Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Reagan for Beginners by David Smith Where it all began. In 1966, David A. Smith borrowed $50.00 from his grandfather, Alvin Smith to purchase a small hand press. The first “commercial” projects he completed on this press were announcements and cards for his high school classmates. This small press located in the family garage was where the vision for David A. Smith Printing, Inc. was born. 1967 – Company Founded. 1970 – A building all our own. The company’s growth was under way and the small leased space was no longer adequate. Plans were drafted and the first building to house David A. Smith Printing was built. This building not only still exists but it was the cornerstone for all the future expansions of the company. The door that the employees enter even to this day, is the same doorway that every Smith Printing co-worker has entered since 1970. 1973 – The coming of age. As it was destined to occur, the “new” building could no longer house the ever growing company. After only three years, the Harrisburg marketplace showed that it was willing to welcome the new printer. The growing stable of customers and staff needed a larger facility, so doubling the original building was the next move. More than bricks and mortar. As evidenced by the $50 loan from his grandfather, Alvin, and the guidance of his father, Roger, this entity was more than just a business, it was a family affair. David A. Smith Printing was never about just putting ink on paper, and from the beginnning David had the help and guidance of his family. 1985 – Space was still at a premium. The 80’s were good at David A. Smith Printing (Thank you President Reagan). As business expanded and our offered services grew, the need for more space once again became apparent. As we found before, the answer was to double the size of the existing building and let the craftsmen at work have a little more space. 1988 – Modernization. As the plant grew, the emphasis was always on the production areas and manufacturing. In the late 80’s emphasis was shifting to electronic pre- press and high-speed copying. It was due to those changes, and the growing office staff, that we added on again with the focus on modernizing the office and administrative areas. Today. David A. Smith Printing serves corporate, non-profit and governmental customers primarily in the mid-atlantic region with some active customers located in all 50 states. 16,000 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehouse space allow us to offer all of our services under one roof. ‘Honey, I forgot to duck’: the attempt to assassinate Ronald Reagan, 40 years on. Few guests at the Washington Hilton, a vast hotel rendered in curving Brutalist concrete, notice the simple plaque tucked away near a lower entrance designed for VIPs. It marks the spot where, 40 years ago today, President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured when would-be assassin John Hinckley fired six bullets in two seconds. White House press secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty and secret service agent Tim McCarthy were also hit. Reagan narrowly escaped becoming the fifth US president to be assassinated that day and there has been no closer call since. Brady suffered a serious head wound that left him partially paralysed for life and became a prominent activist for gun control – an issue that continues to haunt America today. David Prosperi was assistant press secretary to the president and at the hotel to manage the White House press pool that follows the commander- in-chief wherever he goes. Just after noon, he recalled, Reagan addressed a union meeting in the ballroom, which is known for hosting the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner. After the speech, the reporters were mingling with the public – including Hinckley – behind a rope line, waiting for Reagan to emerge. “I heard a pop and it sounded like someone had popped a balloon and then there was a very short lull, followed by five more pops, and I knew then that someone was firing a weapon,” Prosperi, 67, said by phone from his home in Chicago. “So instinctively I ducked down and I pulled [journalist] Judy Woodruff down with me. The next thing I know, the motorcade is racing right past me on my right and, as the last car passes by at a high rate of speed, I stand up and I see the situation in front of me. Secret service agents and police officers swarm a gunman, hidden from view, after he attempted an assassination on President Ronald Reagan on 30 March 1981. Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP. “I see there’s a Washington police officer, Thomas Delahanty, lying on the ground; he was shot. Tim McCarthy, who was a secret service agent and a member of the president’s protective detail, was shot. Then being pressed against the wall by the secret service is John Hinckley. The irony of the situation is that the secret service are protecting John Hinckley: there’s an agent that actually has his weapon drawn and facing out toward the crowd protecting the alleged assassin. “And then finally there was Jim Brady lying face down on the ground with a bullet wound in his head. Rick Ahearn, the lead advance man for this visit, was kneeling next to Jim Brady and he’s holding a handkerchief to Jim’s head, trying to staunch the bleeding. Rick yelled at me, ‘Do you have a handkerchief?’ because of the blood. I had a handkerchief that my grandmother had given me so I threw it at Rick and then I ran inside the hotel because I felt I needed to call the White House.” The mobile phone was still in its infancy and Prosperi did not own one. To his dismay, the bank of pay phones at the hotel were all in use by callers probably unaware of the unfolding drama. He managed to find one that operated by credit card, so duly used his personal credit card and alerted the White House press office. “From my understanding, that’s how the White House found out that the president had been shot, because the secret service at that time hadn’t yet determined that the president had been hit.” Rick Ahearn, who was a member of White House advance staff, said: “I saw Jim Brady, who was a good friend of mine, go down like a sack of potatoes. I remember vividly he was carrying a paper pad in his left hand and a pen in his right hand or vice versa and he just went face down. He made no attempt to break his fall. He was obviously wounded. “When I ran over to him and knelt down next to him, he was face down on the sidewalk next to a grate and he was trying to get up. He was trying to speak and, as he turned his head, I could see that the bullet had entered his left forehead and pretty much devastated his head, so I immediately pulled out my pocket handkerchief and tried to staunch the bleeding and hold his head together. “I remember just shouting, ‘Does anybody have a handkerchief please?’ because there were no medics and no ambulance in the area. Dave Prosperi stepped up and just silently handed me a handkerchief and I thanked him profusely.” Prosperi faced the unenviable task of facing reporters at the hotel thirsty for answers. “They were all being held back by the rope line and by the police and secret service and everybody was yelling and asking what was going on. ‘Has the president been shot?’ My response was, ‘The president was shot at. I can’t confirm that he was shot.’” If the crime had happened today, he noted, “there would have been imagery on every social media platform in seconds. It’s a totally different world.” A secret service agent, left, draws his gun after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan left White House press secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty, and secret service agent Tim McCarthy injured. Photograph: REUTERS. There was similar commotion when Prosperi got back to the White House, two miles way. “There was a lot of mayhem in the press room, people scrambling around, demanding information and there was a good attempt by the White House to try and manage what would happen but there hadn’t been any time to do any kind of crisis communications planning. “The administration was 69 days old and crisis communications didn’t have perhaps as high a priority as it does today in any political or business environment.” The last of the bullets had ricocheted off the presidential limousine, hit Reagan under the left arm, penetrated his lung and lodged an inch from his heart. He was taken to hospital where on arrival he quipped to his wife, Nancy, “I’m sorry, honey, I forgot to duck”, then put doctors at ease in the operating room by joking: “I hope you’re all Republicans.” Surgeon Joseph Giordano, a liberal Democrat, replied: “Today, we’re all Republicans.” Such displays of wit and courage under fire helped humanise Reagan and deliver a political boost that shaped his presidency. Prosperi, who retired from financial services communications last year, reflected: “His personal style of leadership endeared him to people on both sides of the aisle not only in Congress, but around the country and I saw that from travelling with him for over a year. “Did the attempted assassination add to that? Absolutely, and I think the president and his team were smart enough to realise that here was an opportunity for his brand to demonstrate leadership and put forth ideas that he always believed in but now would perhaps have a greater chance of enacting because of his popularity.” John Hinckley, left, is escorted by police on 30 March 1981 after shooting and seriously injuring Ronald Reagan. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images. After Hinckley’s arrest, it emerged that the 25-year-old was suffering from acute psychosis and wanted to impress Hollywood actor Jodie Foster, having become obsessed by her in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Hinckley was released from a mental hospital in 2016 and moved to his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Last year a judge ruled that he can publicly display his writings, artwork and music. James “the Bear” Brady spent 239 days in hospital. Although he never returned to his position as White House press secretary, he kept the title for the remainder of Reagan’s presidency. When he died in 2014, a medical examiner ruled it a homicide resulting from the injury that he suffered on 30 March 1981. Prosperi went to visit Brady in hospital a couple of days after the shooting. “What impressed me so much was Jim’s spirit and demeanor and the fact that he was talking about things and remembering things that I didn’t even remember. I remember walking out of the room and saying, ‘I just can’t believe how strong he is’. “Jim was a tough, resilient man and a lesser person would have let that fateful event overtake him. He just pushed forward and he and [his wife] Sarah became very powerful anti-gun activists and they had the respect of a lot of people around the country. James Brady, former White House press secretary, shown with his wife, Sarah, on 16 June 2009, became a gun control activist after the assassination attempt. