Bowling Green State University Athletics
Pam Brown, Kim Griech, Afra Smith, Regina Smith and Karen Stocz Ink National Letters Of Intent
December 28, 1999 | Women's Basketball
May 18, 1999
BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball program has signed five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent, BGSU head coach Dee Knoblauch has announced. Pam Brown, Kim Griech, Afra Smith, Regina Smith and Karen Stocz complete Knoblauch's initial recruiting class at her alma mater.
Megan Jerome, Knoblauch's first recruit, signed her NLI last fall.
Brown, a 6-0 forward from Warren, Ohio, attends Warren G. Harding High School. This past season, she averaged 18.2 points, eight rebounds and 2.4 steals per game for head coach P.J. Notar. Brown shot 51 percent from the field and ended her high-school career with 1,245 points and 675 boards. The Trumbull County Player of the Year, Brown earned First-Team All-District and Second-Team All-Ohio honors. She became the first student-athlete in Steel Valley Conference history to be named first-team all-conference in three sports (volleyball and softball, in addition to basketball).
Griech, a 5-7 shooting guard from Tallmadge, Ohio, attends Tallmadge High School. She averaged 18.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game for the Blue Devils. Greich earned all-state special mention for coach Greg Whitmer, helping THS to the state semifinals in Division II. She shot 41% from the floor, including 35% from three-point land, and was an All-Suburban League First-Team pick. The Tri-County Coaches Player of the Year, she also earned All-Summit County First-Team honors, and was named to the first team by both the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Akron Beacon Journal. Greich also is the starting centerfielder on Tallmadge's two-time state champion softball team.
Afra Smith, a 5-9 forward, joins the Falcons from Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas. She earned All-Jayhawk Conference honors in each of her two years with the Lady Thunderbirds, garnering third-team honors in 1998-99 after earning first-team laurels as a freshman. She averaged nine points and three rebounds per game as the team went 16-15 last year. Afra, who averaged 13.1 points per game as a frosh, is a native of Madison, Wis. She was a first-team all-city selection for coach Jeff Mastin at James Madison Memorial High School. She will be a junior at BGSU in the 1999-2000 season.
Regina Smith, a 5-3 point guard from Euclid, Ohio, attends Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. She helped coach Mark Chicone's squad to a Division III state title in March, averaging 15 points, 4.6 assists and 4.5 steals. A First-Team All-Ohio selection, she was the MVP of the state tournament as the Lady Vikings finished with a 25-3 record. Regina's 46% shooting from the field included a 41% success rate from three-point land. She was named the Lake County News Herald Player of the Year, and also was the District P-O-Y.
Stocz, a 6-0 forward from Cortland, Ohio, attends Cortland Lakeview High School. She earned all-state special mention after averaging 14.6 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals as a senior. Stocz also first-team honors to the all-league, All-Trumbull County and all-district squads. She amassed over 1,000 points in her career, averaging 15 points per game as a junior and 10 as a sophomore.
The five recent signees join Megan Jerome to complete the recruiting class. Jerome, a 5-9 guard from Marion, Ohio, attends Marion Pleasant High School. She averaged 17.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game en route to All-Ohio Second-Team honors in Division IV. Jerome, who was named to the All-Mid Ohio Athletic Conference and all-district first teams, shot 52% from the floor and 70% from the free-throw line as a senior. Jerome, who also earned all-league and all-district honors in softball, earned first-team academic all-state honors in basketball.
"We are extremely pleased with our newcomers," said Knoblauch. "All six are very talented, athletic players. They will fit in perfectly with our up-tempo, running-and-pressing style.
"In addition, they are good, hard-working students and good people."
BGSU finished with a 13-14 overall record and a 9-7 Mid-American Conference mark in 1998-99. Five letterwinners will return from that squad.
BGSU RECRUITING CLASS
Name Ht. Pos. Yr.* Hometown (Previous School)
Pam Brown 6-0 F Fr. Warren, Ohio (Warren G. Harding)
Kim Griech 5-7 G Fr. Tallmadge, Ohio (Tallmadge)
Megan Jerome 5-9 G Fr. Marion, Ohio (Marion Pleasant)
Afra Smith 5-9 F Jr. Madison, Wis. (James Madison Memorial)
(Cloud County [Kansas] CC)
Regina Smith 5-3 G Fr. Euclid, Ohio (Villa Angela-St. Joseph)
Karen Stocz 6-0 F Fr. Cortland, Ohio (Cortland Lakeview)
* denotes year of eligibility for 1999-2000 academic year
PRONUNCIATIONS
Griech......GREEK Afra........A-fruh Stocz.......STOKES Knoblauch...kuh-NOB-low
