Ghameerah McCullers knew nothing about the college basketball recruiting process just a year ago, let alone did she think playing playing at the next level was possible. AAU basketball was a foreign concept.
“I didn’t know about scholarships,” the 5-foot-4 point guard said.
After a summer playing with coach Tomas Baez and the Baseline travel program, McCullers knows plenty now. The NEST+m (New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math) star earned a full-ride to play women’s basketball at Division II Ohio Valley University in West Virginia. McCullers also drew interest from Manhattan and New Paltz.
Moving out of PSAL Class B and facing top competition in the summer was surprising at first. It took her time to adjust, but it pushed her to be a better player.
“I never thought I would be in this position,” McCullers said. “I always wanted to play college basketball, but I didn’t know the steps to get there. It’s amazing that I’m here.”
She’s come a long a way, and not just on the basketball court. McCullers’ parents died when she was nine years old. Since then she’s been living in the Bronx with family friend Yolanda Jackson, who has been a huge factor in the lives of her and younger sister Freviqua.
“She never wanted to take our mother’s place, but she did a good job of raising us as a mother,” McCullers said.
McCullers thrived in basketball obscurity at NEST. Most people have never heard of the school or know that it is located on the Lower East side, she said. McCullers was drawn to the school because of its strong academics. NEST is described as New York’s premier K-12 public school for gifted and talented students and offers a variety of academically challenging program.
McCullers started at NEST when the basketball program was at the developmental stage. In her final three years, the team went a combined 36-17 and a program best 16-3 last winter.
McCullers averaged 23.6 points per game. 9.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists during the regular season and upped it to 26.5 and 10.5 during the playoffs. She had 31 points and 14 rebounds in NEST’s season-ending loss to Pace in the second round of the playoffs.
“She’s a slasher,” Baez said. “She also has a very good mid-range game and is working on her 3-point shot.”
When the coach first met her, after informing NEST coach Suzanne Lendzian about his travel team’s tryout, he felt she could be one of the strongest and quickest point guards in New York City. Baez was impressed with her athletic ability and positivity. He felt she could be a scholarship player off the bat.
“Her basketball I.Q. is very high,” Baez said. “She can go right. She can go left. She sees the floor well.”
He thinks Ohio Valley is a good fit for McCullers. It offers her the chance to get away from New York City and explore a new part of the country. McCullers visited the school two weeks ago, but didn’t get to meet the team, which was away for the summer. She liked the smallish campus, joking that she won’t get easily distracted. There was a comfort level with head coach David Wadlington. Ohio Valley went 11-17 and 7-15 in the WVIAC a year ago.
“It was homely,” McCullers said. “It was cozy.”
She hopes her accomplishment sets an example for her sister, who is just a year behind her. It was an extraordinary feat, overcoming family obstacles early on and going from a PSAL ‘B’ program, having never even played AAU basketball until just recently, to a college scholarship.
“It would have been a really sad story if Ghameerah’s story didn’t come out the way it came out,” Baez said. “She is amazing. I’m kind of surprised no one caught on to her.”
Until Ohio Valley did.