40 Years of Memories: When Katie took over the basketball world

For me, it was year seven in the sport, and I was now well-established in girls hoops. 1992 was a very special year for me, as not only did I branch out and create the Tipp City AAU basketball program, but it was the year that I feel put Ohio on the map as being one of the nation's top states for girls basketball.

Why do you ask? Simple. We had the nation's top player.

The buzz was all around Ohio to see the Logan Ohio superstar Katie Smith play, who I had the chance to begin a lifelong friendship with when she was a freshman. She legit put the Buckeye state on the map. We had some great players before she entered the scene, but there was no rush to see a girls player like there was with Katie.

I can remember being in Pickerington at the AAU state tournament during her career, and we cut a soundbite for a Troy radio station I was doing some side reporting with. Katie knew she was good, but she never acted like she was good. It was just business for the 6’ All-American who ended up signing with Ohio State. She also is considered one of the top 20 players in WNBA history and is now an assistant coach in that league.

In this area, it was the guard play that brought the attention to Dayton. It started with Lynnette Roeth, who I met her freshman year in a tournament game at Sidney. I had heard so much about this “little freshman,” and she put on a show that season. When she graduated, she was among the top 25 players in the country, according to USA Today. I can remember that year how talented the guard class was. Jamie Ballard and Cindi Neanen at Tri Village, the electrifying Jodi Brandt at Ansonia, state champion Atina Harris from Dunbar, Amy Siefring of Coldwater, Denise Meyer from Fort Loramie, and the late Stacey Ritter from Houston. And those were just the seniors!

That year really opened my eyes with how good Ohio basketball truly was, and I believe it was my first chance to really promote this game hard with so much talent.

I can vividly remember the summer before that season, taking a team I had put together consisting of Roeth, Ritter, D4 Player of the Year Stephanie Petho, the twin towers Sarah DeLoye from Fort Loramie and Patricia Wagner of Fairmont, the sharpshooter Heather Massengale from Franklin Monroe, and Tipp’s own Lisa Clawson, and we rolled through the TAKE-ABC tournament in Columbus. It was such a collection of talent, and it made me realize how special this state was.

The 1990s were a special time for this area, when teams like Beavercreek, CJ, Versailles, Southeastern, and Fort Loramie had their first of what was many experiences at the Final Four.

Next week, we’ll take a look at those special teams and some experiences with some familiar Tipp names.