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Ever since she was 5 years old, ears have surrounded Samantha Brunelle when she hits the basketball court. Now that shes the highest-ranked sophomore basketball prospect in the nation, all eyes -- including two that belong to Geno Auriemma -- are upon her.Some say scoring is in her nature, and the Brunelle family traces that to their vast backyard.A decade ago, Rod and Katie Brunelle put down asphalt and put up a portable hoop so their only child could hoist a few shots in their vast backyard. The Brunelles live on a 300-acre family farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ruckersville, Virginia.Samanthas uncle Billy runs the farm -- countless dairy cows and turkeys -- but Samantha handles the basketball department, honing her game on a half court surrounded on three sides by enough corn to make an Iowan envious.A year ago, Brunelles mother surprised her by painting white lines on the asphalt court. Free throws, 3-pointers, out of bounds -- they were all marked. Katie went even further by painting a yellow 33 inside the free throw area.That court is amazing, said Samantha, who wears No. 33 for her high school team. I put my headphones on, and I can shoot, and I can think. Its a peaceful time for me.That court represents utopia for Brunelle, but it has helped cause chaos for her opponents. As a freshman at William Monroe (Stanardsville, Virginia) last season, she broke two state records. Her 28 rebounds set the single-game Virginia mark, and her 650 points crushed the state record for points in a season by a freshman.Undeclared for college, Brunelle averaged 23.8 points, 17.5 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. She matched her uniform number and scored 33 points in her high school debut. She had a high of 52 points last season. The Central Virginia Player of the Year, she had a game in which she went 18-for-18 from the foul line.Her numbers explode off the page, and thats despite the fact that she faced constant double-teams and junk defenses, William Monroe coach Jess Stafford said. Theres nothing you can do at this level to keep her from putting the ball in the basket. Its in her nature to score.Hoops above allThat nature, of course, has a lot to do with Samanthas parents.Rod, now a realtor, was a 6-foot-3, 215-pound outfielder and first baseman. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 15th round in 1985 but never made it past Class A ball. He averaged .277 and hit 21 homers over four seasons.Katie, now the principal at William Monroe Middle School, was a 5-foot-10 post player at Division III Bridgewater College in Virginia. She later became the head high school basketball coach at Orange County (Orange, Virginia) before settling in as an administrator.Between Rods love for baseball and Katies devotion to basketball, it was mom who knew best. When the couple took newborn Samantha home from the hospital, the baby girl was wearing a pink dress and tiny, white, high-top sneakers.She was going to be a basketball player, Katie said with a laugh.Brunelle tried other sports. She competed in travel softball and volleyball leagues, and she was an aggressive hitter in both those endeavors. But there was something about basketball.One day when she was in seventh grade, Brunelle came home from practice and told her mom she wanted to be the best basketball player in the country. Katie explained that reaching that goal would take hard work and laser focus. The next day, Samantha announced to her parents that she was quitting softball and volleyball to devote her athletic energies to basketball and her quest to be the best.A unique tasteDespite all her basketball success, Brunelle is still a kid at heart.Ive never seen her have a bad day, Rod said.She has a go-kart -- it has some fender damage from when she drove it off an embankment -- and she has had loads of fun driving. She loves to joke around; telling people their shoelaces are untied when they actually arent is one of her favorite gags.She enjoys dancing, even when her teammates tell her to stick to basketball. At the very least, shes unafraid to try any move and post it on Twitter. Her latest attempt is Hit the Quan.I know the move, Brunelle said. Whether it looks good or not, I dont know.More than go-karts, practical jokes and dance moves, she loves ketchup. She puts it on just about any food, and she makes sure shes never too far from her favorite condiment.I always keep a few packets in my purse, she said. And I keep a miniature tube in my locker and in my lunch box -- just in case.Her penchant for ketchup sometimes disrupts her clean basketball look.I was wearing a white jersey, Brunelle said in citing an example. I was eating a hot dog at Jasons Deli, and my coach told me, Dont get any stains on your uniform. Sure enough, on my first bite, I got ketchup all over my jersey.It happens every time.Strong rootsTheres more to Brunelle than ketchup stains and dance moves, though. Shes an excellent student, with a 4.25 GPA. Shes interested in studying business and communications. A recent presentation won her third place in the state as part of the Future Business Leaders of America.In July, she culminated her impressive freshman year by helping USAs U17 team win a bronze medal at the FIBA world championships in Zaragoza, Spain. It was her first trip abroad but likely not her last.She got her first college scholarship offer when she was in seventh grade (Wake Forest), and Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma has already been to two of her practices. But Brunelle, who plays AAU ball for the Boo Williams program and coach Mike Davis, said its too early to decide where she will enroll. She plans to take several official visits in the next few months -- she has already visited a handful, including Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas -- to start exploring her choices.Even so, she remains humble. When USA Basketball invited her to their U17 Colorado tryouts in May, Brunelle, playing against older girls, surprised herself by making the team.She received an even bigger shock when she returned home from Colorado. Hundreds of Greene County residents lined the streets to celebrate her accomplishment. She received a police escort once she crossed the county line, and that took her to her high school, where more friends awaited.There were a massive amount of people with signs saying, Sam, we love you! Stafford said. There was a guy with a tractor who had a sign. There were people on pickup trucks. There were news crews waiting for her at school.Sam had tears of joy. She had no idea this was coming. Shes a humble kid who just happens to be pretty good at basketball.Brunelles police escort went down Route 33, naturally.Its nice coming from a small town, she said. I have a community that is so loving and caring. I wouldnt want to be anywhere else. Alex English Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Mirza Teletovic Jersey . