No Passing This Buck

A girl who likes to push and test herself, Heather Buck has improved her standing to among the elite post prospects in the 2008 class.

STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

During the season, her daily grind includes a teacher from Stonington High School's business, history or science departments. Sometimes it's an intern. Heather Buck has a weighted grade-point average of 4.394 and is ranked fourth in a class of 198, so they don't come to tutor her in their areas of academic expertise.

They come, rather, to approximate or exceed the physical attention that Buck, at 6-foot-4, receives from opposing girl's basketball teams. All the teachers are male, ranging from 5-10 to 6-3, and, of course, strong.

"Very strong," Buck says, adding, "It's different from having three girls on you. They can't push you from every direction."

But they can push harder - way harder.

And, wouldn't you know it, Buck made a dramatic leap this past high-school season in her ability to finish around the basket. Despite all the pushing and shoving, and increased defensive attention, she improved her scoring from 18.5 points a game as a sophomore to 27 a game. Already one of the most hotly pursued inside players in the country because of her mobility and defensive presence, Buck is about to create a white-hot recruiting battle with her added offensive dimension, which has placed her in the upper stratosphere of post prospects, along with Ayana Dunning of Columbus, Ohio, and Lynetta Kizer of Dumfries, Va.

Heather Buck

Because she resides in Connecticut, it is assumed Geno Auriemma's Huskies have the inside recruiting track. But Buck still also has Boston College, George Washington, Holy Cross, Maryland, Notre Dame and Stanford on her list. Having just made an unofficial visit to Stanford with her mother, Buck has been to all seven schools.

"I want to play basketball for as long as I can," she said. "I want to go someplace that will help me develop as a player. I'm also looking for a strong academic background. Most important is the way things feel with the coaches and other girls on the team."

Buck doesn't have a timetable for her decision, only that she wants to sign during the early period in November.

"I like to be very sure about my decisions," she said. "This is a very important one for me, obviously. I have no qualms about taking my time."

The time will allow Buck to further polish her game. She opened her junior season at Stonington with a pair of 36-point performances, then had 40 again Bacon Academy and, later, a 47-point outburst against Griswold. Buck still is on the raw side as a shooter, but has plenty to work with. She obviously has spent time in the weight room, displaying well-defined musculature in the arms, shoulders and legs. She also moves very well.

The latter qualities cannot exactly be attributed to genetics. Her father, though 6-5, dabbled in a lot of different sports. Her mother, who is 6 feet, is interested in sports, but is more of a dancer, having studied and practiced traditional English dance.

"My mom is very coordinated," Buck said, "and is aware of how thing move."

Buck played soccer for a year, but says, "I don't think I was very good at all." Basketball was a different story. She played in a coed rec league as a third grader and recalls getting hit in the back of the head with a pass on the fast break. She also remembers her parents being confused about signup deadlines and her having to miss her fourth-grade season. But she remained hooked from the fifth grade on. Although Buck always has played in the post, she has pushed to learn other spots on the floor and coaches have encouraged her to develop other skills.

Buck's curiosity and intellectual sharpness also imbues her with a desire to improve and learn new things, on and off the court. Rare for a girl, she loves the sciences and is interested in teaching or being a physical therapist or nurse. She takes honors and advanced-placement courses and presently is studying anatomy, which she counts among her toughest classes ever.

"I always try to challenge myself," Buck says, and it shows.

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