2010 area girls' basketball POY: Kiah Stokes

MARION - Two weeks later, Kiah Stokes still is coming out of the clouds.

“I'm still kind of on a high,” she said.

Stokes led Linn-Mar to a 26-0 record and a Class 4A girls' state basketball championship. She earned the Gatorade state-player-of-the-year award.

Today, she is honored as the Gazette/KCRG player of the year.

What's next? Plenty.

A member of the USA Basketball 16-and-under national team last year, Stokes will try out for the 17-and-under team in June. If she makes the team, she'll play in the world tournament in France.

And she has a big decision to make, probably next fall.

It's a question revelant from coast to coast: Where will she play college ball?

“I'll take my five official visits in the fall, and I probably won't commit until November unless I really, really like it somewhere,” she said.

Stokes will be able to pick from just about every major program in America. Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt watched her play in the regional final; Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma showed up at the state tournament.

“(Stokes is) so enormously talented,” said Dennis Roloff, coach at Cedar Rapids Kennedy. “Every college coach in the country is following her because she can score and she rebounds so well.

"There just isn't anyone who can touch her. She's got all the tools to be one of the best from this area.”

Stokes averaged 19.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game this season. She shot 65 percent from the floor.

“As a freshman and sophomore, I was a shot-blocker, but I wasn't much of a scorer,” she said. “I've become more focused on my offense and helping my team by scoring points.

“I want to continue to expand my game, so I can go out on the wing and drive to the basket.”