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/946t-sterling-brown-jersey-bucks.html . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Milwaukee Bucks Store . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Brian Winters Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dames Brianna Turner played much of last season with what seemed at times like little more than one arm. Which speaks volumes about what sort of passion resides within someone who has otherwise played her whole life with what often seems one expression.Picture Turner sliding across the lane during a games pivotal moments, one long arm scything through the air to swat away an unsuspecting opponents shot. That scene or something like it happened 177 times during her first two seasons, more than all but a handful of players in her class.Now imagine Turner reacting to the block by turning to the crowd and exhorting them to rise to their feet. Or perhaps turning her head to the rafters and letting loose a triumphant scream. How would her coach, her own poker face perfected during the course of 30 seasons on the sideline, react to such a display? What would she say about an expression of youthful self-indulgent swagger?Id like to see that, Notre Dames Muffet McGraw said recently with what seemed ample wistfulness. That wouldnt bother me at all.Just dont count on it happening. Turner could block the shot that secures Notre Dame a national championship next April and likely as not still betray all the emotion of a Buddhist monk mid-meditation.Yet the important part of that is that Turner could block the shot that secures a title next April. Or get a rebound. Or hit a shot.Turners immense talent is such that McGraw is willing to bend the teams trademark offense to accommodate her. That concession alone is unprecedented in South Bend. But if her coach would also welcome more swagger out of a quiet All-American who is now both the unquestioned face of the Fighting Irish and still something of a cipher to the college basketball world, it isnt because of any questions about her passion.Some stars wear their heart on their sleeve, but the shoulder brace Turner wore a season ago when she put off surgery to play through a second shoulder dislocation in 12 months was its own expression.The way she got through the year last year was kind of astonishing, really, McGraw said.Turner shows little emotion on the court. She never has. Maybe its the product of being the only child of two parents who both played college basketball, dad Howard at Lamar and mom Kellye at Houston. When there is basketball counsel readily available from those who live under the same roof -- Turner joked that her one and only season playing for her mom in AAU necessitated some rearrangements to maintain familial harmony -- a neutral demeanor can be a useful tool in the gym. Go along to get along.But its one thing to be shy, to retreat from or avoid challenges and attention. Its another thing to merely be quiet.There is a difference, Turner said. I dont think Im shy. I think Im quiet until I get to know people.The sense of humor and talkativeness come out in private, even sometimes in public when the game situation allows for a bit of merriment on the bench. But the force of that personality was perhaps best demonstrated when she returned last season after missing six games following the second shoulder dislocation. While the injury was painful primarily only in the moment that shoulder slipped out of its socket, it left her constrained by the bulky brace worn to protect the joint and well aware that surgery was inevitable. The choice was ultimately hers, and while some urged her to take a hint after the second injury and have the prrocedure immediately, she was the strongest advocate for staying on the court.ddddddddddddI really wanted to play last season, Turner said. I really loved that team so much and the seniors. I really wanted to play with that team. And I just knew myself, that I could not sit out. It was just me being stubborn, and the doctors said I could play on it.As a result, following surgery in April and no matter how she pestered, bartered and cajoled the training staff to accelerate the timetable, she wasnt cleared for full contact until about a month ago. The free throw line jumper that McGraw wanted her to add will have to wait, the time and repetition needed being difficult to find once school and season intersect. It might not be until conference play that Turner fully hits her stride (and the brace is still present). But even with as much depth of talent as the Fighting Irish have ever had -- eight high school All-Americans -- Turner is indispensable.Notre Dames rise from the ranks of the very good to what now seems an annual place in the top five has been built around perimeter stars. Not solely perimeter players, mind you, not with Devereaux Peters and Natalie Achonwa passing through South Bend. But the centerpieces have been Skylar Diggins, Jewell Loyd, Kayla McBride and Natalie Novosel, players who spent a lot of time with the ball in their hands and could create for themselves when necessary. Not since Ruth Riley was in the post at the turn of the century has Notre Dame had a post player as its hub.That can be a challenge in the Princeton offense the team runs.Were constantly talking about looking in and running things for Bri, McGraw said. Princeton is kind of equal opportunity, and when shes at the top, she has the ball but shes not really in a scoring area sometimes.Notre Dame has played this system since 2001. A lot of talent has come and gone in South Bend during that time. The list of those who convinced the coach to deviate from its principles is short.Shes it, McGraw said. First one in a long time.In the Tom Hanks movie Bridge of Spies, the accused spy that Hanks character is asked to defend remains improbably stoic in the face of countless moments of stress. His reply when asked if he is worried is always the same and unerringly logical: Would it help?Watching Turner can feel like a similar experience. Block a shot and shes immediately headed up the court in transition. Take a hard foul that isnt called and shes in pursuit of the rebound. Up a dozen points or down a dozen points, it is the same. Two healthy arms or one, it is the same.Notre Dame has alpha personalities among its plentiful assets. Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale have plenty of swagger. Even Lindsay Allen, soft-spoken as she is, commands a huddle. It might not need that from Turner. But it does need her to be what she is capable of being. The best.She claims that shes gotten mad, McGraw said. I was like, Dang, when was it? I want to rewind the film and see it because I didnt notice. She never, ever, ever -- I mean, Ive never even heard her curse. Shes never slammed the ball down or stomped off or said an unkind word to anyone.Id like to see a little fire.Would it help?What Turner did a season ago, and what McGraw will do to get the most out of her this season, might tell you all you need to know about her. ' ' '