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images. “I believe to this day that, if not for the assassination attempt, Jim Brady probably would have been one of the best ever White House press secretaries. He had a way of dealing with the media. He had a good sense of humour. Back then he understood how to get the president’s messages out and I just think it was a tragedy that he wasn’t given a chance to really demonstrate his full capabilities.” Hinckley had bought the revolver used in the shooting at a pawn shop in Dallas despite the fact that he was under psychiatric care and had been arrested on weapons charges four days earlier. His attempt on Reagan’s life came just three months after the murder of John Lennon in New York and put gun control back in the political spotlight. James and Sarah Brady worked on what would become known as the Brady Bill, which included background checks and waiting periods for people attempting to buy a gun. It passed with bipartisan support in 1993. But some key elements of the law have since been stripped away under lobbying pressure from the National Rifle Association, which proved a close ally of Donald Trump. Brady’s legacy also lives on in Brady, a gun violence prevention group, and at the White House. Every time George W Bush, Barack Obama, Trump or various press secretaries speak from the famed podium in the West Wing, they do so in the James S Brady Press Briefing Room. “I think it’s a great way to honour a great American,” Prosperi said. Ahearn, 71, who has worked for six US presidents, said the incident did not change his own mind on gun control. “I think that we have ample gun laws on the books right now and, if we enforce those more stringently, there’d be less guns in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them.” The political consultant based in Alexandria, Virginia, also disagrees with the decision to release Hinckley. “I opposed it vigorously,” he said. “Every time it came up and anybody who would ask me the question, I would say that he delivered a life sentence to James Brady. The day that Jim Brady can rise up out of his wheelchair and walk unaided without crutches and without the constant pain that he suffered every day is the day I would consider releasing John Hinckley. “He continues to be a threat to current and future protectees of the US secret service and he should not have been released. He came within a hair’s breadth, less than an inch, of killing the president of the United States, the leader of the free world, and for him to be walking around as a free man now – although the secret service still has to keep an eye on him – is outrageous to me as an American. It’s a disgrace, in my opinion.” Reagan's lesson for Trump: tax reform must bridge party divide – or die. M oments before he was due to go on live TV to respond to a Ronald Reagan speech about tax reform, the Democratic lawmaker Dan Rostenkowski jumped out of his chair and shouted: “I’m not going to do it!” He was just joking. Rostenkowski sat down and, according to the Washington Post, delivered the speech of his life. “Working families file their tax forms with the nagging feeling that they’re the biggest suckers and chumps in the world,” he said. Rostenkowski endorsed the president’s plan – he asked the public to “Write Rosty” and lend support – and Democrats worked with Reagan to achieve a major tax overhaul in 1986. A generation later, Donald Trump is hoping to pull off the same trick, with an announcement of his reform expected on Wednesday. If the self- declared master dealmaker – facing a changed economy and divided Congress – can pull it off, he will have at least made at start toward claiming Reagan’s mantle. Finding Trump’s soulmate in presidential history has become something of a Washington parlour game. Some compare him to Andrew Jackson, a fiery populist; Trump flew to Nashville last month to mark Jackson’s 250th birthday. Critics are more likely to reach for Richard Nixon, synonymous with scandal and the kind of dark rhetoric heard in Trump’s inaugural address. The 45th president himself has drawn parallels with Reagan, once saying the 41st president was “a fairly liberal Democrat, and he evolved over years and he became more and more conservative”. The vice-president, Mike Pence, told this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference: “I believe President Trump has given voice to aspirations and frustrations to Americans like no leader since Reagan.” There are some striking parallels. Trump, 70, is the oldest person ever elected US president. Before him, Reagan, at 69, held the record. Trump is a businessman and reality TV star; Reagan was a B-movie actor and spokesman for General Electric. Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan was “Make America great again”; Reagan’s in 1980 was “Let’s make America great again”. Both were met with scepticism by establishment Republicans and both are better known for politics-as-performance than any grasp of policy detail. Yet the tax issue may illustrate what divides them. Reagan, a former governor of California, did not provoke visceral dislike: he won 49 states out of 50 in 1984, a tally that seems unthinkable in today’s hyperpartisan politics. His upbeat inaugural address included a paean to Washington: “Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history.” Trump spoke of “transferring power from Washington” and a grim vision of “American carnage”. Deep fissures. After the debacle of failed healthcare reform, Trump has promised to turn to tax in the hope of quick win. In theory, it will easier to compartmentalise and less emotive at the grassroots. The president told the Fox Business Network recently: “Tax reform is going to be tough, but it won’t be as tough as healthcare.” Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, believes Republicans will be motivated by the 2018 elections and need to stimulate growth. “Unlike the 3D chess problem of what might a parliamentarian agree on healthcare, it’s all linear and moves right or left on tax reform,” he said. House and Senate Republicans broadly agree on the outlines of reform: sweeping tax cuts for individuals and businesses while making up the lost revenue by scaling back tax breaks. But just as with healthcare, there are deep fissures in Congress. Republicans are divided on the principle of a new “border adjustment tax”, which would impose levies on imports while charging exports nothing. The House speaker, Paul Ryan, argues that the tax is vital to lowering the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 20%. But the Senate has little appetite for the measure and conservative organisations backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles and David, are staunchly opposed. Trump and Ryan could turn to the Democrats for support but the president is such a polarising figure that this seems a forlorn hope. Reagan, by contrast, frequently shared cocktails with the Democratic House speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill. In the Senate, a so-called “Gang of Seven” Republicans and Democrats steered the 1986 bill. A further drag now is conflicting signals from the White House. At one point, Trump said the House border tax was too complex. Later he said it was under consideration. The treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, told a Senate panel “there would be no absolute tax cut for the upper class”. But the plan Trump pushed in his presidential campaign would provide big tax breaks to high-income households. Whereas Reagan turned to a tax revamp in the sixth year of his presidency, with diversions out of the way, the Trump project is sticky because of many outstanding and interwoven proposals including the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare; a trillion-dollar infrastructure programme; and military expansion. And whereas Reagan was adamant that the changes should be “revenue neutral”, cutting individual tax rates while increasing payments for corporations, the 45th president seems less worried about adding to the government deficit. ‘There was a lot of bipartisanship’ The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, here seen with the House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, has said Trump should release his own tax returns. Photograph: J. Scott Applewhite/AP. Even Reagan’s reform was not plain sailing. Jeffery Birnbaum, author of Lawmakers, Lobbyists, and the Unlikely Triumph of Tax Reform, a study of the 1986 bill, said: “It was a huge and nearly constant fight for two years after a long period of debate. Reagan freshman way ahead of the game. Samantha Wagner of Reagan penetrates against Roosevelt during a battle of undefeated teams in District 27-6A on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Reagan's Samantha Wagner poses with Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey during a camp in 2013. Reagan freshman Samantha Wagner (1) played on Buckner Fanning School's middle school team as a second grader in 2011. The family of Reagan basketball player Samantha Wagner display a poster of her face during a game against Roosevelt on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News / Staff Photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner pals with Christeen Iwuala as she plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner averaged 15.5 points and 11 rebounds last year, while Christeen Iwuala averaged 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds. Tom Reel / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner congratulates teammate as she plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner gets a tip from guard Juliett Martinez as she plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner greets teammates as she plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner pals with Christeen Iwuala as she plays for Reagan against Lee at Littleton Gym on Jan.18, 2020. Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Show More Show Less. Samantha Wagner has been playing high school competition for years — remarkable, considering Wagner is a freshman at Reagan. “I’ve been playing against high schoolers for so long, I’m excited to be in high school,” Wagner said. When Wagner arrived at Reagan in the fall she had a polished game, honed by playing against high school athletes. The 6-foot forward handles the ball like a guard and can play in the low block like a center. She can drive. She can shoot. She can pass. When Reagan coach Selena Winbush witnessed those skills while Wagner was at Bush Middle School, she couldn’t wait to get her on the team. “Well, when I saw her in middle school, she could have played for me then,” Winbush said with a laugh. “Her ability to shoot, and her ability to play every position and do it seamlessly. She’s very accomplished.” Wagner, who has been committed to reigning national champion Baylor for nearly a year, carries a lot fanfare with her to Reagan. Active area players on women's basketball Power Five rosters: Desiree Caldwell (Steele); G; Southern Cal. Kyra Lambert (Clemens); G; Duke. Amber Ramirez (Wagner); G; Arkansas. NaLyssa Smith (East Central); F; Baylor. Kyra White (Judson); G; Southern Cal. She’s lived up to the hype. Wagner, the only freshman on Reagan’s roster, has helped the Rattlers engineer a turnaround season. Wagner averages a double-double (15.6 points and 10.8 rebounds, both team highs) along with 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. Reagan (22-7 overall and 9-0 in District 27-6A) is No. 2 in the Express-News rankings and has secured its first winning season since 2015-16. Reagan had gone 32-59 over the three seasons before her arrival. Wagner works well with Christeen Iwaula, a 6-3 sophomore center, who averages 14.0 points and 8.5 rebounds. They blended in with a team that also has two senior starters. “It’s important to make it as far as we can, mostly for our seniors, because we have some talented and hard-working upperclassmen,” Wagner said. “I knew a lot of the girls coming in. It was a struggle at first getting to know each other because it is a different team than last year. But it’s been a lot of fun getting to know each other. I love those girls and I love our team.” Winbush, who played at Kansas, said it’s only the beginning for Wagner’s development as a player. “The sky’s the limit,” Winbush said. “She’s still growing every day. There’s still part of this game that she’s still working on getting better at.” Playing up. Playing against older athletes is nothing new for Wagner. She’s been doing it since second grade when she played on the middle school team at Buckner Fanning. She caught the love for basketball as a 4-year-old when she participated in a summer-long camp at Buckner Fanning. That wasn’t the plan initially. Wagner’s parents had enrolled her in day care, but they would let her go the camp once a week. The plans changed after her first day of camp, which ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. “She came home exhausted, but she said, ‘I want to go back tomorrow, Dad,’” said her father, Robert Wagner. “We said OK, and needless to say she spent her summer in basketball camp because that’s all she wanted to do.” Wagner, who was one of the few girls at the camp, ran drills and played scrimmages. She also learned her passion at an early age. “It was an active day care thing, I think (my parents) thought of it as, but I really took to it,” Samantha said. “I kept asking to go back because I enjoyed running around, having fun and playing.” Wagner didn’t stop there. When she was in kindergarten at Buckner Fanning, she practiced with the middle-school girls and sat on the bench during games, although she wasn’t on the team. Robert said one day when the team’s coach, DJ Jones, threatened to bench some players during a game, Samantha asked to go in. Samantha wasn’t on the roster for that game, but she was moving forward. She played a little bit that season and in first grade. By second grade, she led the team in scoring. “Because I grew young and early, I was able to hold my own, and I didn’t look like a younger kid playing against older kids, necessarily,” Samantha said. Later that year, Samantha played AAU basketball with a sixth-grade team that Jones coached. Juliett Martinez, a senior guard at Reagan, was one of her teammates and said Samantha’s knack for basketball was apparent. “She wasn’t afraid to score when she had a chance and she was fearless on the court,” Martinez said. Robert, who assisted Jones, said he was comfortable having his daughter play against older kids. “She could compete, and we didn’t want to hold her back if she could compete,” Robert said. In third grade, Samantha made a middle school team for SA Finest, a local AAU team that has produced several McDonald’s All-Americans, including current college players NaLyssa Smith (Baylor), Kiana Williams (Stanford) and Amber Ramirez (Arkansas). Samantha and current O’Connor sophomore Carleigh Wenzel were the only elementary school players on the middle school team coached by Ray Caldwell. “We felt very comfortable with him and his ability and his knowledge of the game,” Robert said of Caldwell. “He told us, ‘Look, she’s going to get beat up, but I can see what she can be and what she can become.’” Samantha struggled through the initial phases playing top-level AAU basketball. “I was failing,” Samantha said. “I was getting yelled at. I was crying. I was getting beat and looking like a fool for a while. Then I started to grow into my body. I never let a lot of distractions get to me. I caught up and passed them eventually.” As their daughter endured those early struggles, Robert and wife Laura Wagner didn’t waver in their decision to let their daughter compete against older, high-level players. They had a keen understanding of what it takes to be a big-time athlete. Laura was an All-America swimmer at Texas A&M and won a state championship at Taft. Robert played football at Baylor under coach Grant Teaff from 1988 to 1991. “I learned who I was and my level of toughness and how much I wanted the goal I had set,” Samantha said. “I think part of it is something you are born with and some of it is mental strength. I have very high expectations from my parents, which causes me to have very high expectations of myself.” ‘Dream school’ Samantha calls Baylor her “dream school.” It’s where former Express-News Player of Year and East Central alum NaLyssa Smith is a sophomore forward. She began attending camps run by Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey six years ago. Her first one was a “Biddie Ball” camp designed for beginners. Samantha was past that level and expressed frustration when campers weren’t doing layup drills correctly. Robert, watching her daughter from the Farrell Center, said Mulkey witnessed this frustration and pulled his daughter aside. He said Mulkey spoke to Samantha for about 30 minutes. Then, Robert said Mulkey went up in the stands and asked if he’d mind if Samantha switched to a camp with fifth-graders. Samantha has returned for camp every year since and formed a bond with Mulkey and Baylor associate head coach Bill Brock. Samantha also caught the attention of Villanova, the first university to send a recruiting letter the summer before sixth grade. Oregon State and Arkansas followed. Although Samantha was ready to commit to Baylor in seventh grade, her parents wanted to make sure she saw some other schools before making a final decision. They went to Louisville, Texas and Texas A&M on unofficial visits and went to games to get a feel for the atmosphere. None of them felt better than Baylor. Samantha gave Mulkey her commitment after Texas Tech played at Baylor last February and announced the commitment on Twitter in May. “I knew where I wanted to go, and it was only right for me to do that and not waste other people’s time and money,” Samantha said. Or as Robert put it: “We didn’t want to play the ‘Let’s rack up 100 offers game.’” Commitments are nonbinding. The earliest Wagner can sign a national letter of intent is the fall of 2022. The family took some backlash for letting Samantha make such a big decision while she was in middle school. “We’ve taken some heat on social media for allowing that to happen,” Laura said. “We really wanted her to evaluate other schools because she was so young making this decision, but we also needed to respect other people’s time, and we weren’t going to drag people along if there was no need.” Samantha said she is content with her decision. “It’s a weight lifted off my shoulders in some areas, but it’s given a lot of people who don’t know me (the chance) to hate on me, which I expected,” Samantha said. “I knew the good things that would come with it, and that’s the choice I wanted to make and was ready to make.” National view. Chris Hansen, managing editor for ProspectsNation.com, a national recruiting website for women’s basketball, first saw Samantha as a fifth grader. He runs a camp in Seattle, and he let her participate in it even though it was open to grades 6-12. Samantha had no problems. “Initially, she was physically able to compete with kids several years older,” said Hansen, who is also on the selection committee for the McDonald All-American team. “The cool thing to watch is how her game has evolved. The physical gap has gotten smaller, and sometimes kids drop off. But Sammie has really adjusted her game, but still utilizes her size well.” ESPN lists Samantha as one of the top 25 recruits for the 2023 class. Besides a strong skill set, Hansen said Samantha has a lot of mental strength. “She’s a kid that gets up for big moments,” Hansen said. “She’s not afraid to have the balance of the game on her back. And she’s been celebrated as one of the best young kids in the country from such a young age, (and) she’s also proven she can play through the negativity thrown her way.” Samantha is 2½ years away from signing a college scholarship agreement. Although she’s already locked up her college choice, she’s hardly coasting. 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