GIRLS' BASKETBALL: MAKING THE GRADE ACADEMICS DEFINITELY HAVE A BIG PRIORITY IN MIRA'S LIFE.Byline: Nevin Barich Nevin Barich (born August 6, 1979) is a former American sports journalist now working as the Senior Editor of The National Notary, a trade magazine based in Los Angeles with a circulation of more than 300,000 nationwide. Staff WriterOne of the hardest decisions Jessie Mira had to make was to decide to transfer from Quartz quartz, one of the commonest of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth's crust. Chemically, it is silicon dioxide, SiO2. Hill to Montclair Montclair. 1 Residential city (1990 pop. 28,434), San Bernardino co., SE Calif.; inc. 1956. It has some light manufacturing. 2 Town (1990 pop. 37,729), Essex co., NE N.J. Prep in Van Nuys. Since she has, however, Mira has never looked back. Mira, a Quartz Hill native and sophomore point guard for the Montclair Prep girls' basketball team, has made a good transition to her new school. She's averaging 13 points and three assists a game. After her freshman season at Quartz Hill, Mira was ready for a change. While she did come from the area and had several friends on the team, she wasn't happy with Rebels coach Steve Lankford. ``I guess I wasn't really progressing under Lankford,'' Mira said. ``I wasn't really improving. I needed someone who could make me better.'' But the decision wouldn't be as cut and dried cut and dried cut adj (also: cut-and-dry) (answer) → eindeutig: (solution) → einfach as Mira thought. Soon after, Lankford was replaced by Steve Brumwell, who had previously led Grant High of Van Nuys to prominence prominence /prom·i·nence/ (prom´i-nins) a protrusion or projection. frontonasal prominence . Mira found she liked working under Brumwell. She enjoyed the way he ran practices and how he instituted a freer style of play. ``When Brumwell came to Quartz Hill, he pushed me to be better,'' Mira said. ``I liked that.'' Then Mira heard about Montclair Prep, a college-preparatory school that prides itself on high academic standards. Even though she would have to stay at the school's dorms during the week, Mira decided to take the plunge Take The Plunge was an early evening game show that was produced by Thames Television and aired on the ITV network for one series in 1989, the programme was hosted by comedy actress Su Pollard. . ``What it came down to was my future,'' Mira said. ``I want to go to college and I knew I could get a much better education at Montclair Prep. My choice came down to college and academics.'' When Mira came to Montclair Prep, she found the basketball world to be much different. Where Quartz Hill played a man-to-man game, Montclair Prep played more zones. It was an adjustment Mounties coach Bob Webb said Mira struggled to get used to. ``We're more structured here at Montclair Prep,'' Webb said. ``When Jessie got here, she was more of a freelance player. She kind of did what she wanted to do. At the beginning, I saw she had a lot of talent, but when we'd run plays, she'd play man-to-man while we'd play zone. It was hard.'' Mira would continue to have her rocky moments but eventually improved, learning to help out rather than guarding just one opposing player. ``It really was a matter of totally different playing styles,'' Mira said. ``I'm still not quite used to it. I'm still learning.'' Mira's teammate, senior forward Marley Webb, said Mira is coming along farther than she realizes. ``Jessie has definitely improved a lot, especially on defense,'' Webb said. ``Before, because she wasn't used to playing zones, she'd always guard up on a person. Now she's realizing when she's supposed to come up and when she's supposed to drop back.'' One other bonus Mira has at Montclair Prep is playing in front of college scouts. With Eshaya Murphy Eshaya "Shay" Murphy (born April 15 1985, in Canoga Park, California) is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for the Minnesota Lynx. Murphy attended college at USC and graduated in 2007. averaging 32 points and 22 rebounds a game, scouts from all over the country come to watch her play. Mira is hoping some extra attention might spill over Verb 1. spill over - overflow with a certain feeling; "The children bubbled over with joy"; "My boss was bubbling over with anger" bubble over, overflow seethe, boil - be in an agitated emotional state; "The customer was seething with anger" 2. to her. The attention might come sooner than she thinks. Last week in a win over Campbell Hall Campbell Hall can refer to:
``With scouts from schools like Connecticut Connecticut, state, United States Connecticut (kənĕt`ĭkət), southernmost of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (N), Rhode Island (E), Long Island Sound (S), and New York (W). and UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , it's definitely a bonus,'' Mira said. ``At Quartz Hill, we really didn't play in front of scouts because no one really ever came out there.'' Mira hasn't cut off her ties to Quartz Hill completely. Every chance she gets, she goes to watch her former team play. However, she doesn't regret her decision. ``It's hard sometimes, especially when I watch my friends out there,'' Mira said. ``But I know I'm doing something that benefits me.'' MIRA FILE Who: Jessie Mira Year: Sophomore What: point guard, Montclair Prep girls' basketball team Quote: ``I do think Jessie is a player to build on for the future. She's the one I want to bring the ball upcourt.'' -Coach Bob Webb CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Jessie Mira has made a successful transition from Quartz Hill to Montclair Prep, where academics are No. 1. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer Box: MIRA FILE (see text) |
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