Blue White Illustrated

SEVEN FROM PREVIOUS PAGE (Olney, Md.), 6-2 forward Kaliyah Mitchell (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 5-6 guard KeKe Sevillian (Goodrich, Mich.), 6-1 forward Jenny DeGraaf (Springboro, Ohio) and 6-6 center Infiniti Alston (Baltimore). Harris is ESPNHoopGurlz's No. 46 player overall and the sixth-best power forward in the 2013 class. Spann (No. 84) and Mitchell (No. 88) are also in the top 100. Penn State's magnificent seven hail from across the country, but they share one bond: Washington. More than any other factor in the recruiting process, she is the reason they chose Penn State. In September, Washington signed a five-year extension that runs through 2017. "I heard so many great things about Coquese from people in the basketball community," said DeGraaf, who enter- tained offers from Virginia Tech, Mar- quette, St. John's, Cincinnati and Mi- ami. "When I met her in person, it all clicked. Everything everyone says is true. She is more than just a basketball coach." Penn State, once a perennial Top 25 team under longtime coach Rene Port- land, had slipped in the mid-2000s. But Washington – a 41-year-old coach with a law degree from Notre Dame – has brought the Lady Lions back to relevance. Last season, Penn State reached the Sweet 16 and won its first regular-season Big Ten title since 2004. DeGraaf sat down and talked with Washington for an hour after a Penn State elite camp last year. They dis- cussed basketball, but they also talked about life, career aspirations, hobbies, you name it. "She genuinely cared about me," De- Graaf said. "I knew that if I went to Penn State, I would leave after four years as a better basketball player – but even a better person." Mark Feldman, Harris's coach at Lor- rain High School, saw that, too. Be- ginning her freshman year, Feldman fielded requests from coaches across the country wanting to see her play. "I would get calls from coaches and I would say, 'Look, you can come, but we don't have practice tomorrow. We're just in the weight room,' " Feldman re- called. "They didn't care. They would come anyway and just sit in the weight room and watch her work out." Of the dozens of coaches who flew out to see Harris, one stood out. "Coquese Washington was sincere," Feldman said. "She cared about Alex as a total person. As a student and an athlete. I think that was the deciding factor." Rhonda Whitted said that her daugh- ter, Sevillian, Spann and Alston – who met on an official visit this fall – com- municate daily via a group text mes- sage. "We call them the four muske- teers, just because we couldn't think of anything else," Whitted said. They give each other advice on what shoes to wear to homecoming and talk about their senior seasons. They also talk about how excited they are to at- tend Penn State – and, of course, play for Washington. "I think they all see Coquese as a role model," Rhonda Whitted said. "A successful woman with a family and doing what she loves to do. Peyton says when she's around Coquese, it feels like family." ! Statement of Ownership for Blue White Illustrated ! ! 1:,'/09,11:897(9,+ !!# 439/1= !!!!#$ !! $ ! ",8,(7*/70;,#:09,#9(9,411,.,! !/01748> ! ! !" !/0105748>",8,(7*/70;,#:09,#9(9,411,.,! (99,7)",8,(7*/70;,#:09,#9(9,411,.,! <9,39(3+(9:7, 4-07*:1(9043 $49(1:2),74-450,8 ;,7(.,4-450,8 4-(*/88:,:703. !(0+(3+47",6:,89,+07*:1(9043 !(0+",6:,89,+ :980+,4:39=(01#:)8*70590438#9(9,+43472 !(0+34:39=#:)8*70590438 #(1,8$/74:./,(1,78(3+(770,78#97,,9&,3+4784:39,7#(1,8(3+ 9/,743%#!#!(0+08970):9043 9/,71(88,8(01,+$/74:./9/,%#!# $49(1!(0+(3+47",6:,89,+07*:1(9043 7,,08970):9043)=(01 :980+,4:39=(8#9(9,+43472 34:39=(8#9(9,+43472 9/,71(88,8(01,+$/74:./9/,%#!# 7,,08970):9043 :980+,9/,(01 $49(17,,08970):9043 $49(108970):9043 450,8349+08970):9,+ $49(1 !,7*,39!(0+(3+47",6:,89,+07*:1(9043 *9:(14-450,84- #03.1,88:,!:)108/,+ !7,*,+03.439/8,(7,89940103.(9,

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