Event details:  Classic in the Country runs Saturday through Monday at Berlin Hiland High School.  The event features 33 teams, including eight local squads.

Mantra:  "I have had two passions in life and two only, and both struck me at the same time.  One passion was for the civil rights movement, and the other was for the great game of basketball."

Top three Ohio girls basketball players since 1998:  "Barbara Turner [East Tech, Connecticut], Caity Matter [Bluffton, Ohio State] and Linda Miles [Cincinnati Hughes, Rutgers]."

Rate Ohio's talent:  "Top five in the country every year.  The 2003 class was the best of all time, with five McDonald's All-Americans and 103 Division I signees.  Outstanding."

Odds of earning a Division I scholarship:  "About 2 million girls play high school basketball in America.  There are 4,800 Division I college scholarships available.  Do the math."

Your greatest influence?  "George Williams, track coach and athletic director at St. Augustine College.  He's won something like 26 NAIA national track championships in a row.  But he taught me to look at the soul of a man instead of his color."