NEENAH, Wis.— His friends liked to whisper in his ear.

“Hey Mark. Your daughter Allie, she has an opportunity to do big things. Be unique. Be something special.”

Mark Ziebell would often respond with a double-take, followed by an eye roll.

“You’re a dad, right?” said Mark. “So it was like, ‘Ah, whatever. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Because you see all the flaws sometimes.”

Mark was not only Allie’s dad, but coached boys’ basketball for 25 years and was a hall of fame player at UW-Oshkosh.

He knew.

“Especially as a coach, you see the times that she doesn’t box out or do the right things sometimes on the court,” he said. “And you think, ‘Ah, you’re never going to make it if you can’t box out.’”

Allie Ziebell learned to box out. And a whole lot more. As a sophomore at Neenah High School, she led the state in scoring at 30.2 points per game. This year, the 5-10 junior guard is the 5th-ranked recruit in the 2024 class, according to ESPN.

And she’s off the board.

In December, Ziebell announced she would join the preeminent program in women’s college basketball, the University of Connecticut.

The girl whose grandmother made her a UConn-themed birthday cake years earlier, who asked for a UConn sweatshirt for Christmas as a youth, whose dad took her to Notre Dame to watch UConn play against the Irish, realized her lifelong dream.

“It makes me still tear up,” she said, “because you would never think someone with that big of a dream, that it actually comes true.”

****
At the ripe old age of 10 is when coach Andy Braunel took note of Allie Ziebell and thought … Oh. My. Goodness.

“Whenever you know someone’s a kid of a head coach, you kind of take a little extra look,” said Braunel, in his 19th season at Neenah.

“I think when it really became clear, like ‘Holy cow, this could be special’ was fifth grade.”

(Andy Braunel)

By this time, Allie Ziebell had spent most of her life in a gym. Mark was the boys’ coach at Fond du Lac, and during the summer, he would load his kids in the car and take them to school, where he ran basketball camps from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., four days a week for eight weeks.

When Allie was in third grade, she was already playing against the boys.

By the time she reached high school, she had eight Division 1 scholarship offers.

“At first it was a little like, ‘OK, holy cow, what do I have to offer this kid?’” said Braunel. “You know, because that’s your first thought going into it. But once you start working with her, you realize she wants to be coached, she wants to be pushed, and she wants to be challenged.”

She also likes to challenge herself.

Braunel set a goal for his players to put up 10,000 shots during the summer. Allie Ziebell put up 100,000, and does every summer.

“There was a routine that she would do, X number of shots doing different moves, or different drills,” said Mark.

“The nice thing is it’s put a routine together for her, and something that she can always lean on and continues to lean on. And I think that routine is kind of a calming element, where you never get too high or too low. You just go back and just work on your routine.”

****
It didn’t take long before Allie Ziebell was receiving more calls and texts from coaches than her friends.

It was suggested she keep track of all her visits to colleges and take notes, so she could keep all her thoughts and impressions organized.

(Andy Braunel)

One notebook led to another and, eventually, an intricate spreadsheet on her computer.

“It kind of took on a life of its own,” said Mark. “You have to know her a little bit to know how that would go, but it was color-coded and there was dates and times and she would have it all organized on who to call and when.”

While the offers piled up, there was no offer from UConn.

Braunel emailed UConn, complete with video clips and a brief description of Ziebell’s career.

“I just said, ‘I think this kid is worth your look,’” said Braunel. “And no response.”

This summer, Ziebell played for the Wisconsin Flight Elite, part of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. In June, she played in a tournament in Louisville, and Wisconsin surprised a highly touted team from Texas in the final, 61-51.

Ziebell led all scorers with 30 points. An effort noted by the many college coaches in attendance, including UConn’s Geno Auriemma.

****

Mark Ziebell was heading to the Town of Clayton post office when his phone rang. His cell showed it was from Hartford, Conn.

“Mark, this is Geno Auriemma from the University of Connecticut,” the voice on the other end said.

“Over the years, friends of mine would say, ‘You know, it’s just a matter of time before Geno … you know how people can be, right?’” said Mark. “I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’ So in my mind, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Who is playing a joke on me?’”

He soon realized this was no joke. They spoke for about five minutes before the call dropped.

So Auriemma called Allie.

“It came up as Unknown Caller. So I didn’t answer it at first,” she said. “And then I saw it was from Connecticut, so I ended up calling back. And then when he said his name and introduced himself, I had no words. I couldn’t believe it.”

Auriemma made Allie a scholarship offer. And for the girl whose lifelong dream was at her doorstep, she told him she needed more time.

“I think the biggest thing was when you’re in fifth and sixth grade and that’s your dream and that’s your goal,” said Mark. “But now she’s 17 and a junior in high school. You know, time changes things."

“Maybe what was good for you or what you thought was neat and cool in fifth and sixth grade might not be the case anymore when you’re 17. So that’s why we kind of felt like it was important for her to just to continue to go through the process.”

Roughly two months later, she made her decision. Hello, Connecticut.

****

When a player from Wisconsin commits to Connecticut, word travels fast. And like January in Wisconsin, Braunel knew what was coming.

“She’s such a rock,” he said. “That doesn’t bother her, and actually when some of the fans that start chanting ‘Overrated’ and stuff like that, typically that guarantees Allie is going to be going on a run after that.

“We’ll joke with her about it, too. There will be some times in practice, some of the girls will chant ‘Overrated’ just because they know that’ll fire her up.

It doesn’t intimidate her, but she’s just that type of unflappable kid. And she’s still 17. You put her on that spectrum of where most kids are at that age. She’s off the charts with that focus and that ability to persevere and play through and plug away.”

Allie Ziebell said she can’t thank her father enough for all the time and energy and counsel in helping her achieve her dream.

And Mark, forever the coach, knows what lies ahead.

“Now the work really begins,” he said. “I mean, she has the honor to, in my opinion, to try to please one of the greatest coaches and one of the greatest staffs to ever do it. They’re on the Mount Rushmore of coaches. She has the honor of trying to go every day in practice to try to please them. And I think that is a heck of an honor. And a heck of an opportunity.”

Story idea? You can reach Mike Woods at 920-256-6321 or at: michael.t.woods1@charter.com