The 2015-16 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Basketball Teams were selected by USA TODAY Sports’ Jim Halley in consultation with high school coaches and recruiting experts.
Click the links below for photo galleries, interviews and more with the honorees:
FIRST TEAM:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sabrina Ionescu, Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.)
Erin Boley, Elizabethtown (Ky.)
Crystal Dangerfield, Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Jackie Young, Princeton (Ind.)
PLAYER PROFILE:
Name: Lauren Cox
School: Flower Mound, Texas
Position: Center
Height: 6-4
College: Baylor
Details: Averaged 21.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 2.2 assists per game while leading team to Area playoff round and a 23-7 record. Has won gold medals with USA Basketball in the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship and 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship. Is also an all-state volleyball player and was a national AAU high jump champion when she was 11. Because she has Type I diabetes, she has to constantly monitor her diet and insulin levels.
Favorite teacher: My anatomy teacher, Ms. (Demona) Shipman. She made the class fun and made learning fun.
Second-best athlete in the family: Probably my youngest sister, Maddie, who’s 11.
Best track and field event: I haven’t competed in a while, but I think I would still be pretty good in the shot and discus and probably the high jump.
Toughest thing about competing with diabetes: Just trying to make sure I have a good (blood-sugar) number before the game starts. It’s different every time. We’re still trying to figure it out. No day is the same.
On being 6-4: The best thing is the height advantage in sports. The worst thing is being stared at and hearing people whispering, “She’s so tall.”
Favorite recent book: I like the Body Finder series (by Kimberly Derting). It’s about a girl who has this ability to sense echoes from people who have been murdered and the imprints left from their killers.
Biggest basketball influences: Probably my parents (Dennis and Brenda) and my AAU coach (Justin Higginbotham). They helped me from day one. My mom played at SMU and dad at Central Methodist.
First car: My parent’s Suburban.
Dream car and color: It would either be white or black and probably some kind of Lexus.
Season highlight: Spending my last year with some of my best friends on the team. I had a lot of fun.
Second-favorite sport: Volleyball, I was going to try to play both in college, but that’s really difficult to do on the Division I level.
RELATED:
COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Allen, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.)
SECOND TEAM: See who made the second team
THIRD TEAM: See who made the third team