es up. Basketball has transformed her whole life.Even so, Grissett met resistance in high school.Her older teammates told her there was no way she could make varsit

Elisia LeLe Grissett frequently rolls up her sleeves and flexes her biceps for high school coach Ovester Grays. Shes got her reasons.For one, Grissetts muscles are tangible proof of the work she has put in to redefine both her body and her game. She has gained 25 pounds the past two-plus years, and her basketball skills have been similarly transformed.Her mother, Yalonda Days, said her daughter had always been puny. Grissett said she was like a little twig.Note the past tense.At 6-foot-2 and 155 pounds, Grissett is now a tower of power. A high-scoring wing at Hillside (Durham, North Carolina), Grissett is the No. 31 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2017 class.She recently committed to South Carolina after a junior year in which she averaged 22.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.2 steals and 3.0 blocks, leading the Hornets to a 28-2 record and a berth in the Class 4A state semifinals. In an obvious selection, Grissett was named first-team all-state.She makes things happen on the court, teammate Michaela Thompson said of Grissetts versatile game. When she has the ball, everyone has to respect her as a driver, as a shooter and as a passer. Shes the ultimate threat.That was not always the case.Grissett, who recently turned 17 and is the youngest of Days three daughters, did not grow up in a sports family. She taught herself the game, just like she taught herself many other things.At age 3, Grissett learned how to ride a bike. When her mother tried to steady it, Grissett pushed her hand away. Swimming was much the same; before Days realized it, Grissett was 5 feet deep in the pool, and her mother was terrified ... until she realized her daughter had things under control.In eighth grade, the fiercely independent Grissett tried basketball, and it wasnt pretty at first. Often flailing away like she was still in that pool, Grissett would trip over her own feet. Making a layup was completely out of the question.I was horrible, Grissett said. I was straight garbage.She scored two points -- the entire year -- for W.G. Pearson Magnet middle school.Im going to play in the WNBA, she told her mom without irony.But Grissett didnt just talk a big game, she worked. She watched a video game, NBA2K, and developed her basketball moves there.I learned the Euro step, crossover moves, step-backs, Grissett said. I learned a lot of stuff.By then, she was hooked on basketball. She would go to parks to play pickup games against boys. She would wake up before school so she could go to the gym to shoot.And when Grays finally saw her, he was convinced.[Coach] Grays said, This child is going to be great, Days said. He wanted to know if I would consent to having her play with his travel team.I didnt know if we had the money, but I realized basketball kept her grounded. She wasnt a bad kid, but she wouldnt do her best [in school].But then she went from a C student to an A student. It was a win-win for me. I wasnt a sports person, but I knew if she loved it that much and she was willing to do whatever, then it was a win for me. I said, OK, you can play basketball, but you have to pull your grades up. Basketball has transformed her whole life.Even so, Grissett met resistance in high school.Her older teammates told her there was no way she could make varsity as a freshman, and Grissett admits that shook her previously unshakeable confidence. A bit.You know how upperclassmen talk junk, she said. I was really small, and they were bigger than me. I was like, What am I going to do? Grissett found her answer. She scored 35 of her teams 50 points in her first -- and only -- junior varsity game. Grays then called her up to the varsity for a scrimmage.But what no one but Grissett knew at the time was that she had been watching the older girls in practice, studying their moves just as she had done with NBA2K.I showed them up, Grissett said. I proved them wrong.Grays has been coaching Hillside for 22 years -- sending more than 90 players to college basketball -- but he said he hasnt met too many girls who compare to Grissett.Shes a rare talent, he said. Early on, I saw that she had a strong drive to become great. And when she didnt make the varsity initially, she took her drive to a new level.I challenged her to improve defensively and make her teammates better, and she amped up her intensity. There was no discussion. She just did it -- the kid went to work.In Grissetts freshman year, Hillside had three seniors and three juniors, all of whom went on to play Division I basketball. Nevertheless, Grissett forged her way into the starting lineup and averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds as Hillside finished 26-3. The Hornets may have gone further than the regional final, but Grissett got strep throat and missed that last game, a three-point loss.As a sophomore, Grissett would often spend her lunch hour in Grays office as he rolled tape of 1980s-era