Arcanum’s Alexis Abner commits to play basketball for Edison

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ARCANUM – Arcanum senior Alexis Abner committed to play college basketball for Edison State Community College on Wednesday afternoon.

Abner, the daughter of Joe and Deanne Abner, said she was drawn to Edison because it felt like home.

“I visited there, and it felt more like home than any other place I visited,” she said. “It’s really small so I felt like I fit in there. It’s like Arcanum.”

Also helping make the transition to college easier are future teammates she already knows including Covington’s Jessie Crowell and Versailles’ Lauren Monnin.

“I know quite a few,” Abner said of her future teammates. “I feel like it will be easier to adjust to it.”

Abner is the second member of Arcanum’s senior class to commit to play college basketball, joining former teammate Rebecca Deao, who will play for Ohio Northern University.

“It’s awesome to have a second player, let alone one, with the opportunity to go play college ball somewhere,” Arcanum girls basketball coach Matt Grote said. “I know it’s been her dream to go play after high school. Just to have her be able to find that, that’s great.”

For Edison, Abner will be a guard. The Chargers probably will run a point guard by committee, Edison women’s basketball coach Tim McMahon said, so Abner will be asked to contribute as both a point guard and shooting guard.

“I think it’s great for us,” McMahon said of adding Abner to his team. “She can run the point for us, she can shoot so she can do a lot of things for us.”

As a junior, Abner averaged 15.3 points per game under former Arcanum coach Rachel Fearon and was named first team all-Cross County Conference. In Grote’s new scheme, Abner was asked to be more of a distributor than in the past, but she still scored 9.3 points a game and was named second team all-CCC.

“Playing time, scoring, whatever it is … she’ll do whatever she needs to for the team,” Grote said.

Grote is confident that Abner will be very successful during her collegiate career.

“She’s determined,” he said. “She’s a hard worker. She’s a great kid off the court. She has a lot of traits that a lot of coaches really like that she’s going to add to a program and help make it better.”

When scouting Abner, McMahon liked the versatility of Abner’s game.

“Just a good leader, good shooter, can handle the ball,” he said. “She does a little bit of everything.”

At Edison Abner is joining a program that finished 12-18 last season. She likes the program, she said, and her new coach.

“I feel like he’s a lot like Coach Grote so I feel like it will be a fun time and experience,” Abner said.

After two years at Edison, Abner plans to transfer to Wright State University to finish her studies in sports science. The two years at Edison probably will be her only college basketball.

“I think that’s all my body will be able to handle,” she said.

Abner doesn’t have any specific goals for her career at Edison, but she looks forward to the opportunity to continue her basketball career.

“I just kind of want to go in and have fun, I guess,” she said.

Arcanum’s Alexis Abner committed to play basketball for Edison State Community College on Wednesday.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Alexis-Abner-WEB-7.jpgArcanum’s Alexis Abner committed to play basketball for Edison State Community College on Wednesday. Kyle Shaner|The Daily Advocate

By Kyle Shaner

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Kyle Shaner may be reached at 937-569-4316. Follow me on Twitter @KShanerAdvocate or get updates on Facebook by searching Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com.

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