Upon arriving at Princeton for an official visit in the fall of 2008, Niveen Rasheed had options. Many options. She was on her way to becoming the all-time leader in every important statistical category for Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., and a nominee for the McDonald’s All-American game. Name a school in her general vicinity, and chances are it sought her out. But a grassroots teammate was making the cross-country trip, and Princeton pitched an idea: Why not tag along? This also would sate parents who wondered why their daughter wouldn’t consider the dang Ivy League. So Rasheed got on the plane.
As is customary on recruiting weekends, Rasheed jumped into pickup games with Princeton’s players. And she noticed something. They were, well, good. She asked the players who else recruited them, and names such as Stanford and Wake Forest came up.
Wait, Rasheed thought. What’s going on here?
A few weeks later, she committed to play for a school she never expected to consider. Four-plus years after that, Princeton had made four straight NCAA Tournaments and Rasheed was an honorable mention All-American, the first Tigers women’s player to earn that level of national recognition. But this wasn’t just another Ivy program on a good run. This wasn’t about bragging…
