By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Since earning her first start as a freshman, Kathleen Scheer has been moving basketball fans and coaches in the St. Louis area with her marksmanship and athletic ability. Now, she’s turning the heads of basketball coaches at one of the nation’s more decorated basketball programs, Duke.
“Work, desire – you name it, she’s got it,” Duke head women’s basketball coach Joanne McCallie said of one of the newest members of the Blue Devil family. “She plays as hard as anybody, regardless of the score. She can shoot lights out, she’s a great passer and she rebounds aggressively. She does it all.”
McCallie first discovered Scheer while she was making her rounds on the AAU basketball circuit last summer. Wading through the list of names she had accumulated, the former Michigan State head coach came across a 6-foot-2 guard from New Haven, Mo.
After watching Scheer in person, the first-year Blue Devil coach couldn’t stop thinking about her newly-discovered gem, and couldn’t stop raving about her either. One by one Duke assistant coaches Al Brown, Samantha Williams and Shannon Perry found their way into a gym hosting Scheer and her Missouri Rocket AAU teammates. They too couldn’t get her out of their minds.
“After evaluating talent, we all got together,” McCallie said. “We couldn’t stop talking about her. Our thoughts always came back to Kathleen, so we called her and made our intentions very clear.”
When Scheer received that phone call her reaction said it all.
“I just started crying,” Scheer said of the moments before and shortly after her first conversation with McCallie.
Scheer eventually chose Duke over an Iowa State basketball program that had developed a four-year relationship with the two-time all-district basketball player.
“That was a really hard decision,” Scheer said of picking the Blue Devils over the coaching staff that had been wooing her since she was an unknown high school freshman. “A lot of girls play ball after college (at Duke), and a lot of girls make six figures after college.”
Scheer will have a lot to say about which position she plays once she arrives in Durham, N.C., this summer. McCallie projects the McDonalds All-American nominee as either a shooting guard, or at either forward position.
Scheer’s playing time, as a freshman will hinge on what she absorbs her first year. If all goes well, she could earn playing time right away at almost any position.
“It’s hard to predict how soon she’ll make an impact,” McCallie said of Scheer’s playing time as a rookie. “It’s really up to her. We recruited her to make an impact right away.”
McCallie considers junior guard Abby Waner as the only pure shooter on Duke’s 2007-08 roster. That, too, works in the shooting guard’s favor.
New Haven’s all-time leading scorer started turning heads long before McCallie unearthed her talents. With every game she played, the lore of Scheer’s skill spread throughout the St. Louis area and beyond.
One such Scheer moment was witnessed by Clopton coach Bobby Spooner. Earlier this year, Spooner attended New Haven’s overtime loss at Silex and watched as the Shamrocks fell behind by 18 points at halftime. In the second half, Scheer single-handedly brought New Haven back and extended the game by drilling a 3-pointer late.
The career 2,000-point scorer poured in 30 of her game high 40 points in the second half. Scheer also pulled down 19 rebounds, recorded three steals, dished out five assists and blocked six shots in that early season game. She connected on 17 of 33 shots from the field, including four of 11 shots from 3-point range.
“She’s pretty amazing,” Spooner said of the player he coached when she was in the eighth grade. “She’s big, she’s quick and she’s athletic. If you press, she’ll play the point. If she were playing in St. Louis or any other major city, everybody and his brother would hear about her. I believe if you’re good enough, your talents will be discovered. She’s flat good enough.”
Scheer’s offensive prowess can be chronicled by the scoring lines she’s putting up this season. Through 23 games, she has recorded two 40-point games, and 10 30-point games. Her lowest scoring game of the year produced 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots.
This season, Scheer is averaging 29 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots through February 19. But that doesn’t mean she launches a shot every time she touches the ball. In fact, Scheer takes pride in getting her teammates involved in the offense.
“I’m a fan of the assist,” she said. “We’re not a big shooting team, but I try to get the ball to everybody.”
Known as one of the most prolific shooters in Missouri high school basketball history, Scheer can rip the cords with the best of them. You can put a hand in her face, bang on her with two or three defenders, but she’s still tough to stop. About the only sure-fire way to keep her from scoring is to get her in foul trouble.
The numbers don’t lie. This season, she is 232-for-461 (50.3 percent) from the floor and 71-of-175 (40.6 percent) from 3-point range. While at the charity stripe this season, Scheer is a very good 138-of-173 (79.8 percent).
Scheer’s career resume includes three Four Rivers All-Conference selections and two appearances on the Associated Press Class 2 All-State team. She was chosen conference Player of the Year following her sophomore and junior seasons. Scheer blocked 18 shots in one game a year ago, which was believed to be the second highest total in state history. She also set a state record a year ago by blocking 221 shots in one season. This season Scheer has swatted 122 blocks after 23 games.
As of Feb. 19, Scheer had scored 2,343 points, pulled down 1,327 rebounds and blocked 622 shots in her career. She was also credited with 184 steals and 371 assists.
All of these accolades and records are a nice way to end a great career. But one bit of business has gone unfinished for Scheer and her teammates. The Shamrocks want to get a taste of the state tournament. They want to play for a state championship.
In order to fulfill that one void, however, Scheer will have to lead New Haven coach Dave Luecke’s team past Clopton and Spooner in district action. According to Scheer, the Shamrocks must stop Clopton’s guards and get in their shooter’s faces if they are to have success. If that happens, Scheer believes she will have the opportunity to play for a state championship.
“We’ve had pretty decent records in past years, but we lost out in districts,” Scheer said. “Clopton has a really good team. They beat us last year in districts, so hopefully we’ll get to play them again. We lost to them by three points earlier this year in a tournament. So it should be interesting if we meet them again.”
