The junior guard's balanced game fills holes caused by graduation.
By BOB PUTNAM
Published January 15, 2004
SEMINOLE - Alli Fogle looks directly at the basket. Her knees are bent, her feet spread shoulder width apart. She is ready to release her shot.
Her left hand lightly holds the side of the ball, and her right launches it with an arcing flight to the heart of the basket. The ball rips through the net like Greg Louganis hitting the water on a dive.
Swish!
The 5-foot-7 junior guard from Seminole launches 3-pointers, pull-up jumpers and short flips. She normally works out two hours a day, six or seven days a week, regardless of what else is going on in her life.
Fogle's commitment to daily training has helped her become one of the most prolific scorers in the county. She surpassed 1,000 points in high school last month and averages 15.8 points.
"There are more opportunities to score this season, and I'm trying to make the most of them," Fogle said.
Last season the offense revolved around Jen Hansen, a three-time Times All-Pinellas first-teamer who helped the Warhawks finish 29-3 and advance to the region final for the first time.
But with Hansen now at West Point, coach Dave Swanson needed to find a way to make up for her loss.
Fogle was more than happy to volunteer. With a nack for slithering around defenders to get open, she has established herself as a go-to player.
But Fogle doesn't want to be known strictly for having a feathery shot. Because she gets more than her share of attention from opponents, Fogle works hard to get the ball to Carrie Conley in the low post or dish it outside to guard Chelsea Patterson.
"I don't want to be a ball hog," Fogle said. "We have a balanced team, and I want make sure I get my teammates involved."
That balance has kept Seminole on track for its third consecutive district title.
"I think her game has really developed over the last three years," Seminole coach Dave Swanson said. "She even excels in rebounding, something you don't often see with guards her size.
"She also never seems to get tired, and that's a tribute to her offseason conditioning. She does most of that stuff on her own."
Fogle developed her work ethic at an early age. She took up basketball in middle school at Northside Christian and learned the finer points from former Mustang stars Brianne Harrington and Julie Bintz. She was playing with the varsity by the eighth grade.
When Fogle was a freshman in 2001-02 she transferred to Seminole and was inserted into the lineup right away.
"I wanted to come here because I knew (Seminole) had a strong program, and that would help me become a better player," Fogle said.
But after playing in the shadows of Hansen the past two seasons, Fogle struggled early with the spotlight.
"I just hit a slump," she said.
Fogle got out of it the only way she knew. She went to the gym and practiced, taking as many as 700 shots a day.
"We've told her to be more selective with her shots, and that's helped with her percentage," Swanson said. "But she's also worked hard at it."
