No. 1 In Washington -- Rhonda Smith: Quaker Ready For New Challenges As Husky

Rhonda Smith's dreams and fears come not in nightmares but in broad daylight. The setting, however, is always the same: Edmundson Pavilion.

``Oh, God, do I daydream,'' Smith said at courtside of her future basketball home. ``Yes, yes, I always daydream about playing here. My biggest fear is that I'm not going to perform in college. I feel a lot of pressure to perform. I need to do good, for assurance that I deserve the scholarship.''

That is Smith's next mission. The 6-foot-2 senior center from Franklin High School has to prove herself again. Next season she will play for Coach Chris Gobrecht at the University of Washington. Smith's high-school career is over, complete with a final trip to the state tournament, and one last honor.

Smith is The Times' state girls basketball player of the year. It is the crowning achievement of her sterling prep career.

Smith entered the state tournament averaging 24 points and 14 rebounds per game. She scored 76 points in three tournament games (25.3 points per game), as the Quakers went 1-2.

Franklin opened the tournament with a 66-62 loss to Eisenhower of Yakima. The Quakers won their first consolation game, 46-39, over Bethel. Smith had a steady 25 points in each of those games. She scored 26 points in her last game as a Quaker, a 52-51 loss to Kent-Meridian.

The Quakers finished with a 17-10 that included a victory over Garfield in the AAA League tournament's championship game. The Quakers were runners-up to Redmond in the Sea-King AAA District tournament.

Up next is a stint with the Spokane Stars, an Amateur Athletic Union team coached by Ron Adams. Smith will try to help the Stars get to the national tournament. Her first workout with the Huskies won't be until the fall.

``I'm just going to come in and play hard, try to be an impact player,'' Smith said. ``I don't want to disappoint anybody, most of all myself. I never give myself goals out of my reach.''

Smith, called the best center in the state by Gobrecht, is staying home in more ways than one. She will live in her hometown and play for her home team, the Huskies. She has been a part of the team since her older sister, Kelly, became the team's manager several years ago. Rhonda got to know many of the players before signing a letter of intent to play for Washington. .

``It seems strange to think I'll be running with them, doing the things I've watched them do,'' Smith said. ``I'm excited. After years of watching, I'm going to be part of that.

``They're all really nice girls. They're just themselves. That's why I came here. I felt at home.''

Smith is following in the footsteps of another local star, Rainier Beach's Tara Davis, a freshman, and will try to fill those of Karen Deden, a senior.

Smith said she wants to improve her ball-handling skills and develop her outside shot.

Smith's former coach, Gartha Morgan, remembers her as a raw, lanky eighth-grader.

``I could see she was going to grow,'' Morgan said. ``She was very intelligent. She really understood the game. She had physical stature, an ability to jump, coordination. If you have those attributes . . . with work I think Rhonda could do anything she wanted to do: basketball, track, softball, anything.''