So, faced with a choice of four colleges within driving distance of her home in Sandusky, Ohio, and one far away, it should come as no surprise that the 6-foot-5 Bravard opted for the faraway one - Florida State.

Not that the Seminoles are a choice greeted with surprise anymore. At No. 7 overall, Bravard is the second FSU recruit ranked in the HoopGurlz Hundred for 2008, joining Chasity Clayton, of Alexandria, Va., the No. 32 overall prospect. Kayli Keough, a 6-1 forward from Land O'Lakes, Fla., and Alex DeLuzio, a highly regarded, 5-9 guard out of Orlando, Fla.

"A lot of people wanted me to stay close, but the people who cared about me, beyond basketball, saw that Florida State was the best fit," Bravard said. "The one thing I worried about to the end was that no one could come to watch me play, but I think it's going to be all right. All-around, Florida State has more to offer."

Cierra Bravard

Nneka Ogwumike of Cy-Fair, Texas, now is the only remaining uncommitted prospect in HoopGurlz.com's top 10. With the early signing period set to start next Wednesday, Nov. 14, Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, and Liz Lay of Oklahoma City, Okla., are the only other top 20 prospects who have yet to verbal.

Bravard's mother, Laura Oliver, encouraged her to "spread her wings," and Bravard has taken that advice to heart. She has no family down in Florida, saying her new team and coaches will fill that role.

Though Maryland and Kentucky also were in the mix, Bravard's choice came down to Florida State and Ohio State, with a bit of Pittsburgh. She decided not to take an official visit to Maryland, saying she was in get-it-over -with mode in her recruiting at the time.

Initially, Bravard said, she thought she wanted to avoid programs that already had the post position filled. That could have been a strike against the Buckeyes, who signed Jantel Lavender, the No. 3 overall prospect in 2007, and still are in the mix for Ayana Dunning, the No. 14 overall prospect in 2008.

"They had Jantel, wow, and I was worried I wasn't going to get to play," Bravard said. "But the coaches said if I came in and worked hard, there'd be no reason I wouldn't play. They said two (posts) are better than one. I bought into that. I have enough confidence in myself to go somewhere that already has a center. I'll work for my position. But it made me think how they handled it in the past. Did they play two together before?"

Bravard said she flip-flopped almost daily between Florida State and Ohio State. "When I went to bed at night, I'd think I wanted to go to Ohio State," she said, "then I'd wake up thinking, no, I want to go to Florida State. I went back and forth, but it always came back to Florida State."

The opportunity to do something different - to live in the sunshine, adapt to the distance and Southern accents, to play for a rising program - ultimately won Bravard over. Though some have said she ran away from challenges, in Bravard's mind, she embraced even tougher ones. They all will present opportunities to grow.

And the way Cierra Bravard figures it, even at 6-5, there's always room to grow some more.

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Glenn Nelson is the founder and publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He is a member of the McDonald's All-American Selection Committee and SportsShooter.com (Click for Porfolio), Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, National Press Photographers Association, Online News Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Glenn also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams and 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 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. Glenn can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.