Lindsay’s leaping
to victory

By Joe Mason
For the Times

Lindsay Teuber is a well-rounded basketball player.
The rising senior at St. Basil Academy High School can play defense with the best of them. She can also shoot from just about anywhere on the floor, and has the speed to run-and-gun with the fastest players around.
But there is one part of her game that jumps right out.
Literally.
In addition to being a standout guard, Teuber competes in the high jump, triple jump and long jump for Basil’s track team.
That leaping ability greatly enhances Teuber’s skill at taking jump shots and grabbing rebounds on the court. It also helps her when it comes to showtime.
"I can nick the rim . . . I can almost dunk, I guess," Teuber said with a laugh. "I do it a lot, but it’s not to show off or anything, it’s just to make sure I can still do it.
"I’m more of a basketball player but I like track, and it has helped," Teuber added. "I’ve been playing basketball since I was four years old. It’s my sport."
Despite her success on the track, winning the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state Class AA individual championships in both the high and triple jumps, Teuber’s greatest achievements have been on the court.
During her three years as a starter at Basil, the Panthers have won two Catholic Academy League crowns, advancing to the state playoffs each year.
Teuber routinely sees zone defenses and watches as teams play deliberate basketball. But then, in the summer, Teuber gets to play an entirely different brand of hoops.
She’s a wing guard for Fencor, an AAU squad based in Philadelphia. It gives the Frankford resident a chance to play run-and-gun with the top players in the nation.
This week Teuber is in Orlando, Fla., to compete in the AAU national tournament, which starts on July 5 and ends on July 9.
The tournament will take place right outside Disney World, but this isn’t a vacation. It’s strictly a business trip.
"I’ve been there before with my family, but I’ve never been there for basketball," Teuber said during a July 1 phone interview while riding through North Carolina on Interstate 95. "I’m excited, but it’s more about the basketball.
"The better we do, the longer we’ll be down there," she added. "We’ve done pretty well in this tournament before, so we think we have a chance to do well again."
But AAU basketball, besides being a different style of basketball, brings out the best competition.
In Orlando, Teuber and her Fencor mates will be battling some tough competitors. They’re players who have signed Division 1 scholarships, as well as players who are out to prove they deserve a scholarship.
"I like it a lot because you’re not playing the same teams, the same players, over and over," Teuber said. "High school basketball is fun and intense, but AAU is different. It’s a chance to see how you can do against every type of style. You don’t see many zones, it’s all man to man and it’s a lot of running and a lot of great players going at it. It’s pretty exciting."
Teuber would love to help bring home a national championship banner, which would be Fencor’s third in four years. She’d also like to impress some scouts while doing so.
Though she still has another year of high school, Teuber has done her homework. She’s eyeing Dartmouth, Hartford, Sacred Heart and Manhattan as potential colleges.
But as excited as Teuber is about taking the next step, she’s also looking forward to her final year as a Panther.
"I love Basil’s," Teuber said. "I have an older brother and an older sister. My brother went to Penn Charter and my sister went to Nazareth. I wanted to go somewhere different, which is why I went to Basil’s. I’m really glad I did . . . I love everything about it." ••
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com