Saving the best for last: Senior Anna Counts makes her rankings debut at #48

By the time most high-quality players in Minnesota reach their senior year, they have sorted themselves out into a fairly clear pecking order. The majority of the top D1s are already committed, and the best D2 players, as well. Those with scholarship potential have been identified and offered. Then there is Anna Counts, the anomaly. With just a handful of games remaining in her high school career, the 6'2" post from Providence Academy not only slipped into the Class of 2018 rankings for the first time this month, she did it at #48. Anna's journey should be a lesson for all of us that it's never too late to be great. "Two years ago I was just one of those big girls who ran around a lot," Counts admitted. "They stuck me at the bottom and said, 'You can be the rebounder,' so that's what I did. Last year, the coach said, 'You can move. Let's get you playing defense,' so I focused on that. After every game my dad would tell me two things to work on so that's what I did." We were not unaware of Anna Counts before now. We just didn't regard her as a scholarship-level prospect. That changed one Saturday afternoon last summer. I was killing time courtside waiting to watch a specific athlete who was scheduled to play in the next game. My attention was diverted, however, by an impressive big with nice feet, great hands, a ton of energy and something you rarely see anymore: a deadly hook shot. After hunting unsuccessfully for a roster, it suddenly dawned on me: this was Anna Counts. "The AAU season was really fun for me because we played four out, one in, and it was, 'Get the ball to Anna inside,'" she said of her role with Crossfire. "Sometimes I would get triple teamed and I had to figure out what to do. I just really developed because of it." Learning from a legend In fact, Anna's development began much earlier than that. She comes from a big basketball family. Mom and dad both played at South Dakota State, and sister Clara was a quality prospect. It's not like Anna had a choice. "When my little brother Sam was born, we got him from the hospital and the first place we went was to a gym for a basketball game," she said with a laugh. A couple of summers ago, Anna and her sister spent several weeks in Oregon where most of their time was occupied hanging out at the gym with their grandfather, who was a bit of a taskmaster. The girls were in the weight room every day, and he made them do an incalculable number of shooting drills. No matter how hard they tried, however, it was impossible to keep pace with Grandpa, who is one of the finest 7-foot shooters ever. Mel Counts was a legend at Oregon State, won a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, and played 12 years in the NBA as a teammate of both Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. He played for Boston, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Phoenix before finishing his career in 1976 with the New Orleans Jazz. "He can make a hundred free throws in a row. He's amazing," Anna said. "My sister and I had to make 10 in a row. If we didn't make 10 in a row, we had to start over. Then we had to make 30 hook shots in a row. We shot hook shot after hook shot after hook shot. After that summer, the hook shot became my go-to move. It's nearly impossible to guard." This year, Counts is averaging 18 points per game, with nine games of 20 or more. She's shooting 61 percent from the field, 76 at the line. This week, she scored a season-high 35 points and had a triple double in a game against Minnehaha Academy. At the St. Olaf holiday tournament, Counts was among the top three scorers, rebounders and free throw shooters, and equaled the tournament record for blocked shots. People noticed, and she made the all-tournament team. "That was my 'A' game," Counts said. "I'm a really big inside presence. Not only can I score with my back to the basket, I can square up and take it in and go to the basket. I shoot fairly well from the outside and have had the highest percentage on our team from three. I can also make free throws." Counts is one of two big centers still unsigned in the senior class, along with 6'2" Victoria Johnson of Roseau (#72). Let's face it, late January of your senior year isn't great timing to earn a scholarship. There is some D2 interest in Counts, but most of the roster spots are spoken for. She has many D3 suitors, but finances are an issue. Perhaps the NAIA coaches should get on the bandwagon. "I am paying for my own college. My goal would be to play D2, whether that means getting a scholarship as a freshman or walking on and getting one my second year," she said. "For me, basketball is my job now. I work at it, and I want to achieve great things with it. It's not only a game to me, it's my life."