Nieman among Ron Adams' top five Jack Blair players
With the 25th annual Jack Blair Memorial Girls All-Star Basketball Classic coming up, a sports writer sought Ron Adam’s input on something.
After all, he has been director of the all-star game since it started in 1994, and has coached (or coached against) nearly all of the players as director of the Spokane Stars AAU basketball club.
The all-star game pits the Metro team (comprised of all-Greater Spokane League players) vs. the Region squad (top players from North Idaho and elsewhere in Eastern Washington).
His assignment — select the top five players to have ever played in the game for the Metro (GSL) team, and pick the top five players to have ever played in the game for the Region team (or the Idaho team; as the game was Idaho vs. Washington for the first seven years).
(We asked for five, but he gave us six, hey, it’s his team).
“It’s not that easy,” Adams said when it was all over. “It took time to do it. We had some tremendous players.”
Three of the players selected are scheduled to play in this year’s game. Four of the six selected to the all-time (so far) Region team were high school stars in North Idaho.
Here’s the Ron Adams 5 (or 6) for each team, one for each position, listing where they played, as well as a comment on each player from Adams:
METRO
Stacy Clinesmith, point guard (Mead High class of 1996, UC Santa Barbara, WNBA) — “Probably the best all-around point guard to ever play in the GSL, in my opinion,” Adams said.
Briann January, shooting/combo guard (Lewis and Clark High 2005, Arizona State, WNBA) — “The best and most athletic combo guard to ever play in the GSL.”
Angie Bjorklund, small forward (University High 2007, Tennessee) — “The GSL’s most devastating open-court player of all time.”
Lexie Hull, power forward (Central Valley High 2018, signed with Stanford) — “Amazing versatility at both ends of the court. One of the top 10 inside/outside players in America.”
Emily Westerberg, center (Central Valley High 2003, Arizona State) — “Athletic and intelligent, with every post move in the book. She is by far the all-time GSL’s best center.”
Lacie Hull, small forward (Central Valley High 2018, signed with Stanford) — “At 6-2, she can play all three guard positions the same. Outstanding shooter and lockdown defender.”
REGION
Chandler Smith, point guard (Brewster High 2014, Nebraska, now at Gonzaga) — “Can do it all on offense — shoot, dribble, penetrate, pass. Intelligent and fearless,” Adams said.
Jamie Weisner, shooting guard (Clarkston High 2012, Oregon State, WNBA) — “A scorer with a complete offensive repertoire; can do it all.”
Alli Nieman, small forward (Sandpoint High 1996, Idaho) — “Great versatility, with or without the ball. She’s explosive on the block. She was solid everywhere; just a great player.”
Melody Kempton, power forward (Post Falls 2018, signed with Gonzaga) — “Fierce competitor that could score from inside and outside. Outstanding rebounder at both ends. One of the state’s all-time best players.”
Carli Rosenthal, center (Coeur d’Alene High 2011, Saint Mary’s, professionally in Denmark) — “Big and strong, with outstanding inside skills. Uses her body to create positioning, and boy, nobody did it better than her.”
Aubree Johnson, small forward (Post Falls 2003, Arizona State) — “Constant motion on offense, outstanding rebounder, and one of the best forwards to ever come out of Idaho.”
Editor’s note:
Sandpoint senior Grace Kirscher played in the Jack Blair game on Wednesday night. See tomorrow’s Bee for a recap of the game.