NBA greats such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.That was also the year when Grissett started flexing her biceps, metaphorically showing Grays that she was strong enough to carry his team. Hillside finished 27-3 during her sophomore season and Grissett averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.Colleges started recruiting Grissett, who settled on a final four of South Carolina, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Maryland.Grissett, who has a 3.9 weighted GPA and wants to major in communications, chose the Gamecocks for a variety of reasons. For starters, she was born in Conway, South Carolina, so it will be a homecoming of sorts. She moved to Durham when she was 7. Second, and most importantly, Grissett discovered she had great chemistry with coach Dawn Staley.While other coaches called her by her given name of Elisia, Staley latched on to her preferred moniker of LeLe. The outgoing Grissett said she loves that she doesnt have to tone down her big personality when she is around Staley.She told me, Coach, those other schools didnt call me LeLe, and they never put their arms around me, Grays said. South Carolina physically and emotionally embraced her. Bob Lilly Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Randy White Jersey . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Chuck-Howley-Cowboys-Jersey/ . 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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- It turns out that Iowa might have a say in the Big Ten title race after all.By stunning Michigan 14-13 on Saturday, the Hawkeyes made it possible for a two-loss team to represent the powerful East division in the conference championship game -- and for the once-unthinkable prospect of a playoff without the Big Ten.It can no longer be assumed that the annual rivalry game between the Wolverines (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) and Ohio State (9-1, 6-1) will determine the leagues playoff representative.Thats because Penn State (8-2, 6-1), which beat the Buckeyes two weeks ago, has joined Michigan and Ohio State atop the East.If Michigan wins out, including beating Ohio State in regular-season finale in two weeks, the Wolverines move on to the Big Ten title game. If Ohio State and Penn State win out, the Nittany Lions would win the East, leaving the Buckeyes out of a chance to win the conference title while likely being the Big Tens highest ranked team.A loss by Penn State to either Rutgers or Michigan State in the next two weeks is what Ohio State needs to regain control of the East.That seems unlikely, but so was the idea of Iowa (6-4, 4-3), a 24-point underdog, finding itself it time to stun Big Blue.Give Iowa credit. They tackled. They blocked. They played a very good football game. So, congratulate them and we move on, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said.Thats exactly what Michigan needs to do, because if it wins out, it should be in the playoffs.But the Wolverines resume still took a hit on Saturday.Overshadowed by all of its big wins was the fact that Michigan didnt have a single significant road win. Michigan State and Rutgers, the only teams Michigan had beaten away from Ann Arbor, had yet to win a Big Ten game until the Spartans throttled the Scarlet Knights on Saturday.On a windy and chilly night in Iowwa City, the Wolverines wilted.dddddddddddd.The nations top-ranked scoring defense allowed Iowa to score a touchdown on fourth down on a perfectly timed screen pass.On the biggest play from scrimmage, it let Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard run for a first down that set up the game-winning kick -- after a facemask that gave Iowa 15 free yards.Michigans offense, which had scored 49 points against Penn State, 78 against Rutgers and 59 against Maryland, gained just 201 yards. Wilton Speight missed a litany of deep balls, going just 11 of 26 passing and throwing a pick to true freshman Manny Rugamba late in the fourth quarter.Theres absolutely no excuse. Weve got to be a lot better than we (were Saturday), tight end Jake Butt said.Iowas performance kept it alive in the West race, though just barely.Wisconsin (8-2, 5-2), by virtue of its win over Nebraska (8-2, 5-2), is in position to face whatever team the East sends to Indianapolis for the title game. The Badgers might also be in position to steal a playoff spot, should they win out and see more upsets like the ones that occured on Saturday further shake up the postseason picture.But Iowa answered for one of its worst losses in years, a 41-14 wipeout at Penn State, with a win that was more about culture than talent.Youve only got two options. You surrender and mope and feel sorry for yourself, or you do something about it, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. Dont think that we werent thinking about that on Saturday night coming home. But its more about just the way we operate and what our response is going to be. And we knew this was going to be a tough task.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '