'She's versatile': Berry Wallace means everything to Pickerington Central girls basketball
At 6 feet 1, Berry Wallace probably is not a prototypical center.
The Pickerington Central senior might also be a few inches too tall to be considered a prototypical guard, at least at the high school level.
But therein lies the value in what Wallace brings to the Tigers (12-2, 5-0 OCC-Buckeye), the top-ranked team in last week’s Division I state poll and No. 20 team nationally according to MaxPreps. And perhaps at no time was that on display more than a Dec. 30 game against Charlotte Catholic, at the time the top-ranked team in North Carolina.
Matched up against 6-5 North Carolina signee Blanca Thomas, Wallace used her versatility to score a career-high 30 points. Nine came on 3-pointers.
“(Wallace) started out guarding (Thomas) and they fed her the ball well,” said Central coach Chris Wallace, Berry’s father. “The flip side was they put (Thomas) on Berry and that was in our favor. She couldn’t guard Berry on the perimeter. Berry makes you guard and that’s her strength. She’s versatile.
“When you think you can stop her one way, she has the ability to hurt you another way. She has a great touch and a great pull-up game.”
Such comments provide validation for the approach Berry Wallace has taken since junior high. The Illinois signee had 1,239 career points entering the weekend and was averaging 17.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 steals through 12 games this season.
She is the 20th-ranked senior nationally by ESPN and is one of 724 nominees nationwide for the McDonald’s All-American boys and girls games April 2 in Houston.
“Growing up, my dad taught me all the fundamentals like shooting, dribbling and posting up,” Wallace said. “I didn’t want to have one weak part of my game. I tried to do it all and expand all parts of my game.”
A four-year starter, Wallace averaged 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds as a freshman, 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds as a sophomore and 15.1 and 8.6, respectively, a season ago to help lead Central to a state semifinal.
For all Wallace can do on the court, her advice proves just as valuable. Junior point guard Rylee Bess said Wallace has reminded her that she doesn’t have to do too much.
“She makes me feel that not everything has to go how I picture it in my mind,” Bess said. “If I’m not producing in one area, like making shots, she reminds me if I passed well. She keeps me positive.”
The fifth of six children in an athletically prominent family, Wallace said she has taken something from each of her siblings. Bexley, a 2019 graduate of Central, played center for the 2018 Division I state championship and 2019 state runner-up teams.
Garner, who graduated in 2021, starred in football, basketball and track and plays the former at Northwestern. Younger sister Blossom is a sophomore and starting forward.
The oldest, Bailey, graduated from Pickerington North in 2014. Brooklyn graduated from Central in 2023.
“(From) Bexley, (it’s) her intelligence on the court,” Berry said. “She always knew what was going on. She knew all the plays, all the spots and where everyone should be. Garner, (it’s) his motor. … He’s always had energy. I try to be like that as much as I can, but it’s hard. From Brooklyn, (it’s) her toughness in general. I’m still working on that part. I want to get tougher and stronger. She never let anyone push her around.”
Berry joked that Bexley, who played two years at Penn State and two at Kent State, does so to her — only figuratively. Central came up two wins short of its eighth state championship last winter.
“She (reminds me that) she’s a state champ and I’m not,” Berry said with a chuckle. “That obviously makes me want to win even more. But after last year and coming into this one, yes, we want to do whatever it takes to get back, get farther and win it all.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Berry Wallace's versatility keys Pickerington Central girls basketball
