"Superstar" Native basketball player

Shoni Schimmel:  Native American SuperstarIt’s safe to say that University of Louisiville freshmen superstar point guard Shoni Schimmel is one of the best female basketball players in the country. Period. The above video is of Schimmel in high school, when she was being written about by EPSN, who likened her exploits on the court to basketball legend Pistol Pete Maravich, and was heavily recruited by major basketball powerhouses.And:The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, who covers the U. of Louisville team, recently published the gushing, three page profile of the no-look, behind-the-back passing, three-point bombing basketball wizard. She is one of only a few Native American female basketball players in the college ranks, yet she says growing up on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in eastern Oregon (Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla) provided her with the best possible basketball apprenticeship one could ask for.Comment:  I'm not sure I'd call any college basketball player--no matter the gender or ethnicity--a "superstar." It seems a little premature. But if Schimmel is getting these kind of plaudits, great.

For more on Native basketball, see Basketball Tourney Becomes Cultural Event and Soboba Star Gets Full Scholarship.