They Have Their Health

By Glenn Nelson
HoopGurlz Publisher
Posted Thu, 06/14/2007 - 12:09 Two of the nation's top high-school players, once hampered by health problems, are healthy and set to strut at the Youth Development Festival.

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STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The formula is a little complicated, but the math is working for Ashley Corral, the sleight-of-hand point guard from Vancouver, Wash.

Her surgically repaired right ankle has been deemed by her surgeon as at "85 percent," but Corral says it feels "150 percent" better than at any point during the previous four years.

Corral, ranked 20th in the 2008 class by HoopGurlz.com, iis here for USA Basketball's Youth Development Festival, which features 36 of the top rising juniors and seniors in the country. Shortly after Corral dazzled at the Washington State 4A tournament with 16.8 points and 3.25 assists, her orthopedic surgeon found ligaments he estimated have been torn since the ninth grade. She underwent arthroscopic surgery on March 18.

Ayana Dunning

Another top 2008 prospect, Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, No. 8 overall by HoopGurlz, also showed more bounce in her step during Thursday morning's workouts. Dunning still is recovering from the after-effects of mononucleosis, which knocked her for a loop from about February through the end of April. Dunning said she missed two straight weeks of school, during which she was bed-ridden.

"I sometimes could not even eat, I was so weak," the 6-foot-3 post deluxe said.

Though Dunning theoretically has been healthy for a couple of months, her immune system has had to rebuild itself and she has been prone to colds. She has one now, in fact. The competition at her position - which includes Lynetta Kizer, Heather Buck, Chay Shegog and Sarah Boothe, who are ranked 6th, 13th, 19th and 28th in 2008, plus Kelsey Bone and Monique Oliver, two of the top inside players in 2009 - will push her to overcome the cold quickly.

The 5-9 lead guard for Prairie High School, Corral has an equal challenge, starting with her own team here, which includes Samantha Prahalis of Commack, N.Y., the No. 18 overall prospect in 2008. Shay Selby of Cleveland, Ohio, the top-ranked point guard at No. 15, also is here, as is Nikki Speed of Pasadena, Calif., who is ranked No. 22. Through the early going, Corral seemed as much in control of the floor as any other point guard here.

Corral wasn't expected to return to competition until July 1 at the earliest, but said she was cleared to return a month earlier because of the Youth Development Festival. She is considered by most Pac-10 schools to be the best point guard in the West and has a list of leaders that includes Cal, Notre Dame, Purdue, USC, Vanderbilt and Washington.

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Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. Glenn previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. He can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.

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