Rochester Century's Kanani Asuncionhas given a verbal agreement to play basketball at Division I University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D.
Asuncion, a varsity player for Rochester Century since the eighth grade, is a 5-foot-9 point guard. The incoming senior averaged 14.2 points as a junior and 15.2 as a sophomore. She also became Century's first 1,000-point scorer, doing that as a sophomore.
Asuncion is Century's all-time leading scorer with over 1,300 points. She also holds the program records for rebounds (500-plus), assists (300-plus), steals (190-plus) and 3-pointers (100-plus).
North Dakota reached the NCAA Tournament this past season, losing in the first round.
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Jon Springer, the local referee and umpire who sustained significant injuries in an auto accident two weeks ago, might go home any day, his family reports.
Springer had eight ribs broken in the crash. The family appreciates all of the support, prayers, and well wishes, says son Scott Springer.
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John Milleadrove his Toyota Camry more than 13,000 miles in the 2013-14 school year in visiting events and schools all over our state as "media specialist" for the Minnesota State High School League. He posted 162 stories on his "John's Journal" blog on the MSHSL Website.
In his Monday post, Millea listed his personal top 10 "John's Journal" memories from 2013-14 and No. 1 was the one about Southland football player Riley Schmitz. The post's second and third paragaphs sum up the topic:
Southland football player Riley Schmitz can't see the farm, the silos or the livestock that surround the Rebels' practice field. Even though he has been practicing on these fields since he was a fifth-grade football player, clear vision for the senior extends no farther than the end of his arms. Those are two remarkable facts: Riley is a football player who is legally blind.
"His heart, his desire is tremendous," said coach Shawn Kennedy. "He is absolutely so passionate about football."
The P-B's Donny Hennwrote a High School Profile on Schmitz when he was in eighth grade in 2009.
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The family of Belle Plaine High School boys basketball coach Randy Carlsonlost their home to a mudslide after recent heavy rains. Donations to assist the Carlsons are being accepted at the State Bank of Belle Plaine, and an online option has been set up through the GoFundMe website: http:// www.gofundme.com/alh9t0
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Richard Pitinowill need to do more traveling if the Gophers are going to land high school basketball standout Alex Illikainenof Grand Rapids.
Illikainen has announced that he will play his senior year at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H..
"It's a tremendous loss for us. He's been the face of our program for the past three, four years," Grand Rapids head coach Dan Elhardtold the Grand Rapids Herald Review. "Obviously, he's been a national talent and was on pace to be one of the top five scorers in the state and leading rebounder in state history. I knew he was weighing the pros and cons. We wish him well and hope he keeps improving and takes his skills to the level he hopes to attain."
Illikainen, a 6-9 power forward, is ranked 84th nationally in the 2015 class, according to rivals.com.
As of last month, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported, schools that have offered him a scholarship include Minnesota, California, Creighton, Indiana, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oregon and Providence.
