Before her junior season of high school basketball at Utica-Notre Dame, Emily Durr's AAU coach told her that Iowa State was interested in recruiting her.
But Durr misheard the message, correctly registering only its second half. Wow, she responded, Ohio State?
No, the coach corrected. Not Ohio State. Iowa State.
Oh, Durr thought.
"I really was surprised,'' Durr said. "You have no clue. You never really think about the midwest if you're from the northeast.''
Regardless, Durr was still open to the idea of a road trip to Ames, Iowa. And that may have been the best basketball-related move of her life.