assistant coach for Adams and the Spokane Stars club.

“The ASU program is not a normal program,” said the elder Westerberg. “Faith was important in recruiting Emily.” The women’s basketball program at ASU respects and supports an athlete’s spiritual values off the court and provides a family atmosphere as much as possible. Westerberg, Johnson and Pariseau all room together, sharing a bit of home in the desert.

This season the Sun Devils are as good as any ASU team in recent history. A favorite to win the Pac-10 Conference championship, they would like another chance at postseason play. But as competitive as they are, court-side fans are still mostly friends and family. Excellent seats sit empty for most of the games even though the excitement is electric.

“It’s a really fun atmosphere,” said Westerberg. “If you come to a game, you’re going to love it.”