Lady Dragons post making her case to colleges

In basketball circles, college hopefuls aren’t hoping to make an impact during their senior season. They know they need to make it the summer before their senior season.

Carroll senior post Anna Hurlburt (6-2) is on the circuit making her case, and along the way learning what programs may like what they see. So far, four have. Hurlburt has received offers from Samford, Cal-State Fullerton, Arkansas-Little Rock and the University of Northern Colorado.

Arkansas and Long Beach State are also interested. Unofficial visits could follow. She hopes to sign in November.

Hurlburt’s summer team, Texas Fire Black, has played in tournaments in Frisco and Lake Dallas and will continue in July between Nashville, New Orleans and Atlanta. Indeed, there is no time to rest. There have been some solid results so far. She said she’s averaging about 10 points and six rebounds per game.

There have been, and there will be, plenty of coaches from all classifications looking at her and many other potential prospects throughout the next month. While July is technically a dead period, there are evaluation periods scheduled for July 8-12, 15-19 and 22-26.

“It’s just practicing and working on moving outside and facing up against the basket,” Hurlburt said. “I need to keep working on driving to the basket. I feel like my mid-range shot is getting better. I put shots up every day.”

Hurlburt is actually an exception to the normal progression of a high school athlete. She’s never played a second of sub-varsity basketball and will be a four-year varsity letter winner. Carroll has produced Division I signees in each of the previous two seasons. Gretchen Morrison signed with Jacksonville State in 2013. Kennedy Leonard signed with Colorado last year. Hurlburt should make it three consecutive seasons with a top-tier signee.

“It’s a credit to Anna’s commitment as a player to be part of the recruiting process,” Carroll coach Teri Morrison said. “The experiences of playing elite basketball and attending collegiate elite camps will add to our team next season.”

Hurlburt has had a mix of playing in different offenses under Morrison that can offer her comfort in playing in any style at the next level. In her first two seasons, the Lady Dragons were a transition offense that never shied away from the three-point shot. Last year, there was more size between her and Madison Drescher. Carroll went to more a low post approach.

“I’ve always wanted to play in college my whole life,” Hurlburt said. “It really hit me my freshman year when I came up to the varsity. I knew if I wanted to do that, I was going to have to put in all of the work. I was nervous then, when I never played JV. But looking back at what happened, I was fortunate enough to be good enough to be on varsity. Not everyone was as fortunate.”

Hurlburt is an intriguing prospect because her height allows her to step out and take jumpers and move to the block. Schools are either looking at her at power forward or small forward. She credits Morrison for developing the versatility.

“She’s helped me so much change my game for the better,” Hurlburt said. “She’s helped my IQ to where I’ve transitioned from a five [center] to a [small forward or power forward].”

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Lady Dragons post making her case to colleges."