Titans' 'Pace-setter' does it all

Most basketball aficionados know of Greg Ostertag, the Utah Jazz center whose numerous abilities encompass everything from being tall to being tall with his arms over his head.

Because of Ostertag and other centers like him, most tall, skinny basketball players are typically thought of as glorified statues that are only capable of patrolling the paint. And while Michelle Pace's 6-1 frame may tempt some prep players into putting her in this category, underestimating her other abilities would be a big mistake.

Pace, a senior and four-year starter for the Olympus Titans, can do it all.

In addition to dominating the paint, she can drive, shoot, steal and drain the three, all the while making everything appear deceptively easy.

"Michelle is, without a doubt, one of the best all-around basketball players in the state right now," says Olympus head coach Kael Ashton. "She is the complete package. Any coach would kill to have her on the team."

While that assessment may be true, most coaches would settle for finding some way to keep her off the court. Pace's combination of size and versatility, as well as her ability to get her teammates involved in the game have been giving opposing coaches headaches for quite some time now.

"There is no way to shut Michelle down completely," says Ashton. "I've never seen a team take her totally out of a game."

Perhaps the only thing that compares with her tenacity on the court is the dedication that Pace exhibits while off it. She takes the time to break down film of each and every game, looking for ways to improve her play.

She even has a special assistant coach that spends just as much time analyzing tape as she does. She calls him "Dad."

"My dad is probably my biggest fan," says Pace. "He films all of my games, and he always has a few things for me to work on. But he knows his limits; he would never tell me to do anything my coach wouldn't want."

Despite her tremendous individual success, this first-team All-Stater is remarkably humble and team-oriented. While talking basketball, it seems as though every third word that comes out of her mouth is "team," or some variation on the theme.

"Sometimes people talk like I'm the only person who can score," says Pace. "But I think they all underestimate the rest of our team. We've got some good players, and we're all good at working together."

In spite of her numerous accolades and the interest they generate in the college basketball world, Pace insists that her main motivating factor is the fun that she has on the court. At the end of each practice, she's still just a teenager having fun with some of her closest friends.

"I love my teammates," says Pace. "We probably spend more time together off the court than we do on it."

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E-mail: tquinn@desnews.com