Better than advertised

When she took the girls basketball coaching job at John Carroll Catholic High School, Destiny Frazier knew who Josie Wannemuehler was.

Frazier knew Wannemuehler was skilled in scoring and that she was one of the top players for the Cavaliers. 

But what she didn’t know was that Wannemuehler provided so much more. Frazier walked into the gym and found an upcoming senior with an engaging personality and bright smile off the court, and the ability to calmly lead a young team on the floor.

“It’s been amazing coaching Josie,” Frazier said. “She has really shocked me.”

The situation was nothing new for Wannemuehler, who has had a different coach each of her four years of high school varsity ball. She admitted that it’s a challenge to transition to a new coach each season, but she’s gotten used to it.

There’s also the fact of playing on a team with just two seniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. But she has accepted her role and embraced it.

“It’s kind of an honor for me to be able to set a role for them and give them somebody to look up to,” Wannemuehler said of the younger players. “I had that when I was coming up through the program. I just try to be a role model for them.”

In her years at John Carroll, Wannemuehler learned the importance of leadership to a team and the value of fundamentals, two things she hopes to pass on to the classes that follow her.

During this season, Wannemuehler eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, something that she would have never believed possible just a few years ago.

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I never thought, looking back at seventh-grade me, that I would be here doing all that. I started setting goals. First, it was make the middle school team. Then make high school, make varsity, start on varsity and I’ve just kind of made my way up.”

Wannemuehler’s strength lies in her 3-point shooting, but she worked hard to improve other facets of her game as well. She has become much more comfortable driving the ball to the basket, rebounding, and even pulling up for a mid-range shot occasionally.

“Once she gets to that, where she can just do that any time she wants without even thinking about it, she’s going to be deadly,” Frazier said of Wannemuehler’s mid-range game.

Frazier praised Wannemuehler for her part in setting the foundation for future years of John Carroll basketball.

“The girls that come next year will probably get sick of me talking about Josie,” Frazier said. “She is a great person. In the classroom, she’s great. On the court and off the court, she’s respectful. On the court, she can play tough as nails, but she also has good sportsmanship. It’s hard to find a player like that.”

Wannemuehler set an additional goal for herself: to play college basketball. She achieved that by signing with Birmingham-Southern in February. She has a gift and wants to use it.

“I thank God every day for giving me the ability to go out there and play the sport that I love and hope that I’m using them to praise him,” she said.